A Scheduled Trip To Candy Mountain
November 26th

The door to the practice room opened but the presence went unnoticed above the American hip hop music blearing. The newest addition to the dance studio quietly closed the door behind them. Standing in silence, they watched the man in sweat pants and tank top hit every beat with precision. Sliding off to his left foot and throwing his arm in the air as he , the dancer's eyes caught sight of his guest in the wall of mirrors. Startled, the man staggered. Tripping over his own foot, the male half of the pair currently occupying the low lit dance studio flailed around to face the intruder.

"You scared me." He huffed, his accent noticeably off as he held his hand over his chest.

"YiXing Seonbaenim," The young woman who had seemingly appeared from nowhere held out the decorated slip in the school's colours with both hands. Lowering her head, she waited for the exchange student to accept the mail. " I was told to give you this."

Accepting the letter with both hands, YiXing bowed twice in quick succession. Picking at the seal, the brunet hummed lowly. Straight faced as sweat droplets raced down his toned chest and arms, the exchange student read over the foreign characters in a scrawled font, and then did so again. And then again until the female who'd delivered the envelope cleared meekly.

"Shall I read it for you?" She asked and YiXing instantly handed the slip back to the short girl. "Zhang YiXing," She started but her eyes got ahead of . Her lips pursed and her brows raised dramatically. "Omo..." Chewing lightly on the tip of her tongue, the female tried not to show her surprise. "You have been selected to take part in this year's Development Program. Please attend the meeting in the assembly hall at 4:30pm - November 26th. Congratulations on your acceptance." Peering up at the man within her personal space and looking over her shoulder to see the words as she read, the Freshman was startled by the proximity.

Noticing the small girl’s surprise, YiXing took a step back and inclined his head as he held his hands up. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Giving a look of pity, the petite girl’s expression softened. “Seonbaenim…” She opened to give words of consolation but was waved off with a smile.

Zhang YiXing was a Chinese student over on a three-year study swap. He was taking Korean Language as his major with dance as his extracurricular activity. The man was known by his fellow students for his comically bland expressions that made his subtle spurts of dry humour all that more side splitting. Regardless of his appearance, he was one of the most generous and warm hearted people on campus.

"Thank you for reading it for me, and don't look so worried." He patted her shoulder once and made for the other side of the practice room where he'd put his belongings. "It might be fun."

The younger female watched her senior collect his stuff, oblivious to what was in store for him. "I'm happy that you're so optimistic." She mumbled flatly, recalling what her older brother had been like four years ago after returning from the same 'Improvement Trip'. Her sibling wouldn't even eat dinner with his family for three months after he returned. She would hate to see one of the nicer upperclassmen turn out the same way.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, the dancer held up a small ring of keys. “I don’t mean to seem like I’m throwing you out, but I have to take these back to the office before the receptionist leaves.”

As if she’d received a jump-start, the small woman threw her hands up and shook them. “No, no. I’m sorry for keeping you.” Bowing formally, the Freshman shot up. “Good luck, Seonbaenim!” With that, the brunette scampered out of the practice room.

YiXing sat on the bench beside the door. Letting his bag hit the floor between his feet, he reached behind his head and flicked the light off. Now that the music was no more, and he was left alone in the dark, he thought about the letter he had received. Or moreover, how a stranger had stopped to help him understand it even though she was no doubt as busy as everybody else. It reminded him of when he had first arrived two years ago. It was the complete opposite of what he had been introduced to.

He hated it. He really used to hate it; he hated being somewhere other than his home. He hated the food, and the nuance in weather; he hated not knowing how to navigate the city, and getting used to the currency. He hated not being able to communicate properly, but most of all, he hated the way people treated him.

The racial slurs and the mockery due to not understanding the customs quickly found him. He was alone in a country he came to in order to learn but nobody seemed to see that, they just saw a foreigner who didn’t have a clue or any rights. On top of all the things he was trying to come to terms with for not just his own benefits in life, he was also forced to deal with ignorant fools that found him an easy target.

However, not everybody that he crossed paths with were so blatantly cruel. He had met a handful of people who showed him that it wasn’t all bad. They had taught him that even without knowing the language, people can communicate just fine. They had included him, and called him a friend. They had given him a certain, small kind of hope that even the most daunting things can turn out to be an improving, enjoyable experience.

He had managed to hold himself together this far, but now he was going to be shipped off somewhere else and all that he could think of was the possibility of going through the same cycle of incapacity for acceptance.

Updated: 29th December 2018 - 18:18