One Night in Paris [Han Jisung ff]

20 - Downward spiral⛔️

- ...and these are the basics of Korean sentence formation. - My professor spoke through the mic, his words resonating through the big auditorium.

It was actually few of us, twelve to be precise, but the school had decided to give us one of the biggest rooms it had. I didn't complain, though. I loved having enough space to write without accidentally elbowing other students, and most importantly I did not want to interact with those people.

They were that kind of spoiled kids, coming from way too rich families and going to this course just because they felt like it, they just had nothing better to do. Actually, we were supposed to be fifty, though half the teens there never showed up. I wish I had so much money to waste...

I had decided to take this course of Korean just after coming back home to my parents from Paris. I was in Florence now, enjoying the still warm September as I worked during the day and studied Korean during the night.

I was determined to pass that language proficiency test, I studied hard every night until I fell asleep on the books.

As the professor dismissed the class, I slowly put away my stuff, glancing at the clock: 10 pm. I sighed as I pushed the door open, exiting the building with no energy left.

I felt someone patting my shoulder gently. I turned, only to be met with a smiling girl. I knew she was taking the Korean course as well, though it was the first day I saw her in class.

- Hi! - She greeted me, happily waving. She looked slightly older than me, her dimples alone bringing me happiness. She had a bright smile and big brown eyes, her curly brown hair tied up in a bun.

- Hi. - I was slightly confused as why she would have approached me, but just from a quick look you could tell she was a social butterfly, one of those people always making new friends.

- Nice to meet you, I'm Alice. - Alice. I wanted to remember her name. She didn't look like the other people there, fancily dressed with expensive outfits. She was simple, her actions looking pure and heartfelt.

She asked me if I knew English well, and I nodded. Then, she asked me if we could only speak in English, since she wanted to better her pronunciation before going to study in London.

I widened my eyes.

- What university are you planning to go to? -

- SOAS, I've heard it's the best! -

- No way, that's the university I want to go to! - We were stunned at the coincidence, immediately jumping and laughing.

- Why do you want to learn Korean? - She asked, still amazed by the fact we had the same dream university. I internally sighed.

- K-pop. I started listening to it and wanted to learn the language. - I was partially lying. At first, this was the reason why I had started learning Korean, but now my only motivation was Jisung.

We had kept in contact, though it was difficult. We lived in completely different time zones, having very tight schedules and overall not enjoying much free time. It was emotionally draining.

However, my heart still skipped a beat whenever I received a message from him, even if it was only an emoji. But the more time passed, the more I felt like I would have never been able to see him again. I was afraid I would have forgotten him, the way he touched me and how he cared for me seemed to be slowly fading away from my mind. I was afraid of losing our memories.

- Oh, I see. I've met many people wanting to learn it because of the music. Actually, I feel like I'm the odd one. I just randomly saw a video about Korea one day and fell in love with the culture. - She shrugged her shoulders as we reached the bus stop, chatting some more. As I talked with her, I realized I didn't feel alone that much anymore. I had someone to share my experiences with.