Your POV

You sat impatiently as the teacher distributed all the letters. Your best friend Min Ah, who was seated next to you, refused to open her acceptance letter until you received yours too.

“Calm down Hyun Ju! You got 2nd place from the whole school! Of course you’ll be accepted to Seoul University!” Min Ah said, patting your shoulders comfortingly. 

Right then, your teacher walked up to you and placed a stack of letters on your desk. The letter on the top had a logo printed at the bottom right corner.  You couldn’t believe your eyes. 

“Did I really get accepted to Seoul University?” you whispered.

“EARTH TO HYUN JU!”

“Huh? What?”

“You didn’t answer me, you idiot.  Well, you’re not much of an idiot because you got accepted to Seoul University!” Min Ah exclaimed happily. She gave you your letter and looked at you excitedly. You cautiously tried to open the letter when Min Ah snatched it from you.

“Ugh you’re so slow,” she muttered under her breath as she quickly ripped the letter open. 

 “Congratulations Miss Kim Hyun Ju! You have been accepted to Seoul University. Please visit our website and use the code below to confirm your placement.” Min Ah read out loud. 

“Don’t lie! Does it really say that?” you asked as you snatched the letter back from Min Ah and skimmed through the letter. Your eyes started to tear up from happiness, and both you and Min Ah started jumping up and down. You saw a tear escape from Min Ah’s eye; little did you know that she was actually heartbroken that you would be moving to Seoul, away from her.

After saying goodbye to Min Ah who walked you home, you entered your house happily. Your father was busy helping your little step-sister with her homework and your step-mom was nowhere to be seen. Your father looked up at you when you went over to him and quietly handed him the letters in your hand. He raised an eyebrow, and started to read the letters. The crow feet around his eyes started to become more visible as he started to smile.

“Well done Hyun Ju! I’m so proud of you!” your father hugged you happily. It was rare to see your father being so affectionate, so you were a little taken aback but hugged him back. “Quick! Let’s confirm your placement!” your father said, as he made you sit with him on the sofa. Together, you both navigated through the internet browser.

 ‘Done!’ Both of you exclaimed together upon confirming your placement. Hearing the sudden commotion, your step-mom came to the living room to find you and your father in a loving embrace.

“What’s done?” your step-mom asked.

 “Hyun Ju got accepted to Seoul University, and we just confirmed her placement.” your father explained with bright eyes and a happy smile. 

“Oh, is that so? Congratulations Hyun Ju! ”

You were disappointed with the lack of happiness in her voice but you didn’t want to let it show. 

“You know, my little angel got the highest score in her class from the History pop-quiz today.” your step-mom continued with beaming eyes. 

“Mom! Stop it! That’s nothing compared to her. Congratulations Un-Unnie.” Your step-sister stammered embarrassedly. She was obviously unhappy with how her mother disregarded your achievement and praised her instead. You smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

“Wow! Good job! I’m going to go freshen up, okay?” you fake-smiled and climbed up the wooden stair-case to your room. Your mind was filled with different thoughts as you sat quietly on your bed. 

“Why isn’t she happy for me?”

“Doesn’t she consider me as her own daughter?”

 “Why is it so hard to impress her?”

“Am I so different from her?”

Every moment that your step-mom treated you differently from her daughter replayed in your mind. As much as you wanted to cry, you couldn’t. Deep inside, you knew that she didn’t do it intentionally. She wasn’t a bad mother, she willingly accepted you because she truly loved your dad. She never abused you, neglected you or ill-treated you. For all you knew, she was a much better person than your birth mother or any of those abusive mothers out there, and you appreciated that. Sometimes though, you felt jealous towards your step-sister for being so lucky, for being praised by her mother, for having such a loving mother.

“Hyun Ju-ah! Hurry up! We have to search for apartments in Seoul!” Your thoughts were disrupted when you heard a rhythmic knock on your door which assured you that it was just your father.

“Coming!” You shot up from your bed and went to take a quick shower. All your sadness had almost instantly disappeared when you heard your father’s cheery voice. You changed into comfortable clothes and dashed downstairs where your father was waiting patiently.

“I’ve already found some apartments I like. I think it’s better to pick an apartment close to Seoul University. Search through the Dongdaemun-Gu area,” your father said sliding his laptop over to you. You sat next to him on the sofa, and scanned through the various tabs your father had opened.

“But dad, these apartments are so fancy. I mean, have you even seen the prices?” you asked, looking at him.

“I want the best for my princess. But if it doesn’t suit your taste, you can find some apartments you like and bookmark the websites. I’ve got to go drop off your sister at her friends’ place right now though. I’ll look through it later and we can come to an agreement. Deal?” your father said as he made his way to leave with your step-sister. 

You nodded your head slowly and got back to searching through apartments.

 “Why is everything so expensive in Seoul?” you groaned. 

Your tuition fees would already be expensive, so you didn’t want to burden your parents by renting a luxurious apartment. Your family wasn’t exactly what you’d call poor, but you always felt guilty whenever they bought you expensive things. When you were a child and your father took you along with him for grocery shopping, he would always ask you to pick any chocolate of your choice. You always picked the Umbrella Chocolate, which was the cheapest chocolate there. At first your father tried to convince you to choose another chocolate, but later, he gave up because he knew you wouldn’t change your mind. He knew for sure that you would like to have something better than low quality Umbrella Chocolates, and although it broke his heart, at the same time, he was proud of his daughter for having such a mature thinking compared to her young age.

You were still busy searching for a suitable apartment when your father came back home.

“Any luck?” he asked.

If the apartment was close to the university, it was expensive. On the other hand, if it was far away from the university, it was a bit cheaper, but your transportation costs would rise up. You grabbed your hair in frustration.

“Don’t stress about it. I’m sure you’ll eventually find one where you find it comfortable to live.” Your father said in a soft voice. 

You smiled at him, and continued to search. Luckily, you found one which was a 10 minute bus ride away from Seoul University. It was a lot cheaper than the other apartments. It had one-bedroom with a small kitchen and dining area. The living room was rather tiny, but you didn’t mind.

“Found one! Well, it’s still expensive, but I think it’s considered cheap in Seoul. And it’s a bus ride away, so I wouldn’t have to take a cab,” you said to your father.

Your father checked through the website, and nodded in agreement. 

“So, Samsung Apartments, 155 Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, it is! You’ll be moving to Seoul next week!” your father cheered after he made all the necessary transactions to rent the apartment. 

You grinned at your dad and rushed up the stairs to your room to call Min Ah about it. You were surprised to see that you had received multiple missed calls and messages from her. You found this rather odd, because normally, it was always you who called or texted her first. And come to think of it, today was the first time Min Ah accompanied you home.

Lay's POV

When I reached my apartment, I unlocked the door and went inside. I walked up to my white L-shaped sofa and plopped down on it. I held the two letters infront of my eyes and ripped them open at once. I scanned over the content of the letter. My average was 98% with all A’s in every subject. I didn’t have to study much. I’m one of those people who are able to get a great result without having to study.

I took the next letter which had a code below to confirm my placement in Seoul University. I sat up on the sofa and slid over the sleek laptop sitting on the coffee table to my lap. I opened the website provided on the acceptance letter and entered the code. When I hit enter, I was redirected to another page. It displayed a form which had to be filled by the students residing in Seoul already only. 
 

Personal Information:

Full Name: Zhang Yixing

Nationality: Chinese

Address: Zhang Residency,120 Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Emergency Contact Details:

Name of Parent/Guardian: N/A

Relationship with Guardian: N/A

Mobile/Telephone Number of Parent/Guardian: N/A

I blinked back the tears which had started to form in my eyes. All of a sudden, I felt lonely, miserable and sad. I always treated everyone nicely, but for some reason, I lost friends as soon as I made them. I honestly didn’t understand why I’ve never had a best friend or maybe even a bunch of close friends at that. The sad memories from Kindergarten to Seoul High flashed in my mind. I’ve always made friends at the start of the school year, and I would be completely alone at the end of that year. When I graduated from middle school, I made a promise to myself to make real friends in Seoul High. To no one’s surprise, I ended up being alone, again.

Why is it so easy for them to find friends? What am I lacking? I know that no one hates me, and none of my “friends” abandoned me intentionally. Apparently, I just wasn’t their ‘type’. I know better than to pretend to be someone I’m not, and I’m proud of myself for it. But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life all alone…

Not only am I an orphan, but I have absolutely no one in my family left. I’ve spent all my life in utter loneliness. I was no longer able to hold back my tears, so I closed my eyes and let them roll down my cheeks freely. I knew that it was up to me to change my own future. To decide whether I want to spend the rest of my life like a loner.