The Past Haunts

Chapter 1

"Ga Eul, what are you doing? We have to go or we are going to be late. Today is a very important day for you!" said Jan Di. It was finally the end of the year at the school and the children were getting excited over the prospect of summer vacation. Every year, each school votes one staff member for the regional Teacher of the Year award, and this year, like the past 5 years, Ga Eul was nominated.

"I'm coming. Did you get the invitations? We can't forget them, like last time. We had to drive all the way back to come get them" Ga Eul said as she came down the stairs. Her hair was in long curls down to her hips on the right side. She placed a clip on the left side to keep it from falling back. Her red dress hugged her curved perfectly and gave off a vibe filled with sophistication and elegance. "How do I look?"

"You look...beautiful!" said Jan Di quietly. "Ga Eul, we will always be together right? You will always be by my side right?"

"What are you talking about so randomly? I will always be with you no matter what. I will never forget you, I will never give you pain. We are best friends aren't we? I love you! Now, come on, YOU are going to make us late! Ga Eul quickly rushed Jan Di out of the door. She knew if she let Jan Di talk like that for too long and think about their past, she will fall into the depression she was in years before. After years of escaping their past, their past still haunts them. Jan Di may be strong physically, but Ga Eul knew better than anyone that Jan Di is actually vulnerable in the inside. A yell from the car pulled Ga Eul back to the present.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE WILL NEVER GET THERE AT THIS RATE! DO YOU WANT TO MISS THIS?!" said Jae Kyung. Also living with Ga Eul and Jan Di was Lee Jae Kyung another teacher who taught high schoolers at the same district that Ga Eul did. Oh Min Ji, Jan Di's colleague, a neurosurgeon also lived with them. Jae Kyung is hyper, gets mad easily, and silly, but she is a loyal friend who cares deeply about others. Min Ji is a simple girl who loves everyone around her passionately but is very blunt which sometimes can hurt her in the end.

"Unni, why are you yelling? Its okay we will get there. We still have 1 hour and with traffic we will get there in about 50 minutes so calm down. Unni, are you sure you shouldn't take any medication?" said Min Ji.

"Yaa! I will kill you! Wait till we get back home. We can't ruin our Ga Eul's night. Right Ga Eul?"

"Lets just go, Unni" Jan Di said while she was bitting her teeth to tell them both to shut up.

On the ride there, Jan Di thought about how much her best friend had changed. She became independent, and finally was confident enough to take care of herself and know what she wanted from life. Though her past was filled with insecurities, and bad men, she has now really become a woman. While Jae Kyung, Min Ji and Ga Eul talked about their reservations for dinner that Jae Kyung reserved at a high end restaurant, Jan Di thought about her patients and her surgeries for tomorrow to get her mind off of her past. When she was looking for jewelry to wear for this function, she stumbled on that necklace that He gave her a long time ago and everything came flooding back to her. The memories that she kept trapped inside in a locker. A sudden stop snapped her out of her own head to see that they had arrived at the hall.

"Unni, what happened did we hit someone? Why did you break so hard?" Jan Di asked Jae Kyung.

"Nothing happened. It was just fun to do. We need to spice up our lives. No one will remember it if I just slowly stopped and parked." She laughed and the other three felt chills in their spine. What is wrong with this Unni? She will kill us in the end was the thought that was going through everyone's mind.

that was going through everyone's mind.

In the hall, the ladies were escorted to the table in the front of the stage where the nominees and their friends and family can sit.