foreign - lee chan

09.

"Let's go eat," Chan says to Julienne when the cable car ride was over.

It's become a little crowded on the streets, so Chan lets Julienne hold onto his arm as he maneuvers through the crowd of people.

Hoshi's restaurant was in view after about four minutes. Chan's favorite thing about Seoul was the fact that most food places were close by and in walking distance (which he found most convenient since he didn't always have money for cab rides). Julienne also liked walking around and seeing new faces and the different stores.

Chan walked up to the entrance of The Red Dragon and opened the front door for Julienne.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Chan let the double door close behind him.

The restaurant was two story and was illuminated with red and white lights, but the lights didn't do much justice to lighten the place. It wasn't as busy as Chan thought it would be for a Saturday, but he was happy that he and Julienne could talk in peace without having to strain their voices over the sound of other people talking.

"Dino! My man!" Hoshi ran up to Julienne and Chan. He had on a black shirt and the restaurant's red apron on his body as he came hugged his younger friend tight.

"Has your girl been loving the city?" Hoshi whispered in his ear.

"She's not my girl!" Chan mumbled back before letting go of Hoshi.

Julienne stands awkwardly in front of Hoshi, waiting for Chan to introduce her to his friend. When Chan doesn't say anything, Hoshi rolled his eyes and bowed in front of the girl.

"Hi, I'm Hoshi, one of Chan's friends," Hoshi smiled, "I'll be your waiter today."

Hoshi also spoke fluent English. He started learning it by watching American movies when he was thirteen, and then began studying it on his own. By the time he had graduated, he had sounded like he was an American.

In fact, Chan is the only one of all his friend that didn't fluently speak a second language. Some of his friends came from China and Japan and learned Korean when they were kids. Hansol, for example, moved to Korea when he was six from America. Chan was very jealous of all his friends being able to speak languages and connect with people outside from Korea.

"It's nice to meet you, Hoshi," Julienne greeted him, bowing also, "I'm Julienne."

Hoshi raised his eyebrows at Julienne, which made her giggle as he began leading them to their table on the second floor of the restaurant.

Hoshi had arranged the table to have a candle with and a bouquet of red lilies in middle to set the mood. He gave the two the best view of the street, and they were isolated from other tables.

"I love Chan, but if he misses out on a chance to date this girl, I'll put my foot up his ass," Hoshi thought, "she seems like a nice girl."

Chan and Julienne sit across from one another, and after they make their order, Hoshi leaves the two of them together.

"Thank you, for taking me out today," Julienne bowed a little for Chan, "it made me happy. I'm happy to be here with you."

Her words soothed Chan's thoughts about her disliking him. He was truly happy to be with her, and she was such a nice person.

The alarm on Julienne's phone went off, Michael Jackson's song Billie Jean echoing in the restaurant. Julienne rushed to turn it off, her cheeks a dark pink as Chan silently sat and stared at her phone ringing.

Chan was obsessed with one thing: Michael Jackson. He had every album and watched every performance online and practically worshipped that man. Hearing that song come from Julienne's phone kind of made him think of his idol doing the moonwalk across a stage for the first time.

"It's my alarm," Julienne said, her voice barely above a whisper, "w-we have one hour before my curfew."

"Y-You like MJ?" Chan asked, leaning forward a little bit.

"I love Michael Jackson," Julienne laughed, "he's amazing. I love him, his songs are great. I saw him live once and it was the best thing ever."

"WHAT?"Chan stood up, his eyes bulging from their sockets. The people around them went silent as Julienne covered her face from the eyes of all the other people around them.

"I-I love him too," Chan said, sitting down and covering his own face when he realized he had embarrassed the two of them, "He's my favorite."

Julienne and Chan's conversation continued on for the rest of the dinner, and before they knew it, it was time for them to head back to Julienne's home. After taking a cab and walking for about ten minutes, Chan and Julienne were back in front of her apartment.

Mr. Augustin stood at the door waiting, a book in his hand. He looked at his daughter and her friend walk up to the front of his home five minutes early. Julienne had a small smile on her face listening to Chan speak about his favorite Michael Jackson song.

" You Rock My World is so good, I dance to that song a lot," Chan finished, before looking at Mr. Augustin's eyes. Chan nods, and gives him a small smile.

"I brought her back in one piece, sir," Chan said in Korean.

Mr. Augustin smiled and went inside, leaving the door open for Julienne.

"Bye, Dino," Julienne said, hugging him softly, "I'll see you at school."

Chan wrapped his arm around her waist. He could smell her cucumber melon conditioner in her hair before she pulled away. She went to the front door, walked inside, and gave him one more smile, before closing the door.

Chan stood there for a moment, just looking at the door, before he grinned at himself and started walking home.