어쩜 좋아 (Oh, Great!)

Chapter 1

A tall and slender figure trudged along a quiet path home in the bitter cold, hugging herself a little tighter in the hopes of getting a tad warmer. She kept her head down and yawned widely, reaching out to rub her weary eyes.

“Please Mrs. Kim, please be asleep…” She mumbled to herself in a small voice as she approached an apartment. Then, as silently as she could, she stuck the key into the lock and unbolted the door. Noticing that the lights were all off, she heaved a sigh of relief and was about to head to her room when she almost tripped over a pile of stuff in her way.

The paranoid girl hurriedly flicked the lights on and her eyes widened at the sight. Her belongings were strewn all over. Still in a state of confusion and shock, she bent down and started to heedlessly gather the messy objects when suddenly, the door to one of the rooms flew open with a bang, further startling the poor girl.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Im Yoona… you’ve really got a lot of nerve, huh? Fancy sneaking back at 2am in the morning and trying to escape rent day!” An older woman stormed out of the room with her arms akimbo.

“Please, Mrs. Kim, I can explain. All I need is just one more day to get the money. Please give me another chance.” The young girl pleaded helplessly. She was truly at her wits’ end. She had to cope with college and a job. Life wasn’t easy.

“Save your excuses. I’ve warned you too many times. I want you out of this apartment this instant. Get your junk and get out.” Came the stern reply as the mean woman prepared to leave.

“Mrs. Kim, please.” Was all the young lady could say at that point in time. She was exhausted from a long day at school and work, hungry, and cold. Not having a bed to sleep in would really be the cherry on top of such a horrible day.

“Five minutes, Im Yoona. I want this place empty.” The obnoxious woman replied curtly before returning to her room and slamming the door behind her.

At that, the weary girl crumbled to the floor and continued to collect her things. Looks like she was gonna have to spend her night at some deserted bus stand.

Just then, the door to the room opened again and the woman emerged. Yoona’s face lit up. Perhaps Mrs. Kim wasn’t that heartless a person after all.

“Keys.” The abhorrent woman reached out, almost irritated. Yoona could do nothing but reach into the pocket of her trench coat to retrieve the piece of cold, hard metal.

“You have four minutes left.” The woman instructed rudely before disappearing into her room once again.

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Yoona dragged her feet until she could walk no further and eventually settled down at the next bus stop. People in this situation would typically be bawling their eyes out but not Yoona. She had gone through too much to even care about how pathetic her life was right now. As much as she felt utterly upset and depressed, she had neither the time nor the energy to indulge in self-pity.

As she scanned the surroundings and devised a proper sleeping position, she noticed a lone brochure on the ground with huge red letters “Room for Rent” printed on it.