Girl Next Door

"Chaeyoung"

(Author as narrator)

You quickly stood up straight as you saw her smile at you. She stuck her hand out and said "Hi, I'm Chaeyoung. I just moved here." She gestured to the house next to yours. "I don't have any friends yet, but I'm hoping I can start somewhere." She smiled sweetly and let go of your hand. You froze for a second and finally said "Hi, I'm (Y/N), welcome to the neighborhood. Uh, I live here." You gestured to your house behind you. "I'm sorry to ask this, but could you repeat your name again, please?" You felt a little embarrassed to ask that question, but you had never heard that name before and you don't ever want to forget it. "Chaeyoung." She said with a smile on her face. "It's Korean." It made sense to you, Park Chaeyoung. "I like it." you said. She smiled, then looked at your phone in your hand and the look of guilt covered her face as you wiped the screen with your shirt. "Again, I'm so sorry about that. I swear, I didn't see where I was going." You quickly reassured her that it was okay. And she nod her head and said "okay."

It was quiet for a couple seconds, before she said "I came out to see this." She pointed to the sky, the mesmerizing sunset. As she stared at the sky, you stared at her. Even her side profile was pretty. Her bright red hair looked amazing with the sky's lighting. You couldn't believe how breathtakingly gorgeous she was. You couldn't believe someone as beautiful as her, existed. But she does, she's right in front of you. She's real. You were in awe of her beauty. She kept staring at the sky with a peaceful look in her eyes. Her eyes sparkled from the streetlights. She may have thought the sky was pretty, but you think she's prettier. You looked away before she noticed you gazing at her. "(Y/N) was it?" You nod. Even your name sounds amazing coming out of her mouth, especially with that accent. "I hope we can be good friends. We should hang out sometime, if you want to of course. I don't know any places around here, so it would be nice to hang out with someone who does." She said with a smile, without taking her eyes off of yours. "Of course. I know some pretty cool places around here. I'd love to show you around. Just let me know when you wanna go anywhere. You know where I live." She laughed, and you never thought you could ever fall for someone's laugh, but maybe you slowly were. "Well, it's getting dark out." The words you didn't want to hear, because you know that meant she was going to say goodbye. "I should probably finish unpacking my stuff. It was really nice meeting you. I'll see you around okay? See you later, (Y/N)." She waved goodbye and you stood there and watched her walk away. You stayed there for a couple minutes, stared at the sky, smiled, and turned back towards the house.

As you opened the door, you walked to the living room and your parents were staring at you. "Sooo, what's her name?" Your dad asked, as your mom waited for the answer. "Her name's Chaeyoung. I think she said it's Korean." You said with a slight smile forming on your face. Your mom smiled and said "ooh, how pretty. You should invite her over sometime. We should invite them all over, for dinner maybe. We could have a little neighborhood get-together. Right honey?" As she looked at your dad "That sounds great, whatever you want dear." Your dad said in a monotone voice. You started getting nervous at the thought of Chaeyoung being in your house, but you didn't hate the idea. You walked up the stairs, as your parents discussed snack ideas, well your mom discussed, your dad was just listening. You walked towards your room and turned the door knob, and plopped down on your bed. You turned, so you're lying on your back, and you stared at the ceiling. "Chaeyoung." You said softly. "That's a pretty name." You're started drifting off slowly, and finally you were out.

It's 3 am and you woke up suddenly. "I need to learn Korean." You said out loud. You jumped out of bed and sat in front of your computer. You started looking up some language websites, and finally came across one that looks trust worthy. You learned a couple words, but struggled to pronounce them. The characters were hard to remember too, but you were slowly getting the hang of it. You decided to keep going till sunrise. You took a short break, to rest your eyes, and turned your desk chair around to check the window outside your curtain. There was a hint of light coming from the room. You thought maybe a nightlight, or maybe it was the same Christmas lights you had hanging up in your room. Break time was over, back to learning. As soon as your clock struck 6:30 am, you stopped and went back to bed. You repeated the words you had just learned, over and over again. And before you know it, you've already fallen asleep.