Xiumin's POV

I stood in front of possibly the tallest building I had ever seen. The taxi behind us pulled away, leaving my mother and I on the huge sidewalk in front of the huger apartment building. I looked over at the woman standing next to me. Time had been kind to her, but stressed had beaten her around. Her dark brown hair started to turn silver at the roots and her eyes always looked tired. It had been years since I had seen a real smile on her face, one that wasn't backed with pain.

A tear rolled down her cheek and I wiped it away. "Mother," I said, blinking hard, "please don't cry. It's only going to make me cry, too."

She shook her head. "Maybe, if we're lucky, he would have told the truth. This is our last stop, sweetie."

"What?!" Our last stop...

She smiled with the tears still running down her cheeks and hugged me. "He said when you turn seventeen. This is our last stop."

I felt bad for my mother. Every year, we had to move somewhere else. The poor woman usually worked two or three jobs a day, and usually I didn't feel comfortable with most of them. She could barely provide for us on her own, which forced me to work at night and on weekends for a little extra cash. I knew it wasn't healthy for either of us, but I knew it was necessary. All because of my father.

He left my young mother alone and hurt, with absolutely no possessions. I was told by her that she would carry her little baby to work, leave me with someone, and try to pay off the hospital bills. It took her three years to repay her debt and finally find a house, as my mother wasn't educated enough to get a decent job. We lived there for three more years until my "ex-father" found where we were. At the time, I wasn't sure what was going on, but I remembered a group of men running in and tearing the house apart. My mother and I had been upstairs in her room, so we were able to get away via the fire escape. The only thing that we saved from the house was a stuffed bear. Looking at it reminded us of that first day.

The next year, the same thing happened. My mother still refused to tell me why, but I know that he always came the week I was leaving school. He seemed to spend all year chasing us and finding what school I went to, but he always waited for some day that last week. So, I left school a week before everyone else. We would run home and pack our bags, then move on without saying a word to anyone. This year would be different...hopefully...

A doorman finally seemed to notice us. I reminded myself to speak politely and in Korean, although it had been years since I had been in the country. I had the knowledge of a six year old when it came to proper etiquette, so it wasn't surprising when the man raised an eyebrow at my voice. Nevertheless, he loaded our suitcases onto a cart and rolled it into the building. We entered the elevator and waited for it to reach the fourth floor, which was where the apartment was. My mother and I thanked the man and dragged the bags into the unlocked door.

The moment I saw the apartment, my jaw dropped. "Woah! How did you...?"

She put a hand on my shoulder. "I've been saving up for a while. I knew that we wouldn't have much time at all of the other places, so I figured that we could have a nice house when you were seventeen."

I looked in awe at the place. It was bigger than any other apartment I had ever seen, and nicer than what I ever thought possible. The entire place was modern and open, each room leading to the next. Under the doormat, the floor was a pale hardwood, turning to white tile in the kitchen to the right of the door. A long, granite counter (probably meant to work as a table) separated the kitchen from the living room. The furniture in the room was sleek and contemporary. Across from the front door, a pair of French doors opened up to a beautiful view of the city.

Around the corner of the living room, I found a long set of stairs, which led up to our second floor. There was a bathroom in between the two bedrooms, each opening up onto a small landing. I hauled the bags up there and entered the smaller room with my own bags. "Mother!" I called downstairs. "I'll go buy lunch after I unpack some stuff." She nodded her approval, and I returned my attention back to my one suitcase.

Frowning, I pulled pants and shirts out of the bag. I had been wearing the same clothes for so long that I knew exactly how to hang them and which hangers worked the best. All of the clothes was put away in no time. Next came the few belongings I did have: two books, a fairly empty wallet, a deck of cards, a skateboard, and, of course, my stuffed bear. I threw the small things into the side table drawer and placed the bear on my bed. I took the skateboard and the wallet and walked down to the living room.

"Buy something cheap," she said. "Try to find a place that sells pizza. And see if you can exchange those American dollars for some won." I gave a thumbs up and then left.

Once I was outside and in a less crowded area, I put down my skateboard and slowly rolled down the sidewalk. I needed to find pizza...pizza... I repeated the word in my head over and over again. I turned a corner without paying attention and felt my board roll out from under me as I slammed into some innocent pedestrian. I lifted myself off of whoever was unlucky enough to be squashed under me. "Sorry..." I said. I turned away out of shame and offered a hand to help the guy up.

I felt his fingers wrap around my hand and I did all I could to help him up. "It's okay," he said. "It didn't even hurt, since you're so small."

I instantly perked up. He called me small. Not as in short, because we were around the same hight, but as in thin. For once, I didn't feel like some heavy monster that people always made fun of. I guess the dieting payed off, I though to myself, but I decided not to forget what I had just done. "I'm so sorry for crashing into you, and then falling on you. I'm sure it did hurt." I bowed 90 degrees, trying to remember how low was too low. Judging by his amused look, 90 degrees was too low.

He pat my shoulder. "Don't worry. It really wasn't anything major. By the way, I'm Chen."

I looked up and finally got a good look at his face. He had a handsome jawline, a cute smile, and curly brown hair. I nodded, trying not to look too amazed. "I'm...ah, Xiumin."  After a second of confusion, we shook hands. Here's your chance, I thought. Maybe you can make a friend. "Um...I was wondering if you could tell me where I can get a pizza aro