Jihyo’s childhood was difficult, for lack of a better word. She grew up with both parents working, being more of a chore to them rather than their loving little girl. She was constantly told to just handle herself and not bother them, her mother would leave her in daycare as soon as it was possible. Her father probably didn’t even know her real name, maybe that was what got Jihyo to change it as soon as she could. You see, she was born Park Jisoo, her maternal grandmother’s name, never met the woman and didn’t really feel like changing that. To say Jihyo raised herself would be the closest to the truth one would get, her teachers helped as much as they could, allowing her to stay late in school and giving her the extra credit she would need to build a better future.

She was around five when she stopped seeing her father, she knew he went home to sleep, as she heard him and her mother at night. Sometimes shouting at each other, other times each other’s names, she didn’t understand the latter until much further in her life, but she knew to never step out of her bedroom once it came the time for her to sleep. Then, her mother would show up once a week to hand her some money and tell her to make it last until they saw each other again. From then on, Jihyo saw less and less of her supposed family. Once she was in middle school, actually capable of making some food for herself, she was certain she lived alone. In high school, Jihyo decided to venture off on her own, her supposed parents hadn’t been home at all for months and she really didn’t want to stay there, she knew the bills weren’t really being paid and someone was bound to show up to ask why soon.

With that thought, Jihyo grabbed her things, which were never many, and headed out. She managed to get a place that would rent weekly and didn’t ask many questions, close enough to her school that she could just walk, and the bus fare would allow her to have the heating on a few more days during winter. She had already been working at the supermarket to be able to live, and the little money her mother would leave on the table for her didn’t really do much in regards to the bills. Sure, Jihyo hadn't been paying any of the utilities for a few months already, but that was mostly because she had already decided to leave and knew she would need a bit of money to start life on her own.

The landlady wasn’t the most pleasant person she’d met, but it was a roof over her head, away from her family and no questions asked, she couldn’t really complain. The first few months were fine, she went to school, spent a few hours at the library and headed out to work, where she stayed until eleven thirty, simply because she legally couldn’t work past midnight, and lumbered to her small room to shower and sleep. Rinse, repeat. Then it came the time for the first career forms to be handed out. She hadn’t thought about it, just tried living each day, but Jihyo knew she had to write something so her teachers could start helping her focus a bit more on her studies. 

Jihyo figured she might as well put in that she intended to take general education and go from there, no point trying to figure it out while she was still struggling to keep herself on her feet. The teacher knew the girl’s parents weren’t worried about her at all, so the woman tried her best to help Jihyo deal with highschool and keep the girl’s grades up while still giving her time to be a kid. The big problem was, Jihyo was never allowed to be a kid, she had been on her own all her life, everything she knew was just her mother’s scorn while handing her a few bucks that were far from enough to feed a child for a week. Had been fighting for herself all her life, didn’t even remember her father’s face, didn’t remember her mother’s eyes also, just the woman’s lips swearing at her and the manicured nails gripping the money and throwing it on her face.

By the second year of highschool, Jihyo had fallen into a good routine. She was earning more because she knew her supervisor had been stealing and confronted the guy. He couldn’t really do anything because there were cameras and he would never leave jail if he harmed a little girl. So Jihyo got a raise as a ‘shut up’ and decided it wasn’t really her problem, she didn’t get paid enough to worry for someone else’s fortune. Also, the observation got her less hours for more pay, which allowed her to study more and get home earlier. 

That was the event where Jihyo learned she saw things that she wasn’t really supposed to see. The supervisor had been incredibly careful with his stealing, he knew for a fact that JIhyo had been the only one to notice, but when the girl explained how she knew, he was certain that she would prove it easily. So the guy just negotiated and she accepted because she needed the money and the new schedule. Then Jihyo started noticing how some things had always been clear to her but others remained ignorant. Like how their math teacher was having an affair, the woman had been very happy and sported poorly concealed marks on her neck often, something that never happened the year before. Or how the nurse was always high on something that was supposed to remain stocked for the students’ care, the woman walked around with unsteady steps and her eyes were always pink and a bit glassy, not to mention the slurred speech.

When Jihyo saw that she noticed more than everyone around her, she thought about pursuing something where her skill would be to her advantage. The first thing she could think of was studying law, which she wrote on her second year form. Her new teacher had been warned about her by the previous one and decided to help her along as best as she could, and told Jihyo that it would look good in her application if she could get involved with some student council related activity. That was how the girl found herself on the welcoming committee, mostly because it was the group with the least activities and she explained she didn’t really have that much time available when she joined. 

Not that much later, a transfer student arrived. It was a weird timing, but the student council had been informed the girl moved suddenly as her mother had been transferred. Jihyo knew because she was in the office when the teacher came in to speak with the council president and heard it. With the new arrival, it fell to the welcoming committee to get the girl settled and show her around. Jihyo, being the member with the least available time for after school activities, was the one chosen to do all that. It was fair, in all honesty, she couldn’t complain when she really didn’t do much outside school times. 

The new student was japanese and was humored to speak korean quite well. Jihyo did learn a bit of japanese, but it was just enough to ask where the pharmacy was and understand the answer, nothing that could really help in daily conversation. She headed to the student office and was told to take a seat and wait a bit, the girl was finalizing her entrance along with her father. Jihyo did as told and was met with a girl and a man who shared a cute gummy smile, she got to her feet before the vice-principal could tell her to.

“Mr Myoui, Mina, this is Park Jihyo.” The woman introduces once she sees the student she asked for was already waiting. “She’s from the welcoming committee and will be guiding Mina and introducing her to our school.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Jihyo takes a respectful bow. “If you could show me your schedule, I’ll help you find your classes.”

The girl, Mina, smiles and nods. Jihyo sees then that this family was well off enough, their clothes are visibly new, the girl's face only shows innocence and excitement, the man doesn’t have wrinkles, his eyes show he’s seen a few things but his shoulders are relaxed and his hands aren’t calloused. Jihyo guesses these people will be polite, at least, they don’t seem to have something to be nasty about to her, at least not yet. So Jihyo politely waited for Mina to get her schedule and excused them to show the girl around. They went around school fairly quickly, Jihyo pointed out the classrooms to Mina, both the ones for the classes the girl has missed and the ones she’ll attend after lunch. Mina was being introduced to the school and Jihyo had been excused from her morning lessons to do so. 

It was fairly easy to fall into a routine after that, Mina wasn't the outgoing type, she would shyly approach Jihyo to ask to study together after classes, and came to really enjoy the older girl’s company. Jihyo didn’t mind, Mina was shy but playful, and had a certain kindness and calmness to her that was very pleasing to be around. They became friends, the word being used loosely here, as Jihyo really didn’t do friends as most might define them. JIhyo knew she couldn't really let people in, especially with her current situation, she knew a kid her age living alone and working to support herself was bound to raise some eyebrows and maybe one wrong comment from a distracted kid would get the police to her front door and maybe force her back to her parents’ place.

Mina, as it would turn out, wasn’t one of said kids. One day Jihyo got down with a terrible fever and had to be excused for two days. The first day Mina just chucked it to some student council task, but by the second day she decided to ask Jihyo’s teacher and was told the girl was sick. Now, if something was true was that whatever Mina wants, Mina gets, and she left the teachers’ lounge with Jihyo’s address. She stopped by a grocery store to pick up some food and then a pharmacy to get some medication, Jihyo looked like the type of person to not care for herself that well, and arrived at a dingy apartment building.

The japanese frowned, certainly it was just an old building that was good on the inside, right? Wrong, the hallways were just as shady and the stairwell was just too dark. Luckily, Jihyo lived on the second floor, so Mina arrived before her paranoia took over her. She arrived in front of a fairly clean door, it still had a few dark splotches, but it looked like an attempt to clean it had been made, she smiled at that, picturing Jihyo frowning and huffing while she fought to make her door decent, then angrily giving it up. She knocked, not really expecting someone to answer, but Jihyo did, she opened the door looking like death and clearly more sick than she was supposed to be on the second day had she taken some medication.

“Oh, Mina.” Jihyo rasps. “I’m sorry, but I’m very sick at the momen-”

“I came to visit you and brought you some medication.” Mina interrupts what was certainly a dismissal.

“Are you sure you want to come inside? I’m really sick.” The older girl asks but shuffles back regardless.

Mina doesn’t say anything, just puts on her mask and gets inside. Jihyo’s apartment was just one room, a bed pushed against the wall, a small desk by the window and a little kitchenette by the entrance. It was very clean and well kept, taking into consideration the building as a whole. It was clear that the girl lived alone and didn’t really spend any time home. There were no decorations, not a single picture put up, no plants, nothing that could give the place any personal touch. It felt empty and detached, she was curious but knew to buy her time with personal information. Getting Jihyo to talk about herself was like pulling teeth, and she really did want to befriend this stubborn girl.

“I brought you some medicine and some food as well.” Mina says as she drops the bags at the kitchen. “I figured you would try to force yourself to survive it without proper treatment.”

“Thank you, you didn’t have to.” Jihyo huffs as she sits on the bed. “How much do I owe you?” 

“You owe me a thank you and a promise to take the medicine properly.” The younger smiles kindly.

“But you brought so much. I-” 

“Jihyo, we are friends. Friends take care of friends.”

Jihyo gives up, she knew it was hard to fight Mina on anything when she was well, it would be impossible while sick. The younger girl perks up at the small victory, proceeding to get the food out, and praising herself for thinking to heat it up at the convenience store because this place had a one-burner stove and a little fridge and nothing else. The little table was free, so she dragged it closer to the bed and gestured for Jihyo to start eating, the older girl obeyed without a fuss, she was hungry. Mina takes the time to get a glass of water and prepare the medication she knew Jihyo might try to weasel her way out of taking.

Both settle in silence after that, Jihyo falling asleep not long after, and Mina takes the time to put some more water and the next pills near the bed, then fixes a next meal with the food she brought. Jihyo will have to eat it cold, but at least it’s something that will feed her and it should be enough. Sure, Mina wanted to ask more about this living situation, it was clear that there was no family around, Jihyo was obviously struggling, but the girl never showed herself to be anything but just another kid. It seems that appearances can be very deceiving. Mina decides to leave after that, her mother had already sent her a message asking where she was and Jihyo was asleep, so she went home. There was always the next day to ask.