Letting Go

Part 1

"Y/N, come look at this."

You hear your coworker's exasperated sigh and wander over to where she is, finding her by a table of folded shirts.

"Look at what these assholes did. I swear, it's like people forgot what manners were."

Glancing down, you see what she was complaining about. On the top shelf, tucked in between some shirts, were food containers still holding leftover noodles and broth, along with empty candy wrappers.

"What kind of asshole wastes food?" You comment in the foreign language.

Korean wasn't your first language, but you worked damn hard to learn it. Moving to Korea wasn't something you ever imagined doing, but when your brother's company moved him here, you tagged along. You loved your home, but you always craved something more. More adventure and spontaneity. A part of your soul needed to travel and, though Korea never originally came to mind, you jumped at the opportunity.

Learning the language was hard at first, and your pronunciation was far from perfect but you were able to communicate with people well enough to live a life here. Your coworkers have helped you with your pronunciation, along with slang and swear words, which were obviously not taught in lesson apps.

"I'm so glad I taught you that word." Jia laughs.

You smirk at her. Jia was the first person you met in Korea, besides your boss. Upon meeting, she saw your frazzled face and anxious expression and immediately took you under her wing. For the first month, you were Jia's shadow. She showed you the ins and outs of your job, as well as good places to eat and hang out in your area. You liked Jia a lot, and she grew on you fast. She was sassy, fun, and caring, and the two of you became fast friends.

"Did you watch the show I told you about last night?"

Besides helping you at work and in the neighborhood, Jia liked to give you crash courses on many things. TV, music, culture. She once told you she liked to make sure you were immersing yourself into the Korean culture as much as you could.

Nodding your head, you carefully pick up the abandoned containers and turn towards her. "I liked it, and the lead was majorly cute."

Jia nods enthusiastically. "He's the next biggest thing, and he's so dreamy..."

While Jia begins filling you in on everything you need to know about the actor, the chimes of the front door being opened bring your attention to the customer walking in. You meet his gaze and bite back a smile while Jia continues her rant.

"Um, Jia..."

"Just wait until I show you Song Joong-ki! He's one of the most attractive males - "

The man who had approached Jia from behind clears his throat, causing Jia to immediately close her mouth and turn toward him.

"Besides my loving boyfriend of course!"

Jongin cocks an eyebrow at Jia, his mouth twitching with hidden laughter.

Jia turns back towards you, loudly whispering, "Y/N! Why didn't you tell me he was there?!"

"Don't try to put this all on her."

You laugh outright, adjusting the trash in your arms, as Jongin continues to pick on Jia.

You had met Jongin multiple times because he was always coming into the shop to talk or hang out with Jia. Gradually, you became friends with him, but you wouldn't consider yourself close. You were more like acquaintances. You didn't know much about him, only that he was a dancer and a really good one at that. He often wore a face mask, but when he didn't, he nearly blinded you with his smile.