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btsinwonderland · 7 years ago

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Coffee & Wine - Ch. 3

An Exo Story...

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It hung from the mahogany door on a hook. She gaped at it with the utmost surprise. The sun was streaming in from the window. She looked over at her father, his skin was glistening with a freshly shaven face. She had gone to the bathroom to clean off the razor and when she returned saw this delivered to their hospital room.

It was neatly zipped up in a high quality leather suit bag. The hangar was the colour of rosewood with a golden hook gleaming pointedly at her. She approached the bag carefully. With one hesitating hand in the air, she advanced. She looked around before touching it, wondering for the hundredth time if it was a mistake.

It felt cool to the touch and oh so smooth. There were patterns embedded in the leather. She ran her hands over the zipper that was sewn expertly down the middle. Her hand felt each and every bump as she gripped the top. In one satisfyingly sweep she unzipped the bag with zero hitches. She gasped when she saw it, even though she had already guessed what it was.

A pleated skirt hung at eye level with a checkered print of blue and gray. It smelled subtly of jasmine and vanilla when she leaned in. The skirt was soft and heavier than she expected. It had multiple layers sewn in immaculately with four silver buttons along the side. The spherical buttons felt smooth beneath her fingers with the famous insignia pressed onto the middle. She lifted the inside of the skirt to and noticed a small scroll fall onto the floor. She unrolled the seemingly strange message and saw the most beautiful calligraphy.

The note read:

Mina Lee,

You have been graciously admitted to the honourable Exodus Academy.

May your new clothes transcend you into the realm of impossibility, where everything and anything is possible.

Congratulations and welcome,

Song Bin

Mina exhaled loudly at the note. The signature of the famous president looked as though it was stock stamped while the letter itself was a print. Though the quality of the whole thing was more magnificent than anything she had ever held.

“He seriously enrolled me into Exodus Academy? Of all the schools…” She sighed and set the note on the table beside her father.

She put her head in her hands and panicked internally.

It was then the door opened and an old woman walked in. Mina smiled at her. “Hi Mrs. Choi, how are you doing today?”

The woman smiled warmly at Mina and then rustled through her larger than life purse. She pulled out a tin container and handed it to Mina. “I made extra helpings this time, for you. You’ve been spending all your days and nights here for the last week, someone needs to feed you right!”

Mina felt tears sting her eyes but she held them back .”Th-thank you so much Mrs. Choi, I don’t know what to say…”

Mrs. Choi walked over to the bed on the other side of the room and waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Just say you’ll eat it and start taking care of yourself. Now, how’s my dear boy,” she said as she leaned into the bed where another man lay.

There laid her son. A man in his sixties. Mina had met Mrs. Choi a couple days after she had settled in with her father. She had come to learn that Mrs. Choi had been visiting her son in that room for the past five years. He had no wife or children, it was just his mother, Mrs. Choi that made the time. Mina wondered how he had ended up there but would never ask Mrs. Choi herself.

Mina saw her lean into her son’s bed and stroke his head gently. No matter how many years had passed Mina saw the heaviness in Mrs. Choi’s eyes. She then grabbed a paperback book from her enormous bag and plopped it onto his side table.

“Nothing like a good reading to stimulate your senses eh Yoon?”

“Oh that’s a good idea Mrs. Choi, are you reading him a favourite childhood story or something?”

She snorted as a shadow fell over her eyes. “Of course not, I’m reading the latest book in my series, this one is called, ‘The Fire Lingers’.”

She waved the book at Mina and she saw the cover which showed a woman entrapped in the arms of a glistening man. Her dress was almost entirely ripped open except for carefully placed pieces and they were engulfed in red and yellow flames. Mina held her shock inside.

Mrs. Choi shifted her gaze from Mina’s wide eyes and looked at the door from which hung the half open leather suit covering. The pleated skirt was exposed and a white silken blouse could be found peeking through the top. Before Mina could explain, Mrs. Choi leapt up like she was half her age and ran to the door.

“Is this what I think it is?”

Mina looked at the ground and shifted in her chair. “Um, I think so.”

“My lord child! What in all heavens did your father do to get this to happen? Exodus Academy! My lord! I have never seen a uniform up close before,” she said as she grabbed it from the hook.

Mina was about to protest and talk about returning it when Mrs. Choi twirled it around with glee. The smile on her face was so precious Mina chose to remain silent.

“Go put this on, I need to see! Mina, if you graduate from this college then you will get anything you desire! Don’t pray for the lottery any longer, you’ve won!”

Mina could not recall the last time she had even bought a lottery ticket but she nodded just the same. Whatever hopes she had of declining Mr. Shin’s offer vanished with each exclamation of Mrs. Choi. She was pushed into the bathroom with the outfit thrust upon her. Mrs. Choi shut the door and Mina was left holding the immaculate outfit hoping not to get it dirty with her less than elite hands.

The blouse felt like a silken dream when she put it on. The buttons carried weight that only confirmed her suspicions about whether or not it was true silver. She climbed into the skirt and tucked the shirt in the way she saw it worn on television. The jacket was comfortably thick and slipped over her shoulders perfectly. Soft black socks went over her knees and she hoped the hospital floor was well swept. Mina resisted the urge to look in the mirror and clamped her eyes shut when she opened the door.

Mrs. Choi leapt with joy and pulled Mina toward her. “Child you look beautiful. Isn't it true what they say about clothes? One second you were a nobody like me and look at you now!”

Mina blushed and shook her head. “Clothes don't make me anybody, I'll always be a nobody…”

“Tsk tsk Mina, new clothes mean a new attitude is in order. You best fit that outfit not just with your body, but with your mind as well.”

She pushed Mina towards the bathroom mirror and made her look at the reflection. Mrs. Choi took one side of Mina's hair and tucked it behind her ear. Mina Looked at herself and marvelled at the difference. She barely recognized the girl looking back at her.

Mrs. Choi squeezed her shoulders and gave her a smile which she saw from the mirror. “Now what about those shoes!” Mrs. Choi scurried around the room like a bloodhound until she ecstatically pulled out a brown box from the shelf on the wall. Mina had not even noticed it.

She hurried to a long table that sat under the one window they had. Mina crept over to see what she was doing. Mrs. Choi pulled out a fruit peeling knife from her pocket and cut the tape. From the box emerged a leather case with a golden clasp. Mrs. Choi and Mina looked at each other. Mrs. Choi clicked the clasp and opened the box to reveal a beautiful pair of shining black shoes. They felt sturdy in the hands and had a small elevated heel, just enough to feel dressed up but not enough to feel clumsy. The inside was soft and cushioned well on all sides for comfortable mobility. Mina embarrassedly babbled when Mrs. Choi bent down to put them on her.

“Hush! I used to do this for my boy all the time, please let me do it.”

Mina stopped protesting at that and allowed Mrs. Choi to put the shoes one her. She climbed into the last one and it slipped on like a glove. How had they known her size? She shook her head and wondered if they knew everything. She helped Mrs. Choi get up and walked around the room. The shoes were so comfortable and fit like a dream.

“Oh Mina dear, you look lovely. There is no boy out there that can resist you now! You have opened your world up to an entire sea of opportunity!” She said and laughed happily.

They spent the next hour talking. Mostly it was Mrs. Choi giving Mina her humble advice on dealing with the rich. Mina listened intently and tried to contain the anxiety in her stomach. When Mrs. Choi left for the day, Mina changed back into her regular clothes and sat beside her father. She rested her head by his arm and held it.

“What have you gotten me into hmm? All this trouble when me and you could be eating kettle corn right now.” She felt the coolness of his hand and held it against her face. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. She wiped away the drops that fell on her father’s hand. With a sob she put her forehead to the palm of his hand. “I promise I will do my best and make you proud. Whatever it is you wanted, I will do it, just please come back to me.”

She fell asleep with her head resting on her father’s hand and tears in her eyes.

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