Chapter Text
(Desclaimer: this story was writen years a go, so it contains an nct member that we now hate, but i cant take him out now. so lets pretend that he just has the same name but its another person. im sorry)
I felt a sack of flour fall on me, followed by eggs and paint.
"Congratulations!" my friends shouted.
I had just graduated with a degree in English and a month before that as a music producer, but very few people knew that, only my closest friends. After several years of struggling through high school and then college, it had been difficult. At the age of 23, I was giving up a career that I loved and that made me happy.
"Stop it, please." I said, turning around because I didn't want to get egg on my face.
"I waited two years after my graduation to do this." my best friend said, laughing.
Everyone finished throwing paint, flour, coloured powder and other things at me; I turned to look at them. It is customary in Argentina to have all kinds of things thrown at you when you graduate. Don't ask me why cos I don't really know and I hate it but it's a ritual.
My friends and sisters came over to take a picture of us all together, and I grabbed my 17-year-old sister.
"I've got you." I said, hugging her and filling her with flour, egg and paint.
"I'm going to kill you, Emma." she said angrily, trying to hit me.
"Don't even think about it, it's my day." I said, shaking her hair.
"I'm going to get you for this." she said, trying to get some flour out of her hair. I started to laugh.
After taking lots of pictures with all my family and friends, we went home with my two best friends, my mum and my sisters, as I had to clean up and get ready for the dinner party with the whole family, including cousins and my dad. Even though my parents have been divorced since I was a baby, this was a special occasion. As much as my mother hates my dad it was my party and I wanted them both to be there. My closest friends would be there too. They are the family you choose.
I got home and went straight into the bathroom to take off all my clothes and clean myself up. I had managed to get everything off my body and the clothes were basically to be thrown away. But I couldn't get it all out of my hair, so I put on a swimsuit and my friends got it all out of my hair.
"It's a good thing your hair isn't as long as it used to be or this would have been torture." May said as she pulled lumps of flour and egg out of my hair.
"I know." I said as I washed my arms. There was nothing else on them, but I was disgusted and didn't want any egg residue left there.
After a while of May and Eve wrestling with my hair, they got all the physical stuff out and I set about washing. I used shampoo three times and then a repair cream as it had been ruined by all the other stuff.
I got out of the shower, put on my underwear and robe to see what I was going to wear.
"I think you could wear the dress your grandmother gave you." Eve said. I looked at her for a few seconds.
"Yes... maybe... with the heels I wore to the New Year's party and the bag you gave me for my birthday." I said, putting the look together.
"Yes, and the make-up you could do something with a touch of colour but soft." May suggested. I smiled with excitement.
"Thanks girls." I said and hugged them.
I went to the dressing room and started to get dressed. Once I was dressed, I started to put on my make-up and then painted my nails while my friends put my hair together.
As I was getting ready, I heard the doorbell ring several times. My family and friends were probably already there. I didn't hurry because it was my moment and people could wait a few more minutes.
When I was ready, I went into the living room where everyone was. As I walked up the stairs, everyone in the room started clapping.
"It's not like I won a Nobel Prize or a Grammy." I said laughing as I reached the top of the stairs.
"With what you've put us through all this year, it's like it was." my mother said.
"Thanks, Mum." I said, rolling my eyes.
I went down, sed hello to everyone and accepted all the gifts. Most of them were money envelopes or silver necklaces. How original.
The night passed quietly, except for the odd comment from my mother, as usual, but I tried to ignore her as it was my day. Around 2am we decided not to go out to a bar or anything like that, as I preferred to stay at home with the people I love. My mum went to sleep, my grandparents, father and uncles had left a while ago and I stayed in the living room with my friends, my younger sisters and some of my cousins, the ones that could stay.
"What are your plans, cousin?" one of them asked me.
"To be honest... most of you already know because you've been hearing me talk about it for years," I said with a smile "I've been working and saving for a few years now and it's been enough, but if I put it together with the money I got today, I can go to Korea once and for all with the peace of mind that I can survive until I get a job there!" I said excitedly. My cousin's face was a poem.
"You're joking, right?" he said and laughed in my face. All my friends looked at him with funny looks on their faces. My sister covered her face with embarrassment.
"No, it's not a joke." I said seriously.
"How are you going to live with those people? How are you going to stand their smell? I'll give you a month," he laughed. I wanted to reply, but my sister, who is against everything that has to do with Koreans, spoke up.
"Look Mathew, she does what she wants; it's her life and she has different tastes and dreams than us, so if you don't have a positive opinion you better shut your mouth." When she finished she looked at me with a smile. I went over and hugged her.
My cousin got up from the couch in disgust and left the house. I just rolled my eyes and laughed.
We had a great time the rest of the night. We listened to music, danced, laughed and told anecdotes; it was great fun.
By 6am almost everyone had left except May, Eve, Mina and Hannah. These four were the people I loved the most, along with my family. They were my best friends.
We went to my room where we put on our pajamas, took off our make-up and went to bed. Everyone fell asleep quickly except May and me.
"The other day I was thinking about how much I'm going to miss you," she said out of the blue "Who am I going to do K-pop choreography with? Who's going to tell me that I'm being too cold or too hard with the boys? Who's going to teach me how to be a better person?" she asked, looking up at the ceiling from her mattress on the floor.
"You're a sweetheart," I said as I threw myself on top of her, "I'll always be there for you. Even though we'll be 12 hours apart you know that if you need help you can call me and I'll help you and we'll always video call. And in some time you can even come with me and I know you will." I said as I stroked her hair.
"Yes, as soon as I finish college I'll save some money and I'll go," she said smiling. I got back into bed and we went to sleep.
The next day I woke up at lunchtime. Mina and Hannah had left because they had to work and I stayed with Eve and May.
I started by looking for a flat on the Korean sites. Luckily I had been studying Korean for the past seven years and could read and speak the language quite well.
The ticket was already booked for a week in advance, so all I had to do was collect the missing information and papers. High School Diploma, Korean Language Diploma, English Language Diploma, English Teacher Diploma and Composer Diploma.
Once everything was ready, all I had to do was pack my bags. That would be difficult because I had a lot of clothes. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. After filling two huge suitcases, I went to get another one, as you could only take three per adult without paying extra.
"I don't know how you're going to do it, Emms; you're still missing half a wardrobe," May said as she took out my underwear and put it in one of the suitcases.
I sat down on my bed in frustration.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with all this," I said, looking at the clothes that were still to be put away. Just then my mum came into the room.
"You can put them in boxes and I'll send them by post; it's cheaper." she said with a half smile. I went over and hugged her.
"Thanks mum," I said and went into the kitchen. I grabbed something to eat and then the girls and I went to get boxes.
Four hours later everything was packed away. As I was putting things in boxes, I took the opportunity to put some of my souvenirs, pictures, books, my kpop album collection, etc. in them.
I had my purse and a carry-on bag with my laptop, tablet, cables, three changes of clothes and all my documents.
I charged my phone and started to see what was in the envelopes I had been given. I knew it was money, but I didn't know how much.
I started to open them one by one and there were dollars in all of them. There was between $500 and $1000 in each one. In total there was about 9,700 dollars. That was 12,853,518.50 won. I started screaming like crazy, jumping up and down on my bed.
"I'm not going to starve in Korea!" I shouted as I jumped on my bed. My friends shouted with me. My mother and sisters came running in.
"What happened?" my younger sister asked worriedly.
"Everyone who gave me money gave me dollars, and now I won't starve until I get a job there," I said, almost in tears. I took everyone's cards and they wished me good luck in Korea "Mum, did you tell them I was going?" I asked, wiping away the tears that had escaped.
"Partly, yes, but you always talked about how it was your dream, so they just listened to you," my mother said, smiling "Partly it hurts me that you are going. My eldest baby is leaving, and now will be thousands of miles away!" she said, bursting into tears. I went to her and hugged her.
"Mum, I know you don't want to visit me because you don't like Korea, but at least you'll eat good food if you go," I said, trying to convince her with my stomach. She started to laugh, as did my sisters.
The rest of the days flew by fast. Before I knew it, it was time to leave. It was going to be a long journey. First a 13 hour 20 minute flight. Then a 2 hour 45 minute wait in Frankfurt. Then a 9 hour 20 minute flight to Beijing. A 3 hour wait there and finally a 2 hour 5 minute flight to Seoul.
The day before I said goodbye to my dad and my friends because my mum was taking me to the airport as my dad had to work. We put my bags in the car and I got in the front with my mum. My sisters were in the back.
It was a long drive to the airport, so we listened to music and sang. Once we got there, we unloaded everything and went straight to do the check-in. I checked my bags and kept my hand luggage and purse. I still had about two hours before the plane took off, so we went for a drink with my family.
I plugged in my mobile phone, which was in terrible shape as I hadn't changed it for three years to save money, and we ordered a milkshake to share. When it was time to pay, my mother asked me for my ID. I gave her a funny look and handed it over. She took a card out of her wallet and gave it to the waitress.
"Mum, why did you use my ID?" I asked blankly. My sisters couldn't stop laughing, "Can someone tell me what's going on?" I asked, confused.
"It's because this is your new card; it's my gift for finishing University. It's for you to buy a new phone and some things for your house. So you won't be sleeping on the floor," she said, smiling at me. I practically burst into tears and hugged her.
"Thank you Mum." I said crying.
"You're welcome Emma, you've earned it." she said.
My mother's side of the family were very well off financially, so they could give that sort of gifts, and that's why my uncles and grandparents had given me all that money. Because they could. I, on the other hand, did not have that economic freedom, I was working four times a week, studying and also giving private English lessons to earn a little bit more. So this kind of gift was something strange for me, because my mother had told me before that she was not going to help me with anything, that she was not going to waste her money on this silly dream, as she called it. But at some point she must have realized that I wasn't so stupid after all, because I almost had one foot on the plane.
It was almost time for the plane to leave, so I had to go to immigration for the last part.
I tearfully said goodbye to my family and went in. Once I got through immigration, I went to have a look at the free shop. I thought about buying my mobile phone there, but it would be stupid of me to do that as I was going to Korea, so I bought it there and that's it. I just bought some chewing gum and some chocolate. I went to the gate and waited for them to let us in.
As it was such a long trip, my dad had almost forced me to go in first class. He paid me the difference as I refused because I didn't want to spend more than necessary.
When they called me, I got on the plane and they located me. The seat became a fucking bed. I mean, it was paradise. I leaned back against the seat while I waited for everyone to finish boarding. Without realizing it, I had fallen asleep before the plane took off.
Some time later, a flight attendant woke me up and asked if I wanted something to eat. I said yes and she served me the meal. When I finished, I tried to fall asleep again, but I couldn't, so I started watching films and eating chocolate.
After watching two films, I slept for a while and arrived in Frankfurt. I took my things and went straight to the transfer for the next flight as it was short. A while later I was on the plane again, I curled up in my seat, which was more than a seat, it was almost a bed, and I slept the whole flight. I was exhausted. A flight attendant woke me up when we arrived in Beijing. The wait here was a bit long, but not long enough to leave the airport, so I went to look around the free shop.
Before I knew it, I was back on the plane to my final destination. Seoul. This time I couldn't sleep a wink on the flight. I was too excited. I tried to watch a film, but I couldn't concentrate, so I just looked out the window and listened to music. Obviously Kpop.
There were several reasons why I wanted to move to South Korea. On one hand, I love their culture, the way they are, the respect they have for each other, the way they treat each other, their customs... etc. On the other hand, their food. God, I love oriental food. Not just Korean, I love Chinese and Japanese food, but Korean food beats them all. I love bulgogi and gogi gui and japchae, which is similar to Chinese chop suey. But one of my main reasons... is my love for his music. I love Kpop, thousands of groups, from all generations, of all types, because as you know there are thousands of different sub-genres within Kpop. Of course I have my favorite groups, BTS; NCT; Stray Kids; VAV; EXO; BlackPink; Twice; among others. However, in addition to my job as an English teacher, I would like to try to become a producer in one of the agencies that I like. I know I can't be an idol because I'm very old and I'm not the kind of girl who would fit to be an idol. I'm not saying Im ugly, I'm not. But because I'm a bit chubby and I'm Latina, although I look more European because I'm white and have hazel greenish eyes, I don't think I have a chance. Maybe working as a producer and singing some parts, like the producer who sang in the background of SeeSaw by YoonGi from BTS. I studied music production and composition, but all my childhood I studied piano and singing. I also taught myself how to play guitar and ukulele, but those are extra things. Basically, I love music.
Before I knew it, the loudspeaker announced that we were about to land in Seoul. I started playing with my eager hands and laughed. I know, I'm crazy. A Korean woman next to me noticed my excitement.
"Is this your first time in Seoul?" she asked. I nodded.
"Yes, it has always been my dream to live in Korea." I said happily.
"Obviously," the lady said with a smile. "And do you know how you're going to do it?" She asked curiously.
"Well, I've already rented an apartment and I have enough savings, but I still need to find a job, but I have a lot of experience in Argentina and I just graduated with a degree in english, so I think I'll be able to get something." I said, playing nervously with my fingers.
"Woah, and you sent yourself here alone?" She asked in surprise. I nodded "Maybe I can help you get something, send me your CV" she said, handing me a card with her name and contact details. I stood still as she looked at the card. I looked at her with a smile "You know the agency, right?" she said laughing. I nodded, stunned. "Then send me your CV with all your achievements and titles." she said. I couldn't believe what was happening to me.
"Thank you very much, Mrs Min." I said gratefully and bowed from my seat. As soon as I get back to my apartment and put everything together, I'll send it to you.
She nodded and put the headphones back on. I put the card in my wallet and stayed in my world until we landed.
When I got off the plane, I went through immigration and went to the area to change money. I changed all my dollars into Wons and after going to the toilet and hiding the money in my clothes, as it was a lot and I didn't want to risk it, I went to get my suitcases. I waited for a while until I saw one. I took it and it was the one with the underwear, some formal clothes and two pairs of trainers. I kept waiting and the other two didn't come. Everyone was gone and I was still there waiting. I went to the complaints department and told them what had happened. My suitcases had been lost and were in Tokyo. I looked at the girl who had just told me, almost on the verge of crying.
"Is she telling me that I don't have all my clothes? How will I manage? How long will it take?" My breathing began to get heavier.
"We will send the suitcase to your apartment and it will arrive within a week at the latest." I was going to cry.
"But I just moved here, I have almost nothing, and my boxes with the other clothes will arrive in a week, and..." I was having a panic attack.
The worried girl called her manager and they took me to a reserved room. I couldn't stop crying, it was all too good to be true. I started complaining in English because it was easier for me than in Korean. I could speak Korean well, but in a state of panic, only sentences in English and Spanish came out of my mouth. Luckily, the manager spoke good English. He helped me to calm down and explained that they would do everything possible to get them as soon as possible and that because of their mistake they would give me a voucher so that I could go to the shopping center at the airport and buy some clothes and other things I needed to survive. When I heard this, I calmed down and was grateful. He went with me and I bought several things. T-shirts, dresses, trousers and accessories. I loved Korean clothes. When I was finished, the same manager added a suitcase to the list to store everything and helped me.
"Seriously, thank you for everything." I was grateful when I saw everything, as it had cost quite a lot.
"No, forgive us for causing you so much trouble, it's the least we could do." he explained.
We said goodbye and I went through the scanners and was already outside the airport. I got a taxi and went to the flat. There was a lady who was going to rent it to me. We chatted for a while and he showed me how to set a door code, register my fingerprint and the Wi-Fi password. I had already paid for the first 3 months before I came, so when that was over she left.
It wasn't very big, but it was perfect. It was on the fifth floor and you could see part of Seoul; it had a living-dining room, kitchen, bathroom and a room with a huge wardrobe. The room had a double bed, a bedside table, a desk with a chair on wheels and curtains. The living room consisted of a three-seater, two single seats with a coffee table and a table with six chairs. And the kitchen was simple, there were 6 sets of cutlery, glasses and plates, a fridge, a stove and an electric oven and for washing up.
The first thing I did was to organize the things in my smallest suitcase. I started by putting the few clothes I had in the wardrobe. Then I plugged in my laptop, connected to the internet and sent the email with my updated CV to the lady on the plane. She didn't lose anything by trying.
When I was done with that suitcase, I continued with the only one that had arrived and then finished with the new one. When I was done, I fell tiredly into my bed. I wanted to take a bath, but then I remembered that all the bathroom stuff was in one of the suitcases that hadn't arrived. So I put all the money in the safe that was in the wardrobe, I took some of it and put it in my wallet, I took my wallet and my mobile phone and I went out to buy everything I needed.