Chapter Text
“This is your last chance, Kim Jiwoo.”
The harsh words reverberated off of the cold walls of the administrative office. Jiwoo felt small, smaller than she already is. She sat in the stiff queen-anne styled chair, hands in her lap holding onto each other, fidgeting occasionally, feet firmly in place on the floor beneath. Jiwoo was placed next to her mother who was wearing a stiff black dress, dark loafers on her feet with black socks frilled at the tops. Her hair pulled back into a raven styled claw clip. She looks put together in a way that scares her. She’s dressed for a funeral, Jiwoo thinks as she steals a glance. Since walking into the office, she hadn’t dared to look her mother in the eyes.
Behind a wide oaken desk, organized with precision and character, sat a name plate with block white letters: Principal Mina Myoui. Jiwoo noticed a penholder, full of fountain pens, and the back of frame. She wondered what photograph it might display. The walls were a deep red adorned with multiple awards over the years, an impressive display of "adminstrator of the year" plaques. It smells like lavendar and eucalyptus. Tidy smells for an office expected to be in tip-top shape.
Principal Myoui was strikingly beautiful. Her pale skin accentuated her hydrated lush black hair and a perfectly placed mole on the side of the bridge of her nose, indicating Jiwoo that the woman before her must be one of God's favorites. She looks like one of those idols who struck a shampoo campaign sponsorship. Scratch that, she looks like an idol period. Her features are soft, but stone cold. Jiwoo is both attracted and terrified.
The principal, who sat leaning forward, commanding the attention of her guests, shifts back into a more relaxed posture. She takes a deep breath and unfolds her hands from each other, placing them delicately into her lap. At this point, Jiwoo notices a glint by the pocket of the principal's breast plate; a tiny golden rose. Jiwoo’s stomach churns as the woman in power ahead of her relaxes.
“The grounding belief of this school is that no mistake is too grave to recover from," Principal Myoui gestures, nodding her head towards the framed 'code of conduct' on the east wall. "We provide the instruction, framework, and mentorship for students to find themselves after chaos. We have an entire archive of success stories. Delinquents into directors, broken into beholden. You can rest assured that our institution will not give up on you. But Miss Kim–”
Jiwoo thinks her heart is going to break free of its confines and break out of her chest. She inhales sharply at the sudden mention of her name and adjusts her gaze back onto Principal Myoui, her body language letting both adults in the room know that she was, in fact, paying attention.
“Y-yes, Principal Myoui-ssi,” Jiwoo stutters though eye contact remains strong.
“We can bring a horse to water, but we cannot make it drink,” Principal Myoui states, “Do you know what that means?”
Jiwoo gulps and nods.
“It m-means you can give someone all the tools to do well, but the tools don’t do the work, the person has to.”
The principal’s face softens even more and nods in pleasure. Jiwoo thinks she’s going to fucking die.
“Excellent. Yes. Here at Honor Reformed Academy, we will assist you as you attempt to navigate back to the correct path, but we cannot make it happen for you completely,” she explains as she crosses her right leg over her left.
“It will be hard. You will be challenged. Not because we want you to crumble, no. We want you to flourish. Whatever has happened in the past has happened. It will never leave you, but it can reorient you to new possibilities. But you must be strong. Iron sharpens iron, young lady.”
Jiwoo and her mother nod at the same time, convicted by the words of the administrator before them.
“You are here because your mother loves you. Your mother believes in you and fought for your case so that you would not be resigned to a life of struggle branded by a mistake. It’s beautiful. It’s powerful. But your mothers love cannot correct your path alone.”
“It is my understanding based on your lawyers and the district legal representatives that your… misdemeanors have made you unenrollable at many institutions across the country.”
Jiwoo found her instinct was to ball up her right hand into a fist and squeeze, lest she make a comment. There it is, she thought, the incident finally is brought up.
“While we do not discriminate, it is worth mentioning to you that your case gave our representatives quite the headache. Lots of strings had to be pulled for you. You are quite lucky that your mother and the senior counselor at the academy are so… acquainted.” the last words enunciated so delicately, as if it were a glass rose.
Jiwoo shifted in her seat. She almost wanted to scowl, almost. Her eyes darted to the side to see a rush of red rush into her mother’s cheeks.
I’m here because my mom and Miss Minatozaki are sleeping with each other, she fought herself from saying aloud.
“You must correct your path because you want to. Not me, not your mother, not Sa- Ms. Minatozaki,” the name just barely slips, but the elegance of the principal makes an effortless recovery in which Jiwoo is second guessing that the blunder even occurred in the first place. Jiwoo deduces that Sana and her principal are also good friends.
“Things will be made right because you want to make them right,” she begins to finish her monologue, “The outcome of your time here is molded by the potter that is you, Kim Jiwoo. Do I make myself clear?”
The room is so cold, despite being filled with art and books. Under any other circumstance, Jiwoo would gaze in awe at the space. She would think that her principal is beautiful and a powerful woman she could look up to.
But right now, that possibility feels like it could only happen in another lifetime.
Instead, Jiwoo feels, well, everything. She feels ashamed. Her mother probably feels it even more. She feels sick with guilt thinking about the stress she’s put her mother under. How she fought for Jiwoo after everything, the look on her face when she was expelled from her last school, the distress in her eyes as months went by and Jiwoo could not get enrolled anywhere. The shame she must be carrying having a delinquent child. Her mother works so hard to support them, she’s been through enough, and Jiwoo can’t help but feel like the worst person on the planet for putting them through even more.
She also feels perturbed. Principal Myoui insists she cannot have a personal opinion on the matter, and that drives Jiwoo insane. Everyone has an opinion on something, no matter how trivial. And Jiwoo’s case was anything but trivial. It kills her to not know if she has her sympathy, or if she will be her enemy. And that makes her angry as well. Jiwoo hates being misunderstood. She wonders if she cursed herself by this peeve she’s always had, because ever since that day, all Jiwoo has been is misunderstood by everyone.
Well, everyone except her mother.
Jiwoo feels nauseous.
She nods and replies to the principal, “Yes ma’am.”
Principal Myoui squints her eyes and studies the girls face. She pauses for a moment and then gives a gentle smile.
“Dahyun-ah, let us talk just me and you for a moment before you depart. Jiwoo, why don’t you go outside to the courtyard for some fresh air? Maybe get acquainted with the space?”
Miss Kim looks over to her daughter and notices the paleness in her face. She, too, has her own complicated emotionsmay. Shame. Fear. Fury. But Kim Dahyun loves her daughter. She loves her more than anything else in the entire universe. She too, softens, loosens her grip on her chair and nods.
“Why don’t you listen to Principal Myoui and step outside hon? It will help,” she offers her daughter gently.
Jiwoo looks at her mom, cheeks sunken in, a glimmer of fear in her eyes.
Her mother's stomach drops and twists. Dahyun won’t let her heart break, not yet, not in front of Jiwoo. She'll save that for the drive back home. She needs to be strong for her, even if she, too, would like to cry.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave without finding you to say goodbye” she assures her, but her voice cracks at the end.
That’s enough for the young girl. Causing a scene with her tears was the last thing she wanted to happen today. Meeting after meeting this past week with different administrators and legal counselors, it all led to this final meeting with the principal of Honor Reformed Academy. Exhaustion besets the eyes of Jiwoo’s mother, Kim Dahyun.
The child hurriedly stands up and heads for the golden laquered door of the office. If she spends any longer in space pretending like she's fine, it may cost her.
Jiwoo hadn’t given enough time to really process how it was all weighing on her, not until she saw the look on her mother’s face. She’s seen the many faces of her mother, but the one in there, the one that is terrified but attempting to be brave, broken but pretending to be whole, might just be her very least favorite.
What have I done?
Sneakers on the linoleum floors, Jiwoo follows an arrow pointing to the courtyard exit. Her cheeks are hot and throat begins to feel sore. Her bottom lip quivers as she throws her left shoulder into the heavy exit door and opens it.
It’s not fair, none of it is, Jiwoo thinks. It’s not fair that her mother had to grovel at the feet of so many administrators just for the chance that they would take Jiwoo in. It’s not fair that the only reason she was admitted into this stupid place is because her mother and Miss Sana are fuck buddies. What if people find out? Jiwoo balls her fists as a tear falls down her cheek.
She doesn’t know where exactly she is going. It’s a Sunday. There is no school. Usually this place would be empty, but if Jiwoo were to attend class this week, this final puzzle piece had to be complete. She is thankful that no one is around as she flops down near a beautiful willow tree, it’s branches hanging over like wispy strands of hair. She sits by the trunk and lets the vines shield her from the world.
The brutal truth is that Jiwoo did nothing wrong. But, unfortunately, God must hate her. They had to have, that’s the only explanation. Would someone all-loving set Jiwoo up to be friends with someone who would stab her in the back so brutally? She didn’t think so, but with the roller coaster of emotions she had been facing these past few months, theology seemed like the last place she wanted to search for answers.
She’s watched mothers with their children point fingers at her, covering their mouths so they could talk about her. She’s heard it all:
“That’s her, that’s the trouble maker.”
“I cannot believe she would put the CEO’s daughter in such a dangerous position.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised… it’s such a shame Yunhee got involved with her lot.”
“Our community isn’t safe with that punk around.”
They think they are quieter than they actually are, but Jiwoo hears them every time.
***
For the first week or so, she tried to live normally. Maintain her routine, go to class, track practice, work, home. But it proved otherwise to be quite difficult. It started off with whispers in the library, glares in the cafeteria, yet it soon evolved into heckling, into physical bodies from blocking her from entering the classroom, the bathrooms. Her teachers refused to look her in the eyes. Then it turned into physical bullying. No one came to her aide during these times. Evetntually, enough people, the wrong people, used their influence to expell Jiwoo entirely. It started off with "we will fairly look into this case", and turned quickly into "we can no longer allow for such a student to be enrolled at our esteemed institiution." Bullshit.
***
It's been all she can think about, how could she not? Jiwoo kicks an innocent rock. Her toe stings a bit, only furthering her current anger.
She sighs and closes her eyes. The heavy exhale being the only sound she's made since going outside. Truly, she wants to scream, she wants to absolutely freak the fuck out. All this stuff just keeps happening to her, it's as though the universe has rendered her completely powerless.
Sure, she wasn't perfect. Her test scores are unremarkable. She's often late to work at the convience store, being distracted by the colors of the mid day sky on a spring day. She plays too many video games, oftening being nagged by her mother ("Jjyu-ya, you're too close to the television again!") The only thing she could say she excelled at was running, which is why losing her spot almost immediately on the track team delivered a devastatig blow.
None of this mad her bad, she thought. After all, she's only 16. She had the rest of her life to figure herself out.
At least, that was the orignal plan.
Now, the new plan consists of Jiwoo moving 3 and half hours way from home. Her mom had to call off several shifts at the hospital to cover the travelling and packing. Time is money, Jiwoo knows that very well. She watched her mother nearly kill herself between picking up an ungodly amount of shifts at a local cafe, while studying for nursing school, while raising an incorrigbile Jiwoo.
The mother-daughter duo have been through it all together; the lights being turned off in their apartment, birthdays with meager gifts, cold nights in a shared sleeping bag. She wanted to give her mother the world, she just… hadn't figured out how yet. And becuase she hadn't figured out how, this was her punishment, she told herself.
She and her mother packed up most Jiwoo's belongings into cardboard boxes from the local hardware store, threw them in her mother's vehicle along with their suitcases (the car doors could barely shut with the irregular amount of cargo it held), and travelled to a rural town on the western side of the country. A quiet town tucked away in the farmlands. (A perfect place to stash trouble makers away from society, Jiwoo complained, earning a light scolding from her mother and Miss Minatozaki).
The new plan consists of Jiwoo moving away from her mother, from the city she was born and raised to attend the only school who had the guts, or insanity, to take in a student with such a cursed reputation. It was "social suicide", she learned based off of the remarks of many adults in high places. That wasn't such a great mantra to get stuck in her head as she fell asleep. She, Kim Jiwoo, social suicide.
Things would be certainly continue to be different. She would be under immense scrutiny, which was one of the conditions upon enrollment, though not in their own words. Jiwoo would have a private social worker monitor her well being. ("Oh goodie, my own personal tattletale"). They would get their own office at the school, and whenever so moved, could call in Jiwoo for bi-weekly progress reports.
On top of that, she would have mandatory weekly sessions with one of the school counselors. And it just so happens to be the very counselor that got her into this institution. Minatozaki Sana.
What sets Honor Reformed Academy apart from other reformed schools is their commitment to the individual, is what their website reads, tragedy may beset anyone, but it does not have to have the final say. Here at Honor Reformed, we want the whole person to feel taken care of, and not admonished. Our teamed of trained therapists are paramount to our students wellness. Their rebound back into society hinges on the practice that no aspect of the child goes overlooked.
Sana would be Jiwoo's counselor, though intitially, Jiwoo protested against, claiming it a conflict of interest.
"In most other situations, this would be the correct assumption. But Jiwoo, this is not like most other situations", she remembers being told by the counselor.
Jiwoo exhaled again. She didn't care that her mom was gay, for crying out loud, Jiwoo didn't much care for men either. She didn't even care that her mom was dating, the woman deserves a steady loving partner for once in her life. But what did bother Jiwoo was that her existence her was based on a favor. And what if it goes wrong? What if the relationship fails? (If you could even call it a relationship… that was another thing Jiwoo took issue with.) How could she fully trust Sana as a counselor when she has a hard time trusting her with her mom?
"People just think differently about these things love", her mother explained calmy while scrubbing the bottom of a bowl.
"I guess, but mom, if she's doing us such a big favor for you, the least she can do is make things official?" Jiwoo replied back firmly. She had never been in a relationship herself, but she has seen people walk in and out of her life, trampling over both her and her mother's hearts.
"We're just taking things slow honey, nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's nice for a change. I think it's pretty thoughtful."
Jiwoo elected to bite her tongue rather than ask since when did taking things slow mean putting out. She'd like to live to see another day, even with all the chaos. Mama Dahyun doesn't play games, even as a loving tender mother, Jiwoo has been put in her place many times but her mother's tongue.
Good luck to Sana, she thought.
Sentimentality washed over her as she remembered their kitchen in their apartment. Truth be told, it was the place where she spent the most time. Jiwoo loved her bedroom, but that's where she spent her nights, or when her mom was on night shift at the hospital. But during daylight hours with her mother home, that's where she wanted to be.
A single tear fell down her left cheek as she started to think about all the things she would miss. She'd miss the farmhouse sink her mother was so excited about when they first moved. She'd miss the little window with a wooden rabbit next to small green plants batehd in sunlight. She'd miss the TV they stuck in the corner of the kitchen so they could watch their favorite reality shows together as they prepared dinner. Jiwoo would miss sitting at the kitchen table trying to find X while her mother sits on the other side indulging her favorite guilty pleasure culinary murder mystery.
Oh god. The kitchen is where mom is.
The thought was the straw that broke the camels back.
Jiwoo began to weep. It was the first time in maybe a week. All her emotions being bottled up, all in the name of being fair mannered and agreeable. Her tears fell thick and hard, she hyperventialted and hugged her knees close to her chest. This had all been too, too much for her. And while she was thankful that Honor Reformed could take her in, that meant being farther than she had ever been from her mom, the one person in this world who knew the truth, who stood by her side. Who still loved her.
Inconsolable. Frightened. Jiwoo played a montage of memories, some of the good memories with mother at home, some being the nightmare that has been the last 3 months of her life. How could this have happened to her? Why couldn't she have chosen a different group of friends? Why didn't—
"Jiwoo-yah", the soft voice of her mother calls, "Is that you?"
Jiwoo wipes her eyes and nose with her sleeve and clears her throat, "Yeah, it's me."
Her mother sifts through the long vines of the willow tree and uncovers at the trunk, her one and only daughter. She tilts her head to the side, taking a. good long look at her daughter and gives a sad smile. Jiwoo scooches over, her mother taking it as an invtiation to sit next to her. She does.
In her sorrow, Jiwoo wants to just be a child in her mothers arms. Her body betrays her as her head falls heavy onto her moms lap, and whimpers. For a moment, she wonders if she's imagining the soft vibrations of her mother, but the reality comes rushing in quickly, as she feels a cold tear fall upon her skin. It is not her own.
The Kim family weeps under the willow tree.
How ironic.
"Oh please, let me help dear" Jiwoo's mother offered.
She took her daughters place, dressing her new bed. Mother's and bedspreads, Jiwoo thought.
When the family got word of Jiwoo's acceptance, one of the very first things Dahyun did was run to a linens shop. Clean, quality sheets were very important to Mama Kim, and she could not stomach the thought of her baby being almost four hours away sleeping on tattered, smelly bedding.
Her mother gave a tender grin as she staretd on one corner with the the blush colored fitted sheet. It's a menial task most days, but Dahyun will love her daughter in every way she possibly can muster before she has to leave.
Jiwoo watches her mother dress the bed, warmth swelling in her chest. She finished crying about fifteen minutes ago, but if she keeps wtaching, she'll start up again. So, she finds another box on the ground and starts unpacking.
Honor Reformed Academy has a few differnt styles for living situations. Some students opt for apartment styled quarters, typically older students to mimic what univeristy and beyond will be like. There are a few townhouses on campus, as well as the standard dormitory set up in which students can live in a one, two, or three bedroom dorm.
Since the school year is well under way, Jiwoo didn't get many choices. Though, that was fine to her. It was already a big ask to get her in, she couldn't imagine coming in with demands. She was just happy to finally being going to school again.
So, they placed Jiwoo in a three person dorm. Apparently the room was never filled. The extra bed was vacant so the easiest route was to stick Jiwoo in there and hope for the best. And hope, she did. She knows nothing about her roommates, no clue about what years they are in, hell, she doesn't even know their names.
But, that will come later. For now, the building is mostly empty with students in dining for dinner time. Jiwoo's thankful for more alone time to unpack. She is shielded from embarrassment for just a bit longer.
Her mother finally finishes with the bedding by slipping in her king-sized pillows into two peach colored pillow cases. It's a beautiful bed set, her mother has quite the eye for design, Jiwoo's noticed. Miss Kim reaches over to the box on the floor and begins to pull out a few more items for the bed, including a forest green throw blanket with cartoon puppies stitched into the fabric, and Jiwoo's favorite doll from childhood: a golden retriever plushie with a sailors hat and hankerchief .
She's a little embarassed about the doll, (his name is Salty Seadog, though you'd have to waterboard Jiwoo before you'd ever get that information out of her). But, she knows her mother aware of how special this plush puppy is to her. She'd been sleeping with it in her arms every night since she can remember. Jiwoo thinks maybe her mom might need it more than she does. It's sentimental value trumps her embarassment. She will wait until her mother is gone and tuck him between her pillows, so it is not easily spotted by whoever walks in.
A couple of things here, a couple of books there, and the hoard of belongings dwindles with each item finding a new home. Both she and her mother are plesantly surpised to find that in her dorm there is a a full bathroom just for the three girls. A huge relief to Jiwoo, she had been mentally preparing for communal bathrooms and showers.
The air becomes tense as both mother and daughter realize, they have mostly got the job done. Dahyun sits on the bed, Jiwoo follows, finding a place next to her mother. They sit in silence and take it all in.
Each bed in the room rests in the 3 available corners. A four poster bed and a simple wooden desk are the only furntiure the students are given, anything else they must get themselves. Jiwoo notices a few bean bags in the room and a small futon next to a makeshift entertainment system and a VCR television. She wonders what kind of people her roommates are.
Her eyes dart back to her own desk. She was quite proud of her arrangment of things. She had a figurine of her favortie Gundam protecting a small gathering of lego people, and on the other side, a globe. Jiwoo had always been interested in geography. On the wall behind the desk, she proudly tacked up a free poster she nabbed from the local movie theater showing the newest spiderman. To it's left, another small poster proudly showoing her favorite track athlete in the world, another map poster (this time, the world in flat view), and sheet music to a hymn (her mom sings in the church choir, this one happens to soothe her like magic).
Yet, the piece that brought it all together was a a frame with thick golden swirls, a dove in the middle on the top, and tiny rabbits at the bottom.
The photograph on display in the frame? Jiwoo and her mother on the day she grduated from nursing school. Jiwoo's mouth open, probaly cheering loudly. Right fist balled up in the air, the other arm wrapped around her mother's shoulders. Dahyun holding a boquet of daises in one hand, her diploma in the other. The air sprinkled with confetti.
It was the most important picture in the world to Jiwoo. It represented so much. Strentgh. Resilience. Courage. And, with her mom being far away now, it would be visual representation of the only person in the world who will never leave her side.
Jiwoo's eyes become wet again, and a small sniffle escapes. Darn it.
Hardly a moment after her tears become known, she is scooped into her mother's arms. She doesn't fight it. It's safe. It's warm. She lets herself become undone once more.
She feels her mother's delicate hand come under her hair, fingers caressing her scalp. She rocks back and forth with Jiwoo in her embrace, letting a few tears fall of her own.
Jiwoo gasps as she feels a gap between them. She looks up into her mother's kind eyes, her hands on Jiwoo's shoulders to take a good look at the most precious artwork she's ever created.
Dahyun takes her left hand and wipes at her own eye. She gives a brave smile through her tears before she says, "This is going to be difficult at first. I wish could make it not so, but this is the cards we are dealt."
Jiwoo's lips juts out a little more as she sniffles.
"You have been extradorinarly brave, my love. And it will pay off one day, I promise you that. You just have to keep fighting for you."
Jiwoo can hardly see her mom now as it's all full of tears. Her heart is pounidng at record speeds, and she doesn't notice how her right hand grips her mother's dress even tighter, as though she is begging for her to stay. She nods, attempting to show her mother she is brave, though her tears might be getting in the way of that belief.
Dahyun softly brushes a few of Jiwoo's wisps out of her eyes and then holds her child's face in her hands.
"Even if you think you're giving up on you, your mother will never, ever , give up on you, my Jiwoo."
Jiwoo bites her lip and blinks a few times. It's no use.
She falls forward into her mother's chest and continues to cry. Dahyun rubs small circles on her back and holds her daughter just like the day when Jiwoo fell off her bike, just like the day Jiwoo went to kindergarten for the first time. Just like how she held her 48 hours after the hospital, when Dahyun could finally bring her sweet girl home.
At some point, from the exhuastion of tears, Jiwoo falls asleep in her mother's arms, and Dahyun asleep against one of the posts in the bed. Jiwoo's eyes flutter open. She carefully wiggles her way out of the arms of her mother.
"Ma?… Ma- you gotta wake up. It'll be dark soon," she says in attempt to wake up Dahyun with due care. Jiwoo rubs at her head as she feels a slight ache coming on.
Dahyun's own eyes blink open, and she gives a small grin and nods.
Jiwoo stands off of her bed and offers a hand to her mother to help her step down balanced. She gives her daughter a kiss on the forehead.
"Let's go find a vending machine. I see you're starting to get a headache. The caffeine will help, and i will keep me awake on my drive."
The child smiles and nods. That's just her mom— always knowing what her daughter needs.
Jiwoo hopes that maybe one day, she herself will figure out what Jiwoo needs too.
It was mind boggling. How could her mom take one look at her and know what is best for her? Jiwoo doesn't even know what next week holds. She's not sure she even knows what she truly wants. She was a puzzle unto her own self.
After a short walk down the hallway, they find a vending machine next to door towards the lounge. Dahyun pops in a few coins into the machine, and like clockwork, two cans of soda come rolling out, sounding like thunder as they bang against the machine.
They pop open the tabs to hear the rewarding fizz of carbonation.
"Cheers!" her mom grins as she moves to clink her can against Jiwoo's.
Jiwoo giggles, "Cheers," and takes a great gulp of the orange flavored soda.
They walk hand in hand through the halls, sipping on their respective drinks. Some students start to populate the halls. Jiwoo keeps her hand in her mother's, though. She won't be afraid to love her like this right here right now. She's decided she is brave enough for one thing, and that is to admit she will miss her mom.
They make it to their family vehicle and Jiwoo feels hardened.
She lets go of her mom's hand and steps back.
"I guess this is it?" She asks softly.
Dahyun pouts a bit and nods, "Yeah, if I leave now, I can get home before it gets too dark."
Silence, save for the wind moving the trees.
"Winter break is just around the corner. I'll be here in my car ready to bring you home the second your last class is finished."
"And you'll take me ice skating and to the movies and we can keep our cookie party tradition right?"
Dahyun laughs at her pure Jiwoo.
She nods, "We will have the best cookie party we've had in years, baby."
They both chuckle and fall back into another pause, delaying the whats to come.
"I'll do my best, mom. I promise."
Dahyun sucks in her lips and opens her arms, motioning for Jiwoo to come in for a hug.
"I know you will, sweetheart." She squeezes tight.
"And if you need anything, you can use the school phone to give me a ring, or if you really need me I know that Sana—"
"Mo~om" Jiwoo groans.
"Ergh that's right," Dahyun offers an awkward, bashful smile. "I mean, Miss Minatozaki. You could use her phone to call as well."
Jiwoo sneakily rolls he eyes while her mom can't see her expression. "I don't think I'll need to do that specifically, but I'll keep that in mind."
"Good," her mom hums.
"And maybe by the time I'm home you and Miss Minatozaki will finally be official?"
She feels a light bop! to the back of her head.
"Noted." she grumbles, rubbing the place her mother lightly smacked. This won't stop her from pestering about it next time though. Miss Minatozaki will have to deal with a bit of attitude for a bit.
Dahyun laughs and holds her daughter tight once more. "I love you, Jiwoo. To the moon."
Jiwoo squeezes back, fueled with memories, love, anxiety.
"I love you too, Mom. To the stars."
Her stomach rumbles. Unfortunately, an orange soda wasn't enough to curb her hunger.
She shakes the image of her moving driving off campus out of her mind as she searches the grounds for the dining hall. Jiwoo remembers being told it's open during meal times, but towards the end of the hour, it's a free for all with whatever is left. She hopes she can snag something decent before the kitchen closes.
If Honor Reformed Academy was anything, it was clear and thorough. It makes perfect sense thinking about Principal Myoui. Maybe if things go okay, she'd like to get to know her principal a bit better, maybe. Though she probably has ever reason to be petrified of her, she isn't. She's scared in a reverent way, but Jiwoo doesn't get the sense that this will be like the movies, that it will be her versus an evil principal. She's not sure why she thinks this, but it's not like it matters all that much at the moment.
More students come into her line of vision. With all the emotions she had earlier, she didn't save enough to be cautious. Her cheeks surely are rosy as she can see the expressions of boys and girls noticing their is a new face in their midst.
Walking with more haste, Jiwoo finds the cafeteria. Unfortunately, there is some sort of transaction system, a machine looking like you need a card to swipe through.
Jiwoo panics and searches her pockets. Fuck. I don't have any kind of money. To make matters worse, her stomach rumbles once more.
"You look like you could use some help?" a voice approaches her.
Jiwoo looks up in shock while in the middle of another pocket search.
"Oh, uh," she stumbles, "I'm just trying to grab some dinner and I… don't exactly have any money.."
The student before her smiles kindly, as though her eyes are smiling too.
"Oh you don't need any money! You just need an ID, it's an attendance thing I guess."
Jiwoo makes an "O" with her mouth. There's something about her voice that is different, she's realizing. The more she talks, she notices an accent of some sort.
She'll figure it out later she guesses, becuase there is still the matter at hand.
"They haven't exactly given me my ID yet," she admits.
"Oh.." the blonde girl says, and pauses."Oh! Here! I'll swipe you in! My treat!"
Before Jiwoo can ask if there's any money involved or can protest, the girl already swipes her ID through the card reader.
"There you are! All good to go!" she beams brightly.
Color her stunned, Jiwoo forgets to close jer mouth as she stands in surprise. "Th-thank you… uh-"
"Lily!" the girls responds brighter than the sun itself.
Jiwoo nods. "Thank you, Lily-ssi."
The girl with the golden aura laughs, her eyes becoming smiles themselves.
"Unnie is fine! Happy to help!"
Lily waves goodbye to Jiwoo and heads back to her table. It's full of people, all excited to see their friend return.
Wait… unnie? Does she think she's older than me? Is she?, Jiwoo wonders.
***
Not much of a selection left, Jiwoo takes what she can get. A small bowl of rice, some steam vegetables, and spicy chicken. She balances her meal on the royal blue tray and scans the dining hall.
It's pretty sparse at this hour, most students having ate already, with the exception. They're most likely using the space to hang out, Jiwoo deduces, thinking about her summers in the mall food court with her friends.
Sigh.
She shakes her head, a physical cue to stop thinking about the past. She'll make better friends than that this time.
Jiwoo finds a table off on the right side closest to the floor to ceiling length window. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she starts devouring what's on her tray. It's pretty decent for school food, maybe even better considering how hungry she was. She goes to take another bite of her chicken when her eyes dart…
Someone across the way is watching her.
Jiwoo furrows her brow and looks next to her to see if there's something she's missed.
She's pretty sure she hasn't seen anything or taken anyones spot.
"Whatever," she mumbles to herself and keeps eating.
A few moments later, after her plates are clean, save for a few crumbs, she looks back across the room.
The student is a girl with dark brown hair, cut and styled into a shag of sorts. She dons a blue, white, and yellow varsity jacket.
Jiwoo notices the girl realizing she's been caught and quickly turns back around to her own friends who appear to be reading comic books and manga.
It's odd. Though Jiwoo won't think too much about it. She is the new girl after all, of course she will be stared at. Her face is a new site to all here. She'll try to be patient for the first few weeks with all the looks she'll get, and the whispers about her.
She rubs her temple. She wonder's how much the folks here know about her and her situation.
"The dining commons will be closing in ten minutes", an adult calls out. They are wearing school colors and a lanyard with staff ID. Probably a resident director of sorts. Jiwoo will learn who's who in due time.
For now, she'll head to back to her dorm. She's a little worried about meeting her roommate, but it will have to happen sooner rather than later. She hopes they're kind. She hopes they're honest. She hope that they won't rope her into trouble…
Jiwoo places her tray down on the stack of many headed towards the dishwasher in the back of the kitchen and heads out. As she walks out of the cafeteria, she notices Lily and her group still laughing away together with little regard that they are under a time crunch. Some other students trickle out just as Jiwoo does, and when she heads out of the door…
That girl is looking at her again. She walks in a crowd with her friends out of the door and looks at Jiwoo as if she is sneaking looks.
What is her deal? she grumbles internally. Do I look crazy or something?
Jiwoo walks by a window and stops to asses her reflection. Nothing out of the sort it seems. Her hair tied back into a ponytail, maybe with two or three flyaways. She's wearing black jeans and blue t shirt that fits on the smaller side of things, and some grey sneakers. Not terribly remarkable, but not an eyesore either. It can't be how she looks, she doesn't think.
The girl notices Jiwoo noticing her and quickly slips in between the other students she's walking with. Jiwoo has half a mind to confront her, but decides against it, lest others around get the impression she's looking for a fight.
She'll just keep close tabs on her for now.
When Jiwoo arrives at her room, it is still empty. No roommates in sight. She wishes they were there so they could get intorductions out of the way. She doesn't even know who to expect, or how to go looking for them.
The time reads 8:45 in the evening. Tomorrow is Monday. Jiwoo will start her first official day at Honor Reformed Academy. It will begin with another meeting. The meeting will consist of Principal Myoui, Miss Minatozaki, a Miss Son who she thinks is the social worker, and her homeroom teacher Mr. Kim. It will be another orientation of sorts. Maybe she will get her student ID finally.
Actually, now that she thinks of it, she'll probaly take the photo for her ID tomorrow.
Jiwoo grins as a light bulb slowly emegrges above her head. She has an idea, a great one at that.
The girl skips over to her bed and kneels on the ground. On the way down she sees that at her seat, her mother folded her uniform nicely for her. Sweet, she thinks. But then her attention immediately goes back to the plan.
Jiwoo pulls out a small bin with a few items in there that aren't necesarily important but good for keeping. One of those items is a box of hair dye.
Jiwoo feels adrenanline as she holds the box in her hand complete with bleach, dye, and toner.
Nothing says a fresh start quite like new hair.
Some of her favorite track athletes dye their hair fun colors as self expression. She can always point out Im Minhee with his freshly dyed hair. Last year at the world stage, his hair was a bright fiery-red. It was totally sick.
She makes a quick decision to pull out an old overszied gym shirt, one that she doesn't mind get stained should bleach and dye fall.
Her finger reaches out to the light switch in the bathroom and takes one final good look in the mirror with her brown hair. She grins like a kid in candy store as she starts pull down strands she wants to start with and pulls up the rest of her hair into a ponytail.
Carefully, she dips the hair tool into the bleach and begins to paint her head. Her tongue sticks out as she concentrates as she gets near her roots. It's a little warm in the room, and the light is making a buzzing sound, but she's locked in.
Or at least she was.
"Woah~" a new voice.
Jiwoo screams and drops the brush with bleach on the ground, "Oh my GOD!"
She turns her gaze from the mirror to the doorway and see's a girl standing there. She's wearing grey sweatpants and a royal blue shirt that says "RHA" with the schools crest in the middle, her hair length down to her mid back.
"Oh my god, oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't meant to scare you," she apologizes profusely over and over again.
"I knew I had a new roommate coming in today but hadn't seen you around and I saw the bathroom light was on and didn't know you were here and -" she stops talking and does a sharp bow.
"Please forgive me!"
Jiwoo crouches on the ground to pick up the brush, keeping eye contact with the girl in front of her.
So this is one of her roommates.
She softens her jaw and smiles.
"You're totally okay. I'm just skittish. It's nice to meet you!"
The girl looks as though she's bracing for a scolding, so when she doesn't recieve one, her eyebrows raise and her mouht becomes slightly agape. She tilts her head to the side like that of a lost puppy.
"Huh? Oh… Really?" she asks.
Jiwoo nods, "Mhm. Really!" She sticks her hand out but then quickly retracts."Ohhh wait, hair dye on my hands. Don't want to get it on you."
The girl stares in awe at Jiwoo.
"I'm Kim Jiwoo, your new roommate," she finally introduces herself. "Sorry to meet you in such funny circumstances," she jokes.
The girl is in a trance as she watches Jiwoo fiddle with the hair dye equipment.
"I'm Jang Kyujin, and I didn't know you could dye your own hair. Woah!" she fawns, "That's so cool!"
Jiwoo gives a satsified grin. If her guess is correct, Kyujin is younger than her. Cute, she thinks.
"Would you like to help me?"
Kyujin's mouth drops even farther.
"Don't worry, I've done this before, with a friend. I'll tell you what I need. And relax, you won't need to worry about messing up."
"Really?!" the younger girls says, on her tiptopes bursting with excitment.
"Really! It's a roommate bonding experince!"
Kyujin chuckles as she steps closer to Jiwoo, eyes full of wonder, and a spirit that is pure. Jiwoo has a good feeling about her.
Jiwoo dips the painting tool back into the bleach, "So this is what I'm going to need you to do…"