Your family is a big part of who you are as you grow up. I have too many memorable moments with them: threatening the girls who picked on my little sister, eyeing down the girl who ended up marrying my brother. It might seem a little tomboyish, but I protect the things and the people, that I care about... Life is easy and carefree right now. I work at my family’s restaurant; waiting tables before I head off to university. I’m sad to leave, but mother wants me to see the world on a bigger scale and not just our little town. The good thing about me leaving is that I’m spending a lot of time with my family now. My parents have been teaching me random things like: basic physics, outsmarting people, and fighting. I thought it was strange that they would randomly show me these things, but they just told me that I would need the skills to survive on my own as a girl in the city. It’s tough, but I’m just enjoying the last few weeks that I get to spend with the people I would give the world for…

*Knock, knock, knock*

“Come in”

My mother halfway opened the door and peered in. “Taengo we need you to walk your sister to the bus.” “Alright mom, I’ll be out in a second” I responded while turning back towards my diary:

That’s a good log for today.

After getting dressed I lazily walked out of my room and greeted my family “Morning Mom, Dad, Haeyeon.” The girls in the room were eating breakfast while my father was drinking his morning tea.

My father didn’t eat much and was thin because of it, but over the years I found that he was deceptively strong. I once saw him lift up the end of a car so he could put the jack under the tire.

“Good morning” they all replied as my father set down his cup of tea “You ready for more lessons today, Taengo?” “Ughh, I’m still sore from yesterday; and the day before that; and the day before that…” My dad cut me off as he knew I could go on forever with that. “Well in a few weeks you’ll be gone, so we’ve got to get through this while we have the time. I won’t let my daughter go off into a dangerous world unprepared.” “Yeah, I know” I responded “That’s why you’re the best dad.” I grabbed a roll of kimbap and kissed my mother on the cheek and my father on his forehead. “Hae, let’s go or you’ll miss the bus.” I said while walking out the door. “Ok, coming Unnie” she grabbed her backpack and followed me out.

We took our time walking to the bus; just enjoying the view and talking. “So are you finally going to talk to Woojin today?” Woojin was the boy my sister liked at school, but she never built up the courage to talk to him. Her cheeks flared red: flustered by the blunt statement, my sister quickly changed the subject “So how long until you leave for the city?” I put the roll of kimbap in my mouth as she was talking and tried to respond without realizing it was there “Ffree weekfss.” My sister stopped, turned, and looked at me: my cheeks’ bulging from the food and a piece of seaweed wrap was hanging from the side of my mouth. As I imagined the site she must have been looking at, we both burst out in laughter…

A few more minutes passed of us walking when we finally reached the bus stop. Before getting on, my sister turned around and stared at me for a second “Can we go get ice cream when I come home from school?” Smiling at her, I responded “Yeah, let’s do that.” Wanting to do stuff was her way of asking to hang out. We hadn’t spent a lot of time together the past few months because I spent the majority of the day getting ‘lessons’ from my parents.

Dad’s going to want us to start as soon as I get home… I’ll just take the long way home.

It’s not that I didn’t like the lessons, but I got my kicked sparring the previous da.

I’m convinced my parents are robots. People their age shouldn’t be able to move that fast…

 I stopped walking as I came across the lake by my house, and just took everything in. The sun was creeping over the horizon, causing it to be hot, but I welcomed its embrace.

Life is good…

*

I should really head home now.

he minutes felt like seconds as I playfully walked on a fence towards my house.

Haha! Maybe these lessons are handy.

I gracefully jumped off the fence when my house came into my line of sight. Though I was sore, all of my movements were easier and more carefree.

When I got a little bit closer to my house, I noticed something unusual parked in front of my house: An animal pound truck with the doors open and what looked like a man sitting in the back.

Is that dad?

My suspicion was confirmed when I saw my mother, hands zip-tied and mouth-gagged, being pushed from my house into the truck by a strange man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. The man forced my mother into the back of the truck with my father, and got into the passenger seat of the car. I looked around to see if anyone else saw what was happening, but it was early in the morning and most people weren’t awake yet.

It took some time for the truck to start because the two men in the front seat were having a conversation. They also took time to look around, but they didn’t notice me because I was crouching behind the fence.

Wait, how can I see them?

They were a long distance away, but I was able see most things clearly.

It seems like the meditating I and my mother have been doing is paying off.

The meditation didn’t just help out my sight, but it also tweaked my other senses. I could hear things that I shouldn’t be able to and so on. Getting rid of that thought, I focused on what was going on in front of me. The truck started and moved in the opposite direction of me. I can’t catch-” My thought was cut off by a memory of something my father once said to me when I was trying to catch a rabbit to keep as a pet.

“Taengo, the best way to catch something isn’t to chase it directly. Most of the time they can’t go entirely straight so find out their route and cut them off.”

I remember him effortlessly catching a rabbit directly after that. With the memory in mind I climbed onto the fence and looked at where the truck was going. The truck was headed towards the closest way out of town and I had to intercept it.

Without thinking I jumped off the fence and made my way through a line of backyards. I easily vaulted over a fence that separated the homes from the main streets. Running for a few more blocks I ended up on the main street that led out of town. The road was riddled with trees and I quickly climbed one.

 I had enjoyed tree climbing since I was young, and while most parents looked down at it, mine embraced it. We would race each other to the top, and I usually came out the victor.

Once a good height from the ground, I looked back at the town and saw the truck driving towards the street under me. I got behind a branch, so they couldn’t see me, and readied myself to jump.

What am I doing?

In a normal state of mind I would’ve thought that this whole situation was crazy, but I didn’t have time to observe it, I needed to act fast.

As the car came closer, the rabbit memory popped back into my head again

“Remember, Taengo, timing is everything.” 

My dad quickly snatched the rabbit and patted it on the head. I looked down again and saw the truck even closer.

It’s now or never.

A few moments before the car was directly under me, I let go of the branch and jumped…

Time seemed to go slower than it usually did while I was falling.

Well after my lessons nothing seems normal to me.

An instant later I hit the roof of the truck’s carrier and fell to the side grabbing on to the top. “What was that?” I heard the driver say. The guy in the passenger side was laying back and didn’t move. “It was probably just a pothole” he said “Don’t worry about it.”

If he would’ve looked in his rearview, I would’ve been in trouble.

Scaling the side of the truck I made my way to the back. I grabbed the small bar window that let air in and peered in the back. My mother instantly noticed me and nudged my father to look. With my mothers help they were able to get the gag off of my father’s mouth so that he could talk. He walked to the back of the carrier and stared me in the eyes…

… “What’s going on dad? Who are these people? Why are they taking you and mom? ...” I began to bombard my father with questions. He didn’t answer and of my questions, but instead changed the subject “You’re going to have to take care of your sister for the time being. I can’t explain what’s going on right now, but your mother and I are going to be alright.” My mom nodded in agreement, but I could see that she was hiding something. My father continued talking “You have to get off of this truck.” “But I can get you two out of here.” I responded. I tried to fidget with the lock, but it was made out of steel.

I have to get this thing open!

“No!” My father said. He’s never spoken to me this sternly before. “Quickly, you have to get inside the restaurant. Remember hide-and-seek.”

Huh?

He continued talking. “Get your sister from school and be cautious of those around you.” He motioned towards my mother and she walked over to the bars. She looked at me in the eye, tearing up; she pressed her forehead against my hand. I also began tearing up as she made her back to where she was and my father reappeared in the window. “We both love you so much, Taengo. Take care of your sister and let her know that everything’s ok.” “How am I supposed to take care of things by myself?” I replied with hot tears lining my face. “We’ve been preparing you for this.” My father replied. He saved face, but I can tell that he was torn up about the situation. “Remember our lessons. Remember hide-and-seek in the restaurant.”

Why does he keep bringing up hide-and-seek?

I messed with the lock one more time in order to jar it free, but it was a no-go. My father kissed my hand that was holding on to the window while raising his own. “May safety and wisdom be your friend” With that he grabbed my fingers and pried them from the bars…

I hit the floor, rolling for what seemed to be an eternity. The truck wasn’t moving too fast so I didn’t skid on the ground too hard, but I did gain a few scrapes and bruises. A small cut lined my right cheek; it stung as raised myself from the road. I stood to see the truck drive over a hill and out of my view. I wasn’t saddened or mad from the situation at hand. Those emotions hadn’t hit me yet. With everything that just happened finally dawning on me, I went into the stage of shock.

“Wait… what?”