THE INCIDENT

Jieun watched as the large glowing sphere rose slowly into the dull morning sky, casting sunbeams in every direction while it illuminated the walls of the airport terminal. The glass panes reflected the light as the sun's position changed and became more radiant as it climbed higher and higher into the sky. But as beautiful as the morning was, it would be the last one Jieun spent in Japan—at least for a while. 

Growing tired of watching the air traffic, Jieun sighed before putting her headphones in. She closed her eyes and found herself suddenly drowning in the familiar melody of Clair de lune. A classic.

As she tapped her fingers on her hard-shelled suitcase, the unpleasant memories of the past couple of months started to swell in her mind.

 

Once upon a time, there was a perfect family of three.

Both native Koreans, the father and heavily pregnant mother were trying their best to make an earnest living in the hustling capital of Japan. After migrating to the city, the family had successfully opened up a small, hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurant with the support of their Korean-Japanese community. The humble couple were praised upon by all who were fortunate enough to meet them—they would never miss church and would give back to their community whenever they could. So when the time came for the mother to give birth, the two hoped that their daughter would grow up to do the same. Thus, when she was born, they chose to name her...

 

"JIEUN!" 

"JIEUN!"

"LEE JIEUN CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Sixteen year old Jieun shot her eyes open and gasped for air. She was still seated in the car, her head throbbing uncontrollably. She quickly recognized the panicked voice that had called for her. It was her best friend, fourteen year old Lee Dohyun. Her family's car started to smoke, a collision had just taken place. 

Shattered glass from the windows pierced her skin and she could taste the blood on her lips. Jieun's vision was blurry, suddenly dry. As she looked down at her crimson-stained hands, they started to multiply. A heavy ringing occupied her head—she felt so dizzy. As smoke engulfed her lungs, she choked on the dirty air. 

The distant wail of sirens suddenly awoke her sense of urgency and she realized she needed to get out of the car.

The seatbelt.

Her shaking hands slowly moved to unbuckle the harness before Dohyun caught her attention. He was besides her, looking ahead, blood running from the top of his head down to his chin. The approaching red and blue police lights illuminated his blanched expression. His attention was locked toward the front seats. When she started to follow his line of sight, he noticed and quickly raised his shaking hand to cover her eyes.

"No, don't look Jieun." He managed to whisper.

At that moment, Dohyun had looked upon Jieun's dead father, slumped over the drivers wheel, and her unconscious mother. The airbags had not gone off.

The time was 11:48 pm.

Everything that happened after the accident was a blur in Jieun's mind. The nightmare replayed in her mind like a broken record. She wanted to cry so badly, but no matter how hard she wanted to, no tears came out. 

Perhaps she was just in shock. One second she was sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, watching as medics rushed a bloodied man into an ambulance from the scene of the accident. The next, she was on her knees in front of her father's memorial picture; the sounds of people sobbing and blowing their noses echoing in her empty head. It was as if time was running along, leaving Jieun behind to play catch up. 

For the following weeks, Jieun was temporarily placed in a foster care home while her mother was closely monitored in the hospital. 

Jieun's mother had survived the crash, but her body had been severely injured and she was in a comatose state. As the situation looked more and more dire, legal services in Japan desperately tried to get into contact with her remaining family members in Korea—mainly speaking, her grandfather.

Ah, her grandfather. 

Jieun had heard rumors about him from snooping around the house. Apparently, he was a notorious business mogul, building the foundation of a successful corporation with his own blood, sweat and tears located in the heart of Korea. He and his wife had two daughters, the older was Jieun's mother. In an attempt to gain more power and solidify his position in the company, Jieun's grandfather had arranged for his first daughter to be married off to the son of a big time investor. 

However, fate had different plans. His precious daughter had fallen helplessly in love with the owner of a small tteokbokki shop—a place that she would find comfort in when she was in a bad mood. Enraged at his daughter's defiance, he did everything in his power to shut down the man's business. When his daughter found out what he had done, she ran away with her lover to start a new life in Japan. Thus, Jieun was born into the world. It was quite a bittersweet love story.

It was on an early Wednesday morning that the man responsible for the incident was fined and sentenced to a mere 12 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

It was also the same day that Jieun's mother took her last breath. She looked so peaceful as she went, surrounded by an array of colorful flowers as rays of sunlight bounced off the walls from the admission of the tall windows. 

Needless to say, Jieun's hope for her mother's awakening had not come true, and the brutal reality was that she was now alone. As she came to this understanding, Jieun grasped onto her mother's hands and started to cry. It was as if the tidal wave of grief finally washed over her. As the fragile girl erupted with sobs that were long overdue, Dohyun was there next to her, supporting her frame. Eventually, Jieun took a hold of Dohyun's shirt, gripping it while the never ending tears flowed from her swollen eyes.

"It's... it's not... fair." She choked.

He held her in his embrace and let her use his shirt as a sponge until finally Jieun grew tired and fell asleep.

Dohyun looked over at Jieun sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. Silently, he swore to himself that one day, he would get strong enough to protect her so that she would never need to feel so much pain ever again.

For a long time, the court wasn't able to make a decision on who to grant custody of Jieun. She was still young, so she didn't fully understand much of what was going on. But to her understanding, there were some conflicts about her parent's will, which involved her maternal grandfather. Not once did her grandfather make a physical appearance throughout the duration of the matter, yet after the final proceedings, the judge ruled that since her grandfather was the one that was most closely related to her, that he would be the right one to take care of Jieun. 

 

Once upon a time, there was a family of three. A father, mother, and their precious daughter: Jieun. 

But now, it was a family of one. And Jieun wasn't sure if that could even be considered a family. 

 

So there she was, basking in the light of the spring sunshine in Japan's Narita international airport, waiting for a flight to ship her to her grandfather in Korea. 

"Attention passengers on flight 352 to Seoul, South Korea. We will begin boarding in a couple of minutes."

The sudden announcement brought Jieun back to earth, and her eyes fluttered open.

As if on cue, she watched as an out-of-breath Dohyun make his way to the seating area with a large paper cup and a bag filled to the brim with a variety of snacks in hand. With a sloppy grin slapped on his face, he sat down next to her. A confused Jieun took off her headphones as he handed her the mystery drink.

"Here, it's definitely not even close to the supremacy of my tea... but I guess it'll do for now since it was the only tea they offered." Dohyun joked. Jieun to stifled a giggle as she took the cup and thanked him. 

"It's to help calm your nerves and to help you stay awake for your first flight... I actually made your favorite at home, but I kinda forgot that you can't bring liquids through TSA." Dohyun rubbed the back of his nape in embarrassment before continuing. "Oh! I also bought all your favorite snacks, just in case Korea doesn't have any. I just heard the announcement... you have all your things right?" Dohyun said as he scanned her surroundings nervously. 

"You might need this tea more than me! It's not like im flying across the world or anything, Dohyun." Jieun responded. She breathed in the rich aromatics of the tea before taking a sip.

"You are to me..." Dohyun muttered under his breath. He pouted at her and folded his arms. "Are you even sad that you're leaving your best friend behind? Who's gonna tolerate you like I do? Why does it feel like im the only one that's sad over this?" 

Jieun rolled her eyes at Dohyun's rambling. She stared at the cup of tea resting between her intertwined fingers on her lap.

"Im just... accepting things for how they are. I mean, it's not like I can do anything at this point, so I might as well just live quietly with them until I can come back." She trailed off before forcing a smile. "Plus I already promised that id still contact you, so calm down!" Seeing as there was no response from Dohyun, Jieun put the tea on the table before she turned to him. She used both her hands to pinch his cheeks, finding amusement in pulling them apart and squishing them together. "I will miss you, my wonderful, amazing, spectacular, super, mega, ultra best friend! Don't you ever doubt that." 

Jieun smiled at Dohyun genuinely. He could feel the heat rise to his face as she stared at him.

"Attention passengers, we are now beginning the boarding process. Please line up and have your tickets ready to scan."

With the message relayed, Jieun let go of Dohyun and stood up from her seat to gather her things. Before she could reach for her suitcase, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and a gentle tug backwards. Not before long, she started to blush after realizing she was in Dohyun's warm embrace. 

"Promise me you'll come back, Jieun." Dohyun said with a muffled voice as he buried his face in her shoulder. After a long period of silence, Jieun finally replied.

"I promise."

...

 

Aboard the flight, the plane ride was smooth. The flight was supposed to be just under three hours long, but it was Jieun's first time ever flying. The tea Dohyun bought her surprisingly did sooth her nerves, but it was a double edged sword. About halfway into the ride, Jieun suddenly found herself needing to use the restroom. She quietly unbuckled her safety belt and got up.

As she made her journey to the end of the darkened plane, she tripped on a woman's bag and ended up waking a sleeping baby. Loud wails erupted from the situation and Jieun earned a few glares and groans. She smiled sheepishly as if they could see her in the dark and whispered repeated apologies. After a few antagonizing minutes, she reached the back. Unfortunately for her, there were lines as both of the restrooms were occupied. She waited for awhile before giving up. She cursed quietly under her breath. And so, because she was desperate, she decided to quickly use the restroom in the business class lounge. It wouldn't be that bad, the cabin lights were off, plus the walk would help her stretch. Jieun begun her accent back up the alleyway, careful to avoid the bag she tripped on earlier, and the pissed mother whose baby was still crying. 

As she made her way from economy to business class, no one had noticed as attention had been called to the crying baby. With her eye on the glowing restroom sign, Jieun sighed in relief and quickly scurried over. However, to her dismay, she was a second too late as a tall male figure blocked her view and took her rightful place in line. Jieun was taken back from his rather rude timing.

"Excuse me, I think I was in line first." Jieun politely tapped the figure on the shoulder. 

Even though the lighting was poor, as he turned around, she was struck by his good looks. For all she knew, he could be a model straight out of a magazine. He looked around her age. Maybe sixteen or seventeen? He smiled and his perfectly aligned teeth illuminated the plane even though it was dark. Then, he took in a deep breath.

"But I don't think so." And he turned around again to play on his phone. 

Needless to say, Jieun was pissed. How could such a pretty boy like him be so rude? It's a pity, really.

She tapped him on the shoulder again. This time, it's to set him straight. He turned around again, and just stared at her, eyebrows raised, this time with no smile.

"I- " Before she could utter out a flaming response, the seatbelt sign flipped on and the plane started to shake. A violent bump caused Jieun to lose her footing and she tumbled to the floor, somehow dragging the stranger with her. When she opened her eyes, they were immediately met with his. He had fallen on top of her. 

Their faces were only inches away as they stared at each other in shock. Jieun looked to the side to avoid eye contact and the boy did the same. In doing so, their noses briefly swiped past each other. The two unanimously turned a deep shade of red. Luckily, the plane cabin was still dark. 

It took just seconds, but the plane quickly became stable once more and eventually even the seatbelt light went off. 

The toilet flushed from inside the lavatory and an elderly woman came out. She let out a gasp when her foot skimmed the guy's leg. Jieun watched from the floor as the woman quickly walked back to her seat, making unsubtle glances back at them.

When she was gone from sight, Jieun cleared .

"Do you mind getting off me now?" Jieun said awkwardly, still avoiding eye contact. She could feel the stranger's eyes widening. 

Without a second thought, he pushed himself off of her and left her on the floor to take the restroom for himself. 

Unbelievable.

Not wanting to face him again in embarrassment, Jieun got up and trekked back to economy class to wait out the line.

When she got back to her seat, Jieun gave into her mind and body screaming at her to sleep. With her head leaned up against the cold frame of the plane, she dozed off into dreamland. 

 

...

 

Jieun felt a jolt in her seat, causing her to wake from her sleep. The plane had landed, and most of the passengers were already standing to wait for the plane doors to be opened. 

What a weird dream. Jieun thought, as she gathered her things.

As she walked through the airport and towards the terminal exit, she noticed a buff, gangster-looking older man on the other side of the railing waving at her. He was well dressed but his buff body made him appear rather odd in his suit. He looked much too young to be her grandfather. 

"Are you Jieun? Lee Jieun?" He asked cautiously. Jieun nodded in which the unfamiliar man gave her a warm smile. "Ok good, just checking. Wow, you're all grown up now huh? I'm surprised I could recognize you. The last time I saw a picture of you was from when you were entering primary school." He marveled at her until he noticed that her hands were quite full. "Ah, let me help you with that." He said, as he took her luggage.

The man gestured for Jieun to follow him and the two walked toward the main exit.

"Im Ma Dongseok. But you can call me Mr. Ma, uncle Ma, or whatever you'd like. I basically grew up with your mother," He paused and looked at her before clearing his throat. "I'm so sorry to hear about the accident." 

Jieun gave him a faint smile. She never knew what to say when people brought up her parents. 

The two eventually stopped in front of a black SUV and another couple of men. They opened the doors to the car and Jieun turned to look at Mr. Ma, who nodded and gestured her to get in. 

It took them a little bit of time to make it back to the house, but when they did, it had already been night time.

The property was on the edge of Seoul, but you wouldn't be able to tell that it was in a big city. After the gates opened, the car drove through the entrance to eventually reveal a beautiful modern residence lit up with lights. As the car rolled to a stop, Jieun noticed a middle aged woman emerge from the big double doors. As she hurried towards the car, Mr. Ma chuckled and opened the door for Jieun. 

“That’s Ms. Kim, her family has been working for the Lee family for a long time. She practically watched your mom grow up. That's why she’s been really excited to finally meet you.” He said as Jieun got out.

“Oh my goodness! Jieun, is that really you?” Mrs. Kim exclaimed. The woman pulled Jieun into a warm embrace before pulling back to marvel at her. She sighed as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “You look exactly like your mother when she was younger.” 

“...Mi Kyung.” Mr. Ma gently put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from Jieun. Ms. Kim sniffled.

"Oh dear, im sorry. That must have surprised you. I just can't believe you're finally here in front of me." Ms. Kim gave Jieun one more lasting look before a small smile appeared on her face. "Come, let's go inside. The chairman has been waiting."

As they walked through the front doors, Jieun couldn't help but marvel at the lavish interior. From a massive glass chandelier hanging from the high ceiling to the extensive wine cellar display peeking through a door under the staircase, she truly suffered a culture shock. Ms. Kim ushered Jieun to a big living room space where a man (which she could only assume was her grandfather) was reading a book and drinking tea on a leather armchair.

Lee Soonjae.

According to Jieun's internet search before boarding the plane to Korea, this man was the current chairman of Hanam group, a leading cooperation involved mainly with Korean pharmaceuticals. Hanam is the biggest producer and distributor of both over the counter and prescription drugs in the country. His medical empire was built with his own merit, as Soonjae himself was an astonishing doctor. 

To think someone that powerful is my grandpa. 

Jieun shuddered at the thought of him before, but now seeing him in person shot her anxiety levels through the roof. However, it wasn't like she could avoid seeing him forever. After all, they were going to be living under the same roof now.

She mustered up all the courage she could and walked in front of him, bowing to greet him when she got close enough.

"Hello grandfather." Jieun said, with the slightest hint of caution in her tone.

He sipped his tea before responding.

"You're here." He replied simply.

Jieun stood awkwardly in front of Soonjae as the old man seemed to find his book more interesting than her arrival. It wasn't as if she expected anything less, in fact, Jieun didn't really expect anything at all.

After all, during the sixteen years shes been alive, her grandfather, who looked like he had been living an awfully comfortable life, hadn't even tried to contact her... much less her mother. 

Jieun stared at him, analyzing his bushy eyebrows and the years of unhappiness etched into every wrinkle on his face.

Sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere, Ms. Kim intervened. 

"If you don't mind, I'll take her to the room we prepared now." She said.

Earning a nod from the head of the house, Ms. Kim quickly bowed and gestured for Jieun to follow suit. As they left, Soonjae looked up from his book and watched as his granddaughter walked out of sight. 

 

...

 

As they climbed up the stairs and rounded the corner of the wide hallway, Ms. Kim turned back to look at Jieun.

"Don't think too much of it. He's been cold like that to everyone ever since..." Ms. Kim stopped herself and trailed off, hoping Jieun wasn't paying any attention to her words. 

"Ever since wha-"

"Were here! This will be your room from now on!" Ms. Kim said, cutting Jieun off.

Before Jieun could retaliate, Ms. Kim opened up the door and revealed a room shocking enough to shut her up.

Decorated with neutral tones, the bedroom had a large bed topped with an obnoxious amount of fluffy pillows. Though it was dark, Jieun could make out a large balcony from the floor to ceiling windows. A small corridor led into a modern restroom and an empty walk-in closet where her suitcase was placed on an island table.

This whole room is probably the size of our whole apartment in Japan... maybe even bigger!

Jieun walked around the room before stopping in front of the mattress. Duplicates of a gray uniform in different sizes were laid out on the bed, which caught her eye. Jieun gave Ms. Kim a questioning look.

"Ah, actually, you came here during the end of spring break. School will start up again for students the day after tomorrow..." Ms. Kim gave Jieun an apologetic look. "We weren't able to get your measurements, so the chairman just told us to bring all of the standard sizes. We'll get it tailored for you tomorrow, so don't worry." 

Jieun was relieved that she got somewhat of a buffer before getting thrown into a new school. She watched as Ms. Kim gesture some attendants to gather up the uniforms from the bed.

"For now, you should wash up and try to get some rest. We have quite a bit of things to do tomorrow. If you need anything, just let us know." Ms. Kim smiled at Jieun as she grabbed the door handle. "Goodnight and sleep well!" 

Before Ms. Kim could go, Jieun quickly grabbed the door. A little shocked, Ms. Kim turned back to look at the young teen. Jieun smiled at her sheepishly.

"Thank you, Ms. Kim!" Jieun exclaimed.

The older woman chuckled at Jieun and nodded before disappearing behind a corner. 

Jieun shut the door to her new room. Honestly she felt oddly excited for what was to come. Even though her grandfather seemed like he could care less about her, Jieun was in high spirits. There was just something about starting anew that made her giddy. She couldn't hide her smile as she went to go unpack her luggage to get ready for bed. 

A little later, after a relaxing hot shower and taking a ridiculous amount of time figuring out how to turn the lights off, Jieun was finally in bed. It was a little past one in the morning, but she was happily messaging Dohyun under the covers.

 

doodoohyun💩: Are u alive??

fairyeun🧚🏻‍♀️: I sure hope so

doodoohyun💩: ... >_> 

doodoohyun💩: How was the flight?

doodoohyun💩: Did u get to ur gpa's house safely?

fairyeun🧚🏻‍♀️: The flight was ok. I was so tired that I fell asleep & dreamed about being in some kdrama🤣

doodoohyun💩: Oh god. Ur so weird. Sometimes I wonder why I became friends with you.

fairyeun🧚🏻‍♀️: Boohoo, cry me a river. Too bad you're stuck with me forever now💀💀💀

doodoohyun💩: is typing...

 

The petite girl stuck her head out from under the covers and took in a deep breath. The longer she stared at the ceiling in the dark, the harder it was to keep her eyes open. Eventually, she melted into the soft bed and succumbed to her body's pleads to get rest.

Jieun fell soundly asleep, unaware that this would be the start to an adventure of a lifetime.