“Happy birthday! Halmeoni!” Sang Hee hugged her grandmother. She was turning 71 this year.

 

“Oh, thanks, dear,” Her grandma sighed, “Oh, how I wish my other grandchildren remember this date.”

 

“Don't worry, as long as you got me!”

 

“Ah, I guess you're right about that.” Sang Hee's grandmother started to eat the cake Sang Hee had tried to bake. It was lumpy in some places and falling apart in others, but it was still pretty good. “Dear, how would you like to go to Korea?” Her grandmother asked through a mouthful of cake.

 

Sang Hee was shocked. She dropped her fork, “What, and leave my halmeoni?”

 

“Yes, I'm thinking it's about time. You haven't got much Korean left in you, anyways, you can come and visit me!”

 

“But!”

 

“Yes, Kim Sang Hee, I want you to go and live with your cousin.”

 

“But!”

 

“I'm going to die off and it's better you leave me sooner or later,” Her grandmother spit out a strand of hair. “Oh, sorry about that.” Sang Hee threw that in the garbage.

 

Sang Hee started talking so fast so that her grandmother wouldn't interrupt her, “Butwhataboutyou?I'veneverbeenoutofCanada.Plus, Idon'tevenknowmycousin, andyouarenotgoingtodiesoon!”

 

Her grandmother gave her a hard stare.

 

“Okay, fine. It would be a great adventure, anyways.” “I'm glad you see it that way. Now... I haven't talked to my grandson over there for so long, but he's called... hmmm, kibum or something. Kim Kibum. His school... across the street from...” She hesitated. It seemed loss of contact made her forget where her grandson was.

 

“Didn't I hear you say Myeonglanhan high?”

 

“When did I say that?” Her grandmother scratched her head.

 

“Last year.” Sang Hee started gobbling down her portion of the cake. Crumbs were splayed all over her face. As if on cue, the phone rang. Her grandmother made a dive for the phone and fumbled with the talk button.

 

“Hello?”

 

Pause. Sang Hee strained her ears to hear what the man on the other end was saying.

 

“Uh huh, uh huh, bye.” Sang Hee stared questioningly at her grandmother.

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, nothing.”

 

“Since I saw that you were going to agree to me no matter what, I've bought your plane ticket already, and you'll be going right now. The plane takes flight at 1:55.”

 

“WHAT?” Sang Hee was used to her grandmother's impulsiveness, after all, she got it from her, too. But right now?

 

“And I've got your stuff packed. I know what you would have brought. Anyways, you can buy stuff later over there.”

 

“But--”

 

“And I registered you for the same high school your cousin is going to.”

 

“Okay, I guess I'll be going now,” Sang Hee was glad that her grandmother planned everything, but Sang Hee was wishing to say good by to her friends, first.

 

“And your friends know.” It seemed her grandmother was psychic. Sang Hee hugged her grandmother,

 

"What can I do without my halmeoni?”

 

“You've been camping and to outdoor school and day camps.”

 

“But, I don't know when I'm going to see you!”

 

“Stop moping, we've been talking a lot. Now, I'll drive you to the airport.”

 

When Sang Hee boarded the plane, her mood brightened. She always loved being on air plane rides. She sat down in a window seat and stared out the window. Plus, how bad can living in Korea be? She felt the seat next to her move as a person plopped down beside her. She turned to look over at him. He was an Asian, also. She was surprised, not a lot of Asians live in her part of the country. They are either in Toronto or Vancouver.

 

“Hello.” The guy greeted as he caught her staring at him.

 

“Hi, going to Korea?” Sang Hee couldn't stop staring.

 

“Yeah, I'm Kim Bum by the way.” “Oh, okay, Sang Hee. Well,” the atmosphere was awkward. Sang Hee knew very well she couldn't converse with guys. “I'm going to sleep now, see you.” Now that she had said that, she had to turn around and sleep, so Sang Hee closed her eyes.

 

When she woke up, she found out that she had drooled. She quickly wiped off her spit from her face, and glanced over at Kim Bum, to see if he had saw. To her surprise, she found him staring at her.

 

“U-uh..” Sang Hee wiped again just to be sure no drool was left.

 

“So quick?”

 

“What? Didn't I sleep for an hour?”

 

“I counted, it was more like five minutes.” Sang Hee chuckled nervously, “So, why are you going to Korea?”

 

“I'm going to a school.” “Oh, same here. My grandmother forced me.” Sang Hee laughed again. Then it dawned on her that this guy had the same name as her cousin. “No... It couldn't be!”

 

“What? Is going to Korea for education really that shocking?” Kim Bum had a playful stare.

 

“Are you my cousin?”

 

“No, I just met you.”

 

“Oh, okay.” Sang Hee puffed up her cheeks. She does that whenever she is in deep thinking. This couldn't be her cousin, why was she so stupid? He's GOING to Korea, and unless her cousin skips and comes to Canada and back... “Oh wait, my cousin was Kim Kibum, not Kim Bum,” Sang Hee muttered to herself.

 

Kim Bum was staring at her, “You're cute, has anybody told you that?'

 

Sang Hee felt her cheeks going red. She stood up abruptly. “Sorry, I need the washroom.” She scrambled down the aisle and into the washroom.

 

For the remainder of the flight, Sang Hee avoided looking at Kim Bum and stared out the window. She could sometimes hear him take an intake of breath, like he wanted to say something. He would poke her and occasionally tap her. He resulted to tickling to get her to look over.

 

At last, the plane arrived at Incheon airport, Sang Hee struggled to get her suitcase down. Her attempt didn't prevail.

 

“Here, let me help you.” Kim Bum lifted her suitcase using a relatively small amount of his energy. Sang Hee extended her hand out to get her suitcase.

 

“No, I'll just carry it out.”

 

“T-thanks.” Sang Hee was greeted by so many Asians outside of the airport, she stood fascinated for a few seconds.

 

“Never seen so many Asians, huh?” Kim Bum chuckled. His eyes sparkled as he looked around.

 

Sang Hee just shook her head.

 

“Well, I think I'll be heading off now.” Kim Bum dropped her suitcase and fiddled with a piece of paper. “This is my land phone in Korea, call me if you like.”

 

Sang Hee was surprised. Never before had she got a guy's number back in Canada. “Bye!” Sang Hee waved. Kim Bum ruffled her hair and walked out of the airport. (A/N:Let's just say that it took eighteen hours to go to Seoul... I don't know, that's what I found. Arghh! This is confusing, nevermind, I'll just say it's morning. I've never really been on planes to figure out stuff.)

 

Myeonglanhan High.

 

Sang Hee stood there figuring out what to do. Should she look for her cousin now? Sang Hee decided it would be best. She headed off in a taxi, and found her wallet stuffed with money.

 

Inside was a note: Honey, I've been planning this for a long time so it will come in handy. Don't spend too much!

 

Sang Hee arrived at a school. Everywhere she looked there were people in uniforms. It looked amazing. The school was gigantic, too. The garden/lawn out front was luscious green and sprouted many flowers. Since Sang Hee was registered already, she decided to enter the building. She stood out like a rock in the sand when she walked in. Everyone was wearing their uniforms. She entered what looked like to be the main office and told the scowling secretary who she was.

 

“Why do I care if you are Kim Sang Hee?” She growled.

 

“My halmeoni registered me, I'm from Canada.” Sang Hee was a bit intimidated by her.

 

But then her scowl turned into the most peculiar smile. Sang Hee was surprised to see her mood changed. “I see, Ms. Kim. I received a phone call at three in the morning about a new registering student... TWO, actually. Two consecutive calls at three in the morning.”

 

Sang Hee could note the sarcasm in the secretary's voice. There was a hint of bitterness as the secretary handed her two sets of uniforms. It was then that Sang Hee remembered that she was still lugging her luggage around. No wonder everyone was staring.

 

“And, um, sorry, but can I leave my suitcase here until classes end?” Sang Hee tried to be as sweet as she could.

 

“Sure thing, honey...” The secretary's face hardened, “Class is about to start, you know?”

 

Sang Hee hurriedly left the office and went into the bathroom to change. The outfit was a tight fit and Sang Hee thought the skirt was too short. As Sang Hee ran out of the bathroom, she knocked into someone.

 

“You just wrecked my shirt!” The guy yelled.

 

Another guy trotted up, laughing. “Key, stop being such a diva. You're wearing the same shirt I am.”

 

Sang Hee ignored them and went up to her room number. She peered in nervously. The bell rang.

 

“If you're going to stop blocking the door, I would like to get in.” The same guy from before growled. He straightened his shirt.

 

“Sorry,” Sang Hee bowed, but he had already left.

 

“Okay, class, we've got a new student. Two, actually. Kim Sang Hee, who's standing by the doorway, and Kim Bum, who's standing beside me. Would you take your seats for attendance?” A man with glasses started reading out names. The weirdest thing was when he got to the Kims. There was a brief pause after each name as he read it out. “Kim Bum. Kim Kibum. Kim Kibum. Kim Kibum. Kim Sang Hee...” Sang Hee looked around the room at each mention of Kim Kibum. One was the guy from before, his shirt looking perfectly fine.

 

Which one is my cousin?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, it's SharShar, sorry for not updating, went on a little trip. I hope this wasn't too boring! I can't really start off that well, and there was a lot of dialogue. Which Kibum should be her cousin? Kekeke.. Please comment!~