Our Little Dorm Mother

What if? Cross Paths Again

Mirei hummed pleasantly as she strolled down the street with a bag of tteokbokki in her hand. It was a wonderful day in Seoul and she couldn't wait to meet BTS in a few weeks' time. She had just arrived in South Korea the day before and, since she woke up feeling energetic, she decided to eat tteokbokki, a snack she had been craving since last tasting it a few years ago.

With a spirited stride, Mirei was almost skipping as she made her way to the bus stop. She was heading back to her hotel, where she was staying temporarily, before moving into the apartment her company had booked for her.

When Richard, her boss, had told her that there was an opportunity to interview BTS, she immediately jumped at the opportunity. It was rare that such golden opportunities came by and she was excited to discover that her department, the International Culture Department, was lucky enough to be granted such a chance.

Mirei gaped around her surroundings and breathed in the Seoul air. She couldn't really say it was fresh but at least she could say that the air definitely didn't smell like the UK. She observed how the pavements were occupied by fair-skinned Koreans and how the infrastructure of the buildings were quite different to what she was used to. She couldn't quite believe that she would be staying in Seoul for the next two months and she was fortunate that she had worked her arse off the previous year so that she had accumulated enough annual leaves, which she used to extend her time in Seoul.

As Mirei hummed along to BTS' 'Go Go', that she was listening to with her earphones on, she failed to notice that someone was running towards her. Without warning, Mirei and the person collided, causing her to land on her backside and drop her bag of tteokbokki.

"Omo," the stranger gasped as he scrambled onto his feet. Mirei noticed that the stranger was wearing a black cap that covered his eyes. He grabbed his plastic bag, which had fallen to the floor, hastily and searched behind him as if he was trying to escape from someone. He turned to Mirei and she noticed that the stranger had a child-like face and auburn hair. "I'm sorry," he told her sincerely before getting ready to dash again. In the distance, Mirei thought she could hear screaming from what sounded like fangirls.

Instead of getting angry at him, Mirei looked at the stranger and told him in the best Korean she could muster, "Sounds like you need some help." If that stranger was being chased by fangirls then, it could only mean that he was some sort of celebrity. Mirei just didn't know who.

The stranger looked at her gratefully before she gestured for him to hide behind a nearby rubbish bin while she waited for the fangirls to catch up. Once they did, Mirei acted like her typical foreigner self by speaking in English, hopefully deterring the fangirls from searching for the stranger that was hiding nearby.

Mirei smirked when her plan worked and the fangirls slinked away, intimidated by her speaking English. Once the girls had disappeared, she turned to the stranger, who had emerged from behind the rubbish bins. He smiled at her, "Wow! Thanks a lot, you really saved me there!"

Mirei grinned at him, "No problem. I figured it would work. Anyone would get intimidated by a foreigner."

The stranger was about to start making his way to his destination when he noticed that Mirei's bag of tteokbokki was leaking. Some of it must have spilled when they had collided with each other earlier. He looked at her apologetically as he pointed out that her food had spilled. "I'm sorry about your meal," he told her.

Mirei glanced down at her tteokbokki. "Oh" she gave him a quick smile before peering inside the bag. She frowned slightly, "Don't worry about it. I can still salvage it."

But feeling very guilty, the stranger pulled out a chocolate bubble tea from his plastic bag. He offered it to Mirei. "Please, take this."

Mirei glanced at his hand, "Oh" she said when she saw what he was offering. "It's not necessary--"