Author's Note:

So, finally the second chapter is here. I do apologise that a portion of the chapter is taken from the prologue/snippet. But you should still read through it, as I have made small changes and added a bit, here and there.

Anyway, on to the story, I hope you guys like it :))

The smell of breakfast food surrounded the home of Choi Yena and Jo Yuri. “Thanks again for letting me stay, guys” said Chaeyeon, while passing a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs to her friend.

Yena took the plate and put it in front of her wife, who was busy making a last minute change to her study plan. “You really should stop thanking us, Chae. Not to mention, we really don’t mind having a personal chef living with us,” Yena joked.

Chaeyeon has been cooking for the married couple’s every meal for the past few days, to show her gratitude for opening up their guest bedroom for her. Besides, Chaeyeon had always been a good cook, so she might as well put it to good use. It’s the least she could do.

Two days ago, after Chaeyeon had gotten home to see that she’d have been evicted from her apartment, granted she was 3 months late behind rent, and on top of that just got the news of her impending deportation, Chaeyeon did the only thing any rational woman would do. She hopped into the bathtub, fully clothed, and cried there for a few hours. Unfortunately, she had run out of ice cream and had to cry without it.

Once she finally got sick of crying, Chaeyeon went back into her bedroom and opened her laptop to do a bit of research. Apparently, she would either need to be sponsored by her employer, IZONE Preschool (which was out of the  question), or she would have to reapply for a new Work Visa and wait in her home country for a few months until the visa is done being processed. It’s also worth mentioning that the price to reapply is nowhere near cheap. There really is no getting around this, is there?

Feeling hopeless, Chaeyeon hung her head and sighed. This is it. She’s actually giving up.

With the thought that she’d probably have to go back, she might as well start packing up her apartment now. Which is what she did for the next couple of hours. Chaeyeon started packing up the things she’d have to send back to her parents’ house. Most of them were items that had been collected during the first year when she first came to Korea, like refrigerator magnets and cute notebooks that she had bought but never used. She put them all into one box, labeled them MAIL BACK TO HELL.

Then she looked through her closet. It was a mess, to say the least. There were clothes she hadn’t worn in years, which she probably has to donate. So, DONATIONS was another box. 

What was left had been a box of the clothes she does wear, and her teaching tools like textbooks and stationeries. It seems a bit dramatic, but this box is truly what defines her as a person. And the thought that she has to ship a piece of her soul back to the place she ran away from.... it stings. 

She made a move to sit on the edge of the bed. Without her realizing it, tears had trickled down Chaeyeon’s cheeks. Turns out there still are some tears left to cry. The mask of denial that she had on, crumbled all at once and the emotions that Chaeyeon tried to keep at bay completely overtook her. Sobs wracked her body to the point where it was getting harder and harder to breathe. The walls of her apartment started to move to crush her, and her lungs felt like she was underwater. Chaeyeon didn’t know what else to do but keep her eyes shut, waiting for the storm in her heart to settle down.

When Chaeyeon finally opened her eyes, she realised she had accidentally fallen asleep. Rolling over the bed to reach for her phone on the bedside table, she looked at the time. It read, 01:11 am. It didn’t take Chaeyeon long to pack up a few of her clothes, just enough for a few days. Truth be told, her apartment had never been a place she cherished much, and