(A/N: listen to this while reading! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59lLtRnotpM)

I stirred in my bed to the annoying screeches of my alarm clock. I hate that thing so much, yet it’s a big part of my life because without it I’d fail school. And I can’t fail school, because I need to get good grades and go to university and never see my classmates from high school again.

You can’t really say I hate high school, but to me ‘hell is other people’ definitely applies. Some people just don’t know when and how to shut up, and I’m tired of everyone trying to get a piece of me. It’s not like I’m famous or anything, I don’t even know anyone famous. But I just have this thing pulling people in to me.

Sometimes I don’t mind, the more the merrier, right? But at other times when I want to be alone and reflect on my life, I really despise it when someone come trudging in, asking me on opinions if a dress makes their asses look fat.

            At last I decided to get myself out of bed and finally look at myself in the huge mirror that mocks me each and every morning when I have a hair full of tangles and my skin is all red from being flushed under my blankets. I stared at myself some more, and finally got a move on.

I grabbed my brush and lengthened out my jet-black hair that’s part of my Korean blood. (A/N This is you http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luuw8l2ys41qak6q0o1_500.png) Then I braided some of it and staring at my now-better reflection, and grabbed a bit of pale cherry lip balm and smeared some on my lips. Smacking my lips in satisfaction, I finished off by grabbed some Swedish wheat, aloe complexion cream to smash over my skin.

Umma once gave me a lecture on how much I would hate myself if I grow to be only 30 and my skin looks like it’s 300 years old.

            I pressed the Home button to my iPhone and smacked myself in the head. Today is the weekends. I’d always loved the weekends, because it’s when I finally get to spend quality time with my thoughts. That’s when my phone started ringing. When I finally have beautiful silence that I’ve missed so much, someone just has to come and intrude. Can’t a girl get some peace and quiet in this world, or is that just too much?

            I don’t even know the last time I spent time with myself. My phone kept playing the ringtone, and although I respect Beethoven and will always fall for the melody to his 9^th symphony, I couldn’t help but be annoyed. But looking at the Caller ID, all my annoyance washed away.

“Umma anneyong~!” I sang into my phone.

It’s also been a long time since I last talked to my mom, and I miss her voice. Umma is a busy woman, but she’s very optimistic and never says anything negative. Her voice always cheers me up, and I never mind giving up my time to talk to her.

“Jae Mi-yah?” her voice sounded solemn and serious, something I barely have experience with from umma.

“Yes? Is something wrong? Umma?” I asked, worried. Was there a fire in Seoul? Did their office building burn down? Are interests from the bank too high?

“No, nothing is. But I have to tell you something, and…I’m sorry for not telling you this earlier.”

“UMMA, ARE YOU AND APPA HAVING A DIVORCE?” I shouted into the phone. Hey, don’t blame me; I’m really spoilt by both my parents.

“What? Jae Mi, no! How could you think that? Your appa and I are perfectly fine! In fact, that’s what I’m telling you. We’re moving branches to Osaka, so we won’t be in Seoul anymore.”

“Umma, I thought it was big news. Important news.” Even though I was scared, now all I felt with relief.

“It leads to important news. You see, you…uh, have a brother.”

“Jjinja? A dongsaeng? What did you guys decide to name him?”

“No, Jae Mi, I’m really sorry but it’s not a dongsaeng. Well…you see, you, uh…”

“Umma, it’s okay, just tell me. I won’t be mad.” I smiled then realized that she can’t see me.

“Yah, I’m not scared of you.” She joked.

“Mmm. Umma, just tell me.”

Aish, now I’m starting to whine. xD

“Aigoo~ my baby girl never grows up.”

“UMMA~ stop trying to change the topic. What about a brother?”

She sighed from the other end, all the way across the world.

“You have an oppa. A blood related oppa.”

OH. MY. FREAKING. MOTHER. OF. CHICKEN.

I stood there in my messy little apartment, trying to sort my scrambled head.

Did I hear what I just heard? Do I really have an oppa?

All my life I’ve wished for an oppa, deep down. I always see movies where the girl is in trouble and all of a sudden, her older brother jumps in like a superhero. I’ve dreamt of having an older brother but in my dreams his face is always blurry.

I can’t believe…omo…

“JAE MI? MIMI, ANSWER ME! GWENCHANA?!”

Oh gosh, I forgot about umma.

“Umma, I’m fine! Just…shocked…really…shocked.”

She sighed.

“I’m so sorry that we haven’t been able to tell you, sweetie. It’s just that…your brother is a very…unique person and we wanted to let him follow his dreams. You see, it would hurt a little bit when you know you have a brother but isn’t able to grow up with him. So we decided…”

“Umma, continue.”

All of a sudden my voice turned really quiet and I couldn’t help but feel sniffles rising from my throat. I swallowed them down.

“Jae Mi, I’m again, very…sorry. It was selfish of us, I know. If you hate your father and I from now on, I would understand. Just please…don’t hate your brother for this.”

“Are you kidding, mom? I love you guys! All of you! Appa, umma, and now oppa! Do you know how long I’ve wished for an oppa…oh god… omo, umma…gamsamnida…”

I can’t even talk straight now. all my tears choked out and all of a sudden I’m homesick. I miss appa’s laugh and umma’s warm hug, and now I really want to see the smile of my brother.

“Oh, Jae Mi-ah…”

I could sense that umma was getting teary as well.

“Thank you so much, mom. Thank you for raising me well and for giving me a brother. I love you, mom.”

“I…I love you too, Mimi. But I have to tell you something. You see, since your father and I are moving to Osaka, you won’t be able to live in Seoul alone. It’s not safe because the entire city is much bigger than Vancouver. So, you could come live with us in Osaka, or-”

“Live with my older brother?” I finished off for her.

“Yes. I’m sorry but you’d have to change schools. Is that okay, sweetheart?”

“Is that ever okay! That’s awesome! Thank you so much mom! This situation is the biggest win-win ever!”

Umma laughed and my heart warmed. I love hearing my mom laugh. It makes me think that she’s by my side, looking over me.

“That’s great. If you’d like, you can take the flight next week, I’ve booked your flight. If not…”

“No, don’t worry, umma! Of course I’ll come over as soon as possible!”

I was in the middle of opening my closet with one hand when a question popped into my head.

“Umma? You said something about oppa being unique? What do you mean?”

“Oh, you’ll see, Jae Mi, you’ll see.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five Days Later

            The mall was busy as usual. I had to duck down in the sports department to avoid being hit by a bunch of amateurs throwing a football. Then in the clothing department, my ears and I had to suffer the constant complains of a bunch of loud and ‘china doll perfect’ girls.

I finally walked out of the huge store and decided that since my stomach was protesting louder than all protests of history, I might as well eat.

            Metrotown is the hugest mall you can find near here. It has five floors and each stacked with its own variety of stores and restaurants to offer. I’ve been here so many times though; I can find my way through blindfolded.

            In all my hours spent here there is always a specific store on the third floor that is flooded with girls. I’ve never been in there but walking past I could tell that it sells lots of imported things from Korea, Japan, and China. The typical things like cute pencil cases, notepads, stickers and all those cute stuff, printed with cute cartoons and idols all over them. There’s always a flood of fans of whomever, jamming the entire place.

            I looked at them enviously. I’ve always wanted to be obsessed over something, but I haven’t found a target…yet. Umma told me on the phone that once I live with my brother I’ll finally become a normal teenage fan girl, but I doubt it.

            The reason why I know so much about that store is because my favorite store is right beside it. It’s a boutique my friend owns and has been getting bigger by day. I always go there to shop and help out.

            Today as I walked past the fan-girl jammed store, I heard loud shouts.

“LET GO OF THAT ALBUM! IT’S MINE!”

“NO, I GOT IT FIRST! GET OUT, I’M A BIGGER ELF!”

Uhm…announcing that you’re an elf isn’t exactly the best thing to do…

“EXCUSE ME? I’VE BEEN AN ELF FOR OVER 7 YEARS!”

“THEY HAVEN’T EVEN DEBUTED FOR 7 YEARS!” another voice pitched in.

“Girls, please don’t fight! I have more copies in the back, please calm down!” I heard an older lady trying to shout above their level.

            Interested, I decided to stop by for a while. I walked in and saw a bunch of girls, black haired, brunettes, blondes, all crowding around a shelf under the label “Super Junior”. What’s that, you ask? I don’t know either.

            I leaned closer and peered at the cover of one of them. The label beneath it says 2008. Woah, they’re probably really experienced in the music industry then. I wonder where they’re from. I looked at the cover and saw Korean written on it.

            So many fan girls…for a Korean group? And they look pretty hot, too. My eye brows raised, I picked up a more recent one, an album labeled Mr. Simple. The cover was really hot, as my eyes quickly drifted to the one in the middle, his abs basically dragging me closer and closer to the album.

“YAH, ARE YOU TRYING TO KISS SIWON OPPA’S ABS?!” a girl shouted behind me. I looked up, confused.

“Who’s Siwon?”

The girl looked at me, also confused, then a wave of realization washed over her face. “Oh, aww, a new ELF! Welcome to the fandom.”

“Elf? Uh…I’m human. >//<”

“Aww, you’re so cute! How old are you, a dongsaeng? An unnie?”

“I’m 18.”

“AWW, A DONGSAENG! HEY GUYS, LOOK IT’S A DONGSAENG ELF!”

All of a sudden all eyes were on me. What. The. Heck.?

“Welcome to the club!” a girl with large eyes smiled at me.

I’ve never been so welcomed before, and I don’t even know why.

“Uhm, gamsamnida..?”

Then a tall guy strode up to me and pumped my hands. “Hey, congratulations on becoming an ELF! It’s a miraculous journey, I’m a guy and I’d say they’re hot. Just keep away from Eunhyuk, I’m his biggest fan.”

I nodded stupidly. Now who’s Eunhyuk.

A lady rushed out and held up an album with big black letters A-CHA etched on the cover. “NEW FAN? KYEOPTA!” she saw the Mr. Simple album in my hands and dragged me to the counter.

“I’ll give you 2 for the price of 1. You won’t regret it, it’s amazing. And I’m not just saying this because I’m the one earning money, but I’ve been a fan and I’m 40.”

I could see the sincerity in her voice and nodded stupidly again. “N-neh.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            I walked out of the store holding two albums (one with an extremely hot man with abs on the cover) and a feeling of excitement. I rushed into my friend’s store and excitedly, tried out a lot of clothes. I can’t deny it, but I’ve been trying to act more like a girl and less like a tomboy for the sake of my older brother. I’ve heard that guys don’t like girls who knows tae kwon do.

“Jamie! (A/N: that’s her English name) How are you! I heard you’re going back to Seoul in a few days~” my friend exclaimed.

I smiled widely. It feels nice to be welcomed like that. “Neh, I’m leaving in 2 days! I’m shopping for clothes and then packing tomorrow, and I’ll be on the plane the day after that~”

She grinned and pulled me to a rack.

“Here are some clothes I saved for you. They’re all new and huge labels like Armani, only with reduced prices for you! Gotta dress fashionably in S.E.O.U.L~~”

“Omo! You didn’t have to do that…I…wow! Thank you so much, Jessilyn!”

“Anything for my little aegyo doll. Come on, go try it on! Just promise me one thing…when you get to Seoul, just try to get me the autographs of Super Junior!”

“Super Junior? Euh?”

“Yeah, they’re that Korean band I was…you weren’t listening to me back then, were you. Well, I’m an ELF!”

Why’s everybody turning to elves all of a sudden?

Then the bag I was holding containing the two albums started to burn in my hand I looked down and connected everything.

So Super Junior is a Korean band, ELF is their fanclub, and the two albums I have are their most recent ones.

“AH! JESSILYN! I have something for you. It’s a Thank You gift for preparing all these.” We both knew that was a lie, but whatever.

“Mmhm? Oh, and try this on. It’s a new shirt from Guess. All those tribal geometry looks great against your skin tone.” She said half-heartedly.

I whipped out the A-CHA album (I just love the Siwon guy’s abs too much) and shoved it in her face. “TA DAH!”

All the shirts, dresses, and shorts came tumbling from her arms as she embraced the album.

“OH MY GOSH! JAMIE, YOU REALLY ARE ONE OF A KIND! THANK YOU SO MUCH, HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS SAVING MONEY TO BUY THIS?!”

at that moment I felt really guilty for keeping the Mr. Simple album to myself.

“Actually, Jessilyn, I have this one too. You can have it.” I whipped out the Mr. Simple album.

She looked at my face and smiled widely.

“Psh, Jamie, I knew it. You love Siwon’s abs, don’t you? You’re lucky, I got my copy already. Keep it and enjoy it. In fact, this is the song I’m playing in the background right now! It’s the title track.”

            I listned closely, and really, there was the chorus, “but I’m mr. simple, simple~” Wow, it’s so catchy…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally I awoke in my plane seat. In the last 2 days, I’ve packed up my entire apartment into only 5 suitcases (I’m super proud), collected the numbers and emails of some close friends, bought a new closet full of clothes just to show my oppa the things I would sacrifice to him, and now here I am, leaving Vancouver and heading to Seoul.

I’ve already survived 11 hours and 55 minutes and in a few minutes the plane will land at Seoul International Airport. I tried clearing my head of all English phrases and practiced speaking Korean, but all I got was weird stares from the man beside me.

I feel sort of ashamed, I’m a born Korean and yet I can barely speak my language. It was nice having umma and appa give me lessons on the ferry to Victoria and elsewhere, although I forget the phrases fast. But I’m still pretty fluent, jus now I have an accent that pops in randomly.

Bouncing in my seat, I looked at my iPhone that’s off. As well as preparing to leave for Seoul, I calmed all my emotions about meeting my brother by almost memorizing every single song on the Mr. Simple album. Wow, I might just ask oppa to take me to a concert one day, I heard from Jessilyn that they just finished their world tour (A/N: hehe they sorta have to be finished in order to take care of Jae Mi).

At last the speakers came on and a lady spoke in heavily accented English. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts as we will soon be landing in Seoul International Airport. Time at destination is 9:58 PM and time of departure is 4:48 AM. Temperature outside is…”

I tuned out. Seriously, my heart was beating so fast and I was sweating like crazy. I kept wiping my palms on my jeans and pulling my jacket closer to me. I couldn’t stop shivering and as the flight attendance repeated her speech in Korean, I heard nothing. I didn’t even try listening to see if I understood.

At last the plane’s wheels announced arrival at Seoul. I stepped out the plane and went to the Luggage section, trying to read as much Hangul as I could. All those years of umma and appa nagging about learning Korean finally kicked in.

Grabbing a cart and shoving all the luggage on, I pushed it to exit and to find my brother. Umma told me that he’ll be wearing sapphire blue. What a weird color, but that happens to be one of my favorite colors.

I scanned the airport and saw a group of men huddled together, wearing coats and sunglasses. Inside. At night. What?

I walked closer to them and realized that they were wearing sapphire blue. Maybe I should ask.

I made sure to bow 90 degrees and said as loudly as I could to let them listen above the volume of the airport. “ANNEYONGHASEYO, LEE JAE MI IMNIDA, I’M TRYING TO FIND MY BROTHER.”

            They stared at me interestedly and then one spoke in a kind mature voice. “WELL, YOU FOUND YOUR GROUP. WE ARE YOUR BROTHERS.”

            Is this a scam, because I only remember umma mentioning one brother. If it’s not…which one is my brother?!

~~~

OMO my first chapterr. i dont know how i did D: please comment & subscribe! gomawo~ 

feel free to tell me how i did, this is my first time posting stories online (:

keke thank you ~