Taxi Mishap
“Mama, I’ve arrived in Korea in one piece. Now all I need to do is get a taxi to CUBE Entertainment and they’ll show me my dorm.” Minnie nattered away in Thai, as Koreans bustled past in the midst of rush hour.
With a few more reassuring sentences between the two, Minnie had finally got off the phone with her mum as she breathed in the South Korean crisp air while the beeps of endless taxis drove past and the scent of street food wafted through the busy city of Seoul.
Grabbing securely onto her luggage, Minnie weaved her way through the tall crowd-waving her hand desperately for a taxi driver to stop, probably looking like the most pathetic and naive teenager.
Luckily for her, a taxi driver was kind enough to stop and through an awkward conversation consisting of broken Korean and English, Minnie was settled into the taxi and about to leave for CUBE Entertainment.
Just as Minnie sighed in relief at the easiness of the task, the taxi was stopped by a girl who was panting heavily, probably trying to get on the same taxi.
Walking over to the driver’s side, the repetition of a broken Korean conversation entailed before the doe-eyed girl climbed into the car seat next to Minnie, the aroma of rich coffee invading Minnie’s nostrils.
The taxi hummed to life as the girl turned to Minnie, clearly younger than herself with the telltale signs of her adorable eyes, which had a cheeky twinkle of chaos, as she shook her hands with Minnie and presumably tried to introduce herself in Korean.
Minnie, knowing the very basics of Korean could decipher that the girl was called Yuqi and she said hi.
Nodding politely, Minnie mustered up the courage to say in English “Sorry I don’t really know Korean. I’m from Thailand but it’s nice to meet you, I’m Minnie.”
Yuqi smiled brightly as she sighed happily “Thank god, I’m still polishing my Korean skills.I’m Yuqi and I’m from China”
The girls giggled among themselves, as the intimidatingly beautiful roads of Korea blurred in an artistic swirl of rosy pinks, blistering billboards while birds hummed a sweet symphony.
Minnie inhaled the abundant scent of cacao, waking her up from her sleepless trance as Yuqi stared at her, the puzzled expression making Minnie chuckle.
“Sorry, you don’t smell bad. It’s just the scent of coffee is waking me up.”
“No, it’s good. I work as a barista for extra money with my situation.”
Minnie frowned in confusion, “If you don’t mind, what is your situation?”
Their conversation was interrupted by the taxi driver, who was chatting at an alarming pace in Korean as the younger girl processed and translated to the Thai girl.
“Oh god, it looks like the roads to CUBE is crowded. We’ll have to walk.”
Thanking the driver, the girls unloaded Minnie’s organised luggage as they trudged down the busy pavements, cherry blossoms adding a tint to the beautiful spring sky and the wind whistling to a merry tune.
Soon enough, the girls were met with the staggering building of CUBE Entertainment.
Minnie stopped as Yuqi pulled out an ID card and presented it to the guard, who acknowledged the small Chinese girl in acknowledgement.
She was pulled by her hand into the building as Yuqi nodded at the receptionist, pulling her into the room, a sign saying TRAINEE MANAGEMENT.
Yuqi smiled at Minnie, “Welcome to the trainees, Minnie.”
Her hand yanked Minnie into the room filled with endless opportunities.