The Second Picture

                A little over a week had passed since he first met Chohee and his notes were becoming increasingly incoherent. It was more than a little annoying. Though Youngbae was unsure about whether or not he was more annoyed at the lack of review material or the lack of seeing the strange girl. The second possibility disturbed him; crushes had never really gone well for him so he wasn’t exactly elated to think he might have his first crush of college.

                So, he had a mix of several emotions when he saw her taking pictures of an empty bench on his way towards the buses after his last class. He walked over and smiled when he noticed she was now staring at the blank sheet as it developed. Youngbae tiptoed the last few feet until he was right behind her, hoping to spook her a little bit when he said, “Hello.”

               Much to his disappointment, she didn’t even flinch. Instead, she turned slowly and smiled at him over her shoulder, “Hello pretty boy, Youngbae-ssi.”

                “Just Youngbae will work,” he replied before stepping to the side so she wouldn’t have to turn so awkwardly to look at him. She shrugged before putting the picture inside of a pocket in her bright blue bag. “So why were you taking pictures of the bench?”

                “Because I was lonely,” she said offhandedly, “So this must be fate.”

                “What?”

                “I was lonely and then you appeared. Fate must have sent you,” she nodded before lifting up her camera to take a quick picture of his dumbfounded expression. How could she say something like that with such a straight face?

                “S-So do you have another class or something?” Youngbae asked after recovering from his original shock. She handed him the developing photograph to hold while she turned back to take another picture of the empty bench. It was only now that he noticed the small, wilting flowers that had been set down on the seat, a strange contrast to the bright green paint they were laying on.

                “I’m done for the day.”

                “That’s cool. I am too,” he said, following as she turned to walk further down the path. He carried the photo gently, afraid to mess it up even after it had finished developing. It was a little surprising how slowly she walked; he was used to taking a rather brisk pace wherever he went. She walked so slowly that it was almost painful for him to stay at her pace. “Do you live nearby or something?”

                “It’s about a twenty minute walk,” she mumbled, pausing in front of a tree whose leaves would soon start changing color. However, Chohee didn’t raise her camera to the emerald canopy or the rusty brown trunk. Instead, she knelt down near the roots burrowing through the dry dirt. The roots wrapped and twisted around each other in a way that was strangely beautiful. He had never noticed them before.

                “I take the bus but it’s still only like a half an hour. Well, it’s longer when there’s traffic, but…” He was rambling. He hated when he started rambling but he wasn’t entirely sure how to shut it off. It was hard enough talking to normal girls but now he was attempting to talk to one he wasn’t entirely sure was human. Perhaps she was actually an alien. It was time for a change of pace. “Do you have any family?”

                . Stupid question. What if she was an orphan? What if he just opened the gate to some tragic backstory? What if she hated her family? What if her family hated her? What if-

                “I have a twin brother and two parents,” she replied, her lips quirking up into a smile. Youngbae let out a sigh of relief. At least she was normal in that regard. He needed to ask better questions though.

                “I just have my mom at home,” he admitted. She glanced over at him, her dark brown eyes searching his own. He wasn’t sure whether the look she gave him was empathetic, sympathetic, or merely curiosity. He continued on though, “My dad died in a car accident a few years back. I mean, it’s still sad but I’ve moved on. He left us a good inheritance so my mom doesn’t have to break her back to keep the apartment. She got a good job too. It’s really no big deal.”

                “Here,” she handed him one of the three pictures she had taken of the roots before stuffing the other two pictures into her bag with the ones she had taken earlier. Was that her way of comforting him?

                “Um, so which year are you in college?” Slightly better question but he still felt like everything he said was coming out awkward. This was the exact reason why he never had a girlfriend before.

                “I’m in my second year,” she chuckled before turning to walk away once again. Youngbae fidgeted, not sure if he should follow or not. He didn’t want to be a bother. He had almost decided to walk away and catch the next bus when Chohee glanced over her shoulder at him as if she were checking to make sure he was still there.

 He ran to her side immediately. “So I guess we’re around the same age then?”

                “It would seem so,” she agreed. He hadn’t noticed this before but when she walked, her head swept from side to side, her eyes grazing over everything in her path of vision. Once she zeroed in on her next photographic target, her head seemed almost eerily still as she walked over with a slight bounce in every step.

                She crouched down by a weed that was peeking out of the sidewalk. Youngbae stood beside her as she took a few more pictures. “Why are you taking pictures of stuff like that?” he inquired.

                “I like to,” was the short answer that followed.

                “I didn’t mean to be rude,” he chattered on, “I’m just trying to –you know- get to know you better and all that but I’m really bad with things like this. I mean, it’s not like I’m a loner or anything. I have friends but we’ve been friends forever so what I’m trying to say is...”

                “My favorite color is mint green,” she laughed, “I like to eat samgyeopsal and I hate the rice porridge people make when you’re sick. I take pictures of things I like; I just like weird things, though you’re one of them now too. Let’s see… What else?”

                 “What kind of movies do you like?” Youngbae asked. His cheeks were tinged pink with blush even though she was perfectly normal.

                “I like horror the best but I also like mystery ones.”

                “You like horror? That’s…wow. I like action-adventure stuff or comedies. I get too caught up in horror movies. I’m not scared when I watch them but later on the stuff still haunts me, you know?”

                “That’s why you never watch them alone,” she smiled before putting the rest of the pictures inside of her bag. She stood back up before glancing at a vending machine nearby. He had an idea of what she was about to do but was still elated when she came back with two melon sodas. That meant that it was a lovely day.

                He thanked her before popping the top and sipping up the liquid that gushed out. She waved off the gratitude before tapping the lid and opening her own soda. The pair meandered further down the path but her pace and quickened slightly. Her head had stopped scanning the area too.

                “Was your dad a business man?” she asked suddenly. Youngbae was actually a little surprised she had asked a question for once instead of him.

                “Yeah. He was actually pretty high up in one of our relative’s companies. He was going to accept another promotion on the night he died. My mom took his place but kind of just holds the title, you know?”

                She nodded and the two fell into silence for a few minutes. He hadn’t talked about his father in a long time. Jiyong never brought him up so Youngbae hadn’t either. “What about you?” he changed the subject, “Is anyone in your family a photographer?”

                “No. It’s just me. Well, my brother plays pretty much every stringed instrument really well, so we’re both artsy or something like that.”

                “Does he go here too?”

                “No,” she sighed, “He wanted to go abroad for college. He’s staying at a dormitory in France while he studies classical music there.”

                “France?” Youngbae exclaimed, unable to hide his shock. She burst into a fit of laughter at his expression but nodded.  By that time, they had reached the edge of the campus where Youngbae normally turned left to walk to his bus stop.

                “I cross the street here,” she said suddenly.

                “I don’t,” he replied, causing her to chuckle softly. She looked both ways before beginning to cross the street. However, Youngbae reached out and grabbed her by the sleeve of her baggy sweatshirt, causing both of their eyes to widen at the action.

                “Do you want to get coffee tomorrow?” he spurted out. As he waited for a reply, his face steadily became redder and redder until he was about the same color as a very ripe tomato.

                “No,” she shook her head to emphasize the point. His hand fell away from her sleeve, his face showing his disappointment at that one word.

                “Oh… Sorry.” He felt stupid. Why would she want to go get coffee with him? This entire time he had been grilling her with useless questions. What kind of girl would want to hang out with a guy like that?

                “I’m going to take pictures of the Han River tomorrow so I can’t,” she clarified, “You’re welcome to join me if you want. I’ll be there around nine o’clock. I’ll meet you by the ugly dog food cart?”

                “Y-Yeah!” he immediately agreed.

                “Good, I’ll see you then,” she giggled before actually crossing the street this time. He turned and walked to his bus stop, beaming with absolute happiness. His first date! He finally had his first date!