"Cool, you're from Germany?"

A boy in front of me asked as soon as I sat down. 

"Yes.."

"You should try talking to In-ho. He can speak German." The boy points towards another kid sitting up front. He has a small stature from behind. 

"I will get him to come to you at recess. I'm Jin-woo, by the way." I greeted him. Jin-woo seems really nice. Everyone seems nice and curious. I made eye contact with one girl and she smiled before giggling with her friends. I hope it is a good sign.

The class went on. 

I was lost the whole time. I scribbled some words that I thought would be useful. It would be nice if there is someone who can translate everything the teacher said to me. 

###

After the third class, the bell rings and some students walk out of the class. I assumed it was recess. Two boys came up to me. 

"Hey, how did you learn Korean?" 

"Do you like K-Pop? Dramas?" 

"Your Korean is very good."

I nervously looked down. "Um.."

"Hey, one at a time. Have you never seen a foreigner before?"

Jin-woo walks towards my table. He is followed by someone — the boy he pointed at earlier.

"Lukas, this is In-ho. Hey, say something in German. You can speak the language, don’t you?"

The boy looked reluctant, as if he was dragged there. He has a pale face and fair skin with the usual clean haircut that covers his entire forehead. His eyes are barely seen under the hair tip line. Their shape reminds me of almonds, for some reason. 

"What are you saying? I'm not that fluent."

His voice is not loud, but it is clear. He has.. a nice voice. 

"Ah, just say anything. One sentence is enough." Jin-woo insisted. The other two boys also waited in anticipation. I'm curious, but also confused as to why they wanted to make him speak German to me so badly. What if he really can’t speak the language? Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for him? Poor guy…

"...Baumkuchen."

A puzzled silence ensues.

"Isn't that a type of food?"

"So you can't really speak German?"

"I told you I'm not fluent."

The kids started laughing. I sat there —frozen. The boy called In-ho stayed still as Jin-woo hit his back a few times. "You're the best." The boys started leaving my desk one by one, except for In-ho. He leaned against the wall in front of my desk, with one hand in his pocket. The awkwardness gradually creeps in..

"Wann sind Sie hier angekommen?"

My heart leaped. That was a good pronunciation. No, accurate even.

"Vor zwei Tagen…You can speak German?"

"A little. My aunt lives in Germany so I learn it from her."

Still, that was impressive. I stared at him without much thought. He never smiles, but he has a calming aura around him. There is something about him… that draws people in. Me, included. 

In the next class, the teacher called for him to answer an algebraic question upfront. In small movements, he walked up and wrote the answer on the blackboard without a slight pause. "Good job." The male teacher remarked, a little unbothered, as if it was expected of him to do great. 

"In-ho placed first in the last examination…Just like how he always placed since last year." Jin-woo explained as we were packing up to leave. 

"There are… five languages he can speak, if I'm not mistaken."

German must be one of those languages he mastered. That's so amazing. I badly want to hear him speak other languages. Now I can understand why they forced him to talk to me. He's so…capable.

###

It is night back at the apartment. I helped Mr. Park set the table for dinner. 

"It's been a long time since I ate dinner with someone at home."

He said it so casually I barely noticed —it is quite a sad fact to tell. Mr. Park asked me about my first day. I started with my introduction to the class, how confusing the classes are and about my new friends. 

"... He can be funny, too. He said a type of cake when the others asked him to say something in German, but then, he talked so fluently to me. He is so talented in many things yet he is so humble about it. He made others think we can achieve it if we work hard too—"

I rambled on without realizing I had been taking up most of the conversation. Mr. Park stared at me, a little surprised. I apologized almost immediately and he smiled warmly.

"It's okay. It's good that you found someone you can look up to… In-ho must be a really great kid."

I can feel my face warming up. What an embarrassing thing I did. I just met him for a day yet I get so worked up when I talk about him. I should take it easy.