Distant Sky

1

A new beginning

Joohyun was sitting in a car looking out the window. It still doesn't feel real. She's finally moving away from home. Away from her parents, away from everything familiar. She still can't believe she made the decision to move away from her hometown Daegu to attend a high school in Seoul. She looks to her side at her aunt who's driving the car. Her aunt, who was happily humming the tune to some song only she knows, stops and looks back at her as if she can feel her stare. She gives her a reassuring smile before she turns her attention back on road. Joohyun doesn't feel very reassured. She looks away. What was she thinking! Why did she think moving all the way to Seoul, leaving her safe routine life behind was a good idea for heaven's sake! Why didn't her parents stop her? She expected at least some resistance from them but they were happy that she was finally going out into the world. Maybe they thought she'd finally stop being such a homebody and start socializing. As if moving to Seoul would magically turn her into an extrovert. Only if it was that easy. If that's what they were expecting then they were in for a big disappointment. Joohyun doesn't really plan on working on her non-existent social skills here in Seoul. All she wanted was to get away from the strict scrutiny of her parents. Atleast now when she chooses to stay home on weekends instead of going out with her "friends", her parents won't have to know. They won't silently judge her or ask why her friends never come to visit her or why she never goes out with them. Yes, that's it! Think positive. If she only concentrates on the positives, she won't feel absolutely terrified. Right? She looks at her aunt once again, but she seems completely unaware of her inner turmoil. She is still happily humming that song, but now Joohyun notices she added a few mumbled words and phrases in between. Joohyun frowns and tries to figure out the song. Next her aunt adds some jerky, weird moves to her routine. Wait a minute! Is she rapping now? Joohyun looks away. She decides she doesn't want know after all.

Joohyun is startled awake when the car abruptly comes to a halt. She must have fallen asleep. She looks around confused. Where is she? She comes back to reality when her aunt happily announces that they were home. She wishes she could go back to sleep and pretend this was just a bad dream. She looks at her aunt with wide terrified eyes. She wants to tell her all of this was a big mistake and beg her to take her back to Daegu. But her aunt misunderstands her terror for excitement. She quickly gets of the car and drags Joohyun out. She turns her around to look at, what will now be Joohyun's new home, atleast for a few years. It was a nice little two storey house. Surely Joohyun would have admired it more if she wasn't so scared and dizzy. "Welcome to my humble abode Joohyun!" her aunt exclaims. Joohyun sees her aunt looking at her expectantly and realises she is supposed to say something. "Um yeah, it great! It looks cozy. I mean it's cute!" Joohyun's voice comes out high, almost a squeak. But if her aunt noticed it or was disappointed at her stupid reply, she doesn't let it show. Instead she grins at her proudly, goes back to the car to get Joohyun's luggage and practicaly drags her inside the house.

Joohyun never knew her aunt Taehee very well. She knows her aunt is an artist and lives alone. She knows her aunt never married, much to her mother's disappointment. Joohyun's mother married quite young so she couldn't understand why her younger sister, who's 40 now, still doesn't want to settle down and was quite vocal about her disapproval. So it's understandable why aunt Taehee rarely ever visited them. Joohyun also heard from her mother that her aunt is currently in a relationship, but is she finally gonna tie the knot this time? Who knows. But Joohyun's mother sure hopes she does.

Inside the house Joohyun notices the entire floor was converted into an art studio. Art supplies were littered on the tables and every available space on the wall was covered in paintings. Strong smell of paint assaults her nose when she enters. "Living quarters are upstairs and there's a small kitchen/dining room back there" her aunt motions towards a door directly opposite the front entrance. "I'm sure you're tired, why don't you go up and get refreshed?" her aunt says giving her a push in the direction of stairs. "When you're feeling better I'll give you a tour of my studio. I cleaned up the guest room for you, it's on the right of the hallway. Call me if you need anything ok?" Joohyun nods and slowly makes her way up. Her mind was still reeling from everything but she felt a little calmer now. Looks like she's finally coming to terms with her situation. She can almost feel little stirrings of happiness and excitement admist her worry, as she makes her way to the guest room, which was going to be her room for the next three years. As she enters the door on the right she notices it's a nice and cozy little room with a single comfy looking bed next to a window which overlooked the side street. One wall had a built in bookshelf with two small closets at the bottom. She notes that her aunt got her a nice little study desk which was tucked into a corner. There was an attached bathroom, which was a big plus. Joohyun drops her suitcase and jumps on the bed. She looks up at the ceiling and thinks, I did it! I finally moved away from home. She finally feels relaxed for the first time since she left her home in Daegu.

When Joohyun finally comes back downstairs, after taking a nice warm shower, feeling refreshed, she sees that her aunt had already ordered takeout for them. She gets a feeling that her aunt rarely ever cooks. "Oh Joohyun, you're here! You're looking much better now. Come, let's have some dinner!" Her aunt says clapping her hands excitedly. Joohyun follows her aunt into the dinning room which took up the back portion of the house. She sees a small garden at the back through the kitchen windows. "Nice garden." Joohyun says. "Oh, thanks. Actually it was my friend who planted and took care of it. You know the one who lived here before you, I told you about her didn't I? Anyways, I don't really have much time these days to care for it. It's such a shame" her aunt says sadly. "I can take care of, if you'd like." Joohyun says. "Oh, that would be great! But are sure you won't be too busy with your new school?" "It's fine. I like gardening, so I think I'll enjoy it." Joohyun reassures. "Ok, then it's decided. Now enough talking, let's eat, our dinner is getting cold."

As Joohyun finally settles in her bed for sleep, she looks forward to her new life in Seoul. She has to go shopping tomorrow to get everything she needs. Then day after tomorrow will be her first day of high school. She feels a mixture of apprehension and excitement. She closes her eyes hoping for the best. She hopes people at this new school are nicer than her previous one. Maybe she'll actually make a friend or two here. Yeah right, as if! Who's she kidding? She should know it's foolish to have such expectations from all her past experiences. It's better to keep to herself, make herself invisible and go as unnoticed as possible. So she settles for praying that her high school life goes smoothly without any troubles instead.