Eleanor Rose

2013.

The population of Asian people in this small town I lived in was not so big. You would rarely see a very Asian looking people wandered around the town. In my high school, I was the only Korean. Asian students in this school were only about 20 students, including me.

Today, I’m one of the mentors for our school event. We’re welcoming students from Asia. It was a special occasion for Asian students to gather, and exchange ideas about our roots, cultural and experienced. Sarah, a half Irish and half Vietnamese was holding a banner, so excited for waiting for the students. Sarah wasn’t an adoptive like me. Her mother got married with an Irish soldier.

 “I bet they’re all handsome,” Sarah said, waving the banner harder and higher on her head.

“Well, I know you’re very overwhelming when it comes to Korean people.” I said, leaning on the wall to rest for a bit.

“It’s Kpop, Eleanor.” I saw her eyebrows met when she mentioned that. Maybe getting annoyed with my words.

I shrugged, as a respond.

“Ah! You’re Korean right? You should have a Korean name?”

I smiled, “Gong Su Jin.”

“What a pretty name you have there,” she juiced up and started tapping on her Iphone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m searching for your name, the meaning behind.” I frowned while just looking at her very happy on her phone. I saw Miss Lee was walking towards us and hand us two bottles of vitamin water.

“We are going to work very hard today. Brace yourself.” A smile was drawn on her milky rounded face when she handed the bottles to us.

“Alright Miss!” we both replied in union.

“Eleanor! I’ve found it!”

“What?”

“Your name! The meaning of Su Jin is precious. Su means ‘long life’ and Jin means ‘real, genuine’. I bet your mother treasures you very much!”

Su Jin, ‘precious’.

I never thought, till today when I’m 17, I would search the meaning behind of my name. Mummy never said anything about the meaning behind my name. They told me everything about myself, from the day they saw me in my grandmother’s arm till the day I was brought to live here in Bristol.

“THEY’RE HERE! THEY’RE HERE!” I’m seriously gonna be mad at her when she shout out like that again. I just let her ran forward when a very likely tour bus stopped in front of the lobby. I stood next to her, in a long line forming a way for the students from the bus straight to the school hall.

Madam Ellie, the headmistress walked out from the hall and went to the bus to greet them. I looked at them, observing them to be exact when they jumped out from the bus with very happy and excited face. There are 10 female students and 10 male students across Asia including Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, China and India. I shook hand with everyone when we met facing each other for the first time.

Then a boy caught my attention. His face, the lines, the eyebrows, the eyes and the nose really look like mine. I bet he’s a Korean, out of the people that visited. His body was wrapped with a plain white shirt underneath, with a blue black trench coat on the outer. I bet he’s a very rich kid.

After the last person from the delegation gets into the hall, we moved inside and took the very back row. Madam Ellie was walking with the guest teachers to the main stages. Miss Lee gave out each of us a brown paper file.

“Alright, everyone.” She said, cough a bit. “Inside this file are your mentee’s profiles. I want you guys get to know them well, be friends with them and make this program run smoothly for the rest of three days.”

I peek on my file and I saw a boy’s photo inside. I bet who he is.

“I choose the mentee randomly. So everyone, if you have any inquiries or problems please let me and Mr. Clark know as soon as possible.” Miss Lee later on walked to the front row, joined the rest of the teachers when Madam Ellie was about to start her speech.

“Who do you get?” Sarah whispered and I shrugged. “Then you better see it now!” she continued.

I did exactly what she had said. I opened the file and I saw that boy’s photo inside it. I scanned through the whole two piece of paper inside the file and I looked at Sarah.

“A Korean,” I said in awed. Sarah magnified her sharp eyes into a very round shaped. I was about to laugh at her before my eyes caught Mrs. Daisy was staring in a very ogle way at us. I gave a sign to Sarah and both of us started to face forward.

//

Its ice-breaking sessions after lunch time. We had brought them to the entire school and now we’re going to face our mentees and break the ice between us.

Everyone gathered at the gym. 40 of us were sitting on the floor waiting for the next game. Mr. Clark had already explained to them, and to us. We, the mentors had to go and greet the mentees as they would not have any ideas who their mentor might be. I starred at my mentee. That boy was sitting at the very far from his friends, making me doubted what’s his personality.

“Alright mentors, please make your moves!” Miss Lee shouted and rings the blue hand bell on her hand. I walked slowly to my mentee and stood in front of them for a couple of seconds before he greet me with a smile. My legs started to wobble like a uncooked green beans vermicelli when I saw his dimples. He reached out his hand and I nervously shook his hand.

“Korean?” he asked. His pronunciation is quiet pleasing to hear.

 I nodded and I started to sit in front of him.

“You can speak well?” I asked, offering the extra bottle of pomegranate juice I got from the canteen. “It’s the best drink in Bristol High, you know.” I said and he took it with a nod, a typical Asian’s nod when they greet and thank someone.

“Well, not as fluent as you.” He said while opening the bottle’s lid and up the juice till it’s half.

I smiled when he looked like he was satisfied with the drinks. “Well, I’m Eleanor Rose Benetton, your mentor for these three days.” I bowed in a very 45 degree way and he does the same as a respond.

“You don’t have a Korean name?” he asked. Just then his attention was totally over the drink and right now it’s all over me.

I paused while my eyes wildered looking for everyone started to talk comfortably with their mentees. “Su Jin Gong.” I said in one breath.

 “Ah, Gong Su Jin. What a pretty name you had!” He started to speak Korean and I started to bewildered.

“Why? You don’t understand me?” Even his Korean pronunciation is very easy for me to listen to it.

“Yes, I’m very understand what you said, Park Yoon-shi.” I said, crossing both of my hands and looked at him.

“I bet you know everything about me inside that file.” The pointed out to the brown file I was holding all the time. I looked down and brought it forward and place it in between us.

“I don’t trust this file. I think we should get started.” I said in Korean, with a smirked on my face.

“Your Korean is very good,”

“Because I’m a Korean, forever and always.”

He then laughed in a very penetrating voice. I quickly looked around and ‘shoos’ him before he tried to make a scene.

“I took Korean as my third language.” I said.

“What’s the first one?”

“Spanish. I don’t really know why I choose it as second language.”

We paused for a moment. I was very afraid that I might make the situation awkward and I started to open up my mouth again.

“And you? Do you learn any other language?”

He rose up his head and looked at me. “Well, I don’t score much in Mandarin. I screw up a lot in exams.”

I chuckled as I see his pure expressions when he explained about that. He giggled later on with ease. I think he is funny. I think he can be a good friend to me.

“Now tell me about you,” I said, leaning my back to the wall to rest a bit. The ice breaking session is going to be longer, so I should kill some time with him at least.

“Well,” He loosens up his coat, getting into a very comfortable position before started the real conversation.

“My name is Park Yoon, as written inside the file over there,” he pointed out to the brown file that I’ve put on the floor, besides me. I nodded, waited for the next line.

“And I’m 19 years old. In Korea I am already 20.” He said then pauses for a moment.

“That’s it?” I frowned, after waiting for a couple of minutes.

He held his head and our eyes met, “Then you should ask,” he said.

“Okay,” I said, getting closer to him. “I don’t really know what to ask you.”

I saw very deep, silky and shiny brown eyes inside this boy. I was totally into his pair of eyes, without realizing that both of us were in a very awkward position.

“Wow, you’re going far too deep, Missy.” He said in a very slyly way. I felt my cheeks heated up and I quickly went back to the floor. He was starring and smiling. He seems kind of ert, but I felt oddly satisfying when I looked at his smiles.

“Okay. Let me ask you one question. Are you happy being here?”

“Well, not really before I met you.” He smirked.

“Then, you should return me a question at least.” I said, crossing my hands and leaning on the wall.

“Do you want to come to Korea one day?” he asked.

I nodded in advanced, “Well, why not. I haven’t been there since I lived here.”

“That’s mean you’re not went there anymore for 18 years?”

“It’s not exactly 18 years. I was brought here when I was 1 year old.”

He then nodded and widen out his mouth in awed. “I was thinking that your Korean is so damn good. The accents are real.”

“My mum can speak Korean fluently even though she is a British. I took classes and I learned from her.”

He then paused, looked straight through me. “Your mum is a British? Why you don’t resemble any British?”

“Because I’m not a British.”  I said. “I’m adoptive. I was adopted by my parents when I was 1 year old in Korean age.”

“No wonder.”

“Well Park Yoon-shi, I hope we can be friends, not only for this three-day programmed. Okay?” I reached out my hand, hoping he will take it with a very happy smile he has.

“Okay. I think I like you.” He said and we shook hands in union.

That’s the day I met Yoon, and he has been one of important person in my life.