My mother drove me to the apartment with the windows rolled down. It was seventy degrees in Seoul, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. In the car, my mom looked at me with wary eyes. I hated those eyes, they made me irritated with the intensity under them.

"Mom?" I hesitantly asked.

"Yuta, do you really want to leave?" my mom asked me, for what it seemed like the millionth time.

"Don't worry, mom. I wanted to come and see the city on my own grounds anyway." I lied, convincingly. It was always a handy trait of mine, but if it weren't for her then I don't think I would have ever had to have picked it up. 

"Okay, sweetie." she said in a saccharinely sweet tone.

"Oh, but you can always come back home whenever. Call me if you want to."

"I will." I promised. I knew what she was doing.  She was trying to make me second-guess my enrollment into the prestigious academy. Was there was a real reason behind it other than she did not consider me to be worth it compared to my brother?

The car came to a stop. 

"Unload your things. I'll tell him that you arrived."

         I didn't reply, and unlocked my seatbelt. I opened the car door, and went to the back of the car to get my luggage and belongings. Should I start with something heavy, or something light? I didn't have much to deal with in the first place. I grabbed two plastic bags filled with clothes along with my laptop. My mother was talking on the phone in a hushed voice, to my younger brother, Qian. He was kind of the golden child in our family. Good looking, on the basketball team, and a charming personality that made everyone take a liking to him. I don't think I was ever that type. As we grew up together, it was apparent that my parents expected me to always set the example for him. I wasn't allowed to get low grades, I had to take care of Qian, and never show my dissatisfaction! Even after my father divorced with my mother two years ago, he doesn't fail to plan activities and vacations with his son. What a shame that my brother didn't get a free ride to one of Seoul's top high schools. Mom looked at me, leaning against the red car.

"Could you hurry up?" she yelled.

          Startled from her anxious voice, I moved my legs faster into the apartment and up the three flights of stairs where my apartment was. I panted heavily, going down the flights two more times to get the rest of the plastic bags filled with essentials. Tooth brush, tooth paste, a comb, shoes, journals, socks, I listed off the top of my head. When I brought the last bag into the room, I wanted to collapse onto the bed to rest my aching limbs. But I knew I had to say my farewells to my mother.

"I hope you do well your first day at school tomorrow." mom said, as she grabbed her car keys and slammed the back of the car's trunk. How sincere.

"Don't freak out and ask to come home this week." she laughed. 

"I won't." I admitted sheepishly. 

Mom put her hand on my shoulder, smiling right in front of my face.

"Alright then, son."

And then she was gone. 

~

          My eyes opened. I didn't even hear my phone ring my alarm, maybe I woke up earlier than I expected? The birds were chirping so noisily, and the sun was directly in my eye, so it's not a wonder why I did. I made my way to the bathroom which smelled like disinfectant and a overwhelming citrus scent. I brushed my teeth, looking at my tired looking reflection in the mirror. Quickly turning on the faucet and throwing my green toothbrush under the stream, I stuck my head under, gurgling water. 

I struggled for a moment to open the door with my wet hands. 

          There wasn't much to wear, I had on my newly ironed uniform, and noticeably more summer clothes than winter clothes. I was going to freeze this year, wasn't I? I chuckled to myself, after briefly remembering that winters in Seoul can be very cold.  I grabbed my school bag, and slipped into my converses. Digging into my slacks, I locked the apartment door with my key in case someone tried to rob my room. There was not much to steal, but I had my precious cat plushies on my bed and hell to the no am I going to let someone steal those. I don't seem like l would carry sentimental knick knacks from childhood to high school, yet I still do.

          I wish I had a bicycle to ride, or something... It was only when I had already walked half the distance to school that I thought about breakfast. My stomach growled with hunger. I looked around, and sure enough, there was a convenience store right to the left of me. 

"I was starting to starve, too." I muttered to myself. There's convenience stores and vending machines everywhere here, we had some scattered in the area but this was a bit ridiculous. I walked in, and looked for something I could eat fast. 

          I saw a wrapped tuna and mayonnaise sandwich in one of the refrigerator aisles, and a bag of shrimp chips. Grabbing both, I went to check them out and produced 600 won from the coins in my pocket. Just enough for tax. I walked out