"This is where you will sleep. You will have to share the room with my daughter Hyosung. She's the same age as you are," Hyejin said pointing into the comfortably large room.
It was decorated with pink and yellow and the walls were sided with light colored wood paneling. The room was warm and cozy feeling and the adorable stuffed animals everywhere made the room feel very girly. I smiled at how adorable it was. When I thought of my own room, painted with red, black, and gray walls, mine seemed almost manly in comparison.
"Hyosung should be home from her part-time job soon. I'm sure you must be tired so I'll leave you to rest for now."
I bowed. "Thank you very much."
She chuckled and smiled. "You don't have to be so nervous," she said pointing to my perfectly folded hands, "for this school year, just see us as your family."
I looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you Hyejin."
She closed the door on her way out and for the first time since I left home, I was completely alone. I set my suitcases in a corner and flopped down on the bed I was to use. I had forgotten how much of a luxury simple things, such as a bed, could be after two days of traveling and waiting in airports.
I was so tired that my brain refused to work any longer and I fell fast asleep.
*****
I awoke hours later to the sound of the bedroom door sliding open. My eyes opened and I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. "Ah, that's right..." I thought. I remembered where I was and sat up when I saw Hyosung heading over to where I was resting.
Hyosung was the most adorable Korean girl I had ever seen in real life. She had a petite thin face that was somewhat round, framed by side bangs and long brown hair that was styled with large, soft curls. Her eyes were dark brown and shaped like something on a fluffy cute animal. She couldn't have been taller than 5'1" and was wearing a pink and gray school uniform.
"Hi," Hyosung said with a smooth, high, girly voice, "you must be Aila." She smiled revealing dimples in her cheeks.
"Uh... yes," I said suddenly feeling intimidated. Compared to her I looked like a cross dresser. I had on my favorite pair of jeans, converse, and a red hoodie. I didn't have any makeup on and my long brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail,except for the short layers and bangs I had that framed my face, making me look like a boy.
"I'm so glad you get to stay with us," she said, cutely clasping her hands together and showing off a perfect smile.
"Thank you for letting me share your room," I said, not really knowing what to say.
She just smiled. "So we start school on Monday which means we have a couple days. Is there anything you'd like to do or see beforehand?"
I looked at her with sleepy eyes. I was having a hard time focusing on the conversation.
"Ah, sorry," she said, "dummie me. You must be tired. We can talk in the morning. I'll show you where the bathroom is."
---
I slid into my pajama shorts and put on a tank top. Even though it was late August, and the temperature wasn't specifically high, the air was sticky. I hated the feeling, but I told myself I'd have to get used to it.
Hyosung was in bed reading a book so I decided to go down the hall to wash my face before going to bed. As soon as I opened the door though and looked around the corner, I saw a young guy walk past the hallway. I immediately ducked back in the room. "Who was that?" I thought nervously. But although I was nervous, I grabbed my hoodie off my bed, put it on and slid back out to the hallway. The guy was now sitting on the couch in the living room. I peeked around the corner.
He looked like he was about 20 or so, had jet black hair and a handsome face. He appeared to be on the phone with a friend. When he laughed, the thought crossed my mind that he looked like Stitch from the classic Disney movie. I couldn't hold back a chuckle.
"Who's there?" he said suddenly.
I ducked back around the corner, but I was too slow. He had darted off the couch and caught my shoulder as I tried to escape.
"Mianhamnida (sorry)," I said with a low bow when I turned to face him.
He looked at me with a puzzled expression for a moment. "Wait... are you Aila?"
"Ne. I'm sorry... no one told me that Hyosung had a brother," I said avoiding eye contact with him.
"Wow. I feel so loved. I'm going to have to get her back the little disloyal twerp!" He said with a playful glare.
"What's going on out here?" Hyosung said, emerging from her room, "Oppa! I didn't think you'd get home this early!" She ran over to him and hugged him around the waist. He was at least a foot taller than her.
"How come you didn't tell our new guest you had a brother?" He said with a teasing pout.
"Sorry Oppa..."
"I was sleeping when she first got here," I said quickly.
"Ah," he said. "Well I forgive you then." He patted her head. "My name is Yongguk by the way. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too."
The next morning I felt better, but I still felt drowsy and jetlagged. After getting ready and having breakfast, Hyosung insisted on showing me around and Yongguk had offered to drive us.
She took me along to a couple of her favorite shops. It was depressing. Most of them were "one size" stores and after three different places, I hadn't found a single thing that fit me. It wasn't like I was heavy; in fact I was at my ideal weight. But I had a curvy figure and somewhat broad shoulders not to mention being 5'7". I was at least 2 or 3 inches taller than every other girl in the stores.
The only thing that helped me to survive was watching Yongguk shop with his sister. I had never seen such an amazing sibling relationship. Unlike many American guys who were too caught up on ego and being macho, Yongguk suggested things for his sister to try on and gave constructive input on what he thought of the outfits. He actually had superb taste.
Finally after the fifth store, we went to a cafe for a snack and Yongguk treated us.
"Do you like music?" Yongguk as the three of us left the cafe and were walking to his car.
"Definitely!" I said with a smile, "I love music."
"Great," he replied with a smile, "I have somewhere I want to take the both of you."
"You're going to take us to-" Hyosung started to say.
"Don't tell her!" Yongguk interrupted, "I want it to be a surprise."
I raised an eyebrow in curiosity but I followed along silently. "Where could he be taking us?" I thought.
I could hear the music before we were even at the door. The area looked a bit sketchy, but somehow I trusted Yongguk. We walked in and there were a lot of people. Up on the stage, two guys were holding mics. One was rapping and the other was moving with the beat, apparently waiting his turn.
"Do you like rap?" Yongguk asked, leaning towards me.
I could smell his cologne and it made my stomach clench tight. "Ne," I replied.
"My brother has been rapping underground for years," Hyosung said, barely audible above the music, "He's pretty good!"
"Really? He doesn't really look like he would be into this kind of stuff to be honest."
Hyosung chuckled. "Yeah, well since graduating he has had to work full time so he's changed a lot in appearance but he still loves to come here when he can."
I looked around, suddenly realizing Yongguk had disappeared. I was about to ask where he went when I saw him go on stage.
"The next battle," an announcer said, "is between Bang and Rapmonster."
"Bang is my brother's stage name," Hyosung said, obviously noticing my puzzled face.
"Ah, makes sense," I said. But what puzzled me more was that the guy they called Rapmonster looked familiar. He had white blonde hair and he had sunglasses on.
The music started and Yongguk brought the mic to his mouth. I already had heard his deep speaking voice but his rap was on a whole other level. It was amazing. He wasn't probably the fastest rapper, but he had such a unique voice anyone who heard it would know it was him.
Next it was Rapmonster's turn. His voice was also surprisingly deep and unique. But what blew me away was how fast he could rap. He didn’t look like he could be out of high school, but he was already so talented. My ears were ensnared.
Before I knew it the song was over. The crowd was cheering so loud I could hardly hear my own shouting. Both rappers nodded to the audience and then Rapmonster smiled.
It suddenly clicked. I had seen that smile before.
