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Finding A Place to Belong

In a café somewhere in a suburb of Seoul, a lady in her early twenties sit while trying to extend the life of the iced amerikano she ordered, sipping a bit making sure it does not run out.  The person she is set to meet is late, though according to her grandmother this person is really punctual.

“Ah, maybe something might have happen.” She thought, hoping that it’s nothing serious and wishes for the person to finally arrive. She could have just went straight to her grandmother’s apartment and introduce herself as the new landlady. Her grandmother on the other hand insists she met this person first, who she calls as Chaeyeon before heading in. Chaeyeon according to her grandmother will ease the transition and help her in managing the apartment.

At that moment just right outside the café a huffing and slightly disheveled girl stands or more like leans on the glass, wearing a black cap, a loose white with black stripe sweater and black shorts, trying to catch her breath. Chaeyeon swears, she never been late to appointments, let alone something important like this. For some reason though a teenager full of life and an equally lively unnie, who till now she can’t believe is older than her, decided to play chase tag at the apartment floors resulting in a mess.

It took awhile to clean the said mess, of course she would not let their future landlady to see it, for fear her current living arrangement might be put in jeopardy. Neither has she told the other tenants that they will have a new apartment manager, that the old lady they have come to love needed to retire and that the management is handed off to her granddaughter.

Speaking of her, how in the world would she recognize this person, the only picture she has seen is that of her as a toddler. This woman is supposedly older than her by about four years and she sure as hell that her face has change after all this years. She did remember the old lady mentioning something along the lines of her granddaughter being a dead ringer of the famous singer Irene.  Chaeyeon is yet to see if that’s an exaggerated bragging of a grandmother who adores her grandchild or in fact a reality.  

When she finally manages to catch her breath, Chaeyeon decided to enter the café. She scans the table and there she got captivated by a lady sitting in a corner, sipping what looks like frap with nothing left in it, looking slightly annoyed. Her features are sharp, she might have hated to admit it but she indeed looks like that very popular singer, Irene. 

Chaeyeon carefully approach the table.  

“Uhmm, excuse me – are you, Kwon Eunbi?” she asked with tinge of uncertainty, a touch of nervousness and a good dose of being mesmerized.  

The lady look up at her, confusion is visible in her face, though it brightens up a bit when she saw her.

“You must be the Lee Chaeyeon, that my grandma always talks about?” motioning for her to sit.

 “My apologies for being late, I - I just needed to do something.” as she hung her head in shame, for a moment she thought she is goner. Eunbi on the other hand is more than relieve that she is finally there.

“Would you like something to drink?” Eunbi asked, figure by the looks of it that the girl in front of her is tired.

“No, no, thank you. I’m ok.“ Chaeyeon shyly decline while making an animated X with her arms. 

Eunbi still ordered an Iced Caramel Machiato and handed it to Chaeyeon who reluctantly accepted the drink. The later then took the luggage and back pack up and hauls them as they walk few blocks on their way to the apartment.

Eunbi observe the girl, the person her grandmother is quite thankful of. She notes that the girls shoulder and back are quite nice and snappy. To her it looks like the girl does some sport or maybe some dancing, she exudes an aura of coolness. She looks strong hauling her belongings singlehandedly but Eunbi is confident that she is a touch stronger than her.

After some minutes they finally arrive at the front step of 48Diamonds Apartments. Reluctant to take a few more steps in, Eunbi stood there and gaze at the three story building.

She was down on her luck, months already passed after she graduated from University; she can’t land a job nor is she happy on the direction her life is heading.  The news of her grandmother accident came, the old lady slip and hit her hips pretty badly. Eunbi paid her a visit, she have nothing much to do and she does miss the warm hugs of her grandmother. All along she might have been just seeking comfort in the arms of her grandmother during those times.  

The old woman is strong and cheerful as usual despite some difficulty in movement. Seeing how her granddaughter looks lost in life she offered her to take over managing the apartment in her steed. Unbeknownst to Eunbi, her grandmother has written it in the will for her to inherit the apartment.

“Unnie are you not going to step in?” Chaeyeon inquired.

That snaps Eunbi from her train of thought. Here she is taking some new steps, just hoping to find her place. As they entered she saw a girl with a reddish brown wavy hair staring at them cold and calculating. The girl raises her eyebrows, questioning their presence.

“Chaewon-ah.” Chaeyeon said cutely, which shocked Eunbi abit. She would never imagine the girl, who she pegs as cool can have such a cute expression.

“She is our new landlady, Halmeoni’s granddaughter.” She added.

The girl seems to want to say something but instead just force a small smile and left, taking the stairs to the second floor.

Eunbi is now questioning herself if she will manage to get along her tenants. Chaeyeon is kind and reliable just what her grandma says, very easy to get along with. She doesn’t know what to feel about Chaewon and there are five more currently living there. Meeting the girl this way feels like a bucket of cold water was dump on her head.  

Sketches