Sana: 

 

“Can you at least show me that you’re happy for this change?”

“A soldier never shows a sign of weakness. It’s only for 7 months, we’ll be back before summer even starts.”

I turn my head back to the window of the plane as I roll my eyes as far as I could. This was the first time I’ve been out of the country, how am I not supposed to be excited?

I got the chance to start all over and escape the hell hole my life was back in Osaka. This time, I’ll have more freedom to do what I want because of it. The family my dad’s close with is going to raise me while he gets sent off to his new base. I barely knew them though. They supposedly visited us one summer when I was 6, but I don’t remember anything about it. I know there’s a mom, a dad and a daughter... and that’s it. They could be a total -show of a family, and I’d walk in empty-handed. I barely know enough Korean to even have a simple conversation, how am I going to survive living a bunch of em? I try to calm myself down and decide to listen to some music. I grab my phone from my bag and plug in my earbuds. Hopefully I make use of the time I spend here and eventually even make a few friends.

 

 

Dahyun:

 

“..ma’am?”

I startlingly look up and find one of the workers standing next to me. I sigh of relief that it wasn’t my dad or one of his disciples.

“I was just going to ask if you needed help looking for something.”

The man stared at me as I stared back.

“N-no, I’m fine. Thank you.”

He eventually he walked away and left me alone. School just ended and I decided today was the day I’d head on down to the film store. I’ve been saving up money for a camera for a while now, and my parents weren’t going to be home for a while because they were picking up our new house guests. 

This was the only chance I got to get the damn thing, and I had to act fast. You could say I’ve always had a fascination for photography. Ever since I was little, I’d walk past this store and fawn over the variety of cameras they had there. Of course, my father would never let me buy one. 

As I walked around, my eyes landed on a Pentax 35mm camera. I’ve seen it before in magazines, but I’ve never witnessed one in person before. My jaw drops at the sight of it. I quickly reach for my wallet and count how much won I brought with me. I had 200000 saved up from babysitting at the church’s daycare. Luckily it was the exact amount that I needed. I grab the camera and skip on down to the cash register.

“Find everything you need?”

The man asks with sarcasm tied into his words. I nod repeatedly with a wide grin.

“That’ll be 200000 won, please.”

I quickly hand him the money as he stashes it into the register. He then puts the camera into a box and ties it shut with a red silk ribbon.

“Thank you so much, sir.”

I take the box and quickly hide it in my school bag. I’ve never pulled a stunt like this before, it felt great. The adrenaline was throbbing inside me. 

“What a day,”

I say to myself as I make my way on home. 

 

Sana:

 

After an hour of contemplating thoughts inside my head, we land in Seoul. We got our luggage safe and sound, now we were waiting for the man and woman to get her and pick us up. Dad and I make our way outside the airport and sit ourselves down on a bench. 

“Say dad, do you know what school I’ll be attending?”

He turns his head and pulls out his box of cigarettes. Pulling one out, he then lights it with a lighter he smuggled along with the cigs. After a puff, he responds back with,

“You’ll be going to the same school as their daughter. She’s your age so you’ll be in the same class I assume. How come?”

Oh great... not only am I going to share a room with her, but I’m going to be with her almost every second of the day. Fantastic.

“Just wondering, I guess.”

I blow the smoke away from my face as we watch a black car pull up.

He quickly stomps his foot on the cig and pops a mint into his mouth. The car door opens and my dad immediately stands up.

“Mr. Kim! Long time, no see!”

The man was wearing what it looked like what a nun would wear. I try to hold in my laughter as he walked out of the car and gave my dad a hug. A woman joins them wearing layers upon layers of clothing. Yeesh, talk about conservativeness...

“This is my daughter, Sana.”

He gestured me with his head to stand up and greet them. I then get up and bow to them. 

“Oh look at her, she looks just like her mother!”

I awkwardly smile at them complimenting me. My mother died around a few months after giving birth to me in a car crash. Ever since then, it’s just been me and my dad. 

“These are the people you’ll be living with while I’m gone, pumpkin.”

Now that I got a good look, they weren’t that unappealing to the eye. They looked like happy people, and I’d prefer that over anything else.

“That’s Mr. Kim, he’s a priest at the church I took you when you were little to get baptized at.”

I was baptized here?? What the hell. I don’t even remember being baptized.. let alone religious. My dad was a man of realism and how “things happen for a reason”.

“It’s so nice to see you, Sana. Look how much you’ve grown! I bet all the boys run after her,”

He lets out as they all start laughing. After all the chitchat dies down, we put our luggage in the trunk and make our way into the city. 

It was different from Osaka, that’s for sure. The city’s skyline was gorgeous, the sky was an orange ombré due to the sun setting in the distance. I couldn’t help but smile from how taken back I was.

The drive from the airport to the house took the same amount of time as the flight over here. It was around 6 pm when we arrived. 

“Well,”

I take out one of my earbuds and look up at the man.

“Welcome to our humble abode.”

I give him a half-grin as I hop out of the car. I meet my dad in front of the trunk as he grabs all my luggage. 

“What’s with the face, you know I’ll come back every once in a while to check in. You have my number Sana... if you need to call me you know I’ll always pick up.”

He raises my chin up and clicks his tongue at me. 

My father and I have always had a rocky relationship, but it was nice hearing that from him. 

The house was surprisingly large. From the outside, it seemed like a two story home. Mr. and Mrs. Kim meet with us and guide us up the walkway to the place. I swallow a lump that formed in my throat due to the anxiety I built inside just now. 

“This is it,”

I whisper to myself as we make our way to the door.

 

Dahyun:

 

I run all over my room, trying to find a place to hide the camera.

“You’ve got to be ing kidding me right now,”

I mumble under my breath. I’ve gotten myself changed into some shorts and an oversized t-shirt in the amount of time I had left, I think I could find a place to hide a camera the size of a hamster. My room was pretty big, yet very minimalistic. There were 2 beds in opposite sides of the room, a desk, a walk-in closet, a tv mounted on the wall and keyboard. There there wasn’t anything hung on my walls, no decoration, nothing. All of a sudden, the sound of muffled voices filled the house. I couldn’t help but panic, I started hear footsteps come up the stairs to my room. 

I untie the ribbon off of the box and throw it onto the desk, running towards my bed.

My door clicks open and I shove the box behind my back as I sit on the edge of my bed. When my eyes meet who was at the door, I froze.

 

Sana:

 

I was in shock. The house was even better from the inside. The interior was beyond more advance than in our house back home. I turn to the couple and inform them that.

“You’re home is lovely, Mr. and Mrs. Kim.”

They both smile like they just heard the first compliment in their life.

“Thank you so much, we try to keep it similar to the churches design to remind us that he’s always in our hearts.”

I awkwardly laugh again and turn to my dad for help. He looks over and sarcastically rolls his eyes. He then mouths to me in Japanese,

“Get used to it, pumpkin.”

I give him a slight shove as he hands me my luggage.

“Why don’t you get yourself situated upstairs? I bet you’re bored, hearing the old folks talk so much. Our daughter should be in your guys’ room. Make yourself comfortable.”

Mr. Kim was pointing up the stairs with the most welcoming smile. Hesitantly, I turn to my dad once more. He then gives me a hug and kisses the top of my head.

“I’ll see you soon.”

I grip onto him after hearing him say that. It’s gonna be the first time being without him, so it’s gonna take a lot of adjusting. I finally let go of him and make my way up the stairs. I hope the room is just as pretty as the rest of the house.

I rest on of the bags in front of the door to all this ruckus going on inside. I slowly open the door and find the first half of the room empty. Once I turn my head to the other side of the room, I freeze.

 

Dahyun:

 

A tall, slender girl with a a baggy hoodie and shorts stands at the door. Her hair fell in front of her glasses and stared back at me slightly opened. She was gorgeous.

 

Sana:

She was sitting on her bed with innocence in her eyes. She had her hair in a messy bun as she was dressed ever so casually. She was definitely smaller than imagined, but in a cute way.

I then snap out of it and pick up the other bag that was resting next to my legs.

 

Dahyun:

 

She reaches down for her bags and I immediately get up from off my bed to help her.

“I- I got it.”

I grab the bags from her hands and set it on her bed. 

“Oh, thank you.”

She makes her way over to her bed as I close the door behind her.

 

Sana:

 

There we were; facing each other as we sat on the edges our our beds. She looked so familiar... I don’t even remember how or where I’ve seen her in my life, but I had a feeling like she’s always been apart of my life.

 

Dahyun:

 

“Sana..”

I let out after an awkward silence filled the space between us. I remembered her name, I just didn’t know how my memory correlated that to her face.

Her eyes grow wide.

“... Dahyun?”

I then nod my head with confusion. It’s like we didn’t know each other, but it felt like we’ve known each other all this time.. if that makes any sense. I felt comfortable with her here and she’s only been in the room for 2 minutes.

“You’re room..”

She says as her eyes wander around. 

“I keep it plain, if you don’t mind.”

She looks back to me with a smile on her face.

“I love it.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“I feel like we’re going to get along just fine.”

I let out to her. There was an awkward silence for a moment, then the two of us burst into laughter.

 

(The rest of the story is going to be taken place in Sana’s perspective)

 

Dahyun and I spent all night talking about our lives before this all happened. We were already in our pajamas, considering the sun fully set and the sky was lit with the stars.

“So, you’re dad’s actually a priest?”

I ask her. Dahyun rolls her eyes and brings her knee to her chest.

“I mean, it’s not like I hate that about him, I just hate how I have no freedom to do what I want.”

We were both sitting in the middle of the room since it was hard to hear from opposite ends of the room.

“Can I ask you something?”

She perks her head up with curious eyes.

“Are you actually religious? Like, yourself?”

Dahyun ponders for a second, then let’s out a heavy sigh. 

“If I’m being honest, I’ve just been taught to follow ‘his ways and I’ll get into heaven’, but I’ve never felt like it was meant for me... you know. I still somewhat believe, but I might change my mind later on.”

She whispers to me. I totally understand where she’s coming from. It’s nice to have someone who understands something no one else really would have.

I crawl over to my bed and grab a pillow to cuddle with.

“So, you’re mom. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I usually hated talking about it, but I might as well answer since she answered my question.

“She was driving home from work in the rain, next thing you know she’s spinning off the highway and crashed.”

Dahyun smile turned into a frown.

“Oh... I’m so sorry-“

“Don’t be, I was only a baby when it happened, so it didn’t take that much of a toll on me.”

Her face still remained saddened, so I reached out my hand and rested it gently on her knee. A bit dumbfounded by that stunt, she looks up at me with widened eyes.

“You’re the only person I’ve really talked about it with, so that means you definitely hold something special to me. You don’t need to worry about it, I’m fine.”

She starts to curl the corner of her lips after the response. 

“It’s just funny,”

She giggles to herself. 

“I feel like I’ve known you all my life. I don’t even know how, since this is the first time we’re officially meeting.”

She was thinking the same thing as me... isn’t that at least a bit weird?? Or am I just over-exaggerating this all?

“I had the same feeling the moment I laid eyes on you. I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly made me think that, but I just did.”

We both break out into laughter at that. It definitely was a bit weird, but it was funnier knowing how invested we sounded talking about it.

As we talked some more, my eyes wandered around the room. After some time they land on a red ribbon on her desk. It gave me an idea to solve this mystery on why we feel this way about each other. I get up, walk over to the desk and grab the ribbon.

“What are you doing with that?”

she called out from the floor. I then walk back and crouch myself next to her. Gnawing on the ribbon, I then rip it in half.

“Do you know about the red string of fate?”

She shakes her head no. I grab her hand and tie the ribbon around her index finger.

“The legend says the string connects two people together. The string can stretch as far as it may go, but it will never tangle or rip.”

I then tie the ribbon onto my index finger and wave it at her.

“Maybe that’s why we feel like we’ve known each other for so long. It just so happened that there was a red ribbon next to us the entire time.”

She then grabs my pillow resting next to her and smacks me with it.

“Are you always this greasy??”

I laugh at her as she examines the bow I made on her finger. 

“Get used to it, Dahyun.”

She rolls her eyes and laughs to herself. The door then opens and both of us turn to see her dad standing at the door.

“Just reminding you girls to say your prayers downstairs before you go to sleep.”

“Of course father. We’ll be down right away,”

Dahyun adds. He closes the door and we both look at each other. I could tell she felt a little embarrassed about it all. She then leans in and whispers,

“You sure you’re comfortable with the way we run things here?”

I shrug my shoulders and sigh.

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go, might as well go along with it.”

she then stands up and reaches her hand out to me.

“We better go now, tomorrow’s your first day of school after all.”

Shes right, I completely forgot I start my first day tomorrow. I slam the palm of my hand to my forehead and groan.

“I totally forgot about that.”

I grab her hand as she pulls me up.

“Don’t worry about it, my dad contacted yours in advance. We already have your uniform and everything.”

She walks toward the closet and calls me over. I have no where else to go, so I follow. Her closet was huge.. it could be a bedroom if it weren’t already filled with clothes. She grabs the set off of the rack and faces it toward me.

“Its surprisingly cute, not gonna lie.”

I grab it from her and examine it. It was your typical uniform; skirt and a tie. I smile and hand it back to her.

“Do you think I’m going to be fine? You know.. with my Korean?”

I’ve only started practicing not too long ago.. that was the only thing I was nervous about.

“Pfft, considering you started learning the language 6 months ago, you talk like a native.”

I playfully elbow her as we make our way out of the closet.

“C’mon, let’s go down stairs and get this over with,”

Dahyun adds. As she faces me, I couldn’t help but stare at her once more. Her eyes were small, and had plump cheeks. If I was being honest, I wanted to squish them. That being said, I reach my hands to her face and squish her cheeks. She instantly gets flustered and waves her arms around.

“What the hell are you doing??!!”

I remained calm as I started at them.

“Tofu...”

I say under my breath.

“Your cheeks are like tofu.”

She seats her arms away from her face. Dahyun’s face turned red at my words.

“You think all because we just became friends literally not too long ago, you can just go up to someone and squish their face??!”

Seeing her face like that, it made me laugh.

“Calm down, tofu. It’s a compliment.”

She pouts her lips and crosses her arms.

“You’re lucky I haven’t kicked you yet,”

She whined as she cupped her cheeks with her hands. We then head our way down and say our prayers at the Saint Mary shrine they had in their living room. Every now and then, I’d peak over and Dahyun, mouthing her prayers. 

I don’t know what it was, but I felt like I could be myself around her. She was.. different from my friends back home. Maybe it’s just the cultural difference. After all, it’s only 7 months. How close could we possibly remain in that amount of time?