Chapter Text
Myoui Mina was born into a family where wealth was everything. Early on she learned that there was nothing more important to her parents than money and power, and things like love or affection were often weaponized. Used as a form to get something, no matter from who or when.
Her parents, the owners of a business empire with multiple industries, ensured she grew up well aware of the world they lived in, making sure she knew her place in there and how things worked. They lived off of their appearance, status, and connections not much else mattered besides that.
They raised her with the expectation that she would eventually continue with the family legacy, and that played a huge part in how she was raised. She was often seen as a business partner, and not so much as their daughter. As Mina would learn, they were far more interested in having someone taking care of their business rather than anything else.
From a young age, Mina was enrolled in the best private schools in their area, the richest part of Seoul. Where they didn’t only teach regular classes, they also taught them how to behave, how to be one of them. Everyone there appeared to be the same, not only students but future CEOs, heirs, and politicians.
She was always surrounded by wealthy kids, all of them with the same material wealth, but little emotional connection. Even between them, they didn’t act like regular kids, it was obvious every single parent put a lot of expectation on them and taught them the same values.
They were all there for the same reason, to be taught how to act, how to behave, how to be an heir or a high status person once they grew up. And in that field, emotional connections don’t matter much. With high expectations on their backs, there wasn’t much room for that anyway.
Mina quickly learned how to behave. Never speak out as a child unless they were speaking to her, never talk back, never show too much emotion, and above all, never let anyone see any weakness.
She often remembers the times she used to cry over something. It didn’t matter what it was really, she was just a child, with frustrations she didn’t know how to deal with. It was normal, but her mother acted like it was the end of the world.
“How many times have I told you not to cry?” Her mother grabbed her by the arm, pulling her closer to her leg. Mina wasn’t even crying loudly, there were just silent tears falling down her face, she knew better than to voice out anything.
She was walking with her mother through a bridge, Mina was too young to understand why she was there, but she was walking with her mother getting dragged by her little arms as she spoke with someone else, a man in a suit.
Her legs were small, so Mina was having a hard time keeping up with them. She already had complained to her mother that she didn’t want to go, instead she wanted to stay home and play with her dolls. Something her mother almost never allowed, if she wasn’t in classes or extracurricular activities, she was shadowing her parents, with the excuse that eventually she would take their place, so she needed to see how things worked from a young age.
Mina’s dolls dragged across the floor, and no matter how much she pulled it up, she couldn’t keep up with how fast they were walking and lift her dolls at the same time. Eventually, Mina just ended up tripping over her, and that’s when she fell into the river under the bridge they were crossing.
She barely had time to watch as her favorite doll fell down the river. Her mother didn’t even notice. Mina knew she couldn’t say anything, not when her mother or the other men were speaking, so she just started crying. “Stop crying, I’ll get you another one of those dolls, it doesn’t matter.” Her mother tugged on her arm again, like that would make her stop.
Mina knew there was no doll that could replace that one, she had plenty of them yet that was the one she felt attached to. But that didn’t matter, not to her mother and not to anyone besides her.
Her mother insisted over and over that Mina couldn’t show vulnerability, not to the people they interact with. Showing emotions would just make her an easy target, so she had to behave accordingly.
Always smiling, always pretending. It didn’t matter how she was actually feeling, she had to pretend like things were fine, like they were perfect, in all aspects of her life. While other children spent their summers playing outside, Mina was attending etiquette classes, language lessons, and getting taught how to properly behave.
Behind closed doors, Mina was a completely different kid. She was curious, kind, she didn’t agree with having to hide her feelings and pretend to be someone she wasn’t but she knew that this world she lived in not showing vulnerability was key. So her true self she kept in, she was the only person who actually knew who she was.
At ten years old, Mina could read the subtext in adult conversations better than most grown men in business. She knew which smile meant genuine admiration and which was simply a mask. But even though Mina was starting to stand out in everything she was doing, she often felt like a stranger in her skin.
She did well in piano lessons, horseback riding, english was almost her second language already, not to mention japanese and korean. Her parents had learned that Mina was good at most things she did, so they tried pushing her as much as they could. Chess class, advanced math, archery, you name it and Mina was learning it.
She started to realize that they would use her skills as a way to feel superior in comparison to the people around them. Mina would often overhear her parents talking to business partners about their kids and everything she did was always spoken proudly, even if Mina wasn’t proud of it herself.
As she was starting to grow older and understand things a little better, it felt like the expectations her parents put on her grew as well. They started involving her more and more in their world. And with that, everything she did just felt more and more like an obligation, a heavy weight on her shoulder.
Exclusive galas, charity balls, high-society events, everything a young girl shouldn’t be attending her parents were taking her. Their excuse was that they needed to know her face, know who she is. It was never too soon for her to start making connections, even if they barely let her interact with the adults.
Between all that they were always very strict with her when it came to keeping up her appearances, they would always mention that the image she showed to everyone portrayed who her family was as well, so she needed to be well behaved, perfectly sculpted.
At first Mina was excited to be a part of this world. She would see her parents arriving from galas in their fancy attires and she would find it interesting, fun. They always looked elegant, with perfect smiles and mannerisms.
She had no real idea what they were like and once she started attending them, things weren’t as good as she thought. She realized that the way everyone glamorized these events hid the darker side of them, the unspoken truth of just how awful everyone there was.
Once Mina understood that, she started resenting these occasions. The glamorous life, the fake smiles, the way they would all try looking better than the person next to them. It was all so empty, so artificial. These people were just putting on a front, a mask, they weren’t truly being themselves, and that bothered her. Everyone was so shallow.
Mina could see right through them, not a single sincere word, everyone in there trying to take advantage of each other, always searching for weakness in one another. It was a never ending competition between them.
And even with all that, what bothered her the most was the disconnection. Was the fact that despite being surrounded by hundreds of people, Mina felt alone. No one there was actually interested in getting to know her, in being her friend. They were all too caught up in themselves to form any genuine connection.
Mina always searched for more than this, more than just business connections. She hoped to eventually form a genuine bond with someone that didn’t care about her appearance, her status, how much money she had or what family she came from. She wanted sincerity.
Someone she could be herself around, let her guard down. Mina knew that went against everything she was ever taught, which is why she didn’t really chase it, not at such a young age at least, but that didn’t mean she didn’t yearn for it.
As Mina grew older, her isolation only deepened. Her parents weren’t exactly mean or cruel to her, but they were distant. They showered her with gifts, and promises, like that would make up for the lack of affection. The only way Mina caught their attention was by exceeding everything she did, and even so, they saw her more as an asset.
The expectation on top of her felt more and more like a weight. They were so sure she would just accept everything that was thrown at her, that she would represent their family with pride, like the business was her dream as well. Even if it wasn’t.
Mina knew the shoes she had to fill, what she received the most from her parents was pressure and demands. She was a Myoui after all, this is what she was born to do, to continue their legacy. She felt more like their dolls, rather than their daughter.
With that Mina’s internal struggle grew, the more they pushed her and pressured her the more she realized that there was no point in fighting this. More than ever Mina started putting a mask in front of them, acting arrogant, conceited, anything to avoid showing how much she truly hated all of this.
The more she grew up the more she started questioning her place in this world. Was this really where she wanted to be? Did she want to keep pretending, keep playing a part just to meet the expectations of her parents, or was there something else out there for her?
Mina would often catch herself daydreaming of a life beyond this, where she would make real connections, have real friends. People who cared about her beyond her achievements, who she could show her true face to. Yet, whenever she came back to herself, it felt like that kind of world was an impossible dream.
In the meantime she kept getting pushed further and further inside of this world. Before she was too young but as she grew older, she could tell just how worse things were getting. Mina felt like she couldn’t escape this, she felt trapped. She didn’t fit in, no matter how hard she tried, and the more time passed the more she realized it.
She was unhappy, but that didn’t matter. Based on everyone around her, no one was truly happy. This was just how things were for them, when you live based on your appearance and connections, your life is a constant competition, a constant race to see who’s better than who.
For years, she thought something was wrong with her. Mina had everything, privilege, status, so why did it all feel so empty? She spent hours in front of her mirror, practicing the perfect smile, the effortless small talk. But the longer she lived in her parent’s world, the more suffocated she felt.
Mina found comfort in small acts of rebellion. Skipping a charity gala to read in her room whenever she knew her parents wouldn’t notice that she didn’t go. Leaving events halfway through them just to walk alone outside. Anything that would get her away from this world, even if just for a couple of minutes.
She even began to listen to music her parents would disapprove of late at night when she was alone in her room. Or read books she knew they wouldn’t approve of. As much as those moments made her feel like she had some control over her life, those moments were passengers, always overtaken by the weight of her obligations.
By the time Mina was eighteen things were a little bit different. While the same expectations were on top of her, she had learned how to live with her, accepted that it was her future and she had no choice in it.
Things for her became almost robotic, she smiled when she had to smile, talked when she needed to talk. Agreed if it was necessary and never, not once she complained about anything. Her discontent with her life is always well hidden deep inside her.
From her parent’s eyes she was old enough to now be fully involved in their business, though they didn’t fully trust her with that just yet, they did put some responsibilities in her hands. Mostly what they thought was easy enough so she could deal with it while attending university.
After all, their current focus was her business degree. That was one of their many current demands. Honestly Mina was surprisingly fine with it, university gave her a sense of freedom she never had before.
While it did feel a little fabricated and she knew it wasn’t exactly what she longed for, this was better than how things were before, and at least now she could distance herself from her family just a little bit. For enough hours so she can remind herself of who she truly is.
Mina didn’t really want to study business, but it’s not like she had any say in it. She knew she would do well regardless, she had to for her own sake. However that didn’t mean that she spent most of her days bored, longing for something more. Something else.
University didn’t keep her away from all the galas and events either, her parents expected her to keep making time for them even if she was busy. They were always very adamant about how important they were for her image, so not attending them was never on the table.
Her days were filled with classes she had no passion for, evenings with dinner parties that drained her. And no one ever asked her what she wanted, she knew they didn’t care either. They had already sat a path for her that she had to follow, she had no choice in any of this.
Parts of her hoped that in university she would get to experience more, a different life even. While this was new and somewhat exciting, she was still just living a life of loneliness and fake appearances. Not much changed besides a busier schedule.
However, things weren’t all bad. In university, amongst all the new people with different upbringing she managed to meet her best friend. Sana felt like a spark of hope in her life, she met her during a really dark time within herself and she was the one to give her hope that maybe a regular life was possible. At least Sana made her feel a little bit more down to earth.
Sana didn’t come from wealth, not like everyone else in her life or the people she would meet at those galas and events. Her parents were immigrants, and while they didn’t struggle to survive, things weren’t exactly abundant for them either.
She studied hard to get into this university and she was the first one in her family to actually get this far in life. They had high hopes for her as well, but the expectations were a bit different.
Maybe that’s what connected them at first, Sana also felt this weight on her shoulders that she had to succeed, had to do well. It was different from the expectations her parents put on her, but it was expectations nonetheless. Sana didn’t want to be the first in her family to attend university and the first one to fail as well.
Having someone like Sana besides her really helped her get through the college years. Ever since Mina turned 18 her parents expected her to be a lot more sociable, attend more parties, gain more connections with people her age who were also wealthy heirs. But that’s not who she was, any time she was obligated to interact with them, she tried her best to remind herself that at least now she has someone who is truly her friend.
“So what are you up to tonight?” Sana locked her phone, placing it on the desk. Class wasn’t about to start for another 10 minutes, so they had some time to spare. “I plan on getting home and passing out. I was up until 2 in the morning last night studying for the economics exam.” She sighed.
Mina could see it in her eyes just how tired Sana looked. It was often that she would stay up studying or doing assignments, even if the economics exam wasn’t happening for another week, she was already studying for it. “You know, the usual, I have an event at 10pm and then I have that business 101 assignment to finish.”
Sana frowned. “The one that is due tomorrow?” She wondered, Mina nodded, agreeing. “It’s a 3k word essay, you haven’t finished yet?” She sounded surprised, which might be with reason, but Mina wasn’t really worried.
“Yeah, that one.” She laughed. “I’m missing like 2k words, but I haven’t had the time to finish it. I had a gala on monday, and a charity ball yesterday. And the week before my father decided it was great timing to try teaching me some things, so everyday after class I was in his office.” Mina knew her routine was busy, though truly, she had grown used to it, at least it kept her distracted.
Sana just stared at her for a second. “I-” She tried finding the right words to say. Mina could understand that, to anyone outside of her world her life is very out of the ordinary. “How do you manage?” She wondered.
Mina remembers when she first talked to Sana about her life and all the events she attended, who her family was, she was taken back, though still curious about it. Now it’s not really a subject she brings up a lot, not because she doesn’t want Sana to know, but because when she’s with Sana is the only time she feels somewhat normal, she likes to keep it that way.
“I’m used to it.” Mina shrugged. “Besides, it is what it is.” What Mina actually wanted to say was that she had to do all this not because she wanted to, but because she was obliged to. She didn’t have a choice, she needed to make it work or it would be worse than what it already is.
Sana nodded, not really saying anything else. She knew this subject wasn’t Mina’s favorite, and while it was completely different from her reality, she never glamourized it. Maybe it was because she could see right through Mina, and just how miserable she was, either way, this was a subject she gladly avoided.
Things remained that way in Mina’s life for a while. Balancing university and the family business got easier with time, and while she grew more and more unhappy, she tried hiding it to the same extent. To the point where she could barely find herself in all the fake smiles.
But after she finished college, those were arguably the worst years of her life. By the time she turned 22, her responsibilities in the family business had increased significantly. Months before she even graduated she was already dreading what her life would be after she was done with university.
They were already pushing more and more work towards her, always reminding her that she was about to take on a bigger role in the business, that she was key to making things work and from now on she held just as many responsibilities as her parents.
Constantly mentioning just how important the family legacy was, and how she needs to carry it with her. That they wouldn’t be there forever and therefore she needed to take on more and more. They pushed her to become more involved in their business world, now attending high-profile meetings and including her when making major decisions.
But even though she was part of all that, Mina never saw herself as equal to them. She is certain that they didn’t either, often questioning her and reprimanding her whenever she made any choices outside of their comfort zone.
She thought that by being there she could at least innovate, make this role somewhat enjoyable for her. Still, they never allowed that, all her decisions weren’t actually made by her, she just went along with whatever they decided. Mina was nothing but just another pawn for them.
However, there was one thing that didn’t change at all. Her parents demand for her to attend every gala, every charity event. Even more so now that she wasn’t in university anymore, they thought all the free time she suddenly had was exclusive for her to attend gatherings in which she could represent the family name.
Although Mina took on that role for them, the constant pressure to always appear so perfect together with managing the family business was a lot to her. Mina felt drained, and emotionally empty. She started questioning herself more and more, losing grip of who she really was.
Everything was so performative, it felt more like an acting job rather than anything else. Pretending like everything was perfect and she lived the perfect life. The lack of genuine connection and honesty weighed more and more on her.
Mina knows she’s lucky to not have to worry about money, she knows she has it easy compared to other people. Her life is completely privileged and she is aware of that, but all Mina ever wanted was to feel like she belongs, like she has a purpose. Everything she does for her parents just feels so meaningless.
She learned to put up a front. Getting taught how to do so since she was a kid, it did pay off. She knows she can come across as confident, arrogant, and perhaps even content with the life she lives.
But deep down Mina feels alone, misplaced. The world has lost its meaning and each day it gets harder and harder for her to find her purpose, the reason why she is doing all of this. Because it doesn’t feel like it’s for herself, it doesn’t feel like it’s for her benefit. It never did.
Mina doesn’t think anyone around her really understands her struggle, even more so her parents. They live for this, they adore all this. The glamor, appearances. Attending galas and living a futile life, they love it. And since they inserted her into this world, they just assume that she does too.
Her relationship with her parents is complicated. They don’t see the weight that she carries by doing everything they ask her to, sometimes they feel like strangers. Mina plays her part, she does her duties as heirs, but inside of her head is a mess. She feels like she’s suffocating under the weight of her family.
At 24, Mina started questioning what she really wanted for her life. If her path wasn’t already set for her, where would she be? Whenever she talks to Sana she finds herself wondering that. She feels stuck, her life is stagnant.
She craves connections and meeting new people, new experiences. Her life has been the same since she was a kid, boring parties and meetings, the same thing over and over day after day. There has to be more to life than just this. She needs excitement, she needs a change.
The pressure on her to do well grows every single day and Mina is tired, there’s only so much someone can take, and Mina can tell she’s close to her breaking point. She has no idea how much longer she’ll be able to do this. Pretend to be someone she’s not for the sake of her family’s image.
She thought that as she grew older things might get better. Maybe she would grow to like all of this or maybe she had found a way out, an outlet even. And when that didn’t happen, Mina thought it might just be time for her to accept things.
Still, Mina wakes up every single day, hoping that today might finally be the day that her life changes. She doesn’t know how, or why, but there’s nothing wrong with hoping, even less so when she just keeps it to herself. Like everything else.
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Nayeon had learned the hard way that life wasn’t easy. She grew up in a small apartment, only two bedrooms for her family of 5 people. The apartment always felt a little too crowded, but Nayeon knew enough to be thankful that she at least had a roof under her head.
The apartment was too warm in the summer and too cold during the winter, the walls were so thin she could hear her neighbour's alarm in the morning, the plumbing often misbehaved and sometimes they didn’t have hot water, still, it was a home, her home. Which Nayeon was grateful for.
Her parents worked tirelessly, her father took on construction jobs that didn’t pay well while her mother worked as a cleaner. Both jobs in which there were good weeks and bad weeks, Nayeon grew used to the instability of it. She knew she couldn’t rely on money.
They made enough to support them for a while, but it was never enough to make life comfortable. Some months they paid the water bill, next month it was the lights, it was enough to get them by.
Nayeon was the eldest of three siblings. They only had a couple of years separating them, while she was older, when her youngest sister was born she was only five years old, but she was already rocking her baby sister to sleep while her mother worked a late shift.
It was easy to grow accustomed to the responsibility when you have been doing it for so long and since you were so little. Nayeon got used to taking care of her siblings, got used to seeing her parents a couple of hours per week.
She sometimes would wake up to a couple of hundred dollar bills on the table and she knew that it was for her to buy food for them. So by the time Nayeon was ten, she had already learned how to cook simple meals. She made sure there was always food for when her parents came home and when her siblings were hungry, even if it meant that she had to skip a couple of meals.
Nayeon did her best to give her siblings as much of a normal childhood as she could, she would play with her siblings, take care of them. She took on a parental role for them for the sake of them not feeling like they grew up without someone caring for them.
She knew she couldn’t substitute the love of her parents, she hoped her siblings understood that their parents did love them, they just couldn’t afford to spend a lot of time with them. So Nayeon always made sure to try making up for that lack of love and affection, always telling her siblings how much she loved them, and how much she cared for them.
But even while they struggled, there were moments of happiness. Playing hide-and-seek with her siblings in their cramped living room, playing tag on the concrete playground behind their apartment, laughing until their stomach hurt. It wasn’t much, but it was theirs. And seeing a smile on her sibling's face brought her a lot more joy than she could explain.
It wasn’t hard to figure out that life wasn’t kind to those who waited for things to be handed to them. If they wanted something, they would have to work for it, and work hard. You needed to fight for your own things.
In her life there was no room for luxury, no room for dreaming. Those were for people who had time, and Nayeon barely had that. Even more so as she grew up, she barely even had time to think, less so dream.
By the time Nayeon reached high school she had already grown accustomed to sacrificing her own wishes for the sake of her family. Since she was 14 Nayeon started working in part-time jobs.
She didn’t care what it was or for who, anyone that would pay her she was willing to work. There were times where Nayeon worked two to three part-time jobs since she was too young to work a lot of hours. During the summer those numbers would double. She never cared how much she had to work for, as long as she was able to help out at home.
She worked everywhere, convenience stores, bakeries, diners, any place that would pay her under the table and didn’t ask too many questions. Some weeks, she barely slept, staying up to study after getting home from her shift, only to wake up a few hours later to get her siblings ready for school.
With that she grew accustomed to balancing multiple worlds. During the day she studied, trying to keep up with assignments while pretending she wasn’t exhausted from the night before. And after school, she became the unofficial third parent, making sure her younger siblings finished their homework before she left for her own job.
Nayeon learned to ignore the jab of jealousy whenever she saw her classmates hanging out after school, whenever they would talk about a movie that just came out or a show they were watching, complaining about exams as if that was the hardest thing in the world.
She couldn’t afford to be like them. While they were debating which university to apply to, or what they would do after college, Nayeon was counting the money in her tip jar, trying to figure out if she could afford new school supplies for her brother.
As she grew older she learned not to rely on her parent’s money, not as much as she used to. There were too many close calls over the years and Nayeon knew that if she or her siblings wanted a shot at a regular life, they had to make it happen.
Nayeon realized that her parents had given up on trying to go up in life. She could understand why, after so many years working so much and only making enough to survive, it wasn’t easy, you lose hope after a while.
She was still awake when her mother arrived from her job. This specific client that she had always asked her to go late at night to clean their house, since it was their summer house they usually arrived in the morning, and they liked when they got there and the house was freshly cleaned.
Her father had arrived a couple of hours before, tired as always, working construction for so many years there wasn’t much he did besides working and sleeping. He got home, ate dinner Nayeon had cooked for them, showered, and went to sleep. Nayeon is not even sure if he said ‘Hi’ to her siblings.
Nayeon was finishing up an assignment at the dinner table. She didn’t like working there, but since she shared her room with her two siblings and it was late at night she didn’t want to wake them up, so this was her only choice.
Her mother walked past her, kissing the top of her head. Nayeon could see it in her eyes just how tired she was. She wondered how much longer she could do this before looking like her mother.
It didn’t bother her that she didn’t say ‘Hi’ either, sometimes she would get home so tired she wouldn’t even acknowledge her. Nayeon heard the sound of the shower, so she got up and turned on the microwave to heat up some leftovers so her mother could eat.
This wasn’t the first time this was happening, they already had their routine set by now. Nayeon heard steps coming back towards her and towards the kitchen, and soon enough her mother was sitting next to her eating her dinner.
The house was quiet, and while peaceful, it also carried some weight. “What are you still doing up?” Her mother wondered, her voice barely a whisper. Nayeon knew exactly what the question really was, she wanted to ask if she was doing school work or actual work.
“I had an assignment to finish.” Nayeon quickly answered, looking up at her mother. “I should be done with it soon, I was just doing some final touches for it.” A lie, she actually had to do the entire thing, Nayeon had no clue what time she was going to sleep, if she slept at all. But she didn’t want her mother to worry.
“You know…” Her mother started, Nayeon already dreaded the words that were going to come out of her mouth. She lived through this too many times already. “I was thinking about starting to save up, and maybe take you and your siblings somewhere nice, maybe an amusement park or something like that. Or even a trip, we’ve never done that.”
Nayeon sighed. She was tired of the empty promises, of her mother wishing that she could do something nice but never actually doing it. She knew that she didn’t do it because she couldn’t afford it, she just wished she would stop trying to give her hope.
Because that’s what used to happen, every time she would say something like that Nayeon would hope for better days, she would think that maybe now things were actually improving, and they would be able to do something like that. And those days never came.
She had to learn the hard way that as much as her mother wished she could do all those things for them, she couldn’t. Not even if everyone put a little money, it was just not the reality they lived in.
It did make her happy to think that maybe her parents didn’t settle for this life, maybe they are looking for something better, trying to chase a better life. Still, Nayeon knew that was unrealistic, so she tried keeping herself grounded.
She was young and despite it all, she refused to let herself sink. She refused to let the weight of responsibility crush her. She wasn’t just going to survive, she wanted to chase a future where she didn’t have to struggle like this forever. She didn’t know how yet, but she had faith in her ability to figure it out.
Nayeon wanted to attend a good university, pursue a career that would allow her to get out of this situation she was born in. She didn’t want to struggle financially anymore, what she wanted the most was to give herself and her siblings a good life. A life they didn’t have to worry so much about making ends meet.
She did her best to remain positive, always trying to see the best out of every situation. Never letting anything bring her down, not when she couldn’t afford a new eraser for school, not when her siblings would tell her that people were making fun of them at school. Nayeon couldn’t afford to let those things bring her down.
When Nayeon turned eighteen, reality set in even harder. She wanted to go to university, she worked towards it through her high school years, but she knew she couldn’t leave her family behind.
They still weren’t in a good place financially. They had no stability, no backup plan. She took on a big role in her household and if she left, who would take care of her siblings? Who would help pay the rent?
She worried for her siblings, for her parents too. She didn’t want her brother to have to take on her role just because she left, she didn’t want him giving up on his dreams just because she wanted to chase hers. Nayeon couldn’t let her sibling’s life go the way hers did, they could have better futured, so she stayed.
With time Nayeon worked harder and harder, taking on two, sometimes three jobs at a time. Waitressing in the morning at the local diner, cashier in the afternoon for the supermarket near her house, and twice a week in the overnight shift stocking shelves.
She told herself it was temporary, there was no way she could do that for the rest of her life, that it was just until her siblings were old enough to take care of themselves. All of this was just so they could have the opportunities she didn't.
But the years passed, and the temporary started to feel permanent. And getting out of this situation started to feel further away from her reality. It didn’t matter how much she worked, their situation never seemed to improve.
Some nights Nayeon would lay awake wondering if this was all her life would ever be, a cycle of exhaustion and sacrifice. She had given up so much already, but at what point did sacrificing for others mean losing herself completely?
At what point she would start living for herself and not for her family? She knew that no one would chase a better future for herself, if she ever wanted to get out of this she would have to go and do it herself. Things don’t just fall on her lap, they never did.
But the weight of her responsibilities gets bigger every day. She works as much as she can to keep her younger siblings happy but it never feels like it’s enough. Things feel so out of touch for her that it makes her think that even if she tried, maybe this is all there is for her.
Eventually Nayeon realized there was no point in working three awful jobs that paid her too little for her work. She knew that finding something better would be a challenge, but working 2 and a half jobs wasn’t giving her as much money as it should, so she decided she should broaden her horizons.
Nayeon didn’t go to university, so her choices were a little more limited. Thankfully nowadays with her siblings a little older, she can afford to earn a little less if it means she can at least move up in her work ladder. Her goal was to eventually become a manager somewhere.
So at 22 years old Nayeon decided to quit all of her jobs and instead work as a waitress at a fancier restaurant in a better part of town. It wasn’t easy, but they were honestly surprised by the amount of experience she had and after a couple of test runs, she eventually was hired.
She won practically as much as before, but the tips were definitely better. Trading one waitressing job for another wasn’t exactly what she pictured, but in this one she was definitely winning more, not to mention that now for the first time in a long while, she has some free time in her day for herself.
That’s when Nayeon started attending evening courses in business, hoping that one day she could build a business for herself and her siblings, finally getting them out of this situation. It did make her feel like she was back in high school, managing a job, school and taking care of her siblings, except now she had more experience with it.
For the first time at a job Nayeon actually felt successful, she finally felt like she was actually working towards something and that this might be worth it. Her peers really liked her, her bosses too. She was one of the waitresses that got the most compliments and therefore the most tip, Nayeon was finally making more money.
With just a couple of months working there she was even able to secure a small promotion, it was mostly verbal, her salary didn’t really change, but now she was a shift leader, she had more responsibilities and it felt really rewarding. It felt like her work was actually worth something, it gave her a sense of accomplishment.
While the extra income didn’t alleviate their financial burden much, it did make Nayeon feel like there were brighter days ahead. Perhaps this job was her way out of the struggles she has faced for so long.
At 24, Nayeon feels like she’s really close to becoming the manager. There has been some talk around the restaurant and while some other people had been promoted before her, she really feels like now it’s her turn.
She can’t say that things so far were easy, but it was definitely worth it. There are plenty of jobs that are far worse from this one, Nayeon would know. And while she’s about to finish her business classes, perhaps right now is not the time to quit her job.
She could gain a lot by working there for a couple more years, saving up some money to open up her own business. Some people might think she’s stagnated, but she’s really not, everything Nayeon has done was working towards something bigger, better. And she can tell that she’s really close to achieving it.
—----------------------------------------------------
Mina sighed. If she had to smile one more time to anyone pretending like they care about this charity she would lose it. She lost count of how many times she repeated their name whenever someone got it wrong. She was happy they were donating their money, but they could at least bother to know who is getting it.
Regardless, she wouldn’t have to endure this for much longer. Just a few more hours and she could make up whatever excuse she could to get out of there and finally go home. She only stopped there to shower and change after being at the office all day. She misses her bed, her room.
She wasn’t even supposed to come to this event, maybe that’s what’s making her even more annoyed. Her father told her that the gala she attended a couple of days ago was the last event of the week. Then suddenly there's this charity event. Mina wasn’t ready for it.
Still, she had to go, she had to show her face there. Years and years pass and nothing changes, the same people, the same fake smile. Greeting them like they’re old friends but the rivalry between them walks right besides them. They all pretend to be friends, but one wrong step and you get stabbed in the back.
Not only was this event awful, Mina spent so much time networking for her parents that she didn’t have time to eat. She was tired, hungry, wishing she could go home as fast as possible.
At 11 pm she couldn’t take it anymore. Mina knew there wasn’t much else going on at the event, and her father always taught her, she could leave whenever she wanted, as long as she wasn’t the first to leave.
She went through the checklist on her mind, making sure she talked to everyone that she needed to talk to, people who she needed to make sure saw her there. After being sure she did, she knew it would be fine if she went home right now.
Mina got her car from the valet, she didn’t really know this area very well so she put the address to her home on the car GPS, trusting that it would give her the fastest way home. She made sure she had everything set before taking off.
She saw the arrival time at midnight, which wasn’t so bad. Most times she went to these events she would get home at one in the morning, sometimes two. This was a reasonable time to be going home.
Mina was ten minutes into the drive when she heard her stomach growling, and that’s when she remembered she didn’t eat dinner, and now stopping at a random drive through to grab a bite sounded extremely good.
She almost never ate fast food, it felt almost taboo to do so. Throughout her life she had a cook to make sure she ate all her meals well, and for her parents something as trivial as fast food was frowned upon.
She recognized the road she was on, Mina was certain there were a few fast food places just a right turn from where she was, so she decided to take a little detour prioritizing her hunger over getting home sooner.
Mina kept driving, convincing herself she was on the right path, getting closer and closer. She watched as the GPS recalculated, the time for her to get home growing. She frowned, the fast food was on the way to her house, not further away from it.
Still, she kept driving, maybe from the part of town she was, it was a little bit further away. She still thought it was worth the extra drive. Except the road started to change, with fewer cars now, getting to a different part of town that Mina was definitely not familiar with.
Mina decided to get off of this road, maybe it was best to just go home and eat something there. She definitely took a wrong turn back there and she ended up somewhere completely unknown.
She took a left turn and then it truly became obvious just how lost she was. Mina didn’t recognize this neighbourhood at all. She could tell it was really far from her house and from the look of the houses and the street, it was a low-income neighbourhood.
She had to admit that she was a little scared, Mina is not exactly familiar with this place. It was also obvious how much she was standing out, her car was worth almost the same as the houses she was driving by.
Mina looked at her GPS again and realized that ever since she took that left turn off the main road it has been recalculating the route. It seems that there’s some sort of issue with it and now she has no idea how to get home.
She debated between stopping and trying to reput her address or just deep driving until she reached an area she knew. Though that seemed like an awful idea because she could drive for miles and miles and just get further away from her house. So between stopping in an unknown neighbourhood and keep driving, she thought maybe she should stop.
Unfortunately her car had the most awful timing, because as she was pulling up to the sidewalk, her car died. Mina paused, looking at her dashboard completely dark, this has never happened before.
She was able to get closer to the sidewalk and actually park her car, before trying to turn it back on, hoping, praying that it was nothing serious and that it would just turn back on like nothing happened.
But that wasn’t Mina’s luck, and as she tried turning her car on again it complained and didn’t obey, making her even more nervous. She wasn’t going to five up though, she tried again and again. Until eventually she realized that there was no point in doing so, her car was not turning back on.
And now Mina was lost, her car broke down, she was still wearing her very fancy party gown in possibly the worst neighbourhood for that to happen. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out what her next move should be.
Mina was too scared to get out of her car, so she grabbed her phone which thankfully still had some battery in it, and decided to call the car insurance. She would have it towed and she could maybe order an uber to get home or something like that. It wasn’t the end of the world and she would be home soon enough. Her hunger long gone now from the stress.
She quickly unlocked her phone, she checked what was the number she needed to call and went to dial it. That’s when she noticed that the signal bar on her phone was completely gone. Mina frowned, trying her best to not freak out.
She tried rebooting her phone a couple of times, she even tried calling without having any bars to see if maybe the call would go through, but it didn’t and now Mina was starting to actually get worried.
She tried thinking to see if she remembered passing by any gas stations or anything that was 24 hours so maybe she could ask them to lend her a phone or something like that. Mina sighed, she can’t even remember the last time she saw anything like that.
Mina was truly feeling lost now, between sitting there and waiting to see if her car would miraculously fix itself or trying to walk somewhere and get help, she thought it might be best if she just didn’t stand there. Perhaps while walking her phone would even get the signal back, that was her best hope.
Still completely unsure about her decision, Mina got out of her car. The air outside did make her feel less suffocated, she checked her phone again, still no signal. Around her there was no one in sight, she didn’t know if that scared her more or less.
Mina looked around, trying to figure out which way she should start walking, which way it was most likely she could get help. Not knowing this place at all certainly didn’t help, she could be walking further away from somewhere or she could be walking towards something, at this point it was a complete gamble.
She was about to start walking when she almost ran into someone. Immediately taken back, Mina stumbled backwards, almost falling if it wasn’t from the person in front of her holding her by the arm, giving her body some stability. “Are you okay?” She asked. “Do you need some help?”
Mina couldn’t express just how thankful she was that this was a woman. She looked nice and genuinely surprised as well. She has no idea how she missed someone walking towards her, but she must have been really distracted.
The woman kept staring at her which made Mina realize she didn’t actually reply. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m a little distracted right now. My car broke down, and my phone doesn’t have any signal in it so I couldn’t ask for help, I don’t know this area at all so I’m completely lost and-” Mina exhaled, she was just dumping information into this complete stranger who probably just wanted to go home. “Again I’m sorry for bumping into you.”
She took a second to actually look at the woman in front of her. She looked around Mina’s age, she was wearing regular clothes, with a backpack on her back and her hair in a ponytail. Mina had grown quite accustomed to reading people just by their expression and this woman looked tired, like she was ready to just pass out on her bed.
“It’s okay!” She reassured Mina, waving her off. “I was just on my way home, and the street is really dark so I understand you not seeing me.” She laughed it off. “You said your car broke down, is that it?” She pointed at Mina’s car.
“Yes.” Mina nodded, looking at her car which worked just fine until 20 minutes ago. “I have no idea what happened, it has never acted up like this before. I was just driving to go home and it died on me.” She sighed. “I’m Mina, by the way.” She finally introduced herself to this stranger.
“Oh! I’m Nayeon.” She smiled. Mina could tell that she had some sort of experience with customer support, because she was being a little too nice to her, a complete stranger. “I can help you.” She immediately offered. “Most providers don’t have a signal here, but fortunately for you, I have one that does have a signal.” She grabbed her phone out of her pocket, handing it to Mina.
Mina was genuinely taken back. She doesn’t think she has ever met a complete stranger who was so nice to her. None of the people in her circles would ever do something like this to a complete stranger they just ran into on the streets. The most likely thing Mina would get for them is a sue for simply bumping into them.
She paused, staring between Nayeon and her phone. “It’s okay.” She shook her head. Mina knew she was trying to be nice, but she didn’t really feel comfortable with bothering a stranger. “You can just point me towards the nearest gas station and I’ll be fine!”
Nayeon rolled her eyes. “Nonsense! The nearest 24 hour place is blocks away, and you don’t look dressed to the occasion.” She stared at Mina’s gown with an amused smile on her face. “Just take my phone and call whoever you need to call, I don’t mind it, truly.” She didn’t wait for Mina to react, she put her phone in Mina’s hand, fingers brushing against each other.
“Are you sure?” Mina confirmed, staring at the phone in her hand. “I don’t want to bother you, plus, it’s really late and you must want to go home…” She looked up at Nayeon, watching her features.
“Of course I’m sure, I wouldn’t leave you here without help knowing I could help you. I don’t mind that it’s a little late, besides, you’re completely unfamiliar with the place and what if you get lost again.” She pointed it out. “Just use my phone, it’s fine, really.” She insisted.
Mina took a deep breath and nodded, agreeing to it. She got the insurance number from her own phone and dialed it. The process was fairly quick and easy, they asked what happened, where she was, and claimed that someone would be there to help her in no time, 30 minutes maximum according to them.
She debated between taking an uber home and leaving her car there or just waiting for the service. Since it didn’t sound like they would take too long, Mina decided to wait, she didn’t want to just leave her car there anyway. Plus, she still didn’t have service, so she’d have to walk somewhere to order a car.
“So what did they say?” Nayeon wondered as Mina handed her phone back to her. “Are they coming?”
“Yes.” Mina nodded. “They said that in around 30 minutes they would get here, so I think I’m going to wait for them.” She wondered if she had some clothes in the trunk of her car, this dress was really starting to bother her.
“Ah, that’s not too bad at all.” Nayeon smiled. “I think it’s best if you wait since your phone has no service. This neighbourhood can be a little… risky, and this is actually one of the safer parts.” She explained, which made Mina feel thankful that her car broke down there and not further along.
“Yeah, I think I’ll do that.” Mina sighed. She looked at Nayeon, expecting her to bid her goodbye and get on her way now, but she just stood next to her, not saying anything. “You can go now if you want to, it’s late, you don’t have to wait here with me.” She reassured her. Mina would just wait inside her car, hoping this place was safe enough for that at least.
Nayeon scoffed. “Like I’d leave you here waiting on your own.” She shook her head. “I don’t mind it, I’m staying and it’s non negotiable. Now, I’d love to hear why you’re in that dress, with that really nice car, but in a neighbourhood like this.” She smiled.
Usually Mina wouldn’t open up to someone she just met. Actually, Mina is not the type to open up to anyone. However, at the same time, she has never met anyone like Nayeon before. She figured the closest thing in her life would be Sana, and even so, it was a completely different situation.
“Oh I was coming back from a charity event.” Mina sighed as she reminisced about her night. “Those require black tie attire unfortunately. The car is mine, I used to like it a lot but now I don’t think I’ll be keeping it. And I’m here because I got lost while trying to find a fast food restaurant I could eat at since I didn’t really eat dinner.” She explained. “What about you? What are you doing out here so late?”
Nayeon shrugged. “Business classes just ended, I was on my way home.” She explained, usually she didn’t even take this route home, she decided to take it today because she wanted some time to clear her mind.
“Business class?” Mina frowned, she didn’t want to say it, but Nayeon didn’t exactly look like someone who took business class. She would know, she went to university for it. She didn’t mean it in a bad way either, business classes were just… boring, and Nayeon didn’t look boring at all.
“Yes, I’ve been doing them for a while now.” Nayeon awkwardly avoided looking at Mina, almost like she was insecure about it. “I should finish soon though, so that’s good.” She cleaned her throat. “So.. a charity event, I’ve always wanted to know what those are like.”
Mina then went on to explain to her how they worked. She was mostly technical when telling her everything, not really knowing if Nayeon would be interested in all the backstage of it, or how awful the people there actually were.
To be completely honest, Mina never connected to anyone so fast, she felt like she could talk to Nayeon, and any questions she asked she was willing to share. At that point their differences were already obvious to her.
She knew how to read people and it was clear that they lived in two completely different worlds, Mina tried her best to just talk to her, as herself, without putting her arrogant front and talking to her like she’s just an old friend, not the people she meets at those events.
It was a little out of the ordinary for her, but not bad at all. It was actually really nice to not have to pretend like her business is the best, like her parents are the best in the world, like her life is all sunshine and rainbows. Nayeon wasn’t there because of that.
Eventually they decided to sit inside her car. Nayeon talked a little about her life as well, how she was a waitress at a restaurant not too far from there, how she’s been working there for a couple of years now and is trying to get a promotion so she can be the manager.
She talked a little about her siblings and her parents, though that seemed like a little bit of a softer topic, since she didn’t elaborate much on it except that her parents worked a lot and her siblings were younger than her.
Mina knew then that they struggled with money, which was confirmed when Nayeon said she has been working since she was young. Mina did the best to just listen, and tried not to judge anyone in this situation. From what it appeared, Nayeon just wanted to talk to someone, and she was willing to listen.
Their lives were completely different, yet they both ended up on the same street, at the same time. That has to be worth something, right?
While Mina wanted to open up more, she couldn’t, not only because she has been told for 24 years of her life that she shouldn’t show her true self to anyone, but also because around 40 minutes of them talking, the guy from insurance actually showed up.
Nayeon stayed with her through the entire thing, determined not to leave Mina alone with a stranger, even if she was technically a stranger herself. For some reason she felt almost protective towards Mina.
The guy took his time looking at Mina’s car, trying to figure out the problem. He tried turning on the car once before determining it was just a battery issue. To be fair, Mina had no idea what any of the lights meant, even less so when so many of them lit up at the same time.
It was a quick fix, according to him she just needed a new battery, they could just jump start it and it should work for a couple more miles, or at least until she got home and then took it to a place to get it replaced.
It didn’t take him more than 15 minutes to get there, figure out what was wrong and actually get her car jump started. It made Mina feel a little silly, but she was glad that her car wasn’t dead nonetheless.
They watched as the guy drove away. Mina was definitely feeling a lot better now, not only because of her car, but because she had some good company in the meantime. All her stress went away, and with that her hunger came back, loudly complaining.
“I should go now.” Nayeon broke the silence. “You’re good to head home, right?” Nayeon wondered, looking at Mina’s car GPS who already had her home address input and a route for her to take. She really did live far from where they were.
“Do you know anywhere around here that is still open to eat?” Mina wondered, opening the car door but not getting inside just yet. “I haven’t eaten dinner, and I’m really hungry now.” She confessed.
“I actually do.” Nayeon nodded. “There’s a diner just a couple of blocks from here, it’s 24 hours and It’s super good.” She paused, laughing a little. “I would know, I worked there for a bit.”
“Alright.” Mina smiled. “Sounds good, get in.” She pointed towards the passenger seat, still not getting inside the car.
“What?” Nayeon questioned, frowning. She thought she might have misheard what Mina just said to her.
“Get in.” Mina spoke louder this time. “We’re going to get dinner.” She tried being a little more clear so maybe this time around Nayeon would understand her better.
“Oh, you don’t have to. I have some leftovers at home, and it’s a bit late, if I go then I’d have to walk home a little too late and really you don’t have to.” Truly, Nayeon was feeling hungry, she would love to go. But she didn’t want to bother Mina.
“Come on.” Mina insisted. “I’ll drive you back after we’re done, I’ll pay too, as a thank you for you waiting here with me.” She paused, waiting for an answer. When that didn’t come she continued talking. “You helped me out, you kept me company. I insist, Nayeon, let me pay for dinner.”
Nayeon sighed, she didn’t usually accept things like that, even less so from someone she just met. But it seemed that Mina would insist until she said yes, and maybe spending a little more time with her wouldn’t be all bad. “Okay, I guess we can have dinner.” She nodded.
It felt weird to be in Mina’s car. She has never even come close to something so fancy, and it almost felt wrong. The car was probably worth her apartment, and Mina looked ready to just abandon it on the streets.
Nayeon knew the drive was quick, just around 5 minutes. But she took that time to study Mina a little better. Nothing in the car looked out of place, it was clean and shiny, like it was brand new, even the outside was probably cleaner than any car she has ever seen.
She knew that what Mina was wearing wasn’t her usual clothes, but she found it interesting that someone at a charity event, which probably had food to eat, left the place hungry, and was ready to stop at any fast food. It really piqued her interest because Mina looked like she could afford any fancy restaurant, any place where the food would be a thousand times better. Yet there she was, willing to take a turn just to stop at a quick place and grab a bite.
It didn’t take much to realize that they were from two completely different worlds, and usually Nayeon wouldn’t even be interested in talking to someone like Mina, someone with that much money.
But Mina was different. Mina treated her differently. Nayeon had met rich people before, customers at the diner who barely looked at her when they placed their orders, businessmen who treated her like she was invisible. But Mina wasn’t like that. She looked lost in a way that had nothing to do with her broken car. Nayeon could see right through her.
Mina parked in front of the diner, not only her clothes but also her car completely stood out. Nayeon knew that if it was any earlier in the day all eyes would be on her, though she has a feeling that Mina might be used to that already. All eyes on her.
They sat down at a table and started looking through the menu. Nayeon obviously knew it front to back, she didn’t need to look at it, so she took this time to just look at Mina. It was hard not to.
Mina looked elegant, beautiful. She could tell that she was tired, and still, everything about her was completely flawless, her skin, her makeup. Her dark hair in contrast to her pale skin. It was hypnotizing, Nayeon was in awe.
“What do you recommend from here?” Mina wondered, finally looking up at her. “Honestly I was feeling breakfast for dinner, so pancakes and eggs, but you worked here so your opinion matters the most.” She smiled.
Nayeon felt a little shy at her words, though she tried not showing it. “The pancakes here are divine.” She was actually going to order them as well. “The eggs are good too, and I’d say maybe some hash browns?”
“Ohh!” Mina opened a bigger smile. “That actually sounds really good! I think I’ll have that.” She nodded, lifting her hand to call the waitress over so they could order it.
Mina was actually really good company. Admittedly she looked a little scary at first, when she bumped into Nayeon she looked mad, and for a second there Nayeon was a little scared to talk to her. Until she started apologizing of course.
The more time she spends with her the more she’s surprised by Mina’s actions. Here at the diner they had service, and she could see that Mina’s phone started blowing up with notifications, she would just look at them and ignore. Which made her wonder who she was avoiding talking to.
“So you worked here?” Mina broke the silence, turning her phone around to face the table instead.
Nayeon nodded. “Yes, from 14 until I was 16.” She paused trying to remember if she was actually that age, before nodding, confirming. “The owner was nice, and he was always willing to give me more shifts whenever I needed.” She was grateful for him, unfortunately he needed someone with more available hours, and since she was in school at the time she couldn’t take more shifts.
“That’s a bit young, I must’ve not been easy.” Mina thought about back when she was that age. She was still taking multiple classes, attending galas, and some events. Though she wasn’t fully involved in the business yet. Still, two completely different situations.
Nayeon shrugged. It wasn’t, but it’s not like she pitied herself over it. She did what she had to do, she survived, now she has a better job, it’s okay. “Yeah.” She nodded. “The important part is that I survived, I have my whole future ahead of me, I don’t need to feel bad about my past, you know?”
Mina couldn’t agree with that more. While it wasn’t often that Mina met someone in the same situation as Nayeon, their conversation was completely different from anyone she has ever talked to.
Nayeon had something about her, a quality. She outshined everyone in the room and for some reason she was all Mina was able to look at, no one else, nothing else around them mattered.
They talked for hours, even after they ate their food. Even after it was so late that the sun was about to rise. Their conversation was so good that Mina dreaded the time it would end, she didn’t want to take her home.
But she knew they both had their lives, as much as she wished this moment would last forever, it couldn’t. Mina craved to have this sort of connection with someone for so long that it was hard to let go, to move on.
Eventually she paid for the bill and they ended up back at the car. The drive was a little more quiet, except for Nayeon giving her directions to her house. The silence was comfortable, they were both tired and at this point wanting to get home and get some sleep.
It felt like they both dreaded this though, Mina drove slowly, and Nayeon didn’t mind it. She looked out the window, taking in her neighbourhood, thinking about what the odds of her meeting Mina here were.
But eventually everything came to an end, and Mina parked in front of her apartment. They were quiet for no longer than a couple of seconds, but it felt like it was more.“Well it was nice meeting you, Mina.” Nayeon broke the silence. She smiled, and Mina could see that it wasn’t completely honest. Not like the ones she had seen Nayeon give her before.
“It was nice meeting you too.” Mina offered her a sad smile, not really understanding why she was so sad to be dropping Nayeon off. “Oh, maybe you could give me your number? We could see each other again some time.” She handed Nayeon her phone.
Mina watched as Nayeon typed her number on her phone and handed it back to her. “Hopefully we can see each other soon.” She smiled, her sentence sounding more like a wish than anything else.
“Yeah.” Mina nodded. “Hopefully.”
Nayeon slowly leaned in, placing a kiss on her cheek. She had no idea where that courage came from, but she felt like she should take this opportunity, just in case. Then she gave her one last wave before leaving her car.
That moment felt like it lasted forever. Mina stared at her, watching as Nayeon entered her building, somehow the feeling of her lips still lingering on her cheeks. She felt sad in a way she couldn’t even describe, in a way she has never felt before. She stayed there for another 5 minutes, before finally going home.
And Nayeon wasn’t sure what it was about Mina. She didn’t even process what happened that night, she just knew that, for the first time in a long while, she wasn’t just another tired girl working too many jobs. She didn’t feel like that around Mina.
She was someone worth listening to, someone worth looking at. And for the first time in years, she allowed herself to imagine that maybe, just maybe, there was something more waiting for her beyond her regular boring life.