Chapter 1
I stare at the small woman in front of me as she shakes her head in anger.
“NO. You cannot stay here. Must go. Do not want.” She spits out in broken English as she waves her hands in wild circles.
She turns her back on me as she walks up a set of steep and broken steps, muttering to herself in Korean. She turns and looks back at me one more time before she disappears behind a wooden door that shuts with a definite click. I slowly back away from the stairs in shock, keeping my eyes on the wooden door just in case the woman changed her mind. I stood for what seemed like hours before giving up and turning away. I look both left and right in confusion, everything is unfamiliar and frightening.
It was only two hours before that I had landed at the Daegu International Airport. My parents had passed away a month before and had left explicit instructions that I was to go live with my Aunt in Korea, unfortunately my Aunt wanted no part in it and had turned me away even after readying the letter my mother had left, leaving me clueless as to what I should do next. My parents had always talked about taking a trip to Daegu one summer but had never followed through with the plan. Now I was here but without them, the tears that had been threatening to fall since I boarded the plane in America finally broke loose and streamed down my cheeks silently.
I crouched and hugged my knees feeling quite sorry for myself. When the tears stopped flowing I stood and immediately groaned as my knees popped. I must have cried for quite a while as the street lamps around me had started turning on. I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and started walking back the way I had come.
The sky grew dark quite quickly and I feel my heart start to beat faster, the noise of my suitcase echoed down the dim street. I quicken my pace until I’m practically running and it’s not long before I’m gasping for air, but I don’t slow down until I see the lights of a little convenience store. When I get to the door, I pause to catch my breath and slow my pulse. A tiny bell sounds when I push the door open and a women’s head pops out from behind a display.
“Hello, dear! What can I do for you?” She asks
“Hello, I am looking for a place to stay the night.” I respond as I bow politely.
She smiles at me and nods her head.
“There is a wonderful place down the road a bit but it’s getting dark. If you’ll wait just a little while, I will close up shop and walk with you.” She says
“Thank you but I don’t want to bother you” I said, bowing again.
Before she can continue the bell jingles again and someone else steps into the shop. I can tell immediately that he is a regular customer here as the woman’s eyes light up in recognition.
“Yah!” she exclaims in mock anger “Where have you been child?”
The boy sends a cheeky smile in the woman’s direction.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy with practice that I haven’t really had a chance to get out much” he apologized.
I stand off to the side and listen to them banter back and forth for a moment. The boy hadn’t noticed me yet which gave me a chance to study his face. His skin is smooth, like cream and I had to resist the urge to reach out and touch it. His eyes are heavily lidded and when he smiles they turn into slits, all but disappearing.
He has smiling eyes. How cute is that?
His lips are so beautiful and plump that I blushed at the thought of what it would be like to kiss them. He was definitely the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. His voice was like music to my ears, so soft and yet commanding. Full of mischief. I was content to just stand and continue looking at this boy until the woman suddenly remembered I was there. She whirled around and pulled me around the display that I had been standing behind. I’m blushing furiously as she asks the boy to take me down the road to the inn.
He looks at me for a moment, his eyes curiously probing my face.
“Sure, I can do that. It’s on my way back anyway.” He says as he grabs some Soju from the shelf behind him.
I thank the boy but he just studies my face again before turning back to the counter to pay.
The woman smiles, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
She turns toward me suddenly and says, “You let me know if he tries anything, okay? Also please come by again!”
“Thank you, Ma’am” I hear myself say
“Please, call me Yohee!” she laughs
I smile for the first time since I landed. “Thank you, Yohee. It was nice to meet you!”
I hear the boy shout his goodbye’s as I bow once more and back out of the door. Once its shut an awkward silence fills the air. The boy clears his throat and turns toward me.
“Since I’m walking with you, I suppose I should tell you my name. I’m Park Jimin, you can call me Jimin” He says.
“Nice to meet you, Jimin. My name is Kang Minji.” I say to him.
He smiles at me and reaches for my suitcase as we start walking, our footsteps quickly fall in sync with each other. We walk in silence for a while and I catch him looking at me out of the corner of my eye. Out of habit I pull my hair back into a ponytail and fidget with the cuff of my shirt nervously. I turn and face him, looking directly into his eyes. He coughs in surprise of being caught staring and looks away, his Adams apple bobs as he swallows.
“So are you on vacation or something?” He asks as he rubs the back of his neck.
“No, I’m here to live.” I respond softly.
“Why Daegu?” He asks as he looks at me again.
“It’s where my Aunt lives.” I say, making eye contact with him.
“So then why are you going to an inn and not her house?”
I look away at this point, “She didn’t want me.” I say bitterly
A look of confusion crosses his face and I know the question he is about to ask. I try to mentally prepare myself for those words but they still cut me when I hear them.
“What about your parents?”
I stifle the tears that start to burn my eyes. Clearing my throat, I look at the night sky for a moment before I respond.
“They both died in a car crash, the will said for me to move to Daegu to live with my aunt. She isn’t interested though. So here I am.”
I am looking at the sky again when I feel warm pressure on my shoulder, gently stopping my strides. Jimin is looking at me, his face is pale.
“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to pry” he says softly
I give him a small smile and nod my head.
“Its okay, Jimin. It’s not your fault, honestly I feel a little better now that I’ve said it out loud, you know?”
He nods his head silently and suddenly pulls me into a hug. His arms are around me gently but firmly, not forcing but strong. Unconsciously my arms go around his waist to return the hug and his arms move a little tighter. Not suffocating but to enough that I felt safe. Protected. Unwelcome tears cloud my vision and an unavoidable sniff escapes. Upon hearing the small noise, Jimin lifts his hand to caress the back of my hair softly. A low rumble emits from his chest and I realize he is making a crooning sound to comfort me. At this point I can no longer hold the tears back and they came rushing forward. My body is shaking from the sobs that seem to come from deep within.
“Shhhhh, shhhhhhhhh. It’s okay Minji. Its okay to let it out. Just let it out.” Jimin whispers in my ear as he continues to pet the hair on my head.
We stay this way until I no longer have tears to cry and my sniffling has subsided. He pulls back slightly to look at my face, He gives me one of his smiles and laughs softly.
“You have snot all over your face.”
I can feel my face burning in embarrassment. Not only did I tell a stranger my parents were gone but I had cried bitterly in his arms. What the hell was wrong with me? I quickly step away while wiping my face with my sleeve.
“I’m sorry, please let me pay for your shirt” I say, I can’t look at his face.
“Minji..”
I reluctantly look up at Jimin. He is still smiling but it’s softer. He reaches out and brushes a strand of hair that has fallen out of my pony tail, behind my ear.
“Please don’t apologize for crying. I know we just met but that’s okay. I’ll give you my number so I can make sure you’re okay.” Jimin says to me.
I nod my head, still embarrassed about what happened. Jimin looks at me and I can tell that he wants to ask something.
"What?" I ask
He clears his throat, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but where are you from?"
"I was born and raised in the US. My mom was raised here in Daegu and my dad was from the US as well." I answer
He nods his head in understanding, "I just wondered, your Korean is pretty good."
"Are you implying that I don't look Korean?" I ask
Jimin turns a bright red and starts to stutter in embarrassment. I let him flounder around for a moment before I start to giggle. His face starts to relax when he realizes I wasn't serious.
"My mom was teaching me. We were going to make a trip here as a family." I say softly as I look at the ground.
The mood became somber and the rest of the walk to the inn was silent and I could feel Jimin’s eyes on me constantly. We enter through a small door to an elderly man sitting at a table. Before I can stop him, Jimin hands his card to the man while asking for a room. The man stared at us suspiciously but swipes the card and hands Jimin the key without a word. He bows to the man in thanks and takes hold of my luggage again.
“This way.” He says
I follow silently, my feet are heavy and I’m suddenly exhausted. We reach the room and he opens the door to a simple but tidy room. Flipping the light on he enters and puts my suitcase by the dresser on the opposite side to where the futon was placed. I can’t contain the yawn that consumes my face and he laughs, his eyes crinkling up. I smile back sleepily.
“Minji, where is your phone?”
I fumble in my pocket and hand it to him. He hands me is own in response. I look at him in confusion.
“Your number?” he says simply
I enter myself into his contacts and return his phone. He smiles and then bows.
“Well Minji, it was nice to meet you but now I have to go home, since you’re safe”
“It was nice to talk with you Jimin, and I’m really sorry about the crying thing.” I say
“Please don’t apologize; you needed to cry I think.” He observed “Don’t hesitate to text me if you want to talk, okay?”
I nod my head in agreement and smile at him as he steps out of the door waving a final farewell. When he’s gone I lock the door and take my shoes off before I plop down on the futon, exhausted. The last thing I see are his bottles of Soju that he has forgotten by the door.
