CHAPTER III

THE FIRST STEP

The flight to Korea was a long one; as it would take Tiffany around 11 hours to reach Incheon International Airport from LAX. My first plane trip and I’m already headed to the other side of the globe, she thought. She sat at her seat near the window and stared at the clouds, filled with anticipation and excitement, with a slight of fear and worry. She was excited to finally start her journey to reach her dream. She was sure that she had already dealt with the hardest part of her journey. Yes; getting her father’s permission was the hardest part. She remembered how shocked her father was that morning when she suddenly dropped the bomb.

“I hope this is not some kind of a joke.” He said as he put his cup of coffee into the sink.

“It’s not.” She could feel her face was hot and tears were filling her eyes. “I thought about it and I decided that I’m going to pursue this dream.” Her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid it would bursts out from her chest.

“You thought about it overnight.” Her father turned to face her; he was clearly upset and was trying his best to hold back his anger. “You don’t decide an important, life changing decision overnight.”

“I believe I have the right to decide what’s--” Her trembling voice was cut by her father’s stern one, “—I’m off to work.”

As she saw her father left through the front door she clenched her fist and thought, I’m going; with or without your approval.

Tiffany spent lunch telling her friends about her sudden decision to switch countries. Some of her friends encouraged her to go, while some voiced their concerns and asked her to think it over, as they also felt that that something as important as leaving her family behind should not be decided overnight.

“But you’re whole life is here…” Joanne said. “What if you get sick?” She pushed her glasses up with her hand.

“I think they have doctors there…” Matt said, brushing his curly jet-black hair. “She’s not leaving for Africa…”

“So you think there’s no doctor in Africa?” Erica playfully punched Matt’s arm.

“You know what I mean…” He rubbed his arm.

“What if something bad happened to you?” Lisa, the shortest of them all, said. “What if you get lost?”

“What if you couldn’t make any friends there?” Joanne added.

“Whoa, stop with all the negativity!” Jackie joined in after finishing her lunch. “Do you honestly think miss I’m-cute-and-pretty-and-kind-and-look-at-my-eye-smile here won’t be able to make friends?”

“And if she’s lost she could just ask for direction.” Matt reasoned.

“Or buy a map, duh.” Lisa said, playing her straight-bobbed blonde hair.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Joanne pushed Lisa.

“Oh, we’re going to miss you…” Erica, the other blonde, said. “But you’re going to be a star there!”

“I’m excited to see you on TV!” She clasped her hands in joy.

Tiffany noticed that during all that commotion Elizabeth was awfully quiet. She turned her head to her right to see Elizabeth in deep thoughts. Her big bright brown eyes were staring at her lunch. She had not touched her food yet. When she realized that her best friend was staring at her, she quickly smiled and said, “Yeah, we’re going to miss you so much…”

“I think you should really think this through.” Rickie said suddenly, as he and Nick joined Tiffany’s table.

“I mean… It’s not like I’m trying to make you stay or anything…” He stuttered, “It’s just that, you know…”

Nick laughed and messed with his friend’s spiky brown hair, “What he means to say is; this is too big of a decision, you know…” Rickie pushed his hand away, and Nick chuckled and continued, “Take your time to really think this through.”

“You’ve been awfully quiet today.” Tiffany said as she lied next to Elizabeth on her bed. “What’s on your mind?”

Elizabeth was staring at her friend’s ceiling, thinking about what she was about to say.

“This is huge, you know…” She said finally.

“Yeah…” Tiffany turned to look at her friend and fix her long brown curly hair. “… Tell me about it.”

“It’s not like you’re moving to New York or someplace nearby…” Elizabeth continued. “Didn’t we agree that it was best for you to decline that offer?”

“Maybe…” She answered. “I had a change of heart, that’s all…”

“And what made you change your mind?” She asked.

“Well…” Tiffany lied on her back and stared at the ceiling, “… I never had a dream, you know…”

“I never had something I want to pursue…” She closed her eyes, “You remember how you always wanted to be a fashion designer?”

“Yes…” Elizabeth said as she stared at her friend.

“And Leo has his band, and Michelle is studying anthropology…” She continued.

“Yeah, what is anthropology anyway?” Elizabeth laughed.

“I have no idea.” They both laughed before Tiffany continued, “So you guys seem to have everything figured out.”

“And I want to have that.”

“You don’t have to go halfway across the world to have that, you know…” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, I know…” Tiffany nodded. “… But I can’t help but feel that this is what I should do.”

“The right thing to do…” And silence followed.

After a while Elizabeth said, “I don’t know…” She sighed, “I guess I always thought that we would always be together…”

“We would go to college together, graduate together, find jobs together, and then find the right man and get married at the same church…” She smiled, “…And then we would be neighbors, and our children would be friends and play together…”

Tiffany smiled, “Yeah…”

“I pictured you working for Dolce and Gabbana, and I worked at a small lawyer office downtown…”

“You would then marry a good friend of mine and had two children; both are boys…”

Elizabeth giggled, “How about you?”

“Well, I dated someone from a big company for a while, before we went our separate ways because we couldn’t handle the pressure…”

She took a deep breath and continued, “After a while you then introduced me to a nice man you met at work, and I decided to trust him; since he seemed sincere and all, and then we got married and had a beautiful daughter, whom I loved the most…”

“Wow, you really thought about it, huh?” Elizabeth laughed.

“Yeah, of course; you named your oldest Bran, and the youngest was Brad. They both grew up to be football players…”

Elizabeth continued to laugh, “Did they become famous?”

“Well, they’re quite good…” Tiffany said.

“And what’s your daughter’s name?”

Tiffany looked at her best friend and winked, “I named her Liz…”

They both laughed and played on Tiffany’s ideas around some more, adding more details to the story, before Elizabeth asked, “Did you already tell your dad?”

Tiffany’s laughter soon disappeared at the thought of her father, “I told him this morning.”

“And what did he say?”

“Nothing much.” She shrugged. “He said that I should think about it some more and then he left.”

“He was mad, though.” Tiffany frowned and lied on her stomach. “And by asking me to think it over; means that he won’t let me do this.”

Elizabeth turned around and put her arms around Tiffany and said, “Well, that’s expected….”

She looked at her best friend and continued, “I think you should think about it some more, too.”

“But as your best friend; I have to tell you that whatever you’re decision would be; I’ll support your all the way.”

Tiffany smiled at her friend, “Really?”

“Do you really have to ask? I’ll always stand by your side. That’s what best friends do.” She smiled back and played with Tiffany’s hair.

“What are you going to do about your dad, though?”

That night Tiffany waited for her father to come home from work. It was already eleven at the time when she heard his keys at the front door. As soon as he opened the door and saw Tiffany standing there; he looked angry and said, “I’m tired. Can we talk about this some other time?”

“When? When is the right time for us to talk?” Tiffany insisted. “This is very important for me, as you already know, and—“

“—And I already said no!” Her father yelled in anger.

Tiffany couldn’t say anything at the time from the shock. She had seen her father getting angry a couple of times before, but it was always directed at Leo. Now she knew what it was like getting on their father’s bad side. “Dad, please, listen to me…”

“I’m tired. Go to your room.” He said.

Tiffany quickly went upstairs as her legs were about to give up and her eyes were teary. She slammed her bedroom door as hard as she possibly could, and threw herself on top of her bed. She cried for a few minutes before she clenched her fists, and decided that she would convince her father to let her go.

The next morning she found that her father had already left. She then decided to spend that Saturday at Elizabeth’s. She called her and her best friend quickly agreed to the idea; Well, get over here already! She said before she hung up.

They found that sitting at home doing nothing was too boring, and so they decided to go to the mall and hang out with their friends instead. Tiffany was not in the mood to talk about her problems, so her friends decided to do some window shopping and talk about boys instead. Elizabeth and Lisa cancelled their dates, as they knew that Tiffany needed them more.

“You remember David Chang?” Elizabeth asked when they decided to hang out at the food court.

“N-no…” Tiffany was shocked by the question. This is going to be bad…

“Oh, you know Dave; tall, well-built, tanned, handsome Dave…” Erica teased as their friends laughed.

“I’m not sure I remember—“

“--He stole your first kiss last year!” Lisa shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

Tiffany was blushing hard and she covered her face with her hands.

“Last year at Erica’s!” Elizabeth insisted.

“You know, when we played thar ‘Spin the Bottle’ game…” Erica grinned.

“Stop!” Tiffany shouted, and covered her ears instead.

“He stole your first kiss and the next day he ran off to Japan...” Jeanne giggled.

“What? But I thought he moved to China?” Lisa said, confused.

“Yeah, well, Japan, China; what’s the difference?” Jeanne shrugged.

“Stop it you guys, it was so embarrassing…” Tiffany finally found her voice.

“Wait, I thought it was supposed to be a farewell party for him; he didn’t run away…” Lisa wondered.

“Never mind the details.” Elizabeth said. “The point is; they kissed.”

“For two minutes…” Erica teased again. “Two wet, dreamy minutes…”

The girls shrieked at the thought.

“I thought they kissed for at least three minutes…” Lisa said.

“No, I’m thinking more like two, probably two and a half minutes…” Erica argued.

“Nah, the first minute was like, they didn’t even have their mouths opened…” Elizabeth recalled the event.

“Oh, my God, stop it you guys!” Tiffany shouted. “Enough about the kiss! I was trying to forget everything about that night!”

Her friends laughed for a while, before Elizabeth continued, “Yeah, I remember how after the party Dave walked you home….”

“He did?” Jeanne started to laugh again, while the others stared at Tiffany with curiosity written on their faces.

“So… Did you guys talk or something?” Elizabeth asked further.

“Oh, my God! You promised to keep it a secret!” Tiffany yelled in disbelief at her best friend.

Elizabeth laughed at her blushing friend. “Oh, come on. It’s been a year already, and Dave probably has already moved on…”

“What? Why would he move on?” Lisa gasped, “Did you guys…”

“No! It was nothing like that!” Tiffany was blushing even harder, “He confessed to me that night, alright; but that’s all there is to it!”

“Ooooohhhh…”

Tiffany sighed and decided it was best to tell them the truth about that night, “He confessed that he liked me since 5^th grade.”

“But I told him I only liked him as a friend, nothing more.” She continued. “Then he told me that it was okay…”

“So, nothing happened?” Lisa asked.

“Nothing happened.” Tiffany nodded.

“Pfft-What the heck was that?” Erica laughed, “Why did he confess to you the day before he was going to move away?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with him?” Lisa joined the laugh.

“Probably because he felt that if Tiffany rejected him, which she did; he didn’t have to face the embarrassment.” Elizabeth stated.

“Wait, why did you kiss him then?” Lisa suddenly asked.

“Well, we were playing Spin the Bottle…” Tiffany reasoned. “…I spun and the bottle ended up pointing at him…”

“Yeah, but you could’ve just said no.” Jeanne said. “Like I refused to kiss you guys and that guy Bernard…”

“Because Tiffany hates losing.” Erica said, giggling.

The laughter continued.

“But that was a pretty lame story. I don’t get why you had to keep it a secret…” Jeanne said after the laughter stopped.

“Yeah, it’s not even worth it.” Lisa pushed her glasses up with one hand.

“Well, you know that Tiff here is pretty shy when it comes to boys…” Elizabeth defended her best friend.

“That reminds me.” Erica said as she slurped her drink. “I never see you with a boyfriend before.”

“Well, that’s because I never have one.” Tiffany said, playing with her hair.

“That is so true.” Lisa said. “So, how come you never have a boyfriend? I know every boy in our school would kill to be your boyfriend.”

“She’s waiting for her prince charming.” Elizabeth answered for her.

“So, like, you never find boys in our school to be interesting?” Jeanne asked.

“I guess not…” Tiffany shrugged.

“Wait…” Erica said, “Then… Do you find any girl in our school to be interesting?”

Tiffany’s eyes suddenly got bigger. “Ewww… I’m not like that!”

“Gross…” Elizabeth said as she covered herself with her hands.

They kept laughing as they made fun of each other until it was getting late, and they decided to go home. Tiffany and Elizabeth walked home together as usual.

“Thanks, Liz…” She said while they were closed to reach Tiffany’s house. The black haired girl knew that her best friend was trying to cheer her up.

“Don’t mention it.” Elizabeth smiled.

Tiffany smiled back and said, “Although I’d prefer it if you didn’t mention Dave.”

Elizabeth giggled, “Like Jeanne said, it’s not like it’s a big story anyway…”

Tiffany stared at her best friend and sighed.

“I saw Erica made out with Robbie Glademan last week…” Elizabeth said suddenly as they reached Tiffany’s home.

“They what?” Tiffany was surprised, as Robbie was supposed to be Lisa’s boyfriend.

Elizabeth laughed nervously, “Don’t tell anyone!” She said as she put her finger on her lips.

“Yeah, yeah, definitely.” She promised. “You know, you always manage to see interesting things…”

Elizabeth just shrugged and said, “So, see you on Monday?” The brunette knew that tomorrow Tiffany would be busy trying to convince her father to let her follow her dream.

“See you on Monday.”

She stared as her best friend disappeared around the corner, and then went inside. She was surprised to see a familiar face sitting in the living room, watching TV.

“Michelle!” She shouted.

Her older sister turned her head and smiled, “What’s up?”

“Oh, my God! I missed you!” Tiffany said as she jumped into her older sister’s embrace.

“I’ve only been gone for a week…” Michelle said as she tightened her hug.

“And I miss you too.” Leo said as he walked in from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of popcorns.

Tiffany stuck her tongue out at her older brother. “This is a lovely surprise!”

“Didn’t you see my car outside?” Michelle asked.

“No, I wasn’t paying attention…” Tiffany shook her head.

“Are you here for the weekend?” Tiffany asked as she let go of Michelle and sat beside her on the sofa.

“I’m here because dad told me you were going to Korea…” Michelle said as she brushed her younger sister’s hair. The sisters looked very similar to one another; with long wavy black hair, big round eyes, plump lips, and fair skin, although Michelle’s figure was slightly bigger than Tiffany’s.

“… He freaked out over the phone and told me to come home and help him set your mind straight.” She continued.

“Oh, so you’re here to--”

“--Hey, don’t forget about me!” Leo interrupted.

“Shut it, brat.” Michelle said before she turned to Tiffany again, “I’m here to ask you what in the world were you thinking.”

“You want to leave home and become an idol in the middle of nowhere with no friends or families--”

“--Korea isn’t in the middle of nowhere.” Tiffany said.

“That’s not important. What important is, you decide to do this thing overnight without even consulting me first.” She crossed her hands on her chest.

“Or me…” Leo added.

“Do you have any idea what kind of problems you would face over there? Do you think it’s easy to become an idol? Have you thought about how we’ll miss you?” Michelle bombarded her with questions.

“Whoa, slow down there, Elle…” Leo said.

“I’m not talking to you, Leo.” She glared at her younger brother.

“Ouch.”

“Now, Tiffany, tell me; why do you want to be an idol there?” She turned to Tiffany again.

“Because I have finally found my dream.” Tiffany simply said.

There was silence that filled the room after that. Michelle was trying to figure out if Tiffany really meant those words, and Leo was just staring at his sisters, while Tiffany looked at Michelle’s eyes with confidence.

“Well then, can’t you find your dream here?” Michelle asked again.

“This offer won’t last, Elle.” She said. “I am not going to waste my time to do more auditions when I already knew there’s a company willing to help me with my dream.”

“You’re just starting high school…” Michelle argued, “Can’t you just wait until at least you graduate?”

“It’s better if I start at a young age…”

“How do you know this is the right dream for you?” The older girl insisted.

“I don’t know…” She looked at her toes. “But nobody can know for sure if their dream was the right one or not…”

“But I know that this is something I can do…” She turned to her older sister, “I don’t want to grow up and have regrets on not doing something I could’ve done.”

Michelle saw the sparks in her baby sister’s eyes. She had missed those sparkling eyes; as the last time she saw them was when their mother was still around and Tiffany was bent on helping her cook for Thanksgiving. Michelle sighed, “Korea is too far away. We won’t be able to help you if anything bad were to happen to you…”

“I can take care of myself.” Tiffany said firmly. “And if anything bad happens; I have mom!”

Michelle turned and stared at the television. She knew that Tiffany was a strong girl; just like their mother. Strong and always positive, she thought. She knew that once Tiffany had set her mind on something; nothing could get in her way.

“Just like when she climbed that tree when we went camping.” Leo said, as if he was reading Michelle’s mind.

Michelle turned to look at her younger brother as she knew he was telling the truth; when Tiffany was 11 they went on a camping trip. She didn’t know how it started, but some kid on the camping site had challenged Tiffany to climb the highest tree there, and it only took Tiffany a couple of seconds before she started climbing. When she reached the top she yelled to the kid who had challenged her; calling him names. The kid cried and ran away, while Michelle and Leo kept telling Tiffany to get back down. Their parents were furious and all three of them were grounded for two weeks.

“Those are two different things, Leo…” Michelle said tiredly.

The siblings didn’t say anything for a while. They were lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, Michelle stood up and said, “I’ll help you convince dad.”

Tiffany was surprised by her older sister’s words. She was not sure that she had her convinced by her reasons. She knew that what she had said were not enough reason to convince their father. She looked up to Michelle with hope, “Thank you, Elle…”

Michelle smiled and hugged her precious little sister, “I just hope we’re not wrong about this. Mom would kill me if anything happens to you…”

“Hey, what about me? I’ll help too…” Leo said as he leaned in for a deep, warm family hug.

“Get. Off.” Both sisters said.

Sunday morning and all hell break loose. Ironic really, since they had just got back from church. The house of Hwang was filled with screaming and shouting that day; as Tiffany was desperate trying to convince her stubborn dad to give her his permission. It was three against one; but one being the only one with absolute authority in that house.

“No means no!” Their father yelled.

“You didn’t even think about it!” Tiffany yelled back.

“You’re too young!”

“I can take care of myself!”

“You don’t even know how to cook a decent meal!”

“I can learn!”

“She’s got a point there, dad…” Leo defended his baby sister. “… I mean, no one in this house now, not since mom, knows how to cook and we turned out okay…”

“You stay out of this!” Their father shouted. “I am not letting you go to Korea to chase your stupid dream without supervision.”

Tiffany was taken aback by her father’s remark, “So you think this is just a stupid dream?”

“Yes, it is!”

“How could you…” Tiffany clenched her fists and held back her tears. “Take that back…”

“No, he didn’t mean that, Tiff…” Michelle said as she held her younger sister in her arms. “You didn’t mean that, right dad?”

“I meant every single word.” He said sternly. “It’s stupid to give up her life here.”

“What if you fail there?” He asked. “What if they take advantage of you and force you to do awful things?”

“SM is not some shady company, dad. I’m sure they won’t do anything that would ruin their name.” Leo tried to explain.

“Oh, so you’re sure then? Would you bet your younger sister’s life on it?” Their father yelled again.

Leo couldn’t think of any respond, he just stared at his feet.

“Why are you so against this, dad?” Michelle asked. “This is what she wants….”

“Why won’t you give me a chance?” Tiffany cried.

Their father stayed quiet for some time before he said, “Because I care for you. I don’t want you to live alone out there without family’s protection…”

And those words caused her anger to rose, “You care about me? Stop lying!”

“Do you care about me for these past two years?” She stood up and stared at her father’s eyes with anger. “You care more about your work than about me!”

Their father was about to say something, but Tiffany was faster than him. “Don’t you dare say otherwise!”

“I may not be around much, but at least I know you’re safe in this house!” He finally found the opportunity to speak.

“Safe? Do you really think about my safety or are you just keeping me in this house as a trophy?” She yelled back.

“What? How could you!” He banged his fists on the table in anger.

“Mom would’ve said yes…” Tiffany said in her tears. “…Mom would’ve been proud of me…”

“Don’t you bring your dead mother into this!” His voice was trembling as he looked at his youngest daughter and was reminded of her late wife’s face. Those damn eyes…

Michelle threw her arms around Tiffany and held her tight, “She’s right, dad. Mom would’ve wanted her to chase her dreams.”

She felt tears were running down her face as she continued, “Mom would’ve wanted the best for all of us…”

“And how do you know this is what’s best for her?” Their father glared at her.

“Because she’s willing to go to a faraway place and leave all the comfort she has here; to work her best and realize her dream.” Michelle answered in confidence.

“Yes, she will face many dangers there, and yes, she will have to fight them alone; but she already knew the consequences, and she’s willing to face them,” She continued. “And I trust her. She will overcome any obstacle in her life.”

“She’s the strongest of us all, dad.” Leo added, “I stand by her decision.”

Their father threw himself onto the couch and sat there. He could not believe how they ended up here; how his youngest daughter wanted to live far away from him and her family. Where did I go wrong?

He thought. He had hoped that somehow a voice from heaven would finally talk to him, giving him all the answers, but he knew that it would not happen. He had spent so many nights waiting for his wife’s voice to reach him before, and nothing had happened. And God only knew how much he needed to hear his wife the most at the time; to help him make the most important decision on their daughter’s life.

But again, he was left alone, and all his strength crumbled.

He shook his head and let out a long sigh, “Do want you want…”

I don’t care anymore…

The fight was over in a relatively short time. There were still so many questions and doubts and lingering feelings left untold; but no one was willing to share them. Tiffany knew her father was holding back more arguments; she knew that their fight ended too quickly, and too easy, but she was afraid to start a new fight when she had won the last. I won, right? She thought.

Tiffany and her father didn’t say anything to each other after that moment on. Michelle stayed home for a while, and she and Leo helped Tiffany in her transition.

Michelle drove Tiffany to meet with James Stewart again, and he welcomed them with joy. They didn’t tell him about their father, and James simply didn’t ask. The three of them went through the contract together. James explained every single detail in the contract, and both sisters tried their best to figure out what they meant for Tiffany’s future. James was very helpful, of course; explaining every point in the contract and giving advice at every chance, but Michelle felt that they should not trust the agent completely.

It took them a couple of days to read and study the whole contract, but in the end they were satisfied with the deal, and Tiffany went on to sign the necessary papers. All they need left was their father’s letter of consent and signatures on the contract.

“You ask him.” Tiffany said when they were waiting for their father to return from work.

“Are you two still not talking?” Michelle asked.

Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t want to give him a reason to start another fight.”

Leo stepped into the kitchen, “You can’t avoid each other forever.”

“Not forever. At least until I get on that plane.” She said.

“He’s you father, for Christ’s sake.” Michelle scolded. “And this is an important thing that the both of you need to talk about.”

Tiffany thought for a while, “I’ll ask him in the morning.”

She woke up very early for this. She held her contract in both arms and headed downstairs. Every step she took she prayed to God to give her strength; strength needed to overcome one more obstacle. She found her father in the kitchen, sipping his cup of coffee, as usual. She walked very slowly and hesitated for a while before reaching for the chair and sat on it. She put the contract on the dining table.

“Dad…” Her voice was trembling. “… I need you to sign these…”

Her father took a deep breath and sat across from her. He pulled out his pen from his chest pocket and asked, “Where do you need them?”

Tiffany’s heart was beating so fast and she was trying her best not to cry. She carefully pointed out some empty spaces on the pages of the contract to her father.

“And I also need your letter of consent…” She said while her father had finished signing the papers.

He looked up and stared at his daughter’s eyes. His eyes showed no anger, but Tiffany could feel his disappointment. “You’ll have it this evening.”

She turned her gaze and stared at the kitchen’s window, afraid of looking into her father’s eyes, as the man stood up from his chair and headed for the front door.

“Anything else you want from me?” He asked without even looking back.

“No…” She whispered. And her father left in silence.

Tiffany could not help but feel sad as she remembered the look in her father’s eyes earlier. Tears ran down her face and she tried her best not to make any sound. She could sense guilt creeping inside her chest as she picked up and held the contract in her arms again, but at the same time she was happy as she had finally got her father’s permission.

“Well, at least the fight was short and less painful than I imagined it,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah… I couldn’t believe it myself.” Tiffany said. “I can’t help but feel this was too easy…”

They were having a farewell party at Elizabeth’s house that night, since Tiffany was going in two days and she didn’t want to have the party in her house; not when her father’s there.

“Maybe your mom helped you by talking to your dad in his dreams,” Elizabeth said as she offered her best friend a drink.

She smiled a little and nodded, “Maybe…”

“Or maybe it was Michelle’s words.” Elizabeth continued. “She sounds very convincing with all the ‘she knows the consequences and Tiffany shall prevail’ speech…”

“Hey, I am going to do my best!” Tiffany said as her best friend laughed at her.

“I was just kidding, Tiff…” She added, “We know you’re going to work your hardest there, and we know that you’re going to make it big.”

“Hey, we’ve missed you these couple of weeks…” Jeanne joined in the chat, bringing more drinks. “More punch?”

Tiffany spent the last two weeks preparing for her departure; meaning she had to skip more classes at school, but she didn’t mind since she was already going to switch schools later in Korea. She and Michelle went back and forth to SM office to finalize the contract, and then they had to go to the immigration office and then back to SM again to discuss her living arrangements.

James even tried to persuade her older sister to join the company as well; saying that she had the look, and that he would make sure that they would find the right talent for her, and that it would be better if Tiffany had her older sister to accompany her in Korea. Tiffany was not sure if James was simply flirting with her older sister or if he was serious; although she really liked the idea of having Michelle joining her, but Michelle turned down the offer, saying that she had her own dream all along, and that she was not an “idol material” like her sister.

James had discussed Tiffany’s contract with SM Korea representative, and he had promised her that everything had been conveniently arranged for her in Korea. All that’s left was for Tiffany to get on the plane. “Thank you, James…” was all Tiffany managed to say, but she really meant it.

“No; thank you for putting your trust in our company.” He smiled and escorted both sisters to their car.

“Are you sure I couldn’t convince you to join us, Michelle?” He said as he opened the door for her.

Michelle giggled as she got in the driver seat, “Yes, I’m pretty sure, James. Thanks for the offer, though.”

She closed the door and rolled down the window, and James bent down to say, “Well… I guess I’ll see you around, then?”

“I’d love that.” She smiled and started the engine.

“What was that?” Tiffany asked as Michelle just laughed and drove away.

“I can’t believe this is really happening…” Lisa said as she leaned to Robbie. “… You’re really leaving in two days…”

“There’s going to be a lot of boys with broken hearts at our school,” Erica winked.

Tiffany blushed, “Stop it…”

“Oh, well, more chance for me, then.” Erica giggled, and the girls laughed with her.

“Well, here’s to Tiffany and her new life.” Elizabeth proposed a toast.

“To Tiffany…” All of them said as they lifted their drinks.

“What am I going to do without you...” Elizabeth said to Tiffany while holding her hands.

Tiffany smiled; tears were starting to fill her eyes, “Well, you have Nick...”

"But I'm going to be lonely without you..."

"We can chat through Facebook, you know..." Tiffany said, caressing her best friend's hair. “… And I’ll update as much as I can.”

“Promise?” Her eyes were tearing up.

“I promise.”

“Now let’s start this party before we all cry our eyes out!” Jeanne shouted.

“Here, here!” Rickie said as he tried his best to hide his tears.

“Hey… This punch tastes funny…”