Seoulmates

Visiting

"Ella, wake up," a light nudging brought Ella from the deep depths of sleep to the surface. "Yah. Bae Eunji. Wake up."

Ella slowly blinked her eyes and squinted. Where am I?  Ella looked around. She was in a car. She looked out the window to see Yeonkyung's apartment building and realized that she must have fallen asleep in Jason's car. "How long was I out?" Ella asked instinctively. Did I drool? She raised an arm to rub her face and noticed just how warm and puffy it was. She must have slept for a while. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. It's probably just jet lag." Ella sat up straighter and blinked with wide eyes. She had just fallen asleep in the car of  almost a complete stranger. After all she had learned from her dad she couldn't believe that she just fell asleep. Dad would be so disappointed in me. Did I learn nothing from dad's work stories? In America, Ella's dad had been a cop for her entire life and then some. She wasn't allowed to go to parties or stay out late. She wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend unless her parents knew his parents. She was taught to never have her back to a door and to always sit in a corner where no one could sneak up behind her. She was taught the telltale signs of drug use and the differences in drug types from a young age. She was friends with all of her dad's co-workers and knew where all the speed traps where. She knew how to spot a liar and after all that she had learned, she fell asleep in the car of a complete stranger.

Ella turned and smiled a fake smile to hide the internal panic just a bit and said thank you for lunch and such a great time in Hongdae and after bowing for the third time, finally shuffled tiredly into the apartment building.

Meandering over to the elevator, Ella was only about half conscious. She pushed the call button and waited.  I can't believe how tired I am. Ugh. It's only like 7pm, I shouldn't be so tired. She stood leaning against the wall thinking and spacing out until finally the elevator opened with a ding that brought Ella back to the land of living. She hobbled into the elevator and sat down. The elevator was old and kind of rickety but it seemed trustworthy enough. Leaning her head against one of the walls Ella laid comfortably there for only a half a moment. The elevator doors opened and Ella struggled to get up. Standing at the entrance was a guy. Without any hesitation he walked into the elevator to help Ella up.

"Are you drunk? It's like 7 o'clock." The man asked, true curiosity and amazement tinging his voice.

"What, no? I'm underage! I'm just really tired." Ella was somewhat offended. Did she really look like someone who would be drunk before the sun even set? And did she even really look old enough to drink? Regardless, the man helped her up. "Thank you," she bowed. She looked up at his face and realized he was really attractive. Like REALLY attractive.

"Don't mention it," he smiled. Ella walked out if the elevator and the door closed on his boxy smile and hand that was slowly waving a goodbye. Ella walked to Yeonkyung's door and entered in the key code. 9-6-0-4-0-2. Yeonkyung's birthday. Ella smiled at the thought of how much Yeonkyung's parents must adore her to have their home defended by something so specific to her.

Still smiling, Ella took off her shoes and slid into slippers as she walked into the adjacent kitchen. With no one in the kitchen, Ella moved into the living room. Furnished with a TV, a sofa, two rocking chairs, a coffee table and Yeonkyung, the room looked pretty comfy. Adventure Time was and Ella thought of her brothers, Ethan and Evan. They loved that show and even Ella would sit down and watch it sometimes. Then wasn't one of those times. It was time to go to sleep.

"Eonni, I'm going to sleep,"

"Without dinner?" Yeonkyung turned and asked.

"Yeah, I had lunch and ddeokbokki though," Ella replied. "I'm not hungry, I'm just tired." Yeonkyung nodded and turned back to the TV. Walking to their room, Ella spaced out again. She was really tired. Upon entering, she plopped herself down on her bed and sat there face down on the comforter.

         .                      .                        .

Blinking slowly, Ella sat up. She walked out into the hallway, leaving the warm bed behind her. The TV was off and the apartment was dark and quiet. Ella felt around for her phone. Patting the bedside table, she decided that her phone was not there. What time is it?  Walking to the kitchen in hopes of finding a clock, Ella looked around at the still unfamiliar apartment. By now she knew where most of the rooms were and what each of them was for. She wasn't too sure on cabinets, but that would come in  a couple days. Once in the kitchen, she noticed a cell phone on the counter. It was hers. That's where I left it! The screen lit up silently. A message from Jason popped up.

"Come outside,"  Checking the time, Ella saw that it was around eleven at night and was a bit concerned. With some good common sense, there was no way she was leaving the nice, warm, not to mention safe, apartment in the middle of the night to meet a boy. If I don't open he app, he won't know that I saw the message, It'll be fine, just go back to sleep, Ella. "I know you're up, please just come outside!"  A new message read, as it too popped up. This is sketchy to say the least. There's no way.  Ella sighed. This was bad, right? A guy she barely knew showed up at her house and now wants her to come outside and meet him in the middle of the night. "I have something for you," Dammit. Ella was curious but still knew this was a bad idea.

"You woke me up with your message," Ella lied.

"Oh, sorry!"

"What do you need? I'm exhausted..."

"Well, I got you something, but I guess it can wait. Sorry for waking you up. I'll just drive back to Seoul and see you later."

Ella, no matter how creeped out she felt, she also felt bad that Jason had  driven an hour just to give her something. "Uh, no, it's fine. I'll come downstairs. Just wait a sec," Ella typed. Shaking her head and sighing as she did so. Ella threw on a coat and walked out the door, hoping not to wake anyone. Making her way to the old, rickety but still reliable-looking elevator, Ella was reading other messages on her phone. Her dad had texted her and so had Evan, one of her little brothers.

"Hey sis, are you doing okay?" Ella smiled. Evan had a funny was of showing his love for his sister. If anyone asked he'd sneer and trash-talk his sister, but in moments like these, Ella felt the love.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The food is weird though, lol" He was probably still sleeping since it was summer and only seven in the morning there. The elevator door opened at the first floor and Ella walked out. Walking towards the main entrance of the building, Ella noticed someone sitting on a bench just inside the door. It was Jason. He looked up and flashed a slightly rectangular smile in Ella's direction. It was dark but aided by the light outside on the street and the light of her phone, Ella was able to make out two boxes in Jason's lap. 

"I brought cake," he smiled. "I didn't know if you were a chocolate kind of person or a vanilla kind of person so I bought both."

"What's the occasion?" Ella asked with a smile.

"It's tradition to bring a cake when you visit someone's home. Also, it's kinda a thank you present for spending your first day here with me." Though it was hard to make out in the dark, Ella thought she saw Jason blush a bit.

"Thank you," Ella said in Korean with a small smile. Even though it was late in her opinion and also a bit weird to show up at someone's house in the middle of the night, she found the gesture sweet. "I really appreciate your effort to make me feel welcome in such a new and unfamiliar place," Jason smiled at that. His smile was so sincere and full of light that Ella couldn't help but broaden her smile into a grin. "Also, thank you for the cakes, I'll be sure to share with Yeonkyung eonnie's family."

With that, Jason smiled again. "Sorry to have woken you up for something so trivial but I was around because I needed to run an errand for my hyung," Jason explained. He couldn't have done that earlier? It's kinda late to be running errands...  Ella thought. Again she smiled and thanked him then bowed a goodbye before making her way back to the old elevator. Pushing the button to close the door, Ella closed her tired eyes for what felt like a second.

"Um, excuse me," a deep voice said. "Hey, um, Miss," the voice asked a bit nervously. Ella opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in rickety elevator and the man she had met before in the elevator earlier that night was standing over her with concern in his eyes. Panic surged through her and Ella darted up from her crouched over position with wide eyes and tried to process her situation. Black spots smudged her vision and without another thought, Ella collapsed.