Chapter Two-Is School Really Worth It?

Chapter Two

     My alarm echos through my quiet room. I sigh and get up slowly.

     "Ugh.....it's fricking four in the morning," I yawn while stretching in my bed. In a huff, I get up and head to the shower. Now, you're probably wondering why I get up so early. I have a reason...a good reason. Two words. My mother. I go back to my room with my wet hair in my towel. I head to the kitchen and make breakfast for my mother. I turn on the tv so I wouldn't die of boredom.

     "This week forecast shows some sun for the first couple of days while the rest of the week will be snowing," the weather man says.

     "Great.....snow. Now I have to walk in that when I walk to school," I complain to myself. I finish making breakfast and head to my mother's room with her medication in my hand. Because of our money issue, I don't eat breakfast in order to save money.

     "Good morning, mom," I smile to her. She slowly opens her eyes and smiles back.

     "Good morning, honey."

     "I made you some breakfast," I say while sitting at the edge of her bed.

     "I know it's simple, but hopefully it's enough."

     "Anything you make is plenty for me."

     "I have to get going, but I have your medicine," I explain to her.

     "Oh, you can just leave it next to my bed. I'll take it when I'm finished," she smiles warmly at me. I nod and kiss her on her head.

     "I'll be back soon, mom," I say while hugging her.

     "Okay, sweetie. Have a good day at school and be safe," she smiles. I nod and leave her room.

     The small sun shines down on the cold city streets. Luckily school is close to my house, so I don't need to travel too far. I make my way down the snow-covered streets. My breath flies into the crisp winter air as the noisy cars pass me by. 

     "Hey! Wait up!" A voice says from behind. I turn to see my best friend, Sung Minseok.

"It's about time you showed up," I tease at him. Minseok has been my best friend for god knows how long. He's the reason school isn't total trash. Most importantly, he helps me get through my tough times when I need it most. You all are probably wondering what he looks like, right? Well, he's at least three heads taller than me, so he makes a lot of short jokes at me. Yeah, what a GREAT friend.

"So how's life going," he smiles.

"What do you think?" I ask sarcastically.

"Hey! You could at least be more optimistic, you know."

"I could.....BUT life kinda fucked me over a long time ago and it's kinda hard to get a good view on life," I explain.

     "Well that escalated quickly."

     Minseok and I giggle while we walk down the street. Finally, we arrive at school.

"And that's how my foot ended up in the toilet."

"I don't even know how to respond to that story," I laugh.

"Ugh! The poor girl is here," a voice complains from behind us. Oh great. Jang Seoyeon. Aka a total bitch and the most popular girl in school. She's the definition of a clichéd bitch role from a movie.

     "Get our of my way. I have important things to take care of unlike you two poor kids," she says while pushing us out of the way.

     "Wow.....who put a big stick up her ass?" I giggle. Minseok laughs along with me as we make our way to our classes. Fast forward to after school where Minseok and I usually hang out together. Ever since middle school, we always stayed after school at the library just to chill since I'm always busy helping my mother. I flop down next to Minseok with three heavy books.

     "I'm guessing you had a bad day," Minseok chuckles as I'm trying to catch my breath from carrying the books.

     "I always.....have a bad.....day," I pant. Minseok puts his earbuds in while I open my books.

     "Here. At least listen to SOME music as you work on homework," he smiles while handing me his other earbud. I sigh and put the earbud in.

     "Ugh! I have too much to do," I whine as I put my head on the textbook.

     "You'll be alright. You'll be done soon," he says while reading his book he had in his backpack.

     "You know...is my education really worth it?" I question while flipping through boring pages. He turns to me with a serious expression.

     "Come on now. School may suck ass now, BUT I assure you everything will be totally fine. Your mother would want you to continue your schooling," he explains. I lean back in my chair with my arms crossed.

     "I don't know, Minseok. Dropping out seems very tempting. I mean, I have to take care of my mother, pay the bills, go to school, and go to work. Speaking of work, I have to leave now or I'll be late," I explain to him as I pack my belongings in my backpack. He just nods and goes back to reading. I pick up my belongings and turn to leave. Before I leave, Minseok grabs my shoulder and turns me to him.

     "Look. I know life hasn't been nice to you. Not that, life has been giving you a hellish nightmare that you hope to wake up from," he begins saying.

     "Oh thanks that REALLY helps," I say sarcastically.

     "I'm not done, silly. You may be in a nightmare that seems like it will never end, but it's YOU who can change it to make it better. For starters...smile more. I haven't seen you genuinely smile since, oh I don't know, when we were little."

     Now that he mentions it, I don't remember when I actually smiled. Maybe to my mom, but...to be completely honest, I only put on a fake smile for the sake of my mom. I don't want her to worry in the condition she is in. I sigh and roll my eyes. Minseok keeps staring at me with his deep brown eyes.

     "I'm not letting you leave until you smile."

     "But I'm going to be late."

     "Doesn't matter."

     "Fine," I whine. I smile at him into his eyes. He gives a smirk.

     "It's about time," he laughs while messing up my hair. I smack his hand away.

     "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to go to," I glare while fixing my hair. He sits back down with his book and I leave school.

     I walk down the icy streets of Seoul. This is my cycle you could say. I actually look forward to my job after school. As for my weekend job...not so much. I work at a cute little bakery and a disgusting fast food joint. Take a guess of which job I like better. Anyways, I arrive at the bakery called "Sweet Seoul." It's cute from the moment you lay your eyes on it. The design from the outside is so colorful. Many pastel colors cover the whole building from head to toe. Luckily, I'm not late because of you know who. Speaking of Minseok, why did he do that little stunt before I left? My heart begins to race. Wow...I never felt this before. I feel my cheeks which are burning from embarrassment.

"What are you doing waiting there, (y/n)?"

The owner of the bakery, Kwan Jiyoo, snaps me back to reality. Kwan Jiyoo is a very sweet old lady who makes beautiful desserts that look like they come from the top bakeries in Seoul.

"I'm sorry, Jiyoo. I'll get ready now," I say while bowing to her.

"It's okay, my dear," she smile warmly to me. I make my way to the back and begin preparing the ingredients. My job in the bakery is to prep for the next day while working at the cashier here and there. Luckily, it's not too busy by the time my shift starts so I mainly make desserts. The reason I love is job is not only it's very relaxing, but because of Kwan Jiyoo. My mother use to work at this bakery before she became ill, so I knew Jiyoo since I was little. She helped me bake all sorts of desserts, so once I saw the opportunity for a job here, I took it immediately.

"(Y/n), why don't you work at the register for now? I'll take it from here," she says in her calm voice.

"Are you sure? I'm fine making the desserts."

"I'm positive. Go up to the register. You can have a little break since you've been at school all day."

I nod and thank her. I head to the register. Man, now that I notice, not a lot of people stop by during this hours. For the rest of my shift, I just stand by the register daydreaming and working when customers come in. Soon it's closing time.

"(Y/n), could you close up shop? I have to go an event soon and I'm afraid I don't have time to close up tonight."

"Of course!" I happily agree.

"Thank you so much! For all the trouble, take some desserts for you and your mother," she smiles.

"Thank you so much!" I smile. She waves goodbye and leaves me in the quiet shop. I begin locking up for the night when I hear the door from the front open. From the kitchen, I see a tall man's back. He's dressed in a long black coat with a red scarf around his neck.

"I'm sorry, sir. The bakery is closing," I explain. He turns around and removes the scarf around his face. Oh my god. It's him.

Hey guys! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far even though this is only the second part. School is gonna start soon for me so I might upload as much but I'll try! Anyways, hoped you enjoyed! Bye!