Incoming angst alert! 

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April 13th, 2018. 2:23 PM.

 

A Japanese girl with long brown hair walked around a forest, enjoying everything that nature had to offer. The sunshine that would beautifully cover the whole forest. The feeling of the breezing wind on her body. This is Myoui Mina.

 

The girl sat down on a blanket she had set up in a spot that's surrounded by rocks in a circular shape. She set up a pillow and lied down. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be enveloped into the beauty of the forest noises.

 

Of course, it wouldn't be peaceful for that long.

 

The phone in her pocket started to vibrate, which meant she had gotten a call. She just opened her eyes and took her phone out.

 

“Wonpil..” Mina said, looking at the name of the caller.

 

The person who called her is Mina's best friend, Kim Wonpil. He was the first person she met when she first arrived in South Korea, and he taught her the ropes, helped her become fluent in Korean. He even let her live with him for a little bit until Mina could rent her own place. One thing that should be mentioned is that he is part of a famous Kpop band, DAY6, but Wonpil stays humble in this regard.

 

The Japanese girl accepted the call.

 

“Mina, hey, how are you feeling?” Wonpil asked. “You left a bit earlier than I expected.”

 

“I'm... okay.”

 

“Are you sure? All the girls are pretty concerned.”

 

“...i-it's okay, really. I.. just needed some fresh air.”

 

“Are... you..?”

 

“Yeah... you can come if you want, i-i don't mind.”

 

“Alright, I'll be there, give me about a half hour or so..”

 

There was some silence, but then Wonpil spoke up.

 

“Some mailman just came to your house, he apparently has a package.” Wonpil informed.

 

“package..? I didn't order.. anything..” Mina replied.

 

“um... huh.”

 

“what?”

 

“It's apparently a “reunion package”. It came from... Funakoshi's School of Ballet?”

 

Mina's heart dropped.

 

“F-Funa... Funakoshi's?”

 

Ballet... please no...

 

------------------------------

 

November 17th, 2004.

 

“Mommy! Ballet seems so cool!” Said the 7-year-old Myoui Mina. Her mother was showing her old photographs of the previous ballet dancers in their families.

 

“Yes, yes! It very much is!” Mrs. Myoui replied. “I enjoyed my time being a ballet dancer! The training was the best part! Do you want to be a ballet dancer, Mimi?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Okay! I'll get your enrolled soon, then!”

 

“Moommmyy! I wanna be a ballerina right now!”

 

“Okay, okay, then let's start practicing.”

 

------------------------------

 

July 5th, 2005

 

Mina was currently participating in her ballet lessons. Despite initially having a hard time when she first came in the ballet academy, Mina had risen up, and became the best in her class. She was considered a prodigy.

 

“Mina-san, doing good!” Her teacher said.

 

At just the age of eight years, Mina figured what she wanted to do with her life. She would become a world famous ballet dancer, known all along the world. That was her dream, and nobody could stop her.

 

------------------------------

 

December 11th, 2008

 

“Oh, lookie here! If it ain't Myoui Mimi!”

 

“m-my name's... mina.”

 

“Huh? What was that? Speak up, pipsqueak!”

 

“M-My name is... Mina.”

 

“Oh please! We all hear your MOMMY calling you Mimi!”

 

“s-stop..”

 

------------------------------

 

April 13th, 2009.

 

“yeah, that injury is pretty bad.”

 

“w-will I be able to dance again?”

 

“Yes, but you'll have to wait at least a few weeks for it to heal.”

 

“okay..”

 

------------------------------

 

August 13th, 2010.

 

“Ugh! I can't do this!”

 

“Just hold on, Mina, you can.”

 

“I-It's not fun anymore! A-And... all of this is just... it hurts.”

 

“Your leg?”

 

“No, that's better now... just everything about this is so painful to do.”

 

“Mentally, right?”

 

“yes... I can't enjoy this.”

 

“you... might have to do something..”

 

“i-i know..”

 

------------------------------

 

August 15th, 2010

 

Mina was sitting in her living room, her parents standing in front of her.

 

“Mina.. are you sure?” Her father asked.

 

“Yes,” Mina said. “I thought I wanted ballet.. but.. it's just not meant to be.”

 

“Are you serious, Mina?!” Her mother said, voice slightly raised. “It's been a family tradition! I'm a ballet dancer, your grandma is a ballet dancer, hell, even your great great grandma is a ballet dancer!”

 

“...Mom, please.” Mina said. “I-I can't do something that I don't feel passion for.”

 

Her mother shook her head.

 

“You'll be destroying a family tradition!” Her mother replied. “Are you not ashamed?!”

 

Mina took a deep breath, then looked into her mother's eyes.

 

“...M-Mom..” Mina said, voice breaking. “Please... accept this... I don't have the passion for ballet... Why should I force myself even more to do something that my heart isn't into? It's not healthy for me... I can't do ballet anymore... Please.. understand me...”

 

The older woman stood there, taking in Mina's words. Her entire demeanor changed, and she then blew up.

 

“You little !” Her mother said. “You should be ASHAMED of yourself! You're disgracing our FAMILY!”

 

Her mother angrily stormed off. The former ballet dancer simply looked down, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

 

“Look, I'll go talk to her.” Mina's father said. “Just.. go to your room and study, okay?”

 

“Yeah.” Mina blankly said.

 

------------------------------

 

December 25th, 2010.

 

“Well, that .”

 

“I...”

 

“I don't know what you were expecting, Mina.” Her mother commented.

 

“M-Mom...” Mina sighed.

 

Mina didn't get anything for Christmas. Her mother excused it as “we have no money.”. But she knew the real reason. Ballet.

 

“Better luck next year, yeah?”

 

------------------------------

 

March 7th, 2013. 9:31 AM.

 

“Mom?”

 

“Shut up.” Mrs. Myoui said.

 

Mina and her mother were inside the car, Mrs. Myoui driving to the hospital.

 

“Mom-”

 

“I said SHUT UP!”

 

“w-where's... dad..?”

 

“Holy , can you shut the up for one second?”

 

------------------------------

 

9:52 AM.

 

“We're sorry, but that's what happened.”

 

“d-dad..?”

 

“Mina, baby, please, hush.”

 

“As we said, you could send him to a center, and there we'll take care of him. Or... you could end his life support.”

 

“B-Brain death... is death, isn't it?”

 

“Yes, ma'am. But there's always-”

 

“I won't be able to live with myself knowing that he'll just be... lying there in some room, rotting away. Let's just get this over with.”

 

“N-NO!”

 

“Mina. Hush.”

 

“I-I don't want daddy to die!”

 

“W-We have no choice, dammit!”

 

“Y-You don't have to-”

 

“Quiet, please.”

 

“Mommy, no-”

 

“I SAID QUIET.”

 

“...Is this your final answer, Mrs. Myoui?”

 

“Yes.”

 

------------------------------

 

March 8th, 2013.

 

“...mom?”

 

“what.”

 

“i-i'm hungry..”

 

“feed yourself.”

 

“b-but, I don't know how to cook-”

 

“you're 15 years old, you should know how to cook.”

 

“y-you never taught me-”

 

“then teach yourself. Pathetic.”

 

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September 10th, 2014.

 

“Mom.”

 

“Yes, Mina?”

 

“Are... we okay?”

 

“As in?”

 

“You... don't hate me, right?”

 

“Of course not, baby.”

 

“O-Okay..”

 

“Hey, I got an idea.”

 

“T-That is..?”

 

“You ever wanted to pick up ballet again?”

 

“...n-not really.”

 

“ah, I see.”

 

------------------------------

 

March 9th, 2015.

 

“Why...? Mina, why? Please, stay with me.”

 

“It's.. suffocating being in that house.”

 

Mina and her mother were at the airport. Mina had all of her stuff packaged, and her flight was for Seoul, South Korea.

 

“A-And... I could get a fresh start in Korea... I-I'm sorry, but... I want to do this.”

 

Mina started to walk away with her luggage.

 

“Myoui Mina you get back here right now!” Her mother said, angry. “Don't you dare disobey me like this!”

 

Mina stopped in her tracks.

 

“Huh?” Mina said. “Mom..?”

 

“God, I don't know where I went wrong with you!” Her mother said. “You never listen to anything I say!”

 

“What are you saying?” Mina said.

 

“Oh, did you already forget?” Her mother said. “Guess you did! You just gave up ballet like it was nothing!”

 

Mina's heart broke into a million shards. She had thought her mother had forgiven her for this...

 

“It was just an EASY thing to DO!” Her mother said. “You just had to continue going to your classes, then you would have become a star! Instead, you want to go to ing Korea!? There's no place for you there! You don't belong in Korea!”

 

Mina fell silent, tears starting to form.

 

“M-Mom...” Mina said. “Why won't you let me do what I want? I-I-I... y-you told me! You said I was free to do what I wanted!”

 

“The moment you gave up on ballet, all bets were off.” Her mother said. “God, why are you so stupid!? You can never do anything right!”

 

“s-stop it..” Mina said.

 

“You're such a ing disappointment.” Her mother's word cut like a sharp blade.

 

Mina faced her mother one last time, tears rolling down her face.

 

“I'm so s-sorry.” Mina said one last time.

 

Mina walked away, going into the gates, heading towards the inside of the plane.

 

------------------------------

 

April 13th, 2018. 2:29 PM.

 

Mina didn't realize it, but her phone screen stained with a tear as she stared at it.

 

“Hey... Mina?” Wonpil asked.

 

“t-that package... g-get rid of it, please..” Mina said.

 

“You sure? It had your name-”

 

“I have nothing to do with ballet. Please.”

 

“Okay... h-hey, I'll be there in a bit, okay?” Wonpil said. “Just hold on.”

 

------------------------------

 

2:53 PM.

 

The girl was just lying there in silence, her eyes closed. She was really trying, really, really, trying. But... it was painful. To just think about those times...

 

She heard footsteps. He was here.

 

“Wonpil..”

 

The boy sat next to the girl, looking at her.

 

“Hey there, Mina.” Wonpil said. The Japanese girl sat up. “Wonpil..”

 

The girl slowly looked for his hand. He helped her out, and the two just sat there holding hands. He didn't need Mina to talk, not yet. He understood what she was going through, and would always give her time to settle herself.

 

Time passed, and then Mina finally spoke up.

 

“w-what.. did the girls say?” She asked.

 

“Well, as I said, they were pretty concerned. I just told them that you needed air, and they understood.” The keyboardist replied.

 

“T-They're so understanding....”

 

“Yeah, they are.”

 

Mina sighed. The keyboardist looked at her once more.

 

Wonpil wanted to ask Mina about her past, but he knew that was a sensitive topic. Besides not knowing much of Mina's past, Wonpil knew a lot about Mina's character as a whole, so he knew she was a good person and had a great personality.

 

“Do you want to come back? I'm sure the girls are missing you.” Wonpil said.

 

“S-Sure..” Mina replied. The keyboardist helped the girl up. “If you want, once we're done talking to them, we can go back here.”

 

“I... appreciate that.” The Japanese girl said. “Thank you.”

 

“Anything for you.” Wonpil smiled.

 

The Japanese girl just hugged him. “Really... thank you.”

 

Mina liked that she could always rely on Wonpil. Since the very moment she arrived in Korea, he was there for her. And he always will be. Wonpil is the greatest friend anyone could ask for, and Mina will forever cherish him.

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Please don't hate me! :( 

Chapter 3 will be a lot more lighthearted, and I do promise that our precious Minari will get her happy ending!