C'EST LA VIE (Completed)

Chapitre 7 - Mlle

Mina's life has always been a drag since she was born. Myoui Mina was born as an unwanted child from very irresponsible parents. Her dad was a thug, a Japan descent man who lost everything in her country when he was young and moved to Seoul. He met Mina's mother who's a bar servant at that time. They had a relationship, and she ended up pregnant with Mina. Short after they got married and Mina was born. Her mother was never there for her, most of them time Mina was on her neighbor watch. Her mother worked at night, and she slept until the midday, then she will come home heavily drunk, it became her routine. Her Father? Even worst, He was never home, he worked as a driver and he spent his time gambling, drunk with his friends, and repeat. When he was home, he picked the fight with his wife, and whey they did that, all the ceramics fled through the air. Mostly he hit her mother badly. Until one day, Mina woke up and found her mother gone. Her father was furious and start to shattered everything, and when the night comes, when he came home drunk, he will certainly beat his 4 years old daughter. Mina at that time could only be cried. A tense situation came every day as her father owed a huge debt to a shark loan. 

One day, her father came home with a lady. She was a supermarket employee down to the street, Mina could see her father fell in love with her because she never sees the sparks eyes around her father when she looked at her birth mother. Mina's father somehow got better, though sometimes he's not. They got married. This new woman despised Mina, she looked at her as a burden. She got pregnant and 9 months later, Minseo was born into the family. Even at that age, Mina learned that her father would never look at her like the way she looked at Minseo. His Precious. For Mina, that was fine, as long as she had a place to live, and food to eat.

Mina lived peacefully the next 8 years, she didn't care, the most important thing for her that she could live. Mina got into elementary school and middle school all by herself,  also got home all by herself, she fed herself, bathed herself, sleep in the tiny room all by herself. But never she shed a single tear. Mina raised herself. Mina is always patient and steadfast even though she knew she will never get the love from her dad and her stepmother. 

Everything was going well to the family, but the old habit will never change perhaps. Her father started drinking again after his business failed. Her father started to beat her stepmother the next year. Sometimes in the morning, she found her stepmother just lying in front of the kitchen, groaning in pain. Mina could see bruises on her stepmom's body. Mina's who was a teenager at that time felt that this supposed to stop at some point. One night, her father was so mad, he started to use an object to beat her stepmother, when he about to slap her stepmother with his belt, Mina can't take it anymore, as she defended her stepmother and got slapped with baseball bat by her father instead. Ever since that accident, they drew closer together. It was like, Mina and her Mother against the Father. Mina also did that in order to protect Minseo. 

In his sober state her father seems a lovely dad to Minseo, but when he started to drink, it became chaos. Mina didn't want Minseo to experienced what she's been through. Mina and her stepmother became closer and supported each other decision. At that time Mina who never created dreams in her life finally started to have a dream, goals. Mina really likes writing and reading, she still figured it out what her dreams is but she didn't want to be separated with books and literature. Her stepmother who's that time she finally called her Mom, supported her dream, even gave her options to be a writer, to write stories. Thank God, Mina was always a diligent student, though her household was broken as fuck, Mina never lost faith.

Bu then, God gave her another test. It was a one fine day. Mina just got home from tutoring her friend, when she was about to arrive home, she found her house filled by the polices. The police then took Mina to a place. Mina took with her. They arrived at a hospital. Mina's heart beat so fast, the police didn't tell her on the way here. But her guts told her something and she didn't want it to be true.

The doctor opened the curtain, Mina looked far away, Minseo hysterically shouted at her parents. Mina could only stare at a blank space. Without even looking. Once again, fate played with her. Mina's parents got into a single accident at the intersection in Gapyeong. Police said that her father was drunk and drove the car. That day went too fast, Mina as the eldest had to take care of everything. She got no time to be sad.

Not long after that accident, not even after a month, shark loans came to her house. Dragged her outside her house, threatened her to take her house if she couldn't pay her father's debt. And it's more than 45.000.000 won to be exact. She often got beaten up by the shark loan, as she stalling the payment deadline over and over. She didn't have the money.

Mina then sold the house, and rented a small space for her and Minseo, she also started to work at age 18, all of her dreams to be a writer suddenly vanished. Mina started working as a part-timer at a mini market while finishing her high school. She needed to feed Minseo and herself. Mina has a dream that at least Minseo could continue her school. Mina and Minseo may not be related by blood but Mina loves her dearly. Minseo also relied on Mina a lot. Thank God that Minseo got the brain just like her sister, it wasn't hard to teach her something. Despite the difficult situation, Minseo got a high school scholarship tuition from a prestigious school in Seoul through a foundation, making it little easy for Mina who's now concentrated on paying her father's debt and to make a living for Minseo and herself. Mina changed jobs one to another, she did everything in her power. 

At 2013 after got another full scholarship from the university, Minseo left Mina alone. Some said Minseo felt disappointed at Mina about one thing. Mina can't do anything and let her sister go. Until then Minseo resented Mina a lot, like a lot, no one knows why. 

Her whole life after her parents' death, she did everything she could for Minseo, she wanted Minseo that get a better life, when Minseo left, she lost each of her purposes. Mina started to heavy smoke and drink, switching jobs multiple times. 

Reading books and literature was something that keeping her sane. Sometimes she lent books from a local library. While doing her part-time job, a guy she knew, her regular customer, all of sudden tried to make a conversation with her. He lived near the mini market she worked in the university area. He's an assistant professor at Yonsei University. The guy encouraged Mina to take a degree as she always looked her reading something while working. The guys also provided books for her to be read. Mina knew she can't afford the education. But then he helped Mina to register herself in a university scholarship.

At some point, Mina thought that it would be a waste to start the college at her age, but college degree could lead her to have a better life, she needed to change her destiny. She somehow remembered about her dreams again to be a writer. The only scholarship Yonsei offered is from the Department of Korean Literature. Mina started to learn again, with the help of the assistant professor who provided her textbooks, Mina got into Yonsei University and got a full scholarship. Mina thought that this could be the way to make her life a little better. She started over at the age 25. She still makes a living by working part-time after the class, near the campus, she moved to a goshiwon, and worked at the weekend. She still needed to pay back the shark loan and save her money a bit.

Up until now, Mina still searching for her life's purpose. Never thought that life could make her suffer since she was a little. For her, she never able to lead a happy life ever since she was born, she wanted to have hope, but in the end, it always disappoints her. All of her experiences in life makes her numbs and doesn't really believe in kindness and good deeds.