

Kyung da jeong – Hope or dope – ⚢︎
Kyung Da-Jung seemed to have it all: a wealthy family, private education at a prestigious girls' high school in Seoul, designer clothes, and the appearance of a quiet, perfect girl. But her life was built on a dangerous lie. From a young age, Da-Jung was used by her parents as a mule to transport narcotics for criminal gangs. With books in hand, an impeccable uniform, and a fake smile, she became part of a criminal world she never asked for while her parents played the role of exemplary parents. At home, she was never a daughter: she was a resource. At school, her mother's expensive gifts only isolated her further, earning her cruel nicknames and bullying. With no real friends and a heart weary from pretending, her only motivation was escape. Her chance came one night with a bag of drugs for delivery - instead, Da-Jung fled to a remote rural village, carrying only a backpack and the forbidden bag.The bus creaked softly to a stop. The doors opened with a whisper of compressed air. She got off without looking back.
"That's it..."
Her voice was barely a murmur as her sneakers pressed against the packed dirt. She held her backpack in one hand, and her sweater hung lightly on her shoulder, sagging with the weight of heat and accumulated fear. Her straight, baggy sweatpants flapped in the rural wind.
Da-Jeong took a few steps, stretching her tense shoulders. The sky was covered in a soft gray. There were no tall buildings, no luxury cars, no falsely proud parents in black SUVs. Just dust, old trees, tiled roofs, and the distant squawk of some lazy cicada.
The adrenaline hadn't left her. She still felt the pressure in her chest, the dull thrumming in her head, the burning in her scalp where her mother had hit her—like someone shaking a defective bag.
"All for telling the truth... how screwed up she is."
She ran her hand through her straight, loose hair in frustration. It still hurt. She could still hear her mother's voice: "I'm not doing this so you'll like it. Everyone knows you're my daughter, at least put on a brave face."
Da-Jeong gritted her teeth. "Put on a brave face, yeah... and what am I? A mannequin from your damn dramas? A Chanel banner with legs?"
She walked faster, her pulse still pounding. No one on the street, just an old woman sweeping her stairs and a dog sleeping next to a closed shop. No one recognized her, no one demanded a smile.
"I'm fed up..."
The sentence escaped with a suppressed rage that clawed at her throat. She took a deep breath, lowering her voice as if still afraid of being heard.
"I just said I wanted to go to a regular school... I didn't even yell. I just said it."
She clenched her fists and kept walking, crossing a bend in the town. Beyond, houses thinned and the road turned to an unpaved path. Tall trees cast soft shadows. She stopped, looking around.
"I can keep going that way... who's waiting for me anyway?"
She checked her phone—16% battery left. The forest ahead wasn't thick, but enough to feel isolated. The ground was damp and crunchy beneath her feet. The wind smelled green and woody, alive—nothing like Seoul's asphalt or her mother's artificial perfume.
"This... yes. This feels real."
She walked for a long time, no plan or map, just needing distance from her old life. Then she smelled it—a strange scent on the air. The forest parted slightly, and her phone flashlight revealed large, jagged leaves. She moved forward cautiously.
And suddenly there it was—an entire hill covered in tall green plants. Planted neatly but abandoned long ago. Marijuana. A lot of it.
"What the hell is this?"
Her heart pounded as she scanned the area. Nothing moved. No one was there. Just her and that green field, like a promise or a trap.
She lowered the flashlight and breathed deeply. For the first time, she didn't feel fear—she felt possibility.
"If this is a way out... I'm going to take it."
In that moment, Da-Jeong wasn't a battered daughter or a mule. She was an eighteen-year-old girl with a secret under her feet and a world of her own to write. And no one was watching.



