First Encounter
My Jerky NeighborThe reflection of passing cars and buildings flew by, painting a blurry collage of images. I sighed and rested my head against the bus window, my thoughts weighing me down. My mother and father were still upset about my decision to attend Sunhwa Arts School in Seoul, which I guess is understandable.
My grandmother had given me her old violin in second grade and I've been taking lessons on it ever since, but my violin teacher decided to leave to teach in America last year, so now I had no way to improve. Sure, I could practice by myself, but how far would that go? And besides, I wanted to be a violinist when I grow up, so I needed to get a proper lessons.
Then, I'd discovered Sunhwa Arts. It was the perfect school; big, beautiful, but expensive. And I, coming from a somewhat poor family, could never even dream of going to a school as costly as that. Talking it over with my parents, they suggested that I send in an application, which meant that if I have enough talent, I could be accepted and not have to pay tuition. Less than a month after sending in my application, a letter from Sunhwa Arts came in the mail. I'd been accepted!
Receiving this scholarship was nothing short of a blessing. However, when we had learned that Sunhwa was located about three hours away from where we were living, my parents’ enthusiasm quickly diminished. Being able to attend Sunhwa was one of my biggest dreams, and after much begging and convincing, my parents finally, but reluctantly, allowed me to leave home to attend there.
The only problem left was finding somewhere to live. My parents couldn’t just up and leave their apartment in Daejeon to come live in Seoul, and I didn’t have any other family or friends that lived near Sunhwa. After much looking, I finally found an ad online for a cheap apartment which was only about twenty-five minutes away from where Sunhwa Arts School was. What a find!
Too bad the apartment complex was located in one of the worst, roughest areas of Korea, but I left out that little detail when explaining to my parents the amazing new apartment that I’d be living in.
And with some tear filled hugs from my friends and parents, along with some final words from my parents like, “Are you sure you want to go to this school?” and “But it’s so faraway, are you sure you’ll be alright?” and, “If things ever get tough, you can come home,” I bid my mother, father, and friends farewell.
The morning sun rays oozed through the bus windows, and I smiled, sitting back in my seat. I’ve always been independent, especially since I’ve been an only child my whole life and both of my parents are always away on business trips, living alone will be no problem. I’ll get a part time job too, so they won’t have to worry about my apartment rent. And about living in the rough area of Seoul, I’ve been in Tae Kwon Do for six and a half years, and was voted toughest girl in middle school. Some sleazy gangsters are going to be a problem for me? Hah! I’ll make the slums my territory! Mother and father, don’t worry about me at all, because I’m going to be living out my dream.
The bus slowed, and I peered back outside the window and noticed that we had arrived at my stop. Grabbing onto my suitcases, I pushed past the bundle of people packed into the bus, but just as I was reaching the front bus doors, my foot caught on something hard. I began to lose my balance and could feel myself slipping forwards, but before I had known what had happened, I was being pulled in by a pair of arms.
“Hey, are you ok?”
Quickly recollecting myself, I glanced up at the person who had caught me. My eyes instantly shot open as I stared into the face of a young, and extremely attractive, teenage boy. I was immediatly drawn to his large eyes, which very few asian guys had. His eyes didn't look innocent though, they were solumn and sharp. A head of brightly colored, dyed hair sat perfectly messy on his head, and he had the type of nose that only a guy could pull off. I'd never seen anyone so handsome before.
He must’ve noticed my staring, for he suddenly had an annoyed look on his face. “I asked if you were ok,” he said gawking to himself in disbelief as he tossed his head, flipping locks of his beautiful hair out of his eyes.
I felt my stomach drop and my cheeks flare up. 'I was totally checking him out, of course he would notice!' I mentally face-palmed. “Oh, y-yeah, I’m fine! I’m sorry, I’m really clumsy sometimes and-“ But before I could finish my sentence, the boy turned around and began walking out the bus doors.
And just as he was about to get off of the bus, he spun around with a smirk. “Ya' know, I really do hate annoying, clumsy girls. Especially when they check me out.” And with that, the boy left.
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