"Ji seo wake up." I squeezed my eyes tightly, irritated by the sound of my name. I heard my name again, 'Maybe if I pretend that I'm dead, she'll go away.' I said to myself. "Ji seo wake up!" My mom yelled, this time in Korean.
I grumbled, "Five more minutes, please." I begged. "No, we are meeting your grandparents today, so you have to get ready."
I groaned and stood up, walking to my bathroom, "Oh, I almost forgot. I enrolled you in a school here." My mom spoke up. I nodded my head, putting toothpaste on my toothbrush.
"You remember that IQ test I told you to take, right?" She continued. I started brushing and muffled a yes, "Well, it was a scholarship exam to get into that school." She said nervously, not sure how I'll take the news.
I popped my head out of the bathroom to glare at her, and she shrugged, "I had no choice but to lie because if I had told you it was a scholarship exam, you would have been too nervous. So I'll go to your school so I can get your uniform." She said with a sweet smile, still ignoring the glare I was sending her way.
She closed my bathroom door before yelling from outside, "Get ready, we will soon be leaving."
•••••••••••••••••••••
"Oh, my dear granddaughter! You have gotten bigger. The last time I saw you were just the size of a watermelon and you weighed as much, but now you look like a broomstick." My grandma said with a gasp, "You guys are not feeding Ji seo well. Just look at how skinny she looks!"
"We have been feeding her well, but it's like all that food is going to--"My attitude and stubbornness," I said, cutting my dad off.
My grandpa pulled my grandma away. "Stop. You'll scare her away." I mouthed a 'thank you' and my grandpa gave me a wink in return.
My grandma glared at my grandpa, and he left her shoulders quickly. She turned to me with a sweet smile, "I hope you haven't eaten anything yet because you haven't tasted my food before, so today is your lucky day." She didn't wait for my response; she just walked into the kitchen.
My eyes widened in shock, and I turned to my parents, "There's no need to worry, you'll be okay." My dad reassured me, giving me a pat on my shoulder.
"Yeah, you're right. As long as you guys are here, I can pass my leftovers to you." I said, reassuring myself.
My parents looked at each other, sharing a knowing look, before my dad spoke up, "Uh... Ji seo... You see..." He stammered.
"We are so sorry, Dara, but we have somewhere to go right now. We decided to go to your school today and get your uniform, then after that we are going to work."
"Work? But how?" I asked, already concerned about my cholesterol levels. "Well, it wasn't a problem because I am a surgeon and your mum got a job here." My dad explained.
"Yeah, I'm a fashion designer at one of the biggest fashion brands in Seoul. The CEO and I went way back when I came to Korea for college." My mum said with a smile. My dad looked at his watch and pulled my mum to the door.
"Bye, dear. Bye, dad, bye, mum." Both my parents said together, receiving an identical response from the kitchen. "Please don't go," I yelled after them, but my grandma closed the door.
I gasped and looked back to the kitchen, then looked back at my grandma in shock, "How did you get here so fast?"
"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm not fast on my feet. You should make yourself comfortable. How about you relax and watch a movie while I finish the food?" She made me sit down and went back to the kitchen.
"I'll be okay. How bad can it possibly be?" I reassured myself.
•••••••••••••••
"Grandma, I'm full already." I cried. "Nonsense. Here, have some more tteokbokki or will you prefer some..." She paused, looking at the plates of food on the table before continuing, "You can pick from anyone you like."
I nodded and looked back at the food with many side dishes, 'Why does one main dish have so many side dishes?' I said to myself, then whimpered.
She gave me a warm smile, which I returned, and picked up a dumpling and ate it.
"Uh, Ji seo-ah." My grandma spoke up. I looked away from the plates of food and looked up to meet her eyes, "Mhm?" I muffled.
"I was wondering if you could help me out at my restaurant. I don't have a waitress, and I want you to help me out." She asked with pleading eyes.
"Okay, I don't have anything to do today," I said, nodding my head. "Oh, thank you." She pulled my cheek before getting up and leaving me alone in the living room. I picked up my phone from the table and texted my parents.
Me:
Congratulations on not having a daughter anymore😑
Mum:
Stop being dramatic, it's not like you don't like eating🙄
Me:
Yeah, you're right. I love eating, but what I was given to eat right now can feed a family of five.
Dad:
I bet it isn't that much. You're just being dramatic.
Me:
*Sends a pic of the food
Mum:
Wow.
Me:
Believe me now?
Dad:
I forgot that my mum overfeeds guests.
I scoffed and dropped my phone before picking it up again to text Toby.
Me:
Hey, what's up?
Toby:
Seems like you also need a Nigerian clock on your phone.
Me:
Oops, sorry. What's the time over there?
Toby:
It's 2:32 AM
Me:
Sorry 😅
Toby:
Now that I'm wide awake, what's up?
Me:
You know, you could have just ignored my text.
Toby:
You know I can't do that. You're my bff.
I sighed, "I wish I could be more than just your Best friend."
Toby:
HEY, are you still there?
Me:
Yeah, I'm just looking at my food.
Toby:
I always come after food😂. You're inseparable, and the shocking thing is that you're still skinny.
Me:
I want a divorce. My grandma is making me hate food.
Toby:
How?
Me:
*Sends a pic
Toby:
Well, start eating then. You have barely touched it.
Me:
I have😭, but she keeps adding more.
Toby:
Sucks to be you right now.
Me:
I hope you have nightmares or sleeping paralysis 😒
Toby:
Can't have one when you're the one in my dreams😉
Me:
Fuck you
Toby:
Love you too😂
My heart fluttered at his texts, and my grandma entered at that moment. "Are you done eating?" I nodded, "I'll carry the leftovers home."
"Let's head over to the restaurant so I can introduce you to the workers and my loyal customers." I nodded and helped my grandma with the dishes before we left for the restaurant.
I received a lot of compliments from my grandma's customers. Turn out she owns an African/Korean restaurant. Even though it's a small restaurant, it does have a lot of customers.
She also introduced me to her assistant chief who makes African dishes, Park Seo jun, who is also blasian. Although I'm not meant to work today, I decided to help out, serving the customers.
During the evening, I went back home, and my parents weren't back from work. I looked at the wall clock, and the time was 7:30, and exactly at that moment, I heard the door opening.
My mum walked in, "I'm glad you're home. I'm heating dinner. My mum yawned before removing her shoes at the door, "Work was amazing, Mrs. Jung has a daughter and she's your age. We are going to her house tomorrow."
"We?!" I said with a raised brow. "Yeah, we." My mum walked past me while I was still shocked by the news, "Here's your uniform, keep it safe because it was very expensive."
"The scholarship didn't cover it?" I said walking to the kitchen. "Yeah, it only covered your academic fees for the whole trimester." She explained. I scoffed, "What kind of school is that?"
"A very Elite and expensive school, so I expect you to keep your uniform well." She warned. I nodded, focusing on the food.