A/N: My apologies, I have decided to switch to first-person present tense writing instead of past tense.

Chapter 2

The last week went by like nothing. The bulk of the time was spent on all the preparations we had to do so that I knew mom would be well taken care of in my absence. Kim Young Soo, I refused to acknowledge him as my father, planned on hiring a couple of local boys to help mom out at the market where she runs a small street food stand. I got to pick who the boys were so that I knew Mom would have decent help. Uncle Song, from down the street, has a son about 13 and a nephew around the same age who I thought would be ideal for the job. The Songs have always been ridiculously helpful to Mom and I over the years so I think having this job for the boys will be a nice payment. They were also good kids. Transportation has also been arranged for Mom to go to the market and home, since from our house to the busy center market is a good hour of walking. Usually I give mom a ride on my bike but now Guardman Choi will be picking her up and dropping her off in his beat up Hyundai. Kim Young Soo wanted to buy Mom a car so she can drive herself, what an idiot. First, Mom can’t even drive a bike, how is she going to operate a car, and secondly, where the hell is she going to park the car in the busy marketplace? Of course when I called him an idiot and explained to him my amazing reasoning, Mom wasn’t very impressed with my language and I got a good scolding for it, but whatever. I’m right.

Now, lastly, we are talking to Kyung Mi’s mother about keeping Mom company by checking up on her every once in a while. Kyung Mi is my partner in crime and everything you could hope for in a best friend. When I was in elementary school and would always get picked on by bullies for having only a mom, Kyung Mi would always be on the sideline cheering for me while I beat the crap out of those kids. Then we’d both laugh our asses off in detention about how bloody their noses were. She also only has a mom, but that’s because her dad died, not because he was a bastard who abandons his family. Still, she went through her own period of being bullied because Kyung Mi is ridiculously short. At 17, I stand at 5 feet and 5 inches, which I guess is tall for an Asian girl, but standing next to Kyung Mi, I look like her giant older sister. She’s only 4 feet 9inches? Maybe 10, I don’t really know, but it took her forever to grow that tall and it doesn’t look like she’s going to growing any taller. Poor girl. Don’t let her small body fool you though, she has a mean kick.

Anyways, Kyung Mi and her mother are over to say good-bye and the atmosphere is bittersweet. Just thinking about going to live in the city without Kyung Mi beside me is a little scary, even for me. There was talk about her coming with me, but she really didn’t want to leave her mom and go live in a stranger’s house (wow, thanks a lot Kyung Mi). I understand though, since things aren’t so bad for her, she’s one of those kids who are commuting to the neighboring town for school. With the help of Kim Young Soo I guess I could’ve done the same thing but he told me that going to Seoul International Academy will guarantee me an easy admittance into Seoul National University (SNU), which is my dream school. So I’m it up and moving away for the next few years.

While Mom and Auntie Shim are talking in the kitchen, Kyung Mi and I are in my room packing my very limited amount of belongings into an old suitcase Mom pulled out of nowhere.

“So this is it huh, you’re leaving tomorrow,” she says solemnly. I nod and fold another old shirt and stuff it into the suitcase. “Do you really need to pack all this up? Isn’t he rich? Can’t you just buy new clothes when you get there?”

“Of course I’m taking all my clothes! I’m not going to freeload off him, all I need from him is a place to sleep and 3 meals a day while I go to school,” I glare at her for even thinking that I would use his money for a new wardrobe.

Kyung Mi shoots her hands up defensively. “Whoa, I didn’t mean it like that. Well…not really but I was just thinking, your clothes are pretty beat up and everyone in Seoul will be dressed in super nice clothes and all…you might stand out.”

“So? I don’t care…” I mumble and continue folding my ‘beat up’ clothes. Sure I don’t have the best looking shirts and pants, but they’re still wearable! Why should I waste perfectly fine clothes just because everyone else will be rich and stuck-up?

After this Kyung Mi becomes too quiet so I take a glance at her to see that she is smiling at me softly. “What?” I ask.

She just shakes her head and continues smiling. “Nothing, I was thinking that you might change once you go to the city, but then I realize that you are Jae Min. Kim Jae Min will remain the same no matter where she goes, right?”

This girl, she can be so cheesy sometimes. But what she said actually manages to cheer me up. She’s right; I’m not going to let who I am slip away just because I’m living somewhere new.

I give her one of my rare happy smiles, “Yeah, I’ll still be the same.”

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The drive from my small rural town to Seoul is long and quiet. This gives me ample time to think about the good-bye with Mom, which was…tearful and hard. At one point I thought I was going to open the suitcase, dump all my clothes on the ground, and refuse to leave. And even though Mom has been pushing me to leave this whole week, it was still heartbreaking for her to see me go. I think if she suddenly changed her mind and told me to stay, I would’ve stayed in a heartbeat, but she didn’t. Instead she gave me a long hug, and then shoved a big plastic bag into my arms.

I look down at the bag in my arms and decide that now would be a good time to open it. Inside is a metal lunch box fill with all my favorite foods. Oh mom…thank you… I’m not hungry yet so I left that box alone and open the small envelope that is also in the bag. Money?! I quickly count the amount and it turns out to be an even 100,000KRW. I couldn’t believe that she snuck me money! I don’t need this, especially since this must’ve been apart of her savings. I almost make the driver turn around but I realize that we are hours away already. Sighing, I put the money away in my backpack.

The last item in the bag is a black velvet jewelry box. I’ve seen this box before, but never cared enough to look what was inside. Apparently it is a thin jade bracelet that looked like it has seen better days. There are scratches all around it. I carefully take the bracelet out and give it a once over before slipping it into my left hand. It’s a perfect fit. I think this might’ve been Mom’s when she was younger since I’ve seen this bracelet in some of her childhood pictures. Knowing that it was a piece of her made me smile. I usually don’t like jewelry but I’ll make an exception for this one. Now I just have to be careful with everything that I do so that I don’t break it. I’m usually a rough person who does things with too much force, so this is going to be a challenge. Did Mom give this to me on purpose as a hint that I should be more ladylike in the city….? Eh, whatever. I’m sure I’ll still be as unladylike as ever, bracelet or not. With this thought, I smile and slowly drift off to sleep.

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I miss the entire drive through the city while asleep so when I wake up to the shaking of the driver, the car is in front of a huge house. I look around the neighborhood and see similarly large homes down the street with the big gates and towering walls. Such a welcoming place, I think sarcastically. At home, you can usually see into people’s houses because everyone leaves their door open since it’s too hot sometimes to close your door. It’s not like there’s anything worth stealing anyways. I guess I’m supposed to be impressed with the wealth around here, but instead I feel suffocated by all the walls and metal gatings. Already I’m missing the open fields and dirt roads of the countryside.

“Mr.Kim and his family are waiting for you inside Miss,” the driver says outside the car.

“Okay, thanks,” I say to him for the first time. I step out of the car and hold out my hand for my suitcase that he is holding. Then we seem to have some sort of staring contest going on. What the hell…give me my case! He finally gets the message after I start glaring at his hand for a while.

“O-oh! Um…here…I guess…” He reluctantly hands me my stuff. I stiffly nod at him before walking up the steps to the house by myself. The door is huge, probably 3 feet taller than my head and more than an arm-span wide. I take a deep breath and begin knocking on it. Nothing happens for at least a minute. I knock again and still no response. Now I’m getting annoyed. I thought they were supposedly waiting for me inside? I turn around and the driver is still there, just standing by the car awkwardly waiting for something.

“Yah! No ones home,” I yell down at him. He jumps a little before clambering up the steps to stand next to me.

“Ah...that’s probably because no one can hear you knocking…you have to ring the doorbell,” he then points at the button to the left of the door. I look at him skeptically before pressing it. Then I hear a faint ding dong coming from behind the door and footsteps coming towards us. A young maid in her uniform opens the door and bows deeply to me.

“Hello! You must be Miss Jae Min, please follow me!” The door opens wider and I’m beckoned inside. I follow this bubbly maid through a few hallways filled with fancy tables with porcelain vases on top of them. As we pass by other maids, they all bow over 90 degrees to me and I start to feel ridiculously uncomfortable. I’m not rich or noble or anything, they don’t have to show that much respect. In fact, didn’t anyone tell them that I’m their master’s bastard daughter? Probably not.

Finally we reach the room the bubbly maid calls ‘The Family Room’ and I see 3 people sitting on big leather couches. So that’s why they need a huge door, so they can fit their gigantic furniture through… I scoff out loud at the idea.

Kim Young Soo notices me first and stands up immediately to greet me. “Jae Min, you made it!” He calls out happily and starts to walk towards me. His arms start to open, like he’s expecting a hug or something. In your dreams old man. I back away immediately and give him a glare that says ‘Come near me and I’ll chop your hands off’. Sensing my usual hostility, he sighs.

“How was your trip? Are you tired?” He tries instead.

“Fine. And No,” I reply curtly. I don’t even know why he’s still trying. The few days that he was at our house, I thought I made it clear that I hated his guts.

“Ah, that’s good… Well, welcome, let me introduce you to everyone,” he gestures towards the other two females in the room. My first impression of them? That this was going to be a rough few years. I can tell right away that they hate me and thought I look like the lowest creature on earth. Just look at those slitted cat-like eyes, it’s like they’re trying to burn a hole through my head. Hah, too bad for them I have a very thick skull. I return their dirty looks with a look of indifference.

“This is my wife, Yeon Eun and Sunhwa, my daughter.” I wonder if he is purposely ignoring the hostility that they are throwing at me or if he really can’t sense it.

“Hello,” I say lamely. Mom would be disappointed in me for being so rude, but I can’t help it. These people just don’t look very nice, and I don’t like beating around the bush with people I don’t think deserve respect from me. The wife and daughter don’t even return my ‘Hello’. See?

“We are all going to be a family now, so I hope everyone will get along well.” Following his declaration is the unified sound of three people scoffing. Family? No way in hell.

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Luhan and the exo boys appear next chapter =)