Here I was stuck in the car in the middle of somewhere with my dad sitting right behind the steering wheel. We had prior conversations weeks ago in regards to how I would be spending my summer this year, and that started with me visiting Mom. Seeing how much more rural the area we were entering, far from our house back in Seoul, I was regretting my decision to come. I rolled down the windows and pushed out to have my hair flying wildly behind me as we reached my hometown of Busan, a place I have not been to ever since Mom and Dad separated for a divorce. Don’t get me wrong though, although they are not together anymore, they still are very much civil with each other- some would say ending on much better terms than expected. 

Seeing some old buildings I somewhat recognized, it made me think that maybe I did miss it down here in Busan- although much of the past is quite a blur. Something I do remember without a doubt was my childhood friend Ningning. I was not particularly a social child growing up, but she happened to be one of the very few people I was able to befriend- although not close, still something to look back on and have. 

The car comes to a stop and pulls me out of my daze when the wind from the speeding car hums quietly and my hair lays flat. Dad pulls up to a side curb of a house, which I presumably assumed belonged to my mother. 

“Dad, is it too late?” I said, breaking the silence. 

“Minjeong, wouldn’t you say we are a little bit too late? We are already at the front steps of your mom’s house. Besides, don’t you remember little Ningning? I’m sure she missed you dearly”

“She was barely someone I considered a friend, maybe if we are lucky enough, an acquaintance during the summer times”

“That is some acquaintance you guys are if you actively wrote and sent letters and pictures to each other”

“People back then wrote to each other all the time, it doesn’t make them besties,” I strike back.

“Okay, so you guys were not, and I quote, “besties,” but you used to be close.”

“Yeah, sure. Back when we were probably seven or something, but not so much at the age of fifteen when we moved dad,” trying to close the conversation quickly. 

“Minjeong,” he says with a long sigh-

“Just for this one summer”

“Exactly!”  I exclaimed with my hands in the air for emphasis, 

“ONE SUMMER. If it was with you, it would be so easy- like just taking a quick breather and summer is over. With mom, it would be so suffocating. As if I have asthma or something, and the thing is I do NOT have asthma.”

“Okay honey, let’s put it this way instead, right before the summer ends, you will finally turn 18 and officially become an adult. With that point said, you will not have me, nor your mom, on your not-so-little anymore about what you can and can’t do. Freedom, but I would still like to know that you are still alive and not out there in jail or something. 

“You don’t get it, I’m still going to have to spend my time now with mom, it will be three months before I turn of age,” I complained.

“Then until then, you are still under our care and supervision,” he replies. “Besides, why are you so adamant about staying in Seoul for the summer? Do you have a lover waiting for you back there?”

I force out a laugh in disbelief, “No lover, not yet at least.”

Sarcastically adding on, “You know, having some sort of depression really helps out with me trying to interact with people! It’s really too bad that being homeschooled for my final year of high school didn’t give me the opportunity to have a lover or meet anyone at all.” 

After the divorce between Mom and Dad, it was him who won full custody over me and since then, I had lived in Seoul. All I can say from that was it was the best decision that could have ever been made. He knew I was struggling with light depression after the move from home, but never took it lightly at all- getting me the help I needed by having me study and finish up school at home and away from people- who I do not like in general.

“As you said earlier, you are turning 18 soon- it’s your chance to go live your life while you are still young too. Maybe even enrolling in college, if you decide not to put it off to take a gap year”

“I mean- I really want to start getting out there and living, you know Dad? I’m just scared because I don’t know what I want to do in the future.”

“Honey, you are more ready than you will ever be,” Dad replies. “You have been doing so much better recently and you know I will always be one call away.”

“I know, I know. The reassurance helps though.”

“Anyways, you sure you don’t have a lover back at home?” 

“I already answered this Dad,” I huffed.

“No girlfriends?”

“NO…no girlfriends,” I confirmed back so he would stop pestering me about it. 

Getting out of the car, I opened the trunk to reveal my luggage full of the things I would need to get past the summer spent with Mom. Along with my luggage sitting right in the middle of sight was all of Dad’s belongings. Varying from his equipment he uses for both work and whenever anything is broken at the house. It brought this warm familiar feeling to my chest; I really am going to miss Dad for the next three months. 

“Let’s head inside Minjeong,” Dad says, breaking my train of thoughts, with my luggage in his hands and the trunk of the car closed. 

Appearing right in front of me was the house I grew up in for a moment of my life and it felt so strange coming back after so long. There were just snippets of memories left in my head of how it was like living here- mostly empty thoughts because of how lonely my childhood was with Mom being gone most of the nights doing whatever it is that she sneaks off to do. I, on the other hand, simply stayed home and kept to myself. 

Dad brings the heavy luggage of mine to the doorsteps and reaches up to press the doorbell. With a bit of reluctance, he pushes forward and rings the bell but is met with silence. 

“That’s odd,” he proclaims, reaching toward the door, and this time directly knocking instead of ringing the bell.

This felt like absolute hell. I was being dropped off in hell by my father.

“You know, next summer you can stay home all you want. Sleep all day, eat whatever you want, do some crazy- okay legal activities. Doesn’t that sound like heaven to you?”

“I mean, it doesn't sound half bad at all.”

Steps were heard approaching the door from the other side and the door swung wide open, revealing Mo