You're just an ordinary student, trying to learn more about your mother's culture when to meet a girl as beautiful as a rose. And apparently this girl is the global superstar Rosé from Blackpink.
Will learning the fact that your first Korean friend...
I sat in my room and my eyes were glued to a textbook. I used the last couple days to intensely study Korean. I didn't want to be a burden anymore to anyone because I couldn't understand where to go or what other people wanted from me. And I made good progress. It was so much easier than I thought. I remembered a lot of words from my childhood, the only thing that I really had to study was grammar.
Suddenly there was a knock at my door and Sophie walked in. She looked rather... annoyed? I was confused.
"Studying again? Y/N, you're here for almost a week now and we saw you leave this dorm exactly once. And that was on your first day when you went out to the park. You should rather use the free time we have before the semester starts to decorate your room, go shopping for clothes or stuff you need or just explore the city!" Sophie scolded me and since she caught me off guard, I couldn't really talk back.
Then Ryuji walked in and smiled at me. "Come on, you really should take a break. Sophie and I wanted to go shopping and you will come with us." He said and dragged me outside my room.
Oh god, both my roommates are extroverts... I don't know if I can handle this.
A few minutes later I found myself at the bus with Sophie and Ryuji. They didn't even let me change out of my sweatpants. I was rather embarrassed by the looks the elderly Korean people gave me, but Sophie interrupted my thoughts by spilling her shopping plans to me and Ryuji.
"So, first we have to shop for new clothes. We all just brought a limited amount from home, but we will stay here for a whole year! There will be some occasions we need to be prepared for!" She said with sparkling eyes. I could already tell that she loved shopping.
"For example? I don't think we will be invited to a wedding this year." I chuckled, trying to lift my own mood.
While Sophie went on and on about clothes, I noticed that neither me nor Ryuji were really listening. He seemed just as bored as I was. Thank god.
"Okay, enough about wardrobe choices. I think it's more important to personalise our rooms a little. They look so blank. I wouldn't feel comfortable in it for a whole year. We should also look for stuff like that. Nice posters, cute bedsheets, stuff like that." Ryuji suggested and we all agreed.
We got out of the bus and got into a huge mall. I couldn't even believe that such a huge building would exist. Ryuji, smart as always, got a pamphlet with a map of the mall, so that we wouldn't get lost.
Of course, Sophie insisted on going shopping for clothes first. She dragged us through a lot of stores, made us evaluate what she picked out and even put us in a bunch of stuff. I had to say, she did have a great sense in fashion. I liked most of the stuff she put me in. Even Ryuji looked amazing in the outfits she picked for him.
So, we ended up buying a lot of stuff. My wallet was already crying, and we didn't even start with the room decorations. But Sophie was satisfied, meaning it was Ryuji's turn to lead the group.
We walked through a bunch of stores, always buying small things here and there. I ended up with some posters, a bunch of small figures of my favourite anime characters, some nice and comfy bedsheets and even two books.
"Man, I'm starving!" Sophie complained while Ryuji paid for his last item. I looked at the mall's map and found a food court close by.
"We could take a break there." I said, showing my roommates the place I discovered. Obviously, they agreed right away.
So, a few minutes later, Sophie, Ryuji and I were sitting at a table, eating french fries, dumplings... basically a mix of different snacks.
"By the way, Sophie... Are you having some kind of culture shock? I mean, Korea and England are much more different than Korea and Japan for example. I manage well, but what about you?" Ryuji asked and I looked at Sophie, interested as well.
She swallowed down her french fry and thought about it for a second. "I have to admit, it really is different. I guess, if I didn't prepare for it, I would have quite the culture shock. But I was interested in Korean culture for a long time now, so I studied it a little and that helped me very much. For example, talking to strangers in Europe is so much more relaxed and informal than here. I was surprised at how polite everyone is."
"Which part of the culture caught your interest in the first place?" I asked and Sophie chuckled.
"I have to admit, it was the music. I'm a huge kpop fan." She said and I had to smile.
"Me too, I just recently got into it. But I'm still stuck with second generation kpop, my favourite group is 2NE1." I explained with a smile on my face.
"Oh yeah, I remember. They were called queens of kpop back then because they were so popular and successful. You know, YG Entertainment actually has a girl group that is much bigger now than 2NE1 was back in the days." Ryuji explained.
"Yes, you mean Blackpink! I'm a huge fan of them too!" Sophie exclaimed and clapped her hands a little. I was just confused. I didn't know them, so I couldn't participate in the conversation.
"Haven't you at least heard from them, Y/N? They debuted in 2016, gained popularity quickly and are now global superstars." I simply shook my head and Sophie felt the urge to tell me about them.
"Well, they consist of four members, all around our age. They have one Thai member, the other three are Korean, even though two of them grew up overseas in New Zealand and Australia. They actually had a comeback recently, do you want to..."
"I'll check them out myself someday, thanks." I interrupted her, before we would end up watching music videos in public. I was too shy to draw attention to me that way.
Eventually, we went back home after a long day of shopping, eating and talking. I was exhausted. Glancing over at my alarm clock, I noticed that it was only 7 p.m.
The sun was setting and the last warm sunrays were shining through my window. That somehow reminded me of...
I got out my phone and opened my contacts. "Recently added contacts: Ryuji, Sophie and...
Rosie."
Should I text her? I haven't heard from her ever since we exchanged numbers. Maybe she forgot about me. I opened her contact in my messenger app and stared at her profile picture. She was stunning.
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I got back to the empty text chat and stared at it. Maybe I should text her...
I locked my phone and put it down next to me. I shouldn't bother her.
She told me that she works in the entertainment industry and from what I know about it, those jobs get pretty busy. I don't want to be a burden to her. Also... I didn't even know how to start the conversation in the first place. Stupid shyness.
I closed my eyes and my thoughts brought me back to a few days ago, when I met Rosie. I remembered her beautiful face when she removed her mask for the first time.
"Maybe... Maybe it was too good to be true that such a beautiful girl wants to be involved with me. Maybe it's best to let this go." I mumbled and drifted to sleep.
