I hated this class.  I understood it was important for my major, but it didn’t make me hate it any less.  None of my girls were in this class, all four of us being different majors, so I sat in the back and tried my hardest to pay close attention.  But grammar and phonics were only so interesting.

            “Alright, time is almost up,” Professor Han said, clapping her hands together as she stood at the podium in front of the class.  Thank God, I thought as I sat up in my seat and blinked rapidly.  “Before I let you go, I just want to remind you about the internships that are opening.  You’re seniors, it’s important for you to do at least one internship.  Especially in this field.  It’s the best way to get your foot in the door!”

            She dismissed us and a few students clamored over to her.  I could hear them ambushing her with questions.  Seriously?  Most of the students in this major were foreigners.  Getting a “teaching English as a foreign language” job was the easiest in the world, I felt like.  Especially for people from English speaking countries.  And in Korea.  Korea was the holy land of TEFL jobs.  Most private schools or even public schools anywhere in Korea only required a college degree and a passport from an English speaking country.  However, becoming a professor was a little more difficult.  Hence my degree of choice. 

            So yeah, alright, I’d do an internship, but Jordan’s mom is an English professor.  Pretty high up at their university, too.  Jordan’s dad still ran the private English academy they opened when they first moved to Korea, but her mom wanted to teach older students.  So when the opportunity to teach college kids came up, she took it.

            Anyway, Jordan’s mom had offered to get me a job in the English department of her university back when I was only a sophomore.  This was going to be easy for me, luckily.  I didn’t need Professor Han’s reminder.

            “Oh, Amelia?”  I glanced back from the doorway, one foot out the door.

            “Yes, Professor?”

            “Please stay a moment, alright?  I need to speak with you.”  I smiled and hurried back into the classroom and waited a respectful distance away while the professor finished speaking with her group of confused students.

            And I began to panic.  What could she possibly need to talk to me about?  I was getting an A in this class!  I’d been getting As in all my classes!  For all four years!  I chose this major because it was what I enjoyed – minus a few boring classes – and I was good at it.  Now if this were my math prerequisite class from freshman year then I could understand being held after class, but even though I hated this class, I was doing well in it!  I sat in the back and minded my own business.  I never-

            “Amelia, thank you for sticking around.”

            My head snapped up and I stared back at Professor Han.  She was smiling.  The other students were gone.  I’d been too engrossed in my own anxiety attack, I hadn’t even noticed them leave.  I stepped closer to her.

            “I’m in no hurry,” I assured her.  “Is there a problem, Professor?”

            She leaned her elbows on the podium and her face lit up.  “Problem?  No, no, not at all!  I have great news for you!  An internship with the University of Rome has opened and is being offered to certain students here at Seoul University.  This is the first time ever that this kind of internship has come to us.  It’s for the summer and the student chosen for it will get their very own class to teach by themselves.  Well, with access to other professors and some sort of assistance, I’m sure,” she explained, still beaming.

            “Oh,” I sounded.  “That’s great.  What a great opportunity.”  What the hell did she feel the need to tell me all this for?

            “I’m glad you feel this way because the only way a student is allowed to apply for this internship is to be nominated by a professor.  There will be ten students selected from the TEFL department.  You have one of the highest GPAs in the program and you’re one of my best students, so naturally, I nominated you.”

            Oh.  That would be a good reason to tell me all that.

            “Oh,” I repeated, straining to sound more enthusiastic.  “That’s amazing!  Thank you so much, Professor Han!”  Oh, God.  Rome.

            Professor Han waved a hand in front of her face to brush me off.  She was still smiling.  “Think nothing of it.  I will email you the forms you need to fill out and submit to the Study Abroad Office.  They are the ones in charge of international internships.  All of the information will be in the email, alright?”  I nodded.  I made sure to keep the wide, horrified smile on my face.

            As I walked out of the building, I was beginning to feel a little panicky all over again.  Rome?  I didn’t want to go to Rome.  I didn’t speak Italian.  My family isn’t even part Italian.  Wait, I think my dad might be an eighth or something, but that isn’t even enough to make me want to watch The Godfather ever.

            My only solace was that there was a chance I wouldn’t get selected for it.  Just because I was nominated to apply didn’t mean I was a shoe in the internship itself.

            I’m worrying prematurely, I told myself with a nod as I walked along the sidewalk toward my dorm.  It was a 20 minute walk.  I could have taken a bus, but I needed air.  Irrationally worrying, I told myself.  That is what I was doing.  It’s what I’m known for, I’m sure.  Except the other thing that was me nervous was that I didn’t even want to apply for it.  But I couldn’t not do it.  Out of all the students in the entire department Professor Han picked me!  Me!  I’m a nerd and I like studying, so of course I was a good student.  I’d always been like that.  She still should have picked someone else! 

            I sighed as I continued to shuffle along, eyes on the ground.  So I couldn’t just not apply.  I had to apply.  This was a good opportunity, I shouldn’t be ungrateful anyway.  Ugh.  I could just hear my parents now.  Freaking out over a ‘wonderful opportunity.’  And my dad would say something corny about ‘opening doors to my future’ or whatever ridiculous Dad thing he would feel the need to say.  I laughed a little to myself, he had a cliché saying for everything.  Drove my mom crazy.

            So that was it then.  I had to apply.

            But maybe I wouldn’t get accepted.

            “Yah!  Walking with your head down is a sign of low self-esteem!  Get in this vehicle, I’ll show you how highly I think of you,” a voice called seductively.

            A familiar voice.  For a split second, I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.  Until I noticed that SUV parked along the curb just ahead of me.  I laughed and ran up to it.  The passenger side window opened as I approached.

            “What’s up, Beautiful?” Jae Hyo asked, one wrist on the wheel.  He leaned over the gear shift with his other hand on the empty passenger seat.

            “Excuse me, stranger.  I do not have low self-esteem.  I was just thinking.  Leave me alone,” I said.

            “Oh?  Thinking about what?  Why don’t you hop in and we’ll go for a ride?”

            I shook my head.  “No, thank you,” I declined politely.  “I have a boyfriend and I love him.  I’d rather ride with him.”

            His eyebrows shot up and he actually leered at me.  “Come on, baby.  Hop in, I bet I’m better than your boyfriend.  You know, I don’t want to brag but…”  He popped an imaginary collar on his tee shirt.  “I’m a singer.”

            “So is he,” I countered.

            “I’m better,” he stated.  “Now, get in.  Come ride me.  I mean ride with me.”

            My cheeks flushed pink and I opened the door, hopping in.  “Jae Hyo,” I groaned with a laugh as I shut the door. 

            He laughed and kissed my cheek while I buckled my seat belt.  “Oh, now you know me.  You act like you don’t know me, but one ual innuendo and now it’s all ‘oh Jae Hyo.’”  He said his own name much higher than his normal tone and waved his hands a little as if to mock me.  I giggled.

            “I don’t recognize you until you’re saying things that make me blush,” I teased.  “Thank you for coming to pick me up, but you didn’t have to.  Don’t you have that radio show?” I asked.  He turned his head to check behind his SUV before he pulled away from the curb and into the flow of traffic.

            “Yes.  It’s in about an hour.  I was sent on a mission to pick up four fans and ask if they want to sit in during our recording,” he explained.

            “Ooh!” I squeaked and clapped my hands.  “Can I be one of the fans?”

            “No,” he replied automatically.  “Zico told me to ask Jordan if she had three other friends who wanted to come.”

            I rolled my eyes and reached toward him, kissing his jaw and then biting him.  He jumped a little and winced away from me.

            “Ah!  Not while I’m driving, unleash your inner freak when I don’t need to focus on not getting us killed in a head-on collision,” he demanded.  “And when I can use my hands.”  My face felt hot again.  He laughed after sneaking a glance at my blushing face.  “I was about to call you to see if you were at your dorm and if you knew where the others were, but then I saw you walking.  One down, the most important one…” he paused and dropped his hand on my knee, sliding his fingers up my leg just enough to make me squirm from being tickled before he laughed to himself and moved his hand back to the wheel.  “Three left.  I need to get them or Kyung will try to pound on me.  I don’t want to hurt him.”

            “If you didn’t get the others, Beki would pound on you,” I added.

            He cringed a little.  “Yeah, that would hurt.”

            I giggled.  “They should be at the dorm by now though.  Wait, Maddie tutors.  She might be around campus somewhere still.”  I checked my watch but I couldn’t remember her schedule.

            Jae Hyo drove around campus while I called Maddie, Jordan, and Beki.  Once the three of them were tracked down and safely in the SUV, Jae Hyo drove us to the radio station.  He was allowed to park in the garage of the building, so we could all walk in together.  Entirely unnoticed by the mad mob of fan girls waiting out front and hoping for an unprotected Block b member to stumble close enough to their nets.

           We were directed upstairs to room five.  Once in front of room five, Jae Hyo poked his head in first.  Jordan was first in our line.

            “Block b, your orders has arrived,” Jae Hyo called into the room after he pushed the door open all the way.  He took Jordan by the hand and pulled her into the room while the rest of us crowded in the doorway.  The radio announcers hadn’t arrived yet, so it was just the six guys sitting around a large square table.  Sheets of paper spread out all over, headphones lying forgotten and microphones and a black box in the middle of the table.  I’d never seen the inside of a radio station before.  “Who ordered a sporty girl with curly hair who’s prone to stealing boys’ clothes?” he wondered.

            Zico’s face lit up immediately.  But Ji Hoon jumped out of his seat first, raising his hand.  “That’s me!  She’s mine,” he joked.

            With a snarl, Zico stood up and set his eyes on his taller, but younger band mate.  “Down, Maknae,” he warned.

            “Go then,” Jae Hyo told Jordan who skipped into the room.  And directly to Ji Hoon.  Hugging him, she batted her eyes at Zico.  Who was now pouting.

            “I think you messed up my order,” Zico muttered to Jae Hyo.

            Jordan lost it and cracked up, bouncing over to her actual boyfriend and throwing her arms around him.

            “Next,” Jae Hyo said loudly.  He took Beki by the hand and brought her into the room.  “Tough girl with a mean right hook and a temper to match?” he called.  Beki scoffed and elbowed him in the side.  He grunted and cringed a little.  “I mean lovely brunette with beautiful legs and a winning personality,” he tried again.  Maddie and I snorted back laughter behind him.  Beki stuck her tongue out at him.

            Min Hyuck began to raise his hand when Yu Kwon caught his arm and shoved it back down onto the table.  “Mine!” Yu Kwon blurted out, reaching over the table and shooting ‘grabby hands’ toward Beki.

            Beki laughed with the rest of us as she hurried over to high five Min Hyuck, but stand behind Yu Kwon.  After a quick kiss, she rested her arms on his shoulders.

            “Let’s see, oh, a short redhead?” Jae Hyo guessed as he pulled Maddie into the room and then chuckled when she growled at him.

            “Save the intro, give me that one,” Kyung ordered, standing from his seat.  Maddie gave Jae Hyo a ‘hmph’ sound before running to Kyung.

            Jae Hyo took my hand and twirled me in a slow circle in front of him, making my skirt flare out a little.  “Yes, this is exactly what I ordered,” he said, bringing me in and under his arm.

            I pouted up at him as we walked over to the table where there were empty seats left.  “But I requested to be with a rapper this time,” I teased.  Jae Hyo froze.

            “I’m a rapper,” Zico mentioned, raising the arm that wasn’t around Jordan.  She elbowed him.  “Oh, now it’s not funny,” he muttered.  “You and Maknae, that’s funny though.”

            We only had a few minutes together as a group before the radio DJs came in and announced that they needed to go over some things with the guys because they were going on the air soon.

            I was so excited, I practically bounced in my seat.  We were allowed to stay while they recorded, given a few conditions.  We weren’t allowed to make noise and we had to sit off in the corner behind the camera crew.  The camera crew recording footage for the radio station’s website was told specifically not to speak to or even look at the four girls behind them who shall remain no name nobodies.  We were ok with that considering we didn’t want to be the reason Block b loses any fans and we sure as hell did not want to be in their fandom’s line of fire.  Anonymity was fine by us.  I hoped Beki wouldn’t lose it and sail over the table to punch out one of the DJs if one of them asked something she didn’t like.  That made me wonder what they would talk about.