Bianca

Before COVID-19 hit, I was filled with sad emotion. I wanted to go home back to Cambridge, England. But I could not. Korea had an uptight culture and none of us could even get away with it.

When the CEO brutally fired my mother, I was raging with anger and once kicked him on the shin, leaving him to threaten to call the police. But my mummy shouted that she didn’t care anyway, and that we were alright being put to death in jail. And then, we left without looking back.

Before I went to Independence Academy, she found more of a community job and that appreciated everyone. And it was true. And since then, my mum and I have been living a much better lifestyle than before.

But when the love story between me and Jake occurred, I didn’t want anything else to happen. I didn’t want to leave the country and my crush behind. When we eventually got together, he didn’t want me to leave and I didn’t know that he actually liked me in return, even though I actually began to move on from him.

But after he kissed me for the first time, I knew it wasn’t over yet. I knew I couldn’t let go of him that quickly.

Soon enough we were together like magnets, and unable to separate.

 

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Jake

When I first met Bianca, I was already fourteen and about ready to start high school. But little did I know that she was actually struggling.

We used to get together at school, even though the school we went to didn’t allow dating.

I didn’t care about anyone’s opinion. Neither did Bianca. Bullying used to happen too. They boys would make fun of me for being friends with a girl, and they would make fun of Bianca for being British and unable to speak in Korean. She didn’t want to, and that was her choice.

When the school principal told me to look out for any student that broke the rules, I felt bad, because I felt like I was ratting out everyone of my classmates. I only did it on Bianca, since she was a foreigner.

What I didn’t know was that it caused her so much trauma. I was the reason she had so much trust issues with adults and that she didn’t want to have another crush again with anyone else. It was all my fault.

I prayed every night that she would find it in her heart to forgive me. I thought it didn’t work, until after three months of ignoring me…she finally gave me a chance.

 

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Now it's September, 2023.

Bianca was in her junior year when she had suddenly remembered that Jake was in college already. She felt blue and grey (a BTS term for 'sadness').

She was already sixteen. And saying goodbye to Jake as he went away to college straight after did not feel the same as saying hello to him for the second time in her life. She then frowned and sat alone on the bench outside the patio of the school as the day ended.

A young man, tall, pale, and very handsome, stepped forward and sat right next to her.

“Usually you are not alone.” he said cheerfully.

Bianca shot her head up. She had recognized the white puppy face and the eyes. And even his bright curvy smile. Jake had returned home in time to start college.

“Jake!” Bianca said, “You’re home. But you’re in college already. What are you doing here?”

“I missed you. And, also, the University of Los Angeles didn’t accept me, so I am going to begin in the ISU, or the International Seoul University. It’s the sister college of our high school Independence Academy.”

“I can’t believe that you are here,” said Bianca, “For once. I thought you had gone away.”

 

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In the afternoon, Jake and Bianca went on a date for a common treat. Milkshakes. As they were rapt in conversation and lost in their phrases, Bianca felt as if she had known Jake all of her life. But really, she only met him in middle school.

“I wanted so much to get rid of this cliché that I was stuck in,” said Bianca, “I thought that having a crush was just a feeling…and not something to treasure.”

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