Seoul, South Korea
~Phoebe~
The office handed me a crap ton of paperwork to go through, read, fill out and return before school starts on Monday. Just a few days.
I stood in front of the dorms, my heart pounding in my chest, excitement and nervousness were taking up all the space in my mind. My thoughts moving too fast.
Breathe. I can do this.
This is it. This is me, starting my new life. Starting fresh.
I walked through the tall glass double doors, and the walls were a pristine white, not loud, but soft, and clean. There on the walls were large corkboard with different advertisements for clubs, groups, jobs, and even boyfriends/girlfriends.
I shook my head and chuckled at that. Some people never cease to amaze.
The doors seemed endless. My room's on the second floor.
206.
When I found my door I stood in front of it.
"This is it." I told myself.
When I stepped inside, glee filled me to my soul. The soft white oak furniture the afternoon sun glared off its polished shine, its fresh scent of a clean well-kept room. Shelves lined the walls, inviting me to fill them with books and figurines, while a computer desk with a cushiony rolling chair sat tucked neatly by the window. There were two naked beds with no sign of another occupant. There was small kitchenette that called with the promising late-night snacking, something I've never really been allowed to do. The bathroom felt private and welcoming. A sliding glass back door opened onto a little patio, where light spilled in and made the whole space feel airy and new.
It was so bright and screamed hope for the future. I was elated.
No broken furniture. No holes in the wall. It smelled clean and fresh, not like moldy carpet, alcohol and depression.
I flop on to the bed; it's soft and fluffy, not hard and lumpy like the one back home.
I'm glad I brought some of my room décor.
My phone started ringing; it was Mouse.
"Hey! I just got in my dorm, and it's so cute, here, facetime me."
I flipped the screen so she could see the room.
She screamed "Ahh! It's so cute and quaint. Ugh I'm so jealous! Here I am stuck in lame old New York." She whined.
"Old New York, that's a contradiction." I joked.
"Yeah, an accurate one." I could practically hear her eyeroll.
"Have you met your roommate yet?" She asked me.
"No, but I'm sure I'll meet her soon, I just hope she's not a bitch."
"Who's not a bitch?" A bright, and cheery woman's voice with an Australian accent asked walking in the door. She had long soft creamy orange hair that fell in waves and pretty olive green eyes. Freckles adorned her face, but they didn't overshadow her soft pinkish skin.
"Oh my god. Wow, you are like the prettiest person I've ever seen." She complimented me. And it sounded genuine. I tired to laugh off how awkward it made me feel.
"Ugh, thanks, your hair is really pretty, I love the color." I returned the compliment.
"Isn't she the prettiest! It's so unfair! Hi, I'm Hannah, but you can call me Mouse. Are you my best friend's new roommate?" Mouse practically from my phone; I turned the screen toward the girl who entered my room.
"Hi, yes, I'm Cherry Sing, I know, orange hair, red fruit. My parents are to blame. I'm a cardiology major at the hospital. And you are?" She introduced herself while pulling in all of her suitcases.
"I'm Phoebe Park. Ugh… Do you need help?" I raised in eyebrow seeing that she had already brought in two suitcases and a trunk.
"Yes please, I have a large bag and another trunk." She smiled at me.
"Hey, Mouse, let me call you back later, my roommate could use some help. Love you." I told her on the phone.
"Okay, call me after you've settled in. Love you more." She hung up before I could argue back.
I smiled and shook my head slightly. I drag the other trunk in while she dragged in the bag.
"What is all of this?"
"My stuff, I'll be here all year my parents are doing work with the Peace Core, so I won't be seeing them until I finish the year. How about you? Is that all you brought?" She was being so nice.
"Yeah, I don't have much to begin with." I shrugged and opened my suitcase and started pulling things out.
First things were my books. Placing them all on the shelf above my desk, pulling out some of my figures from the anime's I watch and games I play. And even one from the game I designed a long time ago, I got it 3D printed. It's one of my favorite's things. I pulled out my cozy grey fuzzy blanket. I still needed to go and buy some bedding pieces, among other things.
I looked over and it already looked like cottage core meeting princess threw up on Cherry's side of the dorm.
"Wow, that's a lot of stuff." I know my eyes must have been popping out of my head.
"Yeah, I brought extra, just in case I had a cool roommate. You okay if I hang a lot of lights? I'm kind of like a moth." She asked with a sweet smile.
I couldn't resist.
"Sure, hang em up."
By the time I finished most of my unpacking, it was late afternoon, and I hadn't eaten since the flight, and I needed to do a bit of shopping.
"I've got to go to the store; did you want to come with and get a bite or keep unpacking?"
"I'll come with, I want to explore a little." She answered, "Let me order us a driver."
I didn't argue, I didn't sleep much on the flight, or the night before, because of the fight with my dad.
"Let's get something to eat first, I'm starving."
We hopped in the car leaving together.
Seoul is huge, the buildings all around me were tall, yet unlike New York, they had trees that lined the sidewalks. Plant life even climbed up some of the buildings. It was beautiful, truly.
"There's a coffee place that dubs as a luncheon bakery place, I saw it on TikTok. The reviews rave harder than a nightclub, and they're stuff is totes, photo worthy." She started going on and on about it, I let her words drown out to the back and nod when I'm supposed too.
My thoughts though. Kept drifting to back the strange encounter I had today with that guy. And the girl whose life I saved today, wondering if she's okay.
When we pulled up to the café and walked in, as expected, it was pretty lit. Kawaii inside, like cute walked in and threw up all over the room. But it did smell delicious in here. Blueberries, chocolate and coffee hit me first followed by the savory scent of toasted sandwiches and rice.
I could feel the excitement in my stomach; I was a lot hungrier than I expected.
"Earth to Phoebe." I shake my head and look up to a smiling Cherry waving her hand in front me to get my attention.
"Hmm."
"What do you think you're going to order? I'm getting a rice ball for sure, and a boba milk tea, maybe one of their little mini cakes." She was clutching her phone for dear life the anticipation was clearly killing her.
"Um… I think, maybe I'll get a rice ball, but one with savory filling and a mocha with oat milk. Maybe a chocolate mini cake." I smiled.
She was pulling out her phone and pulling up her translation app.
I put my hand over hers and said, "I'll order."
"You speak Korean?" She looked at me wide eyed.
"Yeah, I'm half Korean." Why does everyone sound so surprised?
"Wow, that explains your perfect skin. What's the other half?" The way she asked was pretty funny it made me laugh.
"Puerto Rican."
"Which explains your perfect hair. Which parent is which?" She asked casually.
Instantly I thought of my dad, and a frowned formed "My Abeoji is Korean." I sounded a little flatter and meaner than I meant to, but when I thought about my mother, my heart warmed just a little. "And my mother is Puerto Rican."
"You must like your mother. I'm adopted, closed adoption, so I don't know anything about my birth mother or father. People ask if I want to meet them, I don't but I wouldn't mind knowing what my biologicals looked like, other than that, I don't really care, I'm an Aquarius so being objective and curious are a natural trait."
"I'm an Aries." "
"I can see that, fiery, but reserved, outgoing, but observant."