The New Girl

~Chapter 1~ the first days

Chapter 1 {Tessa P.O.V}

Word count: 2000+

It was an ordinary Friday noon when my dad broke the news to me, I had just come home from my part-time job and school was just about to stop for summer break. The days were warm and dad and I were making dinner together in our small kitchen. He had been quite silent ever since I had come home, there had been this tension between us for a few days but as I didn't want to bother him too much I hadn't asked about it. "So, you know how I told you that I might get a promotion if I keep my good work up?"
It were these words which made me guess that he indeed had gotten that promotion he had worked so hard for, knowing that I began to smile. Nodding my head to him before turning my attention back to the cucumber I was cutting with the sharp kitchen knife.
"Well, I did get that promotion." This should have been a happy moment, though his voice had this troubled undertone in it. "What? Dad that's amazing. I am so happy for you." I decided that it would be for the best to show my support to him, dropping the knife that I was holding and pulling him in a hug afterward. He wasn't holding anything sharp at that time, his arms were around me fast, though it wasn't long before he broke the hug.
"Tessa, there is a downside to it too." He looked me into the eyes with a serious look in his own green eyes. "And that's what?" "I will have to move." That's when I stopped smiling. My dad and I always had been together, as my mother left us when I was ten years old. "To where? Like to the north of the Netherlands or to Germany? I could handle that." He shook his head. "I will have to go to South Korea." "South Korea? You mean South Korea as in that small country on the other side of the world?" He nodded his head. "Can I go with you?" He laid his hand on top of my shoulder, still looking at me with those serious, but soft, eyes. "That would be your choice, you could go with me but that would mean that you have to give up everything that you have here. You would have to start all over."
My dad didn't know much about my school life, it was a decision that I made a long time ago as I didn't want to worry him. So he didn't know about the fact that I had only one friend, who didn't even go to the same school, he didn't know about the bullying. So it was natural for him to think that it would be hard for me to give up my life here. Though to me, it was a big chance to start all over.
Though I get it that you wouldn't want it, so I talked to your mom and she said that it would be okay for you to move into her home for the time being." My dad and mom still had some contact, mostly about my grades and what I will do in the future, though me and my mom hadn't as much as talked to each other since I was ten. I didn't feel the need to, she left me behind after all, she wanted to start a new family without my dad or me. So I gave her just that.
"No, I would love to go with you. Sure, it would be a big thing. But I do think that I can get used to starting all over again. When do you, or we, have to move?" "Three weeks, right after your school year finished. Are you sure that you want this though? It's not a country like the Netherlands where everyone says whatever what's on their mind. South Korea is a very polite and respectful country, with a whole other culture and language than that we have." I nodded my head. "I can take that challenge and there has to be someone who takes care of you. I know how you are when you get a little bit too into your work." That was the first time that noon that he smiled, it was small, just a grin, but it was there. "Then it's settled. Use these last weeks to do a lot of stuff with your friends okay? You won't be able to see them much after we step on that plane."

That was all a little bit over a month ago, we moved to South Korea a week ago and we both are still trying to adjust to the life here. Communicating is still a difficult but with our trusty dictionary and a lot of hand signing we are able to go through our days. Saying goodbye to Piet, who had been my best friend for the past years, pretty much the only person who was keeping me sane, was not the easiest thing to do. I would lie if I said that I didn't cry. But we would keep in contact, we still have our ways of talking with each other and he will not get away from me that easily.
The apartment my had chosen was a lot smaller than our home in the Netherlands. It had two bedrooms, thank god, but the space in the living room and kitchen were limited. It was hard fitting all the new furniture into the small space, but it had something too. It felt warm and homey as my dad put pictures everywhere, he made it really a home with the little things he had. As for my own room, it was still a mess. I still had to unpack most of my boxes, but as I was spending most of my days outside I really hadn't found the time to unpack everything. The only thing that was unpacked however, were my laptop, chargers, photo camera and a few books. It was everything that I would need for the time being. Even my box with clothing was as good as untouched as my dad took me shopping on the first day for new clothes, as well as a uniform for school. I would go to a new school and for the first time in my life, I would have to wear a school uniform, meaning that I would have to wear a skirt every day which is something I really dislike. There was just something about skirts and dresses in general which I disliked. But, I would get used to it soon enough, knowing that I could wear whatever I would like in my free time.
It was a sunny day and as the last few days I had decided to head out to explore the neighborhood a bit more. We didn't live far from Seoul, which meant that there would always be big crowds everywhere I would go in the city. That's why I preferred it more to take one of the trains and go into the woods or go to the beach. It would still be crowed, but it wasn't as bad. The woods were better to take pictures anyways and my dad would always be okay with is, as long as I would make sure to call him as soon as I would run into any trouble. Today would be different though, I would go against my own fear for crowed places and go to Coex, which is one of the biggest shopping malls in Seoul. It's not like I needed anything, but I thought that it would be a good idea to try to get some knowledge of the country. And as you can see a lot of a country in their shopping malls, such as latest trends but also the different groups of teens as it is summer break, I thought that Coex would be my best shot. I could also just sit down in one of the cafés in Seoul to study my Korean, but that could be something for another day. After I got dressed and I said goodbye to my dad, who was busy with his work already, I left the house. Taking a bus to the right place.

The mall was, as predicted, crowed. I had honestly never seen so many people at one place. But then again, I come from the Netherlands, with seventeen million people spread over the whole country. South Korea has over twenty-four million in Seoul only. It is a big change and it wasn't something all too bad. Just something that was really different and something that I would have to get used to. I choose to come myself after all. I decided to sit down by a fountain that I found in the center of the mall, taking out my sketching block after that. I am someone who sketches and doodles whenever I get nervous about something, it calms me down. I looked around myself to see what I should draw, until my eyes stopped on a group boys. Probably my age, but with how young everyone here looks it was only a guess. Three of them cached my eye in particular. Two of them seemed to be a couple, one of them being a bit more tan, the other seemed to be quiet as the people around him were talking. The quiet boy his arm was resting around the tan boy his waist, as the tan boy had his head on their shoulder. The last boy who catched my eye was very cute, making faces while he made the other boys laugh. He had chestnut brown hair that was messy and he seemed to be somewhat younger than the other guys. They weren't sitting far from me, I could almost make out what they were saying without understanding it a hundred percent as my Korean was still far from okay. Though I did start to sketch them, looking their way every few minutes to look for the details. It was not that I wanted to play the creeper who draws people without them knowing, but as I am someone who just can't talk to people I have never met before, it is very hard to me to make new friends. I can't just walk up to them to talk to them, partly because I wouldn't know what to say for the biggest part.
One of them must have noticed me, as he started to stare back, every time I would look at the group of boys his eyes would lock with mine. I was getting more nervous from it, but I didn't really pay much attention to it, that was until the boy walked up to me. A smile on his face that showed off his dimples, deep brown eyes and dark hair that framed his face.
"Hi, I saw that you were looking our way for a while now... Would you like to join us? We are going to watch a movie in a little while." He was talking fast, in fluent Korean of course. I had no idea what he had said and he picked up on that very fast after seeing my puzzled face. Another boy had walked up to us now too, he had to be part of the group though he looked more like a foreigner to me. His facial features were soft, though he had a set of strong eyes.
"I'm guessing that you didn't understand him." He spoke to me in perfect English and I thanked god that there was someone who I could communicate with for now. "Yeah, I'm still trying to learn the language so I didn't get much from that." "That's okay, Hongbin here invited you to join us. He thought that you must have been feeling lonely as you have been sitting here all on your own." To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. "Would that really be okay? I mean, I wouldn't be able to talk a lot as my Korean isn't that good yet." The boy nodded. "We all agreed when Hongbin asked us, so of course it's okay. I'm Henry by the way. What's your name?" "I'm Tessa, and I would love to join you."

{A/N: So yeah, that was the first chapter. I have no idea yet how long this story is going to be. Though the chapters will be around 2000/3000 words each. I know this might not be the best chapter ever, but I still hope that you like it. Any and all feedback will be apreciated. Also, Thank you (yeah all four of you) for subscribing. It really means a lot to me.}