“Miss, step this way please.” One of many the black-suited men bowed in front of her with one of his arms stretched to his left. “The car is ready for you.”

Clutching on the strap of her sling-bag hard, YeonHee inhaled an amount of air and nodded towards him once. “Thank you,” she voiced.

 Her eyes then darted side-ways where she could see some people whispering and pointing at her direction. She sighed softly and began to drag her feet towards the direction pointed by the man. The whispering crowd began to grow as she walked pass even more groups of people on her way towards the VIP exit. It suddenly occurred to her; don’t these people have their own businesses to mind?

“Your return to the country has been reported in all the major tabloids. I assumed that some of them came to witness if the rumour was true.”

YeonHee briefly looked at the young man that was walking beside her. He was supposed to act as her personal bodyguard, not her advisor. She has certainly not asked for his opinion, nor was she interested to hear any.

She didn’t even bother to reply him and kept on walking towards the car with a blank look on her face.

“My number is on your #1 speed dial. Give me a call if you need anything. I’ll be escorting your car in a distance,” the young man informed as he held the passenger door open for her. All the other black-suited men were scattered around the area, their eyes were overlooking a distance to make sure that the surrounding was safe. It doesn’t look like they’re going to follow her though, except for the young man that has now walked away after making sure that she was safely seated inside the car.

The young man patted the back of the car as a sign for them to take off and the car immediately pulled out of the waiting area.

Thus, her new life in Korea begins.

***

The journey from the airport to her new apartment took more than an hour. She had originally planned on taking a short nap while in the car, but the view that greeted her eyes as soon as they drove through the city occupied most of her interest. This place has really changed. Over the ten years of her absence, it looked like Korea has developed to become a much better place.

A tiny smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she could feel the delight of surprise building up inside of her. Soon, the car started to slow down and stopped in front of a tall building.

“Miss Lee,” the driver called as he held her door open. She didn’t even notice when the driver had actually got out of the car and all the way to her side. “We have arrived,” he announced politely.

With the little smile still on her lips, she looked pass the driver to observe the entrance to her new apartment. Suddenly, all the good feelings that she had crashed as anger started to rise. “Are you sure?” she asked while trying to suppress her disappointment after looking at the grand entrance to a five-star hotel.

“Yes, Miss. The President handed this address to me personally,” he presented a piece of paper with her father’s perfect calligraphy on it. “He--”.

“I don’t want this place,” she cut the man before he could utter another word. Her word was firm and her tone was fierce, making the old man feel very much agitated.

“Wh-- But…”

“Find me another place that is less troublesome. I want it to be normal, not this!” she added angrily.

The driver frowned at her behaviour as he was now torn between two instructions. And no matter which party he decides to turn down, he knew he would still get into trouble.

“Miss, I’m sorry. I can’t do that for you,” the driver apologized as he bowed slightly, hoping that she might reconsider. But to his despair, she pulled an even longer face in front of him.

“What seems to be the problem here?” a familiar voice suddenly appeared from behind them.

“Shim ChangMin-sshi,” the driver immediately greeted the approaching young man with a bow. But instead of explaining the situation to him on her behalf, the driver decided to back away from the door to give way for the young man to speak to her directly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as he faced her. He had to bend down a lot due to his height.

“I don’t want to live at this fancy place. I want somewhere else that is a bit simpler,” YeonHee muttered with her arms now crossed. “I told him to give me my normal life back. Why is he doing this to me?”

The young man then nodded in comprehension. “I understand. Don’t worry. We’ll get a new place for you right away.”

With that, he closed the door and went to speak with the driver. YeonHee could see objection from the drive