Behind The Scene

University, a place where most people end up going to at one point in their life. And as an exemplary student, here she is, waking up for the 67th time this year in order to attend her four classes of the day.

Arya, the eldest of four children whose parents immigrated from India all the way to Canada, is a second-year student majoring in Fashion Design at the Ryerson University School of Fashion in Toronto.

Now you are probably asking yourself, what could be so interesting about such a normal woman? Well, nothing... yet.

Please don't leave! I promise it will get more interesting very soon. But for now, let's go back to our main character, who is going through her numerous emails where Nigerian princes are fighting with the confirmation letter from the Seoul National University and so-called free cars in order to get her attention and her almost non-existent money. People really have nothing to do with their lives.

Disappointed by humanity once again, Arya gets up, puts her computer to sleep, and goes to the-

"Wait, what do you mean, a confirmation letter from SNU ??"

Going back to her seat at light speed, she turns her computer back on and makes her way to her inbox, where the mail is still waiting for her. Tossing and turning on her chair, she has been staring at the sesame for about five minutes straight, wondering if it could be a scam. It is only when she realizes that she could be late for class if she keeps on wandering like that that she decides to open the email and...

Well, having never received an acceptance letter myself, I wouldn't be able to tell you what was written in it, and Arya herself, not knowing how to react, I wouldn't be able to tell you what she felt either.

But next thing we know, she is shedding tears as if her pet flower had just bloomed while running around her whole room until she runs out of breath. While gasping for air and looking for some water, she takes a look at her watch.

"Damn 7.50 a.m."

The only way for her to make it in time now would be to run, hoping she'd catch the bus before it'd be too late. And well, that's what she does. She reaches the stop at the same time her bus to the university arrives, her only thought being the mail for her exchange program..

We are now on March 10th, 2022, and the life of Arya is about to change forever.

Wait, the chapter isn't over; where are you going ?

So, as I previously stated, Arya's life is about to change forever, but first she must get through her day at university as well as the three months that follow. Indeed, the exchange program is a third-year project that will last for a whole year and is on a work-study basis. Meaning she will have a week of school for a week of internship for the first semester and then three months of classes for three months of internship on the second one. Nobody knows yet where the internship will take place, but it is now the brunette's last worry. How will she tell her parents that in about five months she will fly away to a country they've probably never heard of before ? They were already mad at her for not majoring in International Business, what will it be now ?

Listening with a busy ear to what her Design's teacher is saying, she is going through thousands of ways to break the news to her family, not finding the perfect one. It is only when her day ends that she realizes that maybe she should only forward the mail, praying that her father will be the one to open it. Not that her mother wouldn't understand, but... Nah, she probably wouldn't understand. However, even if her father chastises her, she knows that, in the end, he would not forbid it. Thus, as soon as she reaches home, she rushes to her desk, opens her computer for the tenth time that day, and clicks on the subject of all of her thoughts. Not giving herself a second to overthink, she forwards the mail to her parents' email address and closes her PC in denial of what she has just done.

"They're going to kill me"

It is already 7 p.m. and there is still no message from either her mom or her dad, and she is not going to lie; it worries her more than any call from them could. She has been trying to focus on the exam she has on Monday for the past few hours in vain and has finally decided to take a break for the day. Tomorrow is Saturday anyway, so she will have plenty of time for her revision then since she is already done with most of her assignments.

Jumping on her bed, she buries her head in the pillow, trying not to scream out all of the emotions of the day—a real rollercoaster, as people say. And to say it is only the beginning of the journey already tires her. But this exchange program has been her dream since her early high school years, and she is not going to let anything ruin it for her, or at least she will try to...

Her delusional mind already wandering in the streets of Hongdae, hand in hand with Kevin Moon, she slowly falls asleep, tired by all the events of the day.

It is only at 6 a.m. the next day that her loud ringtone wakes her up. On the blue screen, the contact name she has been scared to see : "Das Vater".

Panicking for a second, she reaches for her phone and presses the button to answer, her hands slightly shaking from the anxiety that is making its way into her mind.

" - Hello ?

- Arya Moon Pandit, what is the meaning of all of this ?

- I am fine, what about you ?

- Now is not the time to joke around my daughter... but I am fine, thank you for asking."

She lets out a sigh, relieved to see that her father is not genuinely mad.

"- Listen dad, this is a once in a lifetime experience, the opportunity won't come back, and you know that this is my dream..."

Instead of an answer, she hears the voice of her mom in the background, not catching the two sentences in Hindi she shouted to her father. Finally, a sigh can be heard before her dad answers again.

"- We will talk more about it when you come home... But you can send the documents they are asking for, don't miss the deadline.

- Thank you, I promise I will make you proud ! she almost screams, overjoyed by what she just heard

- Yeah sure whatever, I have to go to work, good night"

She smiles at her and her dad's inside joke before hanging up.

It is now with a much lighter head that she gets up off the bed to take a shower.

5 months later

It is after quite a long shower that Arya finally goes out of the bathroom, all freshened up. She couldn't get any sleep last night because of the stress and excitement; today was the day she'd finally take off for South Korea!

The journey up to that day has already been a whole adventure on its own. Between the ticket, which ended up being a headache to buy, and the almost-cancellation of the exchange because of North Korea's missile test, she almost gave up multiple times. But the will to reach her goal had always been stronger, and here she is, checking for the fifth last time if she hadn't forgotten anything.

It is after almost ten minutes of zoning out that she finally makes her way out of her condo to the tram stops that would take her straight to the airport.

She arrives at least four hours before the ten-hour flight, as requested by the reservation messages she received when purchasing the ticket. Once all the paperwork is done and her luggage is checked in, she makes her way to the boarding gate. However, reality dawns on her only as she steps onto the plane :

We are now on August 10th, 2022, and the life of Arya is about to change forever.

Hello everyone and welcome back to this fanfiction ! 

Here is the first chapter, quite short I'll give you that. But understand that this is a set up chapter and that the following ones will be longer. 

Have a nice day and see you on the next chapter !