Seoul Mates ~ ATEEZ

Chapter 3

When we finished eating, we had a lot left over, so we put what was left over in the fridge to eat later. By this time, it is time for bed, so I hit the hay. I check my phone to see good night texts from all the ATEEZ members along with Mark. Wow, it's crazy how many friends I've been able to make over the course of a single day. It makes me wonder what will happen in the days to come. This is my first night in Korea, and so many things have already happened. I smile at all the adorable 'good night' texts from ATEEZ. Wooyoung, Seonghwa, Yunho, Jongho, Yeosang, Mingi all type their text in Korean, which reads: 안녕히 주무세요~. San and Hongjoong, who speak fairly well English, wrote their text in English. Their text reads: Good night, Heejung-ah~
After checking my phone one last time, I put it on the night stand and go to bed for the night.

That next morning, around 6:30am, Mark calls me
to make sure I'm awake. I'm barely awake during this time, but I'm up this time. In America, it would be 2pm, so maybe my internal clock is still going by American time, I can't tell. Anyways, I drag myself out of bed, whether I want to or not. My mom is still fast asleep, so I'll leave her a note so she'll know where I've gone off to. I'm 18 now and almost 19, I should be able to have the freedom to go wherever I want since I'm an adult. My note to my mom read;
Hi mom. Whenever you wake up, I just wanted to let you know I went out to meet a friend this morning if you were wondering where I went. I should be back by the late morning or early afternoon. Text me if you need me. Love you♡

After writing my note to my mom, I left it on the counter where she'll 100% see it, then head out the door to meet with Mark. He pulls up in his very, very nice and probably unimaginably expensive 2023 KIA Stinger. Wow, that's a sexy car. I never knew I could call a car sexy, but that. That car is hot. The man driving it is just as sexy, hehe. Mark gets out of his car and like a gentleman, opens the door for me. He turns on the radio and the NCT playlist starts playing, ah classic Mark, promoting his own group. That's cute. Anyways, we have a chat while on the way to the military base where Baekhyun and Kai are stationed. The base is called Camp Humphrey's. This is actually an American military base, but the Korean military can use it too.

We arrive to Camp Humphrey's, Mark and I make our way to the visitation center where we will meet with Kai and Baekhyun. I can only imagine what weeks of hard military training and service working has done to them. I bet it's changed them a lot, but I can only imagine what they will look like in person. Mark checks us in as friends of Kai and Baekhyun. We are then granted access to the base and walk into the visitation center. Kai and Baekhyun are told that they have 2 visitors coming in and they are friends. They don't know which friends their lieutenants are referring to, but they can probably picture it being their childhood friends or somebody like that, but no. It's Mark and I. I can picture their reactions now.

Kai and Baekhyun walk into the room and wow. They look so handsome in their army uniforms. I used to say that a man in uniform looks so handsome and is such a turn on, so seeing Baekhyun and Kai, two of the most handsome idols I know, in uniform, is a shock to me. They look so good, I almost can't handle it.
"Mark!" Baekhyun exclaimed happily, giving him the cutest hug in existence. Baekhyun is still just as soft as he was when he entered the military.
"Hyung, this is your fan. I met her yesterday." Mark said.
"한국말 할 줄아세요?" Baekhyun asked me(Can you speak Korean?)
"네." I said, nodding my head(Yes)
"언제부터 공부했어요?" Baekhyun asked(When did you start studying?)
"2021년 1월 1일입니다." I said, laughing at how many ones I had to say in that sentence(January 1, 2021)
"좋아요!" Baekhyun said(Wonderful!)
"감사합니다." I said, bowing my head(Thank you)
"Your mannerisms are really like Korean." Mark said.
"After I started learning Korean, I watched a lot of K-dramas and variety shows. I was already watching K-Dramas since I love them, and watching them without subtitles really forces me to figure out the contexts of their sentences. Besides that, variety shows are usually unscripted, unlike K-dramas which follow a script, I can watch a variety show and see what the natural way of speaking is that way." I explained.
"Wow, you're very smart." Mark said.
"Thanks." I said.
"Mark, what did she say?" Baekhyun asked.
Mark translates the very long explanation I just said for Baekhyun into Korean. After explaining, Baekhyun thinks very highly of me, also saying that I'm a smart person saying,
"당신은 매우 똑똑해요."
"노무 감사합니다." I said(Thank you so much)
"천만에요." Baekhyun said(You're welcome)
"카이, 조용히 하고 있어요." I said(Kai, you're being quiet)
"그냥 듣고 있어요." Kai said(I'm just listening)
"괜찮아요." I said(Okay)
"몇 년도에 당신은 태어났는지요?" Kai asked(What year were you born in?)
"저는 2003년에 태어났습니다." I said(I was born in 2003)
"와, 정말 젊으시네요." Kai said in disbelief(Woah, you're so young)
"네." I said, laughing(Yep)