Chapter 1; The message. 

What was the probability of making a decent penpal? 0%

Or so you thought.

You grimaced as you signed up for a penpals website and looked over at your parents.

" Okay, fine! I'm done. What do I write in my profile?" 

Your dad leaned over and made sure to write 'F-r-i-e-n-d-s-h-i-p- O-N-L-Y'

" Come on Dahae! Try a little bit harder to mingle with Koreans. You've been raised up in the States for too long. You need to know your-"

You immediately scoffed  at your Dad's words and nodded to every single statement that he made. You rolled your eyes as you scrolled down through every profile. Some were cute, some were pretty, handsome, whatever that you could think of. However, making friends in Cheongju was the most important as you were attending a college there. 

"  Kim Jumi from Cheongju. What's her age?... 20! Perfect... I should send her a message!" 

 Hello. I am Song Dahae. I hope we can be friends! I look forward to receiving your reply! I live in Cheongju and will be attending in a nearby University! - Song Dahae. 2:35pm

You left a message in hopes of getting a reply. It made matters even more depressing when no one replied to your messages. Getting a decent penpal was like finding a needle in a haystack. That was how difficult it was to make a friend in Cheongju. It didn't help that Cheongju was a secluded, rural town. Many called it the 'country side'. 

Five hours passed and your eyes were still on the computer screen. You were hoping for a message to appear but still none came. 

" Sigh... how am I going to make friends here. Is that even possible? It's so difficult to even make a friend online."

You sulked and placed your head right next to the keyboard. You stared hard right into the Super Junior poster that you had hung proudly next to your bed. South Korea was your rightful home but yet... it felt so distant. You remember having trouble picking up English in the States at the tender age of five. 

Now, you're having trouble to even listen to conversations in Korean, let alone initiate one. 

You decided to check for any messages for the last time before signing out. 0 messages.

" Fine. I should probably get myself some refreshments from the store nearby."

Without a second thought, you logged out. At that moment, a message came to you but it was too late to even realize.

" Going out Dahae?" 

You nodded at your dad's question and proceeded to make your way to the store. Your fingers strayed on the red bricked walls surrouding your neighbourhood.

The streets were filled with red,yellow and orange leaves. With every step that you took, you could hear a crunching sound underneath your feet. That somehow calmed you down deep inside.

" Ha... at least it's a pretty place!" 

Quiet, calm and peaceful; those were the words to summarize the town Cheongju. 

The walk to the nearest convenient store was just five minutes away. As soon as you arrived, the bell greeted you. The store was rather old and not well-ventilated but still it was quite alright. It made choosing things easier since you're very picky about snacks and drinks. You only drank a particular type of brand and unfortunately, they don't have it in Korea.

" Excuse me! Do you sell Sprite here?" 

" I'm sorry! We only have lemon flavored cider here. They sell those at the big marts." 

You flinched at the unexpected answer. Anyway, you just picked the cider and paid for the drink. You slid the money onto the counter and waited for the change. 

" Here is your change. Please come again! You must be the new girl in the neighbourhood!"

Your eyes widened, surprised by his sudden words. 

" I'm Gong ChanShik! Everyone knows me here! I hope you will like being here in Cheongju!"

He sincerely uttered those words with a smile and pressed the can of cider into your hands. He left a very good first impression.

Gong ChanShik. A name you won't be forgetting for a long time. 

The people in Cheongju were friendly and gracious but wait. You've only interacted with one person, since he's an employee in a convenient store, obviously he's friendly! You thought. 

Without wasting any more time, you exited the store, pulled your hoodie over your head and ran back home. The first thing you did as soon as you came back home was to check messages.

If nobody replied, then you knew you were going to go out there and make some real friends! Making friends was never easy in the first place. Your eyes glistened with happiness as soon as you saw a message pop out of the side of the screen. 

" Yes! Finally! A message! Hopefully one of those people replied... let me read this one..."

While your eyes were on the computer screen, you slowly opened the can of cider and drank it while reading the message. Your face cringed from the bitter taste of the drink. The same exact bitter feeling overcame you as soon as you read the message. 

" What kind of message is this! Pfft... I didn't even message him first. "

' Hello. I am Jinyoung from Korea, Cheongju. Nice to meet you. How are you? :) ' - JJY. 8:00pm

You threw the can of cider aside and stretched your fingers, ready to type a decent reply. This so called Jinyoung had no picture of himself on his profile, instead he used the picture of a puppy with a crown on its head. Childish but cute. JJY was his username.

For the next three hours, you ended up chatting with this Korean guy who is trying his best to explain what Cheongju is.

Its history, its beauty, the nook and crooks of the place; Everything. You could see his efforts of trying to keep the conversation alive but maybe sending 10 messages back and forth was enough for today. Without even saying a goodbye, you logged out. 

" Life is difficult" you softly whispered to the poster next to your bed and cuddled under the soft covers of your bed.

Ten blocks away...

' Yes. It's been a long time since I've been to Korea... Thank you so much for your information about Cheongju.'- Song Dahae. 11:49pm.

Jinyoung scratched his head as he tried his best to reply in his ever so perfect english. After all, he signed up for the website to learn English and it'd be good to have someone that he could learn English with when he entered College.

Deep inside, he could feel that you, Song Dahae... wasn't really interested in what he was saying but it was basic manners to reply to messages. He waited for a good 15 minutes for your reply... it was past midnight already.

" Is she asleep?" 

He pouted and his cursor slowly headed towards the 'log out' button. 

Neither you nor Jinyoung knew the importance of the 'first message'.

With fate and a little bit of luck, it will change both of your lives forever.