foreign - lee chan

12.

"You look better today," Lee Chan smiled to Julienne when they began walking to the coffee shop after class.

Julienne had gotten a lot of sleep, and there was no longer bags under her eyes or redness in them. To Chan, she looked like she was glowing underneath the sun, her eyes the color of bronze.

"I feel better," Julienne smiled, "I feel healthy."  

Chan gave her one of his confused looks, and Julienne nodded her head. "Healthy," she repeated for him in Korean. Chan nodded, finally understanding. 

"You learn Korean quickly," Chan mentioned.

"I've been working hard," Julienne smiled, "and I can tell you've been working hard too. Your English is great, Chan."

Chan's face went a little red. He wasn't used to sudden compliments like this. "You help a lot. Since you speak English all the time, I just talk with you until I get better."

It was now Julienne's turn to blush. It made her happy to know that she was the reason Chan was doing so much better in class. Today, Chan was called on to read a section of the book, and he did it with absolutely no problem. Even his teacher was very impressed, giving him a pat on the back.

"I have a question," Chan said. 

The two of them had made into the shopping center where the coffee shop was. Chan looked at his feet before looking back at Julienne.

"Yes?" Julienne asked.

"Why did your family move to Korea? I'm happy you did, I just want to know, why?" Chan asked shyly, his cheeks a soft pink.

"My dad's job got us transferred, he works for a bank company," Julienne explained, "but I don't think that's the reason we really moved."

"What?" Chan asked confused.

"My dad is half Korean," Julienne continued, "and he grew up in Seoul, but he moved to the United States later on. I think he just wanted me to grow up like he did when he was younger, in Korea."

It took Chan a moment to process what she said, but he simply nodded to her, because he didn't want her to repeat everything she said to him.

Chan opened the door to the coffee shop and let Julienne in first. She walked up to the line, and said hello to the cashier before ordering what she wanted: iced tea and some chocolate cookies. 

"Do you want me to pay?" Chan asked, after ordering an espresso.

"No, it's okay, let me pay today, for the both of us," Julienne offered, giving the cashier money. Chan watched her give the cashier extra cash, but he didn't say a word. Maybe she's just giving him a tip now or something, he thought.

Julienne chose a seat by the window, and Chan sat across from her. "I like Korea now," Julienne mentioned, "I feel safe here." 

"I'm glad you're here," Chan smiled, "you've really motivated me to work harder in school."

"Look, I got you something," Chan grinned, pulling out a protective CD jewel case from his school bag. He hands it to Julienne and she gasps out loud seeing what the CD is.

"CHAN? THIS IS A SPECIAL EDITION MICHAEL JACKSON CD," She yelled, momentarily forgetting the place she was in. 

"You always talk about him with me, when we text and stuff," Chan brought up, "and I decided to lend you my CD."

"This is rare! Only about one hundred copies were sold, Chan, I-I can't have this," Julienne shook her head, putting it back in Chan's hands. 

"I want you to listen to it," Chan pushed, "it's a great CD, and you love MJ almost as much as I do. Please, just take it. Give it to me when you feel like giving it back."

"Chan, oh my God," Julienne's eyes began to water as she held the CD against her chest, "thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Chan giggled, "now clean your eyes, before you end up crying."

But it was too late, Julienne was already tearing up at the gift. She was never treated with such kindness, she felt so blessed to meet such an angel here in Korea.

"Oh!" Chan grabbed a napkin and began to wipe her face gently. "Julienne, it's not that big of a deal!"

"LEE CHAN, THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER. THANK YOU. "