Chapter One

“Honey! The cab is here, it’s time to go, come on down!” Ryden heard all that her mother had said, but she wished she could just ignore it. After living her entire life in Long Beach, California, her mother decided to move them to South Korea. Something about it being time to experience her culture. Ryden thought that was a bunch of bull, but she’d never tell her mother that. After her dad had died, she gave up a lot of things, arguing with her mother included.

           Ryden walked down the stairs, slowly letting her hands drag along the railing. This was the last time she was ever going to see this house. Walking towards the front door, she couldn’t help but feel like she was leaving her dad behind. She looked at the empty living room and smiled sadly, even though she didn’t want her mom to be right, it was time to move on.

           Walking out of the house, she closed the front door slowly and closed her eyes, not letting go of the knob. She didn’t want to go to Korea. It was her senior year, she had plenty of friends HERE. She didn’t want to have to start all over again.

“Honey, lets go, we don’t want to be late for our flight.” Her mom said. Ryden opened her eyes,

“No, of course not. We wouldn’t want that.” She muttered, turning around and walking towards the cab.

“What was that?” her mom asked. Ryden shook her head,

“Nothing.” She replied quickly.  Her mom smiled and slid into the cab. Ryden rolled her eyes and followed suite.

“I know that this is hard for you Ryden, but just try and do this. What’s the worst that could happen.” Ryden bit her lip, knowing that now was not the time for sarcastic answers.

“Hey mom, we’re going to land soon.” Her mom yawned and looked up slowly, glancing out the window.

“Oh, thank you. I didn’t even realize.” Ryden nodded and turned back to face the window.

Her dad would have loved this. He would have loved to bring her to Korea so that he could give her the grand tour. He would have taken her shopping in Seoul, and there was no doubt he would’ve found something educational in the whole experience. That empty feeling she often got in her chest when she thought about him started to come back. Ryden sighed and gently hit her forehead, mentally telling herself to stop thinking about it. Her mother looked at her questioningly,

“What are you doing?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryden shrugged,

“Mentally preparing myself.” She said, thinking it sounded believable.

Walking into the small apartment, Ryden scrunched up her nose. It was small and had a questionable smell. She looked at her mom, who seemed to have the same opinion.

“It just needs a few touches. Once we get everything in it will feel just like home.” She said. Ryden highly doubted that this ‘place’ would ever feel like home. Ryden grabbed her duffel bag up off the floor and headed to her right, guessing that her room was there. She tilted her head to the side as she opened the door. The room looked like the inside of a cardboard box. She nodded her head slowly,

“What a great place you’ve managed to find for yourself mom. It’s truly an inspiration.” She said.

“Ryden, I’m not in the mood for your sarcastic tone right now. I’m so tired from the flight. Just give this place a chance. Once all our stuff gets here, I’m sure it will get better.” Her mother said. Ryden sighed.

“I’m going to go for a walk.” She said.

“I don’t know. We just go here. I don’t want you to get lost.” Her mother said.

“I’m not going to get lost. I’ll just follow the smell back here.” She muttered. Her mom crossed her arms and looked at Ryden,

“Was that necessary?” she asked. Ryden nodded,

“Yes mom, yes it was. This place !” she exclaimed, waving her arms around, gesturing to the room they were standing in.

“Ryden-“

“No, there’s no arguing in the matter. Why did we have to come here mom? I was perfectly happy right where we were! Why did you have to bring me here?!”

“Because it’s what your father wanted!” her mom yelled. Ryden closed and looked towards the floor. Oh, her dad…

Ryden slipped her shoes on, not daring to glance back at her mother. Without another word, she turned around and walked out the door.

“Ugh!” she exclaimed, walking along the street, ignoring the looks that people were giving her as the passed her by. ‘Why’d she have to pull the dad card?’ Ryden thought, shaking her head furiously, making her raspberry colored bangs fall into her eyes. ‘That was so low!’ she blew her bangs out of her face and looked around at her surroundings. They were all foreign to her. She didn’t even know where she was going. It’s not like she knew any place to go. She looked up to the sky and took a deep breath,

“Are you up there dad?” she asked quietly, “Are you still with me?” She stared at the sky, what was she thinking, it’s not like she was going to get an answer back.  Ryden puffed up her cheeks and looked back in front of her, only to run straight into someone who had stopped in front of her, causing her to completely fall backwards.

“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” the man asked, looking down at the girl that was now sitting on the ground. The girl nodded slowly, moving her arm and wincing. She looked down at it already seeing the discoloration forming around her wrist, and unnatural bump appearing on the inside.

“.” The man said, bending down and gently taking the wrist in his hands. Ryden tried to shy away, but the man just kept getting closer. He grabbed under her other arm and hoisted her up so that she was standing upright.

“Come with me. I’ll get this taken care of.” Ryden was about to protest, but he was already dragging her down the street. He looked back at her,

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ryden.” She said softly.

“Ryden.” He repeated, “That’s an interesting name. I like it. You can call me Teddy.” He said. Ryden nodded and continued to let the stranger pull her along.

“Is your real name Teddy?” she asked. The man laughed and looked down at her, realizing that they were now side by side.

“Do you not know who I am?” he asked. Ryden frowned and looked at him blankly. Teddy smiled, “I’ll take that as a no then.” He said.

“I’m sorry.” Ryden apologized. The man shook his head,

“No, it’s actually kind of refreshing.” Ryden nodded. Teddy could tell that she was confused. “Don’t worry.” He said, “You’ll understand soon enough.” Ryden just nodded again and looked away.

“This doesn’t look like a hospital.” She said as the entered a strange looking building. Teddy shook his head,

“No, but we have an on call medical staff here that will do the same thing the hospital will.” He said. Ryden looked around, staring in awe at everything.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“You REALLY don’t know, do you?” he asked. Yet again, she gave him a blank look. He chuckled, “This is YG Entertainment. Ryden blinked a few times, but continued to stare at him, as if waiting for him to explain more. “YG Family? Music?...Big Bang?” he exclaimed.

“Oh!” Ryden said quietly. Teddy sighed, what part of Korea had she been living in? Ryden nodded a few times and Teddy watched her.

“Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.” He said, raising his eyebrow. She nodded,

“I think I do…Big Bang. Five boys. Sing. Rap. Dance. That’s what you’re talking about right?” Teddy nodded at her, pushing her towards the elevator entrance.

“So you’re a fan.” He said. Ryden shook her head and Teddy looked at her questioningly.

 “I really don’t know that much about them. I mean, I own some of their songs, but I’ve lived in the U.S. my whole life. Korean music hasn’t really been a big part of it.” She explained, watching the numbers increase on the elevator screen. Teddy looked at her,

“So you lived in the U.S.? What part?” he asked.

“Long Beach, California.” She answered, “It’s about thirty minutes away from LA.” She explained. Teddy nodded,

“So what are you doing here?” he asked

“Me and my mom just moved here.” She said. “Mom thought it was time I learned about my culture.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Teddy motioned for her to follow him, and she obediently did. He turned to look back at her,

“Your Korean is really good. For someone who’s lived in the states their whole life, your pronunciation is perfect. “ he said.

“You can thank my mom for that.” Ryden said, “She wanted me to be able to speak to my grandparents, so I grew up with Korean as my first language and learned English on the side.” She explained. Teddy nodded in understanding and stopped in front of a door, knocking on it three times. A muffled ‘come in’ was heard and Teddy opened the door.

“Ah Teddy, how nice to see you again.” Said a man who looked to be in his thirty’s.

“Yeah yeah Hyung. Listen, can you do me a favor?” he asked. The man nodded,

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Can you check this girl’s arm for me? I ran into her on the street and I just didn’t want to send her on her way.” The man looked at Ryden and smiled,

“Come one over, let me see what’s going on here.” Ryden nervously stepped forward and let him gently grab her wrist.  “Ah, I don’t think it’s broken, but its definitely sprained.” The man said. “I’d ice it right when you get home. Switch between cold and hot. I’m also going to give you a brace. I want you to wear it for at least two weeks. Can you do that for me?” he asked, while gently sliding the brace over her hand. Ryden nodded slowly, already trying to think of what she was going to tell her mother.

“Thanks Hyung.” Teddy said. The man shook his head,

“It’s all good, it’s been a slow day here anyway.” Teddy laughed. Leave it to him to be disappointed that none of the trainees were getting hurt.  “Let me give you a ride home Ryden.” He said. Ryden shook her head,

“It’s really okay, it’s not that far.” She said, biting her lip.

“It’s really no problem. Come on.” He said. And for the second time that day, Ryden let this strange man drag her along behind him.