AN :

hul , terribly sorry that the story is slowly progressing baha
i need to build Kieun's character before anything.. it's , uh, getting there :P
i have the ideas for everything already ; i just need to implement them

a n y w h o o o o o o

Thank you, lovely subscribers and commenters :)

"Halmoni! I'm going to the gym!" I shouted into the house as I stood in the doorway about to go out.  I'm pretty sure she fell asleep since it was 10PM.  I quickly shut the door and walked out with my jacket and gym bag in hand.  The weather was crazy, it was snowing and windy.  I was okay with it though, I'm a Canadian who loves winter.

I finally got to the gym after trekking there in the snow, and luckily it wasn't so packed.  There were a few people on treadmills, some guys with the weights and others in the yoga room.  It was perfect for me to not be bothered by the health trainers.

Thankfully, the gym also had an indoor gym, which was very useful for me because I hated running on treadmills.  There are so many hazards with those things.  I decided to lift some weights to start off, since I was already warmed up from jogging here.  I had to go with dumbbells first because I had no partner to spot me and the trainers were intimidating.

- - -

I glanced up after dropping the weights onto the ground and saw him.. the Cute boy.  He looked over and I quickly looked in a different direction hoping he didn't catch me staring.  A couple seconds later, a pair of Nike runners were in front of me.  I slowly looked up and there he was, right in front of my face.  He had a goofy smile on his face, and lips curled, eyes basically closed.

"Hi" I said and stepped back, only to trip over the weights I had put down just seconds ago.  Just before falling flat on my , he grabbed my hand and pulled me into him.  Instead of the cool finish he was probably hoping for, we both fell on to the ground.

"Are you okay?" He said and he tried to get up, but failed because our feet were tangled.  I couldn't help but laugh.  He laughed as well, which turned into a tiny session of laughter on the gym floor.  We finally got up and brushed ourselves off.

"Are you okay?" I asked pointing at the wraps around his wrist.

"Oh this, don't worry, it's practically all healed" He smiled his cute smile.

Thump.

I nodded my head in agreement and took a quick sigh.

"It's Kieun right?" He finally spoke up again, but this time with his hand stuck out.  I looked at his hand, then to mine and stuck it out to shake his.

Thump.

"Yeup, and Daniel? Was it?"

- - -

I don't recall what exactly happened, but he ended up leaving the gym with me, perhaps it was because it was almost 12 in the morning and he didn't want me to walk alone.

"So Kieun, how long have you been living here?" Daniel asked as we walked down the steps of the gym.  He was taking me out from the back, which I didn't understand why but he suggested it would be fun.

"I'm actually just visiting, I've been here for about 2 weeks now" I replied.  My bag was slung over my shoulder and I was still sporting my black sweats and black tee.  I didn't bring any change of clothes since I wasn't expecting to go anywhere after a workout.

"Oh really? Where are you from?" His voice started to sound excited.

"Ontario, Canada"

"Ohh, I'm originally from LA"

We finally got out of the gym and onto the streets.  Coming out from the back was a lot different then I was expecting.  Instead of a creepy ally way, it was a very vibrant and lively street with street vendors, restaurants and people.  Thankfully, the weather got better and it stopped snowing.

"Born and raised?" I asked.  Not going to lie, I was very curious about him.

"I was actually born in Sydney, Australia, then moved to LA where I was raised.. but I moved here when I was 15" He answered happily.  We continued walking, I didn't know where we were going but I just followed. "And you?"

"Born and raised in Ontario" I laughed. "By the way, where are you taking me?"

"Ah, well after a good workout I bet you're hungry.. so I am going to treat you tonight"

"With?" We stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "Something very Korean please" I smiled.

"Okay, how about this?" He pointed to a cute cafe.  It looked like it was filled with couples.  I was weary about the location.  Daniel noticed my expression and pointed to another restaurant which was a Chinese restaurant.

"How about that?" I said pointing to a red tent with steam coming out of it.  It was interesting and different.

"Pojangmacha?" He looked at me, and I looked at him and nodded. "If you want"

We walked to the tent and walked in.  The steam and smell was a bit overwhelming, but in a good way.  It was the first time I had ever seen one of these.  It was so authentic and .. Korean.  We found a spot at the corner of the stall and sat down.  There were other people in the stall as well which included business men and couples.  I didn't know what to order so luckily, Daniel called out some stuff to the 'Emmo'.

"I should of asked this earlier, but uhm, how old are you?" Daniel asked as he shuffled in his chair.  The chairs were those plastic cheap ones and if you moved enough and weirdly, they'd break on you.

"I'm born in 92, you?" I said.  The Emmo brought over our food and a bottle of soju and cola.

"Thank you" Daniel said to the Emmo and she left.  "I'm a 91 baby"  He took the two paper cups and filled them with cola, then passed one over to me.

We sat in the stall for a good hour and a half, we finished all of our food and even downed 2 bottles of soju.  During the time we had, we had gotten to know each other, our likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, and even eating habits.  It was the first time since I had been in Korea that I actually enjoyed myself to the fullest.  Talking to Daniel was like I was just back home talking to a friend.  Comfortable and fun.

"Woow, I am stuffed!" Daniel said as we walked out of the stall.  He had his hands in his pockets.  I walked out behind him, with my bag maneuvering through the people.  He suddenly stopped, and I bumped into him.

"Keep walking" I said and slightly pushed him but he wouldn't budge.  I could hear him laugh to himself.  I wrapped my arms around him and started to forcefully push him, which made him finally start moving.  When we were finally out of the stall, I let him go and moved to a new spot to stand. 

It was snowing again, but this time there was no wind.  The big snowflakes fell from the sky slowly.  They looked like tiny fluffs of clouds.  I stuck my hands out to catch them.

"This is my favourite kind of snow.. when there's no wind and they just fall down effortlessly" I said and twirled around.  Daniel was just standing there looking at me with a smile on his face.  He walked up to me and brushed the snow off my hair.  I just smiled.

Some guy came zooming by on his mo-ped carrying deliveries.  Daniel pulled me into his arms blocking me from the mo-ped, making sure I wouldn't be hit.  I looked up in surprise and Daniel had this seriousness in his eyes.  He looked down at me, "Are you okay?"

I could feel his warm breath on my cold cheeks.  I tried to answer, but no words came out of my mouth, so I nodded.  My body was feeling hot and my heart had a heavy feeling.  Daniel let me go and I stumbled back only to have him grab my arm to make sure I didn't fall.

"I think that soju is catching up on you now" He said and laughed.

I grabbed my face with cold hands, "I think it is, it's really toasty right now"

Thump.