360° Turn

Chapter 1

It was just any other ordinary day . the school bell just rang and everybody was filing out the classroom . i packed my books inside my bag getting ready to leave.

"hey Sa-Ra lets go!" i heard someone calling me from the back of the classroom. it was Min-Joon my bestfriend. we were childhood friend and neighbors. we were practically almost related since we've been together for as long as i can remember.

he walked towards me with a big smile. his straight dark brown hair bouncing a bit as walks. He has single eyelids and black eyes . he has a slim body but is fit beacause he practices Taekwondo. well we both practice Taekwondo , we've been doing it since we were 5 years old .as he reached me he towered over me . he was 5'9" and was 5 inches taller than me.

"ok lets go. we need to hurry home. i'm expecting a long distance phone call from my mom in a couple of hours "

my mom worked at Star.K Ent. one of the best Korean based entertainment companies in South Korea. she worked as a choreogapher and trainer there which consequentially meant that everytime the company had a World tour she had no choice but to go with them and help out with the preparations. she normally leaves me in the care of Joon's parents for 3 days to at most 2 week and calls to check up on me every 2 to 3 days.

the trip home only takes about 30 minutes by bus when there's no traffic and 5 minutes on foot from the bus stop. we got out of the bus and started walking.

"so, when in Aunt K coming home? " Joon asked me curiously

"i don't know yet . she's been gone for 2 days now. she emailed me yesterday that they arrived safely in Los Angeles. after LA they'd go to New York and the last Stop of the tour would be Miami"

"oh. thats a bummer. Your birthday is coming up in 5 days. i don't think she'll be home by then" he told me in a dissapointed voice

"hey! don't give me that kind of tone.actually ,i'm really ok with it. its her job , she can't just not go. she has responsibilities there. anyway i still have lots of birthdays left so we can celebrate with her next time."

"well yeah, but still this is the first time she's not around on your birthday and your turning 16 ."

we were nearing our houses and i ran ahead of him towards my house

"i told you its fine, ok? i'll just stop by my house first to get some of my things and take a shower. i'll be done in a few minutes "

"ok. don't take too long. My mom is making curry for dinner" he told me as i was entering the gate. i loved Joon's mom's cooking especially her curry . it was my favorite and he knows it ,

It took my 45 minute to take a shower ,dry myself off and put un my pajamas. i got my things ready and packed them inside my bag and headed out to Joon's house.

It was cold outside. too cold for my liking.The hair on my arms and neck were standing. it felt like something was wrong but i dont know what it was . i decided to brush it off and hurriedly walked to Joon's. i rang the doorbell and Joon's face popped out of the door. when he saw it was me he plastered a goofy smile on his face.

"took you long enough! the food is almost ready.come on in" he walked back inside and i let myself in "mom! Sa-Ra's here."he called out to his mom who was in the kitchen cooking.

"hi Sa-Ra the foods almost done , your Uncle Min-suk will be here in a couple of minutes. why don't you and Joon set up the table while we wait for him .ok? " she said to me while giving me a big smile .

"Hi Aunt Jae did you get any calls from my mom?" i said happily giving her a huge grin

"no, i haven't. did she say she would call today?"

"yeah. but i guess she forgot" i said a little dissapointedly

"don't worry dear . i know she has good reason for not calling but i know she did'nt forget. maybe she was held up at work thats all"

"yeah. you're right . maybe she already emailed me a message telling me that" i said with a smile .

setting up the table was an easy task. me and Joon make a good team. we always synchronize, always know what the other is thinking .

just as we were finishing setting the table the front door opened and closed and saw that Uncle was home. He greeted us with a big smile.

"i smell something good. is it time to eat?" he said while walking towards the dining room.

we laughed. we could tell he was hungry.

" yes dear ,its time to eat" Aunt Jae said while bringing the food to the table . he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and a big grin.

we ate happily and i watched as Joon and his mom laughed at a joke his father made. i smiled to myself and thought to myself that Joon was really lucky to have such a family. i always admired them.

i never knew my father , my mom raised me on her own. i tried asking her once when i was 6 to tell me about him but she just smile at me and told me " one day , when you're old enough to understand i'll tell you about him but for now just enjoy your youth ok?" and that was it. i never asked her again and just waited for her to open up the topic on her own .one thing i was really sure though was that my father was not korean,or even asian because everytime i saw my reflection in the mirror i could see his grey eyes almond shaped eyes. but other than that i had my mom'm asian features. black straight hair, porcelain skin and a petite structure .i trusted my mom and respected her words. we were close, she was not just my mom but also my friend. she never forces me to do anything i didn't want to do and lets me make choices on my own.

we were finishing up and cleaning the table. Uncle Min turned on the tv in the living room and watched the news. we all joined him after we were done. we sat comfortably at the floor while Joon's parents sat in the couch.

the screen flashed a middle aged woman talking about a plane crash that had happened just a couple of hours ago. the flight was bound to South Korea coming from America. the plane had malfunctioned and crashed as it was landing at Seoul International airport. 199 people died ,47 injured and 4 still missing

The hair on my back just stood on its ends.i knew my mom was still in LA but why do feel like this? i'm panicking and i felt like vomitting . so many deaths ...

Just then the phone rang. oh no this can't be good. Aunt Jae picked up the phone

"hello?"

"yes this is the Sung residence.may i ask who's calling?" aun Jae continued and then a worried look plastered on her face. Her face tured white and tears started falling from her face.Uncle Min took the phone from her and continued to talk to the caller.his face also paled and his face contorted. something was wrong. He put down the phone me and Joon looked at him

"who was that? why is mom crying?" Joon asked worriedly while holding his mom close

"it was the hospital" Uncle Min said. a lone tear ran down his cheek. He looked at me with a sympathetic look."they called regarding your mom Sa-Ra." he said

"what about my mom?" i said . panick clear in my voice

" i'm sorry to tell you this but she was on that flight on the news...

she was injured badly and was rushed to the hospital hours ago, she went under surgery but she stopped breathing midway through it."

i looked at him unable to cope up with any word that he said.He grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes

"Sa-Ra your mom just passed away. i'm so sorry"

then it hit me like a rock.

my mom is dead ....

My mind went blank and the tears just came .

I just became an orphan

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This is my first time writing a story so i hope you like it guys.

i'm sorry if i made mistakes .

please leave comments and suggestions .

xoxo yen