Chapter 2: The Wu’s

“Let me down! Let me down, now!!! I demand to be put D O W N!!!” you scream and squirm in their un-humanly hands. Your efforts, though, obviously useless and worthless against their brute strength.

“Please! Let us talk to her! She’s very reasonable! We can talk this out, please!” you umma goes to the old man. She begs at his feet making your heart drop. Your umma was a strong woman who cared for the people who loved her back, and seeing her like that made your forehead scrunch. The old man hesitates, but motions the boulders to put you down. They drop you like you were some ball that would bounce back, but you’re human, so you stay planted on the ground. You appa picks you up and sits you on a chair.

“5 minutes. After that, I’ll take her and leave. You have your contract, I have mine. Follow it and we won’t have any…trouble…”the old man says as he canes his way back to his limo.

You weren’t the happiest of people today. It was your birthday and you find out that you’ve been sold when you weren’t even born yet.

“Explain,” you said sternly.

“We were so much in debt. We didn’t want to do it, but we couldn’t find any other way we would get through. If we didn’t get through, neither would you and we couldn’t have that. Won Hee-yah…I hope you can understand. We love you very, very much,” you appa explain in one breath. You sigh. Even though you want to whack them on the head with something hard right now, you can’t help but feel empathetic for your parents. You do not show it though, because you want them to feel a pang of guilt in their hearts about what they have done to their one and only daughter.

“How dare you? You thought you were actually putting me forth with that stupid decision of yours? Ha! What a joke! I can’t believe how dense you are…” you didn’t want to say this, but it was the only way that you could show to them your ultimate disgust in their contract with the old man who may or may not (by Buddha) do anything horrible to you causing you to take abortion or adoption into consideration.

“Ne…Umma knows,” your umma says as she nods and looks you straight in the eye. Wah?

“Geurae. Appa knows too. We are horrible, but…areyougoingtogothroughwithit?” your appa asks quickly them steps away afraid with your umma at his side. Wah?!?!?!

“I cannot believe the amount of immaturity I have to deal with in my life!” you storm out to the old man who is having a conversation with his guards.

“I’ll go!” you shove him away, open the door, get in, and slam it shut. The old man, clearly dumbfounded by your urgent decision, goes back in the house. Your parents are carrying your luggage at the door. You look at them in amazement. Omona!! Wah! This is unbelievable… you shake your head. You umma lies her head low because she can’t face you right now. You appa on the other hand, is waving and bowing to the old man. Of course you could see his guilt and sadness, but he tries to cover it with a fake smile that has always made you angry.

---o0o---

The drive was long and quiet. No one talked and no one bothered you. The car comes to a halt in front of a mansion.  Actually, calling it a mansion is an understatement. It was more like a whole estate rich people like to call their home. The boulders take your stuff and head into the house, and the old man leads you in.

“Ju-Long! Wu Ju-Long!” the old man screams as soon as he gets inside the house. The interior was absolutely vast. It was white and very clean. A middle aged man and a middle aged woman comes down from the seemingly never ending stairs.

“Baba!” the man says. He runs to the old man and gives him a hug the old man did not seem to want. The woman goes up to the old man and bows to him. They then turn to you. You bow to them.

“Bàba, zhè shì nǚhái, nǐ dōu zài tánlùn ma? Wǒ xiǎng wǒmen yǐjīng tán dào zhè...” the man said in Chinese as he looks to his father. Then, the woman walks towards you.

“Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma?” she asks. You shrug and shake your head.

“Oh, I asked who are you