❝ chapter one: leaving
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                                   chapter one of forever mute, a -byungkitty- storyline

I opened my eyes and squinted, trying to adjust them to the bright light. I looked around me and realized I was laying in a hospital bed. I immediately sat up and winced at the pain in my body. My cheek was numb and my throat hurt.

A doctor came over to me with a clip board. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

I opened my mouth to answer but nothing came out. I gave the doctor a worried look.

"Oh, that's right. You breathed in so much smoke that your vocal chords were affected. You've lost your ability to talk."

What? My hands immediately went to my throat.

"But you've learned how to use sign language, am I correct? Something to do with a school program...?"

I nodded numbly. What the hell was happening to me?

"I'm also sorry to say none of your other family members survived. You were found with only some minor injuries." She handed me a mirror and I saw the horrible and ugly burn on my cheek. I gasped, but no sound came out.

"You will have to move and live with your aunt and cousin now, since you can't stay here on your own."

I nodded mindlessly, not really caring about the answer. It couldn't be worse than where I was now, right?

"You'll be leaving for Seoul tomorrow. We will give you enough supplies and clothes to make the trip."

I looked at her with disbelief. Did she just say Seoul? As in South Korea?

-- ♥ --

So here I was, at the International Airport in Seoul. My plane ride lasted for about twelve hours or so. Now I was waiting for my aunt to come pick me up. The aunt that I've never met in my whole entire life.

A tall looking woman that was probably my aunt came up to me and pulled me into a hug. Even though I've never met her, her scent and touch was comforting.

"Amy, I'm so sorry! I can't believe this happened to you and your family!" She sobbed. "It's so unfortunate!"

I have lived in America for all my life but my parents have taught me the Korean language ever since I was young. I was grateful to them now; if they didn't force me to learn, I wouldn't be able to understand what in the world she was saying.

She led me to her car and I sat in the back with my one and only duffel bag. Most of my stuff had been burned down in the house, along with my family.

I was to call her Aunt Lin. For the whole ride back to her house, she talked on and on about how my life was going to be in Korea. It didn't sound too bad.

We arrived and she eagerly led me into her house. It was small but made sense because only she and her daughter lived in it. Her daughter, or my cousin, came out to greet me. She had such milky white skin and silky jet black hair, she looked like an Asian version of Snow White.

"Annyeong! I'm Lee Ji Eun. Nice to meet you, Amy." She gave me a smile and held out her hand.

I hesitantly shook it and stayed silent. I couldn't talk, after all. She eyed the burn on my face but said nothing.

Sharing a room with Ji Eun wasn't bad at all. In fact, she was much neater than me. I felt bad for taking up space in her room. The only thing I disliked about Korea was school. No, I hated it.

I absolutely loathed it.

-- ♥ --

"Amy! Wake up! It's your first day of school and you don't want to be late!"

I felt Ji Eun shaking me lightly. Was it time to wake up already? I groggily got out of bed and changed into the uniform that was hung on the doorknob. It was a white button-down shirt, a black vest, a blue plaid tie, a blue plaid skirt, and white knee high socks.

I really hated the fact that students were required to wear uniforms in Korea. I also really hated wearing skirts because they made me feel vulnerable. Sloppily doing my tie, and pulled my skirt down. They were short, stopping at mid-thigh. If I wore this to school in America, I would have been suspended for three months.

"Are you done, Amy? There's breakfast on the table down stairs." Ji Eun appeared at the door. She was wearing the same thing as me but had her hair up in a ponytail.

I nodded. Before following her downstairs, I looked into the mirror. The burn on my face seemed like it stood out more than usual. I tried to cover part of my face with my hair and went down.

"Auntie went to work a while ago. She says all the supplies you need for school will be in here." Ji Eun handed me a black bag and pointed at the table. "We tried to make an American-style breakfast for you. Sorry if it's a bit burnt."

I sat down and looked at the eggs and toast. The eggs were indeed burnt and the toast was soggy, but I ate it anyways. They were so thoughtful about the tiniest details.

We left for my new school after I finished eating. Seoul High was big and had a huge campus. The buildings looked new and every single student here looked rich. I followed Ji Eun to my first period class, which we had together.

We entered the classroom and Ji Eun sat down in her seat. I stood up front and scanned the class. A group of boys were crowded around by fangirls and several nerd-looking students sat in the front.

The teacher, Ms. Jung Ah, saw me and came over to introduce me. "Class, we have a new transfer student today! She's from America."

I kept my head down as the class erupted into whispers. The teacher waited for them to quiet down before continuing.

"Her name is Amy Lee." The teacher paused and looked at the students. "She is not able to speak using her voice. Do any of you know sign language?"

Everyone shook their heads and looked around at each other. Except one.

The boy that was in the middle of the fangirls raised his hand with a cocky stance. "I do."

"Great!" She looked over at me. "Please introduce yourself to him."

All eyes on me, I slowly raised my hands and formed a sentence using sign language.

Hello, my name is Amy Lee. Nice to meet you.

The class looked back expectantly at the boy. He replied to my words. "I'm Kim Myungsoo. Nice to meet you too."

The teacher nodded in approval and told me to sit next to him. "He will be your helping partner for your first few weeks here. Just ask him if you have any questions."

I nodded and sat down next to the boy. He was rather handsome and very good-looking, so I could see why he was popular with the girls. As I sat down, my hair fell back and revealed my bare cheek. The whole class gasped at what they saw. 

"Did you see that?"

"She has an ugly burn on her face."

"Ew, it looks so disgusting."

I ignored the whispers turned to Myungsoo. He looked taken aback at my cheek but then smirked at me with a really sinister look in his eyes. It's very nice of you to help me. I hope we can-

He stopped me from finishing the sentence. "I got it, I got it. No need to say useless to me."

He turned his back to me and put his earphones in to listen to music. His friends behind him started to goof off as well. Of course, the teacher was oblivious to what was happening. That, or she didn't care.

Oh god, please don't tell me he was the badass type. 

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✉(A/N);

Hey there,  just wanted to let you know that the  beginning chapters will be kind of short. Oh, and thanks for coming here to read and give this story a chance ^^