Jeontugi High School
Discoveries
The next morning, I woke up with Jimin in my arms. I smiled, not realizing that this would progress so quickly. I was starting to like him and he obviously liked me, but I was worried about meeting him in the ring. What if our bond was ripped apart in a fight? I sighed, uncertain of how far I should take this relationship.
My parents would definitely not be happy that I was attracted to another guy. It had never come up in a conversation, but I had heard my father’s comments about gays. He obviously didn’t approve of it and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be allowed in society. That would be another thing to research, if we decided to take this relationship further.
Getting out of bed, I noticed that my phone had fallen on the floor at some point. It was probably when I was making out with Jimin. Smiling again, I noticed four texts from Ricky. I opened the first one.
‘I did some digging and it seems that this control issue goes deeper than we thought. It’s true in the laws that 1; Kids are to do as their parents say and not act on their own.
2; Once a kid is 18, they can’t choose their own career path. It’s set out for them by their parents.’
I shook my head. This didn’t sound good, even though it was the same thing I had known as a kid. It was nothing new. Adults were controlling, and it came from the government controlling THEM. That was how it was going to be.
I opened the next text.
‘3; It seems that this has been going on since the 1990, the same year that Jeontugi was built. These rules also don’t leave Korea. It’s not worldwide. Why? I don’t know…I’ll keep digging.’
I sighed, opening the last text.
‘The last fact that I will subject you to is 4; our parents didn’t grow up this way. They were able to choose their own jobs, whom they wanted to be around, what they wanted to do, whom they wanted to marry, IF they wanted to marry or go to college, etc. it’s just in the last 23 years that these rules have been in place. I’ll dig some more tomorrow. I have homework…for the college my parents wanted me to go to. I’ll talk to you later. Goodnight, chingu.’
I looked at Jimin, who was still sleeping soundly. I was beginning to become worried about the future. What if this was the way things would stay for the rest of our lives?
Was there any way to change any of this? I couldn’t see one. Right now, I’m still going to work on correcting things here at school. The fights are the biggest problem, and we are already rebelling against that.
I glanced at my phone, then reached over to shake Jimin awake. We were about to be late for class! We needed to hurry.
*******************
Later that day, I walked over to the college with Jimin, Ren and Minhyun. Walking up to the counter, I smiled at the secretary. She smiled back, obviously flirting with me. I was used to it. Too bad I wasn’t interested in her. “I would like to enroll in some classes for next Spring. What’s my first step?”
The girl smiled at me, tucking her hair behind her ear. I guess I can use this to my advantage, interested or not. “Okay. Look through this book, and tell me what you would like to enroll in.” She handed me a course book. “Would the rest of you like to see one?”
Minhyun shook his head. “No, thank you.” He smiled at her, obviously flirting back from when she was flirting with me. I should have seen that coming. I rolled my eyes and began looking through the book. The first chapter was all about Jeontugi High and the ‘other school,’ Hyungyu High. That was the discouraged one, and that was covered in the chapter. It was a school for rebellious, bad students.
Sighing, I flipped to the courses. I noticed that there were several that had name written in for the courses in red ink and that meant that the parents had chosen the profession. That in itself was interesting. I noticed my name next to Engineering. That wasn’t what I wanted to do, though I already knew I was going to be assigned that occupation. I decided to test something.
Walking up to the counter, I nudged Minhyun out of my way. He could flirt another time. I smiled at the girl again, and she blushed. She probably thought I was flirting with her. I suppressed a smirk. “Hi, again. Do you have a signup sheet? I would like to change my course.” This was a test to see if I could do it.
The girl smiled, turning to her computer. “Are you sure you want to change it? That wouldn’t be an advised move.” She looked a little worried.
I cocked my head. “Is it allowed?”
She nodded. “It’s allowed, but I doubt your parents will be happy with it. I’ll do it, though.”
“Thank you,” I smiled politely. She beamed back at me, which I had been expecting.
“Thank you very much, miss.” I took my seat again, looking the paper over. I sighed, noticing that Minhyun had gone back to talk to her. Maybe he should keep it in his pants. I filled out the paper, selecting Criminal Justice as my major. Screw what my parents thought of it.
When I took the paper back up, she handed me another paper. It was a release form for the major my parents had picked out for me. I was smiling when we finally pulled Minhyun away from talking to the girl and walked out. I couldn’t wait to tell Ricky that I had just changed my major. He would be interested to know that I was able to do it.
My parents would definitely not be happy that I was attracted to another guy. It had never come up in a conversation, but I had heard my father’s comments about gays. He obviously didn’t approve of it and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be allowed in society. That would be another thing to research, if we decided to take this relationship further.
Getting out of bed, I noticed that my phone had fallen on the floor at some point. It was probably when I was making out with Jimin. Smiling again, I noticed four texts from Ricky. I opened the first one.
‘I did some digging and it seems that this control issue goes deeper than we thought. It’s true in the laws that 1; Kids are to do as their parents say and not act on their own.
2; Once a kid is 18, they can’t choose their own career path. It’s set out for them by their parents.’
I shook my head. This didn’t sound good, even though it was the same thing I had known as a kid. It was nothing new. Adults were controlling, and it came from the government controlling THEM. That was how it was going to be.
I opened the next text.
‘3; It seems that this has been going on since the 1990, the same year that Jeontugi was built. These rules also don’t leave Korea. It’s not worldwide. Why? I don’t know…I’ll keep digging.’
I sighed, opening the last text.
‘The last fact that I will subject you to is 4; our parents didn’t grow up this way. They were able to choose their own jobs, whom they wanted to be around, what they wanted to do, whom they wanted to marry, IF they wanted to marry or go to college, etc. it’s just in the last 23 years that these rules have been in place. I’ll dig some more tomorrow. I have homework…for the college my parents wanted me to go to. I’ll talk to you later. Goodnight, chingu.’
I looked at Jimin, who was still sleeping soundly. I was beginning to become worried about the future. What if this was the way things would stay for the rest of our lives?
Was there any way to change any of this? I couldn’t see one. Right now, I’m still going to work on correcting things here at school. The fights are the biggest problem, and we are already rebelling against that.
I glanced at my phone, then reached over to shake Jimin awake. We were about to be late for class! We needed to hurry.
*******************
Later that day, I walked over to the college with Jimin, Ren and Minhyun. Walking up to the counter, I smiled at the secretary. She smiled back, obviously flirting with me. I was used to it. Too bad I wasn’t interested in her. “I would like to enroll in some classes for next Spring. What’s my first step?”
The girl smiled at me, tucking her hair behind her ear. I guess I can use this to my advantage, interested or not. “Okay. Look through this book, and tell me what you would like to enroll in.” She handed me a course book. “Would the rest of you like to see one?”
Minhyun shook his head. “No, thank you.” He smiled at her, obviously flirting back from when she was flirting with me. I should have seen that coming. I rolled my eyes and began looking through the book. The first chapter was all about Jeontugi High and the ‘other school,’ Hyungyu High. That was the discouraged one, and that was covered in the chapter. It was a school for rebellious, bad students.
Sighing, I flipped to the courses. I noticed that there were several that had name written in for the courses in red ink and that meant that the parents had chosen the profession. That in itself was interesting. I noticed my name next to Engineering. That wasn’t what I wanted to do, though I already knew I was going to be assigned that occupation. I decided to test something.
Walking up to the counter, I nudged Minhyun out of my way. He could flirt another time. I smiled at the girl again, and she blushed. She probably thought I was flirting with her. I suppressed a smirk. “Hi, again. Do you have a signup sheet? I would like to change my course.” This was a test to see if I could do it.
The girl smiled, turning to her computer. “Are you sure you want to change it? That wouldn’t be an advised move.” She looked a little worried.
I cocked my head. “Is it allowed?”
She nodded. “It’s allowed, but I doubt your parents will be happy with it. I’ll do it, though.”
“Thank you,” I smiled politely. She beamed back at me, which I had been expecting.
“Thank you very much, miss.” I took my seat again, looking the paper over. I sighed, noticing that Minhyun had gone back to talk to her. Maybe he should keep it in his pants. I filled out the paper, selecting Criminal Justice as my major. Screw what my parents thought of it.
When I took the paper back up, she handed me another paper. It was a release form for the major my parents had picked out for me. I was smiling when we finally pulled Minhyun away from talking to the girl and walked out. I couldn’t wait to tell Ricky that I had just changed my major. He would be interested to know that I was able to do it.
