Best Part ꕀ Huang Renjun

ꕀ Prelude

2007

Yujin waited with baited breath as she stared at the teacher upon the dais, her fists clenching and unclenching as anticipation pounded at her chest while the teacher slowly opened the envelop holding the winner of the maths competition.

Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her pastel pink dress, her knee bouncing as she watched with large eyes.

"And the winner is..."

Her breath held, her eyes flickering to her parents who were staring at the teacher.

Her cheeks puffed up as the teacher glanced from the envelope to the crowd.

"Kim Yujin, year 2," the teacher called out and the young girls eyes widened, her lips curled into a smile that stretched from ear to ears as she shot up from her seat.

Her pigtails swayed side to side as she walked down the aisle towards the dais.

"Congratulations Yujin" the teacher said, handing her the certificate and asking her to stand off to the side for photos.

A blossom of pride swarmed through her as she glanced towards her parents, smiles pulled at their lips as they took a video of the girl on their camcorder.

She waved jovially at them and her father gave her a thumbs up.

"We have a second winner today as well. Congratulations Huang Renjun," the teacher called out.

Yujins stomach dropped, her eyes darting to the young boy, his hair slick to this side as he wore glasses that were too big for him.

His eyes pulled up as he smiled, and Yujin looked towards her parents. Their camcorder had been put away, their smiles faded to nothing as they looked directly from the boy to her and she felt her stomach twist, a mouth pulling into a frown.

"Thank you," he spoke, his voice high in pitch as he shook the teachers hand, making his way next to Yujin and showing his snaggled tooth in a wide grin before turning to the front.

Yujins face turned sour, her lips jutting out in a pout and her tiny body ran warm.

His parents clapped loudly for him, basking in the greatness of their son's achievements but as Yujin looked towards her parents once more, they were gone.

When she had gotten home that night, she happily showed her parents her achievement, holding out her certificate that had three golden stars on it.

Her mother shook her head and walked out the room making the young girls smile falter. She looked towards her father, making her smile wide once more as she was proud of her achievement but all he did was crouch in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Yujin, you gotta listen. If you stay coming second, you are going to make nothing of your life," he reprimanded the 7 year old. Grabbing her certificate, he waved it in front of her face.
"This means nothing if someone else also got the same. You've got to be the best Yujin. Do you want to live in a dump like this your whole life?" He asked gesturing to their house.

Their house was a mere four rooms, the kitchen/living room, the master bedroom, her bedroom and bathroom. The walls were a dull grey, the floor a beige carpet with the odd stain, the blinds were dusty and bent, and there were boxes everywhere.

Boxes to eat on, boxes to play with, boxes for storage.

But she couldn't understand, it didn't seem bad to her.
The walls held her artwork, her room had pink bed sheets and she had a teddy that was a lovely colour of bluey brown, it did smell a little weird but she loved it all the same.

She had books, some had missing pages or writing on them, but her parents had gotten them at this place called the 'op-shop.'

And Yujin felt lucky, she got to eat plain pasta with cheese a lot of the nights.

She couldn't understand her father when he shook her little shoulders, his eyes wide and his jaw fluttered. "You've got to be the best Yujin, you've got to be so you can get out of a place like this. You can't live like your mother and me, you've got to work hard and make money, understand? You can't let kids like that Renjun beat you, you got it? You've got to be the best. Promise?"

His words nailed something deep into her soul that day.

And when she interlocked her little pinky with her fathers larger one, she promised him she will always be the best, and she will get them out of there.