Sundays and Tuesdays were my only two days without school, so early Tuesday morning I left my hotel in Gangnam and hopped on the subway, hoping to find success from one of my housing leads. I had scoured the internet and the newspaper classifieds for relatively cheap studios/lofts, and had narrowed it down to five. All were within walking distance of some subway station and on the south side of the river near either the bar or school with one exception, and that was an attic loft located at the far edge of Seoul on the other side of the river. In Maponaru-gil, Mapo-gu.

With my luck, I managed to strike out on the four that were located on the south side of the river because I simply couldn’t afford them. Even though I was working two jobs, my school fees alone took away nearly half my paychecks.

I arrived at the final destination after getting impossibly lost on public transportation. God damn JiYoung, if this is the place you end up, you’ll have one helluva commute. I pushed open the door to the small complex and was greeted by a young girl, no older than six, and a boy who appeared to be her brother, who couldn’t have been any more than three. The appeared to be whispering something to each other, and what ever it was, the younger appeared incredulous.

I bowed in courtesy and introduced myself. “Annyeonghaseyo, jeoneun Ju JiYoung ieyo. Is...is your omma or appa here? I called earlier and spoke to them about the loft?”

The boy just stared and blinked, while then young girl jumped down from her seat and approached me.

“Annyeonghaseyo, jeoneun Yong Yumi imnida. That’s my dongseng, Yong Yuchun. He’s likes to pretend he’s shy, but he’s really not. Do you like music? I do. I really like to sing. CL unnie is my favorite because she can sing and dance and rap. I want to be like her one day.”

I smiled and nodded. “Ne, I like CL unnie too. She’s very talented and pretty, eh?” Little did she know I had just met CL’s sunbae and fellow leader the previous night.

Just then Yumi broke out in song. Strike that, not just song, a full performance, as if she were on the MusicBank stage herself.

“Neowa majuchimyeon nae gaseumeun rollercoaster ride. Jungshineopsi heundeullida gyeolgook jaejariro wa, up and down, yes, I'm goin' down, down. Swijianko maeil dolgo dolgo doneun uri sai hetgalligo jungshineopseo. Let's get down.”

She ran and grabbed my hand. “Unnie, it’s your turn!! You can be CL this time, arraso?” I chuckled to myself. This girl reminded me so much of...me. Full of music and passion and still untainted by the unfortunate reality of the world. I glanced around the lobby area. Just the three of us were in the room, and the youngest. Ah, what the hell, I thought. It’s just singing, no harm, no foul.

“Please don't go, nae gyeotae stay, oneul bam maneun honjaitgi sileo. Please don't go, geudaeae stay, neol hyanghan nae mami youngweonhal su itgae, my baby…”

Yumi was jumping up and down and squealing with delight. “See Yuchunnie? I told you she could do it. She’s going to be the new one to live here. I just knew it! It’s like Cinderella Yuchunnie!! The slipper fits!!! She passed the test!”

Just then a woman emerged from a side room, dressed well but not too stiffly, and I could only assume she was their mother.

“Oya, Yumi-ah, what are you doing?” She clucked her tongue and shooed Yumi back to the desk, muttering in Japanese under her breath. “Mianhae, jinja mianhae. My children are just a little too forward sometimes,” she stated in accepted Korean. Yumi and Yuchun giggled in the background while their mother just sighed and smiled. “But I guess that you have to just let them be, right? Even when the bamboo is left alone, it still knows how to grow straight and strong.”

I nodded my head in agreement. “Ne, children should have the opportunity to be children while they can, and dream dreams of reaching the stars. Yumi ssi and Yuchun ssi appear to be firmly rooted in good soil, and the sky’s the limit for them now.”

The mother smiled. “Ne, I know my children aren’t perfect, and there’s no need to be. As long as they find peace and contentment in whatever they’re doing, then I’ll be happy.”

“Omma, omma, she can sing. Really well. Noona neomu yeppo. Nan naega johwa,” Yuchun’s voice appeared from nowhere, his doe-like eyes pleading. He turned to address her mother. “Can she stay? Omma jeballyo?”

His