~ Friday, December 12 ~

BOMI

          Today, we all decided we all just sit at one table today so lunch was packed with seven people from Speed, another seven from Bangtan and there was one of me.

            “So what are your plans for the weekend,” Jungwoo asked everyone. “We’re having a sleep over at my place; you guys can come as well my parents won’t mind more company.”

            “Oh no that’s okay,” Hoseok said. “Our house is a mess and I think it was time we did some cleaning.”

            “Sleep sounds good to me,” Namjoon replied and everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

            “Work, the holidays are coming up, gotta prepare inventory,” Sungmin said. “Inventory is so hard.”

            “What about you Bomi?” Jin asked me.

            “Me? I also have inventory at home to do,” I answered. “Got to make sure everything is good and I make sure I have enough things to survive.”

            “I’ll see you guys next week!” I waved goodbye to all the boys. I wasn’t too surprised to see they all walked the same way back home while I walk in a different direction by myself. I sighed and continued my short journey back home.

            I walked inside and slipped off my shoes and walked into my room. I lay down on my bed and thought about random stuff that kept floating around in my head when a thought I never really thought about popped in my head.

            I’ll eighteen in a week but that won't change the fact that I'm still living with the people that live in the room across from me since my money is going down and I have nowhere else to go.

             I got up and walked over to my secret hiding place and grab the shoe box filled with my years’ worth of savings. Most of them were checks (from work), or 100 bills, or 20 bills and bits of change when I bought stuff.

            "Only $4,000 left that means I spent… I spent $2000!" I said out loud. I quickly covered my mouth so my parents wouldn't barge in a take all my money.

            "What was I doing?" I asked myself as I tried to remember how much I spent.  

            Then I remember school workbooks were twenty dollars each, five dollars a day for my lunch so that’s about four hundred dollars for all my years at school, about three hundred dollars on dry cleaning, and then I bought some things for Eric and Sungmin but that wasn't much and other miscellaneous.

            I rubbed my face in frustration. "Okay that’s it no more spending, let's try not to ruin your uniform again and let’s not spend so much on food," I nodded my head; this is the best choice I have.

            "Nappeun Nyeon," My parents cooed my name and I heard the doorknob turning.

            "No, no," I cursed under my breath and quickly tried to shove my money back into panel except all the money slip and enough most of it made it into the panel a lot of it didn’t.

            They opened the door. "Hi!" They happily greeted. “Ooh, what is this?”

            I stood up and stepped in front of the scattered money but it was too late since they already saw what it was.

            “Move,” my father waved a stiff hand to the right telling me to move over. He bent down and picked up the money and after picking it all up he began to count it.

            “Where’d you get all this money?” My mother asked with her hands on her hips.

            “Work,” I answered, looking down.

            “Are you sure you didn’t steal it?” She narrowed her eyes at me.

            “Whatever it was, thank you for a $2000,” my father smiled widely and folded it up into his pocket. My heart stopped beating.

            "So what we would like to talk about today is your new name. We were thinking it isn't fair to give you a name you didn't like,” my mother smiled. One moment she’s shooting me down with her eyes then the next she’s smiling like it’s the best day ever, not even the littlest incident made her mad.

            Did they really have a change of heart after so many years? I thought but then the $2000 popped back up into my head.

            "So we decided you would choose the name you like best," he added.  

            Damn! I would like Bomi as my choice but I don't think that will be a choice, I thought as they went on talking.

            "The names we thought of are Byuntae (ert) and Jiralhanae (Retarded Lunatic)," my jaw dropped when those names came out of their mouths. "So what you think?" They were smiling as if I just won an award and they are so proud of themselves for teaching me the right ways in life.

            I then looked at them straight in the eye and smiled. "Let me think about it," I smiled through gritted teeth.

            "Okay then, let’s go Honey," my father said to my mother and they both left. “What can we do with $2000?”

            I wanted to scream but I couldn't. I wanted to throw things at them. I wanted to do so much but I couldn't.

            Why must they do this to me!? They probably forgot my real name too and I’m now left with $2000! I mentally screamed, I fell to my knees holding onto my heart and I let out a few tears. 

            For the next few days, all day long all I hear is my parent’s annoying voices ringing in my ears. "Nappeun Nyeon, did you make up your mind yet?"

            "Nappeun, should we call you Byuntae or Jiralhanae for a couple days to help you decide?"

            "Did you choose yet?"

            "Your birthday is coming soon; did you make up your mind yet?"

            "Come on, you need to tell us what you want I'm getting tired of calling you Nappeun Nyeon."

            Every time they try to talk to me, I just ignore them. But this wasn't even the worst part, every day at school I'm getting pushed, tripped, and hit ever since I started to hang out with Bangtan again. This time it’s more brutal, they don’t push me lightly. No.  They push me so hard to the ground that if my head were to hit the hard tile floor, I would be dead before any came to help me.

             Dasom would stop me from leaving the bathroom and kick me around like a soccer ball. I have bruises here and there on my side and stomach and I'm sore. I'm trying to endure it, though, it’s hard to work because most of the times I have to lean down to wipe the tables, lean over to pick up heavy dishes and bring them over to customers, and get on the floor to wipe up spills. It's been tough all this week.

            It’s finally Friday and I finally get to get away from all the abuse from school but now I have to face my parents. I got home from school when my parents walked in front of me.

            "So Nappeun Nyeon, did you do it yet, did you decide?" My mother asked, getting up all in face but I walked right passed her to my room.

            Before I turned the knob to my door, something hit me hard on the back of my head. I turned around and looked what lay on the floor: a slipper. I looked up and another slipper hit me square in the face.

            "You're so useless, you can't even make up your own ing mind for your own name," my mother said. “Why did I ever give birth to such an unintelligent daughter? I can’t even call you my daughter.”

            "You can't even do anything right," my father then added. “You’re the stupidest girl I’ve ever seen.”

            My blood started to boil as they went on and on how useless I was and that I can't decide correctly and I can't make any good choices in life. I balled my fists at my sides to keep calm but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. They continued on adding more things to the list how ignorant and selfish I was and that's when it all came out.

            "I DON’T CARE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN ING REMEMBER MY REAL NAME?! MY NAME IS BOMI FOR BUDDHA’S SAKE, WHY CAN’T YOU BE LIKE NORMAL PARENTS?!" I took deep shaking breaths; my hands shook from all the anger that just escape from me.

            “What did you say?" My mother asked and narrowed her eyes at me; her eyes were filled with the raging fires from hell.

            I gulped. I knew I was wrong to yell at them but I said what I was feeling every time I got a new name every year and how I was sick of them treating me this way, I’m just done with this nonsense!

            My father stepped closer to me with a stick in hand. "You have no right to talk to us like that Bomi."

            I gasped as he lifted up the stick ready to hit me and I quickly turned the knob to my room and locked the door. I ran to the corner of my room where I kept a large suitcase.

            This is my chance to get away but where would I go? My father banged on the door loudly, I knew right away after a few more blows that door will fall right down.

            "You open this ing door right now!" He yelled and I flinched. Rage filled his words.

            I ran towards my secret panel and pulled everything out and shoved them in the suitcase, I shoved most of my clothes in the suitcase when I hear the door starting to give away.

            No, no, no I need more time I haven't gotten all my stuff. Then the door burst open.

             I zipped up the suitcase and stood up but I didn't grasp the luggage on time. My father barged in and pulled onto my hair, I screamed in pain and held his giant hands to release some the tension but it was no use. He threw me out of the house. What came flying out of the house as well were my suitcase, my small blanket, my small pillow, and few more of my clothes.

            "Park Bomi, don't you dare come back to this house, you hear me!" He yelled and slammed the door.

            I quickly shoved everything into the luggage and got up and started to walk away quickly from that dreaded home. I looked around to see if any neighbors came out to see the scene but there wasn't as usually. The neighbors here are just something else. Fights like this happen very often and even when it sounds like someone is going to be mudered, no one calls the cops unless you're having a party that's pumping with music. That's when the cops arrive.

            I step out of the area of the neighborhood and continue to walk the, dark and lonely, sidewalk. I'm finally free! I thought but in the back of my mind I was full worried.

            Where would I go? What if it rains or snows? The nights are only going to get colder, I thought as I walked into the busy night of the city.

            I’m all alone, what do I do?