The next morning I actually slept in fairly late. I was really tired when I got home last night, and I went to bed immediately. Must've been all the stress. I still winced at the thought of the fail dinner, but I was glad the night at least ended well.
I went downstairs and sat down at the table with a bowl of cereal. My mom came in, made herself a cup of coffee, and sat down with me.
"So, Niel is pretty nice, huh? You guys are getting along well?"
I nodded, wondering where this awkward conversation was going.
"That's good." She said as she took a sip of her coffee. I started shoveling my lucky charms into my mouth as fast as I could in hopes of avoiding any ~girl talk~ with my mom.
"How are your Korean studies coming along?" she asked.
"Hmm okay, I guess. But I can only learn so much from the internet, you know? Which is the reason I really want to take classes or something."
She smiled. "That's just what I wanted to talk to you about. Last night while Niel's mom and I were talking, she told me that she really likes you and loves that you are trying hard to learn Korean. She said how she would love to give you Korean lessons, but she's busy every day at the store. She also said that Niel's Korean is very good, because she's been teaching him herself his whole life. So... She suggested that since Niel only works three days of the week, and isn't as busy as her... maybe he could teach you instead."
I dropped my spoon, and it splashed into my milk."Mom~ Mom! MOM MOM MOM! THAT'S PERFECT! Omona, do I really get to learn from him? WHEN DO I START?" I could hardly contain my excitement.
"Woah woah woah. We don't know that this will happen for sure. She still has to ask Niel if he would be willing to do it, and there are also a lot of other things to take into consideration. So today when we go to the store, we're all going to discuss it over lunch."
"Well what are we doing here, then?? Let's go get ready!" I yelled as I hopped up from my seat and ran upstairs to go get a shower.

We left around 1:00, and as usual, my mind was extremely busy on the car ride there. I really wanted this to work out. I mean, come on. Learning Korean AND getting to spend time with Niel? I was trying not to get my hopes up, but how could I not?
When we got there, we headed to the food court. My mom sat down at a table, and I walked over to the counter where Hanna was to tell her what was going on. 
"Wah, that's so great! I'm so happy for you~ I hope everything can work out! I'll be rooting for you!"
I was happy to have her support. 
Then Mrs. Ahn came by, and spotted us. "Ah, you're here? Good, I'll go get Niel."
I smiled at the mention of his name, but I got a nervous jolt in my stomach. I turned back to Hanna. "I'm going to go wait for them, then. See ya." 
She waved, and I went to go sit down with my mom. I looked back over at Hanna and she mouthed the word "Fighting!" to me. Mrs. Ahn returned in less than five minutes, along with Niel. The atmosphere was really awkward.
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Let's get some food." Mrs. Ahn suggested, and we headed over to the counter. Mom and Mrs. Ahn were discussing what they should get, but I already knew what I was getting. I ordered some kimbap just because I knew that Niel liked it. I smiled when he ordered the same thing. 
We walked back over to our table and laid out our food. Niel and I were pretty quiet the whole time, while our moms chatted on and on. I was just dying for everyone to finish eating so we could discuss what we came here to discuss. The only exciting thing that happened during lunch was when we both reached for the soy sauce at the same time and our hands touched. I may have held on to him, ridden on his back, and spazztastically hugged him, but I still get excited when our fingers brushed against eachother. 

Finally, our mothers had finished their food and chit chat, and we got down to business.
Mrs. Ahn started speaking, and I hung on to her every word. "Niel has agreed that he will teach Alice."
My heart leaped for joy, but started to sink when my mom started talking.
"I'm still not sure. I don't know if we have the money to pay for lessons right now. Plus, no offense, but he is still a young boy."
Young MAN, mom. Young MAN. He's no boy...
"Oh, no matter. You don't have to pay for it! We're friends, aren't we? I would just love for Alice to get the teaching she needs. I want to be able to provide that to her."
Niel and I stared at each other nervously, waiting for the grownups to sort things out.
"I wouldn't feel right though, taking it without some sort of compensation..." my mom argued.
"Well then, how about this. Niel can teach Alice, in exchange for her doing some housework in my home. We're in between housekeepers right now, and it's very hard to live without one. Since I'm not home very often, I seem to let the house go." is she serious? Their house looked spotless to me, but okay.... "She could do things like dusting, mopping, laundry. That sort of thing. Oh, please, do say yes. "
"Yes mom, PLEASE do say yes!" I chimed in.
She looked unsure. "Are you sure you want ALICE doing your housework? You have seen how clumsy she can be..."
"Yes, I don't mind. The house needs a woman's touch again. And I'm sure Niel will keep an eye on her."
To this, Niel finally spoke. "I will! I really will! I'll make sure she doesn't break any bones."
"It's not her bones I'm worried about... All your expensive furniture... yeesh.. Well, if you're not worried about that... Hm..."
"Oh mom, Mrs. Ahn! I promise I'll be very careful and you won't regret it! I'll take everything very slowly and I promise I won't ruin anything in your house!" I said desperately.
"Ah, there's one more matter to be solved. When doing these lessons, who else would be in your house? They're not going to be alone... are they?"
I blushed. So did Niel. Mom... we're not kids...
"No, of course they won't. My husband works from home when he's not traveling, so he would be in the house with them. But let me assure you that I have raised Niel to be a gentleman. He knows if anything happened to Alice, I'd chain him up in a dark closet for the rest of his life, never to see another living soul again." 
She said this with a gleam in her eye that was slightly frightening....
Niel agreed awkwardly. "Uh- uh YES! That's right! I don't like dark closets."
I slightly facepalmed in my mind after this, but then gushed over his cuteness. 
"Mom. I can handle myself. I will be going to their house to learn Korean, and to clean. Mr. Ahn will be there, so there won't be any problems. Niel and I are friends mom, c'mon."
Could this topic of conversation be any more awkward?
My mom thought about it for a moment. I stared at her, and the seconds going by felt like hours.
"Well..." she began. I hung onto her every word now, my heart racing. "I suppose."
"YES!!!" I jumped for joy and went to hug her, knocking my chair over with a loud clatter. "Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU MOM! YOU'RE THE BEST. DAEBAK."
Niel jumped up with me. "Thank you! I will teach her well, I promise!"
"Yah, you BETTER teach her well, you got that?!" Mrs. Ahn yelled at him.

As I laid in bed that night I couldn't stop smiling. But what else was new? I munched on some squid crackers as I remembered my day. 
After my mom agreed to let Niel teach me and we sorted out some details, he and I went off to tell the good news to Hanna. I tried to stay calm and not let my excitement show TOO much, but it was very hard, and I'm pretty sure I failed. But I didn't mind, because he was excited too. As my mom was going toward the exit, Niel and I lingered a bit. And then- I could have died. He asked me for my number.
"We've known each other for a while now, and it seems like we should keep in touch for scheduling our lessons and everything..." he said shyly.
I let out a loud squeal inside. "Oh, uh yeah! Here, trade phones. I'll put mine in and your put yours in."
He handed me a black phone with red accents. Could red be his favorite color? I got all fangirlish at being able to hold his phone, that I almost forgot that I was supposed to be putting my number in so I took twice as long as him. We traded back and he typed something in.
"What did you save me as?" I asked curiously trying to peek at his phone.
"Hmmm it's a secret. Shh." he said while putting his finger to his big beautiful lips and dropping his phone into his pocket. I frowned.
"Well... What about you, what did you save me as?" he asked back.
"Gee... Sorry. It's a secret!" I replied, sticking my tongue out. Then I ran away with my phone and headed for the exit. He called after me, and I yelled back to him "My mom's waiting outside! Don't worry! I'll talk to you later, okay?" while pointing to my phone. He pouted, and I went skipping off happily.

Remembering his pout, I squished my face into my pillow and felt like dying from happiness. Then my phone got a buzz and I opened it excitedly.
Message from: Daniel Oppa ♥
Daniel Oppa. It didn't seem like anything special, but reading those words alone made an electric shock go through my body. I took a deep breath and read his text.

I'll see you friday, so don't forget! I won't forgive you if you do. Don't do it! 
And don't think it will be easy, I'll make you work hard, arasseo? 
Anyway, Sleep well tonight. Bbyong~

I giggled uncontrollably until I fell off my bed. Aigoo. I composed myself, got back under my covers, and typed a message back.

Don't you forget either, huh? It's my first time being taught Korean, so don't mess it up!
And I won't be going easy on you either! *merong
Well, you sleep well too, Niel. Until friday, annyeong~

I smiled at how fortunate I was. Learning a beautiful language from the most beautiful guy on earth. Is this real life? Is this really happening? How is my life so good right now? How is this happening to me of all people? Thank you mom. Thank you Mrs. Ahn. Thank you Niel. I will learn well and I won't let you down.
Once my mind shut up and I fell asleep, I dreamed about Niel. We were standing in front of his house, speaking to each other only in Korean. We understood each other perfectly. Then he pulled me close and held me, and I held him back. Then he looked at me and said in a strange voice "Bbyong~" 
"Don't disappear!" I said desperately. He pouted and I stuck my tongue out. Then we went dancing around the house, and suddenly we could float. There was kimbap floating around us too. "Daniel, we're floating. Why are we floating? And why is the kimbap here? It should be at the store." 
"It's a secret." he replied, and that seemed good enough to me. Then my mom showed up and handed me a mop. I went inside and started mopping this red substance that was all over the floor. It wouldn't come off, and it seemed like it was just multiplying. Suddenly it started soaking my clothes. 
"No! It can't be! Not the evil ruin-my-life-dish!" I cried. Soon there was a red ocean that I was drowning in. Niel came floating in to save me yelling "DON'T DO IT!" but a man grabbed him by the hand and stopped him. It was Mr. Ahn. Then a booming voice came from his mouth. "Enjoy the meal my wife has prepared."
"No! NO! I'M SORRY!" I yelled. And then I felt something grab my ankles and drag me to the bottom of the red ocean. I looked down, and it was a giant squid. It started pulling me closer. I shut my eyes.
I woke up in a cold sweat, relieved that it was a dream. This is one time I am glad wasn't real life... I looked at the bag of snacks beside my bed and sighed.
No more squid crackers before bed.