Loud chants and protests could be heard everywhere.
Fists were held high in the air, moving in unison.
Large cardboards with words expressing the will of change were held by the hands of the students.
"We want our money! We want our rights back!"
"Justice! Justice!"
The black haired girl held her fist high in the air just like the others, moving it at the same time as them, while her other hand was busy holding a cardboard together with another girl. She was fully dressed in white, her cheeks painted with two red stripes in each.
"Take the system down!"
Her yell was well accepted in the crowd, who cheered after her repeating her words.
"Take the system down! Take the system down! Take the system down!"
She saw various camera men almost filming her exclusively. She just ignored them and kept protesting, chanting songs of protest together with her friends.
Ironic how in her cardboard, the message written was none other than,
"Banks, empty your tanks!"
Ironic, because she was none other than Yu Jimin.
Only daughter of Yu Soo Man, owner, president and director of Yu Banks, the largest bank in the country...for not saying one of the leading in the worldwide economy.
Police men holding all kinds of sprays and wearing protection approached them running.
She knew she would be in deep trouble if she kept around much longer.
As everyone else was leaving because of the police's attack, she also didn't lose time and ran away as fast as she could. She could feel her cell phone vibrating loudly in her pocket, but she was too busy running for her life to even answer it.
She would look at her back once in a while, making herself sure that no one was following her.
She saw a black-haired female speaking to someone with her cellphone standing right in the middle of her path; she barely could even go past her; sighing in relief as she didn't push her accidentally.
"Ning ah, are you okay-?!"
The black haired female looked back, surprised to see a young woman running so fast. Judging from her appearance and the direction she was coming from, she knew she was involved in the protest.
"YAH! BE MORE CAREFUL!"
She shook her head, seeing as she didn't even bother to look back to check on how she was.
She turned back to her way and walked faster, "I'll be there in a second, hold on!"
She said, before closing down her cellphone and running towards the direction from where the girl had come from.
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"IS SHE CRAZY?!"
The old man's sentence could be clearly heard inside of his house. He breathed deeply and put his hands above his studying table, looking nothing but furious.
"I told her not to go, but she didn't hear me."
The old man looked at young male, and sighed.
"Jeno shii, it's not your fault. It's her fault, don't blame yourself."
The younger male sighed as well, but both looked at the door of the studio as soon as a maid came in.
"Mr. Yu, miss Jimin-"
"I'm here."
The older man approached the door and left the desk, watching intently as his daughter entered the room with firm steps. She stopped right next to him, looking passive.
*SLAP*
She slowly opened her eyes, ignoring the sting on her cheek. She looked back at her father, more determined than ever.
"You look like I just killed someone."
Jeno approached Jimin and held her arm,
"Let's talk."
However, he was surprised when she pushed his arm away. She looked back and stared into his eyes.
"We're over, Jeno. I'm sick of your controlling," She began, and turned around, "I'm tired of having a boyfriend who's over me 24/7...It doesn't even feel like I'm myself!"
Jeno answered madly, "Those past six months have meant nothing to you?"
"I felt like an object instead of your girlfriend."
She ignored his shocked face and breathed in, "I'm leaving. I still have to pack my things."
______________________________________________________________________
"Unnie, I'm sorry for ruining your last day in Korea," The young girl said, looking intently at her older sister. She just breathed out a smile and shook her head, patting her head.
"Ah, no," She began, "I was afraid those police men could do something bad to you."
Their mother entered the kitchen, pausing a glass of orange juice above the table, "Try not getting yourself into problems in Switzerland, ok hon."
"Yes, eomma."
She crossed her arms above the table, staring at her younger sister drinking the orange juice. She was going to miss her so much. She was her Ning Ning, her little Ning Ning, her little sister. She couldn't imagine what it be like if something bad to her had happened at the protest.
"I'll miss all of you," She muttered looking outside the window. her mother breathed deeply and approached her, cupping her chin and her cheek from the side as she lowered down to kiss her head's crown.
"We'll miss you too, honey," Her mother whispered, running her hands on her back.
She looked up at her mother and smiled, "Want to help me pack up?"
Her mother smiled gently, nodding.
"Of course. Come on, follow me," She whispered, making her daughter closely follow behind her. She stepped inside of her bedroom, looking at the piles of folded clothes above her bed.
Minjeong looked at her mother as she heaved a deep sigh, looking worriedly at her.
"Minjeong ah..."
She blinked her eyes for a moment, wondering what was going through her mind.
"What's wrong?" She asked her in a thin whisper, approaching her. Her mother smiled slightly and touched her cheek.
"I'm looking at you... And wondering how you grew up so fast... You're 20 years old already," She chuckled and put her hand on her shoulder, "I know that what happened to Chaewon took a toll on you and that you have problems opening up a little..."
Minjeong looked down and sighed, before looking up at her again, "Eomma-"
"You shouldn't close yourself to girls like you've been doing for the past two years, Minjeong. You were dating that girl for 3 months but you saw how things didn't just work out."
"Yeji was too good for me-"
"Don't do this to yourself, please."
Taeyeon felt so bad for her daughter. Chaewon used to be her high school's best friend, until she died from a terminal illness. Minjeong loved her as a sister, and her death was a huge blow to her. But what no one knew besides her mother, is that she gave her virginity to her in an act of piety.
She had asked Minjeong to make love to her before she died, and she agreed to her proposal.
They set a date, a place...and it just happened.
Chaewon asked her to hold her closely to her, as if they were true lovers. She remembered her sleeping in her arms, with a heartfelt smile. She just stared at the ceiling that night, wondering what she had done.
She, who had promised herself to only give herself to the one who would be the love of her life. She, who broke her own promise to herself that night.
Minjeong looked away and pursed her lips.
"What if you fall in love with someone and finally realize you're worth it?"
She chuckled sadly, "I don't think that is going to happen soon."
______________________________________________________________________
Jimin breathed out a smile as she closed her suitcase. Finally, she was ready. Ready to go towards her future. Her father had paid her a scholarship in Switzerland's biggest city, Zurich. She wanted to pursue her dream of being a marine biologist and she was going to finally do it.
Since she was little...she always had that interest in animals. She remembered playing with her dog, Takey, running around her spacious garden, in the middle of flowers of all kinds, shapes and colors.
Maybe, maybe it all was a way of forgetting how sad and depressing her life was.
She sighed and strolled her way downstairs, surprised to find her best friend already there, waiting patiently for her. The tall, brown haired girl stared intently at her, feeling really sad by the fact that her best friend was leaving the country for almost a year. Well, to be more exact, 11 months. Heck, it would be so long anyways.
She smiled and her brown haired friend quickly ran towards her, almost crying.
"Aigoo my friend...Good luck in Switzerland, ok?" Giselle hugged her best friend like there wasn't tomorrow. Her Jimin, she had always been a sister in her eyes. Well, both of them thought the same way about each other. Jimin was Giselle's sister and Giselle was Jimin's sister. Maybe that was the true reason behind their school's duo nickname, 'Unbeatable Sisters'.
Jimin could hardly breathe from the hug, and she paused her hands patiently above of Giselle's shoulder.
"Gi... you're suffocating me," Jimin giggled as she tried to break free off of her best friend's suffocating embrace.
"I'm so sorry," She let her go, "Bring me chocolate from there, ok?"
Jimin nodded and grabbed her suitcase.
"Jimin."
A man called.
It was her father.
"Are you already going there?"
She bowed a bit, "Yes, father, I'll go now to the airport."
Jimin's dad was the director and owner of the most important bank in South Korea, and was a really rich man. Jimin had no mother. She had committed suicide short time after she was born. Jimin's mother's death was a big emotional strike for Jimin's father and, since then, she had had almost no love from him. Hence her unhappy childhood.
"Good luck then."
"Thank you father."
She smiled back, and bowed again politely. She looked one more time at Giselle and nodded, indicating her best friend she was now fully ready to begin her new adventure abroad. The brunette sighed deeply and nodded back, both exiting the house wearing dark designer shades.
After her driver had put her suitcase inside of the car, she looked back at her mansion. She smiled bitterly and then entered the car, at the same time as her best friend.
No, her father wasn't coming with her to the airport.
She wasn't expecting that either.
______________________________________________________________________
"Don't waste your money on unnecessary things, hon. You know we're poor," The woman in her 50s said to her daughter, a handsome, yet beautiful young woman of black hair, pale complexion and deep chocolate eyes that could transport you into another dimension. She sure was that pretty, but that feature didn't go at all with her economical situation.
Yes, she was poor. Since little, she had been used to living with little money and few toys. But that wasn't the most important thing for her. Thankfully, her parents and her two brothers and sister had always showered her with love. She had always felt loved by her family members. They always supported her, even during the hardest times.
Being smarter than average people of her age had been a considerative help. Being called a 'music prodigy' by some of her teachers, her skills in music, the true international language for her, had always been amazing. And now, thanks to them, she has won that incredible scholarship to study in Switzerland.
Not something of the kind her parents could afford at all.
Her lips twitched upwards, showing a gentle smile,
"Eomma, I know we aren't rich so don't worry about that," She answered, grinning to her mother, hoping to make her happier.
The woman still looked worried for her daughter, "Be careful, Minjeong ah. Watch out with bad influences. People aren't always what they seem to be."
She nodded in agreement and hugged her mother, "I'm going to miss you a lot."
Her mother shed some tears, "Me too, so much..."
They broke the hug and she wiped her mother's tears gently, "Please don't cry. It's not like I'm going to die."
Her mother looked angry for a few seconds, "Kim Minjeong, don't you even dare to talk about that! Understand?"
"Yes eomma, I am sorry. I swear I won't speak about that ever again!"
She smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead.
______________________________________________________________________
"This is flight 243 from Korea Airlines with a destination to Zurich, Switzerland. We're going to arrive at our destination in a few minutes so please buckle your belts in order that we can have a safe landing."
Jimin clearly heard what the airplane's hostess said and followed her orders quickly, buckling up her belt. She then looked out the window and saw the landscape of the city. Zurich reminded her of Seoul, a city between mountains. Yes, Switzerland's biggest city was indeed a beauty. Little did she know that right behind her a young woman of the same country was slowly waking up, her black hair cupping her tired face and expression.
And, before she even realized, her feet were already touching the floor next to the university's campus.
She looked around. It was a quite big university, indeed. It had a biology department, where she was going to study, and there were many other departments such as music, science, arts, humanities and fashion. She breathed in deeply and smiled before grabbing her suitcase along with her and walking towards her apartment, which was near the university's campus.
______________________________________________________________________
Minjeong had just put her things in place in her new "home". It had been less than half a day since she arrived in Zurich but she was already enjoying the climate and the air, that special touch from the city. She breathed out a smile and went to her veranda, watching the night lights of the city glowing in the dark.
It was, without any doubt, a beautiful sight.
She looked to the veranda at her left side and saw a beautiful, dark haired asian girl reading a book. She was surprised to see that the book's cover was written in hangul.
A Korean? Wow, today is my lucky day!
She was going to say something to the girl to at least know her name, but her actions were cut short when her cell phone started ringing and she entered inside of her apartment to answer the call. She sighed and got in as well. She really needed a bath and some food before going to bed. Next day was going to be a complete tour around the city ands she couldn't run out of energy in that moment.
Jimin was quietly reading a book on her veranda when her cell phone started ringing all of a sudden. She entered back into her apartment, still with that weird feeling that someone was observing her until that moment. Ignoring the feeling, she just looked at the caller's ID and smiled widely after seeing that it was her best friend, Giselle. She pressed the answer button and put her phone next to her right ear.
"GIGI ah!"
"Karina!! Karina!! How are you?! Did you arrive safely at home? Did you?"
Jimin giggled, "Yes I did... I'M IN ZURICH GISELLE!!"
"KYAAHHH!!"
Both squealed together and then Jimin cleared her throat, feeling awkward that her neighbors might have heard her.
"Aigoo aigoo Jimin ah...I'm so happy for you!"
"I know you are, I know..."
"Tell me, how's the campus? Is it pretty? Is it?"
"Of course! And it's huge as well, you should see it!...You know what? I have to send you some pictures. Wish I could take them with my cell phone and send them to you now, but you're occupying the line and I won't hang up my best friend's call, you know..."
"You are so cute Jimin ah... Stop being cute..."
Jimin giggled once more, "You know I can't help it!"
Giselle pouted on the other line, "You are so bad with me, do you know that...?"
"And you should respect your dongsaeng more, do you know that?" Jimin retorted back and pouted as well.
They were talking for a long time on the phone. Those minutes made Jimin and her friend lose their notion of time.
"I'm getting late for work Karina... I should hang up the phone."
Jimin sighed and began kissing the phone "Kisses kisses kisses my friend ! Have a nice day at work!"
"Bye ~"
"Bye..." Jimin cooed and closed her cellphone. Even before she realized, she let out a yawn and her eyes felt heavy. She stretched her arms and threw herself on the bed, hoping for a long and good night of dreamy and good sleep.
"Goodnight eomma..." She muttered before closing her eyelids gently.