Part 1

Summary: Kora accidentally bumped into Min Yoongi on her way home. He offers to help her write her songs and to help her Korean, since she’s a little rusty. Over time, she begins to feel things, things she doesn’t want to feel. She knows that Yoongi thinks of her as a little sister. But does he really?

Word Count: 1538

Warnings: Fluff, Flirting, Eventual Smut

A/N: Set right before the release of Cypher 4

“Ah, dammit!” I shouted, crouching down to pick up my scattered notes. A boy kneeled to help. “No, it’s alright. I’ve got it.” I said, darting my hands out to grab the notes before he could read them. “Sorry for making a scene.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind.” he said, his hand reaching for my lyrics book, which was wide open.

“No!” I said, lunging forward to snatch the book from his grasp. “I-I’m sorry, it’s personal.” I muttered. My face burned with embarrassment.

“Um, I understand.” He said, flipping over the pages as he handed them to me. I finally looked up and re-dropped everything. He chuckled.

“Holy shit,” I whispered, feeling my face burn even brighter. “Min Yoongi.”

He grinned his usual gummy smile. I glanced around for the other members, semi-glad to find them not there. Suga is my bias. “So, you finally recognized me.” He teased.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for being such an ass.” I muttered, keeping eye contact with him.

“No, it’s okay. You weren’t an ass,” he said with a stomach fluttering smile. “What are they?” He asked, nodding to my various papers.

I hesitated. ‘Um, they’re lyrics.” I muttered, tucking the pages into my bag.

“Oh, you write?” He asked, leaning back on his heels to look at me.

“Not really, well, I mean, yeah, but um, I, uh, I…” I fumbled for my words,

He chuckled. “It’s alright, you don’t owe an explanation. But, if you would like someone to look over them, I’ll be glad to. I’ve got nothing scheduled for the next couple of hours.” He offered his hand to help me stand, which I took.

“Well, um, you don’t have to, that’s fine.” I stammered.

“No, I’d love to. I always like to read other people’s lyrics.” He said with a smile.

“Um, really?” I asked quietly, rocking back and forth on my heels.

“Yeah, come on. We can do it over coffee?” He asked, moving so I could walk first.

“The others won’t wonder where you are?” I questioned, turning around to look at him.

“No, they know not to expect me for another two hours. We’ve got plenty of time,” he said.

“Thanks, for doing this, but, why are you doing this?” I asked, turning my head to look at him.

He was quiet for a moment. “Well,” he slowly answered, “I like to help and, well, I think you’re cute and I want to help you.” He said, smiling at the ground.

My eyes widened and my face flushed a deep red. “O-oh, thanks.” I said, biting my lip to hide my smile.

“It’s no problem.” He said. “The shop is just up here. I was thinking we could grab a coffee, then go somewhere more quiet?” He asked, turning to me for approval.

“Yeah, yeah, that’d be great.” I said, nodding vigorously. We quickly approached the store and darted in. His face was obscured by his hat, and somewhere along the way he had slipped on his face mask.

“What’ll it be?” He asked, pushing his mask down under his chin. I grinned at the chance to see this sight in person.

“I’ll have a caramel macchiato,” I said with a smirk. He chuckled, his cheeks filling over the mask. He looked cute and puffy.

He approached the counter and gave the barista our orders before coming back to me. “It’ll be just a minute,” he said. “In the meantime, what’s your name? I never asked.”

“Oh! Right, I’m Kora.” I said, sticking my hand out to shake his.

“Kora, pretty.” He said with a smile. I blushed again. “You’re American?” He asked.

“Hmm, Italian, actually,” I said. “My mom was born in Florence, as was I, but we moved to America when I was a year old.” I explained.

“Oh, that’s amazing. Do you know any Italian?” He asked.

“Mmm, unfortunately, no, no I do not. I was too early for the language to stick, and my mom always spoke English after we moved to America.” I said, shaking my head. “I wish, though, that she’d teach me some Italian, but she’s very weird whenever I bring up Italy.”

“Aw, that’s shame.” He said. “So, why’d you move to South Korea?” He asked, asking me to wait when the barista called our names. When he came back, we both left the shop and continued to talk.

“Well, I moved here to get away from America. I’m sick of it there, to be completely honest. My life wasn’t all that good. I was the straight-A student, Valedictorian, then I graduated and my mom and dad wanted me to be a lawyer like them, but that’s not what I want.” I shrugged and sipped on the coffee, relishing in the caramel goodness.

“Then what do you want?” He asked, watching me over the edge of the cup as he sipped.

I considered the question before answering. “Well, I have a strong passion for music, like singing and dancing, and also for learning, That’s partially why I came here. I wanted to learn about another culture and language, and, I gotta say, I’m impressed.” I said with an approving scoff.

“How so?” Yoongi asked, swishing his drink back and forth. From the aroma, I could tell that it was the same as mine.

“Well, for one, your culture is amazing! You’re use of honorifics, it’s great. Everyone is so polite and respectful, meanwhile, over in America, you’ve got people shooting up elementary schools.” He smiled over the steam that was rising from his coffee. “Also, the language. I thought that learning spanish was hard, but, phew, Korean is ten times worse. It’s so complicated, especially with the Hangul. Like, if you guys wrote with the romanized version, it would have been slightly easier, but no. It was so difficult for me to learn, especially since I came here with no knowledge of Korea or its customs.

“So, when I got here, I knew nothing. I could only speak English and spanish. It took me nearly two years to learn Korean, and I’m still rusty. I constantly forget the honorifics, and people tend to think that I’m incredibly rude, especially when I mess them up. It’s so embarrassing.” I blushed slightly, shying away from his amused expression.

“Well, a few times during this conversation I’ve gotten lost. Who taught you Korean?” He asked.

“Myself,” I said timidly.

“Really?” He asked in surprise and amazement, stopping me.

“Yeah, I went to some classes, but I began to piece everything together after a while. I taught myself almost everything.” I said, my cheeks reddening again.

“Wow, for a second I thought I was going to have to scold someone, but you’re actually a pretty good speaker for being self-taught,” he said with a huff. “I’m impressed.”

I stood straighter, a little confused. “Wait, so I’m bad?”

“No, not bad, just….a little confused. You used some words backwards, but you’re still really good. If you want, I can also tutor you in Korean, in exchange that you teach me some English.” He said with a gummy smile.

I grinned. “Deal,” I stuck out my hand and he took it, shaking it firmly.

“Deal,” he grinned back. “But still, you’re pretty darn good, I just need to see your writing.” He said.

“Oof, that’s where I’m really bad.” I laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck. Just then, a phone pinged and we both dug through our pockets to check ours. It turned out to be his, but I decided to shoot my best friend a text about who I was with.

Yoongi was busy on his phone as I screamed at my best friend, Ella, about what was happening. “Here, let me get your number, Kora. I’m so sorry, but something just came up.” He said, handing his phone to me.

“Oh, that’s no problem,” I lied. Maybe he was ready to ditch me. I quickly typed in my phone number and name, with a reminder of who I was before handing his phone back to him.

“Look, I’m not trying to ditch you, Kora-” he read my mind- “Namjoon is having an issue with some equipment, and none of the others can help. I’ll call you later tonight. Again, I’m so sorry. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He called out as he rushed across the street and got swept away by the Seoul current.

I huffed in disappointment. Maybe I jinxed myself when I told Ella. I thought, chugging the rest of my coffee before throwing it away. Not even a minute passed before my phone pinged. I thought it was Ella, but was surprised to find an unknown number. It was Yoongi. I internally screamed as I answered.

am i enough?                                                                                                   more than i need.

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