The next day, Seo Mi-Young woke up extra early. She had to make the call before heading for school.
"Birth certificate: check. Visa: check. Passport: check. Other legal documents: check". She stuffed all her things into her bag and rushed downstairs. She took Rebecca's phone and dialed the number on the flyer. She nervously twirled her hair round her finger as she waited.
"Hello", a female responded after the call went through. "Tsubasa Tech front desk, how may I help you?"
"Umm, hello. I urr ...", she was a bit confused since the woman said 'Tsubasa Tech'. "I'm calling to ask about the babysitting job."
"Oh. Well, then be here by 4.30 pm. Please don't be late;the Sir hates latecomers".
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you".
She breathed a sigh of relief as Rebecca gave her a thumbs up. Now, she just needed to get to school.
At the entrance of Ceylon High were two girls; one dark skinned and the other fairer.
"Naomi! MacKenzie! You're not going to believe this!"
"What?!", the two girls said as she met up with them.
"I'm... going... for a...", the bell interrupted.
"Crap. I forgot we're only seconds early. Run."
As they ran into the building, MacKenzie asked, "What were you saying, Mimi? That you had to go for a what?"
"Oh yeah. I have a job interview later today". Her friends stopped running and stared at her. Their smiles grew bigger as they threw themselves on her, squealing and screaming.
"What job is it?"
"Secretary? Waitress? Oh oh oh, maid~"
"Naomi, you pervert!"
She stood there and watched her friends argue over stupid things as usual. They were like her best friends from Korea, Jae and Hae Soo. Mischievous little things were they but they were reliable too. Naomi and MacKenzie were the first people to talk to her when she got to they're class. They managed to convince everyone that she was as good as she looked. Well, all but one...
"Annyeonghaseo, Korean Brat".
"Listen, Kim", Mi-Young said gently. "I really don't have the energy to deal with you right now so..."
"Aww. Did the poor Asian girl miss breakfast? Boo hoo", Kim said sarcastically as she batted her eyes. Her eyes redirected from Mi-Young's face to the gold pin in her hair. It had her surname embroidered on it with gems. Kim was jealous. "If you're going to wear designer, buy an original loser. What am I saying? Poor people can't buy designer".
"For your INFORMATION, it's not a fake", Naomi said barging in out of nowhere.
"Yeah, it's a family heirloom given to her by her grandmother. Custom made. You can't get designer more than that!", MacKenzie added.
Soon enough, Kim shifted the fight to them, completely ignoring Mi-Young's existence.
Kim noticed that she was walking away. 'I'm not done with you'. She stretched her leg and made her tripped. She fell flat on the ground and the class burst into laughter. "Aren't you going to say anything? Or did your mom give you another proverb for when people trip you?". The laughs got louder and Mi-Young was tearing up.
"What's going on here?", a male voice yelled out from the entrance of the class.
"Jason!", Kim said as she ran to the door.
"Yeah, hi Kimberly", he said as he scanned the room. He noticed Mi-Young on the ground and rushed to her help. Kim tried to stop him but failed pitifully.
"Are you okay?". Mi-Young looked up and blushed. His bright blue eyes met with her black ones as he stretched out his arm to help her up. "Um, yeah, I think". She reached out for his arm but missed somehow and was heading straight for the floor. He grabbed her before she did. "You can open your eyes now".
She got off the ground and bowed to thank him. Jason, a bit flustered, told her it was his job to help his fellow students. "I don't think I've seen you around before. You're the transfer student from Korea right? I'm Jason Dowell, it's a pleasure to meet you".
Mi-Young had heard about him from Naomi and Mac.
Jason Dowell:
Age 17, Second year. He was quite popular with the ladies owing to his good looks, grades and position, Student Council President. He's also Naomi's cousin.
Kim was staring at them with hatred and shock. Mi-Young deduced that Kim had a crush on him.
"Umm, hello?"
She snapped back into reality and noticed that he was unamused.
"Sorry. Lost in thought. I'm Seo Mi-Young and thanks again for helping me".
"You don't have to say it so many times. It's my job".
'Her voice is nice', he said to himself.
"So you're the Student Council President?"
"Yeah. If you have any questions, complaints or need help with anything, I'm in 2-C. Don't be scared to ask".
Kim could feel her blood boil as Jason smiled at her. He had never ignored her but when he saw Mi-Young, it all changed for some reason. Why was he behaving like that? She didn't have any answers for those questions but she knew that she was going to make Mi-Young's stay in England so miserable. So much that she'd cry to go back home.
"Jason!", Kim yalled. "Lessons are about to start".
"Oh you're right. Time flies by so fast. Anyway, I'll see you later Seo".
"My first names Mi-Young, y'know"
"So Koreans also have their last names first?"
"Yeah."
"Oh I..."
"CLASS STARTS IN A FEW MINUTES, JASON!", Kim yelled, again.
"Right. We'll talk later alright? Bye".
And just like that, he was gone.
Mi-Young moved to her seat, ready to start the day. What she didn't know was that she started a war.