My feet felt like they were pounded and strained for hours. Everywhere I turn was like running through a maze. Even though I don't like the idea, I admit I am lost. People looked at me strangely. I don't know if it's because I'm a foreigner or if it's the fact that I look like I'm a hungry hyena about to pounce them. My hair is a mess; I have a lot of bags with me, and my sandal strap broke earlier.

I sat down beside an ice cream stall to clear my head. "I walked this street... And then turned left..." I started making a map in my mind but was interrupted by an old man.

"I'm sorry, miss, but this chair is for my customers only," he said politely. As a result, I spent the last of my pocket money on cheap ice cream. Great. Now I am lost and penniless.

Just as I took a bite of the ice cream, I remembered I have Jin's old phone. I quickly opened it and looked through the contacts.

"Golden Maknae. Hoe-bi. Jibooty. Joonie. Min Snail. TaeTae." How the heck will I know who these are? He didn't even put his new number. Okay, maybe I'll try Joonie. Joonie sounds like it could be Namjoon's pet name. Without hesitation, I called the number. I stared at the dialer as the line rang as if it would make Joonie answer immediately. My battery was running low.

"Hello?" An annoyed voice greeted. I think I caught him at a wrong time; he didn't seem to be the type of person to be easily irritated. At least from what I observed. I thought for a second before finally speaking up. My courage was building up and I couldn't stand being in the small marketplace anymore. I knew I should have gone to the mall. The prices are higher for sure, but it was closer to my house. I could easily memorize my whereabouts and play Hansel and Gretel.

A soft grumble on my ear made me jump then I realized I was on the line with someone.

"Hi. This is Rachel. I'm lost. Can you pick me up, please?" I asked straight to the point. If I caught him at the wrong time, I better not beat around the bush before he gets more annoyed.

Silence.

"Where are you?"

×××

Minutes after the phone call, a car pulled up on the street across from me. I chowed down the rest of my ice cream, which I licked and ate at an incredibly slow pace just so the stall owner would not shoo me away. He kept glancing at me to check if I was done so he could ask me to leave though I didn't give him the chance to.

Namjoon emerged out from the car and looked around until his eyes set on me. He waved at me. I knew Joonie was going to be Namjoon. I gave a mental two thumbs up to myself for a good guess. I walked across the street and bowed at Namjoon before moving to the passenger's side.

Namjoon followed me and took the bags off my hand. Then he held out his palms at me. "Stop bowing and just be casual with me. I don't want Jin to think we're closing you off," he said with a soft chuckle. He opened the car door for me and I, once again, thanked him.

This time he laughed at me and said, "You sure know your manners." I shook my head with a smile and got in the car.

I fumbled with the hem of my shirt and kept my head down. I'm still lost on how I should talk to Korean men, foreigners in general, let alone my stepbrother's friends who I never met before. Besides, I had a lot to learn with the cultural differences of my country to theirs.

He went to the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. My ears rang from the pressure while he seemed to be undisturbed. Was he always that forceful in everything?

He reached up his hand across me but quickly retracted his arm like he just realizes he did something wrong. I looked at him quizzically, an eyebrow raised. "Your- your seatbelt," he stuttered. I buckled up and smiled at him to reduce the tension that gathered up.

I found it cute how he stuttered.

It wasn't long till we finally started having a casual conversation – one that doesn't require constant throat clearing and forced coughs to fill the dead air.

"So, Kookie was the one who put your diary in Yoongi's room?" He asked in disbelief, eyes focusing on the road. I furrowed my eyebrows at the mention of an unfamiliar name. There was no one else who mistook my journal as Yoongi's than Jungkook. I nodded slowly and mumbled a "yes." It's not a diary-it's a journal.

So, Jungkook has a pet name too? Kookie. Like the snack.

"Exactly." I heard him say. I turned to look at him but he was already staring at me like he was waiting for me to turn to him.

"Oh, I said that out loud," I shyly explained.

"Mhm. But did he tell Yoongi?" His eyes were now fixated on the road as he continued to be unusually intrigued by my story.

"No, and I don't plan to. But Jungkook promised to buy me food." I smiled at the thought of food. I'm getting tired of the ramyeon that the boys love. It's all we had at home. As if on cue, my stomach grumbled.

"Want to grab something to eat?" He asked through a stifled smile and glanced at me through the mirror.

"Yeah." I felt embarrassed, but being shy won't make me less hungry so I better take this chance before it's too late.

After a 10-minute ride, we were now in a burger place that he insisted had the best chicken pops and soda. He asked me what I wanted to eat. Truthfully, all I really want to fill my stomach with are burgers, tacos, and fries. Ice cream, even though I just had one earlier. The list goes on.

"Get anything you like. I'm paying," Namjoon smiled and flashed his dimples. Wow. He looked so proud of himself. Strangely it made me feel comfortable. I raised both my eyebrows and he repeated, "Anything."

So I ordered a Large aloha burger, a bowl of fries, cucumber lemonade, and a serving of strawberry ice cream.

"That's all for me. What would you like?" I teased with an innocent smileĺ. He was shocked. Haha, he thought I ordered for the two of us. There was a brief moment of silence but as it goes on, I felt ashamed to ask a stranger to buy me those amount of food.

"I'm joking heh. I'll just have the burger and lemonade." I pointed at the menu, trying to act like I really was joking. "You can have all of them." He said while pulling down the neck of his shirt.

He ordered his food and I couldn't help but stare as he spoke in Korean. How come he was fluent in English?

"$22." The cashier said. He shot me a glare.

"You said anything," I defended. He couldn't do anything anyway. The cashier already punched my order in. He ordered a TLC burger and apple soda. We sat at a table for two while waiting for our food.

"Thanks for picking me up," I hoped for a reply but he just nodded and looked outside the windows. I simply took in the person in front of me, staring at his details. Partly because I'm bored, partly because of curiosity.

A few minutes passed and our order came. I can tell from his gaze that he was somewhat envious that I got a lot of food while he could only enjoy one. I was amused at the expression across his face.

"So you're using Jin's old number?" He asked, breaking the silence that fell on us as we gobbled down our food. Our burgers were now gone and we started eating my cheesy fries.

"Yeah. And can you help me with the contacts? I don't know anyone here." I showed him the contact list with my cheesy fingers.

He giggled before explaining to me, "You know everyone here. Golden Maknae is Jungkook, we also call him Kookie. Hoe-bi is Hoseok. Jibooty is obviously Jimin--"

"It wasn't obvious," I butt in. I felt my face redden as he looked at me questioningly. What made him think it would be obvious to me? And who was Jimin again? My memory wasn't so good because of the sleeping pills that I regularly took. Or at least that's what I think its cause is.

"What? You haven't noticed his booty?" He made it sound so wrong. So wrong. I blushed even more at the mention of booty, a man's booty. He looked expectantly at me, maybe hoping I would just ride along to make it less awkward.

Feeling the tension between us, he coughed then continued with a serious tone this time, "Min Snail is Yoongi. And TaeTae is Taehyung." Well, TaeTae was a little obvious. Why didn't I realize that earlier? Oh right, I don't know him either. Still, I'm thankful that it was Namjoon that I called.

He was nice. He was warm. I made another mental note in the drawer of names in my brain. Namjoon: tall, dimples, can appear as if he intends to destroy things but is unaware of it; nice and dependable.

We came straight home after our afternoon snack and small talk.