A week ago, you were in Australia. You were born there & hadn’t ever left. Once you returned home from school, your parents dumped something on you, — you were moving to Seoul. Did you have any idea? No. Were you also going to fly to Seoul that night without giving you time to pack & learn the language? Yes. —
You don’t speak a word of Korean! Sure, you know how to say a few hi’s & thank you’s. But that isn’t going to help! However, you quickly pack your suitcase & off you went.
Once you arrived, your family showed you the apartment you’d be living in — & as much as you hated moving, it’s a nice place. The apartment is only a couple blocks away from your new school too, which you’d already been enrolled in. The teachers were super eager to have you join!
The next day, you get changed into the uniform, which looked amazing — as expected. As you’re walking to school, somebody runs past you, barging your shoulder & knocking the drink out of your hand.
“걷는 곳에 주의를 기울이십시오!” The guy snaps, turning to face you before rushing off with his friends.
You didn’t understand what he said, but it didn’t seem good. You roll your eyes & kick the bottle on the floor, before picking it up to throw in the bin. When you arrived at school, practically all eyes were on you. You weren’t Korean so you stood out.
You quickly rush to your class & speak to the teacher, who assigns you a seat beside somebody called ‘Huening Kai.’ You nod & sit down at the desk, where nobody was seated. Maybe Kai wasn’t here today? A couple minutes into the lesson, a student walks in late — the same guy who bumped into you earlier…
“늦어서 죄송합니다.” The boy says before heading over to sit besides you. That must be Kai…
“이름이 뭐에요?” He mumbles to you after a few minutes in class, clearly bored.
Not understanding him, you just glance over nervously — which makes him let out a small laugh.
“Let me guess? Your parents told you that you were moving to Seoul to become an exchange student and gave you no time to learn the language?” He mumbles.