You were sitting on a bench just a couple steps away from your apartment. It was a nice day for the time of the year. It had been sunny all day and quite hot even. Now the sun was going under and you were enjoying the sight while trying to clear your head. These days had been stressful and busy so you needed these kind of moments. Just so you could have a brief moment for yourself and try to give all the events a place in your mind. After sitting here for a couple minutes you would always feel much lighter. As if a big burden had fallen off your shoulders and you could handle things again, as if you could handle the world again. This was your spot, and at normal days you wouldn’t get interrupted by others who also wanted to sit on this bench.
 

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" You heard someone stutter to you in broken English. You looked up and your eyes locked with the once of a cute Korean guy who's face was flustered because of his bad grammar. Seemed like today wasn’t one of those days where no one would pass these streets. You wondered what he was doing here all by himself at this hour of the day. As far as you knew there weren’t any Korean families living nearby and it didn’t seem as if he had come here by car. He must be a visitor and he must be staying in the hotel a few blocks away. Another soul who wanted to clear his mind. "No, you can sit." You shot him a gentle smile and shove aside so he could take in the place you had created next to you. Normally you didn’t like the thought of sharing this spot, but you could make an exception. You didn't talk to him since you thought that the reason he was here was probably the same one as yours.

He also didn't say anything to you and just stared ahead, what confirmed your thoughts. He was watching how the sun disappeared behind the green hill in front of you. To your surprise you didn't feel urgent to speak to him although normally you liked talking and felt really uncomfortable during quiet moments like these. It felt awkward because you always had this feeling that you weren’t comfortable sitting next to if you weren’t being social. This guy seemed to bring some peace with him and he shared it with you by sitting so close to you. It was nice that he didn’t disturb your silent moment and it made you accept that he was sitting here. Suddenly he broke the silence with a deep sigh while shutting his eyes. His face looked like he was frustrated but you quickly looked away, not wanting him to know that you were staring at him. He was dealing with his problems and you were dealing with yours. You didn’t know him so there was no reason why you had to ask him about his troubles since you also weren’t planning to share yours with him.

You blinked in surprise when he started to rattle in another language, probably because his words hadn't been meant for you. It was clear that he was talking to nothing, unless he was talking to himself but that would have been weird. But he probably didn't have a clue that you fully understood what he was saying. You were a student in languages and all your friends had called you crazy when you had chosen for Russian and Korean at the beginning of the year, but who would have known that it would be useful? You had never planned to travel towards any of those countries. You had only chosen those languages because you had felt attracted towards them and because you had really wanted to learn how to speak and understand them. You eyed him sideways and he didn't notice that you were looking at him. He was too deeply lost in his own thoughts to even notice that you were still there.

"Stupid people, why can't I just have something my way from time to time? Why do I always have to be there to clean up all the mess others have made? It's not that because I'm a celebrity that they can make me do whatever they want..." That voice, where had you heard that before? He was talking about himself as a celebrity and you were sure he wasn’t lying about it. It made you curious and you could no longer hold it in. Your eyes widened as you studied his face a little better and you in your breath as you recognized him. He had been sitting beside you all this time and you hadn’t even noticed who he was. You had talked to him, had been close enough to touch him and you hadn’t even recognized him. "Omo! You're Kim Joonmyun!" You said in Korean and he turned his head in awe, hearing your perfect grammar in his own language. His jaw dropped when he figured out that you had understood everything he had said just a moment ago. He thought you were just some English girl who had no clue who you were and who definitely wasn’t smart enough to understand his mocking, but he had been wrong.

"Y-you speak Korean?" He asked and you nodded with a polite smile. You had probably already reacted strongly enough when you had finally realized who you had been sitting next so you thought it would be better if you’d behave from now on. "Yeah, I study strange languages at collage. I picked Korean as one of the languages I wanted to earn an extra diploma for. I’ve been studying it for two years now so I’m not perfect with it but I can help myself out. I don't know why I picked it, it just seemed...interesting?" You explained in perfect Korean and he blinked his eyes a couple times before relaxing and sighing again. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." You shrugged and tried to lighten up the mood. "No problem, hell did you know. But anyways, if something is troubling you, don't keep it all inside. It's better to talk to someone, sometimes even better to talk to a complete stranger who doesn’t know you....personally." He chuckled at your comment and then shrugged. "Thanks, but I don't want to bother you with my problems."

You sighed before raising and he looked at you in confusion, thinking he might have said something wrong. "It's getting dark, let's get inside." You nodded with your head towards your apartment that was right in behind you. He hesitated for a moment but then also stood up and a little smile began to cover his face. “I wish my English was as good as your Korean.” He said as he thought back to his ridiculous stuttering in the beginning of all this. You let out a little chuckle thinking about it yourself and waved your hand at his comment. “Don’t bother, if you want I can teach you some words.” His eyes lit up and he nodded while extending his hand to you. “I don’t think I’ve PERSONALLY introduced myself yet. I’m Kim Joonmyun.” At first you could only stair at his hand, his skin looked so soft. But then you brought your own hand forward and curled it around his. “But what about talking to a complete stranger then?” You asked and he smiled up at you widely. “I think I’d rather talk to you as someone I know, or someone I would love to get to know…”