Closed Not the Same

[Tyler Lee]

The first few days of Hogwarts had been exciting, but now things were starting to grow a little boring. Tyler supposed a school was a school, even if magic was involved. He had been disappointed to find there weren't any athletic clubs one could join, if you didn't count the Quidditch teams. But since first years weren't generally allowed on the team and Tyler had no interest in the sport, he didn't count it. He would just have to go running by himself, or maybe find someone else to come with him. But he would miss the idea of being in a club where people competed, even if only subtly. Perhaps he would join the dueling club once he was a second year. It was annoying that all good clubs seemed closed to first years, but he supposed they were at the bottom of the ladder and still had to climb their way up.

The boy was sitting on one of the couches in the student lounge, leafing through one of the books for his classes. Occasionally he looked up if he could spot anyone he knew, or anything interesting that might occupy his afternoon for a bit. He wasn't sure what Blake was up to now, but he knew he couldn't follow him around everywhere without looking desperate. Tyler wanted the protection and power that came with being friends with someone like Blake, but he didn't want to look completely dependent on him either. If he was honest with himself, he was hoping to catch a glimpse of Sierra, the Gryffindor girl he had met. But he didn't see her in the student lounge. She was probably painting rainbows somewhere or something. The thought made him smile a little as he turned the page in his book.

 

[Bada Yeong]

Bada had been following her brother around the first few days being at the school. He knew where everything was and how to get most places so she ended up meeting him after breakfast and following him to different place. She also took time to get to know some of her fellow first years, but mostly stuck by Cullen's side. Thinking of him as Cullen was weird to Bada, who always referred to him as Oppa, which is the Korean term for older brother. Or she might called him by his real name YeongBit-garam. She hadn't seen any other Korean students during that time, not even any that seemed to be from countries near her home country. It made her feel a little isolated, although she had been living in New Zealand for the past two years now, she was used to seeing people who didn't look like her.

Walking into the Student Lounge on her own she briefly looked around her eyes picking out a face that struck her heart. A Korean! There was no mistaking it for Bada he was certainly Korean like herself. This made her perk up and get rather excited, finally someone who would understand the customs she had grown up with and how strange this school was. She hadn't seen a single student bow to a Professor or elder once, it seemed disrespectful to her, but she knew it wasn't the custom to do so. "Hello!" She said bowing slightly to the boy. "My name is Yeong-Ba-da, I am Korean, you are too, yes?" She asked in Korean figuring he would understand her. Her smile was big on her face, excited to finally meet someone who would understand her. "How do you find the school? It seems so odd being here and none of the customs I am used to. People look at me strange when I bow, I forget they do don't that in Western culture," she continued.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler looked up when a girl approached, and it took him a moment to realize she was bowing to him and addressing him in Korean. Having grown up in New Zealand himself, he hadn't grown up around too many Korean customs. His parents had taught him a lot, of course, but they had always encouraged him to fit in at his New Zealand school, working hard themselves to fit in in their neighborhood and at their jobs. He had never talked Korean to anyone at school before, always refusing when people asked him to teach them words in the language. It was one step away from being made fun of, in Tyler's experience. So when the girl kept talking to him in Korean, he grimaced slightly, but he listened. "Hello, yes I am Korean." He said, using his native tongue as well. But that was all he would say before switching over to English. He gave the girl an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I usually don't speak Korean at school, or really anywhere but with my parents." Tyler's parents also spoke English at home sometimes too, switching between the languages naturally. "I've grown up in New Zealand, and have been going to school here all my life. I'm afraid I don't share your struggles." He told her, even if it was a little blunt. He didn't want this girl to group him in with her just because they were both Korean.

 

[Bada Yeong]

Bada was smiling at the boy when he said hello back in Korean. It made her happy to see another Korean in her year, at least she figured he was a first year as well. Her smile faded when he began to speak English. It made her wonder why he dismissed his parent's native culture so easily. It wasn't a custom for Koreans to be so dismissive of their culture. His English was well pronounced and well-spoken, it made her connect the dots and realize that he probably wasn't really Korean. Not the same way she had been born and raised most of her life there. He might have been born but raised in New Zealand. And he said he was, it made sense what he was saying but it did make her feel a little sad. "I am not very good at speaking English. Do you mind if I speak Korean to you? Listening to English is easier than speaking, I usually cannot find the word I want to use," she responded her tone more subdued than before.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler felt uncomfortable and didn't like to let the girl down, but he also didn't like how she had assumed something about him just from his appearance. Torn, he decided to try to be nice to her, but not too nice. He didn't want her attaching herself to him just because he could understand Korean. He could tell she was disappointed, but couldn't bring himself to feel too bad. She had assumed him to be exactly like her, and that was her mistake not his. "Sure." He said with a nod. "I can understand it a little better than I can speak it. Same as you with English, I suppose." He was fairly fluent in Korean, but if he let the girl think it was difficult fro him perhaps she wouldn't be as upset with him speaking English. It was an easy thing to say, and he added an apologetic smile to sell it. "Do you like Hogwarts so far?" He added, though he didn't really feel like having small talk. It was the least he could do, and it couldn't hurt to at least get someone else's perspective on the school.