Chapter 1

502K 10.3K 26.5K
                                    

"Seoyeon!" As my mother and I opened the door to my grandmother's apartment, I was immediately greeted by my grandmother. The familiar scent of an Asian household washed over my senses almost instantaneously. Yep, I was definitely back in South Korea. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks!" I replied in hesitant Korean, since speaking the language didn't come naturally. It took moments to switch my thoughts from my native English to Korean. It was apparently understandable, since my grandmother nodded enthusiastically. That was always a relief. Maybe I actually could survive here?

"Oh, you've grown so tall!" she continued to gush, patting my shoulder with such force that was nearly unnatural for such an old lady. "And you've just graduated high school. Oh, Seoul National University, ah? That's such a good school! You must be very smart, just like your mother."

I managed a forced smile. It was almost bittersweet to be called smart. It reminded me of everything I could've been at home.

I had been accepted into my dream university back home--one of only two students in my city--which was everything I'd ever worked for. After I had received the acceptance letter, I'd cried for a week straight with tears of joy. My mother had been thrilled, and it was the topic of every conversation. It seemed like my life was finally going in the right direction. All those nights of not having a social life and being alone at home, studying, had finally paid off! For once in my life, I felt happy to live my life, and I was happy for myself.

But my grandfather had died right after graduation, and my mother had to move back to support hers, and for some reason, I moved as well for support for mine. Mom had made me apply to the SKY universities in Korea, but I never actually considered them as a real option.

Of course, Seoul National University wasn't bad in any sense of the definition—it was a top university. But I never planned on living in South Korea. I wasn't too familiar with the culture, language, or social practices. The culture shock would make me an alien, at least in the beginning, and going to my American dream school wouldn't have been this difficult.

Why did I do it? I had no idea. That was the strangest part. It felt like an instinct, though I didn't know what kind of instinct made you give up your dream university. I even doubted its existence as an instinct--it was just like someone whispering that I had to in my ear. I had felt a strange, pressing feeling that felt like I was being forced to give it up. I was being dragged to South Korea against my will, but not really.

I'd experienced things like that before. Being selfless and empathetic wasn't out of the ordinary for a lot of people, but it seemed as if I didn't have an ounce of selfish substance in my body. I was always thinking about others, and even if it worsened my own situation; to me, everyone else was more important. My mother believed I was destined to save the world, but people were taking advantage of me left and right. It was the part of me that was never explainable, and no one ever bothered to fix or question it because it benefited them.

"Eomma, Seoyeon unpack first before you attack!" chuckled my mother, Jiyoung, lightheartedly. My grandmother huffed but obliged, hurrying to the kitchen, presumably to make all the Korean dishes that I enjoyed. I took the opportunity to drag my suitcase to my new room, which wasn't nearly as spacious as my old room back home, as it was an apartment, and unpack. My clothes went into the dresser, my jackets and dresses went into the closet, and all my toiletries went into the bathroom. The week before, the movers had already moved everything to Korea, so my room looked like a smaller version of my American one. There was the same white bed with pastel green sheets, white dresser with a giant mirror, and wooden desk with all the drawers that I loved shoving random things without a place into.

Dark (Jungkook - BTS)Hikayelerin yaşadığı yer. Şimdi keşfedin