After a full year trapped on base in Afghanistan, my mother was really finished with dad's military career. We moved back to America and lived at Ft. Belvoir for a short tour, while my dad swore he would look for a job that would actually let us settle down someplace.
By the time I was 16, I had already lived in more countries than my age. Also more than half of the states in America. Even for a military brat, that's impressive. So as my father's track record suggested, we didn't stay at Belvoir long. In fact, after only three months, we got the notice that he was being deployed to South Korea. Since we never lived any place long enough to buy a house, and my mother's mother lived in a nursing home, we had no choice but to go with him.
Still, the divorce was inevitable. My mom couldn't stand moving every few months and she knew I was getting tired too. My parents had an interesting relationship, but it wasn't exactly built to last. For starters, my name is Whimsy. I get to blame my mom for that. She's the kind of lady who lives Vegan, freerange parents, and has a constant fog of incense around her. My dad was raised on being belted when you messed up, meat is his favorite vegetable, and cars are his passion. So two days after we land in Korea, my mom lays out the divorce papers and tells dad she already called their lawyers so they can start the process over here, and when it's all over we're going back to the US and getting an apartment wherever she can find a job. He didn't really try to fight it.
The next day, mom asks me if I want to stay with her or dad. If I stay with dad, another military brat school with like 5 people and I spend most of my time on base. If I go with her, I get to move in with her best friend Sumi and her daughter Eunji, who happens to be the only friend I've ever been able to keep contact with over the years. I told my dad it was a tough decision, but let's be real.
So that's how 17 year old me, with the stupid name who learned korean from her best friend, ending up moving into one of the few sketchy neighborhoods of Seoul to form a household of two single moms and two teenage daughters. Senior year was to be spent at a real life korean high school, and I had terribly high hopes it would be like all the dramas. Eunji set me straight pretty fast.
"Listen up, white girl. You've been on American military bases for school your whole life. American school was simple enough, but bases feel bad for you kids and go even easier on you. This is korean school. They don't care if you die. You WILL be Einstein, you will NOT have a life, and if you're eating three meals a day or sleeping more than four hours you're not studying hard enough. This shit is scary. But you are lucky, hopeless foreigner, because you have me, a real life lazy Korean, to teach you how to survive this hell. With my guidance, you may actually stand a chance."
"That's beautiful Eunji, did you stay up practicing that instead of studying?" I inquired.
"Your racial stereotypes are apalling. Anyways, I'm going to be an actress, so maybe I did in fact brush aside my calculus homework just to kindly educate you so eloquently. I do not need your sass." She retorted, nose high in the air.
"Well sensei, school starts in 20 minutes and I don't even know where it is, so maybe we should start there."
"I was getting to that. Lesson number one: run like there's a serial killer chasing you so that you don't get locked out at the front gates." With that, she tore out of the room and booked it into the street, screaming for me to pick up the pace all the way.
When we were finally in eyesight of the school, an enormous truck pulled in front of us, blocking the only way across. We were stuck, and now we were going to be late.
"Curses! You wretched truck! Tis one thing to foil me, but now thy have doomed my poor, innocent foreigner friend. RIP her korean school dreams."
"Eunji can you be serious for 2 sec-" I was cut off by the sound of rowdy laughter, and turned to see a group of delinquent-looking boys round the corner. There were seven in total, all screwing around in different ways. Two were piggy-back riding, two others played with a basketball, one guy was dancing, and of the last two, one swung a bat carelessly while the other merely shoved the rest when they bumped into him and appeared to ignore the scene. He was well built, slight of frame but clearly strong, and most dangerously, he made a school uniform look so good it was borderline inappropriate for school. Actually, as terrifying and clearly devious as they all were, no one could deny the aesthetics of every single guy threw off the healthy ratio of attractiveness seen in a regular high school.
"What the hell is that cluster of scary-good-looking deliquency?" I asked.
"That's danger is what that is. It's the schools gang. The Bulletproof Boyscouts." I laughed out loud.
"Bulletproof Boyscouts?"
"Listen Whim, I don't really think you're in any position to be mocking people's names," Eunji reminded.
"Touché." We watched as the truck continued its insanely slow turn around with dismay. How much longer were we gonna be stuck here?
"Yahyahyah, it looks like we might actually be on time today, that is only several minutes late!" One boy exclaimed, dropping another off his back.
"Aigoo, we'll just have to take a break then, won't we Jin?" The dancing boy replied rambunctuously.
"Ah, correct again, J-Hope!" Jin replied.
"Oh God," I whispered to Eunji, "Please tell me they do not have street names, I cannot keep a straight face in class if they call eachother this crap."
"Shut up!! However stupid it sounds, just go with it. That one in the middle with the bat? His name is Rap Monster, and-" I burst into laughter.
"No it is not," I snickered.
"SHH, okay his real name is Namjoon, and his dad runs the freakin Mafia around here, so you better get your freaking giggles out now unless you want that bat flinging your brain matter all over the walls!" She hissed. Jesus Christ, was that mental picture necessary?
"V," the one who had been on Jin's back scurried over to the other boy. "Hyung, did you get breakfast? I stole a chocopie from the convenience store if you want it." The one called V smiled widely and patted the youngest on the head.
"Aigo, Jungookie is so good to his hyungs," he cooed, patting the boy's head.
"Suga hyung, we should play basketball during 5th period today. I don't feel like going to history." The shortest said. He was speaking to the nonchalant one from earlier, who had been silent this whole time.
"Tired." Was the one called 'Suga's reply. It appeared to be quite true. "Maybe tomorrow Jimin. You should work on your audition instead." Jimin nodded enthusiastically at his words.
It was only at this point, rougly 10 feet from us, that the boys noticed Eunji and I. Finally, the truck had moved and we could reach the school gate.
We were greeted by a very hateful looking older man, who was round and scowled like a pro.
"You're all late. Detentions all around and tell your foreigner friend," he turned his glare directly to Eunji, "to scram."
Eunji's voice was steady but strained with anger. "She's a new student here." The man was visibly surprised and made a poor attempt at an apology, letting us all through.
"Only I get to call her foreigner," she muttered.
With that, we entered the school, and something began. Our stories were set in motion...and everything was about to change.
YOU ARE READING
What May Change [Min Yoongi FF]
FanfictionWhimsy and her mom move into a low income neighborhood in Seoul while her parents negeotiate a lengthy divorce, and she starts attending a local high school. It's all meant to be temporary, but things get complicated when Whimsy becomes involved wit...