Chapter Three

After sitting with her unresponsive mother for a few hours, Iseul quietly stood up and gathered her bag.  She then walked out of the room, not sparing a glance behind her.  As soon as she left the hospital, she dug around in the black canvas messenger bag that she usually always carried around with her and fished out her pack of menthol cigarettes. 

Lighting one up, she took a deep drag, letting the nicotine enter her lungs with a blissful sigh.  Yes, she knew that it was not the healthiest thing out there to do, but if it helped her with her stress and anxiety levels, then she would be doing it.  Sighing, she took another drag before starting the walk home. 

The streets of Seoul never slept, there was always someone out and about, no matter the time of day.  So, needless to say, she didn’t feel unsafe as she made the journey home.  Even if she didn’t exactly know how to defend herself, there was just no reason for her to feel as if she was not safe.  It was the only reason that her father had allowed her to stay out so late for so long. 

Speaking of her father, she got a huge shock as she opened the door to their tiny two bedroom apartment.  He was home.  This fact really worried her; he was never home early.  Ever.  The last time that her dad was home from work early was when her mother had been diagnosed. 

“Dad?” she called out, walking into the small living room that housed a two person couch and a small television.  He turned towards her with a smile on his face.  Once he saw the worried look on her face, his smile turned into a frown. 

“Nothing’s wrong, Iseul,” he informed her.  “I just got off of work a little bit early today.  That’s all,” he said soothingly, making the worried lines on her face slowly ease.  Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, calming her rapid heartbeat. 

“You scared me, Dad,” she said reprovingly.  He laughed good-naturedly. 

“I’m sorry, dear.  Promise I won’t do it again,” he told her.  She nodded, agreeing with him.  She asked him what he wanted for dinner.  After getting his answer, she headed toward the kitchen.  She made dinner for two that night, for once. 

She cleaned up the mess she and her father had made while eating quickly after they finished.  Then, she retreated to her room while her dad went to bed, and worked on her homework.  She was up until two in the morning, studying hard and attempting to get ahead in her readings. 

School was nowhere near easy for Iseul.  She was up until the wee hours of the morning on more than one occasion throughout the week in order to stay in the top ten of her class.  She needed to graduate in the top ten in order to get a full ride scholarship, after all.   If she didn’t get that scholarship, she didn’t know what she would do with her life.  Her family definitely couldn’t afford to send her off to college; not with her mother the way she was – needing so much care. 

Iseul didn’t want to have to rely on her father forever, hence why she wanted to get that full ride so badly.  She wanted to be able to take care of her parents, to repay them for all of the things they used to give her when s