“Come in!” you shouted from your bed as you stretched out your arms and plopped on the bed. Today was the last day of your college finals and you were more than relieved to know the stressful week was over. You no longer had to stay up late in the night to study or finish a paper.

Your nanny made her way over to you and sat down next to you. She was in her late fifties and you had grown accustomed to having her presence so long that she might as well have practically raised you. “Somin,” Sohee said as patted the spot next to her for you to sit up. You obediently sat up next to her and smiled. “Someone is having a good day.” She laughed as the wrinkles near her eyes formed.

You nodded and looked at the mirror that was on your vanity in front of your bed. “Well finals are over and now I can see Daniel more often.” You chirped as you fixed your hair. Daniel had been your boyfriend for over a year now and the relationship seemed to be growing.

Sohee remained quiet as she looked at you through the mirror. Sadness filled  her as she knew the heartbreak you were about to endure. There was something that was bothering her. “What’s wrong mom?” you asked her as she eyed you.

She looked into your eyes. You were looking into sincere, sad eyes that were concerned for you. After practically raising you and your brother, she had grown to love you both as her own children and considered the both of you as her children. “You’re mother wants to see you.” She said softly. Even though she raised you, there was still the presence of your biological mother in your life.

You frowned. It felt as though the happiness was right out of you. “What for?” you asked bluntly.

Sohee sighed and looked at the mirror. “It’s about school. She’s sending you back home with your brother.”

You stared at the maroon carpet. There were millions of thoughts roaming through your head yet you didn’t know which one to think about first.

Your mother had moved you to the United States to study when you were twelve. So you had to leave behind your best friend, friends, and everything you grew up knowing. Since then you had to take up a new language, make new friends, and adapt to a new culture. Now she was sending you back to readjust your life once again and leave everyone behind. Including your boyfriend.

“Somin, you better go see what she has to say. Maybe you can work something out.” Sohee said as she stood up from your bed and walked over to the door. You sighed and walked behind her. “Now don’t upset her or she might make things worse like last time.” She said as she turned the corner into another hall.

You stared at the tiled floor and the paintings of the wall. You were about to leave this house.

Sohee stopped at the two wooden double doors that lead to your mother’s office. “Try not to say anything offensive alright dear?”

“Yes mom.” You replied softly as Sohee knocked on the door.

On the other side you could hear your mother yell her reply. “Come in!” you winced at the tone of her voice. She sounded like she was having a bad day already. Sohee opened the doors and you slowly made your through your gates of hell.

“What is it?” your mother asked coldly as she read through a pile of papers on her desk. This was typical of her to concentrate on her work more than her household.

“You asked for me.” You replied as you stood in front of her wooden desk.

“Oh that’s right. Sit.” She said as she motioned her hands to the chairs in front of her desk without taking her eyes off of her papers.

As you sat down, you heard Sohee close the double doors behind you. You sat uncomfortably in the chair as you waited for your mother to acknowledge you again.

“How’s school?” she asked randomly while she organized her papers.

“Good.” You replied awkwardly.

She put the papers into a folder and scooted her chair to her filing cabinet. “So I saw that you’re still a Science major,” she started. You didn’t reply knowing that she had more to say or something to complain about. “You’re supposed to be a Business major like Junmyeon.” She seemed as though she was finished.

“Speaking of Junmyeon, his school is known to be excellent with the business department.” She stated as she turned her chair back to you. “Which is why we’re going back to Korea.” She looked at you with emotionless eyes. “So pack your things today because we’re leaving tomorrow.”

Your hands curled into fists as an attempt to calm yourself down. “I want to stay here.” You blurted out. “It took me awhile to make new friends and I can’t leave Daniel here.”

Your mother propped her hands on the desk and rested her chin on them. “Friends are meaningless. You only need colleagues. As for that boy, you have to break up with him immediately. We get to choose your suitors. Not like the commoners.” She paused. You stared at her intensely. “I had some investigation done on him too. He’s doesn’t fit the criteria we’re looking for. So if you were going to try to convince us, it will not work.”

“I don’t want to go.” You replied as though you ignored everything she just said to you. “I’m not going.”

Your mother slammed her hands on her desk. “I didn’t ask for your opinion! This is an order! You will do as I say!” you flinched at her sudden outburst. “Unless you want me to interfere with your life personally, I suggest you obey me. You may leave now.” She said as she turned to her computer.

You angrily walked out of her office and slammed her doors shut. Surely she was used to it by now. The only reason you obeyed her was because you knew how capable she was of messing with the lives of those you care about.

“I take it didn’t go well?” Sohee asked as she waited on you bed. Your emotions soften. There was no way you could be upset around her. You shook your head walked over to your walk-in closet to get your suitcase to find that it wasn’t in there. In fact, your closet was empty. “I had all your clothes packed earlier today. There’s just a couple of things that I didn’t know you wanted or not.” Sohee replied to the question in your head.

You sighed in relief. That was one less thing you had to stress about. “What were the things you were talking about?” you asked as you walked back to her. She motioned you to sit down on the bed where she had a couple of books and what seemed to be photo albums.

You sat down and opened the most recent one. You smiled at the memories you had made with the various people you had meet here and suddenly felt a knot in your chest. These were the people you were going to leave behind.

Sohee watched you as tears slowly made their way down you face. Her gaze softened. “You won’t be alone dear. I’ll be with you.” She said softly. “And I know there’s someone who has been missing you.” She finished as she handed you an older photo album. You turned the cover and your watery eyes started to roam around the pages. They were pictures of you when you were seven. You smiled at how happy you seemed to be. There were pictures of you and some old friends, but you noticed that there was one person who seemed to be in all of them. It was a skinny boy with the goofiest smile you had ever seen.

“Park Chanyeol.” Sohee whispered his name as she patted your back.