My Nextdoor Lover

A New Neighbour

"So what do you think?" asked Rebecca "What do you mean what do I think?" asked Florence "About Jonathan?" asked Rebecca "Jonathan? That man you introduced me to during your birthday party a few weeks ago?" asked Florence "Yes, him," answered Rebecca "Three words: not my type," replied Florence "Why is that?" asked Rebecca "He just is," answered Florence. Florence Jacobs and Rebecca Preston have been friends since 2018, they met through a friend at a lunch outing to Bear Kitchen and have been inseparable ever since and enjoyed each other's company "You're so picky with men," said Rebecca "You're right about that," said Florence "You need to get yourself out there instead of just going to and from work," said Rebecca "Yes, but help treating the sick gives me meaning in my life," said Florence "No wonder why your parents named you after Florence Nightingale," said Rebecca "I care about the needy and so do you," said Florence "You're right about that," said Rebecca "Anyways, we better get back to work. Our lunch break is nearly over," said Florence "Oh come on, let's break the rules and have five more minutes," begged Rebecca "Sorry but rules are rules you know," said Florence "If you say so," said Rebecca as they tidied after themselves and returned to work.

"Fresh start," Yoon-tae thought to himself as he stood outside Wakefield Westgate Train station with his luggage at his feet, he heard someone shout his name and turned to see his friend Kim Eun-woo with his wife Bong-Cha, their eight-year-old daughter Yu-Mi and six-year-old son Su-jin waving at him "You guys don't have to come here. I could have just carried my luggage up there myself," said Yoon-tae as he pointed to the direction of his new apartment "Well we wanted to give you a help in hand," said Eun-woo "My husband insisted," said Bong-Cha as she hugged Yoon-tae "Welcome home uncle Yoon-tae," said Yu-Mi and Su-jin as Yoon-tae hugged his friend's children "Come on, let's get you settled in," said Eun-woo and they loaded the car with Yoon-tae's luggage and drove to Yoon-tae's new apartment on Burgage Square.
After unpacking Yoon-tae's things for some time, Yoon-tae ordered a takeaway for lunch for himself and his friends "Thank you for helping me unpack my belongings. You guys are the best friends anyone could ever ask for. Just think before I enlisted in the military, I came here to view this apartment and got a new job at Branch Wellness Centre," said Yoon-tae "Well we're always here to help out our friends," said Eun-woo "If you need us, we're just a phone call away," said Bong-Cha. After eating their takeaway lunch it was time for Yoon-tae's friends to head home "We better leave you to get settled in," said Eun-woo "And I know two little children who are due to stay at their grandparent's house this weekend," said Bong-Cha "Oh mum!" said Yu-Mi "Do we have to?" asked Su-jin "Yes and no buts," answered Bong-Cha "Say goodbye to uncle Yoon-tae," said Eun-woo "Bye uncle Yoon-tae," said Yu-Mi and Su-jin "Bye guys," said Yoon-tae "Good luck with your new job tomorrow," said Eun-woo "And thank you again for taking care of my apartment whilst I did my military service," said Yoon-tae "No worries," said Eun-woo as he and his family left Yoon-tae alone in his apartment.

"Finally I've finished my work for the evening," said Florence "Clocking off are we?" asked Jamie "Yep, time for me to head home and hit the sack," said Florence "Are you doing anything after you've had some sleep?" asked Jamie "Just cleaning my apartment as usual," answered Florence "You do that every week," said Jamie "My apartment doesn't clean itself. Besides my job helps me pay the bills and the rent," said Florence "When do you ever go out and have some fun?" asked Jamie "That's a rarity, Jamie. By the way, what are you and your boyfriend Michael doing later?" asked Florence "We're off to Calder & Hops for Drag Queen karaoke tonight," answered Jamie "You two boys have fun. And now it's time for me to head home and hit the sack. Bye," said Florence as she left Pinderfields Hospital for home.
When Florence arrived home at Burgage Square, she changed out of her nurse uniform and climbed into bed for a restful sleep.
Meanwhile, a bit further down on Westgate, Yoon-tae began his first day at Branch Wellness Centre. He quickly made new friends, although some of them became friends with him because of how handsome he looked "You've certainly turned a few heads around here Yoon-tae," said Matthew "You don't have to ask me why," said Yoon-tae "I can tell why, because most of the girls working here watch K-Dramas and listen to K-Pop such as Stray Kids and BTS," said Matthew "I saw BTS in concert a few years ago with my little sister Mi-young. We're both BTS ARMIES," said Yoon-tae "I guess you and your sister are close," said Matthew "We are. She was really upset when I told her that I was moving here after I did my military service. But I told her that no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be brother and sister," said Yoon-tae as he and Matthew heard a group of women giggling "Looks like I've turned a few clients heads too," said Yoon-tae "I'm jealous of you, you know that," said Matthew "Hey, I'm as human as you are. You'll turn someone's head one day," said Yoon-tae "Promise?" asked Matthew "Promise," answered Yoon-tae. Just then a group of ladies arrived at the clinic "I hear they've hired a foreign yoga and meditation instructor," said one of the ladies "And judging by his photo we can see on the reception wall here, he's young and handsome looking man," said another lady "Sounds like you're gaining a fan club out there Yoon-tae," said Matthew "You're right. And my lunch break is nearly over, so I better get back to work and get ready for my first meditation class," said Yoon-tae "Good luck with the ladies," laughed Matthew "Stop joking," said Yoon-tae as he left to get ready for his first meditation class.

Florence woke up at 9am for a quick breakfast before returning to bed at 9:15am. But after a restful sleep, she woke up at noon, got dressed, had some lunch and gave her apartment a weekly clean from top to bottom. At 2:50pm, as soon as she finished cleaning, she brewed herself a cup of tea and went onto the balcony at 3pm. Whilst sitting on the bench on her balcony, she heard someone say "Hello!" Florence looked around to see whose voice was calling her "Over here!" she heard and looked to her right and saw a man smiling and waving at her "Hello," said Florence "I'm your new neighbour," said the man "What's your name?" asked Florence "Park Yoon-tae," answered Yoon-tae "Florence Jacobs," said Florence "Like Florence Nightingale," said Yoon-tae "That's right. I work as a nurse at Pinderfields Hospital. Florence Nightingale inspired me to become a nurse. So don't get into any accidents. I wouldn't want you to end up in A&E," said Florence jokingly "I'll keep that in mind," said Yoon-tae "What job do you do?" asked Florence "I've just started working at Branch as a yoga and meditation instructor today," answered Yoon-tae "That's nice," said Florence "Well sometimes life can be very tough. And we need to do things to relax our minds," said Yoon-tae "Like what I'm doing right now. Sitting on my balcony and drinking a cup of tea," said Florence "Exactly! And having a conversation helps too," said Yoon-tae "A nice family used to live in your apartment," said Florence "Was one of them called Eun-woo?" asked Yoon-tae "Yes," answered Florence "And did he have a wife named Bong-Cha? And an older daughter named Yu-Mi and a younger son named Su-jin?" asked  Yoon-tae "Yes, answered Florence "They're friends of mine," said Yoon-tae "Really?" asked Florence "Yeah. I asked them to stay and see to my apartment whilst I complete my military service," answered Florence "That reminds me, I forgot to ask where are you from?" asked Florence "I'm from Seoul, South Korea. I've just completed 18 months of military service. And I just moved in yesterday," answered Yoon-tae "Do you have a family?" asked Florence "Not of my own," answered Yoon-tae which made Florence laugh "I mean, do you have a mother? Father? Siblings?" asked Florence "I have a little sister, Mi-young. What about you? Do you have a family?" asked Yoon-tae "I have one younger sister, Laura. She's in high school now," answered Florence "Which high school does she go to?" asked Yoon-tae "Cathedral Academy," answered Florence. "What do your parents do?" asked Florence "My parents own a hotel chain called Secret Mirage. What about yours?" asked Yoon-tae "My parents own a restaurant chain called Cucina Amore," answered Florence. As they talked Florence looked at her balcony clock and realised what time it was "Oh I better get myself ready for work," said Florence "What time is it?" asked Yoon-tae "It's 4pm. I start in an hour. And I don't finish until 5am. I work a 17 1/2hr shift every day. But I'm on this balcony every day at 3pm. Unless it's raining," answered Florence "Well it was nice meeting you," said Yoon-tae "It was nice meeting you too," said Florence.

Later that day Yoon-tae did a group video chat with his family and friends "How are you settling, son?" asked Mr Park "I'm settling in well, oppa," answered Yoon-tae "How are you? Are you eating well? How did your first day of work go?" asked Mrs Park "I'm fine, eomma. My first day at went well. And yes I am eating well eomma," answered Yoon-tae "Made any new friends?" asked Eun-woo "Yes I did. I made friends with a guy called Matthew," answered Yoon-tae "I bet you've turned a few heads at work," said Mi-young "Mainly those who come to my yoga and meditation classes. And so far they're all women and those who watch K-dramas and stuff," said Yoon-tae "Did you meet any of your neighbours?" asked Bong-Cha "I know what you're thinking, Bong-Cha "Is his neighbour a girl?" Well..." answered Yoon-tae "Well what?" asked everyone in the video chat "Well I did meet one neighbour today. My neighbour's name is Florence Jacobs. She's named after Florence Nightingale and is a nurse at Pinderfields Hospital. She is currently at work, working nights every day. But I will get to see her again every afternoon at 3pm," answered Yoon-tae. Mr and Mrs Park exchanged worried looks at each other "What is it eomma and oppa?" asked Yoon-tae "Nothing son," answered Mr Park "You two seemed to look worried. Is there something going on?" asked Yoon-tae "Nothing's going on, Yoon-tae," answered Mrs Park "If you say so. Anyway, I better go and get something to eat now. Bye everyone," said Yoon-tae "Bye Yoon-tae," said everyone.
"Do you think that Florence Jacobs is related to the owners of Cucina Amore?" asked Mrs Park, Mr Park took out a recent photograph that Mr and Mrs Jacobs sent them. It was a photo of Mr and Mrs Park standing outside Pinderfields Hospital with their two daughters: Laura and Florence "That's her," said Mr park as he and his wife looked at the photo of the dark brown-haired and blue-eyed girl staring back at them.