Chapter Eight

~Item~

Yoomi was back in her room. She was sitting on her bed and just staring at her two closets.

    I want to leave. I could try to run away.

    “I will find you."

    Yoomi rubbed her arms.

    Or not.

    Yoomi sighed. She walked up to her brand new backpack that was hanging on a coat rack. She picked it up carefully and sat down on the couch. She went through the bag. Books about math, science, history, and music was in her bag. She took them all out and read over them.

    Yoomi closed the books after she finished the first lesson of each book. She looked at the time.

    9:30pm.

    She sighed and walked to one of the closets. It was full of shoes. She closed the door and walked to the next closet. It was full of clothes. Clothes that she never thought that she could had ever afford. Yoomi walked into the humongous closet and looked around. She sighed.

    Rich people. Can't they spend their money on better things?

    Yoomi found a simple tank top and shorts. She got a pair of undergarments and walked into the bathroom. She took a shower and dried her hair. Yoomi got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror.

    This feels like a dream. A nightmare. I want to wake up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Luhan woke up to the ringing of his alarm clock. He yawned and got up. He slapped his alarm clock, making it stop ringing. Luhan got out of his bed and walked into his closet. He put on one of his everyday suits. He looked at the time.

    6:30am.

    He thought about what Nai Nai said the night before.

-Flashback-

    "Wake up early tomorrow. You'll be sending Yoomi to school every morning. I don't care that the others go to the same school as her. I want you to send her. You have to pick her up after her classes too," Nai Nai said sternly.

-End of Flashback-

    Luhan sighed and rolled his eyes. He began to make his way to the white living room. Suho walked into the living room with his uniform on.

    "So, are you waiting for Yoomi?" Suho asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Yoomi looked at herself in the mirror. Even though it was college, the students were still required to wear uniforms. Yoomi was wearing a short skirt that went to her mid thighs. Her skirt was striped navy blue and white. Her jacket was a plain navy blue with the school's emblem on the left side. Her jacket had a white outline. Her dress shirt was white, with ruffles on the front. Her tie matched her skirt. Instead of knee-length socks she wore stockings. Instead of her torn up converse, she wore black sophisticated high heels. Her backpack was as just as sophisticated as her uniform. Yoomi felt like a total different person. She didn't feel like she belonged in this world.

    Why me?

    Yoomi sighed and looked at her brand new watch.

    6:40am.

    Yoomi had her hair up in a high ponytail. She patted down her clothes and took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She sighed and opened her eyes.

    This is your new life. Omma...appa...I still don't understand.

    Yoomi walked out of her room. Surprisingly Jason wasn't there. As Yoomi was making her way towards the living room, she heard a familiar voice.

    "So, are you waiting for Yoomi?" Suho asked.

    "Yeah, why?" Luhan asked.

    Yoomi was about to walk into the living room, but stopped when she heard the next question.

    "Does she know?" Suho asked.

    Know what?

    Yoomi was staring at the wall, listening closely to what they were saying.

    Luhan shook his head.

    "I don't think so."

    "That's so horrible. I talked to halmeoni about her. Her past was very terrible, Luhan. You have to take care of her. Just thinking about it makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry," Suho said.

    "Why? What happened?" Luhan asked curious.

    How was it that Suho knew more things about his wife than he did?

    "Luhan, Yoomi was treated like a slave," Suho shook his head, "no, they treated her worse than a slave. They made her work day and night. They took all the money she earned and used it for themselves. She couldn't even buy herself decent clothes. When she was growing out of her clothes she had to wear her mother's clothes. She never got to buy anything she wanted. Her birthday was never celebrated. She was forced to wake up at the crack of dawn to go to work, then she had to go back home in time to make breakfast for her parents. Yoomi began saving money in secret to go to university, but when her parents found out, all hell broke loose. Her parents took the money away from her and beat her. They spent her money to buy themselves new clothes. She couldn’t even buy her own laptop, she got a laptop from her teacher as a graduation present," Suho said.

    His eyes began to tear up as he thought about all the horrible things that had happened to her. Luhan was shocked. He didn't know that people could be this heartless.

    "How much?" Luhan asked.

    "How much what?" Suho asked.

    "How much did Nai Nai pay them?"

    Pay them? Yoomi thought in disbelief. They bought me.

    "If I remember correctly, Nai Nai paid 5 million won upfront, and she'll continue to pay them in the future."

    Yoomi's hands balled up into fists as tears threatened to fall.

    I'm nothing but an item that can be bought and thrown away. How much time will pass before they throw me out?

End of Chapter Eight