CHAPTER 3 It appeared to be around midnight when we arrived in Seoul. The sky was dark, illuminated only by the moon and stars above us. I'd woken up about an hour or two before we landed, and spent the majority of that spare time watching movies on the small television screen in front of me, most of which were in Korean due to the location we were travelling to. In the end, I still managed to find a -rather dodgy- English subtitled version of The Hunger Games, which I re-watched for the fiftieth time, finding amusement only at the poorly worded subtitles.
I actually hadn't even noticed that the plane was landing; so engrossed in the movie and the atrocious English. They'd even managed to mess up one of the most iconic lines of the movie; 'May the odds be ever in your favor' became 'Perhaps the fate may be prosperous for it', and I let out a laugh so loud; the flight attendant passing by our aisle gave me a weird look. Namjoon had to inform me yet again that we'd arrived, and then my homesickness had hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in another continent now; I was so far away from my mom, my family living in America, my friends and I was even starting to miss my school. I had only just arrived, and to distract myself, I quickly averted my gaze to the small oval-shaped window where the city of Seoul slowly came into view. And it was beautiful; almost like a spectacular light show - every building, every skyscraper twinkling with red, green, blue, yellow and pink - colors that shone so bright I could clearly see them even from this far up in the sky. Every structure was tall, amazingly so - I doubted I'd seen anything like it in Pennsylvania, and as we approached the city centre, where the airport was located, the buildings seemed to grow higher still. I had to quickly remind myself that this was the reason Seoul was nicknamed the capital of Asia by many foreigners - the abundance of technology and modernization that Seoul presented was astonishing. Namjoon didn't appear to be all too impressed - or at least, he didn't have his face pressed to the window in amazement like I did. He rather seemed to watch me with very obvious amusement, muttering something with a grin on his face that I didn't quite catch. Eventually, the plane's wheels touched ground, and it was official - I was now a Korean living in Seoul. I was no longer in America, but in Asia - the option of running back to my mom and refusing to leave was now nonexistent, unless I fancied swimming a few thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean - which I did not. My name was no longer Alex Kang - my English name that I'd grown up with whilst living in America - but Kang Youngmi, the Korean name I didn't even let my mom call me at home because it was 'too embarrassing'. Now I had no choice. As we went through security and border control, my heart thudded in my chest in both anticipation and dread. After the magnificent sights I'd seen of the city from above, I couldn't wait to explore and do some shopping, had I the money to do so - but there was so much I wasn't looking forward to that seemed to crush my happiness. I wasn't looking forward to being completely unfamiliar with my surroundings - being a tiny little girl in a huge, huge city. I wasn't looking forward to living with someone who I'd never even spoken to. I wasn't looking forward to having to make new friends - something I wasn't good at doing. I wasn't looking forward to school - I most definitely was not looking forward to that. But most importantly, I was absolutely terrified in regards to the language and culture barrier that separated me from the natives of Seoul. Perhaps, in retrospect, it would have been a good idea for me to study up and learn the basics in the week I had before moving here - but in all honesty, I'd not truly been expecting my mom to be serious about the move and I'd been far too distraught when I found out how dead serious she was to even consider starting to learn a new language. I looked up at Namjoon, who continued to have the blank, professional, completely unbothered look on his face. I admittedly was completely jealous of it. My body was shaking, eyes darted from left to right at every sudden movement, and my palms were clammy. Yet I pressed on and we navigated the airport until we finally reached the designated meeting point - the area I was supposed to be meeting my aunt at. It was then, and only then, that I realized two things which were very crucial - one, Namjoon and I were going to be parting ways, and two... I had absolutely no idea what my aunt looked like. Yooa was the only name I'd been given by my mom, but I hadn’t even been given a photograph of her to compare the hundreds of women in the crowded lobby to. I stalled at the entrance as Namjoon seemed to press on ahead, only stopping once he noticed I hadn't budged an inch. "Ah, someone's waiting on you?" He asked, then seemed to mentally slap himself shortly afterward as he quickly continued. "Oh, crap, that's right - you're underage - you said you were seventeen, right?" I nodded, and Namjoon took a brief glance around the packed room before flashing me an amused grin. "Well, I wish you good luck in finding who you're meant to be finding. It was nice meeting you, but I really have to get going," He turned his back then -I assumed preparing to walk away . He hadn't even thought to give me a simple 'goodbye,' I noted. Just as I'd turned away, I heard him say something else - something under his breath, something he obviously hadn't intended for me to hear - but I had. It sent icy shivers down my back faster than anything before. "I'll see you again, Youngmi." Now, the thing is - I wouldn't have been that scared of the statement under normal circumstances. I'd have just shaken it off, presuming he was only joking in an attempt to scare me or had meant he hoped to see me again and I'd just misunderstood. Yet what had terrified me to the core was what he'd said last: Youngmi. I hadn't told him my name was Youngmi, as I'd been so accustomed to my English name - Alex - that I wouldn't have thought to introduce myself going by my Korean name. It wouldn't have occurred to me, so it wasn't as if I'd maybe have done it by accident. I definitely recalled introducing myself as Alex. So, how did he know my name was Youngmi? Had he looked at my passport? Was he some kind of stalker who I'd mistaken for a kind stranger? Why was he telling me he'd see me again? I hadn't realized it, but I'd completely froze at Namjoon's words - holding up the narrow line of busy, exhausted people who had just gotten off of a twelve-hour flight. I could hear angry tuts and mutters start, so I quickly forced myself back into gear and began walking as quickly as possible to get through the queue and out. All the while, I was looking out for a certain tall, dark and handsome man wearing a suit to make sure I wasn't anywhere near him. He was long gone, though - he'd vanished, like a ghost - something which didn't help my already jittery state. I could only wonder how he'd managed to completely disappear from my sight, but I put it down to his long legs and fast strides. Eventually, though, I'd made it into the waiting area - and had barely even taken a single step into the main area before I heard it. Before I heard her. "Youngmi, my dear!" Called a woman from behind me in heavily accented English, and with all the thoughts of Namjoon being a psychopath out to kill me in my head, I swear I jumped about a