"Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering."

― Paulo Coelho

I sigh as I place my headphones over my ears. I cringe every time I see people using earbuds, the lack of sound quality enough to make me shiver. People.

Oh, I am so done with people. Stupid people, rude people, people in general. I just want to get home, study for my test and ignore the rest of the world.

The diner that I work at is always full of the worst kind of people. And I don't mean the vulgar ones. There's plenty of those there too. No. The ones that bother me the most are the happy ones.

I groan in appreciation as the music now screaming in my ear blinds me to the world around me. Not that Adele's soothing, soulful vocals are in any way remotely harsh.

Today has been of the uber stressful variety. The kind of day that makes you want to tear all of your hair out while drowning in a tub of cream cheese icing the size of Alaska. And wine. Lots and lots of wine. But of course, my dumb ass is poor. Like, can't even afford icing poor. It doesn't help that everything in Korea is so expensive.

I've opted to rent a tiny, tiny studio in an off the beaten path location. At first, I'd wondered if it would be safer to live in the dorms. Surely being surrounded by other female students would have made it harder to find me. Harder still to catch me.

People, though.

Seriously. Such a choice would have forced me to deal with far too many people, and my early impressions of the people here had honestly been less than flattering. There'd been a few girls eager to befriend me, but I'd quickly learned that it was all shallow. Simply a desire to be close to the exotic foreign girl. Those kinds of friendships angered me and left me with an extremely foul taste in my mouth.

Boys too. There'd been plenty of those. Not that I'd been in any hurry to repeat the experiences that brought me here in the first place. Despite my rather obvious lack of interest, the university boys have still yet to cease in their attempts to get inside the foreign girl's pants.

All of them, though, were judgemental asshats. I never failed to recognize just how differently I was treated. Being an outsider is something I've become ridiculously good at. So I chose to rent my own place instead.

I safely deposit my phone into my jeans back pocket. It's the most expensive thing I own, and the only thing I really can't live without at this point. I don't like to think about what I'd do without it.

My tired legs take two steps forward, eager to cross the street and begin my ungodly trek home when I am rather abruptly jerked quite rudely backward by the arm. I backpedal furiously, attempting to right my balance, only to land smack against something solid. Something that smells like really nice cologne. The whole ordeal narrowly saves me from being shoved into the path of a rather careless driver by a drunk, stumbling patron.

"Careful. You almost die," speaks the solid mass of flesh I find myself suddenly pinned against. His broken English is a dead give away, he's obviously Korean. Not that it's a surprise, foreigners are incredibly rare here in Seoul.

I say nothing as he releases me, frisking my arms frantically to make sure that I'm alright.

"Are you okay?" He queries in Korean before suddenly switching back to English, obviously appalled at having slipped into his native tongue in the first place. "I mean, you okay?"

I look up at him, no amusement in my eyes or voice as I deadpan in perfect Korean "I speak Korean."

"Sorry!" He shouts awkwardly, permanently switching back to his mother tongue. "I should have known you would. After all, you live here..." He trails off awkwardly. "In Korea I mean! I don't actually know where you live I swear!"

His hands wave before him as he vows this as if to ward off any misunderstandings. A rueful smile tickles the corners of his mouth as he plays with his earlobe nervously.

"I'm a regular at the diner," he says by way of explanation. "I've tried to get your number a few times, but you always turn me down so I thought maybe you didn't understand me."

"I did," I respond flatly.

I remember this man now. Tall and lanky, ashy, grayish brown hair, and boxy smile. Oh yes, I remember him. As one of the few men I've actually found to be attractive in this country it is difficult to forget. He seems like a nice enough guy too, but trust isn't really a concept I have the luxury of subscribing to anymore. He does always leave a ridiculously large tip, however.

"Well," he begins "maybe sometime you and I could-"

"Nope." I interrupt. "I'm sorry, but you're better off not getting involved with me," I tell him firmly.

It isn't meant to be harsh, but I mean it. Getting involved with me isn't a good idea, in more ways than this poor man could prepare himself for.

He looks as if he's about to argue against my statement when he is rudely interrupted by the drunken customer from earlier.

"What's going on boy?" He shouts. "She refusing to give it to you too? Damn!"

I see red as the intoxicated man's hand connects with my ass, impact exploding with a rather loud smack. The fact that he refuses to move that hand might just be the reason I end up in prison.

To my surprise, I am beaten to the punch. Literally. The other patron, the charming one, throws a punch that connects with the older man's jaw with a sickening crunch, effectively blasting the man away from my shaking personage.

"That's no way to treat a lady," he spits angrily.

My heart begins to pound unevenly when he turns to me, confidence shining in his eyes. "My name is Kim Taehyung," he says before reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone.

I am in a daze as he pulls my cell phone from my back pocket and inputs his phone number into mine. He sends a quick text to his phone from mine and I realize belatedly that I've just been pretty much robbed. This man just stole my phone number.

"Call me sometime," he intones smoothly before walking away.

I gape at him as he quickly backtracks in order to shout out "Or text! Text works too!"

I stare at his quickly retreating form, undeniably intrigued. Definitely not intrigued enough to actually call him, but still. It's been a while since anyone peaked my curiosity.

Near brush with death aside, I make it to my studio apartment quite easily and even all in one piece. I groan in disappointment as I unlock the door only to realize that I have to work again tomorrow, and there are still dishes in the sink. Ugh.

My test is only three days away too, and I'm honestly ready for it to just be over. Three short strides and I have crossed damn near half of my apartment to collapse wearily upon my bed.

My place is literally about the size of a closet, so I can't have a couch and a bed. I could have chosen the middle ground, the good old futon, but I honestly rather have a decent bed instead. It isn't as if I'm ever entertaining. Others or myself. My days seriously consist of school, work, pass the fuck out, and then do it all again.

I whip out my phone, every intention of checking the news. I know that it isn't likely to be of much use, but I am certain that if Jacob comes to Korea he will be in the news. He's an insanely well-known billionaire after all. There isn't any such news and I immediately release a sigh of relief. I should really do the dishes. Honestly, I should really eat something too. But I'm too exhausted to be hungry, and certainly too exhausted to be assed about the dishes.

I place my phone on the table beside the bed, bringing my arm up to cover my eyes, attempting to block out reality. Normally my phone is silent, with the rare exception that my boss is calling me. But now, all of a sudden, my phone is blowing up with notification alerts.

I unlock my screen and discover a slew of messages from Taehyung, that man from before. I do my best to ignore them as I allow this world to fade away in favor of chasing after the dreams I know are waiting just behind my eyelids. But no matter how long I try to ignore it, my phone simply continues to ding. Literally, every five seconds is another notification alert, and I am dangerously close to losing my temper. Didn't I tell him no already?

I growl as I once more unlock my phone, determined to give him a piece of my mind.

Taehyung: Hey! Don't ignore me!

Taehyung: Seriously, you can't ignore me.

Taehyung: You dropped your wallet...

Taehyung: I came back to say something else but you were already gone 😂

Taehyung: HEY!!!

I sigh. Of course. Of fucking course, I left my wallet behind.

Me: For fuck's sake, what???!!!

Taehyung: Hi! 🤗

I stare at my phone's screen dumbly. It takes me far longer than I'd like to admit to gather my composure. I try to remind myself that this poor sap hasn't done anything to truly gain my ire.

Me: When can I come pick up my wallet, and where?

I sit up, tapping my heels against the floor in a repeated, jittery pattern as I wait impatiently for his response. The anxiety that I feel only intensifies when I read what he finally responds with, after what seems like forever.

Taehyung: How about you meet me for dinner? Maybe tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at seven?

Me: There's no way in hell you're coming to my apartment. And seriously? I told you no before so now you're holding my wallet for ransom?

Taehyung: Yes, yes I in fact am. The real question is, is it working?

I throw myself back against my mattress with a groan. I can't believe my luck. I clench my phone so tightly I'm almost afraid my fingers might bruise.

Me: Yeah, fine. I'll meet you at the diner at 8. But don't expect much.

Taehyung: 😘

I stare at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to claim me, but it never comes.  Finally, when I cannot take the boredom anymore I reach for my phone once more. There is a question that is plaguing the hell out of me.

Me: I don't remember you being this pushy before. It's been a year since you started coming in and requesting me to serve you. Why so demanding now?

Taehyung: ?

I roll my eyes before rapidly firing off another text.

Me: You've always been so polite. Why are you being weird now?

Taehyung: I've always been weird. Maybe you're just finally starting to notice my rugged good looks 😂

Me: ... Yeah... I think not.

Taehyung: 😭 You wound me.

Me: Just answer the question.

Taehyung: Do you remember how many times I called you beautiful? You know, since you were perfectly capable of understanding me and all... 😝

Me: Answer. The. Question.

Taehyung: Okay, okay! It's just that now that I know you can actually speak Korean there's no reason not to be persistent. Persistence wins every time you know. Can I not at least get to know you? Is that a crime?

Me: Yes.

Taehyung: ?

I don't specify. I'm sure he's probably waiting for me to explain myself, but he can wait. The last thing I hear before I drift from the waking world is another chirp from my phone. Yeah. He can wait.