I Wanna Be (Key Fanfic)

3

"Joon, I don't need a tutor!"

Kibum complained as he walked through the corridors at SM entertainment.

"She's not gonna tutor you, just talk to you or something. I thought you said you wished you had someone to speak English to?"

Kibum definitely remembered saying that, so he relented for a moment, greeting some of the staff as they passed by.

"She's really good, my son has come along in leaps and bounds."

Kibum sighed. He appreciated that Joon was so attentive to him but sometimes he'd take it a little too far. Still, this wasn't the worst idea. If he didn't like the woman, he could simply not see her again.

"Alright, I'll meet her. Then we'll see."

"Nice! I'll give you her details."

And that was how he found himself waiting for her at a café. She wanted to meet him in public first, presumably because being alone in his appartment with him when she barely knew him didn't entice her.

Kibum was sitting at the back in the booth he usually sat in when he came here. This café allowed for a lot of privacy, so people didn't recognise him here.

The door opened and a woman walked in, looking around the café. Something told him this was her, so he gestured to her to come over.

"Annyeonghaseyo," she greeted, bowing to him before sitting down when asked. A mask was covering most of her face, but when their eyes met, he immediately recognised the woman from the store.

"I'm Kathryn," she smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Kibum."

"So, you wanted someone to chat with?"

"Yeah, just to keep practicing. I can already speak English but I don't have many people I can speak it consistently with."

"Okay, well I can do that."

"Can we meet once a week?"

"Sure."

"You may have to be flexible sometimes though, my job makes my schedule change a lot."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a singer."

"A singer?"

Her eyes searched him. Her beautiful eyes.

"Yes, I'm in a band."

"You do seem familiar."

Kibum smirked. "Guess what band I'm in."

Kathryn thought for a bit. She liked kpop, but she spent more time listening to the music than getting to know the idols. She looked at Kibum one last time and it hit her.

"Shinee?"

"Bingo! Thought you were gonna say EXO."

She laughed. "I have seen some music videos."

Kibum was intrigued by her so decided to cut to the chase.

"Tell me about yourself," he said, clasping his hands in front of him.

"Well, I've been teaching English in Korea for a while now, 5 years."

Kathryn explained that she was from Sheffield in the UK and that she'd studied English at university. She ended up in Korea after a suggestion someone made when she was wondering what she'd do after the degree.

"It was hard at first but now I'm well-adjusted. How about you?"

"Well, I'm in Shinee as you know, and right now I'm doing some variety shows. I'm also preparing for a new album."

"What kind of shows do you do?"

Kibum found himself telling her about all of his professional endeavours. She was certainly a good listener, smiling and reacting when appropriate. He could feel that she was a warm person.

"I'm sorry I'm going on, I must be boring you."

"No it's okay, you have a very interesting life."

"I guess so. That's just my professional life though."

"What about personal?"

Kibum sighed. "It's alright, not much going on. I went to a wedding last weekend."

"Cool, I love weddings. I haven't been to many though."

"I've been to a fair bit."

He trailed off and Kathryn sensed there was something more there.

"Anyway, I think I've kept you long enough. Same time next week?"

"Okay then. It was nice meeting you Kibum."

They both bowed and Kibum walked her out of the café, holding the door for her.

He watched her until she disappeared, taking in her long layered black hair, slim build and dark skin. She was a bit different to most people he'd met, a breath of fresh air. Maybe this arrangement could benefit him in more ways than one.