3 – The Lights of Seoul

The next few days were exactly the opposite of what Stephanie was hoping for. Each day seemed to drag on and on. Everyone seemed to have something to do so she couldn’t talk to anyone and all of her classes were still in a somewhat introductory stage so she wasn’t really challenged by anything.

She kept staring at the clock as she ate her lunch. The noodles tasted stale, but it was all she could find.

“Man…I just wish tonight would hurry up and get here!” She thought to herself

Stephanie finished up her noodles and started drinking the juice when she saw Kibum walk in. He waved at her and started searching through the cabinets of the community kitchen.

“There isn’t a lot…” She said disappointingly.

Kibum kept looking though. He ended up just getting the same kind of noodles Stephanie had and popped them in the microwave. After it dinged, he went and sat down next to her.

“Its ok, these are my favorite. My mom used to feed me this when I was little.” He said, while he slurped up some of it.

“…Were you guys poor or something?” She asked. After she said it, she wished she could take it back. It seemed a little rude.

“No…not really. They’ve just always been my favorite.” He said, taking another bite.

“Oh. My favorite is Ddokbukki. Every year for my birthday, my mom would make me some. Its kind of a tradition.”

“That’s cute.” He laughed. “So…you still going tonight?”

“Yeah. I wish tonight would get here faster. I’ve been bored all day.” She said, tapping her chopsticks on the table. “What about you? Who are you going with?”

“Oh…I’m not sure.” He said, remembering how he was going to ask her. “I guess I could ask Dana. I think everyone else has a date.”

“Yeah!” Stephanie proclaimed. She remembered how disappointed Dana looked when they all started talking. Now that she knew Kibum would ask Dana, she was getting more excited. “AHH! I think I’m just gonna go take a nap to try and pass the time faster.”

“Haha, Alright. Don’t oversleep!” Kibum laughed.

“Trust me, I won’t.” Stephanie said as she threw her trash away and walked away. “See ya.” She waved.

When she got back to her room, she stretched and turned on some soft music before she laid down. The pillow was cool on her ear and the bed felt really clean, like she had just taken a shower. It was nice. Before she realized it, she was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“Stephanie!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?? IT’S ALREADY 7!!!” Dana yelled from outside her door.

Stephanie rolled over and looked at the clock. Sure enough, it was 7:03.

“AHH!!!! I need to get ready!!” She screamed as she opened the door. Dana came in with some bags and a makeup kit.

“Hurry! Go take a shower!” Dana said, shooing her along.

Stephanie ran in and ripped off all her clothes as fast as she could. She turned on the water and jumped in the shower. It was really cold, but she didn’t care, she knew it would warm up soon.

Probably the fastest shower in woman’s history, Stephanie jumped out and dried off. She wrapped a towel around her body, put her hair in one too, and walked out. Dana had laid out 3 outfits on her bed and the makeup kit was already open.

“Pick one!” She said, rubbing her hands all over the towel on Stephanie’s head, trying to dry her hair.

One of the outfits was a pink vest with a white undershirt and a pink skirt. Stephanie liked it, but she didn’t think it would work for tonight. Maybe a day at the amusement park, but not at karaoke. The next one was jeans and a poofy dress/shirt. Again…maybe for something else, but not tonight. The last dress was definitely a winner. It was a shiny, tight black dress with halter straps.

“That one!” She said, pointing to the black dress.

“Alright, get changed” Dana said, turning around and putting her hands over her eyes. Stephanie followed directions and finished drying off. She slipped on some undergarments and then pulled the dress on.

“I’m done.” Stephanie said, turning around and posing.

Dana turned around and her mouth dropped. “I see why they chose you now! I would kill for your body!”

Stephanie smiled and followed Dana’s pushy hands. She was plopped into a seat near her mirror. Just as Dana started fixing up her hair, Sunday and Lina came in.

“Why aren’t you ready!?” Sunday asked as she wandered into the room.

“Because she overslept!” Dana said, twirling Stephanie’s hair in the curling iron.

Lina and Sunday looked at each other and then zoomed over to Stephanie. They attacked her with everything in Dana’s makeup case and just as the finished, there was a knock on the door.

“Close your eyes” Dana whispered. Stephanie closed them and then started coughing when the aroma of perfume overwhelmed her. She stood up, fanning her face and walked towards the door. She straightened her dress and answered the door.

Micky’s face lit up when he saw her.

“You look…beautiful…” He stammered.

“Thanks…you look good tonight too.” Stephanie spoke softly. This was only her second date ever. The last time she went on a date was during middle school. It wasn’t even a real date.

Micky was wearing a black dress jacket with a white button up shirt underneath and some faded jeans. His tennis shoes were white too, so they kind of matched.

“Um…these are for you” he said, producing some flowers. He handed them to her.

Stephanie took the flowers and smiled bashfully.

“Aw, thank you!”

She walked back inside and laid them on her desk.

“Are you ready?” Micky asked, glancing at the clock.

“Almost, I need some shoes.”

Stephanie looked at the other girls. They were primping themselves in the mirror. She smiled as she put on some black heels and grabbed her purse. Micky held his arm out to escort her, so she looped her arm with his. Just as she and Micky were on their way out, Kibum was walking up.

“Hi, Kibum.” Stephanie waved.

“Oh…hey. Is Dana in there?” He questioned.

“Yeah. All the girls are—“

“Let’s go. We gotta get there first because I made the reservations. Don’t wanna keep everyone waiting!” Micky interrupted.
Stephanie awkwardly smiled. “Sorry Kibum! I’ll see you at Noraebang.” She said as they walked off.

“What a jerk…” Kibum thought.

He walked over to the open door and knocked.

“Um…Dana…I’m here…” He said, looking back to see if Stephanie was still there. She wasn’t.

“Alright guys, I’ll see you later! Let’s go Kibummie” She said in glee. She looped her arm in his and tugged him along.

A couple minutes later, Junsu arrived with some flowers for Sunday. She smiled and pecked him on the cheek before she put them on the desk and then waved Lina goodbye as they left.

Lina waited for Kangin. She waited…and waited…and waited. Finally, about 15 minutes later he showed up.
“I’m really sorry. My…um….I….had to shave my cat….” He lied.

“Right…..well…we won’t be too late if we leave now. Are you ready?” Lina asked, a little frustrated, but nothing serious.

“Yeah…let’s go.”
So they left.

Micky and Stephanie arrived at the Noreabang place around 8:30. When they got there, Donghae and BoA were already waiting for them. Donghae sprung up from the chair he was sitting in and gave Micky a hug.

“I thought you said 8:00 Micky?” Donghae asked.

“No man…I told you 9:00.” Micky laughed.

“Oh…oh…my bad…” Donghae said, going back to his date.

Stephanie took a seat next to BoA. BoA was looking really pretty tonight. She straightened her hair and she was wearing a frilly blue top with a white skirt and blue heels. She was wearing blue earrings too.

“Have you been waiting long?” Stephanie asked, feeling kind of bad.

“Oh…not too long. Its ok though. We got to talk for a change, so it was nice.” BoA said, smiling.

The four of them continued talking until Hankyung and Jang Ri In walked in. They greeted them and then decided there would be more room if they went to the room, so Micky asked the hostess to show them the way. Everyone got up and followed the woman. She opened the door and Stephanie was surprised. She’d been to Noraebang places before, but this was outstanding. The TV screen was huge, as were the speakers for the karaoke machine. The room was enormous. It had 3 full length couches, 2 chairs, a really big table, and a nice sized “stage” area in front of the TV.

“Enjoy yourselves.” The hostess said as she bowed and left. Within the next 15 minutes, everyone else showed up and the night began. Everyone just talked for a little bit, but soon, Junsu got up and selected a song. When the music started, he started dancing funny and motioned for Donghae and Micky to come up. They went up there and started singing and dancing. The song was “Full of Happiness” by H.O.T. The three boys hopped and twirled with each other. Clapping filled the room soon after and everyone started to loosen up. Jang Ri In and Han Kyung went up next and sang a duet together. Then Dana,Lina, and Sunday got up and did an old S.E.S song. While they were up, Donghae got a hold of a tambourine and started cracking people up. Kibum kept glancing at Stephanie and then moved over by her while Micky was out getting drinks.

“You know, we haven’t really heard you sing yet. Only in the recording booth…but that’s always different. You should sing something. “He suggested.

“…Oh? I guess…I’m kind of nervous though. I’ve never sang in front of everyone before.” She explained.

“Its ok. We don’t bite, I promise.” He laughed.

Just as Kibum finished the sentence, Micky came back in and plopped in between them, snapping open a can of soda.
“What’re ya’ll talking about?” He asked, taking a drink.

“Oh…Kibum just said I should sing since I haven’t yet.” Stephanie told him.

“Yeah! You should! Get up there!” Micky said, pointing with his can.

“…Alright…” Stephanie gave in. After the others finished their song, she selected a S.E.S. song too. They were one of her favorites when she was younger. The beat started and she started swaying a little and then she sang.

You felt me who has two hearts and two spirits.
Although I hide because its awkward, but another me wants you.
Accept me.

Baby, not enough, not enough baby
With those tears, wet me.
I couldn’t resist My goody love
Your love, your charm makes me fly above the clouds.
You’d probably know I still lack something.

You made me realize that there’s something more special
than having the whole world.
With you, there’s no longer a reason to be afraid,
as if I’ve left myself..

Baby, not enough, not enough baby
With those tears, wet me.
I couldn’t resist My goody love
Your love, your charm makes me fly above the clouds.
Are you going to tell me that I’m still too young?

Baby, little more, little more baby
I can’t even open my eyes.
Have I stumbled into a dream, or have I fallen asleep?
Inside of you is me.. Inside of me is you..
You’d know that we’re one.
No longer is the world the world I knew.

Tonight I’m not going to be able to sleep…
I’m going to lay in the moon’s shadow and everything of yours
that I can remember.. I’ll engrave them in my heart,
so I can’t forget…

Baby, not enough, not enough baby
With those tears, wet me.
I couldn’t resist My goody love
Your love, your charm makes me fly above the clouds.
You’d probably know I still lack something.

Baby, little more, little more baby
I can’t even open my eyes.

When she was done, everyone clapped.

“That was awesome! You have such a rich voice!” BoA exclaimed.

“Your…singing is…good.” Jang Ri In pushed out.

Stephanie thanked everyone again and then took her seat. The rest of the night was fun. There wasn’t a second that went by where everyone wasn’t laughing, smiling, or having a good time. Around 2 AM, Everyone started to get tired so they all cleaned up a little bit, the guys paid, and then said their goodbyes.

Donghae and BoA took off a different way than everyone else so they could talk some more and Dana pulled Kibum away early so they could get back first. It left Jang Ri In, Han Kyung, Lina, Kangin, Junsu, Sunday, Micky, and Stephanie. They all walked in a big group together and returned to the dormitory. Micky and Stephanie dragged behind a little when they got closer to the building, so they were alone when they got back into the lobby. Their rooms were on the opposite sides of the building, so this was their goodbye.

“Thanks for inviting me. I had fun tonight. “Stephanie said.

“Haha…no problem. Thanks for coming with me.” Micky replied.

There was this slightly awkward silence between the two as they fidgeted and kept smiling at each other. Finally, Stephanie broke the silence.

“I…should get going back to my room. Its pretty late.”

“Yeah…um…So…I’ll see you tomorrow?” Micky asked.

Stephanie smiled. “Sure…”

Micky hugged her and then took off down his hallway. Stephanie made her way back to her room and put her things on the desk. Everyone was already back and asleep, so she maneuvered through the dark room and changed her clothes before sliding into bed.

“Tonight was…fun” she thought as she fell asleep.