Then I Met You

1

She thought about the coffee shop guy all the way to the step of the school. There was a staircase that led up the front of the building. It was a modern looking building, the whole front was lined with windows and it had four pillars that were spaced evenly. Two on the right and two on the left. There were sections of the building that could be seen around the backside. 

It was quite intimidating. 

As Rae made her way up the steps, she sipped her coffee and watched the other students. Most of them kept to themselves or their friends. It was early in the morning so there still weren't too many people crowding the entrance. As she approached the doors she realized she had no idea where her class was. 

She began rummaging though her bag looking for her phone. She took two steps and was stopped in her tracks as she ran into something. With a gasp, her eyes darted up and the muffin bag fell to the floor. Two hands grabbed her elbows and steadied her.

"Woah, I'm sorry." A chipper voice called.

"No, I'm sorry," Rae looked up, wide eyed. "I wasn't looking." Her eyes met another set of wide eyes, but they beamed with a joy. 

"It's okay, everyone's fine," He pulled his arms away and she noticed a tattoo sleeve. Very vibrant against his soft complexion. He picked up the paper bag from the ground. "I hope this wasn't fragile."

Rae gave a soft laugh as she took the bag from him and thanked him. He gave a small wave and continued down the steps towards the street. 

She walked into the building and caught her breath. He was gorgeous as well. His hair was parted to the side, dark black and straight. It was cut right above his eyebrow which showed off his eyebrow piercing. But his smile with those eyes, they took her breath away.. again.

---

After searching for her classroom, she finally found it. SERA building room 123. It took her longer than expected to find it. Luckily, she left early.

As she walked in, there were only 2 other students standing by a desk in the front. She made her way to side of the room and choose a seat towards middle of the row. She sat down and began getting all of her belongings in order. One by one the classroom began to fill with students. As she got her computer running, the chair next to her was filled. She glanced over and saw the man from earlier, from the front steps. His tattooed arms was placed on the desk and he had grin on his face as he stared at Rae.

"Hi," Rae's voice stuttered. "..again." She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Hello, I'm Jeongguk." Rae continued smiling and Jungkook stared for a moment. "You're a foreigner?" Rae nodded. "Did you just transfer here?" She nodded again. 

"I've been in Korea for about three months now."

"Ahh, so you still have a lot of places to visit." He leaned back in his chair. 

Rae laughed. "I suppose I do."

"Well, Kim's Cafe is good," He gestured towards the muffin bag. "So you seem to be doing just fine so far." He grinned and faced forward. 

"Hi, Jeongguk," A girl walked up to his desk. "I've missed you. How was your summer?" 

They began talking and Rae turned back to her computer. She leaned down to get her muffin and when she leaned back up, Jeokgguk was gone. He had followed that girl and was talking to a group of people towards the front of the class. They all seemed very close. 

Rae tried not to let her lack of friendships get to her, but being new in a foreign country is a challenge. She knew it was going to be, too. So she took a deep breath and ate her muffin. 

She finished just as the professor walked in and threw her trash into the paper bag and shoved it onto her purse. Just then, Jeongguk rushed to sit back beside her. He pulled out a book from his backpack and began listening to the professor. His profile was quite stunning, especially with his haircut. The way his hair hung right above his eyebrow, a single strand of hair falling over his forehead. The way-

Rae snapped out of it and faced forward as well. This isn't about boys. This is about your future.

------

"Great first day, everyone. Please look back through the syllabus. Your project is due during the last few weeks of the semester, but it will be here before you know it. Thank you." With that, the professor grabbed his belongings a headed out of the room. 

Rae began gathering her things.

"I wouldn't have thought you were an architecture major." Jeongguk stood in front of her desk. 

"You either," Rae laughed softly and threw her bags over her shoulder. "But here we are." 

As she walked out of the room, Jeongguk followed closely behind. 

"What made you go into architecture?" Jeongguk pushed his hands in his pockets.

"My grandfather," she smiled fondly at the thought of. "He was an architect. He designed beautiful houses. I want to do that." Jeongguk gave a nod.

"I'm sure they have architecture classes where you're from, why come and study all the way in Korea?"

Rae smiled and awkwardly nodded. "Yeah, um, He studied here. Way back when. Before he met my grandma. Studying here is like..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words.

"Like your keeping his memory alive." Rae nodded at Jeongguk's words. "That's really great." 

Jeongguk escorted her to her next class and she listened to him talk on the way. Most of the conversation was about his favorite architecture style and why. Rae just listened and nodded, appreciating the friendly conversation. Once they arrived to her class, he bid her farewell until the next class. 

---

Rae sat on a cement bench in one of the many court yards. There was a large tree right beside it that provided ample shade to keep her cool while she ate her lunch. She ended up getting some kimbap and a sparkling water. Something light to keep her energy up. She had two more classes before the day was over. 

As she sat and ate, she began people watching again. It was lunch time now and the school was overflowing with students, or so it seemed. She watched as they ate, studied, or scurried to their next class. Watching the world around her was like a movie. 

As she ate her food, she saw him. The guy from the coffee shop. Excitement grew in her stomach and she felt her chest jump. He goes here? She watched as he walked across the courtyard on the other side, another guy walked beside him. They were chatting away like best friends. Eventually, they made it to a table with some other people and started eating their lunch. 

"Hello." Rae almost chocked on the kimbap in her mouth. She looked up and saw Jeongguk with a friend. 

"Oh, hi," Rae coughed out, trying to catch her breath. 

"Sorry to startle you. Are you having lunch?" He questioned. Rae nodded and took a drink. "Want to join us?" Jeongguk smiled down at her. 

Rae looked over to the other man. He had a full face a thin eyes. His smile made Rae feel safe. She pondered for a brief second, and then nodded. "Yes, please." She turned to Jeongguk's friend. "Hi, I'm Rae."

He bowed and smiled. "I'm Jimin, nice to meet you." 

Rae gave a sweet smile and began gathering her things. Jeongguk helped carry her food and she followed closely as Jeongguk and Jimin led the way. They started out towards the other side of the courtyard and Rae wondered what his friends would be like. If they were anything like Jeongguk, they'd be amazing. 

It wasn't long before Rae realized that they were going to the coffee shop guy's table. She felt her heart start to race and her palms started sweating. There were two girls sitting around them, everyone seemed to be having a great time. As they approached the table, everyone's gazed turned to them and they greeted each other. 

"Guys, this is Rae. She's new here. Rae, this is Kim Chan Mi, but her stage name is Chungha, Jung Chaeyeon, Jung Hoseok, and Kim Taehyung." 

Rae bowed in front of al them, each of them returning it. "So nice to meet you all."