“I’ll be fine don’t worry”

For the nth time I assured my overly paranoid parents that nothing bad will happen to me.

Today was the awaited day of my departure. It has been exactly five months since I received the letter that confirmed my eligibility to enter the school of my dreams, Hakusen University. It is the prime university in the country, it is where all the ace students in the fields of sciences, maths, engineering, medicine and quite surprisingly even in the field of music. In other words, it’s the dream school of almost every determined student here in Korea. So I was really depressed when I was not able to take the entrance exam last year. What could have been the valid reason for that you ask? I believe the correct question is who was the reason? Definitely not my mom, she will never do anything that will hinder my dreams. I am telling you, no mother in the world is perfect, so I will not say that mine is, but really she’s like an angel. I will never trade her for anything, never! So of course, next reason would likely be my dad, but then again he is not. He is like this overbearing fathers that you can usually see in TV programs, but the difference is he’s not cruel, he’s like one of the nicest persons I know next to my mom, he’s not also stubborn, he addresses problems fairly and has an open mind, and most definitely he does not think highly of himself, he’s really down to earth and respects every person no matter what walk of life he or she is from. So why have I compared him to an overbearing father seen in soap operas? Well, I just think that my dad is really handsome that even in his age he should be hired as an actor and be casted into a drama. Last candidate will probably my super squishy/adorable/lovable/fluffy little brother. Actually if you don’t know him since he was young, you can never guess that he was the epitome of the adjectives that I described him to be. Now, he’s all grown up, all his baby fats are gone, he’s not fluffy anymore, all those aegyo that he previously owned was sent down the drain.

Apparently he now thinks that his favourite pink sweater with a big teddy bear print in the front would fit in with the current bad boy look that his supporting. Even though my cutitepatootie-pretending-to-be-a-bad-boy brother is having an image breakdown, still he is not the reason I missed the exam. It was none other than-

 

"The train will leave in 10 minutes, all passengers should kindly proceed to their seats. Thank you!"

 

"Yah, Min-ah pali, you dont want to miss your train do you?"

 

My mom said, trying hard not to be reduced into tears. I walked briskly to her and hugged her tightly.

 

"omma I'll gonna miss you very much. Take care of yourself okay? Don't worry about me too much. Im a big girl now and you know that I topped my judo class. So no asshat would do any harm to me!"

 

"Yah young lady watch your mouth!"

 

I suddenly received a swat on the back from may dad. But when I faced him, he gave me a I-know-that-you-will-be-fine-and-Im-proud-of-you smile. My heart just melted and I hugged my father so tight that he coughed from nearly not able to breath.

 

 

"Yah don't hug to tight. Do you want to choke your own father?!"

 

I heard him laugh. But I can sense that he's doing his best to fight his tears. I gave him a last squeeze in the shoulder and decided to let go.

 

"Jongie go and say goodbye to your noona"

 

My mom suddenly pushed my sulking brother towards my direction.

 

"Omma I DONT WANT TO!"

 

Though I can see tears flowing from his eyes I can't help but to laugh. Here he is wearing a black leather jacket with black boots, that goes well with his now jet black short hair, to fully show his bad boy image, but he cant even fight the tears that are caused by his noona's departure.

All I can do is to envelop him into a bear hug that I usually gave him when we were kids everytime he is crying.

 

"Yah pabo! I thought you're all grown up. Why are you crying like you're a girl. Look, people are already eyeing you wierdly!"

 

I joked even though I myself is already having a hard time containing my emotions.

 

"Im not crying!Im not stupid, stupid! I will not miss you! Who will miss a fatty like you! Atleast I can watch my favourite shows without you yelling around like a crazy ahjumma! I can now stop hiding my chocolates on my bookshelf! Your fat hands will not be able to steal them away from me! I can now, I can now, I can now.....

 

 

Silence. Then he wailed like a whale.

 

"YAAAAAAA NOONA DON'T GOOOOOOOOOO! DON'T LEAVE YOUR SUNGJONGIE NOONAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

 

ah chinja. Now I can feel that my shirt is all wet, thanks for my mature brother. sheesh.

 

"Yah Lee Sungjong stop crying! Your noona will be late."

 

My dad said, trying to be strong and all.

 

"Jongie its okay. I will always call you. Even if I need to text you every five minutes I will, so that you wont miss me that much. Don't cry. You should be strong, starting from now, I need you to take care of mom and dad okay. You are a handsome eighteen year old! You will soon be graduating from high school! Get yourself together!"

 

I pulled him out from the embrace gently and wiped his tears with my hand. I cupped his face and stared intently into his eyes.

 

"I love you. Be strong. Lee Sungjong you are a man now!"

 

That's the first time I called him that. I always and tell him that he will forever be a baby in my eyes. He straightened up and wiped his tears some more. He took a step back and gathered my hands into his.

 

"Lee Jungmin!-"

 

he even has the guts to imitate my tone. I will gonna miss him so much. Whatever happens, he will forever be a cute baby to me.

 

 

"-You are astonishing and your super manly brother will not be there to protect you! So you better take care noona! arasso?!"

 

 

I only nodded and gave him a big smile and a thumbs up.

 

With the last reminders and some more hugs, my family finally decided that I should already board the train.

 

I guess he won't really be able to make it. That guy. Aaaaaagh. Maybe its better this way.

 

With my last farewell, I turned towards the train and away from my loving family, I was about to set my right foot on the door when suddenly I heard my name being shouted.

 

"YAAAAAH LEE JUNGMIN DON'T YOU DARE RIDE THAT TRAIN WITHOUT EVEN SAYING GOODBYE TO ME!"

I quickly turned back and searched for that familiar voice. I noticed that some of the onlookers were also looking for the person who dared to shout that loud in a place like this.

I looked to the left then to the right. There he was just barely catching his breath when I saw him. He still has his uniform on. A sign that he just came from school. It seemed that just like what he promised, he indeed went straight here after he finished his exam. I giggled a little when I noticed that he was still clutching the ballpen that I gave him for a goodluck gift on his right hand.

 

 

Lee Howon really is stupid.