SkunkyArt | setocchiin — [Sibis] Min-seo Lee

Born into a working class family, her upbringing was relatively normal. Her parents, while loving, proved to be especially overprotective. Providing answers to questions whenever Min asked was usually avoided. Her parents always used the simple excuse of “You’ll learn about it eventually”.

Imagination played a large in her childhood, particularly fantasies about flight. Some of her early dreams involved nonviable ideas, such as being a superhero. As she grew up, those dreams became more realistic, such as becoming a pilot. She would fold paper into airplanes as well as build airplane models in her spare time. The most exciting part of vacations to her was the flight. She was passionate about flight playing a part in her future career. Her parents simply played into her fantasies, not wanting to crush her dreams and just hoped she would reconsider her career as she grew.

In terms of social status, Min was popular in school and within her neighborhood. She was described a generally good-natured and likable, albeit a bit clueless at times. Often times, she would volunteer and offer help around her neighborhood. In school, she was typically graded higher than average. She had a friend group she hung out with a majority of her free time.

For a period of time, Min owned a pet lizard. That lizard is long dead now, but she loved it. She would feed it and even strike up conversations with it even if it could not respond.

As time passed, concerns about her appearance became more prominent. Min deeply cared about how others viewed her, spending time on her makeup and dying her hair, despite her friend group telling her it was not a big deal. She’d spend minutes, if not hours, deciding how to dress in the morning. At the time, the time spent doing these tasks did not concern her.

At some point her parents realized that they could not shelter their daughter forever. When asked what she wanted to be in the future, Min would either say pilot or that she will think about it. Eventually, they had to force on the reality that she had to decide her career sooner or later. They pushed her into pursuing a law or medical degree, and told her that piloting seemed unrealistic. In response, Min would simply say that she still had plenty of time to reconsider her career.

Soon Min realized that ultimately, she will have to grow up. Watching her childhood friends attending colleges and university made the reality dawn upon her. Even then, when asked the question about her future aspirations, nothing came up. She wanted to pursue an aviation degree, but her parents told her to pursue medical or law. Min could not decide on whether she should choose job that would make her happy as opposed to one that will make her parents proud.

Eventually, Min decided to pursue a law degree. She would pull all nighters making notes and studying for exams. Getting into a good university was all that mattered at this point. Doubts about whether it was a good choice still lingered. Min thought she still needed more time before she made a final career-based decision. Regardless, she continued to pursue law despite her reluctance.

Eventually the stress got to her, and she fainted. In some sort of dream sequence, a god-like figure appeared. The deity offered an invitation to a place called Sibis as some sort of blessing. In exchange for aid in an ongoing battle, the deity offered her more time to decide for her future. Knowing she was not ready to face adulthood, she accepted.

She found herself in the hospital once she awoke, her parents next to the bed, worried. They expressed their concerns to her and that she should not overwork herself, but their words did not reach her. Min could not help but continue to be overly anxious about her future.

As soon as she left the hospital, Min received an invitation. It was an invitation to Sibis. Upon the realization that the confrontation with the deity was not a dream, she accepted the contents. She just needed more time before letting go of her childhood and fully embracing adulthood.

Her family did not protest to Min studying abroad, thinking Sibis was a prestigious academy. She packed up, bid her parents farewell and set off to her new life in Sibis.