Note- Nicole is Bilingual. She speaks the native language of whoever she's talking to.

Nicole POV
 

Simon, Martina, Leigh and Soo Zee all froze and went dead silent, except for the crunch of one last corn chip from the bag being passed between them.

Leigh unfroze first. "Umm. . . no?"

I glared. "That would be a lot more believable if you weren't holding the bag, hun." 

They all looked embarrassed, and began examining the walls, floor and their nails like they were most interesting thing in the world. Martina spoke up next. "Come on, Nic, can you blame us? A hotshot idol and the normal girl unswayed by fame and money?  This is a drama and you know it."

I was silent for a second, before chuckling. "Fine. But I'm heading out early for lunch." I turned to Jiyong. "I'm so sorry. I keep forgetting that my coworkers lack boundaries. And sanity. Mostly sanity. Anyway, if you were serious about lunch, there's a cafe a few blocks over."

He hadn't said anything since I screamed at everyone else, but he was watching me closely. He looked . . . something. Impressed, maybe? "The cafe serves east/west fusion food, so most patrons are international students, who, no offense, are a lot more normal about possible celebs in their midst." He kept looking at me with the same look. "What? Don't like fusion food?"

Jiyong blinked and smiled. "No, I do. I just didn't realize you spoke Korean so easily. Most people have issues switching back and forth, but you don't. How long have been speaking Korean?"

I grin back. "Three years. It's a long story. I'll tell you over a good meal." 

We settled in the back booth of the Main Street Cafe. It was empty, which I expected. Most classes were still in session,so Jiyong ditched his sunglasses but kept the beanie. Yoonjae, one of the owners, came over when she saw us, supposedly to take our order, but mostly to get new gossip.

"Nicole, it's good to see you! I didn't think I'd see you for a while, not with that video going around, I know you're not crazy about things like that. I knew it was you the second I saw the hair, but don't worry, I'll keep your name to myself. I don't want  to see you dragged thought the mud. And who's this young man?"

I cut her off before she starts really studying Jiyong. I didn't doubt that she wouldn't spread my name around the internet, if only to lord it over others who didn't know me, but having G-Dragon in her cafe was a mother load of publicity that no savvy businesswomen could keep to herself. "He's a friend of a friend. Uh, do you think we could get some spicy barbeque chicken, a bowl of chicken kimchi stew, and an sample platter of sides? Everything to split, please."

Yoonjae smiled and wrote down our order. "Sure thing. So, a friend of a fiend. A blind date? Good for you, I never see you doing anything but work and school."

Jiyong smiled at her. "Actually, I'm a songwriter, and I was hoping she could help my English rhymes sound more natural. You know, American slang, different ways to phrase things."

Charmed by his smile and satisfied by his answer, Yoonjae headed back to the kitchen. I winced as I turned back to Jiyong. "I'm so sorry about her. She and her husband kind of adopted me when I moved here. My first job here was waiting tables for 4 months. Then Simon and Martina invited me to join EYK, and I didn't have time anymore, not on top of school."

He looked at me in surprise. "You're still in school? Is it your last year?"

I laughed. "No, its my first. I'm a history student at Ehwa." He blushed and looked at his lap. "Why, how old do you think I am?"

"Twenty-three, twenty-four maybe." Jiyong mumbled.

I bit my lip, smirking a bit. "I turn nineteen, twenty by Korean count, on June 5th."

He ruffled his hair, his blush spreading. "Aigoo, I'm sorry. You don't look older, you just seem so mature, especially considering my friends." He looked me in the eye. "I swear, I assumed you had great genetics. Besides, you said you'd been speaking for three years, and when someone decides to move to another country, they tend to be in their twenties-"

"-Not fifteen. Yeah. It's pretty unusual. Ooh, lunch." Yoonjae came out with our food, all freshly made. A bowl of stew, a cross between kinchijiggae and home style chicken soup. A plate of chicken, seasoned like southern barbeque, cooked like Korean barbeque. A platter of sides- sour kimchi, two bowls of steamed rice, cucumber and bean sprout salad, french fries, mashed potatoes, and sauteed apples. I inhaled deeply before grabbing some chopsticks. "Thanks Yoonjae."  I leveled with Jiyong, who was looking a bit hesitant. "I feel compelled to warn you to dig in or I will eat this all myself."

He picked up a spoon and went for the chicken stew. I watched as he ate a slow spoonful, before smiling. "This is amazing. Weird, but amazing." He ate another spoonful and moved for the rice. "Oh, my god, what do they put in the rice? It's delicious."