TOUCH (KNJ)

ONE

Seoul. 

A beautiful city, beautiful people, a new identity, away from the sickening place called home, what more could she ask for? Friends, she lost them quite some time ago and it's not like staying alone is a difficult thing. She has herself and that's enough for her. 

Ivy, a twenty three year-old rape victim with impeccable grades and a good paying job at a publishing agency as an editor. A newbie in Korea, completely alone with the disadvantage of not knowing the language better and maybe a little because of her social skills. 

"A double chocolate chip Frappuccino to go please", she says softly from behind her scarf, covering most of her face except those small brown eyes. And to much of her surprise, the guy behind the counter understood what she said, nodding right away after billing it without uttering a single word. 

"You new here?" he asks with a little accent in his english which she found adorable. 

"Yeah, I just moved in near by", her voice was a little groggy due to the jet lag and lack of sleep. 

"Oh, I hope you like it here", he softly places the now ready coffee on the counter on front of himself before taking a sharpie and looking up at her through his almond-shaped eyes, expectantly. She stares back unfazed, tilting her head a little. 

"Your name?" he asks softly and her mouth forms an 'o' at that. 

"Ivy." He nods, painting the letters carefully on the paper container and sliding it towards here after scribbling something else underneath which went unnoticed by her, at first. 

She nods back in acknowledgement, taking the warm cup in her hands and stepping back. 

"Ivy. What a pretty name." He says under his breath as she opens the door moving outside. 

She pulls her blazer closer to herself trying to block out the chilly winds as she strides towards her new apartment with full pace, trying to avoid any possiblities of being left in a cornered alley or empty area, especially in an unknown place. Her eyes scan the whole area, trying to memorize small details for the next time. The coffee still in her hand, half-empty, as she smiles softly to herself watching a few teenagers going around hand-in-hand, smiling from ear to ear. 

She used to like them too but change is necessary and so the inevitable happened. She changed, a whole hundred and eightly degree flip of her personality and of course, life. 

All these things that used to excite her now seem so unimportant and flavourless. What even was important to her now? Her Job? Yeah she loved it but it wasn't that important. 

Her family? Yeah they were important to her but what about her? Was she important to them? 

These weren't reasons important enough. 

They weren't enough reasons to live. 

Maybe this city could give her a reason to live. 

Her feet bring her to the front of her apartment and her hands dig into the little pockets of her sling bag, trying to find out the key when a guy passes by her punching in his passcode to enter the apartment across from her. She sighs, fidgeting with the key in her bag. 

She wanted someone friendly to stay across her. It's not like he wouldn't be friendly but he's a guy. And being friendly or comfortable with guys? Couldn't be Ivy. 

She unlocks the door, moving inside without a sound made and drops the keys on the stack of books she left by the door. Getting rid of the boots and her coat, she heads to the kitchen for a glass of water and places the half-empty coffee on the counter. 

As she gulps down the glass of water, her eyes fall on the scribbles under her name. She furrows her brows slightly as she picks it up. 

You're pretty! ^o^ 

- J 

'Oh, the guy from the coffee shop. He didn't even see my whole face,' she thought, throwing the container into the trash after dumping the rest og the coffee into the sink. 

She lets out a small smile and proceeds to take a shower and head to bed. Tomorrow is her first day at work plus she needs to unpack the rest of the things. 

Lying on the bed, with the blanket wrapped around her, she blinks repeatedly, not knowing what to do or who to talk to. Now having her phone in her hand she guessed what her parents would be doing around this time. Would they even pay attention to what she'd say? What about Em? Wouldn't she be with her boyfriend right now? But she calls her anyway, wanting to talk to somebody so she could atleast fall asleep for a few hours. 

"H-hello?" Ivy questions when only the sound of shuffling fills her ears, voice cracking due to the heaviness in her chest. Someone yells a quick 'one second' over the phone so she waits. 

"Hey, how is Korea?" Her best friend asks over the line, drawing out the hey. 

"Pretty." she replies simply getting relaxed just by the sound of someone's voice, somebody to care for her. 

"What did you do today?" Emily asks, knowing perfectly well how to handle her. 

"I unpacked, walked around, got a coffee and came back." 

"Oh, you made a friend or something?" 

"No, but I met this guy." 

"Ooh, who is it? Is he cute?" 

"Yeah, I didn't pay much attention but he wrote me a compliment on my coffee." 

"Okay, is he a barista?" She only hums in response, eyes burning a little. 

"Are you okay?" She hums again, closing her eyes and rubbing them slightly. 

"Well, I was in the middle of a make-out session, let's talk tomorrow. Good night Ivy. Call me everyday." Typical. 

"I will, Good night Em." 

Guess she'll have to spend another night, tossing and turning or perhaps reading something. She could've just told her that she couldn't sleep, that she wanted to talk for a bit. 

Even if she was brilliant at everything, she was bad at one thing. Never in her life had she ever understood a person's emotions through actions and other than being dense, she was also awful at expressing herself. Well, more than just awful. 

Morning comes sooner than expected and she scurries of her bed, into the bathroom trying her best to look presentable for her first day at work and not some insomniac anti-social woman. 

When coats of concealer couldn't hide her dark-circles, it was decided best to leave it and focus on being early. Groaning about her headache she paces to the same coffee shop in her stilettos and her red two-piece office wear, tapping on the counter she hopes to find the same guy from yesterday but instead it's another familiar man. 

"Oh hey, you moved to the apartment in front of ours?" he asks giving her a cute smile. 

"Yeah, didn't know you worked here." She whispers cracking the bones in her fingers to ease the pent-up tension. She follows his gaze to her white blouse and he clears his throat. 

"Yeah, me and my cousin own it, we work in shifts here." 

"Oh." She says awkwardly shifting from one foot to another, just wanting to take her coffee and go. 

"What's your name? Maybe I could show you around." he asks resting his palms on the counter and Ivy's eyes trace the multiple tattoos on his sleeve and forearm. 

"Oh my name is Ivy." She smiles only the tiniest bit. 

"Very nice to meet you Ivy, my name is Jungkook." 

A/N: 

HIII !