“A Day To Remember”

 

Kojiee, 2014

 

 

 

 

Part One.

 

 

It was a fine Sunday morning in one of the district of Seoul. In a particular street of two-storey houses, two men in blue overalls, one was brawny looking and the other was awfully scrawny could be seen carrying large boxes to and fro into the awaiting truck  in front of a blue house.

“Taeng, please hurry up. Your brother is waiting in the car.”

A pleading voice of a man could be heard from the front lawn for the tenth time in the past hour. Acknowledging that he won’t be getting any response once again, he exhaled rather loudly, loosening himself up, not wanting to be bloody with the stubborn eleven year old kid inside.

“Taeng?” He called disbelievingly when he walked in to his daughter’s bedroom; her clothes were unpacked, all her stuff were still all over the place, and annoyingly, she didn’t  spared even a minute glance on his direction. She was seemingly engrossed with the Play Station with her eyes glued on the screen while both hands holding the controller; the video game console he remembered he packed last night.

“I told you last night to pack your belongings Taeng.” He said with a soft tone in his voice. He didn’t want to sound angry; it won’t help easing the situation with an unreasonably determined child of his.

The eleven-year old Taeyeon, or what her older brother and father fondly call her, Taeng, nodded her head absentmindedly with her small fingers still busy pushing buttons. Her faint eyebrows scrunching up while staring stonily at the two virtual fighting players of Tekken. Her gaze was hard and unwavering, but it wasn’t because her concentration was on the game she was obviously losing. Mainly, it was more about not wanting to compromise to Mr. Kim's dictatorship, a term she used very often. Even at her young age, she was in no doubt that her silent protest won't be considered as a childish act, maybe a little, but it was far better than throwing tantrums, on which she over passed since she was nine.

 

 Mr. Kim was being unreasonable to her and to her brother, even though her older sibling didn’t opposed to every single verdict Mr. Kim made, on which Taeyeon frequently considered as self-centered and evil.

The small Korean girl with a blue-white striped shirt under a baby blue denim jumper sat grouchily on the bedside already made a firm decision last night, she won’t move and nothing would make her move. It’s their house and she had no plans moving out. When her father declared surprisingly two weeks ago, three days before her fifth grade will end, on a very fine Monday morning, during a not-so usual harmonious breakfast between the three of them that they will be moving to a new residence, five hours away from where they lived now; she was beyond mad.

 

 

“Kids, I already made arrangements. We are leaving Seoul to a quieter place in Busan—

“What?!”

---sit down young lady. I had already put our house in sale and someone had made a pur—

“Andwae! There is nothing wrong with our home!” Taeyeon reasoned.

---Taeyeon calm down and take your seat.” The furious little girl with no choice, obliged once again to her father’s order.

Mr. Kim closed his eyes and groaningly rubbed both of his temples.

“I’m okay with it Dad.” Heechul smiled timidly to his stressed father.

“Oppa!” Taeyeon cried out loud, not believing her brother’s accordance.

“Taeyeon lower down your voice. Like what I have said earlier, the house is already sold, partially that is, and I had already bought a house and a lot in Jeonju, nearby your grandparents’ house.

We are moving by the end of June, that----

“No.” The only girl uttered while eyeing the unfinished morsel of her breakfast.

“Taeng, listen to Dad first. Will you kiddo?” Heechul softly asked.

“NO!” Taeyeon slammed her first on the table, shocking the two older males.

“TAEYEON!”

“Why do we have to move Dad? We are fine here! I’m doing fine in school and I have great friends, and Oppa is a senior next year, and most importantly this our house. OUR house Dad! OUR HOME!

This is our home Dad! I live here. You live here. Oppa lives here. Mom lived here. How could you just sold our home to some stranger?!”

“Taeyeon, listen to me. We are moving because----

“Because of what Dad?! Because you are selfish!” Taeyeon left his father and brother speechless. She angrily stormed out not bothering her brother’s yells, she hastily grabbed her bike, pedalling angrily to nowhere in particular until her legs ached that she had to stop, and eventually missing whole day of class. She returned home when the sky started to darken with her puffy red eyes and sore thighs and calves.

Mr. Kim and his stubborn daughter didn’t exchanged words for a week, with an upset Taeyeon purposefully ignored the former. She did a lot of silly things and extreme threatening just to change her Dad’s mind, but in no luck of course.

 

 

“Taeyeon, we are leaving in forty minutes.”

Taeyeon pretended that she didn’t hear anything when in fact she was mad and almost close to crying.

Her father elicited a groan of dismay and Taeyeon heard it. She wasn’t happy nor triumphant hearing her father’s discontentment of her action. She was infuriated, to her eleven year old mind; her father was the selfish man on earth and her least favourite person when he decided to let their mother go four years ago, keeping them with him, and now letting go of the house, the only reminder of her most favourite person and the happy complete family they used to be, the happy and complete family they could never be. It’s making her more irritated and confused than ever. She already had an earful of explanations and all the reasons why but none of it seemed to sink in her thick skull. She will never understand the decision her father made, it wasn’t for them, because to Taeyeon, everything was all about him.

She felt another weight on the bed, and out of reflex, she moved farther away from the person she didn’t want a word with. But she knew where this will be going, another father-daughter talk. She pressed somewhat harder and rapidly on the buttons that she could feel both of her thumbs starting to get hurt.

“Taeyeon, we already talked about this every single night for five days straight.” His voice wasn’t stern like how it always been, it was rather tired but his daughter failed to sympathize for she already had built an invisible wall, a boundary to which her father exist and on which he didn’t, and a line where her father will never get to cross.

“I know you are angry. I know you feel like everything is taken away from you and your brother. I know you hate me. I know you think I’m selfish….and even unreasonable. Trust me baby, your Daddy knows.”

“You know right.” She retaliated sarcastically without looking at him.

“We are going to live a beautiful life in Jeonju. Let’s talk about new friends that you will meet, about new environment you are going to enjoy, about new life Taeyeon.” He patiently explained.

“What about no?” She turned to him with a glare.

He knew this brunette of his and how lucky he could get, if he could earn a word or two out of , or even a sentence that often didn’t made sense. His young daughter was like her mother. He bitterly smiled remembering the only woman in his life. And he tried to understand that Taeyeon was too young to comprehend everything, that everything that he did was for them, and he knew that she will be hurt when the time comes that he will tell her the truth. But for now he had to be tough.  He stood up towards the electrical outlet, pulling the plugs, startling his daughter.

“Look, whether you like it or not we are moving.”

Then he left Taeyeon staring blankly on the blank screen with the game console on hand.

 

 

 

“What taken you so long Taeng?” Heechul annoyingly asked from the front seat while he fixed his shoulder-length black hair from the rear view mirror.

“I was just rechecking Hee.” Taeyeon lied as she settled her suitcase on the back of the car.

“For an hour and a half? Are you serious?” He pointed out. Heechul was five years older than his younger sister. As an older brother he looked after her and he had seen how she changed in the span of four years after their mother left. Heechul was only twelve when the seven year old Taeyeon started to ask questions and pleading him to bring their mother back because obviously their father won’t.

 

 

“Oppa, Oppa…” He remembered Taeyeon called him in the middle of the night. She went to his room with her face full of tears.

“Yes Taeng? Why are you crying? Don’t cry please.” He calmly said.

“Let’s look for mommy. Please Oppa, let’s look for Mommy.”

“Taeng, we can’t look for Mommy. It’s already dark and it’s dangerous outside.” He kneeled in front of her and wiped her tears. He pitied his sister and that he felt sorry.

“But but but—

“Shush now. Oppa will tuck you in bed okay?” He carried Taeyeon on his lanky arms towards her bedroom across his.

The little girl nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Heechul smiled.

“Oppa, why did Mommy leave? She doesn’t want Taetae anymore? She doesn’t want Hee anymore?” Taeyeon asked between sniffs.

“I ugh---

Heechul didn’t know what say for he too, had no idea of what really happened but somehow tried to find meaning out of everything. He sighed, turning the lights on of the dark room. It occurred to him that Taeyeon hated the dark and only their mother was diligent enough to patiently wait for the little girl to fall asleep.

“Mommy hates us? Mommy hates Daddy?” Taeyeon again sobbed.

“No no no Taeng. Mommy loves us.” Heechul reassured his baby sister, soothing her back until she quiet down again.

“Then why Mommy left?” Taeyeon asked one last time as Heechul placed her underneath the blankets.

“I will sleep with you okay? I will be here until you dream a very sweet dream.” He changed the topic and walked over the switch, turning off the light.

He lay down beside her. “Sleep now my dear little angel.” His voice quivered as his tears dropped one by one.

The sleepy little girl didn’t press on instead she hugged her older brother to sleep.

 

 

It was a painful memory to Heechul but nevertheless he helped her sister coping up with what happened to their family and guided her in every way until she was stubborn enough. He knew his sissy so much that he was fully aware that she was lying.

Taeyeon nodded.

“Please tell me something that I don’t know.”

“Fine, I don’t want any of these. Oppa, you only have one year left in high school. Why you let that man decides?”

“Oh Taengoo, firstly, that man you are speaking of is your father, our father. Secondly, this is old news and thirdly, I believe that Dad has his reasons.” And this one particular hatred of his little sister towards their father, she blamed the man.

“And you blindly believe his reasons!” Taeyeon lashed to her brother. She had to knock some sense. If this was a battle, she needed an ally, it’s her brother, who apparently not on her side.

Heechul kept quiet. He didn’t want the situation to escalate further especially an argument with an eleven year old girl.

Taeyeon knew this side of her brother. She shook her head in defeat.

“Someday Taeng, everything will make sense.”

She heard him but shrugged Heechul’s words, to Taeyeon it didn’t made sense. All of these didn’t made sense. She looked sadly through the window, taking a good look of the familiar streets and houses, the trees and people passing by. She didn’t even said goodbye properly to her friends…because she reassured herself that she would be coming back.

She stared at their house, the front lawn, the small garden and the single swing tied on the strong branch of the only tree on their lot.

“Okay kids fasten your seatbelts.” The engine roared and the car started to move with the truck following behind.

Taeyeon took a last glimpse to the place where she knew she will always be safe.

 

Mom, I will not let everything go away just like that...unlike Dad.