Seoul, South Korea
~Phoebe~
I couldn't wait to get off this plane and get away from him.
It didn't matter how hot he was, he was rude, conceded and privileged.
He was making it really hard to enjoy first-class. I'd probably never get another opportunity again.
When he did eventually find asleep, peace had settled in our section, and I was able to relax.
When the plane finally landed after such a long flight. I couldn't get off the plane fast enough.
His stare was fixed on me, and I rushed to get away from him as quickly as possible. Even as I sped off, his eyes tracked my every move.
After getting through the gates and entering the main port, I lost him.
Thankfully.
I stepped out as the sun rose above the horizon. I was greeted by the sound of honking horns and the busty city's waking energy. And of course, nearly all of the signs were in Korean.
I spoke Korean, considering my dad spoke it a lot at home. But reading it… well… I still struggled reading Korean I had some of the basics.
I pulled up the translator on my phone and started typing in the gate signs.
Might be best if I take a cab so I can find where I'm going without getting lost with all my stuff.
When I step into the cab, the guy on the plane slid right in beside me.
"We're going to the same place." Was all he said.
I looked at him appalled, the hell?
"Excuse me, but you can get the hell out of my cab." I snapped at him.
He just ignored me and handed the cab driver a bunch of cash.
"Seouldaehaggyolo gaseyo" (Take us to Seoul National University) the guy told the driver in Korean. And the driver nodded and drove off.
"How did you know I was going there?" This guy was acting so full of himself and really suspiciously freaky.
He glanced over at me, "You speak Korean?" it was more a surprised confirmation, than an actual question.
"I can speak Korean." I just wanted a beautiful to start to my new life and this prick is ruining it. Every good thing about his looks evaporated the moment he opened his mouth.
"You were using your transcripts as a bookmark. That's how I knew you were going to SNU." He answered like it was an obvious answer.
"Why the hell are you looking so intensely at my bookmark?" My question must have caught him off guard, because he stiffened slightly.
Got cha.
"Anyone with sharp eyes and half a brain would have noticed that, better keep your information more private if you don't want people to know it." He sneered at me.
"I have both and I wouldn't have cared enough to peep at your book, let alone your bookmark."
"Stalker..." I mumbled after
He sat silently in his seat scrolling his phone. His annoyance rolled off him in waves.
I aimlessly stared out the window.
Things were getting more awkward by the second. The longer the silence stretched the more uncomfortable it felt.
"So, are you're a student at SNU too?" I asked, trying to make some kind of small talk to break up the awkward silence choking up the car.
"I am." He answered with a short tone.
I didn't know what to ask after that. He kind of made it a closed ended conversation.
We hit traffic. Honks were blaring and people were yelling.
I rolled down my window to look out of it. the car was stifling. I heard someone scream in Korean, "She's not breathing, someone call an ambulance!"
By the end of the woman's sentence, I was out of the car and running towards where I heard the plea for help.
A group of people were standing around with their phones out videoing a young girl lying unconscious on the cement.
Blood was leaking from the corners of her mouth. Her eyes open, the light dimming. Her chest wasn't moving, meaning the woman was right, she wasn't breathing. She was fading.
"Are you kidding me, just standing around while a girl is dying and all you're doing is video?" I yelled pushing past the crowd of people just standing around recording and yelling.
"Yeogi uisa issneun salam issnayo?" (Is anyone here a doctor?) I asked in Korean.
People exchanged looks but shook their head.
So, no. No doctors. Of course!
I get down on my knees and check her neck for a pulse.
Nothing. Shit.
I began doing CPR. Speaking in Korean again "You with your, phone out, stop videoing and call an ambulance." One of the men that was standing around recording did as I asked, fumbling with his phone as he dialed.
Thirty chest compressions later, I plug her nose, press my lips to hers and blew into her mouth two time with all the air I could muster. And then returned:
1…
2…
3…
…
29…
30…
I repeated again.
After about 2 minutes and 200 chest compressions, I felt a pulse.
"I got a heartbeat! Simjang-i dugeungeolyeoyo!" I yelled excitedly.
The bluing on her lips faded slowly, color returned to her cheeks, the rise and fall of chest steadied and just a few moments later an ambulance showed up.
The crowd broke out in applause all around me. People were cheering.
I laid down on the ground with arms spread open, letting my pounding heart get a break and myself catch my breath. My mind was spinning trying to process the events that just happened.
I stopped. I didn't care. She was alive. That's all that mattered to me.
I didn't notice when the applause had stopped, and whispers started going around. I was too busy trying to still my racing heart and even my breathing. My adrenaline was pumping from the urgency. When I noticed the quiet hum of the crowd, I opened my eyes and the man sharing my cab with me was leaning over, his eyes locked on mine, observing me, his hands were resting in his pockets. His face showed no concern only indifference. He looked annoyingly cool.
"Why are you on the ground? Did you faint or something?" He asked me coolly.
"Go away already, I'm busy." I grumbled.
"Busy with what? Sleeping like a hobo on the dirty ground? Get up, you're embarrassing." He complained.
"Busy breathing! Jeeze, can you like, just go be a bother to someone else already, why don't you?" I complained. Why was he still here?
"No, we're sharing a cab, so get up." He ordered me, he sounded way too comfortable ordering people around.
"Ugh." I sat up and pushed myself off the ground.
The paramedics started rushing over with a gurney.
The paramedic started asking what happened, someone in the crowd must have told them about what I did, because he came up to me and started shaking my hand wildly, thanking me.
I just nodded and accepted.
"What is your name?" He asked me in pretty good English. Maybe he assumed I couldn't speak Korean because I didn't look Korean enough…
"Phoebe Park. Here's my number can you give it to the girl and have her contact me when she wakes up, I'd like to know she's okay."
"Yes, sure Miss Park. Thank you, again." The paramedic followed his crew back to the girl.
I looked back at mister creepy grumpy ass and said with a snippier attitude than I meant "Now, we can go."
He rolled his eyes and walked back to the car. He had this coolness about the way he walked with the kind of confidence that only someone of status could have carried. And that's when I heard what the crowd was whispering and noticed people snapping pictures. I ducked my head down, hiding my face as best I could.
"Is that Kim Taeyung?"
"The heir to the Kim Group?"
"He's so hot."
"Who's that girl?"
"Is that his new girlfriend?"
"She's gorgeous, do you think she's some kind of model?"
"She's so lucky."
Model? Girlfriend? As if… I rolled my eyes and kept my head down.
Is he famous? I glance at the man walking in front of me. He was definitely one of the best-looking men I've ever laid eyes on. He was tall. His hair was a beautiful shade of black that shined in the early morning sunlight. He wore a black hoodie, and black jeans. But I didn't notice anything else. Nothing famously familiar about him.
Maybe he was a Korean celebrity?
Either way they can keep him. I'm not interested in boys. Or dating period.
We got back in the car. And at first our drive started with the same silence I left in, but that didn't last long, he broke it when he asked, "Why did you get out of the car and make all that effort to try and save that girls life?"
"Why not?" I returned with a double question.
"Because it's a waste of time. She'll die anyways one day. We all do." He sounded so morbid, it was depressing.
'We AlL Die oNe DaY.' I mocked his words in my mind.
"Yeah, but she won't die today. And really that's what counts." I answered with unshakeable determination.
The taxi driver just continued to drive, every now and then checking the review mirror.
I wonder if my Abeoji noticed I was missing yet? If he's even tried to find or even cares that I'm gone.
I shouldn't even care. He's nothing but a drunk abusive piece of shit anyways. I was mad at myself for even letting him occupy space in my new life with thoughts of him.
We arrived at a remarkable building with blue-tinted windows, surrounded by a neat green lawn and blooming flowers. The bright morning sky completed the view as people moved around campus. Ignoring their glances, and whispers, I quietly took in my new school.
My new home.
I can't believe this is my new school.
My new life.
A smile stretched across my face so big it hurt.
"Admission's is straight back there. You can leave now. I have to go to the other side of campus."
Why is he so darn rude for no reason? I didn't even ask. It was my cab he climbed in anyways.
No one was even talking to him.
"See you around." I scoffed and quickly left the car, slamming the door shut using a little more unnecessary force than I intended. With my two luggage cases and my duffle bag I made my way to admission.
"Seouldaehaggyoe osin geos eul hwan yeonghabnida." (Welcome to Seoul National University.)