YUN

rocky beginnings.

His mother dropped out of school and left home the day after her parents discovered her pregnancy. By then, her classmates figured it out as well, and her lofty social status crumbled around her. She moved in with her then-boyfriend, but the idealistic life with him that she had been imagining would never be realized. When their son was born, her boyfriend made certain that her surname was on the birth certificate instead of his. When she so much as hinted at getting married, he shut her down.[break][break]

She was left with the full responsibility of taking care of Min-su and doing housework while her boyfriend was absent for most of the day. He'd return late at night, if at all, often with the scent of alcohol masking the perfume lingering on his clothes. She clung to her idealistic hope despite how clearly he was cheating on her. Due to his absence during his waking hours, Min-su could not recognize his own father. The scarce times they were in the same room as one another, Min-su would cry, and his father would yell before quickly vacating their apartment.[break][break]

He was barely four years old when his father brought another woman home. The powder keg ignited, and Min-su hid in his room, cocooning himself in his blankets, while voices raised and glass shattered beyond the door. This went on for an hour before doors slammed and silence fell over the apartment. He eventually shuffled out of his room, dragging his blankets along with him. He found his mother sobbing in the bathroom. He said nothing as he wrapped the blankets around them both, pat her back, and hummed the lullaby she would sing when he cried.[break][break]

His father did not return until days after they had already packed up and moved out.[break][break]

His mother found a cheap one-room apartment that they could both squeeze into. It took her a few months to pick up the pieces again. During that time, Min-su stepped up and started doing what chores he could based on what he had seen his mother and people on TV do. Poorly, but he eventually figured out what he was doing. Eventually, their funds grew bare, and his mother was forced to seek out any work she could do, even if it meant leaving Min-su home alone.[break][break]

(Which was fine. He charmed all the ajumma in the building, and he would bounce around to different apartments when he got hungry or if he needed something.)[break][break]

He spent less time home alone once it came time to enroll in school. His mother managed to save up just enough money to buy his uniforms (after taking on extra shifts). Despite only being a first grader, he prepared his own lunch boxes and walked to school on his own. His mother was home less and less for work, and she usually spent her time asleep when she was home. Min-su had a better understanding of his mother's situation than others thought, and he never once complained about having to grow up too quickly.

burning incense.

Toward the end of the fourth grade, Min-su was called to the teacher's lounge. The atmosphere was heavy as he entered, grave faces worn by everyone. A woman and man he had never seen before approached too quickly, and Min-su immediately retreated from their hands. The vice principal came to his side and coaxed him over a seat before explaining who these people were.[break][break]

His grandparents.[break][break]

His mother had suddenly passed away after fainting at work. Her condition had been declining for the past few years due to stress and exhaustion. She had refused to go to the hospital whenever Min-su suggested it. The bills would be too expensive. He had been doing whatever he could to alleviate her stress, going as far as getting one of the neighbor ajumma to teach him how to cook so his mother would not have to worry about her meals. He had made her lunch boxes (and rushed them to her workplace for the day if she forgot it). He kept the apartment clean and did the laundry. It wasn't enough, even if it was all that was within his ability.[break][break]

Min-su cried his heart out for the first time.

seoul.

He had been living in Busan for the entirety of his childhood. His grandparents lived in Seoul, and he moved in with them, leaving behind everything he had known. Well, almost everything. His grandparents never wanted him to begin with, and their eagerness to take him in while in front of others was nothing more than a facade. They did the bare minimum to provide for him: he was given the room that used to belong to his mother (and had been turned into a storage room when she left), they paid for his new uniforms, and they enrolled him in school. Other than that, Min-su had to do everything himself. He cooked and cleaned for them, only this time someone was actually telling him to do it. He obeyed any order thrown his way. It wasn't out of any responsibility he felt as a grandchild; rather, it was out of the desire to not be left on his own.[break][break]

The fear of abandonment provided all the motivation necessary to work long hours for his grandparents and somehow manage to squeeze in all of his school work. Extra sleep was found in between classes, and he quickly gained a reputation for sleeping a lot (as well as being a pushover) at his new school.[break][break]

His saving grace during this time was the street cats he fed on the way to school and the stray dog living in an alley near his apartment building that he slowly earned the trust of. The only reason he was ever late getting home was that he spent just a little extra time with the strays. They didn't even realize that he smuggled a kitten into the apartment once to clean off its fleas.

freedom.

The abandonment he had worked so hard to avoid came after high school graduation. He was no longer the legal responsibility of his grandparents, but they were willing to let him stay as long as he went to the college of their choice for the degree of their choosing. Min-su refused, and he was promptly kicked out (after a lengthy one-sided argument). Familiarity comforted him as he found the cheapest apartment he could and searched for jobs. He started at the nearby 7-Eleven for the next year. He adopted a cat (or three), and he brought home the alley dog he had been taking care of for years so it could live out its golden years in comfort.[break][break]

He soon got a job at a pet store and quit his 7-Eleven job. He worked his way up until he was promoted to manager.[break][break]

For once, he was happy.[break][break]

Too bad it was short-lived. Thanks, Earth.