Only a month later and my father had enough of me. He couldn't bare looking at me and seeing his missing daughter who left him and left her child. There were days he wouldn't even come home.
    I was left with Christopher , while my dad struggled with his own battles. It was obvious he had a problem. He needed closure because he couldn't accept what happened to his precious daughter. I don't blame him, I'm also still in shock. I only worried if he would try anything himself.
     I had no future, I had no hopes or dreams and I was stuck in a spiral. I had my cosmetology license but that could only do so much for me. Dating was out of the question. I wouldn't even date myself if I had to. I tried looking for a job but had no luck. I was thinking about going back to college but put away that idea as it would most likely depress me even more than I already was.
Than one bright and lovely day, when I had gathered enough energy to pull myself out of my depressed filled room and decided to cook something my dad came home with a different mind set. 
" I'm sending you to Korea " he said with a stern voice. 
All I did was tilt my head and narrow my eyes a little, wondering what he was implying.
" What do you mean ?" Was all I could ask at the moment even though I knew exactly what he meant. 
He looked at me , sad as always , but he looked very determined," I'm sending you to Korea with one of my only friends there. You can't stay around here: there are too many bad memories here."
I could only stare back after that comment. He was trying to send me to a fresh new start. But what about him? What would happen to him and Christopher? 
It was fine apparently , because he volunteered to take care of Christopher since he was in fact his grandchild. He said he would move to Malibu , apparently he said he always wanted to live with a beach in his backyard and the beach would be a happier place to live. He was right, since he moved not even a month later. Immediately his mood received a boost. But mine stayed behind.
A week after my dad bought the small house in Malibu , I had to catch a flight to Korea. My dad was sending me to Seoul for a fresh start. 
" It's a shame that my daughter can't even speak proper Korean" He said as an excuse while departing me at the airport.
I only smirked ,"What kind of lame excuse-"
" You know that I had problems in Korea and that's why I left at an early age," he said interrupting me. I nodded and he continued " One of my few friends that I'm still in contact with is letting u stay at one of their apartments. Be nice to them. They want to help you start a new life over there, but don't depend solely on them"
      He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me sternly," They are just helping you get settled in Korea. Don't get accustomed to them and try to move to your own apartment once you get the hang of things over there."
     I nodded and smiled ," Don't worry, I'm a big girl , I can manage myself " I assured him. Dad only smiled and patted my shoulders. 
      " Contact me whenever you can. Whenever you feel that you've had enough of Korea just tell me. We'll be here "
~.~

Fastfoward to the next day and here we are present day. The day didn't start off very well, because I took a night flight to Seoul and had to sit next to a girl who had blasted exo through her headphones, completely neglecting their purpose. I hardly got any sleep on the way here. 
     My dad sent me to Korea and told me I would meet a women by the name Min Ji Ah. Yet she was a tad late. It was about 9:00 am ish and I've been sitting cris cross on a bench in the airport for a good hour now. 
   I had no Idea what she looked like and no way of contacting her. It hasn't even been a day and I'm already lost here. Great. 
    I looked back down to my phone. I didn't do much with my phone unlike others, which was a disadvantage in situations like these. My phone which was supposed to provide me with a distraction was doing nothing to help me. 
      I sighed really loudly and banged my phone slightly against my head in absolute boredom. Just when I was about to call my dad , a voice comes from out of the blue.
      " Mari?" Asks a foreign voice only inches away from me. I look up to see a women around her early 30s. She blinks twice almost as if she was doubting herself for a sec. 
   " Min ji ah?" I said standing up quickly . Please be this women please be this women.
    She smiled brightly " Yes! I'm min ji ah. I'm so sorry I'm late, I was cleaning up your apartment" 
      I tilted my head," My apartment ?" I asked. I could have sworn I was going to share their apartment with them. Was I getting an apartment to myself?
    She chuckled lightly, " Come on , I'll explain on the way there" 
   She grabbed my hand and started to drag me out the airport while I hurried to grab my luggage and roll it along with me. She dragged me through crowds and crowds until we eventually ended up outside the airport.
      Despite the fact that it was freezing outside the sun was gleaming brightly through the clouds. I would have stopped to take a picture if not for ji ah who just keep dragging me towards a small car parked at the very first parking spot of the row we were heading towards. She grabbed my luggage and placed them in the trunk and pushed me into the passenger seat of the car. Were all Koreans this touchy? I shrugged the thought off as ji ah the car and started to drive out of the airport parking lot.
        Once we were driving on the main road she began explaining what she promised.
       " Well me and my husband live in daegu, but we bought an apartment in Seoul so we could get closer to our sons who work here. But they're always busy!" She said mad almost irritated. 
   " I mean we tried to become closer to them but they won't budge because of their jobs. What's so good about a job if you can't even see your family members ?" She went on as she straightened herself, getting more furious by the second. 
     Ji ah sighed , and looked over for a brief second at me, " I've always wanted a daughter you know? I had two sons but I've keep that desire close to heart." She smile at me." Won't you pretend to be my daughter for a little?" 
        That was unexpected. I didn't even have a mother so I didn't know how to feel. It felt strange. Why would someone want to mother me ? Was I an appropriate daughter? Was I daughter worthy?
     I tilted my head," Are you sure you want me as a daughter Ji ah?" I asked sincerely 
    She laughed a beautiful laugh, and keep laughing as we drove towards the apartment. 
    She didn't answer and keep quiet the whole way there until we reached the apartment. Once we were entering the apartment she started talking again. 
      " My husband let me stay here in Seoul to help you for a week. I'll help you settle down and show you the gist of things around here."
She said closing the door behind her and turning on the lights." Oh and by the way, this is actually my youngest sons apartment , his work is a pretty... Interesting work that requires him to not be at home a lot. " she chuckled and continued. " He will eventually drop by , however, so you should prepare yourself and get along with Him. He usually stays for a few days before his work requires him to leave."
         "I see" I said nodding ," what kind of work does he do?"
      Ji ah looked up really fast and just smirked ," It's a secret " 
~.~

Once I had everything settled down in my room Ji ah took me out to eat at a really nice cafe. According to her, she doesn't eat much so she doesn't go to restaurants because they serve a lot of food. She ordered a sandwich with a hot chocolate and I ordered the exact same thing, scared to try anything else on the menu. 
       "Are you a picky eater?" She asked curiously while I was taking out the tomatoes from the sandwich I was eating. 
       I pressed my lips into a fine line," You caught me" 
       " Aishhhhhh" she said narrowing her eyes , "you can't be a picky eater in Korea, you going to starve."
      I sighed in defeat, looking down at my sandwich. I knew very well that I was going to have trouble getting accustom to the food here, since I hardly eat any meat , and I hated every vegetable there is to offer.
       Ji ah, trying to change the subject , continued the conversation , "What kind of work do you do?" She said while locking her fingers together and resting her chin on said fingers.
        " I have a cosmetology license so I was thinking about doing nails here" I said before taking a bite out of the sandwich.
     "No no," she said shaking her head, " the hair salons here are much nicer. You should go work at one. ". Her eyes suddenly brightened, " I know! My son can get you a job at a really nice salon"
     I narrowed my eyes. That almost sounded a little sketchy but my mind wasn't smart enough to catch whatever it wanted to catch. I just replied with ," Oh really? That would be great!" 
       Ji ah smiled as she pulled out her phone to contact her supposed son and ask for a favor.
~.~
     We arrived back to the apartment after staying at the cafe for about 2 hours talking about each other. Apparently , Ji ah never had time to talk to anyone since she was usually stuck at home. As a result she was basically venting and using me as an excuse to spend some time Seoul.
      I didn't mind, I was trying to distract myself from things aswell and ji ah was doing a good job at that. She's was a really cheerful person who seemed to have no worries at all.
     Ji ah showed me to my room and helped me unpack my stuff. 
    " Jesus , you have a lot of makeup" she commented while organizing it into some drawers. I looked up from what I was doing and smiled.
"I like playing with makeup " I replied back while hanging up my clothes into my new closet. Ji ah walked over to me and touch my face.
      " Omo, but your not even wearing makeup" she said while investigating my face. She was being very touchy again. That seems to be a running theme with her I guess. 
      I shook my head," I had to learn the basics for cosmetology and I just grew to like it a lot. I painted a bit as a child so makeup was no different to me " 
       "Wow" She said , " Must be nice being good at something" she said while staring me down.

~.~

I took a shower in my ,for the time being ,new home. It felt a little awkward , almost like the feeling of taking a shower at a hotel and feeling unsafe in it if you catch my drift.
    I guess I just wasn't used to change , I never had to move as a child so I was used to being planted in one city , the same home , my whole childhood. Just thinking about how long I was going to last here made me almost feel uneasy. 
     Lucky, however, ji ah brought me a rose face mask and some chamomile tea which relaxed me insanely. I felt pampered. I could almost feel the sleep drifting over me. 
Before I knew it , I fell asleep on my bed , face mask and all.