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HELL OR HIGH WATER PROLOGUE. at the start
THERE'S A STEADY TICKING SOUND that envelopes the small room, a beat-up old clock that, given its peeling paint around the edges and slightly delayed minute hand, had seen better days. Seo-yun's dark brown eyes circled her surroundings, taking in every new aspect of her new setting as possible. It was her first day as a nurse for a nearby medical center, a quality beacon of doctoral practice so she had heard, a perfect place to get her start in the medical field so she had been told. Seo-yun remembers the interview process, a nasally-sounding older woman with grey hair and striking blue eyes staring at her, unblinking, as she ran through a list of questions.
Seo-yun had answered everyone with little fuss, even as she felt the soles of her shoes nearly give out from how frantically she would roll her heels into the ground whenever the woman looked away. It was a nervous tick that nearly sent her mother rampant, the matriarchal figure practically nearly bursting into tears one time at the sight of her daughter's shoes.
The walls could have used a fresh coat of paint and the floor was far from being even, distant chatter hummed from further down the hall where the lobby resided open to the public where Seo-yun was sure held only chaos. But within the realm of these four walls, there was a moment of peace. There had only been a few other women sitting alongside her, all of varying ages and backgrounds, but Seo-yun knew that only a few would move on from this point. And a part of her hoped that it would be her in that equation.
Seo-yun ran the base of her thumb along the fabric of her knee-length skirt, trying to convince herself that the texture mirrored that of her beat-up journal that lay safely within the drawer of her bedside table. It held all the memories of which she hoped to never forget and thoughts she'd held no intention of voicing. One faint memory that became prominent as her words lined the pages was her arrival in New York for the first time. She could remember fighting in her mother's grip as the woman tried to stop her from running back up the ramp of the ship that had brought them there, hoping that it would take her back. This new place scared her, the people around her frightened her will their sullen gazes and dreary deposition. Had not been for her father, little Seo-yun would have nearly toppled off into the freezing waters below.
"We can't go back now," he had said once he had got her under control. His brows were furrowed and gazed hard into a scold that pinned Seo-yun in place. "We have to move on, no matter how scary it gets, no matter how much doubt we feel in the moment. Turn back now, and how will you ever grow into what you hope to be?"
"I hope to be the best that I can," Seo-yun whispered to herself, echoing the response that had fallen from her younger lips. Breathing in softly, the brown-haired woman drew her gaze to the opened door at the sound of clacking heels growing louder and louder. The graying older woman stood in the doorway, her ruby red slippers placing a sharp contrast against the black and white checkered tiles beneath her.
