Backwards and Forwards

CHAPTER 1 - THE STORM

Im Jaebum had just landed in Seattle-Tacoma International, and needless to say, he was extremely tired. A 13 hour flight could get a little on the draining side, as he had just found out. He sluggishly sauntered his way over to the luggage pick up, searching for the bright yellow bag his parents gave him. He remembers their words loud and clear. "Listen to me, Jaebum. I will not send you any clothes so you take this bag so you don't lose it." his mother insisted. His dad just nodded along, not very supportive of what he was doing.

What was Jaebum doing exactly? Good question. Even if you asked him, he wouldn't know what to tell you. He picked up and moved away from his entire life, in short. He left his family, his friends, and more specifically, his problems. He was gone from the bullying, the drama, and the constant fights with his father. He didn't understand why his dad was upset, because honestly all him and his father did when he was home, was fight.

He used the last of the money he had to get to the one street he knew in Seattle. He spoke to the driver in near flawless English, because he had taken two years to study the language backwards and forwards. I suppose you could say he had been planning this for a while. He saved up every penny of the pay cheques he got from that god awful gas station job he had, until he had enough for the flight and the taxi.

He added everything up weeks before, and even saved a couple extra dollars as the currency exchange fluxuated, just in case. That was very much like a thing his father would do, which he hated. It turned out good for him though, because he was able to buy himself lunch after he arrived.

He got to the street he asked for, paid the driver, and took his bag. He then looked around him, marvelling at the big city before him. Seoul was big, sure, but it was nothing like Seattle. The Space Needle rose high into the afternoon sky, looking like it was piercing the clouds. He wished he could pull out his camera and take a snapshot of this because god... the clouds were placed just right and the sun was hitting the glass in such a beautiful way... It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He walked around for a bit longer before it started to darken up outside. Not just the sun going down, but the clouds were starting to thicken and darken at a rapid pace. It wasn't long before it began pouring. Rain was coming down in sheets, and there was nothing Jaebum could do. He weakly put up his hood and walked along the near empty sidewalk, dragging his bag behind him.

He decided to go try and find an awning, or anything really that would protect him from the downpour; although, everything was closing down. Even the little convenience stores, which Jaebum found very strange. Slowly the street began to dim as the shops shut down, and he suddenly felt like he had made a very large mistake coming here so unprepared.

Until... he heard the squeak of a door opening beside him. There stood a girl no more than 5 and a half feet tall, coated in tattoos. His jaw near dropped at the sight of her; she was unlike anything he had ever seen. In Korea, you never really saw people with tattoos like that. If you did... you ran because it was an unsafe crowd. Jaebum's first instinct was run, but he was so tired and cold he didn't care at this point.

She hollered out to him over the rain and told him to come in. He never moved faster in his life. He was shivering like mad, and it was pretty much uncontrollable at this point. He sat down on the first chair that he saw and tried his best to curl up like a ball, even though his long legs made that very limited. He put his bag next to him and sat there shivering for a good 2 minutes before anyone spoke up.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the girl said, having to break the silence.
"Ah... no, not exactly. I just got here from Korea." Jaebum stuttered; his entire body was shivering. Right down to the core.
"Oh wow... I wasn't expecting that far. And what brought you over here, Mr. Bright Yellow Suitcase?" she snickered.
"It's Jaebum... and it was mainly all the..." he paused. He didn't want to tell a stranger he was bullied by his father and his peers. "The uh, the city and stuff really amazed me, I guess. The culture is so different too." He lied through his teeth, but hoped it was believable.
"Mhm, sure... Jaebum. Do you have somewhere to stay tonight? You seem a little... unprepared." she questioned.
He didn't have anywhere to stay. At all. He didn't wanna say that though, as he didn't want to sound stupid.
"Well... I mean... I..." he attempted to get a sentence out, but he really couldn't think of anything. He was just too tired.
"So I'm guessing you dont? It's alright to tell me, you know." she spoke, softly.
"I uh... I don't actually." he admitted, cursing himself in his head for not being prepared.
"Well... Um..." It was her turn to stutter. She was going to offer him somewhere to stay but she hadn't even told him her name yet.
"Well, Jaebum, my name is (Y/N), and if you want you can stay here at the shop overnight, but you'd have to be out pretty early because we have an early appointment tomorrow an-" Jaebum cut her off.
"Oh god, please. I'll be out early I swear, I'll even clean the place. Thank you so so much.. (Y/N)." he quickly responded, flustered from being so happy about finding somewhere to stay.
"It's no problem, you seemed really stressed out so I figured I'd help. I've been in a similar situation." she stated simply.
"Oh? How so?" Jaebum inquired, he had a sudden interest to know this girl. Backwards and forwards.
"Well... my parents kicked me out around the time I turned 18, and all I knew was my art so... I bought dollar store sketchbooks and sold my art on the streets. Someone had told me a tattoo shop was opening, and they said they'd recommend me. Not long after I got told that, a guy came up to me and told me to follow him. I was super skeptical but I went anyways. He ended up taking me here, and taught me everything I know now. He retired, so now I own this place... hence why I let you stay." she finished.
Jaebum sat there, hand under his chin, admiring her every word. She fascinated him somehow... and he hardly knew her.
"That's really cool... My story isn't quite as interesting..." Jaebum trailed off. He hoped she wasn't as curious as he was, but he also wanted her to look at him with that same admiration.
"Tell me, banana bag boy. Why'd you come here? What pushed you?" she smirked. She was definitely just as curious, he'd never escape the question.
"Uh... alright. So clearly, my relationship with my family isn't great. My dad always wanted me to go to college, and I want to, just not any college in Korea. My mom, on the other hand, wanted me to stay at home my whole life, and take care of them as they aged. Friends... weren't really an issue, cause I never really had any. I've been bullied my whole life, for various things, but mostly because all I did in class was doodle and take pictures of things, really weird things too. Made myself a target right? I don't know what drew me to Seattle... The city is really beautiful and nothing like the big cities in Korea. I wanted to find a city that makes me want to photograph everything. I think I've found it now..." Jaebum sighed, his story wasn't near as interesting as hers, but he had to tell her the truth.
He looked up at her, and sighed again. But this time, in relief. She had the same look of admiration on her face, and if he could read her mind, he'd tell that she wanted to know him.
Backwards and forwards.
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AHHHHH this is a long time coming, I'm not sure when updates will be, because my midterms are coming up, but this is something different for me, I hope y'all like it!