Why Must My Heart Ache?

Chapter 2: First Day

    Flora was exhausted by lunchtime. Classes had come in and out, one after the other, and she had no idea how she was going to remember everyone's names. She was happy that they had name tags, but she couldn't stare at their jackets every time she wanted to call on somebody. She sighed as she pulled out her lunchbox and ate at her desk. She knew that she was welcome in the teacher's lounge, but since she didn't have cafeteria duty and she didn't feel like moving, she stayed in her classroom. She had given an open invitation to students to eat in her room and ask her questions to get to know her, but she wasn't thrilled when several girls streamed into her classroom with their lunches and very high-pitched chatter.
    She smiled though when they attempted to speak to her in English. She hadn't told any of her students that she was fluent in Korean so that they would be forced to speak to her English. She was there to teach them English, after all. Plus, then she would know if anyone made unsavory remarks in her class in Korean, and she could begin to pick out the troublemakers.
    "Teacher, where you from?" one girl asked her as she sat down with her friends. Flora pulled down a map of the States and pointed to the west coast. "California," she told them. They nodded and started to go over the information with each other. The same girl, her name tag said "Park Mina", spoke up again. "Do you know celebrities?" she asked. Flora just laughed and shook her head to say no.
    She sat back down at her desk to finish her lunch when a trio of boy students walked in, two of them pushing a blushing one in front of them. He wouldn't look up from the floor as they steered him to the desk. "Do you have a question?" she asked them. The boy looked back to his friends and they nodded, starting to chuckle.
    He sighed and said, "Neomu yeppeuseyo." His face burned red. Using all of her strength to keep a look of mild confusion on her face, she grinned internally at the compliment, though she felt sorry for the blushing student in front of her. I wonder if he lost a bet or something, she thought.
    His friends slapped his shoulder and said, "English!" rather loudly. His face burned even brighter. "Araso!" he shouted back at them. "You are very pretty," he told her hesitantly.
    She let go of the control she had on her face. "Oh, thank you," she told him. "What's your name?" His friends, if indeed they were actually his friends, began to laugh at him as she asked.
    "Lee Minwoo," he mumbled.
    "Well, Minwoo, I'm a sucker for compliments," she said as she opened a drawer and motioned for him to look inside. His eyes widened as he beheld the hidden stash of candy that she kept there. "Pick one," she told him, holding up her index finger and grinning as the others ceased their mirth in realization. Ha! I foiled their plan!
    She had to stay after school to watch the students clean the classrooms and hallways. Later, she said goodbye to Kyung Mi and headed home afterwards. When she reached the building however, she wasn't ready to go back in.
    She was feeling restless, so she took out her phone and pulled up directions to Namsan Tower. On her way to the subway station, she stopped at a small cafe for some coffee to take with her. She pulled her jacket tighter around her torso, fighting the chill breeze, and went on her way, warming her hands with the coffee as she took sips from the straw.
    When she reached the tower, the light show on its base had already started. She sipped on her drink as she watched and debated whether or not she wanted to try going up. She had decided against it, figuring it would close down for the night before she got all the way up, when a man slammed into her, pulled her down behind the half-wall she'd been sitting on, and shushed her, holding his finger to his lips.
    She held back a gasp of recognition as a group of screaming women rounded the corner and ran past. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him to ask if the coast was clear, and he helped her up. Her heart thumped against her chest with the adrenaline as he assessed her face.
    Deciding that she was a foreigner, he began to apologize in English. "I am sorry. I did not mean to... run into you. Um..."
    She interrupted him. "Ahneeyo, gwenchanayo," she assured him. In Korean, she explained that she understood. "I would run away, too. I'm Flora Baker." She held out her hand with her left fingertips touching her elbow. He did the same and shook her hand warmly. Then he stated what she already knew. "My name is Cho Kyuhyun. Your Korean is very good."