All my life I felt like running away...

Simply packing up my things and heading out...

Maybe not even packing anything....

Maybe just opening the door, stepping out and continuing to walk until my surroundings were no longer familiar.

I had toyed with the idea many times before. Wondered how many people would come looking for me. Wondered how long I could disappear without anyone noticing. Wondered how long it would take to feel like a different person. Or at least a different version of me.

But the time was never right to slip away: There was never a place to go, anyone to go with and most of all I always lacked the courage. And without those three things it seemed entirely pointless.

"You never cause any trouble, Jieun. Aren't you a good girl?.''

I grew up with a single mum. That's not something you tell people in Korea. Actually I spent a lot of my youth making up excuses as to why my father wasn't home. When I had classmates over I told them my father worked in Canada - which was technically true. He and my mum just weren't together any longer. And my father hadn't visited since I was 3.

Because of my hard-working, distant, yet quietly loving mum, I could not make a run for it. We never had a lot of money, so to no one's surprise I was never one of the cool kids. I threw myself into school instead:

"Perfect performance in class this year, Lee Jieun. Responsible hard-working people is what the world needs."

I was bullied on and off through middle school. In high school I kept to myself so much that people left me alone. I would be the kid, whose absence wouldn't even be noticed by the teacher. I would quietly dream of becoming a celebrity one day and have people ask with surprise, if it was really Lee Jieun they saw on the posters. But growing up with ever-present financial problems kept me realistic and I did what I could to qualify for a good university instead.

And my hard-work paid off: I managed to place second amongst my grade and graduate with honors from my small town high school. My mum was proud and I was just relieved that my miserable school years were over.

I left the school building, the students and the teachers behind and expected to meet freedom and happiness head-on. I imagined a great number of doors in the world would open to me and I would finally feel some satisfaction, some sense of belonging and no longer any desire to slip away from the world.

But I still did.

Momentarily stripped of my academic duties I felt like I was drifting in limbo. Without a purpose. Without a goal.

Nothing is scarier than time moving forward when you yourself are stuck and unable to move.

I still wanted to run away. In fact I wanted to run away more than ever.

Featuring

(in order of apperance)

Lee Jieun

Bored 19-year-old high school graduate with little ambition in life, but lots of curiosity.

Rong Chu Hua

Lady of the court of Cathay, resident of a parallel world and doppelgänger of Lee Jieun. Knows how to travel between worlds.

Park Chanyeol

Peculiar, yet kind step-brother of Lee Jieun.

Oh Sehun

Barista at a local coffee shop. Has a crush on Chu Hua. Knows both her and Lee Jieun. Assumes they're twins.

Jin Zhong Da (Chen)

Servant at the court of Cathay in the area of Chu Hua's quarters.

Rong Min Shuo (Xiumin)

Brother of Chu Hua. Has a close relationship with his sister.

Lu Han

Crown prince of Cathay.

Wu Yifan (Kris)

This character has neither been mentioned yet, nor  made an appreance.

Byun Baekhyun

This character has neither been mentioned yet, nor made an appearance.

Do Kyungsoo (D.O)

This character has neither been mentioned yet, nor have they made an appearance.

Zhang Yixing (Lay)

This character has neither been mentioned yet, nor made an appearance.

Author's Note

Hi there,

I'm not a native speaker, so please forgive the occasional error or odd formulation. Feel free to correct me should I use a word incorrectly :o

Disclaimer: The characters in my story are in no way an attempt to represent any of the real people, whose names they bear. Neither do the descriptions of the places strongly correspond with reality.

Let me know if you enjoy my story :)

〜Hyucham〜