Being away from your family because you had to study abroad sometimes, oh wait scratch that, mostly could make you miss them, call them every single day, look at the calendar so that you know when it is time for holiday and finally be able to go home.

But for Aya, this situation also had positive attributes. Well, for her it could be good. She had always dreamt of becoming independent, so that she could prepare for the years to come and of course more freedom.

When she was with her family in her hometown, her father always gave her boundaries. For the example, she and her siblings had to be at home by six pm. She couldn't go to the beach, let alone go hiking with her best friends. Even there was a time when she was not allowed to watch her team to perform in one of a dance competition. Although her father never got bored of being strict, she always loved her father to bits.

Despite always obeying her father, she chose to forget her father's words about not being allowed to go to the pub. The assignments from her lecturers that made her lock herself in her room for weeks had already been completed, but left her mentally exhausted. So, when her friends asked her to join them to go to the pub that night, she didn’t even hesitate before saying yes.

She wasn't a drinker nor did she have a powerful resistant towards alcohol, so she decided that she would just throw her tiredness away on the dance floor. “Let’s dance till you can’t feel your legs anymore!” Just like what one of her friend, Soojung, said.

Studying abroad and living in L.A. meant being used to seeing pubs in every corner of the city. Just like In her hometown, Japan, there were a lot of places like these too. And besides, Soojung was from L.A., so there was no need for Aya and her other friends to worry about picking a pub because Soojung already recommended a place.

“Let’s go!” cheered Wendy as she drove her car to where that pub was located.

“Hey, are you really okay to do this? Well I mean, you already have a boyfriend, Soojung-ah,” said Youngji the most innocent out of these four girls.

“But sometimes girls need their nights out, Youngji. Besides, I would never cheat on my Jongin. How about yourself? Won’t Jackson be mad at you?” Yeah, Jackson from the mechanical engineering department. All of them knew him because he was one of Jongin’s friends. He was really good at sports especially at fencing, his academics never failed, very friendly to everyone, and had good manners toward girls. But whenever he and Youngji met, war was inevitable. They loved to bicker, never wanting to lose to one another. Just like Tom and Jerry.

“Aish, what's with that question? He is not even my boyfriend,” said Youngji as she puffed her cheeks. But the other three girls could see that Youngji was blushing.

“by the way, how about you Ay? You know, that senior who approached you?”

Oh yeah Aya’s senior. That man really was something. Chasing her, always sending her messages, sending her photos from mountains that he hiked while holding a paper which said “good luck for your exams” and “happy birthday”. He also liked to ask her to have breakfast for him and other affectionate actions that clearly showed that he was chasing after her heart. Well, at least that was what her friends said to her.

From the beginning, Aya already knew that her senior only chased after her without really caring about her and it turned out that she was right. The day after that guy gave her the "happy birthday" photo to her, Aya saw at the social media that the guy uploaded a picture on the same mountain to another woman, holding a piece of paper that said “I’ll wait for you”. Aya could tell that they were very close to each other. Many of his friends thought that they already had become an item.

“He is just a typical guy who thinks that with one look, he can take every woman's heart,” said Aya. "Who knows how many mountains he has climbed and how much paper he has wasted." With that Soojung her hair like she was her own little sister and said that she would find a better man.

“Thanks Soojung and relax guys, I am not sad or anything because of that. I knew from the beginning that he was that type of person,” Aya gave them smile. Not long after that, they reached their destination.

These four girls never needed to wear flashy, tight, and revealing clothes. Just by simply wearing a dress with long sleeves, self-styled hair, and natural makeup could make the girls be the center of attention. Just like today, when they entered the famous pub in L.A., everyone looked at them from their head to toe and admired their beauty.

It turned out that quite a lot of visitors in that pub were students of the same alma mater with the girls. They saw a lot of familiar faces. For example, suddenly a man with middle-split hair greeted them while they were sitting near the barista. He was Nam Taehyun, a friend of Wendy in the university’s choir.

Because they did not want to disturb the “couple” who were chatting animatedly, Aya, Soojung, and Youngji went straight to the dance floor. They were absorbed in dancing to the beat of the songs that were played by the DJ. But not for long, their happiness was disturbed because one by one there were boys who came uninvited, namely Jackson and Jongin.

Wait, how did Jackson and Jongin know that they were in that place?

It turned out that Jackson and one of his best friends in the same department were visiting that pub too. Then he saw Youngji among the crowds, and then he went straight to her and we could expect what was coming. Yes, there was a little quarrel between them because Jackson dragged Youngji out of the pub.

Not too long after that, came another troublemaker, Jongin. Sigh. Aya already knew that Soojung had a slight problem with Jongin but she was waiting for the right time to talk to that close friend of her, but before she could ask what happened to Soojung, Jongin showed up. Aya did not know how Jongin knew that his girlfriend was there but she predicted that Jackson was the culprit.

One by one, her friends disappeared. Aya decided to look for Wendy. But after she went back to where Wendy was, the girl was gone.

'Oh my God, where the hell is Wendy? Did she go somewhere with the middle-split hair dude?' said Aya in her mind while biting nails, indicating that she was worried.

‘Should I just go home now?’

Suddenly, she could feel someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see who it was, silently praying that it was Wendy who just left her for a moment to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it turned out that person was not Wendy but a guy whose face was quite familiar to Aya.

"Hello, you’re Aya. right?" greeted the guy. His voice was deep and heavy, the kind that made girls' heart thump a little bit faster. His English was fluent, his tone exuded confidence. His face was so sculpted and flawless that it could compete with the most gorgeous men (and women) in the room. His tall posture and broad shoulders seemed as if they were made for the sole purpose of protecting lovers. Other girls would have hang limp if this guy greeted them. But not for Aya. There were many thoughts about this guy running inside her brain, most of them negative.

'Oh… He smells good… BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. I can't tell if that's confidence or arrogance. But he knows he is way above average in the looks department, so he must feel like he is the most handsome creature in the entire universe, thus he is most definitely a womanizer,' yeah, that was the kind of stuff that came to her mind. Because Aya didn’t answer his question, the boy greeted her again, this time he presented a small, sweet smile on his lips.

"Oh yes, I am Aya. Em, can I know who you are?"

The boy held out his hand to shake hands with Aya and began to introduce himself, "My name is Mark."

Once it was done, the atmosphere became awkward; Aya did not know what to do. Not long after that, her phone rang. Seeing Wendy’s name on her cell phone’s screen, Aya answered the call enthusiastically.

"Aya, I'm so sorry. Earlier I saw Soojung being picked up by Jongin while Youngji just texted me that she had met with Jackson and was escorted to the boarding house by him. How about you? You went home with Youngji too, right?"

And then, Aya explained to her that she was completely alone in the pub. However, she never wanted Wendy to feel very anxious, so Aya was forced to lie to Wendy that she met a friend in the pub.

"Really? Once again, forgive me Aya. I thought you went out with Youngji because I didn’t see you on the dance floor and Taehyun invited me to go to a place to eat, somehow I just could not refuse him," said Wendy on the phone.

Aya chuckled, recalling to the time when they were still in the first semester, "Of course you cannot say no to that guy. You're already head over heels to him from the start since you joined the choir."

After convincing Wendy that she would be fine, Aya ended her call, and it turned out Mark was still there in front of her, the sweet smile that etched on his lips weren’t gone and only became wider.

"So, you have met some friends in the pub?" He asked, making Aya blushed at being caught lying to her friend. So she explained to him that a white lie would be necessary to prevent her friend from hyperventilating from panic and guilt.

"All right then, I will go home first. Thank you Mark," but before Aya could go from there, Mark clutched her wrist.

"Wait, it's already late. I'll take you home. Come on," without saying another word, Mark kept holding Aya’s wrist.

Aya could only follow Mark towards the parking lot. When they got there, Mark opened the passenger door for Aya and led her to enter into his Range Rover. Just like how a gentleman would.

After Mark started the engine of his car and began driving, Aya realized what was happening. Aya began to fear that this guy had some ulterior motives and it looked like Mark could feel her anxiety.

"Relax Aya, I would not do anything weird to you. We have met before. Well, although we never greeted each other," with that Aya frowned, trying to recollect some memories.

Seeing the puzzled expression on her face, Mark chuckled, wondering how this girl could look so cute even when just thinking.

"We met at Soojung's birthday last year. When I had to be introduced to you by Soojung, you were answering your phone so we didn't have a chance to greet each other." Aya immediately recalled the memory. She remembered that time when she was being introduced to one of Soojung’s high school friend but suddenly her mother called her.

"There was a time where you came to a concert that was held by my department. But unfortunately that time I was on the security committee with Jackson so I couldn't say hi." Aah, no wonder his face was very familiar. Turned out that he was a friend of Soojung who wanted to be introduced to her and also one of Jackson’s friends in the college.

"Oh my god, I am sorry, I am a forgetful person hehehe."

"It's okay, we have not become acquainted at the time." From there they started another conversation and slowly became a little bit closer. Somehow Aya felt very comfortable with Mark within only just a few hours she knew him. Usually, Aya had a lot of reasons to decline dinner offers with guys, but when Mark offered her to have a late dinner she just said yes, without thinking it was already 11:30 PM.

For Mark, it was a dream that finally came true. It had been a very long time since he first wanted to get acquainted with Aya. The first time he saw her, he was immediately attracted to her. Her bob hair which made her face looked more younger than she actually was, her lips which were always colored with an alluring red color but still look sweet and cute, the way she talked to other people while using her hands so she could expressed more the words that came from her lips.

It started one year ago, when he went to Soojung's birthday party in her parents’ mansion in Beverly Hills. Soojung had been his best friend in high school and still was. At first, he was a little bit hesitant when she said she wanted to introduce him to one of her “es”, as she called them, that she met in her department. He still remembered what she said to him on the telephone when she invited him to her party.

 She said, “You are in a need of a girlfriend, Mark. You've been avoiding and turning down girls since we were in high school. Me, as your best friend, want the best for you!”

He didn’t want to have a girl at that time. He just wanted to focus on his academics. But Soojung was Soojung and Soojung always got what Soojung wanted. Saying that she knew in the bottom of his heart that Mark needed some affection that couldn't be satisfied by his family and friends.

 “You will love this girl, Mark! I know you will be!” He just said yes, because if he kept on declining it the more fussy Soojung would be.

So, on the day of her birthday he went to her party, hoping that the day would end faster because he just wanted to get away from the whole match-making thing. When he arrived at the place, Soojung greeted and thanked him and of course she didn’t forget about her mission. But before she could introduce him to the candidate that she already prepared, her parents called her to cut the birthday cake.

 “Wait for a bit, Mark. I will introduce you to her as soon as I finish this.”

“Relax, birthday girl. Just go now,” Mark smiled to her. When she went to the center of the garden for the main event, everyone started to gather around her and applauded as she blew the candles. He heard the sound of laughter beside him and that was the first time he met the girl that stole his heart right at the moment.

She held a little girl in her arms while she laughed with her. She looked so beautiful even though she was just wearing a simple turquoise colored dress that stopped on her knees with long sleeves. A red headband adorned her bob hair, her lips were painted with a red lipstick yet she still looked so cute, and when she laughed, oh God, her voice was very soft. She was just like the Snow White that his nieces loved to watch every Saturday.

He knew the little girl in her arms was Soojung’s cousin because he already met her before. Then, maybe the older one was also one of Soojung’s relatives too?

After Soojung finished cutting the cake, the girl beside him went over to her. She looked really close to Soojung and her family as she handed over the little girl to her babysitter. Then when he realized it, Soojung was already standing in front of him.

“Come on Mark, I will introduce you to my friend just as I promised.” And boy oh boy, he was really happy because Soojung pulled him towards that girl. When he was in front of that girl, he just couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

She called her name, while that girl still played with Soojung’s cousin who was already in the arms of her babysitter. And then, she turned over to face Soojung and him.

“Aya-ah, this my—,” but before Soojung could introduce him to her, Aya’s phone was ringing.

“Oh, wait, Soojungie. My mom is calling.” Then she had to go out from the crowd so she could hear her mom's voice on the phone. His entire life, he never waited and looked forward for a girl to be introduced to him. But this time, he waited and waiter for her.

“Hmm, I can already see that there is a spark in your eyes, Mark,” Soojung teased and playfully nudged him. But before Mark could say anything, Aya hurriedly walked over to them. She apologized to Soojung, saying that she had to leave because her mom was in her boarding house, waiting for her.

“I am so sorry, Soojung-ah, my mom intended to surprise me without knowing that right now I’m in your party. I didn’t put the spare key outside so my mom can’t enter my room. She must be really tired from the trip. I have to go now, okay? I am so sorry,” she apologized while clutching at Soojung hands. After Soojung convinced her that she was not mad at her, Aya quickly hugged and kissed both of her cheeks. Then she ran to the parking lot without took a glance at Mark even for once.

Actually, Soojung already offered him her number, but Mark didn’t want it. He said that he didn’t take any interest on her. He thought maybe tomorrow he would forget about her. It turned out to be wrong. Days passed and and he still couldn't get her off of his mind. He still remembered Soojung’s offer, but no, he still strongly thought that eventually thoughts of Aya would vanish from his mind.

And that was also wrong.

Nine months already passed. Mark was busy preparing the concert that was held by his department. Every day he became tired because of the preparation and also his study but he never managed to get Aya away from his system. He really wanted to see her. Had she changed after a couple of months? Did she still look as beautiful as ever? Thanks to God because at the day of the concert, he met her again in the entrance. At that time, he was assigned to provide security by checking every audience along with Jackson. Sadly, again, he couldn't approach her because he had to do his duty until the concert was done.

Thanks to that day, her image stuck in his mind, clearer than ever. So, when Jackson asked him if he wanted to join him to the pub he just said yes. Hoping there was something or anything that could help him to forget about her.

But now there he was, chatting with her. Still and always mesmerized by her beauty. He wondered, how could she become much much more beautiful than the last time he met her? He knew she was not the prettiest girl in the whole world, but just her presence alone made him calm and comfortable. Call it a cliché, but he never wanted to be apart from her. Was this what they called love?

'Oh God if we continue this everyone might thought me as a softie. Well, which is true if it comes to Aya,' thought Mark while enjoying the noodle soup that he was eating while listening to Aya who was heartily telling him about her favorite tom yum soup restaurant.

"I never knew that you were also a maniac of soup," Mark said while he smiled to Aya, which successfully managed to make her heart’s defenses collapsed.

'Aya! How come you are so weak like this? What if he turns out to be just like that senior of yours, or the guys who used to approach you? Baiting for girls everywhere?' But somehow Aya felt that Mark was different from the other guys in her past.

After they finished, Mark immediately escorted Aya to return to her boarding house. Actually, Mark never wanted this night to come to an end. He still wanted to hear all Aya's stories, be it about soup or anything. Listening to her voice was like imagining soft and tender melody in his ears just like a year ago, the fragrance of roses that he could smell from the woman who was sitting right next to him. Ah, just a lot of things that made ​​Mark did not want to part with Aya and vice versa.

Things like that was a new thing for Aya. Becoming interested in a guy in just a few hours. The fortress that she built to protect her heart came crumbling down because of this guy. Maybe it was just because of his handsome face? His heavy yet smooth voice? Or his behavior, which was warm and gentleman-like? Aya did not know, and because of that she became curious and wanted to know him more than this, but how?

In the car, there were so many things that came to her mind, 'Should I ask for his contact? But shouldn’t it be the guy’s job? I know this is ridiculous but God, I don’t want this night to come to an end.'

Suddenly, they were already in front of Aya’s boarding house. None of them exchanged words to one another. But if this continued, there would be no settlement and Aya would not come out from the car (well, you guys know that she didn’t want to).

"Um… Since I don't think there are many chances of accidently bumping into each other in a pub again, can I ask for your number or Line ID? Well who knows, maybe we can meet again for the tom yum soup that you take pride in," said Mark as he chuckled. Mark was actually very nervous; afraid that Aya would not give her contact to him but it turned out it was totally wrong. Aya directly gave hers to him.

From Aya’s perspective, people who called her "Ay" were those that had become close to her. It was some kind of pet name for her and she never liked it when someone new called her that. But when Mark called her with her pet name, somehow it made her very happy. She didn't give a when people think that problem was a trivial matter, but for Aya that was a very important principle.

"Well, thank you for tonight, Mark. I really had fun with you, I hope we will meet again,” Aya said after she closed the car’s door. She could not take the smile off of her face.

"Of course, Ay, I cannot wait for the next time. I will Line you, okay? See you." God, Aya could never be tired to see that beautiful smile of Mark.

"Okay, be careful on your way."

With that, Mark stepped on his car’s pedal, and rode away from the Aya’s boarding house with a heavy heart, but he was very happy because he believed that was not the last time he would meet the girl who managed to steal his heart, because he was sure there would be many more days filled with Aya in the future.

After Aya had reached her room, she immediately threw her body on her fluffy mattress. Hugging her plushie while giggling like a little kid who just got a treat on Halloween. It did not take a long time for her to take a liking to Mark because now, her heart was slowly opening up and ready to be filled by him.

After over ten minutes, suddenly Aya’s phone vibrated, indicating that there was a Line from someone.

Mark Tuan: Ay, I have arrived at my boarding house. Once again thank you for today :)

Aya’s smile grew more on her lips. Well, we know how it went. The point was that they woke up late on the next day but of course with happy feelings in their hearts.

***

A couple of days after that, Soojung was looking over at one of her social media while sipping her strawberry smoothies and that was a wrong thing she had to do. Because minutes later, she had to spill her favorite drink from because she was shocked at one of her best friends' update two hours ago.

“Mark: Got to try this Tomyam soup, recommended by miss-who-addicted-to-soup ;;) – with Aya at Emporium Thai Cuisine”

 

Watching Fifty Shades of Grey with Mark

2015 Romance, starring Jamie Dornan

“Aya: accompanying someone who is head over heels with Miss Anastasia Steel ._.”

 

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

 

“Mark, who are you texting with? We are in the middle of watching movie you know?” asked Aya while she raised her brows.

“Why Ay? Are you jealous? it’s just Jackson,” Mark cannot resisted to pinch one of her cheeks. He knew that Aya wasn’t the type of jealous one but he just loved to .

 

“Who is being jealous?” Oh God, maybe if they already become an item, Mark will kiss those red pouty lips, and all Aya can do was just blushed.

 

After teasing her, he went back to his phone for a minute so he could send message to his roommate.

 

From   : Mark

To     : Jackson

Thanks man for your advices, I owe you one. Btw, tell Jongin and the choir guy that I am gonna treat all of you dinner.

 

 

--- THE END ---

 

I hope you guys like this story of mine. I am so sorry if in this fanfic there is/are something that bothering you guys. Sorry for the grammatical errors because English is not my first language and I am still learning it step by step.

Thank you to my best friend who has already read this story and warned me if there were grammars or spelling mistakes.

You guys can also check my other stories, and if you want to become my friend, just add me. I will gladly accept all of you :)

I will wait for your comments guys so I can know how you guys think of this story.

Thank you and have a good day/afternoon/night!! :* :* :*