*Jisue’s POV*

My heavy feet pounded on the hardwood as I ran up the staircase to my second floor apartment. The elevator would take too long, and I needed to get to my phone as soon as possible. It was a surprise in itself that I had forgotten my cell phone at home to begin with!

I searched through my key ring as I hurried down the hall. The adrenaline pulsing through my body made the task difficult thanks the shakiness of my hands, but I somehow managed to find the correct key, opening the door with success. My phone sat on the kitchen counter, right where I had left it that morning.

“The one day I needed you,” I mumbled at the touch screen while dialing my best friend’s number.

*Riiiiiiiiing…. Riiiiiiiing… Riiii-*

“Annye-,”

“OPPA!!!!!!” My excited shouts drowned out his voice. “I did it! I finally got it! I’m so happy! I could cry! Finally, finally!!!!”

“Yahhh my ear hurts,” Kevin whined into the phone.

“Didn’t you hear me?! I got it!!”

“Got what?” he questioned, obviously still pouting by the sound of his voice.

“My promotion!!! I am now an assistant designer!!! Assistant! I get to work with the real deal fashion icons!” my voiced made an awkward squeak at the end due to my excitement, but I didn’t care.

“Seriously?!?!”

“Yessss!!!!”

“Oh my goshhh!!!!”

“Oh my goshh!!!”

“I can’t believe it!!!”

“Me either!!!"

“Now people are going to get to see how talented you are and then you’ll become a real designer and you’ll hire me as your assistant and we’ll make the best clothes this side of Seoul and… and….”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” we both screamed at the same time.

“Have you told your mom yet?” Kevin asked while breathing deep in an attempt to calm down.

“Annio, I wanted to tell you first!”

“What are you waiting for?! She’s going to be so proud of you!!”

“You think so?” I asked, a smile daring to creep across my face. All my life my mother had pushed me to be my best. She didn’t like the idea of me going into fashion, but I managed to persuade her into letting it happen. I’d worked especially hard ever since that day, wanting to prove to my mother that choosing this path was not a mistake.

“I know so,” his voice practically smiled. “We can talk more over dinner tonight, okay? Consider it my congratulatory gift.”

“Ohhh I’m excited! Where are you taking me?” I giggled happily.

“It’s a surprise! You’ll find out at six o’clock.”

“But-,”

“No ‘but’s!”

“Aish, fine,” I sighed. “I’ll see you at six then. Now I’ll call my mother.”

“Good luck! And congratulations! No matter what your mother says, at least I’m always proud of you!”

“You better be! Annyeong~,” I smiled before ending the call.

A deep breath of air escaped my lungs as I stared at the white iPhone in my hand. My mother and I weren’t very close. She’d sent me to Korea to study at a girl’s boarding school when I was only seven years old. We rarely got to see each other, but that was okay with me. It’s not that I resented my mother and her decision to send me away; I just hated seeing her disappointment in me. My dad wasn’t much help either, seeing as he ran off with his boss’s wife only two years after my birth.

My finger hovered over each key before slowly tapping it. Once all was done, I stood there for a moment; staring at the number I hadn’t dialed in over six months. Pressing call, I carefully brought the phone to my ear and listened to the echoing ring.

One ring… two rings… three rings… four rings…

“Jisue?” My mother’s voice came through the line.

She still hasn’t broken her habit of waiting for four rings. I thought to myself, shaking my head in entertainment.

“Hello Umma,” I answered, trying not to give away how nervous I was.

“I hardly recognize your voice,” she remarked. “Why do you- …how are you darling?”

Darling? What’s gotten into her?

“I’m good. Actually I’m great! And I have awesome news!”

“Oh- Oh, what is it?” she asked, almost sounding worried.

“I finally got my promotion! I’m an assistant designer!”

*Silence*

“Umma?” I called cautiously.

“Sweetie, maybe this job just isn’t right for you. You have so many other talents. I don’t want to see your life go to waste over something silly.”

My heart dropped and my eyes narrowed, “I thought you’d be proud of me…”

“I am, sweetheart! It’s just, I think you’d be better suited for-,”

“How do you know what I’m better suited for?! You haven’t seen me in four years!”

“Jisue, don’t raise your voice at me young lady! You may be a woman now, but you’re still my daughter and you need to respect that.”

“How can I? You’re hardly my mother. You’re never here for me!”

There was a long pause and electric tension filled the air.

“…You need to come back to the Philippines… to live here again.”

Wait, what?! Where did that come from?!

“Woah, woah… mwo?! Why would I go back to the Philippines?! I have a job, friends, a life! And you expect me to leave all of that to come back to you?! I’d have to be insane o do that!”

“Jisue-,”

“You’ve completely gone crazy! I don’t want to live with a crazy lady!”

“Jis-,”

“I’d rather live my life in a cardboard box working as a janitor than with you! I’d rather spend my life in jail!”

“That’s what’s going to happen if you don’t come back here!!!!!”

…

…

…

…

“Excuse me?” My breath shook, trying to hold back the anger and confusion that filled me.

“Aish, Jisue, this has always been something I wanted to tell you, but I could never find the right time! But then I got a notice about a week ago stating that both you and I could end up in prison for this.”

“Mother, what did you do?!”

“Jisue,” she let out a sigh. “When you were seven years old I decided to send you to Korea to study. I wanted you to have a perfect and successful life; everything mine wasn’t. But, I didn’t have enough money and I was in a rush…”

“Oh my gosh, did you steal someone’s identity or something?!” My heart was racing.

“That’s just it. You don’t have an identity honey. You’re an… illegal immigrant.”

Time froze and the phone almost slipped from my hand. I had been committing a crime for twenty years and nobody ever told me. The life I’d worked so hard to make the best of was a felony.

“I got a notice that the government is suspecting you. They contacted me and asked some personal questions about you. Thankfully it was by mail so I haven’t answered it yet. But Jisue, if you don’t follow the rules of deportation, we could both end up in prison,” her voice shook as if she was about to cry. However, I didn’t feel an ounce of pity for her.

“I’m not leaving,” I growled into the phone. “I’d rather be arrested than give up my promotion that easily!”

“I don’t think you understand how serious this is-,”

“Oh, I understand! And I’m not going to take it! There has to be a way to fix this! Can’t we just go to the authorities now and ask for me to become a legal citizen?” I suggested hopefully.

“It’s too late for that now. If they find out that you know you’re here illegally… things could get ugly very fast. No, you have to come home,” my mother stated.

“That’s not an option!” I shouted, then began considering ideas again.

“Maybe they’ll just forget if we don’t answer for a while?”

“Mom, seriously?”

“I’m trying, okay?! It’s not like I want you coming back here either! You’ve… made a life for yourself in Seoul. You’re becoming a successful young lady and I couldn’t bear to see you lose it all… like I did,” my mother said matter-of-factly, though her intensity was weak.

“Then isn’t there any other way?!” My voice cracked in desperation.

*Silence*

…

*Silence*

“Umma?”

“There is one way…” Her words made my heart soar with hope.

“What?! I’ll do anything! Anything at all! I swear!”

“You really need to start dating.”

“W- wait. What does that have to do with anything?” I huffed, annoyed with my mom’s constant persisting to get a husband. When we did actually see each other or talk, the topic always came up.

“Immigrants can stay in the country if they marry a citizen of that country. If you marry a South Korean resident…”

“Umma, no.”

“You said you’d do anything! You swore!” she shot back.

“Anything but that! I’m not a relationship kind of person! I don’t like cute, sappy things. How do you expect me to date, let alone get married?!”

“I’ll start looking for single men in Seoul right now! I suggest you do the same. What’s the website called…? Was it ‘Match for the Seoul?’ Hmm… maybe it was-,”

“Mother, I don’t know if I can do this,” I cut her off, my voice shaking.

“You listen here, Jisue. This is the best option we’ve got and you’re going to pull through and get married whether you like it or not! I’m not going to jail because of this and you’re not losing your successful life because of it either! So you get looking and get dating!”

“Umma-,”

“Talk to you again soon, Jisue! I expect results!”

The line disconnected, leaving me standing in the middle of my kitchen with my phone in my hand, stunned.

“Well,” I spoke into the silence. “At least the bad-girl type is in these days… even if I am a national felony.”

**First chapter up!!!! It's just past midnight here and as soon as I saw that I quickly went to Word to get the first chapter and put it up, I couldn't wait!!!! xP