I was walking in front of our new house, snow screeching under my feet, waiting for the moving company’s car which was supposed to come already twenty minutes ago.

 My mom was inside the house making the room arrangement and deciding how she is going to organize the furniture. My dad was at the office since the morning, getting the paperwork done.

Our family just moved to Seoul, South Korea, because my father got relocated to the local branch of Kia Motors, more than freaking eight thousands kilometers away from my home. It happened to be country, where I knew no one and new nothing about, neither language, nor the culture. ‘How the hell my parents think I’m gonna survive there, or even enroll in the school and finish my remaining two years of high school?!’

I sighed for the umpteen times during last twenty minutes and glanced once again on my mobile. Not even one minute passed, but I had enough. I was freezing to the bone.

I loudly scoffed as I made my angry but slow steps to the front door. My legs felt so stiff thanks to the cold weather outside. I opened the entrance with shaky hand and smiled in victory when I finally stepped inside.

I waited a while till my body regained the normal temperature and took of my Timberlands. No, I’m not that rich, it was a present from my parents to stop throwing tantrum about the moving.

As my feet were free, I slowly moved my finger to once again start the blood circulation in my legs. I raised my head after I took of my coat and scarf and lazily put them on the stairs nearby since there wasn’t any rack here. Once I stepped into the spacious room I could see yellow sticky notes on the walls and floor. I lifted my eyebrow in confusion and approached the nearest one on the wall on my right. I looked at my mom’s neat handwriting while I read the words ‘family portrait’. ‘So that’s how my mom organized the room, it’s really…interesting? Yeah, I think I can put it that way.’ I was talking to myself in my head as I walk around the room observing other notes with words such as ‘sofa’, ‘coffee table’, ‘lamp’ and so on.

I walked around the whole ground floor and moved to the stair to check the first one. I met my mother on my way there with patch of yellow sticky notes in her left hand and pen in the right hand. She seemed surprised seeing me inside.

“Oh, Alice, what are you doing here? Did the car with our new furniture already come?” she asked.

“Sorry that I was freezing out there. And, no mom, they’re still not here. By the way, what do you mean with already?! They were supposed to come like half an hour ago!” I answered clearly irritated with the joy in her voice. She seemed way too happy about all this moving and then there was me, who was nothing but happy about all of this.

“Young lady! How do you think you are talking to me?!” My mother was attempting to scold me.

I just rolled my eyes and continued my way up. I quickly scanned the tags on the doors and finally found my name written in the one at the farthest right corner.

I stepped inside and take a good look at the surroundings. I noticed two white doors on the left side. ‘Well, if this room has own bathroom and walk in closet, that’s two points to good.’ I thought and opened the first one.

“Bingo.” I silently cheered as I was looking at nice, modern bathroom. I closed the entrance and opened the next door. As I predicted, it was walk in closet, not the biggest one, but still enough for my clothes.

I sighed as I stepped to the big window, the view on the street in front of our house greeted me and I could see the sky slowly darkening. I took my cell phone out of the back pocket of my black skinny jeans and slid finger across the screen to make it alive. The clock in the right corner indicated that it’s already almost four in the afternoon. ‘No wonder the twilight is already starting outside, since today is 12th December.’ I still can recall my memory about the day exactly two months ago when my parents announced this crazy news about moving across half of the world. It was just one week before my seventeenth birthday. My celebration this year was the saddest one I could remember. Instead of laughing and having the girl’s night out, I and my friends cried together over our last days with each other. I didn’t even realize it, but a small tear suddenly rolled down my cheek at remembrance of Sasha and Christine. Thoughts about how they are filled my mind and I quickly shook my head to prevent more similar questions to occupy my brain because I knew, it would only make me sadder.

I looked at my phone’s screen for the last time with sad smile because of photo with my best friends taken on the day of my departure which was set as my wallpaper and immediately locked the phone and placed it back to my pocket.

I made my way back down and between steps I took the coat and scarf from the stairs, wore them and put my shoes back on too. I glanced one last time on the house and could see my mom trying to ask me where I was going, but before even a word could slip out , I was already away.

I decided to stroll a bit in the neighborhood. Just as I started walking down the road I saw familiar trunk making way to our house. ‘So in the end you decided to show up.’ I thought as I looked at the moving company’s car passing by.

***

           I was already out for an hour or so. City covered in snow was quite nice and despite the rushed lifestyle, the peaceful atmosphere was obtained in the air. I was ready to cross the street when my stomach suddenly growled and I realized I didn’t eat anything since morning. I walked over to the other side of the road and looked around for any sandwich shop or even convenience store would be okay since my stomach was starting to hurt due to lack of food.

When I thought I would need to walk all the way back home I spotted big yellow ‘M’ on the corner of one of the buildings. I smiled in delight as I easily recognized McDonald’s. With big grin plastered on my face I moved my feet quickly to the bright neon. I almost knocked down an old woman who started shouting something on me. It was in Korean and I didn’t understand anything so I just apologized with brief ‘sorry’ and continued in my way.

I stepped inside and was silently dancing little dance of victory in my mind because the line to orders wasn’t long at all. Actually there was only one big man before me. I know it’s not polite to stare but I couldn’t help it when I saw him ordering five BigMac and three McRoyal menus. My eyes were opened really wide, even wider and my eyeballs would probably fall out of my sockets. ‘Oh mister, I don’t wanna crash your illusions, but I think even despite your big body, you still can’t eat all eight menus.’ I mentally judged him. He paid and walked up the stairs with two trays full of food. It was my turn now and I smiled softly at the young girl at the casher.

“One Tomato Cheeseburger menu, please.” I ordered.

“Small, medium or large miss?” even though she had an accent, her English was good.

“Medium.”

“Anything for drink?”

“Orange juice will do. I will eat here.”

  “It will be six thousand won, miss. Please wait a minute.” She continued and smiled too. I handed her money with simple ‘thank you’.

In no time I was already standing on the side of the counter with my tray and looked for a free table. There wasn’t any at this floor, so I took stair to the second one and seated by the window. I spotted the man from before, and suddenly his order wasn’t so crazy anymore. He was sitting with seven young boys, probably teens or in their early twenties. But the boys somehow looked a bit strange. They were wearing scarves in the inside even though the temperature in the room was around twenty-five degrees Celsius, but what were more ridiculous were black sunglasses. ‘Okay, now please tell me, who the hell wears sunglasses inside and in December?!’ I asked myself as I observed them with raised eyebrow.

I let it go and happily munched on my food. I really missed the taste of cheeseburgers back in home, because I ate them really occasionally. My mom hates when I eat fast foods, I understood why, but come on, it’s not like I wanted to eat them three times a week.

I didn’t even realize it and I already finished my meal with last French fry in my mouth. I took my half way empty orange juice cup and stood up to throw away the rubbish. As I turned around to walk back down the stairs and go home someone bumped into me and made me spill all the remaining liquid on my black hoodie and some even ended drenching my beige coat which now had nig orange spot in the sleeve. I angrily looked up on the stranger. If it was possible, flames would be shooting from my eyes. I recognized he was one of the ‘sunglasses gang’ boys. Light brown hairs little messily laying on his forehead creating a fringe and his mouth was hanging wide open. He quickly put his tray of rubbish on the side and bowed ninety degrees while mumbling incomprehensible Korean words. I just glared at him and waited till he says at least ‘sorry’.

After a while he looked up, probably because I wasn’t responding. ‘Well, I can’t respond to something I don’t understand, right?’ He seemed somehow realize that I don’t know what he is talking and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes looked to mine as if he tried to find resolution.

“Ehmm..Shorry?” He said with deep voice and strong accent, so it sounded like he pronounced ‘sh’ instead of ‘s’. The boy slightly titled his head to the left, waiting for my answer. But in the end I just nodded and blinked at him.

“You nju?” He thought for some more and spoke again.

‘Was he trying to ask if I was new here? Well, probably.’

“Yes.” I answered shortly.

“Me, V. You?” He said and pointed to himself.

“Alice.” Only one word left my mouth again.

This time he nodded and motioned me to follow him. I hesitated, whenever to obey or not, but in the end went with him anyway. He took me to the table he shared with other six boys and I awkwardly stood there as he went to the blonde haired guy while other six eyed me through their sunglasses. I nervously stepped from one foot to other, not knowing what was happening.

It took about five minutes till that V boy went back to me. He grabbed my drenched coat of my arm and handed me black winter jacket, much bigger compared to mine, so it means it was man wear. I was looking at him confusedly and waited for explanation. I was about to grab my coat back from him when I heard someone talk.

“He wants you to take his jacket since he dirtied yours. He said, he is going to wash it and then return back.”

I turned to the voice’s direction and spotted blonde guy smiling at me.

“That’s no need, to do tha-“ I didn’t get a chance to finish since he interrupted me.

“He insists and says it’s the last he can do.”

“Thank you then.” I turned back to the boy from before to thank him and saw him smiling big rectangular smile showing his teeth at me. I had to admit he looked really cute, even though I still haven’t seen his eyes.

I quickly thanked them again and walked away, putting the big jacket on me. When I stepped outside the fast food I realized it was already really dark. I took out my phone and was shocked seeing it was already quarter to seven. I gasped and started walking faster. As I crossed the road on my way back, I suddenly realized I didn’t know how to return the jacket to the boy. ‘Well, I can always just come back here and hope for miracle that he is going to be there, if not, then bye-bye my favorite coat.’ I slightly pouted at the thought, but continued my way back.

***

          Once I stepped my feet back to the house I was greeted by bright light of lamps in living room together with the sound of furniture moving here and there. I shouted short ‘Hi.’ to my parents as I took of my shoes. I assumed my dad was already home due to man’s shoes presented in entrance corridor.

I walked up to me room with hope it was already ready for me to live there, or at least to sleep there. I opened the door and sighed in relief, because there was already bed placed near the window, just as I liked it back in our old home, nightstand with lamp just next to it. When I turned my gaze to the other side, there was study table with few drawers and white chair.

“Seems like my parents wanna buy my happiness here. I must admit, at least they are doing it the right way.” I smiled lightly at the thought that this room resembled my old bedroom, jut in bigger size. Everything here was bigger than at home.

***

          I remember myself falling asleep around midnight, since I wanted to unpack at least part of my belongings.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes, but then I spotted dark, black marks on my knuckles.

“, I forgot remove my makeup yesterday.” I mentally slapped myself at my stupidity a quickly prayed the covers out my way. In the end I tangled myself even more and fell face flat as I tried to stand up.

After few minutes of fighting with blanket I finally made it to bathroom and immediately screamed at my reflection. I looked like scary movie version of panda.

“I’m such an idiot.” I sighed and took cotton pad with cream and started whipping that disaster of my face.

When I was done I came downstairs to grab some apple for breakfast and returned my room to continue organizing my thing and finish unpacking.

After what I thought were two hours, everything was on its new place. I smiled in satisfactio