Choi Beomgyu takes me to the school cafeteria. My vision is blurred as I follow him, but the sweetest thing is that he ensures he's always stepping beside me—never forward like my mother often does to lead me in stressful situations.

"What do you like about Seoul so far?" he asks.

I don't have the strength to respond at first. My eyes are glued to his outfit, the thin black cardigan and denim-washed jeans with asymmetric holes cut into the knees. He's a model if I've ever seen one. He's around an inch taller, and his features radiate idol status—clear skin, a sharp cut to his jaw, and a straight back as he walks through campus.

It seems BigHit made an agreement with the school and its students beforehand. Because although there are a few pauses and lingering looks from other students, they mostly scurry away as we make our way through the square and toward the dining hall.

"Jayden?" he reminds me. This time, a snicker follows my name, as if I could ever make someone like him laugh.

I cough, trying to giggle my way out of my awkward pause. "Oh. Seoul. I like almost everything about it. I like how I don't have to rely on anyone to travel, and the food is amazing, and you—"

Beomgyu's eyebrows arch as my Freudian slip completely pummels my train of thought.

"I mean—" I start. "I mean—"

Beomgyu's eyes manage to sparkle even under the cast of a light gray sky. "Oh. Are you saying that I'm one of the best parts of Seoul so far?"

I don't have the briskness to object. But I have to try anyway—it'll be way too strange of me to confirm his thoughts. "Um. I meant that you have been a big help so far."

Beomgyu snickers as he steps up toward the cafeteria. A teardrop earring catches a sunray and throws my vision off-kilter. He smiles.

I've never seen a smile like his. So pure and so appropriate for a boy who can enchant the world with a single note. His smile erases the memory of heartbreak from home, the overbearing weight of my parents, my torn relationship with my brother. It helps me realize that I still have some worth in me. Like... did I really just make Beomgyu from TOMORROW X TOGETHER smile?

"C'mon," he says while gesturing toward the open door. "We have to eat if we're going to make it through class today. You're going to take the Korean placement test, aren't you?"

I nod and shut my mouth, refusing to give myself the chance to embarrass myself even further.

In the cafeteria, the air conditioner hits my skin and evaporates all of my sweat from the outdoors in a few seconds. That leaves me shaking a bit—maybe a combination of being around Beomgyu. But if Beomgyu notices, he spares me the shame of pointing it out. Instead, he leads me to a line to where we can order our food.

"The food here isn't as good as our company or the top universities," he admits. "But honestly, it doesn't matter to me. What do you feel like eating?"

My stomach drops upon realizing I'm only familiar with a few Korean dishes—gimbap, ramyeon, bibimbap.... I stall for time by tapping my feet and trying to look over the shoulder of the student in front of me. As if I could read Hangul and understand it like an advanced student in the Korean language.

Gosh. I'm so embarrassing, and I'm screwed.

Beomgyu shakes his head as we approach a single machine. He taps in an order for two of the same thing. "How does bulgogi sound? I ordered for the two of us." He nods, lending the slight of his smile. I'm so close to him that if I leaned, our foreheads would bonk. "I thought that you might've needed a recommendation."

"I'm stupid," I say. "I always have a hard time deciding anything."

Beomgyu glances at me as if I hurled a personal insult at him. "Hey. Don't say that, Jayden. I think you're a great person."

A great person? He's barely even met me, and now he thinks I'm a good person? I don't know what to say about that, so I just stay silent as we wait for our food in line. The cafeteria is a wide space with bright lighting. It's pretty plain in terms of color and architecture, but the greatest feature is the air conditioning and the efficiency of food service. In Hawaii, the same amount of food being produced would take five times as long.

We get our food and sit down. I'm almost calm enough to take my first bite.

Then, from the entrance of the cafeteria, a shout echoes throughout the whole space. "Yah! Beomgyu!"

I turn along with everyone else in the cafe. Oh my gosh. It's Yeonjun, Soobin, Huening Kai, and Taehyun.