The arcade down the hill

Chapter 1

The doorbell rang as you open the door. You are welcomed by the sounds of the games, making you smile. You walk in and make your way to the counter where Jin Soo, the owner, is writing something in a piece of paper.  You arrive to the counter, leaning with your arms crossed, and poke his arm. 

"Hello, Jin Soo oppa!" You say with a smile. He looks up quickly and smiles brightly at you, putting aside the pen and the paper. 

"Well well, look who decided to show" He smirks. "Haven't see you in a while, i was worried, you punk" He pinches your cheeks playfully, you laugh.

"Sorry, exams" You rolled your eyes, remembering the stressful weeks. He nods in understanding. 

"Yeah, university is hard sometimes..." He looks down for a second and before you can ask him whats wrong, he lifts his head and smiles. "Well, i'm glad your back! the same as always?" He puts the amount coins in front of you. You nod, and pay him. 

"Thanks" He smiles and you walk your way to the computers. You took the chair and sat. While the computer was turning on, you remembered how you discovered the place. 

You came to Seoul thanks to an art competition. You won the first place and received a scholarship to one of the best art universities in South Korea. You were exploring your area the week after you landed in Seoul, trying to memorize all your surroundings. You were walking down the hill, appreciating all the houses of different colors and sizes, when a door on your left opened and you heard game sounds. Curious, you took a peek inside the little building, only to be amazed about the little arcade. 

The computer made a sound that got you out of your thoughts. You took the mouse and click in the game that you wanted to play all this time: Overwatch. The game opened and you looked if your last game was saved. It was. You smiled and spend all your afternoon playing, all the stress from before fading away. 

Hours later, you were walking to your apartment. Your stomach growled, surprising you and you decided to buy some dinner in a little store in the corner of your street. You came in and went for some instant ramen and a few variety of snacks. The old man behind the cash register smiled at you when you payed him and you left with a quiet 'thanks'.  You arrived to your building, greeting the old lady that lived in front of you.  You took the key out of your pocket and opened your door. You turned on the lights, throwing your bag to the floor. 

Your apartment wasn't very spacious, but you loved it. It had a small kitchen, an old TV with a sofa next to it. You had a small table too  and your bed was near the only  window you had. The white walls were now decorated with some of your artworks and pictures. You sighed, putting the ramen out of the plastic bag and started to boil water. It has been a long week. You thought. The exams had taken all the energy out of you, but that wasn't the only problem. You had to do an art exhibition in two months and you didn't know what to do. What about nature? No...very basic. Hmm...maybe abstract?  Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of boiling water. You ate your ramen while you watched a few YouTube videos. After you finished dinner, you took a shower and put a big hoodie and some leggings to sleep. Winter was starting , the nights becoming more and more cold. Laying on your bed, you decided to scroll a little in social media, when a message popped on. 

[Hani]

Y/n!! where did you go after the exam? i was searching for you! 

You laughed, imaging the preoccupied face of one of your dearest friends. Earlier that day, you saw all the messages and calls but didn't want to respond, not feeling the best to interact with people.

[You]

Sorryyy, i was really exhausted and just wanted to be alone.But hey, we are free until the exhibition :) So whats the plan?

She was your best friend here so you didn't mind telling her the truth. 

[Hani]

Straightforward as always haha! 

Oh yeah that's why i wanted to talk to you. How about we go shopping on Saturday? 

[Me]

Sounds great to me! See you on Sat then? 

I'm going to sleep right now, love you

[Hani]

Yes!! 

Oh goodnight wifey~ 

Love you too <3

You smiled at the nickname. You two  looked like an old married couple when you were together, your other friends had said.  You turned off your phone, your eyes feeling heavy as you fell asleep. 

The next morning, you woke up early and decided to be a little productive. You did your breakfast and changed your clothes to a comfy over-sized blue sweater, black jeans and black boots. You didn't want to wear a lot of makeup, so you decided just to put some concealer on, a bit of blush and a natural pink lip tint. You left your apartment with your sketchbook in your bag. You went to a few parks, shops and some tourist spots to find some inspiration for the exhibition. It was difficult to choose a theme when all you saw inspired you in different ways. 

You stopped walking, taking the view in front of you. The Han River. One of the most visited places here and the best place to find inspiration. Kids were playing, friends hanging out... You sat on a bench not to far of the river, looking for something to draw. That's when you saw him. 

You started to draw the face of the stranger, making quick traces here and there. You finished the sketch and took another look at the boy. He was beautiful. He was playing with a golden retriever and smiling at the animal. You were amazed, your fingers itching to take a picture of the stranger. You have to ask him for permission, now. I stand up from the bench, taking my bag and walking to the boy. You blushed thinking how to explain him why you wanted to take a photo of him. But then you are suddenly stopped by a hand. 

"Y/n? Oh my god it's you!" You turned back, just to find of your first semester classmates looking at you. You forced a smile, trying to make this fast. 

"Oh Yuna!" you gave her a quick hug. "Nice to see you again!". When you were about to turn your head to take a glance at the boy, she hugged you again. Oh my god, are you kidding me?

"I missed you! We should totally go to grab a coffee someday!" She smiled brightly and you felt bad. Ugh, i cant say no to her...

"That sounds good, how about you give me your number and i call you later?" you smiled at her. 

"Yes!Here it is....." She gave you her number and we said goodbye to each other.Relieved it was over, you turned around to ask the boy but to your disappointment, there was no sight of him.