Nabi flipped her pillow over in a state of half sleep. Eyes still closed, she rested her head back down on the side of the pillow that had not been stained with her drool. She mumbled mindlessly, burying her face deeper into the soft pillow as she began to drift back into a full, deep sleep. Something began to disturb her mind, her sleep. A strange buzzing sound. Pulling herself from the pillow's comfort, Nabi lifted her head and listened for the sound. Was it in her mind? She hit her ear sluggishly. Suddenly she noticed a light coming from her bedside table.

 

"Eh?" She muttered, slightly annoyed. Her phone was vibrating. She glanced at her alarm clock. 1:23am! Nabi glared at her phone as she picked it up.

 

"Yobosayeo?" she said into the phone, sighing as she rubbed her eyes.

 

"Nabi?" a deep voice muttered awkwardly. Her sleepy eyes shot open as she recognized the molasses voice. 

 

"....Seunghyun?" she whispered into the phone, shocked.

 

There was a short pause before he stuttered out, "N-neh." Suddenly changing his attitude, Seunghyun muttered quickly, "Come help me with English now." 

 

Nabi frowned at his suddenly demanding tone. "You do know what time it is, right?" 

 

"I'm studying and I need help." Before Nabi could snap back, he added, "I'll pay you double your normal rate for this month." Nabi blinked, gaping into the phone. She [i]did[/i] need the money... "Just help me when I call." 

 

Clicking her tongue, Nabi pondered the offer. She rolled over and sat up in bed, her short legs hanging off the side of the bed. "See you in ten minutes," she eventually said, hanging up. 

 

True to her word, Nabi stood knocking on Seunghyun's apartment door, at 1:35 in the morning. She had taken the subway and endured the skeptical looks of whatever tired soul happened to be out at the time. Nabi looked down as she waited for him to answer. Her eyes widened as she recognized her blue plaid pajamas. Her face reddened as she realized she had forgotten to change. Nabi tugged at the long hem of her old, over-sized green t-shirt she had received for volunteering at her aunt's animal shelter. 

 

"Aishhhh...," she muttered quietly, staring at her one success. Shoes. Suddenly shy, Nabi decided it was in her best interest to go home. No amount of money would be worth having Seunghyun see her in pajamas. It'd be a license to mock. She turned and began to shuffle quickly down the hallway, hoping she'd reach the elevator before Seunghyun opened his door.

 

Her hopes went up in flame as she felt an iron grip on her wrist. She swung her head around, eyes wide as her blue hair brushed over her eyes. Seunghyun stared down at her, somewhat angrily, an eyebrow raised. 

 

"Going somewhere?" Thick, smooth words. Honey voice, melting her knees. She blushed deeply, struggling from his grip as she looked at the floor silently. "You're in your pajamas," Seunghyun noted, a small grin on his lips as he began to understand. Nabi winced as his grip suddenly tightened, then let go of her small wrist. He turned, walking back towards his room. "Don't worry, I don't care. Come on." Nabi didn't move. She stood, bending over and pulling at her shirt, as she often did when contemplating. She bit her bottom lip, another contemplative habit. Seunghyun opened the door and looked back at her, his eyes softening a bit. After a minute he motioned for her to come. Nabi sighed and slowly walked to the door, her eyes following the carpet. She followed him into his apartment as he shut the door quietly behind her. She noticed a lamp was lit, sitting on the kitchen table. Worksheets, books, and electronics cluttered the table. Seunghyun walked over to the table and sat down, motioning for her to sit.

 

"I see you have been studying," Nabi said approvingly after awhile. She sat across from him.

 

"As I mentioned in our phone conversation," Seunghyun muttered, picking up a vocabulary sheet. 

 

Nabi sighed and put her hands on the table, leaning over so she could peek at the paper. "So what's your problem?" 

 

"Having trouble pronouncing some of these words...," he said, frustrated. He pointed to a word.

 

Nabi pulled at the top of the paper so she could see the word properly. "Ah, do you mean 'apple'?"

 

Seunghyun's eyes widened a little as he took in the pronunciation. "Neh, say it again."

 

She frowned. "Say please first." Seunghyun raised an eyebrow, confused. "You're too demanding. You can't order me around like I'm your slave. Say, '[i]Please [/i]say it again'," Nabi said, frustrated. "And please say it in English," she added. 

 

He rolled his eyes, although the tiniest of a grin could be detected if you were looking closely. "Please say it again," he said slowly, in thickly-accented English.

 

Nabi nodded. "Aaa-pllle," she sounded, slowly, nodding her head to each syllable.

 

"Apple?" he tried.

 

Nabi smiled patiently. She said the word again, emphasizing the "l". Seunghyun repeated her words time after time, as they moved on to new terms.

 

An hour later, Nabi's head rested on a Korean-English dictionary, her hair covering her face. She breathed quietly, deep in well-needed sleep. Seunghyun's head sat propped up on his elbow as he looked over his work, silently practicing his pronunciation. He glanced up at Nabi. Seunghyun let a smile paint his face. His free hand left the table and traveled over to her hair, gently pushing the blue strands from her face. 

 

"Apple," he said in perfect, un-accented English. He blinked slowly, letting his hand fall gently back to the table. He leaned over the table silently. "I'm sorry I woke you up so early..." Under his breath, he whispered deeply, his words lingering in the air as they engulfed her sleeping body, "I...needed...to see you."

 

___________________

 

Now Playing on Seunghyun's iPod

 

"Of All Days" by T.O.P

___________________

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

 

Ahhh now this one's all short!! ㅠㅠ My chapter lengths are bi-polar XD 

 

i really enjoyed writing about TOP so i stuck this one in there

 

hmmmm.... *blushes* i don't know what else to say *hides*