A Long Way From Home

열 (yeol)

...ㅏ니 ...

"Wow, you have had an interesting time here in Seoul." Li Song chuckled effortlessly. Li Song wore a white blouse with a peter pan collar and a navy blue pencil skirt. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail that fell in easy waves behind her. Ani tried not stare too long at the beautiful teacher. 'She literally hits all the right marks. How is she teaching here??'  Ani was sitting with her in the cafeteria during lunch. Ani had just filled Li Song in on her life since they hadn't had a chance to sit in chat inside or outside of work. "Well, show me a picture of Taehyung. I think I should get to see him since he's been stealing you during lunchtime."

"Arasseo." Ani giggled and pulled up a picture of Taehyung. They had many to choose from since Taehyung insisted on taking selfies whenever they hung out. Ani handed her phone to Li Song. She smiled at the picture and started swiping through the others. Ani ignored the jump in her heart at the gesture.

"Wow, I can't imagine having two boyfriends. Taehyung is clearly the favorite, yeah?"

"Excuse me?" Ani looked at Li Song with a look of confusion and insult. Li Song looked confused too. "Mianhae... What I meant to ask is what do you mean?"

"Oh." She chuckled lightly. "Well, I don't know how things work in America... But here if you go on many dates with someone then you're dating." Ani shuffled in her seat.

"Taehyung is my friend. We aren't dating."

"But you've gone on dates?"

"I haven't."

"You've gone out for tea and on walks through the market together..."

"I've been helping him with a project..."

"Right. You've also kissed the business man and you hold hands. That also is something only those who are dating do."

"Well... We haven't discussed that..."

"Yes, you said he's been too busy to go out with you. He probably wants to minimize being seen out in public too much with you if you aren't dating. You said he's well known, right? He has to think about his image."

"Yeah...that makes sense..."

"That's okay. Taehyung is doing more than enough."

"Taehyung is my friend. I'm not dating either of them."

"Do they know that?" 

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"Are you going to tell me what the surprise is?" Namjoon laughed. Ani felt her insides warm at his laughter. They were currently in his car being driven to a location that Namjoon didn't know. It had been a few weeks since Namjoon had been able to go out in person with Ani. Between Namjoon's busy schedule and Ani helping Taehyung with promoting the fruit stand on the weekends, there just hadn't been time to spend in person with one another. They did spontaneously meet up at a ramen shop one evening, but that wasn't planned. Namjoon had been on the phone with Ani when he got home from work. He had been complaining about having to miss lunch yet again because of a meeting. Ani jokingly suggested that they go to a ramen shop she saw on the way home and Namjoon was waiting outside her building not long after. It was a nice unplanned moment. It was very late so there weren't many people. The owner had recognized Namjoon and insisted on giving the dinner for free. Except for that minor intrusion, the dinner was perfect. They talked about their lists. Ani had remembered Namjoon mentioning a place he went to when he was younger, but hadn't been to in a long time. The way he told the story as he stared off into the distance captivated Ani. It reminded her of her own home. So, she made plans to surprise him with this trip.