"Where are you heading to?"

JongHyun look up and meet her eyes. He is on his way to meet his friends for a party. I don't really talk to stranger especially the one you just met at the bus stop.

"Gangnam," he replied. Just one sentence in a tone that can totally make her go away. He hopes that she will. 

Ah Young scrolls her iPhone 5s. She must have taken the wrong bus just now. For once in her life, she thought she can manage to walk in Seoul by her own. Perhaps if she didn't sleep on the bus she will definitely be at home watching her recent favourite K-Drama, The Producer on KBS. She's been dying to wait for the new episodes since last week, because only two episodes are released for every week. Now, I'm lost in the middle of nowhere and I regret of sleeping on the bus dreaming like I was YooJin from the famous bus scene of Winter Sonata.

      Moving from Ulsan to Seoul is a new thing to her. She bought a two-room apartment that belongs to her cousin, JiYoung. JiYoung just got married to a a handsome guy who was fortunately JiYoung's neighbour. Unluckily, JiYoung was not around, she went to Bali for honeymoon two days ago so nobody is around to help her. Except for this guy.

She should have bought a car instead of a house. I don't even know the routes of Seoul.

"You got lost didn't you?" he reads her mind. Ah Young redden like fresh tomatoes. She nods as a yes to his question that sounds like a statement to her. After a while, she decided to sit besides him to ask for directions to her home.

"By any chance, do you know how to get here? I'm new to Seoul, so I don't really know how I can go back home," she explained carefully while pointing to her adress as stated on her phone screen to JongHyun.

       JongHyun felt guilty. His words doesn't work well on her, but he still thought of insisting to help this tall lady. She's quite tall than any average girls in Korea. However, he is late for YoungKwang's bachelor party. The first bachelor party among the five of them ; Kim YoungKwang, Lee Soohyuk, Bang Sung Joon, Kim Woobin and himself. YoungKwang is finally getting married with HanGroo, his classmates during college years. JongHyun never thought that YoungKwang will settle down with Groo as they were on and off for three years. 

"I'm late for my best friend bachelor party. I'm really sorry I can't guide you to the place, but I think it's quite near to Gangnam. You should take the bus that I'm going to ride after this, " JongHyun responsed. As a gentleman as he always be, he usually help anyone that in needs. Especially, those who come from the countryside. His mother assures him that he should get married with someone that is totally opposite from him; he is a city boy, so he should go for a countryside girl. That doesn't means I should just listen to Omma, as long as that girl can totally cheer me up and respect the elders. 

Ah Young nods again for the second time that evening.

     They were quiet for a few minutes waiting for the bus. Awkwardness surrounds them. Ah Young can't take it anymore. The silence kills her inside. She decided to break the ice if he don't shows any sign of starting the conversation.

"I'm Kim Ah Young," she handed her hands to JongHyun. He takes her hand and make a very warm handshake and give a slight smile. Hopefully, she didn't notice his uncomfortableness.

"Hong Jong Hyun," he replied. 

"Hongg Jong Hyung? Am I pronounced it correctly?" she is really bad with pronouncing as not to expose her rural dialect. When she was 10 years old, she had asked her parents of moving to Seoul so she will sound more 'Seoulness'. She thought that Ulsan's dialect was a bit unique and she loves someone who speaks but doesn't sounds like Ulsan's at all. However, her mother claimed that she should be proud being an Ulsan girl.

"Yah, didn't you know? Ulsan is the home of Hyundai Motor Company? We should wait here till you grow up and gets married to the CEO son. There's a lot of fortune around here," her mother who is technically an amateur fortune teller tells her when she was young to calm her down. 

Ah Young still believes everything must have start from Seoul. 

"It's Hong Jong Hyun," Jonghyun repeated slowly.

"Hong Jong Hyun. Sorry, I can't really speak Seoul dialect. It doesn't work for me unless I practice a lot for one week. I'm from Ulsan," she said. 

"Oh right, your dialects tell me. I thought you are from Busan," he tried to make a longer sentence. At least that was a 12 word sentence.

                  Honestly, he never speaks to a stranger. A total stranger. He can't socialize well with new people. This is the first time he lets his guard down and try to make a small conversation to someone he never met. Woobin once told him to enjoy his youth life by going to a club or something fun. He never enjoy dancing in the club. It feels like doing something you should not do when you were young; example like drinking alcohol when you are not pass 18 yet.

"So,... you've been wondering around Seoul today huh?"

"Well, I've heard that Coex was such a cool place. Do you use the word here, 'Midtown' ?" Ah Young asked.

"Midtown?"

"We call places like MyungDong and HongDae a midtown. I was amazed to see Coex because it was bigger than the entire Ulsan midtown!" she exclaimed excitedly. After Coex, she went to YeoYido and told her mother that it looks like New York. Haha, I've never been to New York before.

JongHyun smiles shyly. Never in his entire life he met someone who is so excited to see Seoul. Even his foreigner friends told him that Seoul looks like Tokyo only without bicycles on the road.

"That's right. Lots of skyscrapers standing," he replied.

"Have you been to Ulsan before?" 

"No, I've never been there before," he claimed. He is more interested in going to overseas vacation rather than any place in South Korea. He has been to London, Amsterdam, Scotland, Thailand, Singapore, Dubai but never ever thought of having a vacation to Ulsan before. 

"Student?" she asked suddenly since she don't know how to continue the 'Ulsan' conversation.

"I just graduated 5 months ago. How about you?" 

"Art student, I draw things. You know those girl that sits at the back of the class and starts on doodling words and smiley faces when the teacher is babbling on something that never go inside her brain. That's me," she giggles. Her laughter doesn't sounds normal at all. Jonghyun smiles, he understand what she was saying. Then, I'm the boy who sits at the back pretending to sleep but I listen to every word that was babbled by the teacher.

         A green bus heading towards their bus stop. JongHyun let AhYoung climbing up the bus stairs first. He never talk as that much to a stranger before and he found that their conversation is so entertaining and peaceful. This 'AhYoung' girl he met at the bus stop, he should mention about this random girl to his fellow friends at the bachelor party. No RC Car conversation of course.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have never been to South Korea before so I don't really know if Gangnam is near to YeoYido or any places mention above. I enjoyed the 2nd episodes of Ah Young told JongHyun how YeoYido looks like New York. Ah Young mother's character of believing fortune is quite fascinating so I add up it here. 

Ah Young's cousin is Baek JiYoung. Well that was really random but I like Baek JiYoung's character so I really want to put her in. She will definitely be a good Unnie to Ah Young.

Han Groo and Kim YoungKwang have been a couple in a drama called 'Can We Get Married?' and yes this two have a lot of chemistry better than the lead roles ; Bang Sung Joon and Jung So Min. Just skipped the part where there's too much drama between the lead couple and focus on Han Groo and Kim YoungKwang's love story. It's really good. 

Last but not least, if you guys have ever watch Style Log where Nana, JongHyun and the other guy went for clubbing, JongHyun looks really shy and he didn't join the dancing party. So yeah...that will be just maybe.

Happy Reading! - SojungBae