Chapter 4: Someone Like Him.

"Did you notice Hyunsu kept looking at you during the whole class?"

My new friend Eunjin informed me about this vital information. Well, I looked nothing like East Asian, yet one of my classmates named Hyunsu showed a bit of interest in me.

"Sad for him. He won't be a good Engineer if he keeps staring at me, avoiding professor's lesson- tsk, tsk."

Eunjin giggled very quietly.

"And sad for you too because you are doing the same thing." I smirked without looking at her.

"What?" She glared at me when I looked at her.

She looked adorable. I couldn't help but smiled. "You are staring at Hyunsu and keeping an eye on him. I am telling you Girl. You will fail to be a good Engineer too. Now shut up and focus." I said in amusement.

After searching for a long I found a place to live in. It wasn't a luxurious place but good enough for me. I had settled down in my new home just few days ago.

"Yes, Ma. I am really attentive to my study. You don't need to worry." I tried to suppress the groan and turned it into a long sigh. Sometimes I really wished if we could have a mother-daughter type conversations instead of the business types. All she asked were, what was I eating, where was I going, how was I studying. It was annoying.

"Good, you should be more serious about career. After all, you left all your important things here to have a better career, right?" Now she was taunting me. Great!

"Yes, I know Ma." I rubbed my temple, "I am hungry and have to cook something. I will talk to you later. Take care of yourself." My stomach was growling like a lion.

"Okay. Take care." She replied in flat tone as usual.

After she hanged up, I went to the kitchen to cook something. When I opened my refrigerator, it was empty. No groceries!

'Hell! How am I going to eat? Damn it, I didn't check in the morning.'

I groaned in annoyance.

'Great! Now I have to buy groceries.'

I checked again. I didn't even have the instant cup noodles. Those were my saviors in such crisis moments like this one.

I decided to buy some groceries. So I went out. The way my stomach was growling, it was obvious to me that it couldn't wait until I cook some. So I ate in a local restaurant. An old couple are the owners and also the chefs of the restaurant. They reminded me of my late grandparents. The lovely woman could cook the best black bean noodles. After munching the whole bowl, my hungry lion, I meant my stomach calmed down. Then I went to buy some groceries and instant noodles.

'Today was really exhausting. My feet are killing me. '

Firstly class, then grocery shopping, all of these drained the energy from me. I was thumping on the ground with each step I took to reach at my home.

As I was heading to my flat and climbing the stairs, I bumped into a boy. He was rushing down the stairs. All my groceries fell down when he bumped into me. When he looked up, I was astonished. It felt like a whiplash. His pupils dilated when he realized what he had done, he looked shocked and immediately bowed to me.

"Sorry, Miss. I am extremely sorry."

He ran to collect all my groceries that were spread on the stairs and floor. The boy looked like around 20 years old. If Nabil was alive, he would have grown this much. The boy was wearing a loose, old Navy blue colored hoodie, a black ripped off jeans and pair of old black sneakers. He had big, round beautiful dark brown eyes, a sharp nose, heart shaped lips. His forehead was covered with straight dark brown hairs that reached till his eyebrows. He looked so much like Nabil except for the eyes. Nabil had a bit smaller, light brown eyes and those didn't look like East Asian. But both of their face had the same kind of innocence, beauty and the same kind of sadness. After collecting all the groceries, he handed me those and bowed again.

"Again, I am sorry."

I wanted to ask his name but before I could ask anything he rushed down the stairs. I just stared at the stairs. All my memories of Nabil flooded in my head. I felt a tug in my heart. I just climbed up the stairs and went to my home. I couldn't stop sobbing. It took almost an hour for me to come down. Then I went to the bathroom and took a long warm shower.

Later at the afternoon loud noises woke me up from my sleep. At first, I thought it was just noises. Then I rubbed my eyes to wake up completely. That's when I understood it wasn't a noise, someone was yelling at the top of his lungs. I wrapped a shawl around me and opened my main door. I wasn't prepared to see what I saw next. It was the owner of the building who was yelling at the same boy that I bumped into the stairs.

He was yelling, "It's my last warning, Taesung. I want my payment tomorrow. If you can't afford it, then feel free to get out of my building. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir." The boy was bowed down.

The manager noticed me and flashed a disgusting smile. He glared for a last time at the boy I supposed his name was Taesung and rushed down the stairs. I looked at Taesung. He was still wearing that same dresses. Suddenly he turned towards me and our eyes met. His eyes held a disparate emotion. An emotion that I couldn't recognize instantly. He then turned away from me and closed his door. Well, I guessed we were neighbors.

I closed my door and went to the kitchen to drink some water. Then immediately I recognized that look, the emotion in Taesung's eyes. Nabil looked at me like that if he was hurt or disappointed. Then it suddenly clicked into my head. He had to pay his rent. That meant he had to live on his own. I didn't know why I was caring. I didn't know why he made me remember Nabil. I just felt pity for the boy as soon as I understood he was going through hardship.