How did she become a princess? Well,
basically she was not a princess of the country she was born and brought up in.
She was a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, but her father was the
descendant of Korean royalty and her mother was a descendant of the Vietnamese
royalty. That made her very much a princess. But basically her parents’
families were already officially no longer official monarchies of those two
countries, so basically she was very much a commoner. So she thought, “So why
do I have to still live as if I am a princess with all these royalty rules and
so on? Just because I'm their only child? And I am not allowed to even be with
any guy I want as it would compromise my status? I don't get it man. And this
will become one of the reasons why I was so happy yet so miserable in secondary
school”.
Her parents ran this international
TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) pharmaceutical company called Hanyuehua
Royal Pharmaceuticals (韩越华集团旗下的韩越华皇族制药)
which was listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the
Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and recently, the Singapore Stock Exchange, the
Korea Exchange, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange too. So coincidentally, she was
trained from young to be proficient in many languages, namely Chinese, Korean,
Vietnamese, Japanese, and English. She was taught the basics of TCM and
acupuncture, and also some basic martial arts skills.
Not wanting her to grow up under the
unnecessary limelight of media attention that would unnecessarily inflate her
ego, her parents sent her to Singapore under a different identity, Jam Huang Jiamin, to get a formal education in English
after many years of home schooling. Given the different environment and her lack
of ability to socialize and communicate effectively, she had quite a lot of
problems with her classmates. Struggling to survive academically didn't seem to
help much either, since her home school education was relatively geared towards
her parents' industry, which didn't involve a lot of complicated mathematics
and science.
There was this friend whom she
forged a friendship with. His name was Zoner Xavier Hugo Wonderwall (Chinese
name: 翁海风 / Weng Haifeng). He was Eurasian by descent, but very
much a Chinese Singaporean. He was friendly, nice, but quite silly at times. He
was the clown of the class, and did and said inappropriate things at times, so
he was not very well liked by his classmates. But to her, he was okay. He
helped her out a lot. Sometimes she could identify with him since she said
things she did not mean and people turned cold towards her. She thought, “I
don't know why. I think the Chinese idiom 言者无意，听者有心 pronounced as “Yan Zhe Wu Yi, Ting Zhe
You Xin” (the person doesn’t mean it, but the person listening thinks he does)
makes a lot of sense. Sometimes I wonder why they are so stupid. Why do they
have to be so sensitive and get angry with me when I don’t mean what they think
I mean. In some cases yes their anger is justified but most of the time I think
it’s not. Or is it just me? Well, he’s like that. So maybe that’s why we can
click. But the problem is, he likes really pretty girls. I have seen his eyes
glued on Noemi Suzunara, Coco Gao (nickname Coco Lee), Pandora Tran, and Chiaki
Asaki, and Shermie Pepper. Mostly on Noemi, since she is very much the key
focal point of attention in the class, having the looks, magnetic personality,
and the leadership role in the class she is assuming (class monitress)”.
He told Annabelle that she looked
similar to Yuko Oshima (大島優子) in AKB48, one of his favourite AKB
girls. She often thought, "Well, I don’t think Yuko is that pretty and I
don’t think he thinks I’m that attractive, since he doesn’t look at me with
that ‘craving’ look”. They were good friends. They shared homework. She taught
him Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. He taught her English, Cantonese, and some
basic Thai.
He could speak Chinese, but his Chinese was not strong, by her standards
especially since she was brought up in China, so it was not possible to
compare. However, compared to his other classmates who were Singaporeans and spoke
Chinese (whereby to her their Chinese was really bad), his Chinese was much
worse than theirs, considering that he also started out learning Chinese in
school. To her surprise he picked up Japanese relatively fast from her, though
not so much for Korean. When looking at him, she often thought to herself, “He’s
so weird, but so interesting. He may not know it, but he’s one of the reasons
why my school life is more bearable than it already should. Despite his flaws,
I still feel strong emotions for him. Emotions bordering on strong cravings,
which lead to weird dreams in my sleeping hours.”
During the second half of their Sec
3 year, she dreamt that she was a Japanese girl with special powers who was on
an undercover mission to meet Haifeng masquerading as an exchange student.
Coincidentally he told her he met a Japanese girl in a student exchange program
where Japanese students visited their school. In another dream that she had
when she went back to China right after the final exams, he was betrayed by his
classmates and handed over to evil forces by them and she went to rescue him. She
fought with the demon which possessed him, and eventually freed him. Then he
finished off the demon himself. After that, she teleported him to a Japanese
hot spring where she appeared naked in front of him, causing him to crave her
the way she wanted him to crave, and he hungrily entered her, consumed her,
pumped so much of his love into her (She thought, “Wow he actually wanted me so
badly? I didn’t know…I feel so desired and…loved”), became one with her, making
her his, drowning her in the pleasure which she had wanted for so long. When she
woke up from that dream, she was so happy she was smiling to herself from ear
to ear the whole morning. She was so happy she was very sure could die. But it
was just a dream. A really perfect dream. Well, what’s wrong with it being a
dream when it was so perfect and so real? It was real to her. It was everything
to her.
During that period when she was in China, she was told that she could not stay in Singapore
any longer. Because they were after her. The “they” her parents
were referring to was an enemy that they are always on the run from because of their
Royal Blood, which was not ordinary blood, but blood that had a special power.
Not every member of the family would have it, but she had it. She had the power
carried in the blood of both the Korean and the Vietnamese royal family, which she
believed were related to one of the Emperors of China. However, there were some
things they had to settle before she left, since they needed to make special
arrangements with the school for her to take the O Levels in China. Normally this could not be
done, but her family had their means. Because of this, she had problems with
keeping in contact with her project team members for a project they were
supposed to finish before the beginning of the school term. Without it, it
would affect her grade. The girls in her group were very frustrated with her
because of her absence and wanted her out of the group. When the school term
started, Haifeng heard about it and questioned them if they had checked with her
before wanting her out. And that was when he got into a big quarrel with his classmates,
turning all his classmates against him overnight. For the first two months when
she was still in China,
they taunted him, called him names everyday, without anyone to stand up for
him. She only got to know about it in mid-April of their Secondary 4 school
term when he told her. Eventually he made her his group member and did her work
for her to save her grades. She thanked him and gave him a hug. She arranged
for a dinner appointment with him at a Korean restaurant followed by Karaoke. They
sang many popular songs. However, there was this song that really resonated
with both their hearts as they sang it. It was a Japanese song sung by the
popular female pop group AKB48, which was called “Overtake”. The lyrics went
like this.
初めから 強い心なんて誰もが持っているわけじゃないんだ
|
Hajime
kara tsuyoi kokoro nante dare mo ga motteiru wake ja nainda
|
No
one is strong in their hearts in the very first instance.
|
細い枝も風に吹かれてしなやかに 逞しくなる
|
Hosoi
eda mo kaze ni fukarete shinayaka ni takumashikunaru
|
Even
thin branches grow firmer and stronger when blown by the wind.
|
もし君が悔しさに泣くのなら押し殺した声 隠さなくていい
|
Moshi
kimi ga kuyashisa ni naku no nara
oshikoroshita koe kakusanakuteii
|
If
you’re so pissed that you ended up crying, don’t hide the voice that you
suppressed.
|
どんな時も 自信と不安混ざり合って 夢見るんだ
|
Donna
toki mo jishin mo fuan mazariatte yume mirunda
|
Embrace
your dreams, even though you feel a mixture of confidence and insecurity
about it.
|
みんなが帰ったグラウンド残って練習をしてること 僕は知っているよ
|
Minna
ga kaetta ground nokotte renshu wo shiteru koto boku wa shitteiru yo
|
I know
that even after everyone else has gone home, you still stayed behind and
practice.
|
さあ 越えて行け!今 僕たちを・・・
|
Saa koete yuke! Ima boku tachi wo…
|
Now
it’s time for you to overtake us…
|
目指すのは まだまだ遠い場所だ
|
Mezasu no wa mada mada tooi basho da
|
The
goal you’re aiming for is still very far away.
|
同じ道を走る者を気にするな!
|
Onaji
michi wo hashiru mono wo ki ni suru na
|
Don’t
concern yourself with others who walk the same path as you.
|
前へ進め!
|
Mae
ni susume!
|
Just
move forward!
|
This was a song of encouragement,
especially since they were somehow lagging behind others in many areas such as
learning abilities and social skills, and they needed to put in more effort to
catch up with other people. The context of the song lyrics was about a slow
person practicing harder by herself for the singing performance after the other
performers have finished practicing and gone home so as to keep up with the
pace of other performing in the team. Even though they were not rehearsing for
a singing performance, the situation they were in was very similar to the
person being “encouraged” by the lyrics of the song. It was a song that gave them
strength, and hope, and the both of them
felt really happy when singing it. It gave them the strength to carry on with their
lives and strive to catch up with and overtake others, despite their weaknesses
and shortcomings.
There was another song, whereby the
lyrics actually illustrated how special they were to each other as friends, and
how they reached out to each other during their darkest moments. The name of
the song was “看得最遠的地方 (As Far as I Can See)” by Angela Chang. It was
a meaningful song that was about a friend who became her (the singer’s) pillar
of strength in times of need, which also described the nature of Annabelle’s
relationship with Zoner.
你是第一個發現我 越面無表情越是心裡難過
|
Ni
shi di yi ge fa xian wo yue mian wu
biao qing yue shi xin li nan guo
|
You’re
the first person to discover that the more expressionless my face is, it
means that I’m more upset.
|
所以當我不肯落淚的顫抖 你會心疼的抱我在胸口
|
Suo
yi dang wo be ken luo lei de zhan dou ni hui xin teng de bao wo de xiong kou
|
So
when I struggle to prevent my tears from falling, you would give me a
comforting embrace.
|
你比誰都還了解我 內心的渴望比表面來得多
|
Ni
bi shui dou hai liao jie wo nei xin de kewang bi biao mian lai de duo
|
You
understand better than anyone else that the cravings of my heart are more
than meets the eye.
|
所以當我跌斷翅膀的時候 你不扶我但陪我學忍痛
|
Suo yi dang wo die duan chipang de shihou ni bu
fu wo dan pei wo xue ren tong
|
So
when I fall down and hurt my wings, you helped me up and provided emotional
support while I endured the pain.
|
我要去看得最遠的地方 和你手舞足蹈聊夢想
|
Wo
yao qu kan
de zui yuan de di fang he ni shou wu zu dao liao meng xiang
|
I
want to go as far as I can see, and discuss our dreams passionately.
|
像從來沒有失過望受過傷 還相信敢飛就有天空那樣
|
Xiang
cong lai mei you shi guo wang shou guo shang
hai xiang xin gan fei jiu you tian kong na yang
|
I
still want to believe the sky’s the limit, and soar as if I was never
disappointed nor hurt before.
|
我要在看得最遠的地方 披第一道曙光在肩膀
|
Wo yao zai kan de zui yuan de di fang Pi di yi shu guang zai jian bang
|
I
want to go as far as I can see, and let my shoulders bask in the first ray of
the morning sunlight.
|
被潑過太冷的雨滴和雪花 更堅持微笑要暖得像太陽
|
Bei
po guo tai leng de yu di he xue hua
geng jianchi weixiao yao
nuan de xiang tai yang
|
Even
after being drenched in raindrops and snowflakes that are too cold, I will
still maintain a smile as warm as the sun.
|
Another
one of their favorite songs was “Brand New Day” by Indonesian girl group
“Cherry Belle”. They first heard this song when their Indonesian schoolmates
performed this song on stage and it really got to everyone. Listening to it was
like having one’s own personal cheer group when one was down, unlike other “emo”
songs that only talked about love and being heartbroken.
Jangan pernah kau merasa sendiri (Don’t ever feel
alone)
Jangan pernah kau berkecil hati (Don’t ever feel
discouraged)
Hilangkan semua kisah gelisah (Cast away your
anxieties)
Tunjukkan pada dunia kau bisa (Show the world you
can)
Coba sejenak kau renungkan ini (Just try thinking
about it for a second)
Langkahkan kaki dan mantapkan hati (Step aside and
pull yourself together)
Yakinlah semua kan baik saja (Rest assured that everything
is alright)
Jadikan hidupmu lebih indah (Make your life more
beautiful)
Someday you’ll find out that you are brighter than
the star
Just be strong, just be brave and be sure, yes you
can
Kaulah bintang hidupmu (You’re the star of your
life)
Lupakanlah semua yang lalu, kita sambut yang baru (Forget
everything in your past, and let’s welcome the new)
Janganlah kau ragu tuk maju, kejar semua impianmu (Don’t
hesitate to move forward and pursue all your dreams )
Hadapi semua rintangan, kuatkanlah tekadmu (Confront
all your obstacles, and strengthen your resolve)
Gapailah semua anganmu, yakinkanlah dirimu, it’s a
brand new day (Reach out for all your dreams, and rest assured, it’s a brand
new day)
After the whole session, she
passed him a gift. After the tearful farewell, she departed for China from Changi Airport.
The gift she had for him was a music
box which she got from the Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂) in Otaru City in Hokkaido
on a previous holiday, with a card saying “Thank you for being such a wonderful
friend, but I’m sorry we cannot stay in contact. I’ll see you again if we’re
destined to meet again”. The song was “Over the Rainbow”. She wondered if he would
like it. After that, she wasn’t going to contact him again. She was not even
supposed to contact him for her own safety. Not even by email or mobile phone. She
closed the email account that she used when contacting him. Her parents told me
that her association with him would endanger his life, so she had to severe all
ties with him for his own personal safety. She was very sad but she had no
choice. She cried on the plane home. Sometimes she wished she were dead, but she
was told that if she died, the power would die with her and all hope would be
lost for the world. That was quite a heavy responsibility for a 15-16 year old.
She looked at the passport she was using which gives her the identity of Jam
Huang Jiamin (黄嘉敏). Well, Jam Huang Jiamin was already dead. She has ceased to
exist. She was once again Annabelle Li Zijun, the princess of the already
dethroned royal family of Korea
and Vietnam
who carried a kind of power in her blood that could be used to save the world. That
was a power even her parents didn’t have. She didn’t even know what kind of
power it was. She heard that scientists were going to perform experiments on her.
She wondered what kind of experiments awaited her. She shuddered at the
thought. Would she be cut open or would strangely colored chemicals be pumped
into her body? The stress that she was going through earlier while sitting for
the year-end exams still paled before the stress she was experiencing while she thought about all these. Death could be the only way out, if she
didn’t have so many responsibilities, and if she didn’t have a kingdom to
revive, if any. “Can somebody else save the world instead of me?” she silently
wished. Of course, it was not as if she have a choice, right?
The worst was not over yet. In
fact, it was just about to begin. “Dear Haifeng, can you pray for my safety?”
she silently wished.
To be continued... (Available soon for download)
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