Dae Eun’s POV

“Thank you so much,” I said to Mrs Lee for what seemed like the thousandth time. “I really can’t repay you for this.”

“You mustn’t,” Mrs Lee replied kindly. “Your mother had done so much for my husband and I. Still quite grateful to her. And I just cannot imagine what the poor dears would do with you away at that academy.”

“No one wanted to take them in …” I could almost feel the tears in my eyes again.

“I’m quite glad to help, Dae Eun.”

“How much do I owe you again?” I went through my bag to search for my wallet. Mrs Lee stopped me.

“It’s fine. I won’t charge any money. And I’m sure they wouldn’t be any trouble to take care. You keep your money, Dae Eun. You might need it, you know.”

“Really, I insist.”

“No, Dae Eun. Keep it.”

Before I could argue, I heard a familiar voice coming towards us. “Eonni!” Suddenly, young six year old Saeyoon’s head popped up behind Mrs Lee’s back. Her dark brown hair was tied up into pigtails, obviously by Mrs Lee. She was, after all, a hairdresser in the town. Her eyes shone brightly, and she had that contagious super-cute smile on her face. “Can we go shopping again? I want a lollipop again!”

“You’ll get more than enough, Saeyoon,” Mrs Lee said. “Don’t you remember? You met my husband, Mr Lee, the man who sells lollipops to children. He’ll give you more than you need.”

“YAY!” she cheered.

“Y-You don’t have to do this, Mrs Lee—”

“Now, now, it’s alright. There’s enough for them and other children.” A slight pause. A deep breath from Mrs Lee. “You—you are so much like your mother. She never accepted gifts and if she did, she would repay them back. I wish she was still alive. You are so much like her. She would be proud of you, you know.”

“Proud.” The tears were back again. We’ll be together again. And I’ll be so … so proud of you. Her very own words that she said to me …

This time I couldn’t help myself anymore and started crying right in front of Mrs Lee. Yes, I was embarrassed, but I couldn’t help myself. Something had triggered inside me I couldn’t stop. The very words my mother had told me were now stuck in my mind, replaying over and over again, like a broken recorder. And I want it to stop. Please.

Stop.

My voice echoing in the dark hospital room.

Because … you are … home

The twelve strikes of the clock.

“Dae Eun?” Mrs Lee’s voice asked worriedly. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry I brought the subject up. Do you need a tissue?”

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

“Yes, I’m fine … I’m sorry.” I wiped the tears out of my eyes, and cursed myself for being so irresponsible.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

“Eonni …” Saeyoon hugged me tightly. “Please don’t cry. I don’t want you to cry.”

Ding.

“I-I won’t, Saeyoon,” I said gently. “Now, go and play with Mi Eun, okay? Tell her I’m off, and I’ll see you both at Christmas. I’ll come back with toys and food for you both, because you’ll be so good to each other. Okay?”

“Okay!” Saeyoon grinned. She turned to the guest room in Mrs Lee’s house and called “MI EUN EONNI, COME SAY GOODBYE TO EONNI!”

For a little girl, she had such a loud voice.

Mi Eun walked out of the guest room, looking pretty annoyed. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail (like usual, she didn’t like to change her hairstyle a lot, and it takes a lot of coaxing for that to happen) and her eyes were the same unnatural but stunning black, which either gave you the comforting feeling or the scary one. And right now it was giving me both.

“I already heard you before you shouted, Saeyoon. You should calm down sometime.” She turned to me and smiled. “Bye, eonni. You’ll get good grades and you’re gonna ace everyone else in that ‘gifted’ academy!” She made air quotes with her fingers with the word “gifted”.

I laughed. I just had to. “Mi Eun, I’ll be fine as long as you and Saeyoon are fine. So be nice to each other … and try not to steal anything from Mr and Mrs Lee, will you?” I said jokingly. Even Mrs Lee crossed her arms and smiled, playing along.

Mi Eun grinned. “What a nice idea …” she said sarcastically.

I smiled and turned to Saeyoon. “Be a good girl. Study hard. Both of you. I’ll be back soon.”

“Promise?” Saeyoon asked.

I promise I’ll find you one day …

Don’t you dare cry, Kim Dae Eun, I scolded myself. Don’t think about it. It hurts. Wait until you’re alone. Then you cry. Keep it in. Don’t. Think. About. It.

“I promise,” I managed to say.

Saeyoon smiled widely. I fake-smiled back and stood up slowly. Then, I turned to Mrs Lee.

“Don’t thank me one more time,” she interrupted before I could say anything.

I smiled as I took my luggage from the table beside the door. “Okay, I won’t. It’s just something I would do, you see.” I took the handle and dragged my luggage to the door.

Outside, my car was waiting for me at the sidewalk. It was an old car, but I didn’t mind that much. I wasn’t going anywhere in the academy, anyway. I had my own dorm there. It was only going to be there if I needed to go shopping or something … or perhaps even run away.

I waved one last time while in the driver’s seat. Mi Eun, Saeyoon and Mrs Lee saw me off at the door, smiling.

“Bye!” I shouted. “Take care!”

“Bye!” Mi Eun shouted.

“Goodbye!” Mrs Lee shouted.

“Bye bye!” Saeyoon shouted. “And don’t worry eonni! I won’t let Mi Eun eonni steal anything!”

~*~

The academy was way bigger than I thought it would be. You know those really big castle types? Well, the academy looked exactly like that. Except it was far more modernized.

I’d read the brochure. I’d seen the photos. But it looked too breathtaking, no matter how many times I’d seen them. At the left side of me was the cafeteria. Next to it is the gym, which was twice as big. To the right were all the dorms. There were so many of them, I could see, and I knew there were more of them somewhere inside the building. In front of me was the classroom building. It was the biggest building in the whole academy, and it didn’t even include the theatre.

I’d seen the academy before, when I was young. Well, the construction, anyway. Me and … and my friend used to go there and watch as the workers put on the concrete. Sometimes, we even used to picnic there. I didn’t know why, it just felt … nice to be there, even though it was only construction.

The memories made my eyes turn blurry for the third time. My friend. As if. He was just a childhood friend, nothing more. He was nothing … for now. Right now, I had other things to worry about. Like if I’m going to survive in this academy or not. And this is an important question to answer.

Obviously.

The guards at the front gate allowed me in with a kind smile. I smiled back. I didn’t know them. Probably came over from another part of Korea, I thought.

I started walking towards my right ...

~~~

Boring? I know. Just wait, ok?

And I'm sorry it's a bit ... short. I thought of doing one chapter, but it turned too long, so I had to cut it down a little ... ok fine a lot -.-

But don't worry, I didn't edit anything.

MVP4Life in the house~~~ XD