"Okay, rise and shine sleepy head. It's time for your first day of classes." I could feel the blanket being ripped off me, and the curtains being opened to reveal a beautiful and bright sunny day. Unfortunately I had no intentions of welcoming it just yet. In my half conscious confusion, I grabbed at the blanket that had been pulled off me, to find it gone. Yes, I mean completely gone, like from the bed.
Damn, she knows me to well. I sighed. I heard a little laugh from behind me. Putting my knees under me, I pushed my butt in the air and proceeded to slowly open my eyes towards the laugh a slight grumble in my throat.
"Look at you! You're so funny when you don't want to wake up. What happened to my early riser Kim? Back in America you were always up by eight am! You never, ever slept past nine am even." What happened to her? What happened? Oh I don't know, she was put on a plane along with her family and shipped off to Korea less than a week ago. Is it possible someone could be still suffering from just a little jet lag? But instead I decided to answer properly. After all, I am not one to anger my mother this early in the morning. No need to make today any harder or longer then it has to be.
"Uuuugghhh….Well it's possible I was up till an ungodly hour this morning talking to Teresa." I groaned pulling myself up into a sitting position on my bed.
"And why would you do that?" She asked, tossing pieces of clothing at me as she found what I needed to wear for the day.
"Cause, it's not like I can call her up and talk at a normal time. I mean hell, if I tried to call her in the afternoon or evening, it would be the early hours of the morning there. And you know how much Rere loves her sleep." I snickered to myself remembering the fits she used to have when I used to wake her up early and rush her to get ready for school.
"Oh. Sure, nice excuse. Anyway, put on your uniform, get ready and come out for breakfast alright? Your father's already left for work, and I have to get ready soon myself." She walked out, closing the door behind her as I stood up and started pulling my pajamas off. To think, just a few months ago we were happily living in a nice little house, in New York. And now, with my father's company relocating him, I am in Seoul South Korea. What a change! I'm going to be an eleventh grader, in a new school, without any of my old friends. Here I am world, alone in South Korea, with only my parents for company.
I was not totally unhappy either though. Because like a coin, there are two sides to me living here. About two years ago, my friends Stephanie and Mon introduced me to Korean pop music, and from there I got into Korean dramas and variety shows. I guess you could say I became just a little obsessed, riding the Korean wave! I quickly adopted SM Entertainment's Super Junior, YG Family's Big Bang and Lee Hyori as my all time favorite singers. But I always listen to the others, from DBSK all the way to SHINee and MBLAQ.
But anyway I should continue, having fallen in love with them, and always wanted to be able to watch any show, program or music video without subs, I started taking Korean classes about a year ago. Completely unaware that this would be happening so shortly after. This has made me not only the Korean to English translator for my family, but also the only one to know anything about our currently new lifestyle.
My parents accept the change with open arms, and had spent the last few months learning the Koran language. But my sister, she was livid and completely unhappy. She hates Asian culture, ever since I tried to get her into it years ago. She would tell me to stop listening to music that doesn't make sense, and to speak English whenever I would try and practice my Korean. She wouldn't even try to learn it, after finding out that we would be moving here for a few years at the very least. She went as far as protesting by not going to school, locking herself in her room and threatening to run away. I know, she's quite the drama queen.
So we did the only thing we could think of, we had her move in with my grandparents, my father's mother and father. So that she could stay where she wanted and finish school with her friends.
Oh well, her loss. I thought to myself as I got dressed and danced around listened to DBSK's "Mirotic". I stopped in front of the mirror in my room and took a look at the uniform on me. I couldn't help but notice how tight the skirt looked on me and how stretched the blouse was.
"AISH!" I yelled out loud "Why does everything in Korea have to be so small?" I already hated myself enough as it is, but now I had to be even more self conscious. I began feeling like Kim Sam-Soon from "My Lovely Sam-Soon". I was a 180 pound, size 14 white girl in a extra small, petite country. Even after dieting for months prior to coming here, I was still HUGE. I was not seeing how this was a good thing.
After eating a small breakfast, I AM NOW ON A DIET! AGAIN! I made my way to the high school. It took me about twenty minutes to find the place and get inside properly, since I was new to the area. I went to the office, and was escorted to what would be my main classroom. Outside the room's door, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart down.
Alright, Korean mode: ON! I thought as I was waved into the room by the office secretary. I could see all eyes on me as I walked in, and could hear the teacher introducing me.
"This is Kim Bu…Bu-cca…" He seemed to be having trouble saying my last name. Figures, even my teachers in America couldn't pronounce my last name right, so why would someone who has probably never had to pronounce a single Italian last name know how to say it.
"Seonsaeng, it's Buccaridi" I said to him politely. "Boo-car-ee-dee". He repeated it back once to me, catching the correct saying quickly, and continued.
"Yes, anyway, she is starting as a student with us today. She came from New York, but has two years of Korean languages classes and as you can see, can speak it pretty well. I expect you to all make her feel welcome and to help her should she need it. Would you like to say anything to the class?" He looked at me as I faced everyone.
"Yes, uh…. Annyounghasehyo everyone! Please treat me well." I bowed to the class. "and if any of you are unable to pronounce my last name, feel free to just use 'Ridi'. I know it can be a pain to pronounce sometimes. Kamsamnida." I bowed again and looked to the teacher to continue.
"Yes, well please take a seat over next to Hyoshi. Hyoshi, please raise your hand." A shorter girl with a heart shaped face and shoulder length hair, raised her hand from the second to last row in the room. I walked past everyone and took a seat next to her. I put my hand out to try and introduce myself to her, but even before I could get the "Ann…" sound out of my mouth, she had turned her back to me and began looking out the window.
Um, okay. Guess she is a little shy. I thought to myself as the teacher began the day's class. The most I could say about the first half of classes that day is how surprised I was that I understood basically everything that was said, even with only two years of classes, and how every once and a while, I caught the others looking at me. Probably because I am a new student, and an American in a Korean high school. Is it just me, or are the girls glaring at me? I tried to ignore it as the lunch break came around.
I walked down to the cafeteria, picked up a lunch and tried to find a seat for myself. Of course no one was just going to invite me over, so I walked around for a few minutes and found most everyone starring at me. Alright, so let's not sit with anyone today. I found an empty table by the doors, sat down and tried to eat my lunch quietly, still noticing plenty of people's eyes on me.
About ten minutes later, a group of what looked like five girls and three guys walked up to my table with their lunches and drinks. I looked up, and I recognized one of the girls as Hyoshi from my class. As I tried to smile and wave at her, one of the other girls stepped in front of my line of vision.
"Oy…Ridi-sshi is it?" She asked me quickly. I looked up at her and smiled. It looked like it was going to be easier to make friends then I thought.
"Yeah. Yeah it is Kim Baccaridi" I said to her. She simply snorted and looked around to the others.
"So, this is the new alien in our school." Alien? Me? What's that supposed to mean? So I stood up and tried to figure out what she meant.
"Um…excuse me. But…alien? I'm afraid I don't understand." She and the rest of the group let out a little laugh before she came right up to my face and at only an inch away, and with a growl in her voice spoke.
"Mmmm…alien. You see, we don't take kindly to new students who think their all that. And we most certainly don't take kindly to fat American students." She basically spit the word American out like it was some kind of curse.
Wow…fat American. Even after hearing it for so long growing up, and even after I told myself that I would not let it bother me, it still stung. But I tried to ignore it none the less, because if I thought on it to long, it would just depress me. Thinking to the rest of what she had said I realized something else that bothered me. What did she mean 'think their all that?' Had I offended anyone?
"Well, I am sorry that you don't like Americans…" I left out the 'fat' part on purpose because I promised myself I would not acknowledge that part, "I will try and stay out of your way and hopefully prove that Americans are not bad." I stopped for a moment, and she turned her back to me as if to walk away. "But what do you mean when you said 'think I am all that'?" I asked her. When she didn't respond, I touched the back of her shoulder with the tip of my fingers, hopefully getting her attention.
"AIGO!" Whipping around and facing me. "Don't…ever…EVER…Touch me!" She seethed. By this point, most of the cafeteria was watching us, and even her group of friends seemed to have moved a few steps away from her. "I don't need your filthy, disgusting, obese hands on me…ever. You hear me?{" She asked getting close to my face again. I could almost feel her breathe on my face. "You disgusting, American…PIG." I could feel her anger and tried to back-up in defense, but she was too quick. She had stuck her petite leg out behind my left foot, and I tripped me. I fell flat on my butt with a painful sigh.
I went to look up and pick myself off the floor, when I felt cold liquid hitting my head and running down my face and back. Putting my hands to my head, I realized it was cold aloe juice from my lunch. I gasped and started to tear up.
"Go back to America. You disgust me." She said, dropping the bottle at my feet and turning away. The rest of her group followed her lead and turned their backs on me, some laughing as they turned. I went to get up, and slipped again on the juice that had dripped on to the floor. So I sat there, on the floor, in front of the entire cafeteria watching, and cried. What else could I do? It was only my first day, and already I was hated and being bullied. I thought when I left America and those self centered Abercrombie wannabes, this would stop. But it's already starting and it's already worse then back home.
As the tears finally finished forming and began trickling down my cheeks, I felt something hit my head and back. But this thing was soft, like clothing. In fact, it was clothing. I suddenly gasped and put my hands on the cloth. It was a uniform jacket from the school, but it was a male jacket. Shocked, I looked up but saw nothing in front of me, but the group walking away and a lot of blank faces staring from their seats.
"Hey..." I heard called from behind me. "That was definitely not called for, now was it?" It was a male voice, I understood that much, and he seemed to be…defending me? I listened from under the jacket, but didn't dare look up. The girl whipped around and gasped.
"Su…Sun….Sunbae!" She sputtered out, then tried to fix her hair as she spoke and walked back in my direction "What are you doing here?" She looked and sounded like she was trying to be cute and flirty now. "Shouldn't you be in one of the offices? You always have those schedule meetings during lunch hour." She continued walking, and had almost passed me when he spoke again.
"Stop." I could hear the power in his voice. She stopped, standing diagonal from me and looked right past me. "I know you're still mad about Thom, but you can't keep thinking about the past. You have to move on Park-sshi".
"Don't mention him." She said coldly. "He has nothing to do with this, besides he's all the way back in Kentucky now." She scoffed at the voice.
"Really? Then why pick on the American that obviously is not oblivious since she knows Korean, and is respectful since she knows the correct honorifics?" I could hear the smug sarcasm in his voice as he was talking to the girl that I am assuming was Park-sshi. I was still crying a little at this point, but still completely in shock, with wide eyes and a soaking wet uniform. Before I knew it, the blood in her face seemed to rise, and she turned her body back to me.
"REALLY…IT'S NOT…ABOUT…HIM." She continued to huff out at the top of her lungs. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder where all the teachers are when things like this go down. " I just…HATE…..AMERICANS…" I saw her hand raise above her head. She looked like she was about to hit something. "…AND THEIR STUPID…STUPID ACCENTS…AND THEIR STUPID…STUPID FOODS…AND…." I realized in a split second,
She's going to hit ME. I closed my eyes and ducked my face in hopes of protecting myself before her hand could come down and do some serious damage. But it never came. I waited for the hand/head contact, but it never did. A few seconds later I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me to my feet.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here and clean you up." The male voice said to me. I tried to pull back the uniform jacket as we left the cafeteria, but he stopped me. "You're all wet, leave that on for now. At least till we can clean you up and dry you off. No need for a cold." And I could here him say in a lower whisper "…or for you to see all the others staring at us." The blood rushed to my face, and I could feel the tears welling up again. I sniffed a few times to try and keep everything down. He had his arm around me, guiding me somewhere within the school.
As we walked in silence thru the school, I could feel the shock starting to wear off and just how wet and sticky I had become. I also realized how familiar this male voice seemed to be. I felt like I had heard it before, but I couldn't quite figure out WHERE I had heard it.
Was he in my class? Heard him talking in the hall? Maybe he works at one of the stores I had been to in the past few days to buy things. I kept wondering as we walked up a few flights of stairs and threw a large wooden door. Should the better question be WHY I'm trusting him and following him? He might just be doing this to set me up for another joke or to bully me again. And yet, I couldn't help but feel comforted in his presence, like everything was going to be okay as long as I had him to lead me. KIM! What the HELL? Snap out of it. Obviously we have learned for today's little 'exercise' that you can't trust anyone right now. Only yourself. Now…FOCUS! He's talking to you. I realized what my mental self was yelling at me, and focused back on reality. He was talking to me, but I wasn't really listening. Because at that point I noticed the room we were in. It was a long, regal looking room, with cherry maple paneling and what looked like a very expensive and very long meeting table. Everything was glowing in the afternoon sunlight and seemed to shine as my eyes focused on everything. I tried to focus back on reality when I felt his hand touch my shoulder. I guess I wasn't expecting it, or I was still on guard after everything that had just happened. I jumped and tried to turn around quickly, only to fail and slip on the smooth wooden floor.
I fell backwards and felt the top of the very expensive, and as I am now realizing, very HARD table behind me hit my head. AIGO! As if this ay couldn't get any worse. I had figured all my humiliation and problems had to be used up for the day. I mean really, who did I piss off upstairs that this is all happening to me? Today of all days, my first day at a school I was going to have to spend the next two years of my life at.
I felt the pain in my head before I moved down to my neck and back. Can you say 'ouch'? Yeah, let's just say that is an understatement. I don't remember tables ever being that hard before. Really, what was it, stone? I'm not sure how long my eyes were closed as the pain took control of my body, but in what seemed like seconds he was at my side calling my name and pushing the hair out of my face.
Is he hitting me face? I wondered as I could feel his palm softly patting the side of my face. I picked up my arm and using the most effort I could with my eyes closed, located his arm and put my hand on it to try and stop him for 'patting' my face.
"Okay, okay." I said keeping my hand on his arm. Wow…his arm felt muscular.
Who is this guy? Now I'm curious! I'm laying in pain on the floor of a random room with a guy I know nothing about. I mean hell I haven't even see his face yet, and all I can think about it is his muscles. AISH! I'm annoying myself now.
"I'm fine, you can stop hitting me now." I tried to let out a soft chuckle and pick myself up to a sitting position, but as I did I felt the headache coming on and everything seemed dizzy even with my eyes closed. "Woooah." I stopped and decided the floor was probably a nice place to stay for a little while longer. I mean hey, what's the rush? It was quiet a nice floor…at least from what I could feel.
But of course the guy had other plans.
"Come on, you should sit up." I heard silence as I am sure he was waiting for me to try and sit up again. Nuh-uh, not happening. We tried that once and see what happened? PAIN! That's what. "Okay, at least open your eyes, se if you can focus and that everything is clear. At least do that and make sure you're alright. You hit that table really hard." I wanted to yell at him, NO SHIT SHERLOCK! But right now laying in dark silence felt better then opening my mouth. I could hear him waiting yet again. He did save me earlier, and he is here now trying to make sure I am alright, at the very least I must owe him this, Right?
So I did what I was told and tried opening my eyes. I started seeing blurry sunlight streaming into the room from what looke4d like a window. Except it was making my head hurt worse again. So I closed them.
"Agh! What good is this? I can't even open my eyes for you. It just makes my head hurt worse." At least the talking didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. Must mean the pain was starting to subside, a few more minutes of this and I would be fine. I heard him laughing quietly to himself, and I liked the sound of his laugh. It was kind and made me want to smile.
"It's okay. The fact that you're talking is a good sign." He laughed again and made me smile. Two more minutes passed and I decided we could give this whole sitting up and opening eyes thing another go.
"Alright." I sighed when I felt like the pain had dulled down enough and my head was feeling less, can we say 'cracked open'? "I'm going to have a nice big bump on my head for the next few days, but hey, I was SO aiming to make myself bigger!" I cracked a smile and tried to get a chuckle out of him.
"Was that a joke?" He asked me with an inquisitive tone to his voice. "Do you really want to get bigger? Because you seem fine to me..." I wish I could have seen his face at this point, because it seemed to me that he was complimenting me. One awkward silence later, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Yes, so…anyway. Let's get you up. I'm going to help you a little just to make sure you don't get dizzy and fall back again. Okay?"
He didn't even wait for my response as I felt his arm make its way around my back, and he place himself next to me so I was fully supported by him.
"Alright. Open your eyes." I did as I was told. As I opened them, things were fuzzy, but cleared up quickly. I saw the room again, and I saw the door and my uniform skirt as I looked down. Everything seemed to be in one piece, and I wasn't dizzy. Just dealing with a minor headache. I had almost forgotten he was next to me, that is until he spoke up. "So…better?"
"Yes actually! Much better!" I smiled and turned to look at him for the first time. "Thank you so much!" Our eyes met and my jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw who was sitting next to me.
"That's great! Well hello, my name is Kang Daesung, but you can just call me your lunchtime savior." He laughed to himself, as I just sat there in disbelief trying to collect all my thoughts on what exactly was sitting next to me.
Well damn, no wonder I was thinking he sounded familiar, I mean it's only the smiling angel himself!