If Not You, Then Who?

Jin

Sitting here in the rain is rather moronic given I was still at the bus stop an hour after the given time it was supposed to arrive. I wore my hair down as well which made this worse than it had to be.

Scratch that... Wearing a white tee shirt while it was raining made it worse. Frankly, bad luck was handed on a silver plater and I took it blindly. More like it was thrown at me with aggression but I'm sure you get the gist. The original point is that I'm getting on a bus to go to the airport so I can go back to California. I'm only in Korea because I have a friend who lives out here that I visit occasionally.

As I listen to 'Somebody Else' in the misting rain, I feel the bench shake slightly. I look over only to see a Korean man, who seems to be in the mid to early 20's staring back at me.

I smile shyly and look away.

"안녕." he speaks. Again, I lay my eyes on him.

Confusion washes over my face. Stupidly, I never learned Korean. So of course I had no idea what he just said.

I clear my throat. "I don't speak Korean." My face flushes.

"Oh. My name is Jin. Your name is?" His voice was silky but in a higher tone.

Nervously, I bit my lip and cleared my throat a second time. "Arielle." I croak out.

The man, Jin, smiles widely. "I speak not much English but... It's rain out here. And uh-" he fumbles with his words. "I think you should come. With me." his face glows with contentment.

Automatically I was a little afraid. Is this man trying to kill me or something? It's scary to meet someone random and they automatically ask for you to come with them.

"I don't think I should. I don't know you." I whisper shyly and look down at my hands that are now freezing.

Suddenly his face drops in sadness. "I think bus won't come. It is midnight. And cold here. I know someone who can speak English better." he points to the right of him. In direction of his home, perhaps.
I was already intrigued. My friend had to leave to visit her family out in the UK so this is the only option I have right now. So I agreed to go with him in hopes I won't die tonight.
A block down and we were met with an apartment. He opened the door and ushered me inside. Hesitantly, I abided.

Jin politely asked me to make myself at home while he got his "English speaking friend". Five minutes later, I could clearly hear their conversation.

"제발!"

"안니요-" the other man paused as he made eye contact with me standing in the middle of their living room.

Instantly I blushed deep and waved a little.
His eyes grazed over my face trying to read me. "Hello. I hear Jin here, saw you waiting for the bus and decided to bring you here out of the cold."

"I'm sorry. I'll go I just was interested to talk to someone else who can speak English. I didn't mean to intru-"

"No! No it's fine I'm okay with it. I totally understand why he brought you. I would have done the same." he  interrupted me with enthusiasm.

He spoke again. "I'm Kim Namjoon. You are?" his hand was held out.

I stammered. "Oh. Uh. I'm A-Arielle."

Namjoon and I conversed for a while. Introducing myself fully and explaining why I'm visiting Korea. He really engrossed himself in every word I spoke. As if I was to slip out how to win the lottery. It was nice being able to have a conversation with someone who speaks English other than my friend. Let's not fail to mention his staggering looks either. I took the moment to change into the clothes I had packed with me. A grey oversized fluffy sweater, skinny light colored jeans, and I wore my round vintage glasses to pull the while look together.