Chapter 1

A rainy day. Everyone is rushing to their destinations.

Must be nice to have a destination.

I looked around as I sat under the bus shed. Everyone was either on their phones, listening to music, or like these two high-schoolers next to me, kissing.

Rub it in my face yes.

People looked at them, tutting in disappointment. The girl kept pulling away, saying that she felt shy, but kept going after a few sweet words from the boy.

Cute.

Rolling my eyes in envy, I turned my attention back to the book I was reading. It was from Girl in Blue, my favourite author. She never failed to amaze me with her books. They were the perfect blend of powerful female MCs, comedy and romance.

I’d be so lucky to meet her one day.

For now, I’ll have to try to focus on this book and not on the two teenagers that were eating each other’s face.

I sound like a boomer. I’m twenty-one years old for crying out loud, I shouldn’t be this moody. My age-mates are all out, having the time of their lives. Well, not all of them. Some of them are married, some of them are mothers already.

What was I?

A girl from the Red Country in Blue Country, a different country with a different culture. In my country, we were taught that a woman’s share in life is to marry, have children and live to please her family. She had no identity. She was someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s wife, someone’s mother. Nothing more.

It was sad, but it was reality.

Even me being in Blue Country, a liberal nation where women are not mere property, was not my will. My grandfather wished for me to do so.

“You will learn your place in life. You will find Seojun, beg him to accept an insolent and ungrateful wretch like you and you shall marry him. If you don’t, forget that you’re the only granddaughter of W.P. Corporation.”

I scoffed at the memory.

That’s right, I, Park Mina, granddaughter to the one and only Park Won-Shik, is in Blue Country to track down my “fiancé”, a bastard by the name of Kang Seojun.

Seojun, the bastard that used to bully me in high school. Seojun, the bastard that made my life a living hell for seven years straight. Seojun, who made it clear to my stupid grandfather that he wants money from him and my share of W.P. Corporation.

Of course, my grandfather doesn’t see it as a problem. My dad neither. Nor my brothers. Nor my aunts and cousins. How could they, they’ve accepted that as their lot in life.

I can’t.

I don’t have a problem marrying. Marriage is beautiful. Love is beautiful. My problem is being sentenced to a lifetime of suffering with a bastard that called me ugly and made me feel insecure. It was angering and humiliating. My family was enabling it, saying shit like “oh he likes you, boys only do that when they like you.”

If that’s the case, then I’m better off alone.

I knew that, but yet, here I was, in this country, following my grandfather’s orders. I feared losing my family over a trivial thing like this. I was loyal to them, even though the loyalty wasn’t mutual.

I sighed sadly. At the end of the day, I was the only granddaughter of the renowned Parks. Cool, composed, refined, these were words that defined me-

Smooch!

That’s it.

“Go suck face elsewhere for fuck’s sake!” I snapped.

They pulled away, glaring at me.

“How about you mind your own business you fucking hag?” retorted the boy.

“Joey, let’s go. She’s just lonely that’s all,” said the girl.

With that, they walked away, leaving me at the bus stop.

Another bus came and the remaining people got on, leaving me sitting there, book in hand.

Finally, peace.

I dived back into Girl in Blue’s latest masterpiece, smiling as I read. She’s so lucky, to be able to write such beautiful stuff.

The way she writes inspires me. It has inspired me a long time now. It felt like I could see her characters in my mind’s eye.

I closed the book and grabbed my things.

Time to draw.

Grabbing my things, I exited the bus stop and headed back to my apartment.

                                ©          

Done!

I smiled as I put together the collection of drawings from Girl in Blue’s latest book, “To Jaq”. Well, my artistic interpretation of the book at least.

Growing up, I was always interested in animation. I took a few courses with Grandpa’s blessings, even attending an Arts school. I was a prodigy, my teachers said I could do great things, that all I needed to do was go to Blue Country and intern with Kaim Studios.

Of course, Grandpa refused. A woman with a job other than homemaker? No, absolutely not. I wasn’t even allowed to wear certain clothes, for fear that I’d “bring shame to the family name”

I placed the pages in the relevant order and scanned them before placing them into a file. I then proceeded to open my Nettoon account where I then uploaded the final chapter.

As soon as I did, the comments started pouring in.

“Wow. The Fan in Blue doesn’t take long on updates.”

True, that’s mainly because all I have to do is look for a man that I don’t wish to find. If he finds me, that’s another thing.

“It would be so cool if you and Girl in Blue were to host a fan meet.”

I felt my cheeks burn. That would be wonderful indeed. It really would be so cool. To meet the author of my dreams.

I closed my laptop and headed to the shower, letting the warm water caress my skin and my thoughts caress my mind.

I wonder what she’s like, Girl in Blue. From the way she wrote, she definitely wasn’t from where I was (obviously). Even back home, the books I bought were censored. Content like hers would have definitely been censored.

Thanks to her, I had an extensive vocabulary of swears I could use if anyone tried me.

I discovered her books earlier this year when I happened to be browsing through a bookstore. At first, I was intrigued. How could a woman be on top in a man’s world?

Then, after the first book, it became a guilty pleasure of mine. I’d spend money on her books. I even dyed my hair blue. Of course, my family doesn’t know about that. My grandfather would have a stroke. So I’m always sure to cover my hair with a scarf or a bonnet whenever I have to video-call them, which is once a month.

It has been a year since I lived in Blue Country. I received a series of cultural shocks living here, but I learned to adapt. I’d never change.

I will find Seojun and leave this country, marry and settle down. It’s not what I want but I guess that’s my lot in life.

Little did I know that my life would be turned upside down.