So it’s happened… I’ve finally succumed and, inspired by the many writers and the community here on tumblr, I’m going to continue my writing journey on here rather than aff, which I have grown to dislike so much I’ve abandoned all stories on there! I’ve already started moving them over here
What do I write: K-Pop Stories and Scenarios! Pretty much whatever I feel like and will gladly take suggestions! I will always leave my ask box open! I generally focus my stories around an OC and fit whoever I’m writing around them (with the exception of Dire, which is just all b.a.p goodness). I have written smut, but I’m not sure those parts of Dire will be making their way over here to tumblr. I will link the original AFF story for you if you so desire…)
Who do I write for: Well… whoever is flavour of the month, and I’m a glutton for punishment - I always have a million-and-one stories on the go! I belong to no single fandom as there’s too much good to just choose one (seriously, don’t make me) and on top of that no one knows how to Stay. In. Their. Lane!
I hope you join me here on The Seoul Writes and enjoy my stories! I can’t wait! 💕💕
Tabitha’s childhood was idyllic until she reached the age of nine. That was the first time she encountered him. Fast forward eight years and she found herself in a school half-way around the world - the elitist LKF Academy, and she sticks out like a sore thumb being the only non-Korean.
She knows that her guardian means well, somehow she has to navigate the last two years of high school whilst reconciling who she was with who she has become.
WARNING: There’s some grittiness in this story. Rape and abuse is aluded to. Read at your own risk!
Tabitha liked the library. It was vying with the rooftop as her favourite place in the school. It was well stocked, a decent English section, she noticed, desks dotted around, some tucked away and some out in the open. She settled herself at one of the more secluded desks, closeted away in a cozy corner, comfortably rempved from anyone’s prying eyes. She’d been stared at quite enough for one day. Pulling out her Maths textbook, she returned to the problem that she’d spent the majority of the class staring at. No – it still looked as impossible as ever.
‘You know how to pick your spots don’t you, Transfer!’ There was the deep voice again. She looked up and saw that Bang Yongguk was smiling at her, properly this time.
‘You’d want to be somewhere out of the way too if people were staring at you all day. And my name is Tabitha.’
‘I know that, ’ He said, sitting down then reaching over and lightly tugging a lock of her hair. ‘This doesn’t help with the blending in you know.’
‘If you know my name, why don’t you use it then!’
‘Have a problem with our nickname do we?’ He asked, flashing a grin in her direction.
‘Ha ha.’ Tabitha deadpanned. ‘Lovely chit chat and all, but I really just want you to help me with this maths problem, as you so kindly offered to do.’ Meet blunt with blunt she decided. To her great relief, Yongguk acquiesced without comment and after an hour, Tabitha was flying through the rest of the worksheet.
‘Thanks.’ Tabitha said quietly, as she began packing her things away.
‘Any time.’
‘Why did you bother to help me at all?’ Tabitha finally voiced what had been running through her head all afternoon. She just didn’t understand why this boy, who was clearly one of the popular ones judging from the looks people had been shooting her since Maths class, had decided to help her.
‘Because change is fun, you don’t fit the mould. It’s refreshing. He smirked. ‘And besides, I couldn’t leave a damsel in distress now, could I!’ He’d said the wrong thing. Every good feeling that Tabitha had been grasping onto during the day vanished in an instant and her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
‘I am not a damsel in distress.’ She snarled, and snatching her bag up, stalked away. Yongguk blew out a breath.
‘Well that escalated quickly.’ He murmured to himself. ‘No, she definitely doesn’t fit the mould.’
~/~
‘Shit, shit, shit, shit.’ Tabitha raged at herself once she let herself into her apartment. She dumped her bag on the floor, kicked off her shoes and flung herself onto the sofa, covering her face with her hands. What had happened to her? She was once so good at keeping a lid on them, yet now the smallest thing was setting her off. Yongguk’s choice of words had simply been a catalyst. She did not like being referred to as a damsel in distress. She knew she could take Bang Yongguk and have him on his back without breaking a sweat, but where she had once been able to brush off an insult, it now appeared that she took it as an insult to her existence.
‘Tabitha, you bloody idiot.’ She rolled over and allowed herself a small tantrum to work out her frustrations. On her first day she’d spoken to two people, both boys and apparently popular, and she’d manage to insult both of them without a second thought. What had happened to laying low and not pissing anyone off? And after Yongguk had bothered to help her. She let out a half-hearted scream of exasperation, then closed her eyes as if trying to shut the world out. She was so exhausted from the day that before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
~/~
She woke the next morning, still on the sofa, her uniform crumpled and running late. She barreled into her first class ten minutes behind schedule.
‘It’s only you’re second day and you’re already late. What’s you’re excuse?’ The teacher demanded as Tabitha hurried to a free seat.
‘Overslept. Sorry.’ She mumbled apologetically. She slumped in her chair and let the teachers voice wash over her. Today was already a bad day and she had a feeling that it was only going to get worse.
It did.
Yongguk sat next to her again in Maths, but this time made no attempt to speak to her. After his help yesterday, she found the work manageable but knew that it would only last until the topic changed. When the bell went, Yongguk exited the room without glancing at her. She watched him go, annoyed that her own pride stopped her from even attempting an apology. She rationalized this by arguing that she had done far worse things than this, and she’d never had to apologize for any of it... She was choosing to ignore the fact that the situation was completely different and no one here knew what she had been before coming here. Tabitha gathered her things together and made a move to leave the classroom, but before she could she felt someone grab her arm, holding her back.
‘Making moves on Yongguk already, Transfer?’ Someone sneered from behind her. Tabitha turned and looked at the speaker. Tabitha had no idea who she was, but she was impossibly pretty, she’d even go so far as to say there’s no way someone naturally looked that good.
‘Say what, now?’ Tabitha responded in perfect, clipped English.
‘Leave it, we know your Korean is fluent.’
‘U huh. And what else do you know about me…’
‘You’ll try it on with anything that moves, your family clearly don’t give a damn because they shipped you all the way over here, and you suck at maths. And that’s just for starters.’ Tabitha clenched the fist that was holding her school bag. It was the only reaction she gave to the girls words.
‘One out of three… I suppose we’ll have to settle for a low average.’ Her words meant little, she knew, but she was far too busy chanting to herself in her head, willing herself to maintain control. Do not fight. Do not fight. Do not fight.
‘Are you… are you calling me stupid.’ The girl looked horrified.
‘Well I wouldn’t really know. I’ve not a clue who you are!’ At this, the girls jaw dropped.
‘Don’t know who I am… how do you not know who I am.’ She looked at Tabitha as if she was an alien.
‘I only started yesterday, as I’m sure you remember.’
‘Well then you should know who your betters are by now, shouldn’t you!’
‘I’m sorry, my betters?’
‘You clearly don’t come from money.’ The girl sneered again. ‘I mean look at you.’
‘And you clearly have too much.’ Tabitha’s patience was ebbing away.
‘Too much?’
‘Yes, too much! So much you don’t know how to use it sensibly.’ Tabitha spat back, she was walking a fine line and she knew she was pushing too far. The confirmation was the palm cracking against her cheek. She had to give the girl credit here; she delivered one hell of a slap. Tabitha felt her lip split and tasted blood. The skin there had been broken so many times it didn’t take much to tear it open. She licked her lips, tasting the iron tang on her tongue, and rubbed her cheek absent-mindedly.
‘Is there anything else?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’ The girl stepped closer, bent down and hissed into Tabitha’s ear. ‘Stay. Away. From. Our. Boys.’ She was shoved roughly back as the girl left the classroom. Tabitha waited before followed her and stood in the hallway watching her retreating back.
‘I don’t know why they’re worried.’ She muttered under her breath. ‘No one’s going to look twice at me, not in that way. And I won’t let anyone that close anyway.’ With a sad smile, she hitched her bag onto her shoulder and headed for the library, she was far too late for her next class, and she might as well tackle this maths while she had a spare minute. Neither she, nor the group of girls, had noticed the figure hidden in a nearby alcove, and he’d heard nearly everything. Kim Jongin headed in the opposite direction, hands in his pockets and a devilish smile on his face.
Jongin always got his way. Always. He lorded over the school with unashamed confidence in his invincibility. Never had anyone dared brush him off or reject him, and here was the new girl, who as uttered barely two words to anyone, casting him aside having barely looked at him and walking away. No one had ever walked away from Kim Jongin. He was more annoyed about it than he would have been willing to admit, and went through the rest of the mornings lessons as if nothing was wrong, but inside he was seething. When lunch came, he found himself attacking his food as if it had caused him some great personal insult. His best friend, Sehun, the only one to have witnessed the exchange, couldn’t resist ribbing him about it.
‘What’s got your knickers in a twist?’ He asked, loudly, successfully drawing the group’s attention to Jongin. He smirked at the scowl that decorated Jongin’s face.
‘Ass.’ He muttered, then resumed the attack on his lunch.
‘What’s his beef?’ Luhan asked, one eyebrow raised. It was a rare, though not unheard of, event to see Jongin riled.
‘New transfer student. Not as easy as they usually are.’ Sehun summarized.
‘What, that new Tabitha girl?’ Joonmyun piped up from his end of the table. Sehun nodded, his grin widening as he heard Jongin’s chopsticks clatter onto the table. Jongin was glaring at Sehun now, the latter completely unfazed.
‘You went in for the kill early – was she so exotic you couldn’t help yourself?’ Joonmyun’s tone was so passé that a few member of the group had to work very hard to suppress the giggles that threatened to burst out. They all knew Jongin would settle for anything that moved, but preferably the more interesting ones, and the meeker the better.
‘I don’t think you’ll have much luck with her.’ Joonmyun continued. ‘Withdrawn, totally, but weak…’ he shook his head. ‘I think you’d have difficulty with that one!’
‘And you’re basing this on…?’ Luhan asked.
‘Gut instinct.’ Joonmyun shrugged. ‘She’s weird, and not in a comfortable way.’ He looked at Jongin, ‘I don’t think you should bother with her.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Jongin looked at Joonmyun.
‘There’s just something about her…’ Joonmyun tailed off. He wasn’t quite sure what he was trying to say, but there was something about her that simply wasn’t quite right. She was too quiet, too withdrawn. He sighed, noting the defiant look in Jongin’s eyes, the one he always had when he was determined to get his way. Despite Joonmyuns’s affinity for reading people his friends sure did like to ignore him an awful lot!
‘Sometimes I think you need a new form of entertainment.’ He said to Jongin. This time it was Jongin’s turn to shrug as he picked up his chopsticks.
~/~
Tabitha was eating lunch on the rooftop. She read the maps with care and had already established every accessible rooftop vantage point. It made her feel more at ease, being able to have a Birdseye view of her surroundings. She looked around, committing what she could to memory. She was feeling slightly better about her situation now that the initial introductions were out of the way. She had no doubt that everything her first few classes heard or suspected about her, and every bit of conjecture they could muster, was whipping around the student populace. If the whole school didn’t have at least ten theories as to her back ground by the end of lunch she’d eat her hat. If she’d had one.
That boy had riled her though, and her mind kept on returning to him. It was as if he’d expected her to be putty in his hands. Clearly he was used to girls being easy. She snorted to herself and rummaged around in her bag for her lunch box.
It was simple, just a sandwich, but on homemade bread. Max had been thorough and made sure that there was a healthy stock of baking supplies and a suitable oven in the kitchen, much to Tabitha’s relief. It had long been a running joke in her family that she was a stress-baker, turning to the kitchen when everything got a little too much. Her hair was also a long running joke, bringing mirth on all sides. She had no one to laugh with now, the jokes now lost along with her family. The sandwich tasted stale in her mouth and she returned the half-eaten lunch to the box. She’d been forcing herself to eat out of habit, but it was becoming an ever increasing struggle. Instead, she lay down on her stomach, head on her school bag, and watched the students and teachers milling about bellow her. She might, she thought, be able to find a way to survive her time here. She wouldn’t go so far as to say she’d enjoy it, but it was only fair that she gave it her best shot, and if there were any chances of someone from her past coming back to haunt her, she had no doubt that it would be her mother and purely to berate her for not making the most of the chance that had been so generously handed to her.
Tabitha liked watching, being able to literally have the upper hand. It eased her mind considerably, and by the time she made her way back down into reality ready for the next block of classes, she felt as is a little of her old self was resurfacing. Perhaps she wasn’t as much of a goner as she’d thought herself to be.
She found her way to her next class, only getting lost once on the way, and was one of the first students there. The teacher looked up as she entered the classroom.
‘Ah, you must be our new transfer.’ He said blandly. Tabitha nodded politely and made her way to the seat indicated. ‘Way to go, stating the obvious.’ She thought to herself.
The lesson was the worst so far. Maths… Tabitha hated maths. It wasn’t that she couldn’t work with numbers – she got them just fine – it was more that she was very used to using them for… other purposes, ones that couldn’t be applied in a high school maths class. She sighed and looked down at the equation on her piece of paper. She’d say it might as well be Greek, but she understood Greek, and Russian and even Chinese. Languages were fine, but Tabitha and Algebra, they were never going to be friends. She dared to look up at the rest of the class and saw them all scribbling away furiously, apparently quite comfortable with the task at hand. That was until the classroom door swung open with a resonating bang and a tall, imposing looking student walked in.
‘Late again, Mr. Bang.’ The teacher didn’t even look to see who the student was, apparently he already knew. ‘Well hurry up and sit down.’
‘There’s someone in my seat, Sir.’ The student’s voice was low and a strange combination of menacing and soothing all at the same time. Tabitha dared to look up and saw all faces in the class now turned in her direction. Seriously, he was talking about the seat she was in… there was one right next to her. She looked him dead in the eye, questioning him silently. The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.
‘No matter.’ He rumbled, and he slowly made his way to the empty seat beside her. She move her eyes from his as he moved closer, and no one took their eyes off her. In her peripheral vision she could see expressions of shock, many of the students appeared to be somewhat affronted by her actions. The boy slipped silently into the seat beside her and she only looked away when he dug around in his bag to find the relevant books.
‘Come on, back to work.’ The teacher drawled from the front, and reluctantly the class once again turned their attention to their worksheets. It made no more sense to Tabitha now than it had before the interruption and she scowled at the worksheet.
‘So Maths isn’t your thing, Transfer.’ The deep voiced boy beside her murmured. She shook her head, still looking at the equation.
‘Want help?’ again, Tabitha shook her head. ‘Why? You need it!’ Clearly he wasn’t one for politeness...
‘Your tardiness doesn’t fill me with confidence.’ Tabitha whispered back. The boy chuckled, a low rumble from deep within his chest. Tabitha caught herself thinking she liked the sound, though found it at odds with his more menacing aura.
‘I can afford to be late to the classes I don’t need to work for.’
‘The cockiness isn’t that reassuring either.’
‘How about you come over to mine later and I’ll show you how good I am at Maths.’ He whispered, close to her ear.
‘Or how about the library – because I don’t know the first thing about you!’
‘So you admit you need help!’
‘I never denied it.’
‘True.’ He leaned back in his seat. ‘Library it is then, Transfer. See you at four.’ The bell rang and he grabbed his books, bag and untouched worksheet. ‘And I’m Bang Youngguk, if you didn’t already know.’ And with another small twitch of the corner of his lips, he left the classroom leaving Tabitha staring after him. One thing she had noticed about the majority of the students here, they weren’t in the slightest bit embarrassed or ashamed of their arrogance, and she couldn’t work out if she liked it or not...
The first shift hadn’t been that bad, much to Haeun’s surprise. Lunch had been busy, understandably bringing a flurry of activity, but as it was a training shift, Haeun had been able to observe from the sidelines, much to her relief. Looking at the sheer quantity of people had her absolutely convinced this was going to be a one time affair. But the post-lunch lull was much more to Haeun’s liking. Mina, who’d been working at Cafe 17 ever since she’s started university (and she was now doing a PhD) talked Haeun through every drink on the menu. Being a quick learner, Haeun got to grips with everything without much trouble, and even took to the machine when the footfall increased as classes began to finish for the day. She found that, behind the coffee machine, one person removed from the rest of the student body, she was much calmer about the whole thing.
‘So, are you going to stick it out?’ Aaron, another long-time worker, asked her as she pulled off her apron at the end of her shift.
‘Yeah, I think so…’ Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise.
‘Jisoo didn’t think you’d last the shift!’ he said, and Haeun saw why Jisoo was friends with the guy - they were as frank as each other. She smiled at the thought.
‘Well, I nearly didn’t manage it… lunch was…’
‘It’s a riot, that’s for sure!’
‘It’s much quieter now, this I can deal with!’ Haeun said, looking around. IT was by no means quiet, there was a low hum of chatter, but it was pleasant, and not as overwhelming as it had been midday.
‘If you’d prefer to work the later shift then that would work in your favour!’ Aaron said. ‘General, the student body would prefer to be at the bar rather than here of an evening… but if you’d prefer to be here, it’s a win-win.’ Aaron cocked an eyebrow at Haeun, ‘If you’re going to stick it out…’
‘If you can give me a quieter shift, then I’ll stick it out as long as I can!’
‘Can I hold you to that?’ Aaron said, sticking out his hand. Haeun stared at it a second before answering.
‘Yes.’ She took Aaron’s hand and shook it. There was no turning back now.
‘Excellent. And I look forward to seeing your artistic skill transferred to your drinks!’ he said with a wink.
Haeun had a skip in her step on her way home and she was still smiling when she messaged Jisoo. Maybe working in Cafe 17 wouldn’t be so bad after all.. as long as there weren’t too many people…
-//-
Aaron assured her that he would, indeed, talk to the other Jisoo. He decided to drop a line to Seungcheol as well - there was no harm in it. Contrary to what he’d told Jisoo, he had quite deliberately offered Haeun the evening shift, knowing full well from Jisoo’s intel, that she’d accept. From everything Jisoo had told him, he reckoned that interacting with the boys was exactly what she needed. 13 boys who could give her the full range of emotions in one sitting… it was fool proof.
From what he’s seen, it was clear Haeun wasn’t incapable of human interaction, she’d just cut herself off from it. Why, Jisoo couldn’t tell him, not knowing herself - they’d met in Haeun’s first week at university. Whatever it was, befriending his rowdy crew of juniors and their friend could do no harm. What could possibly go wrong?
This was the point at which I died in the Hands Up m/v. B.A.P have done it again - but then I knew they would! I hope I get to see this live on day, it’s such an anthem!
Tabitha slid her bag off her shoulder and dumped it on the ground in the hallway of her new home. Had she not been so miserable she might have smiled at the thought Max had clearly put into choosing an apartment for her. Despite the misery of her situation, he was doing everything he could to make her as happy as possible. This was one of the many reasons she trusted him, and he’d never let her down, Not once. She slipped her boots off before advancing any further, then went off to explore, more as a matter of course than anything else. The apartment had a nice sized living room, a lovely kitchen that was just begging to be used, two bedrooms and a comfortably sized bathroom. All the furniture she needed was already here as were, she noticed, the few possessions that had made it through the events of the last few weeks. The cupboards in the kitchen were stocked, there was milk in the fridge and her school uniform was laid out on the sofa. It looked expensive, she’d hedge a bet on it being the most expensive outfit she had ever owned. That alone told her everything she needed to know about the school she was going to be attending from Monday. She hadn’t really listened to what Max had told her, looking at the uniform she realized it wouldn’t have mattered either way.
She spent the remainder of the day unpacking her suitcase and putting everything away. Her meagre wardrobe and very few personal items barely made themselves noticed in the expanse of the apartment. Tabitha supposed that she should go out and find some things to make the place more personal, but she didn’t feel much like embarking on such an adventure right now. It had been made clear that she could do anything she wanted with the place, and money was no object, but she was so unsure of who she was these days that she wasn’t sure where she’d begin. She had no idea what she liked anymore. She settled for the well rehearsed routine of making a cup of tea, and settled herself on the very comfortable sofa with her school information. She only had the weekend before school started and old habits die hard: preparation was king. She wanted to be as prepared as possible going into school on Monday, even though she knew there was nothing that could ever prepare herself for the reality of what lay ahead.
The more she read, the more apprehensive she became. Academically, she couldn’t have asked for a better school. It was instantly clear why Max had wanted to send her there. Subjects were taught with a depth that she had never experienced before and Tabitha has always loved learning - she hoped it was still the case. On the other hand, this was clearly a school for the rich and the influential. The pictures in the prospectus she was now flicking through showed picture after picture of immaculately groomed and beautiful students, looking impossibly… glossy… Tabitha knew that with her pale western skin, bright blue eyes and ginger hair she never going to fit in. She was the total opposite of the student population in every way imaginable. Most of these students, especially the girls, looked like they’d never done a hard days work or had anything to trouble their pretty little heads about. Tabitha had run around the globe doing her bit to protect and serve from an impossibly young age, protecting those she loved most, only to have them ripped away from her despite her every effort. She’d been left with more scars than she could count, physically and emotionally. Yes, Max had done what he thought best enrolling her in the Academy, she just had to hope that she was going to be able to handle it. Tabitha was pretty sure that it wasn’t going to take much to push her over the edge of the precipice she’d been staring down for the last few weeks. This was going to be make or break.
~/~
The remainder of the weekend passed in a blur of jet lag induced fog and before she had any time to even blink, Tabitha found herself in the Principles office first thing on Monday morning.
‘I’m delighted to welcome you to LKF Academy.’ He said. ‘The staff have been made aware of your history.’ Tabitha’s eyes widened at this, she had wanted as few people to know as possible, preferably no one. ‘That is to say, the unfortunate passing of your family.’ The Principle was quick to clarify, seeing her reaction. Tabitha let out a quiet breath and nodded. She took the timetable and map that was being offered to her and gave them a quick glance before turning her attention back to the Principle once more.
‘I will show you to your first class.’ Principle Lee said, getting to his feet. Tabitha followed suit. ‘I’ll give you a short tour on the way, so don’t worry about being late, and from then I’m sure that your new classmates will be more than helpful.’ His smile, though warm, did not quite meet his eyes as he said this. He knew as well as Tabitha that today was going to be anything but easy for her. Tabitha nodded again. She hadn’t uttered a word since she had greeted the Principle upon entering his office. She had spoken so little in the last few weeks she wasn’t sure if anything would come out if she tried! Tabitha had been so busy mulling this over on their walk through the school that hadn’t taken in anything the Principle was telling her and was surprised to find herself in front of a classroom door, the sign indicating it as 5/C. Principle Lee rapped sharply on the door and pushed it open, said something to the teacher inside and ushered Tabitha in. Every pair of eyes in the room immediately locked onto her.
‘We have a new transfer student starting today. Please make her feel at home.’ Principle Lee addressed the class before nodding to the teacher and departing. The room was so quite that Tabitha was quite sure that every student there could hear how rapidly her heart was beating. She was berating herself as, after everything she had done, it was ridiculous that she should be so nervous standing before a room of her peers. But she couldn’t bring herself to look at any of them. Suddenly the teacher’s voice broke through thoughts.
‘Would you like to say a few words to the class?’ Tabitha gulped and looked at the teacher, pretty sure that fear was now etched on her face. Great, just great she thought. ‘Your name perhaps?’ the teacher encouraged, and gave her the most genuine smile Tabitha had yet encountered. She took a breath, turned to the face the class.
‘I’m Tabitha Wells, from England. Please look after me.’ confident she had executed her Korean perfectly (she had been speaking it for years) she bowed, then followed the teacher’s whispered instruction to go and take the empty seat at the back of the class. She could hear the whispers as she moved through the classroom, but couldn’t be bothered to listen hard enough to work out what they were saying. A few turned to stare as she sat down, but Tabitha kept her head down. Hurdle number one, cleared, but this was only the beginning.
~/~
When the bell rang for the end of class, Tabitha wasn’t feeling any calmer. It had been an English class and, as she hadn’t really had to pay any attention, she had been studying the school map to try and work out where on earth she was and where she had to go next. She was counting her blessings that memorizing maps and building layouts had long become second nature to her. She packed up her bag with the rest of the class, but waited until the room was mostly empty before making her own way out.
‘Hey, new girl.’ She heard someone call as she exited the classroom. She turned to see a particularly tall boy smirking at her as he leaned casually against the wall. His tie hung loosely around his neck and his hair was artfully disheveled. Alarm bells were clamoring in Tabitha’s head just from looking at him. She didn’t say anything, but raised an eyebrow questioningly. The boy was not in the slightest bit deterred, his cocky smile growing ever larger.
‘You don’t speak much do you? What’s your next class? Need help finding it?’ There was nothing sincere in his tone.
‘I’ll find it just fine, thank you.’ It was the longest sentence Tabitha had spoken since she had said goodbye to Max at the airport. She turned and headed off in the direction she had worked out would take her to her Chemistry class. She heard the boy shout out to her, but she ignored it. Watching her retreating figure, Kim Jongin scowled.
Tabitha’s childhood was idyllic until she reached the age of nine. That was the first time she encountered him. Fast forward eight years and she found herself in a school half-way around the world - the elitist LKF Academy, and she sticks out like a sore thumb being the only non-Korean.
She knows that her guardian means well, somehow she has to navigate the last two years of high school whilst reconciling who she was with who she has become.
WARNING: There’s some grittiness in this story. Rape and abuse is aluded to. Read at your own risk!
Haeun was not a people person. Not that she didn’t like people! She loved her friends more than anything and would do anything for them - it was everyone else she wasn’t particularly fond of! Generally, she kept herself to herself and her nose firmly out of other people’s business. It hadn’t always been this way – she’d been much more sociable at high school, but distance makes the heart grow colder, or at least in her case. As it was, Haeun was very happy in her little bubble, studying fine art (a nicely solitary occupation) and spending quality time with the little family she had made for herself with those who knew her best.
Dating, again something she had done in high school, was now a long distant memory. Haeun wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it right anymore, never mind the fact that the pool of available candidates at Uni was… slim. So she simply didn’t bother! All in all, it led to a quiet, contained, existence and she was at ease with this, until the end of her first year. Every year, after the fourth years’ final art show, there was a second, more quiet affair, showcasing the art of the up-coming students the professors where most impressed with. Haeun was the only first year to be selected. Her piece, Broken Wings, a haunted mess of an image she had created as an allegory of the messy noise that she felt surrounded her. The art show had been pure torture – she’s had been expected to circulate, talk to people… she did her best, but ended up in tears in Jisoo’s dorm room later that night, completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people she had come into contact with. She had sworn to Jisoo that she never, ever, ever wanted to do that again. Jisoo, never one to beat around the bush, told her that, if she was going to be a successful artist, as she was well on track to be, she would have to network. Talking to people – and a lot of them – was going to be unavoidable.
Fast forward several months and here she was, back for her second year, as many of her friends headed into their third (the university-required art foundation course had delayed her entry by a year) and Jisoo had taken it upon herself to crack open Haeun’s shell and get her communication with the world. She had lobbied, on Haeun’s behalf, to get her a job at Café 17.
Café 17 was the student run café on campus. It was usually the business students who were running the show behind the scenes, but anyone could pick up a shift there. It didn’t make you great money, but that wasn’t the point of it. The place was the embodiment of community spirt. The drinks were cheap, the atmosphere friendly, and the staff – being students themselves – could always be counted on to provide comfort or advice, solicited or otherwise. Still. Too many people for Haeun. She’d been once, and that had been quite enough, thank you. But here she was, in front of the door, about to start her first shift.
‘What could possibly go wrong!’ Jisoo had said when Haeun had called to calm her nerves.
Cafe 17, named after the seventeen faculties at the university, is the most popular cafe on campus! Haeun, self-confessed geek with a people problem, is persuaded to take a couple of shifts there to improve her people skills! As if university wasn’t bad enough, it now has the potential to get a whole lot worse…
So it’s happened… I’ve finally succumed and, inspired by the many writers and the community here on tumblr, I’m going to continue my writing journey on here rather than aff, which I have grown to dislike so much I’ve abandoned all stories on there! I’ve already started moving them over here
What do I write: K-Pop Stories and Scenarios! Pretty much whatever I feel like and will gladly take suggestions! I will always leave my ask box open! I generally focus my stories around an OC and fit whoever I’m writing around them (with the exception of Dire, which is just all b.a.p goodness). I have written smut, but I’m not sure those parts of Dire will be making their way over here to tumblr. I will link the original AFF story for you if you so desire…)
Who do I write for: Well… whoever is flavour of the month, and I’m a glutton for punishment - I always have a million-and-one stories on the go! I belong to no single fandom as there’s too much good to just choose one (seriously, don’t make me) and on top of that no one knows how to Stay. In. Their. Lane!
I hope you join me here on The Seoul Writes and enjoy my stories! I can’t wait! 💕💕
