Present

LEE MYUNGHEE

The beach was always the prettiest in the middle of the night, so thought Lee Myunghee. She did this every year, as an escape for whenever she was tired of everything outside. She believed she needed to be strong like the waves, cascading to and fro, sometimes falling back into the ocean bed but rising again, stronger than the last time. She wanted to be like that.

Her head tilted up slowly, enjoying the sounds of silence as she sat on the hood of her dad's car, something she owned after his death. It was eerie at first, the car always reminded her of him, but nevertheless, the car was one of the million things she was beyond used to.

She laid back on the windshield, fingers bringing the lit cigarette closer to her lips as she took a big puff, taking her time to breathe out the nicotine.

No more was she the 10-year-old who would suffocate at the slightest mist of smoke, she herself had fallen into the clutches of the drug but nonetheless, who was there to stop her. Her father's abuse continued every day, she was a minor then, obviously she couldn't do much about the beatings she bared and the cusses she heard every day.

That was till she fled out, every time she came to the beach that was one solid memory she relived, her running away at the tender age of sixteen when she decided she had dealt enough. Only months later her father killed himself and all the property he owned belonged to her now, being the only legitimate heir.

A boring life to anyone who saw her from the outside but the girl had her ways, she knew who to let in and who to stay away from, one thing she learned after being raised by a single father.

She looked down at the cigarette that was almost done, reduced to ashes, with the last puff she dropped it, jumping out of the hood and stepping on the lit cigarette which soon got pushed below the sand.

Hopping into her car she drove throughout the night, mind not willing to go back home so quickly. She stopped by one of the convenience stores nearby, dropping into the familiar store. The friendly clerk, who she knew by the name of Jinae, smiled at her.

Myunghee walked past the little aisles, her height towering over most of the blocks. She stopped by the frozen zone where she went to pick an ice-cream. She walked towards the counter with the frozen treat alongside the money to be paid for the purchase.

"Did you manage to get the job?" Jinae asked her and the girl visibly sighed while sliding the packaged ice-cream on the counter.

"Nope, they said I was too young, that I needed to be at least 20," Myunghee informed and Jinae nods understanding the younger's words.

"Try again till you can, in a week my daughter will be coming back from university, she'll be helping me to search some jobs online, you're smart so you don't need to worry," Jinae told Myunghee, a smile adorning her face and the latter smiles in gratitude.

"See you tomorrow," Myunghee says to the much older woman before setting foot out of the convenience store. She eyed her car for a few seconds before shrugging, her house wasn't so far away and she didn't want to take trouble driving the vehicle again. Finally coming to the decision, she was gonna walk along with the few blocks.

As she walked down the peaceful, mostly empty streets of the town. She felt a sudden adrenaline rush, most likely because the ground below her feet vibrated in an unusual way for 3 in the morning.

She turned to look at the cause, all the while taking small bites of her cone ice-cream. She could see a few headlights coming her way but thankfully she was safe on the footpath. The headlights neared and a gush of air blew across her face.

As her mind deciphered the situations she could count the number of vehicles that drove past the roads in sonic speed. Around six heavy motorbikes in total. It wasn't so usual these days to see heavy-duty motorbikes in Seoul as most people drove cars, but she assumed it was probably a rat race for money.

She felt like she knew a certain biker but she didn't waste time thinking much about it. The sounds of the bikes died down after a bit and on her way she came across the usual pet store where she went almost every night.

She walked in, bowing at the male clerk there before going all the way to the one pet she came here to see. The grey Persian cat she always gawked at, this time while savoring the last few bites of the ice cream.

"Why don't you just adopt her already?" the clerk jokes, used to the young girl appearing at the store every day, staring at the cat for a few minutes in awe before leaving.

"I can't even raise myself, sir," she informs yet again.

The cat was used to her already and stayed unbothered at her appearance, simply licking her body in attempts to clean the fur.

Myunghee smiled, bowing to bid her byes to the clerk and walked out of the store to finally fit herself in the solitude of a home.

Unlike when her dad was alive, the house wasn't all the way gloomy as it was then, well lit in shades of orange, something she felt comfort in. She plopped herself on the couch where she did most of her thinking, her hands lifted the laptop that was on rest mode under the teapoy, switching it on and quickly surfing the internet for more jobs she could find for someone her age.

She was fairly skilled and wanted to work already, not wanting to live off all her dead dad earned. She came across a bunch of things, none of them giving her the thrill she wanted. Not foreseeing the adrenaline rush that was soon coming towards her.

TBC