"Half Breed"
PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU ARE CONFUSED OF WHETHER SOMEONE IS SPEAKING ENGLISH OR KOREAN.
I WILL TRY TO SOLVE ANY PROBLEM YOU HAVE WITH THIS STORY.
THANK YOU.
[ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE!]
《This is also my first time writing on Inkitt, so I'm not really used to it yet. Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong!》
~~~
Hwang Mee Hyun crosses the street with a bundle of books wrapped between her arms as she hums a calm melody. It was a song she would sing to her younger brother when he was unable to fall asleep.
She steps into the local library, Mister Kim's Shelves, and shuffles over to the counter.
"Hello, Miss Jeon," Mee Hyun smiles, carefully placing her heavy books on the table. "I'm here to return a few books."
Miss Jeon, in her late 40s, had been working in the library for nearly 20 years now. She loved her job, she loved to help people. She includes herself in multiple charities and donates almost everything she could; toys, clothes, food, blood - you name it. Miss Jeon was like a second mother to Mee Hyun.
"Have you completed your studies?" She asks, grabbing onto the books.
Mee Hyun chuckles. "Yeah. Took me time, but I did it. Now I need a break. Any good Mystery books you'd recommend?"
"Ahh... I think so, yes." Miss Jeon mumbles, "It's called the 'Killer Game', really nice book. But you'll need the ladder to go get it," Miss Jeon points at a nearby ladder. "It's on the very top row, it's code is DV78."
Mee Hyun takes a glance at the ladder and sighs. "Okay, only because you said it was a good book. Your choices are always great. I'll make sure to check it out, thanks!"
Mee Hyun walks off and grabs the ladder. She struggles with it's heavy weight, but she still manages to place the long ladder against the bookshelf. She notices the ladder looks rather crooked, but brushes it off.
Mee Hyun climbs the ladder, holding tightly onto the sides. She looks straight up, avoiding eye contact with the floor. She reaches the third to the last step, high enough for her to reach the book.
She hurriedly searches for the book, afraid of the ladder unexpectedly breaking down.
"DV78... DV78... God, where are you?" Mee Hyun whispers to herself, "Ahah."
She lets go off the shelf which she held onto for support, and wraps her fingers around the thick, red-coloured, book...
CRACK!
"Yaak!" Mee Hyun squeals as she falls. She smashes onto the floor, thankfully, butt first. She'd dropped the book, and her head rested on the floor. Her landing echoed a loud thud across the library.
Nobody comes over to help her. They were all buried in their books and devices.
But suddenly, Mee Hyun hears footsteps approaching her. She assumes it's Miss Jeon, but when she turns her head to face her...
it's somebody else.
It was a young boy her age. Korean, like her. But there was something else. His visuals were unique.
Mee Hyun suddenly recognized him. He was a boy from her school. She learned that he was half American.
"Um... are you okay?" The boy asks, in fluent English.
Mee Hyun assumes the boy just prefers to speak English, so she responds in her language, Korean. "I'm okay. Sorry to disturb you..."
But...
"Haha, I'm sorry," The boy sighs, "I can't speak Korean..."
Mee Hyun's eyes widen. How do you respond in English?
Unexpectedly, the boy lends his hand out to her. "You look hurt," he says, biting his lower lip as he looked at Mee Hyun's bleeding elbows, "Really hurt."
Mee Hyun tries to translate what he said, but just couldn't. Her English wasn't the best. "Ahh... 'hurt'?..."
Now, the boy is confused.
Mee Hyun realizes his confusion, so she decides to just take his hand. The boy smiles and helps Mee Hyun up. He picks the book she dropped for her as well.
He walks her over to a table with two seats. "Sit, I'll help you with your elbows," the boy explains. He then notices some bruises and scratches on her upper legs. "Oh, and legs. Haha, the floor here must really be fixed."
Mee Hyun nods, still unable to understand what he was saying.
The boy takes his bag and pulls out a first-aid kit. He looks up to Mee Hyun and tilts his head in confusion. "Hey," he smiles, pointing at the school badge on Mee Hyun's uniform, then at his. "We're from the same school. I knew I saw you somewhere."
Mee Hyun understood. Only because he pointed at the similar uniforms. "Ahh... yes, same school," she says, in broken English, "...What is your name?"
The boy's eyes sparkle at those words. "My name? Aiden. Eun Aiden. You?"
"My name... Hwang Mee Hyun." Mee Hyun replies, hoping she didn't sound so much of an idiot.
"Mee Hyun. I see... You're one of the top students, right?" Aiden asks. Though, he notices she couldn't understand, so he tries to simplify his words a bit more. "You're..." He points at Mee Hyun, "... a very smart student?" He points at the bookshelf full of school-related books, then taps his head.
Now she understood. "Oh. Yes. I'm smart student." Mee Hyun replies.
Aiden smiles. "Your English is adorable."
Mee Hyun still doesn't understand.
"Ahaha, it's okay. Don't mind what I said. Now let's fix you up..." Aiden continues, opening the first-aid kit.
~~~
