Start from Scratch (JenLisa Adaptation)

1

 'Out of the cold?'

Jennie's POV

Ask anyone who lives in a northern climate what they hate the most about winter, they probably won't tell you it's the snow.

They'll say it's the cold.

We're all cold from time to time, we get cold. We experience cold weather, that sort of thing. But as I walk along the nearly deserted streets of Seoul, I'm more than cold.

I'm slowly freezing to death. Looking up, I see the sign of a bank that only serves to remind me just how cold I am.

02 degrees. The innocuous sign flashes, along with the time of 9:17 pm.

What makes me shiver, is the icy wind. It's a fierce wind that seems to rip right through me, chilling me to the bone. My leather jacket, which looks rather cool normally, isn't keeping me warm at all.

According to my phone, the actual temperature, with the wind chill is -16 degrees. I look up and down the avenue and save for a few cars I see no one. That's because no one is foolish enough to go out on one of the coldest nights of the year.

It's an unrelenting, bone chilling cold, that unlike God, will not forgive you. If you get too cold, too tired and sit down, you'll simply freeze to death. I'll freeze to death, unless I find shelter.

If it were just the cold, I would just gripe about it as what most Koreans do and go about my business. But I have other problems. My back hurts from the weight of this old army duffle bag on it. My shoulder hurts from the overstuffed backpack that I'm also carrying. These two bags, plus my purse, carry pretty much my entire life.

Earlier this evening, I had packed in a hurry and fled my warm abode, into the deadly cold night.

Making my misery complete is the fact that my left eye is nearly swollen shut and the wind only makes the other bruises on my face, hurt that much more. It feels like a little icy daggers being repeatedly stuck in my face. I had been walking more than an hour and I was more and more tired and cold. Each step I took, seemed to be harder to take than the last. I wasn't going to last long.

Standing on a street corner, I pulled out a slip of paper. On it was a hastily scrawled address.

Apartment 8-2F. Sungmun 16ga-gil, Mapo-gu.

Other than a homeless shelter, I had no idea where the nearest one was, this was my only refuge. I knew full well, that its sole inhabitant, probably wouldn't even let me in the front door.

Considering how badly burned that same person 3 years ago, I would have to be a fool to blame them. But it was my only hope.

Just as I lost the feeling in my fingers, even with the gloves on, I reached the mundane brick apartment building. But for once, luck was in my favor. As I walked up to the building, I could see a cab waiting just in front of the building. Moments later I spotted a heavily bundled up couple, hurrying out. They appeared to be a couple in their late 30's. Taking a chance, I hurried to the door and caught it just before it closed.

The couple themselves were too busy getting to the cab before they froze, to even notice me. Entering the building, I closed the door and dropped my bags and for a moment let the heat wash over me. It was a wonderful feeling.

After taking a few minutes to throw off the chill, I gathered my courage and bags and headed up the stairs. As I reached the apartment door, I had this sinking feeling that in a few short minutes. I would once again be out on the street.

I paused a moment, dropped my bags, took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. After the knock, there was a long pause, no sound, no anything. I knew they were home, as I could see a bit of light from under the door.