𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 | 𝐊- 𝐏𝐎𝐏

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗒

You were used to being alone; after five straight years of loneliness, one grew used to it. The orphanage had not been the most sociable of places to grow up, and your years there had left you quiet and timid, someone who enjoyed time to herself. On the other hand, your new family was very touchy-feely and open with each other, always loud and around you, no matter if you wanted to be alone or not. You felt out of place there, like a stranger in their home. But the Jeons treated you so kindly and were so welcoming, even to a quiet, lonely foreigner who could barely even speak their language.

Your new brother was the loudest of all, practically shrieking your name whenever he needed you, or even when he just passed by you in the hall. You weren’t uncomfortable with his boisterous affection, but you still weren’t entirely ready whenever his shrill voice sounded in your ear or he trapped you in one of his bear-hugs.

The younger was quieter, but that was because he was still learning how to talk and hadn’t even been in school yet. Jeongguk was cute – the cutest little boy you had ever seen – but you were still nervous to approach him, worried you would break the delicate little boy. Maybe someday you’d be able to show him just how much you adored him.

Sweet Eomma was very patient with you and your lack of Korean language skills, speaking in slow, broken English when you couldn’t understand her words. Luckily, she knew you were smart, so you were sent to a school that would be able to quickly teach you how to converse in their language, and you were proud to say you were quickly picking up on it.

But just because you were learning to speak like them, it didn’t mean your classmates accepted you. Children could be so cruel, no matter where on Earth you were – they would speak their mind and ridicule those who were different from them. They would laugh at you, teasing you about your eyes or your hair, and ripping into your language skills. After all, you were a child who was still in the middle of learning English, then suddenly being taught another that was entirely different, so of course you could speak neither very well. The children loved to bully you and sing about your broken, stuttered Korean.

So, to avoid the bullies and their cruelty, you separated yourself from your classmates, preferring to be left alone, rather than have your pigtails pulled again or being pushed into the dirt on the playground. So, during recess, so holed yourself away in a corner, your nose in a book and knees scrunched up to make yourself smaller. It wasn’t fun nor comfortable, but it was better than what you would face on the playground.

You sighed heavily, watching overtop of your book to see a group of friends run by your spot, laughing with each other and making your heart clench in frustration. You wanted a friend, you wanted someone who could make you laugh, someone who wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t speak back to them. But, no one wanted to be friends with someone like you. Children could be so cruel.

Shifting on the cold concrete you sat upon, you returned all of your attention to your reading, trying not to care about your loneliness. You did this to yourself.

“Hi.”

You stiffened. That wasn’t normal.

Someone was actually talking to you. No one ever approached you during recess. What did they want? Were they going to torment her in her own safe place? Maybe if she didn’t say anything, he would realize how boring she was to tease and leave her alone.

“Hi?” the voice said again. “You … you speak Hangul, or o-only English?”

You didn’t say anything. You just wanted him to go away.

“Rude if you … uh … If you don’ answer,” he said in broken English. You recognized the voice. It was Kim Taehyung, the self-proclaimed “class clown” and a bit of a loner just like you. He did have a few friends, but you didn’t wish to engage, considering those friends had been tormentor of yours. “Yah, wae ~ ?”