Serendipity

Chapter One

I have never seen so many trees before in my life. The further we drive from the airport, the thicker the woods on either side of the two-lane road become, and I can't explain why my anxiety grows with the increasing lack of buildings. 

It's awkward enough driving three hours in a truck with someone I've only met about two times in my early childhood, but even worse that I'm so far out of my element. I've only ever spent my life in large cities- Seoul, and New York. The most greenery that I got to see was in city parks, but now, I'm being sent to live with my Park Ranger Uncle, in the middle of a national forest. I don't do very well with change, and this move is certainly bringing me into new things. I swallow as I gaze out of the rain splattered windshield of my Uncle's vehicle, tightening my grip on the book I have sitting on my lap. At least the orange and red colored leaves give me a beautiful view.

Why did my dad send me here? I tried to argue with him, saying that I could easily stay alone in our high rise while he went on his business trip, or that I could even come with him. The trip is supposed to take him a year overseas to China, but I didn't mind going with him and attending my classes online. However, he insisted that I should come to stay with his brother, saying that it would be great for me to get some fresh air and to spend some time with the family that I haven't seen since I was seven. 

I find a little comfort as my favorite song plays through the headphone that I have jammed into my ear, trying to focus on the Korean lyrics and picking out the voices of the group's members as they harmonize. One of my cousins is actually a member of the band, but I'm closer to his younger brother since we're the same age. In Jong-hyun is the Maknae, or youngest member, of the Internationally famous group, but he is still five years older than his brother, Seon, and I. 

My entire family on my mother's side is famous for something, though their fame hardly means anything in America. My mother was an actress known for her great beauty and shining personality until she left the world of a celebrity to be with my father and me when I was born. Since her sudden disappearance years ago, the media hardly talks about her anymore. They do still bother with the rest of her family on occasion, though, but it rarely interests me. 

My father's side of the family is Irish, and I really don't know much else about them. I spent a lot of my childhood with with my mother's family, until my father and I moved to New York after she went missing. Then, I spent most of my time working or hanging out with friends from school, mostly to keep myself busy enough that I don't have time to think about anything else, like what dozens of possibilities could have happened to my beloved mom. 

I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here in Maine for a year, since there isn't likely to be many modeling opportunities for me in the middle of a forest, and the only person I'll know is my cousin, Katell. At least I should have an ample amount of time to film plenty of videos for my YouTube channel, as long as I can get some sort of internet connection. 

The cab of my Uncle's truck is clean enough, though the greasy scent of his lunch still wafts from a brown paper bag on the back seat. He had no idea that I'm a vegetarian until he stopped to get us food from a place that only serves burgers. He apologized fervently and offered to find somewhere else to eat, but I told him not to worry about it, since I wasn't hungry, anyway. I wish my dad would have given him some sort of clue as to who I am as a person before tossing us together and vanishing. 

Uncle Torin breaks the silence by clearing his throat in a rough, forced-sounding way. "We can stop by the grocery store on our way back from getting Katell from school." Even though his tone is lowered, his raucous voice still makes flinch a little in the confined space. It is so different from the sound of my father, who has a tone as gentle as a songbird.