8:40 AM

“Don’t you even think about being late for school today sweetie.

-Mom”

Still in a daze from having just woken up, I nonchalantly ripped the sticky note off the top of my lunch box and tossed it in the trash.

My first day attending high school in Korea and, of course, I had to be running late. In all my life my perfect attendance record had yet to be ruined, but this just had to be the one day that my alarm clock chose to spontaneously run out of batteries. And the school hadn’t even sent me my uniform yet, even the truck with all our shipped belongings from Japan came late last night so I had spent most of the night unpacking.... I wasn’t even aware of the time but I must have passed out at around 3 or 4... What kind of life would I lead without hectic drama thrown at me from all directions?

Speaking of directions, where am I? I scouted out my surroundings with hazy eyes not recognizing a single landmark or street sign. Without even realizing it, I had already went down the stairway of the apartment complex and made it out onto the foreign streets of Seoul.

Wait a second. Cautiously, I started to pat down my own body.

.

.

.

 I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized I was wearing my old uniform from my schooling days in Japan. Thank goodness I at least had clothes on. It wasn’t another nightmare. But now what?

I instinctively pulled out my phone from my pocket but angrily shook my head as I stuffed it back in. Google Maps was definitely not an option seeing as I don’t even have a SIM card for my cellphone after just beginning to unpack yesterday. So, I guess I have to resort to the old-fashioned way – asking for help.

Although my knowledge of the Korean language was certainly limited, I think I could at least understand directions well enough. I had been diligently training night and day ever since middle school when I first fell in love with Korean music and culture. It started out with just finding a release from my endless study routine, but then I ended up learning the entire Korean alphabet in order to sing along to the lyrics properly. And then, through four long years of devoted practice watching variety shows, Korean dramas, award shows, and the likes, I eventually got to the point where I could comprehend entire phrases. Or at least, I hoped so… Speaking in Korean is definitely where I experience the most problems. But I guess this was where I put my skills to the test.

Just then, I spotted an old man in charge of what looked like a food stall beckoning me to come closer. Perfect. These street vendors must have to deal with tourists who struggle with Korean all the time. In classic tourist-y fashion, I raised up a hand and began to jog over to him.

“Excuse m–“ I began until a sharp pain unexpectedly dug into my side.

I collapsed onto the floor and managed to catch myself before the damage got too severe. As I struggled to get off the ground, I assessed my injuries. A scrape on my right hand and one on my right knee.

Again, just my luck. Who the hell runs around without even looking where they’re going? Is this how all Koreans are?

“M-Miss, I am so so sorry. I’m about to be late for school, and I wasn’t watching and… I’m sorry!” a little voice squeaked in between coughs. The culprit’s face was as pink as a peach and her quivering voice gave away her utter embarrassment from the current situation as she struggled to pick up her dropped belongings. Her damp, messy hair signaled that she didn’t seem to be lying about her claim that she was in a rush to get somewhere. And her cute actions coupled with her short tiny stature managed to convince me that the world didn't quite have it out for me this time. All of a sudden, the wave of anger I felt disappeared into thin air.

“Uh… don’t worry about it,” I replied with a small nod as I attempted to gather up the papers and notebooks that had fallen out of the shy girl’s arms during the collision. I hadn’t meant to invade on her privacy, but as I was collecting the papers, each sheet had an adorable little drawing or sketch on it. They mostly seemed random as if they were copied right from the childish imagination of some immature grade schooler, but I guess there was a certain charm to them.

As I handed the pile of papers back to the girl, I finally got a good look at her. She had a short black bob cut and circular wire-rimmed glasses that complemented her childlike facial features. With her short slender body, along with a mole on the left side of and a deep-set dimple on the right side, she seemed to be extremely young. I guess I really couldn’t blame her for not looking where she was going. But for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she reminded me of someone I knew.

“So, you said you were on your way to school? Haven’t all the middle schools already started for the day?” I asked.

“As a matter of fact…” the girl retorted coldly with a complete change in attitude, “I go to a high school. Sehwa Girls’ High School to be exact.” She was clearly taken aback by my comment and put her guard up. I must have said something wrong. Her eyebrows furrowed and the sides of formed in a cute little grimace as she dusted off her uniform, coughing as she did so.

This little girl goes to my high school? What exactly did I sign up for? But I guess this is my only ticket to not being late so I just had to bear with it for the time being.

“No way! I’m headed there too!” I shouted with as much fake enthusiasm as I could muster. “Do you think you could take me there? I’m a little lost…” I ended the phrase with a little pout and looked downward at my feet trying my best to look like a lost puppy. From what I understand about Korean culture, acting cute seemed to be a pretty strong persuasive device.

With her arms still folded across her chest she started looking me up and down. Is she… checking me out? My cheeks started to heat up at this realization. Or is my strategy working? I kept my eyes pointed towards the floor hoping she couldn’t sense my feigned emotion. But thankfully, her expression brightened as her eyebrows retracted to their normal position.

“S-Sure…” she complied as a tiny smirk appeared on the corner of . “C-Can you at least tell me your n-name?”

“Mina. Myoui Mina.”

“I’m Son Chaeyoung.” She offered me her hand and delicately pulled me back up. Her touch was warm and inviting. For a moment, the warmth felt familiar. I was taken back to that night. Taken back to that warm, loving hand that caressed my face and wiped away all the fears and struggles. I never wanted to let go. Maybe I can make new friends here after all…

“AHH! We’re gonna be late! C’mon let’s go!” she frantically screamed, dragging me into a sprint. I shook my head a little as I was snapped back to reality. Don’t let your guard down just yet Mina.

But the whole way there, she didn’t seem to want to let go either. And no matter how much I hated it, I couldn’t wipe the goofy grin off of my face. Maybe I could make one small exception.

*****

8:59 AM

Chaeyoung took a large kick at the door not worrying about public property in the slightest as we busted through the wide doors of the main office.

“Principal! I was escorting the new student to school today because she was lost... This means I’m excused from being late right?!” Chaeyoung frantically pleaded in between gulps for air.

An ominous-looking chair swiveled around to face the clock. The room was surprisingly dark and gloomy despite the time of day. The only source of light in the room came from the cracks in the doors that had just sealed shut behind us. The lady in the seat released a frustrated sigh then finally turned to face the troublemakers that dared to enter her office.

“As expected of you, Chaeyoung-ssi… Your very first day of second term and I’m already expected to let you off the hook. As if I didn’t cut you enough slack last term…” the lady seemed clearly annoyed. “Fine. I’ll spare your attendance record this time, but we are going to have a talk later, young lady.”

Have a talk? Did she mean detention?

“And as for you,” she directed her gaze at me, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Um… Well… I just moved here a couple days ago from Japan and I got kinda lost and–” I began, pausing between each word as my brain attempted to operate in a foreign language.

“Oh... Oh! You must be Myoui Mina, is that correct?” she cut me off. Her expression took a complete 180 as her gritted teeth turned into a wide inviting smile.

I let out a gasp. How did she–

“I’ve heard lots about you. Don’t worry about a thing, just hurry up and get to class,” she continued, even cutting off my own thoughts. “Oh my, but it seems like you need a new uniform. Chaeyoung will go get it for you from the storage area. And she will show you to your class as well. Isn’t that right, dear?”

My gaze shifted over to Chaeyoung. She seemed just as confused and shocked as I was but her cold stare never left the wall to our right.

Don’t they have teachers to help me with this kind of stuff? And besides, isn’t Chaeyoung already late enough?

Her stance shifted uncomfortably. “Um… sure of course!” she chimed a little more cheerily, seeing as she wasn’t in trouble anymore.

“Just make sure you two make it to homeroom before it ends at 9:30. And Mina, your class is in Room 220. Run along now.”

“Yes ma’am” we both replied as we bowed politely and made our way out of the awkward atmosphere.

The door creaked heavily and slowly shut behind us. It felt as if my head had finally breached the water’s surface and I could finally breathe properly. Chaeyoung let out a deep sigh clearing up the grim expression on her face. It almost seemed like her mood was pretty happy…

“What was that?” I asked her with wide eyes.

“That actually went way better than I thought.” We obviously didn’t share the sam