Trouble Finds A Way | DAERIN ft. BBANGSAZ

Chapter 18: Dingo (Yujin's backstory)

Pride.

Yujin liked memory games, or anything that requires memorization. She played with her older sister's toys, since her parents didn't have enough time to pay attention to her. Most of these toys jogged her brain at an early stage. Placing the shapes in their correct slots, organizing blocks from size to a specific thickness. Flipping cards to find which ones are the exact partners, and even math related games.

She was a quiet kid, she barely got any attention from anyone, but she still managed to do what she had to do.

It was obvious to her that her mother and father concentrated on her two older sisters more than her. Making her feel like dead weight most of the time. But they still provided for her, she had everything she needed. The only thing that was missing was attention from them. She knew as soon as then that it was all that she needed.

Her sisters were tolerable. None of them insulted her or put her down. Which was odd for her, but she didn't mind the civility of things. It was still different because none of them made the effort to form a bond with her. It was all acknowledgments and simple greetings when they crossed paths at school and even in their own home.

She liked to believe that she was mature enough for her age. Maybe too mature. At seven, she stopped crying about trivial things. Like scraping her knee or getting scolded by her mother. She trained her mind so that emotions can be controlled. She had the power to switch them on and off like a light.

The price she had to pay though, was her empathy. Because of the lack of it, she wasn't able to make friends at school. Then again, she weighed the pros and cons of having interpersonal relationships. If there really was a great benefit of having friends or not. It was school, she just needed to pass subjects, not fuck up and graduate.

Seems simple enough.

It was too easy, she believed. From elementary to middle school she was able to become the top student of her batch. Always having perfect scores in exams, always knowing the right answers and was always above everyone.

She even dipped her toes into extracurricular activities, such as literary clubs and sports.

Chess was her favorite out of all of them. Since it was easy to memorize people's patterns and how they played the game, it took her seconds to figure out what was their next move each time. Maybe even setting a record of beating her opponent in two moves only.

But because of that, the president had to politely ask her to choose a different club since she was 'too good' at it. Which didn't make sense to her, didn't they want their club to win in these games? Why did they have to kick her out?

However, she wasn't the type to argue, or let her pride take over. She simply agreed and decided to look for another one.

As a joke, they told her to join the ssireum club in their school. Which, to their surprise, she agreed to. It made Yujin believe that if she was able to have a strong mind, then she needed a strong body as well. Again, she aced the club, taking the school to different parts of Busan in several categories.

She was their top player and it only felt right for her to mock the people who thought she wasn't capable of doing it. She seemed to enjoy putting people in their place. Being a star student and a great athlete was definitely a way for them to know who's the real deal there.

Middle school was easy for her, her first year in high school was even easier. Though the occasional bullying does come her way, she felt like it was just a waste of time to let people like that try to scratch on her pride. She had too much of it, already learning to counter them when they tried to say something loosely at her.