Prologue

Yong’s POV

10 days ago…

“Yong! What are you doing? Get down from there!”

I turned my head and looked at my older sis, “I’m trying to get some snacks from the cupboard”.

“Must you climb onto the countertop?” she asked exasperatingly.

“Well, who’s fault is it that stashed the snack inside the TOP cupboard”, I answered and continue to rummage through a barrage of snacks.

“You did! You said, and I quote ‘I’m not letting you savages get near any of my snacks’”.

I stopped for a moment to remembered what I said during last week’s “grocery” run, “Yeah, well, it works didn’t it?”.

“Get down please, you’re going to fall and hurt yourself”.

“Calm down, no one is going to get hurt over some snacks… That is unless you tried to take mine then there are going to be some casualties. Possibly a blood bath even”.

I turned around with an armful of snacks for my movie marathon, ready to hop down from the countertop when my sister stopped me.

“Wait! No! Don’t jump! At least use a chair so you don’t fall, wait here”, she went to go grab one the dining chair.

“I’m jumping off a countertop not a building”, I deadpanned.

Getting impatient, I decided to jump down despite my sister’s warning. And as luck would have it, my right foot did not land properly, and I just slumped down onto the kitchen floor, snacks strewn all around me. My gasp must have been quite loud because I heard not only my sister’s hurried footsteps but also another 2 sets.

“Oh my god, Yong! Are you okay?”

“Yong Sun-ah what happened dear?”

“Do I need to call an ambulance?”

Waves after waves of questions just won’t stop coming from my parents and sister. Rolling my eyes, I tried to suppress my groan just so they wouldn’t get even more panic and speak calmly, “it’s okay, I’m fine. I think I just twisted my ankle”.

My mother gasp, “that’s not fine Yong Sun-ah, you’re hurt!”

“I’m calling Doctor Jin. Yong Hee grabs an ice pack for your sister”, my dad said as he dialed our family physician.

“Appa, I’m fine… I just need to ice my ankle for a week or two. A doctor is unnecessary”, I said and tried to get up.

“Wait! Appa will carry you to the couch. And a doctor is still needed. What if it’s worse than it looks?”, my dad said as he lifts me over to the living room.

My mom and sister followed behind with what looks like enough ice packs to freeze an aquarium tank.

“Your appa is right Yong Sun-ah. Let doctor Jin come and check on your foot, okay?”, my mom persuaded me.

“If it’s going to calm you guys down then fine, go ahead and call Doctor Jin”, I relented.

“Good girl, here let eomma ice your ankle”, my mom carefully grabbed my injured foot and put it on her lap.

“I can do it myself eomma. You don’t have to-“

“Hush! Just lean back and stay still. You shouldn’t move around too much. What if you bend down to ice your ankle and hurt your back?”, my mom interrupted.

“I’m not going to hurt my back just because I bend down a little eomma. I’m not that frail”.

My sister scoffed, “yeah right, just like how you wouldn’t hurt yourself from jumping off the countertop just because it’s not a building”.

I faked gasp, “how could you betray me like that unnie? I’m hurt.”

And she just poked her tongue out to mock me. Real mature sis…

45 minutes later…

“She sprained her ankle. But other than that, she’s fine”, Doctor Jin said.

“See? I told you guys I’m fine”.

“Well, you’re going to be in extreme discomfort for a few days because your ankle’s going to swell. I’m going to prescribe you medicine for the inflammation and a light dose of pain killer in case the pain starts to get unbearable”, he said as he scribbles down something.

“It’s okay Yong Sun-ah, eomma will take care of you. Eomma’s going to cook up samgyetang so can recover faster”, my mom said as she my head.

“Your ankle’s going to heal up in 2 weeks if you stick to bed rest and put as little to no pressure on your ankle. Here is the prescription, you can get these medicines from any pharmacy”, Doctor Jin said as he hands a note to my dad.

“Thank you, Doctor Jin, here let me you out”, my dad said.

“You’re welcome. And get well soon Yong Sun-shi”.

While my dad escorted Doctor Jin, my mom and sister told me to get some rest and left me alone in my room. A sigh escaped my lips. See, this is what happens when the baby of the family is lightly injured. Everyone seems to go into panic mode. And it’s not that I don’t appreciate it when my family cares for me. It’s just… It can be a bit much. I’m 25 years old for god’s sake. And yet they still treat me as if I’m a toddler who can’t take care of myself. I should be living alone by now. And be independent. But my parents begged me not to.

I realized I sounded like a spoiled brat right now. And I’m probably one. But it’s hard not to when you’ve been babied and sheltered for your whole life. And that is not an exaggeration.

Take this, for example, 8 years ago after I graduated from high school (I was homeschooled), I wanted to attend a university in Seoul. So, my dad decided to move our entire family from Busan to Seoul just so I can still live with them while attending university. Then we moved back to Busan after I graduated. It’s an endearing sentiment, don’t get me wrong. But it’s also a lot.

And I love my family so much. But I just wanted a little bit of independence from them. I can’t keep on relying on them for my whole life despite it being what my parents wanted. Yong Hee unnie at least got to study abroad in England by herself. I’m actually a little bit jealous of my unnie because my parents gave her some semblance of independence. After all, she’s older. And I know they love both my sister and I the same, but I still can’t help but feel jealous of her.

And it’s not that I hated my current way of living it’s just getting a little bit mundane. I wanted to know what it feels like to live on my own. Encountering new types of problems and learning how to solve them myself. Meeting a bunch of interesting people outside of my family’s circle of people. And not to mention I get to decorate not just my own room but my whole entire living space.

So, I’ve made up my mind. Once my ankle is healed, I’m going to run away. I’m going to Seoul. After 25 years of being sheltered, I finally will get to be independent. And I can’t wait…