Min Ji woke up absurdly early.  She turned over to look at the clock on her night stand.  “5:30?  Ugh…I barely slept.”  She gave in to the reality that she wasn’t getting anymore sleep.  She had been tossing and turning for most of the night as she replayed the events with Ji Yong and Jae Kyung.  “I don’t want to face either of them today.”

Rolling out of bed, she walked over to her bookshelf and picked out “Emma” by Jane Austin.  She had read it several times as it was her favorite book.  Secretly she envied Emma.  Min Ji already had the privileged part down and she guessed she was beautiful, too.  But deep down inside she desired an romance like Emma and Mr. Knightly.  The push and pull between the two characters created a frustratingly intense love.  She began to speed read and within an hour she was done.

“Guess I should prepare for school.”  Min Ji walked over to the mirror.  Make up was not allowed at school, not that she needed it.  Min Ji put on her school uniform.  A plaid pleated skirt sat below a perfectly pressed white dress shirt.  She quickly fixed the tie around her neck and made sure the collar was folded down neatly.  Her jacket was navy blue.  She brushed her long hair that fell halfway down her back.  She decided to braid a small section towards the front of her hair and finished the end with a deep blue bow.  She scanned her appearance with almond shaped eyes, the color of mahogany.  She looked more like her mother than her father.  In either case she would have been just as beautiful. 

Opening the door from her room to the hallway, she peered into her mother’s room through a cracked door.  Cheon Song Yi was sleeping peacefully.  She must have arrived later than expected, Min Ji thought.  She closed her mother’s door and headed to the kitchen for breakfast and to make her lunch.  When she finished, she grabbed her book bag, slid on her black loafers and headed out the door.  She was startled to see her father at the gate.

“Appa?  What are you doing out here?” she asked.

Do Min Joon turned around and smiled at his daughter.  “I arrived a couple hours ago.  You and your mother were sleeping so I decided to wait for the sunrise.  It never fails to amaze me.”

“I’m sure you have sunrises back home.”

“We do, but this sunrise is the one I love the most.” Do Min Joon walked over and put his arm around his daughter.  “I’ve missed you.”

Min Ji hugged her father. “I’ve missed you, too.  Will you be staying long?”

“As long as I can.  Your birthday is coming up.  I don’t want to miss that.”

“I’m glad.  Oma will be happy you’re home.  You should go inside.” Min Ji suggested.

“And you should get to school.  Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you return.”

“Then I’ll be off.”  Min Ji smiled.

She was so happy her father was home that she almost forgot that going to school meant seeing Jae Kyung and Ji Yong.  Her good mood turned sour at this realization.  What was she going to do?  How could she defend herself if one or both of them decided to spread rumours?

She made it to the school gates as a voice called behind her, “Hey!”

She knew it was Jae Kyung immediately and cringed.  Pretending that she didn’t hear his voice, she continued to walk towards the main building.

“Hey!  Do Min Ji!” he called out again.

Min Ji sighed and turned around waiting for him to pester her about last night’s events.

“Hey…”  Jae Kyung said, slightly out of breath from catching up to her.

“Hi.”  Min Ji replied curtly.

He nervously kicked at the ground.  “I…um…just wanted to walk to class with you if you don’t mind.  Min Ji raised an eyebrow.

He put his hands out as a gesture of armistice.  “I promise no questions about last night.”  Min Ji nodded and the two of them headed inside.

“So…” Jae Kyung started.  Min Ji looked up at him expectantly.  “Hah…I’m really bad at starting conversations.” he admitted.

Under normal circumstances, Min Ji would be head over heels that her crush wanted to spend time with her, but these weren’t normal circumstances.  She realized that after last night she needed to keep her distance.  As much as it hurt her heart, she needed to close herself off from Jae Kyung.

“Why are you following me, Jae Kyung?  You got my name wrong yesterday, and then you put on a show with the intent to rescue me.  Your personality really changes from minute to minute.”

“I know and I’m really sorry for getting your name wrong.”

“We’ve been in the same classroom for years.”  Min Ji tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips.

“You’re right.  I’m bad with names and I tend to stick to my close friends.  I don’t really socialize outside of that.”

“Well, there’s one thing we have in common.” Min Ji scoffed as she started to walk up the stairs to the entrance.

He caught up to her and continued softly, “Besides, I’ve kind of been intimidated to ever approach you.”

“You’re kidding, right?”  Min Ji raised an eyebrow at his admission.

“Not kidding.  You’re, well…you’re beautiful.  And you’re the top of your class.  And with all the guys chasing after you, I figured you wouldn’t want one more.  I gave up on any idea of approaching you years ago.  But, it’s not just that you’re otherworldly pretty.  You’re stoic, hard to read, but you have this sadness about you.”

Min Ji stopped a few steps from their class room.  She felt herself coming undone.  Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think he would notice her.  But to notice her to this extent made her heart race.  She put her head down to hide the blush of her cheeks.

“Listen, I really want to treat you to dinner.” He continued before Min Ji could object, “Not as a thank you for last night, but because I want to get to know you.  What do you say?”

“I don’t know…” she felt her defenses fading fast.

“Just one dinner?  Please?”  He smiled.

“I guess I can do that.” She sighed in resignation as she looked up into his eyes.

“Great, so we’ll go after school?”

Min Ji nodded her head with a slight smile across her lips.  At that moment she heard whispering to the side of her.  They both looked towards the quiet commotion.  Ji Yong and a few friends were staring at them intently.  When Min Ji noticed them, Ji Yong ducked his head and practically ran into the classroom.  Min Ji and Jae Kyung laughed.

“I guess he won’t be bothering you for a while.” Jae Kyung said as he tried to stifle his laughter.

“I guess not.” Min Ji replied.

The two stood in silence for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes.  Min Ji broke the intense gaze first.  “I’ll see you after school, Jae Kyung.”  She headed into the class room.

Jae Kyung watched her from the back as she walked through the door.  “I’ll be waiting, Min Ji.”