"What do you mean, moving to Korea?"
I stared at my father in shock. I couldn't believe what he had just told me.
"Sofia, I know it's gonna be hard, but this is a really great opportunity! I can't say no to my bosses job offer."
"But why do we have to move to South Korea?!"
"Because that's where the company and my office is! Look, it's only for a year and I'm sure you'll like it there."
"Are you for real?!"
"Sofia, please try to understand-"
"Yeah. I understand," I said and stormed off.
"We're leaving in two weeks!"
"Great! I'll start packing then!," I shouted and slammed my bedroom door shut.
I hated snapping on my father like this, but I couldn't believe he was willing to take me away from all my friends. I didn't even speak Korean! How was I supposed to make friends there?!
I grabbed my cell phone and texted my best friend Rachel.
"Rachel, can I sleep over at your place?"
She answered almost immediately. "Sure, come over. Did something happen?"
I didn't answer. A few minutes later I tiptoed into the living room, where my father was still sitting in the couch, his face cupped by his hands. "Dad?," I asked quietly. "Can I sleep over at Rachel's house?"
He looked up and sighed. "Yes. Go."
I quickly left the house and walked down the street to my friend's house. The orange-red light of the streetlights enlightened the empty street in front of me. The stars above me were shining brightly, painting pictures into the sky with their formations. I looked up and searched for the Little Dipper. I'd never forget the day my father showed me how to find it during a camping trip. "That's the Little Dipper," he said while connecting the stars with his fingers, "Remember it, okay, Sofia? The easternmost star is directly above our home. If you remember this formation, you'll never get lost."
Since then, I've found a strange sense of comfort in the Little Dipper. Would I still find it in South Korea? What if I didn't? What if I couldn't find home anymore?
Rachel, who only lived about two minutes away from me, was already waiting for me in front of the house. "Sofia!"
She ran up to me with worry in her face. "Are you okay?! You didn't answer my texts!"
I tried to say something, but it felt like there was something heavy on my chest, preventing me from talking.
"Sofia? What happened?!"
The moment I opened my mouth, I fell into her arms and started crying.
"I don't want to leave," I whispered. "I don't want to go."
"What do you mean?" Rachel's voice was shaking and panicked now. She sat down on the front porch, still holding me, and I sat down next to her.
"We're moving."
For a moment, Rachel sat there in shocked silence. "Where?"
"South Korea."
"Why?"
"My father got this stupid," I wiped away a tear, "dumb job offer where he has to work in Korea for a year."
"Only for a year?"
I nodded and Rachel sighed in relief. "At least it's not forever."
"What do I do, Rachel? I don't know anyone there. I don't even speak Korean. What if I have to go to a Korean school? Isn't everyone like super smart and talented there? I can't do anything and I don't even have good grades."
"Hey, these are just stereotypes that surely aren't true and you have lots of talents anyways," Rachel said, but she couldn't help but chuckle a little. "And, by the way, I'm sure your dad won't force you to go to a Korean school. I'm a 100% sure that there are English school there too."
"Yeah. Probably."
"This really sucks, but we'll keep in touch, okay! We'll text each other every day. Maybe you'll even meet a cute korean boy!"
I laughed a little. "Shut up, I probably won't even talk to anyone there."
"Anyways, when are you moving?"
"In two weeks."
I remembered how aggressively I responded when my father told me that we were moving in only two weeks and guilt started building up inside of me.
"I'm a terrible daughter."
"What, why?"
"I yelled at my father just because he wants a better job with better payment. I'm a horrible person."
Rachel thought for a while and then said, "Look, you shouldn't have yelled at your father."
"Thanks."
"But! Don't be too hard on yourself. Of course you don't want to move. He'll understand why you were so angry. He knows that you usually don't snap like that."
"Oh yeah, I'm such a calm and peaceful person," I said sarcastically.
"You really are. You're too shy and warm-hearted for your own good. You need to toughen up. Except for that one time in third grade when Jason called your Barbie ugly and you hit him with your lunch box-"
"Hey, my Barbie really was beautiful! He was being mean!"
You laughed together at this old memory before going back to silence.
"I'm going to miss you," Rachel said at last.
"Yeah. Me too."
YOU ARE READING
New Students // NCT Renjun
Romance《 Another thing I liked about South Korea? Huang Renjun. 》 I was shocked when me and my father had to move to South Korea because of my father's job. I didn't speak the language and I didn't know anyone there. I kept telling myself that, at least, i...
