Slow Journey || 2KIM

Chapter 1

"Agh. Studying Korean is hard!" Hitomi complains as she rests her head on her fists, her closed palms coming into contact with her cute, round, puffed out cheeks. She's been in the library all morning, trying to study Korean literature once again. As a Japanese student she's having a hard time understanding Korean even though she's been here for quite some time now.

"I should have just hung out with Nako." She complains once again and Minju and Sakura laugh lightly behind the library's counter. Hitomi is seated by a table nearby so they can talk more comfortably though they still have to keep it low since it's a library and they shouldn't distract people who are here to seriously study and not complain or gossip in their case. Chaeyeon sitting across from Hitomi laughs hard, for a second there forgetting that they're at a library. Sakura's library. Honestly though, when does she —and not just her— forget that they should keep it low?

"That won't help you pass the class though. I bet you'll end up failing this class about five times!"

"Ya! It's only my first year at college! Spare me this one! How can you go and ruin my future with your stupid betting just like that?" Hitomi tries to defend herself though it only makes Chaeyeon laugh harder, earning some complaints from people around the library.

"You're too cute to be true." Chaeyeon says and pinches Hitomi's cheeks.

"I can be pretty mean too though don't test me." Hitomi says and glares at Chaeyeon, annoyed that the latter just pinched her precious cheeks.

"Oh I would love to see that view. I'm sure an angry peach would still look cute." Hitomi pouts in defeat. Sakura giggles softly as she observes the two from behind the counter. She shakes her head before she starts unpacking a new box of new books they've just received. Sakura has to admit it herself. She also finds Korean hard to learn. But Sakura overall likes learning and studying, so her Korean has improved way more than anyone else's. She's been studying hard and a lot that's why. A reason as to why she adores working for her uncle's library is that reason. She enjoys the silence the library has but also the fact that there are so many different genres of books she can borrow and study. She's a bookworm, a book lover as she calls herself or a book freak as Nako and Hitomi call her at times just for fun.

She takes out the books and packs them on the counter, as she checks if everything is on the list the piece of paper in her hands has. Her eyes might be focused on the list in her hands, but that doesn't mean she's not observant. For a quiet person, she's extremely observant. She might not talk much, but that's why her other senses work way harder than her speech. Her eyes can catch every little detail even if she's not looking around.

"Are you nervous about something?" She asks straightforwardly Minju, her workmate and friend who's standing next to her. Minju's eyes grow wide slightly, wondering how she noticed her nervousness. Sakura smiles slightly. Of course she had. Minju has been fiddling with her fingers for over an hour, her eyes have been looking around very often as if she's searching for someone and she couldn't decide on which foot should she let more weight on as she's been shifting from foot to foot for a while now.

Minju turns to look at her slightly, her brown eyes slightly bigger than usual. Her always seeming frowning or surprised light eyebrows which that has been their natural form anyway are raised upwards out of surprise she's been found out. She parts her lips a bit and Sakura waits for the girl to speak up. For a Korean person, Minju is struggling way more than she herself does to speak, or any of their Japanese friends actually.

"It's just... I got informed I'll have a roommate from today onwards." Minju says softly after a while of thinking how to form words or how decent people actually use their mouth and voice to talk.