1. First Letter

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For many kids, summer break is the get-out-of-jail-free card that lasts two months.

The name has become synonymous with fun, relaxation, and playtime.

This was the case for me in all the summers leading up to my senior year.

And I wish, I really do, that I could say my last summer of high school and the years after were normal.

But, no, Fate had to come and mess things up before I had a chance to say goodbye to my old life.

I just wish I would've been more prepared.

+++
Kyung Mi POV

I crack my neck and look around my dark room apathetically. I pull out my phone and message the one person I know will respond right away.

Me
Hey, do you want to come over to get that bracelet you left here? I'm bored.

Hye
Yeah, I'm coming.

Hye
Scratch that I'm sleeping over. Eomeoni* is pissed off again.

I sigh and reply stay as long as you need before closing my phone. Hye's stepmom is a real pain, always demanding things of her while she spoils Hye's stepsister, Soomin.

Soomin, a product of the marriage between Hye's stepmother and another man, is a sweet three year old, despite her mother resembling a hawk.

My phone buzzes and I look down.

Appa
I'll probably have to stay the night at the hospital. If you don't want anything from the fridge, order pizza for dinner.

Me
Yessir! :)

My father is a popular surgeon in South Korea. He occasionally goes on trips across the country to perform big surgeries.

Though it brings in good income, he's rarely at home, so I was lonely as a child. I only had my mother, before I lost her too.

Hye shared my pain, having a rich father as well but the burden of a new mom, and over the years we got closer and became best friends.

Hye is both my soul and my source of happiness.

+++

I stretch my arms above my head as I get a text.

Appa
There's a small box in the mail for me. Can you open it and tell me the birth date on the front page?

Me
Sure thing. Give me a minute.

"Stay here, Hye, I have to get something for Dad."

"Okay."

I grab my phone, run down the stairs and out the door to the mailbox. When I open it I see a package along with a letter. The letter has my name on it, but the return address is unfamiliar to me.

After calling my dad and telling him what he wanted to know, I return to my room.

Hye looks up from her paper. "What's that?"

"A letter for me. I don't know who it's from, though."

I rip a strip of envelope from the side and slide the piece of paper out. When I unfold it, my heart stops.

Lee Kyung Mi

Quite the princess aren't you? Your daddy is rich and you're a spoiled little brat.
Don't you think it's time to give back to community? Send this address $3,000,000 within seven days or you'll never see your city, house, or father again.

We expect you to make the right decision.

Anger blocks my vision and my hands form tight fists, nails digging into the skin.

"Is something-ack! You're bleeding!"

Hye runs to me and pushes me into the bathroom. She tosses the letter on the ground and rinses my bloody palms with water, turning it pink.

When my hands are clean, she takes a towel and lightly dabs it across my hand, drying it.

She looks at me. "You okay?"

I shake my head, staying silent. She goes over and picks up the now bloody letter.

She gasps as she reads it and then spits out a string of cuss words.

"Why is this country littered with absolute bastards?" She sighs. "But, Kyung Mi, do we know that this is legit? You have gotten prank letters in the past."

I nod, looking down. "I don't know for sure. But I just hate when people take advantage of others." I purse my lips as a dark memory threatens to flood into my mind and come into my nightmares. Again.

She pads over to me and squeezes my arm. "I know, dear. But this is why you trained for so many years. If this letter is real, then you'll fight whoever sent it and win." The way she says it so strongly fills me with a new sense of confidence.

"I know. But you're right. I don't think the letter is from someone dangerous. I mean, if you're going to blackmail someone, you better give them a reason to be scared, right? They just sent threatening words but gave no indication that they can hurt me."

Besides the fact that they know where I live. I shake the thought out of my head.

Hye chuckles. "Exactly. And, you know, it's probably just Ha Joon being Ha Joon." She finishes with an endearing smile and I can't help but smirk at her remembrance of him.

Ha Joon is a friend of ours from school who is known for being a trickster. Now that I think about it, I agree with her. The letter was from Ha Joon.

+++

"Gosh, this show is so lame." Hye shuts off the TV and we lie on the couch in silence. She lays her head back on the armrest.

"Kyung Mi, I don't mean to scare you or anything, but do you really think the letter was a prank?"

"Let's call Ha Joon and find out."

He answers after a few rings, and his voice sounds slurred. "Hey, Kyung Mi! Come here, it's really fun!"

There's some kind of beat and many voices in the background, making it hard to hear him.

"What? What are you saying, Ha Joon? Where are you?"

"Dynamite's Friday party. I'm living, come here and live with me!"

'Dynamite' is the name we'd given to a classmate of ours who was known for throwing raves.

"Boy, are you drunk?" There was no question about it. If you were at Dynamite's party, you were drunk.

His voice suddenly becomes crisp and sober-like. "No." He laughs. "I'm totally alcohol-free."

I roll my eyes before saying, "Ha Joon, did you send me that stupid letter?"

"Huh? Yeah." He laughs. "Sorry, I thought you'd find it funny."

"Well, I didn't." I hiss before pounding the end button.

Hye raises an eyebrow and I tell her the conversation.

I'm completely safe.

---

a/n: *eomeoni means mother. Hye calls her stepmother this.

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