I just wanted to go back home. I felt sad, I was craving American food, and my head was hurting from learning Korea. I huffed and dropped my head down on the desk where I was trying to study. I ran my hands through my hair and took a deep breath. I had been away from home for about ten months and the homesickness was finally hitting me. Some of the novelty was starting to wear off and I felt the longing for home.

I stood up and decided to take a shower even though it was the middle of the day. I came out feeling slightly better and the TV. I skipped through the channels and watched an epsiode of After School Club to kill some time. Coincidentally, the episode of GOT7 was on and I had a few good laughs to cheer me up. The show ended and I was left bored out of my mind, so I wondered around my small apartment picking up things and occasionally checking YouTube. 

Maybe I could try to make some American food, I thought. I checked my cupboards and fridge for anything that was similar to what I would need. All I found was some soy sauce and really old rice. I sighed and came to a conclusion I was trying to avoid. I would have to go outside and shop. I never wanted to go out because I was about 99% sure I was going to get lost and that scared the heck out of me. But I guess going outside couldn't really hurt, unless I tripped or something, which was likely due to my sleep being deprived from stupid homesickness.

I trudged back to my bedroom to look for some decent clothes and got ready to go out. I slipped on my shoes at the front door and checked that I had my keys, phone, and money. I opened up my door and saw Jackson with his finger about to hit the doorbell. Amazing how he always manages to show up at the right times, isn't it? I jumped a little in surprise and Jackson's eyes snapped up to me. I gave him an awkward greeting and stepped out.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. I was genuinely confused because a) shouldn't he be at practice or a schedule and b) I swear idols don't have that much time off. He rubbed the back off his neck and gave me a small smile.

"I have the day off and I feel kinda bored, so I decided to visit you. I wasn't sure if you were going to be home, though," Jackson said looking dead at me.

"Don't you have, like, six other members to hang out with. What about Markson? Is that ship not sailing anymore?" I said with a sad chuckle. 

"I just wanted to, okay? Is that a good enough explanation?" he countered back with more questions. I gave him a skeptical look. Doesn't he realize that sounds more than a little bit creepy? 

"I...I guess. I was just heading out to go to Costco for some food that I used to have back in the states. I don't know if that's your type of thing, but you can come if want," I said cautiously. He started looking really excited the moment I mentioned Costco. He nodded his head with a lot of enthusiam and a huge smile was plastered on his face.

"Do you know the way there?" Jackson turned his head and asked me as we walked towards the elevator. I almost stopped walking and he had to prod me to pick up the pace again.

"Not exactly. I don't like going out because I might get lost," I said sheepishly. I saw him snicker a tiny bit at my excuse.

"You know that's really counterproductive, right?" he asked me while trying not to laugh. 

"Yes. But I don't like doing things that I might mess up at," I said and entered the empty elevator with Jackson walking behing me. 

"You don't make any sense at all," he replied back.

"It makes sense to me," I said said with a smirk on my face. 

"Anyway, I know the way there, so just follow me," Jackson said with total confidence. I pulled something out of my purse and handed it to him.

"Here you might need these," I said and I tried to hand him some black sunglasses. We got off the elevator and now we were in the main entrance. He leaned down a little bit to signal that I should put them on him. I furrowed my eyebrows and moved my head back. I was not going to do that with a bunch people staring at me.

I shook my head and handed them to him. He pretended to look offended and slipped them on himself with a huff. We walked outside and I took the opportunity to look around. The place I lived in was in an older neighborhood, nevertheless, it was really nice. The ahjummas sometimes offered to make me some food when they saw me entering my apartment. Now I could read most off the advertisements that were hanging from the shops or those that were in the windows.

Jackson called a taxi so we wouldn't have to take the bus. He told the driver where to go and it was surprisingly fast. Most likely because the taxi driver went through red lights and weaved in and out of traffic. I started to freak out when he pulled over and I saw the huge warehouse in front of me. People were bustling around trying to get carts and leaving the place. 

Jackson paid the taxi driver while I just stood their and gawked. I earned a few glances from the Koreans, but they looked away when they saw I was with someone. We walked in after showing our cards and I felt a little bit more at home. I would go to Costco with my grandparents and I remember trying to hurry them along because they would always look at the books or movies. I smiled to myself at the memory.

"What are you smiling at? You look a bit crazy," Jackson commented. I sassily turned my head to him.

"You look a lot a bit crazy and I used to come here with my family," I chuckled. It looked just like the one back home except for that there was a lot of Korean writing and it was extremly busy. 

I thought of making lasagna or something so I was wandering around the main pasta area. I couldn't find the right type and I gave up. Jackson went off somewhere earlier so I was left by myself. I pulled out my phone and texted my grandmother. It was really expensive so I didn't communicate with them that much. Last time I talked to them was about four months ago.

I sent her a couple pictures of the Costco and a short message asking her about how she's doing and to take care of her health. I turned off my phone and looked around at everyone and watched how they acted. One family was trying to pick out a couch and were arguing, while a young mother was looking at onesies for her baby. 

A pair of hands landed on my shoulders and I whirled around to see Jackson giving me a mischevious smile. He had a small box of Chinese food by his feet and I looked at him, lost.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked him.

"Yep. You didn't find anything?" he asked back. I shook my head.

"I don't know how to cook the food I had at home, so I'll just stick to Korean. At least I saw some brands I recognized," I tried ending positive, but I gave up half way. Jackson tilted his head down to meet my eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently. I averted my eyes because I didn't want to get all emotional on him. I somehow managed to get myself to together and say an understandable response.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," I wanted to move away from the topic. He didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but he dropped it and we left. I hadn't realized it but we actually spent a while in Costco. That place was like a blackhole. Once you go in, it's hard to get out. 

"Have you been to a noraebang before?" Jackson asked on our way to his dorm to drop off the food.

"No. There hasn't been an opportunity for me to go," I stated.

"You're missing out on a lot of things. I going to have to show you around. You've been to Namsan Tower, so you're not a complete loser," he joked. The taxi stopped in front of his building and I handed the driver some money before Jackson could. Since he paid for the first ride, I decided to pay for this one. We got out and the air was cooler than inside the car. I rubbed my arms to try to make the goosebumps go away. Jackson went inside to put the food away and I waited for him to come back. 

The moon was coming out earlier now because the seasons were starting to change. In a few months it would be Thanksgiving and Christmas. If the homesickness was bad now, how would it be then? I saw Jackson approaching and he had something in his hands. Once he got closer I could make out what it was. He came up to me and lifted up my arm and slipped it in to the sleeve of the jacket he was carrying without a word. My goosebumps stopped showing up and I felt warmer instantly.

"Um...thanks," I said, embarrassed. He nodded his head and I saw he had my sunglasses propped up on his noggin. I made a mental note to get them back later because they were Oakleys from my uncle and I didn't think he would be too pleased if he found out that I lost them while hanging out with a guy.

"I'm taking you to a noraebang," Jackson said simply and carefully took my wrist so as to not offend me. 

"But-but I never agreed to this," I whined and tried to dig my heels in. He turned around and fixed the issue.

"Do you want to go?" 

"Sure, you're already dragging me along," I said gesturing to his hand on my wrist.

~

"You're paying, right?" Jackson asked me. I whipped my head so fast I almost got whiplash and scrunched up my face.

"You brought me here," I said and handed him a few thousand won out of guilt, which he happily accepted.

The person at the desk told us which room and we went off in search for it. The room was almost at the end of the hallway. It was a small room that had disco lights and a couch with pillows neatly set up. I played with the light settings as soon as we got in and made a mini club. All the lights started flashing and I freaked out. Jackson turned off all the lights and made them go back to normal.

I picked out the first song which was a ballad and tried my best at following the lyrics, which went surprisingly well since it was slow. I handed the mic to Jackson when the song ended. He looked at me surprised. 

"What? I know I'm not that great of a singer," I said quietly. Jackson looked even more surprised.

"That was....really good. I didn't expect you to be that good!" he said with happiness," Go again!" 

I took the mic back and Jackson chose a song for me. I gave him a look of annoyance when I saw what song he chose.

"Are you serious? The Leaders by G-Dragon? Just don't laugh at me when I do terrible," I grumbled.

"Get ready. The song's starting," Jackson managed to get out in through his laughing fit.

The hour we spent in there flew by and we had to leave, much to my disappointment. I felt really happy, but then the homesickness came back and I went right back to being mopy. 

We walked the streets a tiny bit, picking up some street food and munching on it. I wanted something spicy, but I remembered that Jackson can't handle it, so I suffered. We ended up sitting down on a bench surrounded by trees. I was feeling worn out and I made the suggestion that we sit down.

"Why were you acting weird earlier? At the store?" Jackson asked suddenly. 

"I just messaged my grandmother in America and I haven't talked to them in a long time," I said flatly. I could feel the tears making me choke up. 

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked with urgency. I shook my head.

"I just miss them a lot," I said looking at the ground. Tears started to leave my eyes and I hastily wiped them away.

Jackson caught the movement and pulled me into him and set my head down on his shoulder.

"Just..um..let it all out. I'm not usually good at comforting people, but I'll give it a shot," he said rubbing my arms.

"I miss them so much. I was fine a week ago, but it hit me all of a sudden. Talking to them only makes me realize how much I miss them," I started out with the tears rolling down my checks and dripping off of my chin on to Jackson's lap because I was too lazy to wipe them.

"I even miss the little squabbles my mom and I had. I want to taste homecooking again and not have to worry about getting hit by a crazy driver everytime I cross the street. I want to be able to speak a language I already know. I miss not having people stare at me wherever I go. I miss home," I sobbed out, Jackson probably not understanding what I just said through my tears.

I sniffled and he handed me a tissue from a passerby. I wiped my nose and tried to get myself together. Jackson my hair and patted back to help me calm down. I took sharp intakes of breath trying to get my breathing back to normal. I burst into tears randomly and he stayed patient with me, taking it all in. I finally calmed down after who knows how long.

"It'll be okay. I went through a phase like this, too. Afterwards, everything is fine and you don't get homesick as easily," Jackson quietly told me.

"You cry? I thought you were a manly man," I quoted him on his words from earlier and smiled a little.

"Hey, real men cry," he told me through a smile.

"Suuure," I chuckled and dried my eyes one last time.

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A/N: This chapter was 2486 words. I hope it makes up for my other lame chapters and the wait. Also, WE HAVE SOME NEW SUBBIES!!! I saw the alert and it made me want to update. PLEASE leave your reactions or thoughts in the comments! It makes me happy and don't forget to subscribe and upvote if thou wishes. Thank you to everyone for reading!

Subbies ^^ : LinLin_09, mauge92 

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