Chapter 2
“Hee Young, wake up. Hee Young!”
I woke up to see Mi Hi shaking my shoulder.
“What?” I asked rubbing the sleep out of my eyes
“We’re here. We made it to our new home,” she smiled.
I smiled and jumped out of the seat,” Yay! Lets go!”
“W-wait up! Hee Young!” Mi Hi ran after me to catch up
***
We were now just walking in the streets of Seoul, South Korea. With nowhere to go, and nothing to eat.
“Hee Young~ I'm hungry!” Mi Hi whined
“Your not the only one….” I said putting a hand on my stomach
“How are we going to survive here!? We are going to starve!”
“Look Mi Hi, I’ll figure this out-“ she cut me off.
“How? Are you going to steal again? Maybe this time your going to steal someones money instead of food. Isn't that what you had in mind?” She glared at me
“Your alive because of my stealing. So don't you dare say that stealing is the only plan I have,” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“What are you going to do? Beg?” She questioned
“ I have more pride than that”
She rolled her eyes.
***
As we were walking we made it to a small park. We both sat on a bench.
“Mi Hi….To be completely honest….I don't have a plan this time…” I said looking at the sky
She didn't answer. I looked at her only to find her asleep. I sighed. I need to find a way to keep us alive. I stood up and started walking. Would Korea have a abandoned factory that's well furnished? I don't think so. I have two choices here. A: steal or B: beg. Stealing is something I'm good at…but that isn't something to be proud of. I would beg, but i just don't know how. Everything we have doesn’t even belong to us. I stopped walking when I heard the sound of crying. It was a little boy. He looked around the age 5. I walked next to him and knelt down.
“Are you ok?”
He looked up at me and threw his tiny arms around my neck,” Big sister!”
“Oh…I’m not your big sister….” I said pulling him off me gently
“But mommy tell me to wait here. Then big sister come and take me,” He started to cry again.
“No, no, no, no, don't cry sweetie. Big sister is here,” I said pulling him into a hug.
Now I'm sure your wondering. What am I going to do with an abandoned little boy? Im going to take care of him until I find his parents. There's only one thing stopping me. Mi Hi.
***
“What!? Hee Young, your such an idiot. What were you thinking!?”
“I-“
“We can barely feed our selves! Now we have to worry about a little kid!”
“I can deal with food, money, and shelter! All you need to do is watch him! Besides, it is only until I find hid real parents or a relative!” I said standing up from the bench
The little boy’s name is Hyo. I’m positive that I can earn enough money to take care of all three of us.
“I just wish you would talk to me before making such a risky move,” Mi Hi said looking at Hyo, who was playing in the sandbox.
I sighed then grabbed my backpack from the bench,” I'm going to find a job. I don't know exactly when I’ll be back. There are blankets in that bag in case you or Hyo get cold. I’ll see you later.”
***
I was walking in a plaza. There wasn’t any store with a sign that said ‘Help Wanted’. I walked a little bit further and saw a small ice cream store with a sign that said:
HELP NEEDED
SHIFTS FROM
9 AM TO 8 PM
I ran into the store. When I entered the store, the sweet smell of chocolate fudge welcomed me.
“Hello! how may I help you darling?” A middle-aged woman said smiling at me
“I would like to work here. I just moved here with my friend, and we don't really have money or a place to stay,” I said hoping she understood me.
“Yes, of course! I’ve been waiting for someone to help me around here! It is getting to hard to work here all alone,” She said smiling,” My name is Min Soon Gi. You may call me Mrs. Min or Soon Gi. Whichever your most comfortable with.”
I nodded,” So, can I start now?”
“Why yes my dear! I’ll go fetch you your uniform, and you can start right away!”
“May I ask how much money I will get paid an hour?” I asked hoping for a decent amount.
“For 11 hours you will get paid 60241.50 won. That is 5496.25 an hour,” She said smiling,” pretty good amount for a newbie, huh?”
“Oh, thank you! That's perfect,” I said smiling,” Mrs. Min, I have a favor to ask of you…”
“Yes?”
“Well, like I mentioned before, I’m really low on money. I have two other people with me as of now….My friend Lee Mi Hi, and a little boy named Hyo. We don't have any where to go, and I promised them I would have a place to stay. Can we please stay with you until I have earned enough money to pay for an apartment? Please, I promise we won’t stay long!” I begged
I know, I know. I said that i didn't know how to beg….To be completely honest, I don't even know if I was doing it right.
“Hee Young-ah, you can stay for as long as you would like. A girl your age shouldn't be carrying so much on your shoulders. May I ask, where are your parents?” she said opening a cabinet and taking out neon green apron.
What am I supposed to tell her!? I ran way from an orphanage, stole supplies all my life, and when I was going to be caught, I stole a 2 plane tickets from an innocent 7 year-old girl!?
“T-they passed away… in a car crash 2 years ago..” I lied
“Oh dear…I’m sorry for asking…I didn't mean..” She said looking at me with pity
“Oh no, that's fine! It feels like there still here with me. I feel like I'm responsible for money, food, and shelter… I just need some time to gather up enough money…” I took the apron she gave me.
“Such a brave girl… After closing, we’ll go to pick up your family and bring them to our house. I have two guest rooms. One is upstairs with my son, Min Yoongi. The other is downstairs near my room and my eldest son, Min Hyun Gi’s, room. It has two beds for your siblings.” She said smiling. She wrote my name on a name tag and gave it to me. It said my name in a neat cursive.
“Lets get to work, shall we?” I said putting my apron and name tag on
***
“Wow, we usually don’t get much customers. I guess having a beautiful young lady does one justice!” Soon Gi clapped happily
“They probably came for the nice lady that owns this cute store, not for some weird new girl,” I laughed taking my apron off.
I went over to the sigh and changed it to ‘closed.’
“Did you get all your belongings?” she asked before we exited the store
“Mhmm”
I told her the directions to the park and she parked right in front of the bench we first came to. Mi Hi and Hyo were all cuddled up in blankets.
“I’ll go wake them,” I said getting out of the car.
I walked up to Mi Hi and softly shook her awake, “Mi Hi, wake up. Come on. I found a job, and a place to stay!”
“Wha- You did!” she shouted
“Mhmm…My boss let us stay at her place until we make enough money for an apartment… come on,” I picked up Hyo and started walking towards the car,” If they ask anything about our parents let me talk, ok?”
She nodded. I put Hyo in the backseat of the car. I got into the car smiling at Soon Gi.
“I can’t thank you enough, Mrs. Min”
“Nonsense! I think every family should have a house to live in. If I could provide every family a home, I would,” She said
‘Lets see how well I can keep up with all these lies…’