Several days later, I was strolling around Seoul on my own, searching for gifts for my friends back in Germany. When I entered a small shop, the shop woman smiled at me. I smiled back and continued looking for gifts.

"What should I buy?", I murmured in German.

I picked up several things and went to the cash desk. While paying, the shop woman smiled at me again and asked "excuse me, are you by chance form Germany?"

I widened my eyes. "How did you know?"

"Well, I'm from Germany, too. And you were murmuring something in German, that's why I knew that you're from Germany."

I smiled. "Wow, that awesome! So you're living in Seoul now?"

"My parents are Korean but I was born in Germany. After living there for 20 years, I moved back to Korea. And you? Are you living in Seoul, too?"

"No, I won in a competition and got the opportunity to live in Seoul for 2 months."

"Wow, that's amazing! You will fall in love with this country, I'm sure.", she said and laughed.

"Oh, I'm already in love with this country."

"That's great. And did you meet any idols?", she said and winked.

I chuckled. "Well, I did meet PM at a Fan-signing Event. That was so cool! I still can't believe it!"

"Ah, so you're a big 2PM fan?"

"Yes, I'm a dedicated HOTTEST."

"Well, then I guess you'll like this offer I have for you."

"Offer?", I asked confusedly.

She pulled out a piece of paper from her desk. "I'm offering you this precious piece of paper."

"A PRECIOUS piece of paper? What is it exactly?"

She smiled. "THIS piece of paper is the last ticket to 2PM's Fan-meeting."

I widened my eyes. "Really?? Oh my gosh!"

"Yes, and I'll offering to sell this to you...for half of the original price."

"OH MY GOSH! For real? But why?"

She smiled. "As a thank you for this nice smalltalk and as a gift for a fellow German girl."

"That would be so cool...but I can't accept it."

"Why not?"

"I just can't accept it."

"Please do me a favour and accept it. I would be really happy."

I hesitated. "I..."

"Okay?"

I sighed and smiled. "Okay."

She smiled brightly. "Great! Don't worry, you won't regret it. To be honest, I'm quite sure you'll thank me later on."

"Yeah, I think so, too.", I said and laughed.

Then I paid for the articles and the ticket. After thanking the shop woman for this ticket, I said goodbye and left.

While going home, I passed a group of girls. They were gathering in front of a house.

"Hey, let's sneak into the yard, maybe we can meet them?"

"But there are guards. Let's just wait outside, maybe they'll appear at the windows and we can take some photos."

"Omo, can you imagine it? 2PM is in this dorm!!"

I stopped. Did she just say that this is 2PM's dorm?

Oh my gosh! These girls were Saesangs!

"Uhm, excuse me?", I said.

They turned around and stared at me.

"Yes?", one of them asked.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know that it's not okay to stalk people? Ever heard of privacy?"

"What are you saying?", another girl asked.

"You heard me. It's not okay to intrude the boys' privacy like this. Don't you know that you're hurting them with these actions? And you are calling yourselves fans, I'm so ashamed to share a fandom with you."

One of the girls suddenly slapped me. "Get lost or I'll seriously hurt you.", she said.

I pressed a hand against my hurting cheek. "What the heck?"

"GET LOST!", they screamed and pushed me around.

"You guys are insane!", I shouted and ran away.

Gosh, now I understood why Taec was so angry at Saesangs, they were seriously annoying.

I sighed and went home.

"You got WHAT?"

I smiled. “I got a ticket for 2PM's Fan-meeting!”

“Omo, I'm so happy for you!”, Hyo Ri said and hugged me.

I squealed. “I know, right! It's so awesome!”

“Yes, indeed! Now let me check the ticket.”

I handed her the ticket. She looked at it and frowned.

“Eonni, what's the matter?”, I asked.

“Uhm, Thu Ha...do you know that the Fan-meeting is today?”

“I...what??!!”, I shouted and grabbed the ticket and took a look at it. “Oh my gosh, it really is today!! I only have 1 hour left! Ottokhaaaee?”

“Hey, hey, calm down!”, she said and grabbed my shoulders. “Okay, I now take a deep breath. So, now stop panicking and get ready. You won't be late, okay? I'll call a taxi when you're done.”

I hugged her. “Thank you, Eonni. What would I do without you?”

She laughed. “Okay, enough. Now get ready!”

“Okay!”

“Ouch!”

Gosh, could these girls please stop stepping on my foot? I was slowly getting annoyed. I've never been to a Fan-meeting before but you really need strong nerves. So many people gathered at one small hall...getting out of this while being unharmed was nearly impossible.

The screaming crowd pulled me out of my thoughts. It seemed like the Fan-meeting was about to start.

The screens went on and showed an intro of 2PM, introducing every single member to us. The crowd got even louder. Then the screens went off and 2PM entered the stage. They sang 2 songs. I didn't want to scream but I couldn't help but join the crowd. After that the first Talk Session started, it was a Q&A. Before the Fan-meeting, fans were able to write questions on a sheet of paper and the members would pick a question to answer. There were funny questions such as “What's the colour of your underwear?”, “Which member would you date if you were a girl?” and “Will you marry me?”. After that they sang 2 additional songs. The crowd was screaming again. Then the second Talk Session started. This time, the fans could tell the members to do something. For example, Junho had to do a dance, Taec had to reveal his abs and Chansung had to show his Aegyo. 2 additional songs and the last Talk Session started. This Session was called “Tell me your wish”. Lucky fans were allowed to get a wish fulfilled. The members would randomly call out a number and the fan with this ticket number would b able to come on stage. The this lucky fan could spin the Wheel of Fortune to get a wish fulfilled.

The first fan got a hand kiss from Nichkhun, the second one got to dance with Junsu, he third one got a serenade from Junho, the fourth one got a kiss on the forehead by Wooyoung and the fifth fan got a back hug from Chansung.

Now it was Taec's turn. He called out his number. No one reacted.

Huh? Why didn't anyone react?

The MC repeated the number but there was still no one who raised her hand.

What the heck?

The MC repeated the number in English. Totally confused I glanced at my ticket.

OH MY GOSH!

It was my number! I quickly raised my hand. The MC noticed me and called me on stage. With hesitating steps, I went to the stage. Feeling people's stares on me, I got nervous. More nervous than before. The MC announced me. Without looking at anyone, I quickly went to the Fortune Wheel. The MC told me to spin it and I did.

“And the last fulfilled wish for today will be.....”, the MC said.

I hold my breath.

“....a hug from Taecyeon-ssi!!”

The crowd screamed. I didn't dare to look.

“Now you may get your hug!”, the MC told me.

I took a deep breath and approached Taec. I didn't look at his face, I was just staring at his chest. I couldn't see myself but I was quite sure that I was blushing.

“Hey, relax..”, he said and then he hugged me. I was taken aback by his sudden move, that's why I just stood still.

Should I hug back? Or should I just stand still and enjoy it? Ottokhaaaee??

“5 minutes before the the end of this Fan-meeting, go to the rear exit and show this to the guard. He will let you in.”, he whispered and slipped something into my pocket.

“What -”

The MC interrupted me. “Okay, that was the last wish for today! I'm sorry that we couldn't fulfill a wish for all of you. Maybe the next time you'll be one of the lucky ones. Well, unfortunately we've come to the end of this Fan-meeting 2PM will sing 2 more songs and then we all have to say goodbye.“

I was led back to my place at the audience. Before leaving the stage, I took a last glance at Taec. He was standing there with a smirk on his face.

2PM was now performing their 2 last songs.

Totally confused, I looked at my watch. In 5 minutes, I was supposed to be at the rear exit. I fought my way through the crowd. After what felt like an eternity, I was finally able to leave the hall. I quickly hurried to the rear exit.

“Excuse me, but you're not allowed to enter, Miss.”, the guard at the door said.

Hm, what was I supposed to do now?

Then it dawned on me. I pulled out the thing which Taec has dropped into my pocket.

It was backstage pass.

I showed it to the guard. He nodded and opened the door for me. I stepped inside and looked around.

Okay, and what was I supposed to do NOW?

There were still 3 minutes left until the end of the Fan-meeting I looked around and found a chair. Sighing, I sat down and waited.

What was I actually doing? What if I've misunderstood him or what if he's just playing around with me?

My doubts got stronger with every passing minute. Just when I decided to go, I saw him coming towards me. He was wearing a hoody, loose jeans and a cap.

“Did you wait long? I'm so sorry, I had to change my clothes.”, he said while smirking.

“Uhm, do I know you?”, I asked and chuckled.

He feigned a heart attack “Oh my gosh, she doesn't recognize me. I might as well die now.”

I laughed. “Hey, stop kidding. Now tell me what's going on.”

His smirk returned. “Hm. We have to go now. We don't have much time left.”

“What?”

Without answering, he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the rear exit.

“Taec, where are you going?”

We both turned around. His manager was standing in front of us, looking a bit annoyed.

Taec sighed and went to him. They both were arguing with each other. Then the manager sighed and shook his head. Taec said something else and the manager sighed again and left.

“What did he say?”, I asked him when he returned to me.

“Let's just say that he wants me to be careful.”

“Why careful?”

“No need to worry. Let's go.”, he said and grabbed my hand. We stepped outside. Right in front of us, there was a black van. He opened the door and motioned me to stepped inside.

“Where are we going?”, I asked.

He smirked. “That's a surprise.”

I sighed.

“Let's eat Samgyupsal, okay?”

I just nodded, still stunned. While Taec was talking with the waiter, I looked around. There were only elderly in this restaurant. And well, the restaurant itself was simple yet comfortable.

But I still didn't know why I was here.

“Excuse me, but what are we doing right now?”, I asked.

“We're eating. I'm starving.”

Huh.

“Okay, but what am I doing here?”

“You're eating, too.”

I sighed. “Taecyeon-ssi, why am I here?”

“I want to repay my debts.”

I was confused. “Which debts exactly?”

“I told you before, when we were on on the viewing platform, that I owe you.

“No, I think you got something wrong. We agreed that we were even.”

He smirked. “Well, I don't recall agreeing to something like that. So, now just eat with me and let me repay my debts to you. I don't like it when my debts aren't repaid.”

“1:0 for you, I guess.”, I said and smiled.

He smiled. “Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear.”

After that, the food arrived. We ate and talked. To be honest, I really enjoyed his company. He was dorky and funny, it was never boring with him. He was so different from the person I saw on stage and on TV.

When we finished eating, he said “So,now that we're sated, let's get to our next destination.”

I widened my eyes. “Next destination?But with this meal, your debts are repaid.”

“Well, no, not yet. There's still a place I want to go with.”

“Where?”

“Stop being curious, you'll see.”, he said and grabbed my hands once again while pulling me to the van.

After driving for a while,we arrived at a place with many colourful lights.

“Welcome to Lotte World!”, he said when we stepped out of the van.

I just stared at the place.

He smirked. “You've never been here before, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, then let's go!”

Lotte World was the name for the most famous and popular Amusement Park in Seoul. Its many attractions were well visited by many people.

I was staring at everything with an open mouth, just like a kid.

“What do you want to do?”, Taec asked me and pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Uhm, I don't know. I've never been here before, so I don't really know the attractions.”

“Okay, then I'll decide.”, he said and grinned.

Uh oh.

We fought our way through the crowd. After walking for a while, we stopped in front of a long queue. Taec just didn't want to tell me which ride he chose, so I had to wait until it's our turn to find out.

And I didn't like what I saw.

“No! No! No! NO! I can't ride the roller coaster!!”, I cried frantically.

“Hey, don't be afraid. I'll ride with you.”

“No! I really can't! I'm so afraid of roller coaster.”

He put his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me. “No need to be afraid. I'll be sitting right next to you. Nothing will happen to you. I promise.”

“I..I don't know...”

“Come on. Just try it. You'll like it afterwards, I'm sure.”, he said and grinned.

I sighed. I just couldn't resist his charming grin.

“Okay.”, I mumbled.

“Great! You won't regret it.”, he said when we entered the roller coaster cart.

When the safety belts were put on, my panic rose again. It was hard for me to breath. To be honest, I was on the verge of hyperventilating.

Suddenly Taec grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I'm right here. Try to relax. “

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was working. My panic vanished.

“Don't close your eyes or you'll get sick.”, he said.

I sighed and opened my eyes.

I didn't know how to describe it, but the feeling was kinda awesome. To wrap it up, after the roller coaster, I was running on adrenalin.

“That was amazing!”, I said when we left the ride.

He smiled. “See? I told you. Okay, let's move on. Next ride?”

I grinned. “I'm ready!”

We were riding more roller coaster and we also tried out some other attractions. After an hour, we sat on a bench, taking a break.

“Lotte World is so fascinating! I really don't want to leave anymore!', I said.

He chuckled. “You seem like a little kid.”

“It's just that I've never been to such an amazing Amusement Park before. I really wish we could have Lotte World in Germany.”

His smile faltered. “Yeah, Germany. When will you leave Korea?”

To be honest, while being in Korea, I kinda forget the fact that I would have to return to Germany after 2 months. Being here, it was like a dream...a dream where you didn't want to wake up.

I sighed. “I have....5 weeks left.”

“5 weeks, I see.”

“I really wish I could stay longer. But I also miss my family and friends in Germany.“

“Yes, I understand.” His smile returned. “Then we should create wonderful memories, don't you think?”

I laughed. “Oh, I think this day has been very memorable.”

He smirked. “I think there's still one thing missing.” Then he grabbed my hands and pulled me towards another long queue.

“To which ride does this queue lead?”, I asked curiously.

He smiled. “Look up.”

I did what he said. And what I saw left me speechless. Right at the end of the queue, there was a gigantic Ferris Wheel. It was like the centre the Amusement Park. It was a beautiful view.

“When you're in Lotte World, you should never miss out on the Ferris Wheel.”, he said.

“It's so wonderful.”

“It's even more wonderful when you're inside the Ferris Wheel.”

When it was our turn, we quietly entered the cabin. All the while, I was staring out of the cabin, being fascinated by the breathtaking view. It was just like the view from the viewing platform from earlier, except this time I didn't see Seoul, I saw the whole Amusement Park. It was like a city itself. So many colourful lights and the small dots of people. Truly amazing.

“Wonderful, isn't it?”

I turned around and smiled. “Yes, it is.” I leaned my forehead against the glass. “You know what's funny? This kinda reminds me of one of my favourite scenes in 'Dream High'.

“'Dream High'?' I heard the confusion in his voice.

“The Hyemi-Jinguk-Scene in Japan. They were both sitting in a Ferris Wheel like that.”

“You're watching Korean Dramas? In Germany?”

“Yes, all German Kpop Fans do. I, for my part, totally love Korean Dramas. They show us the romance we can't see in the real world anymore.”

“Bad experience?”

I sighed and sat down. “Well, let's say I've only met jerks so far. I miss romance.”

He smiled ruefully. “Too bad that Korean Dramas are only based on fiction.”

“Yeah, that's what making me sad. Romance and true love can only be seen in dramas. The world we're living in is based on superficiality, intrinsic values don't count anymore.”

“Then...how do you define 'Romance'?, he asked curiously.

“I don't know how to explain it...you know, it's kinda like you show your feelings, your love for your partner through small gestures. Gestures which causes your heart to pound against your chest and a pleasant tingle in your stomach.” I sighed. “Maybe I'm just hopelessly romantic.”

He remained silent.

“For example, the scene in 'Dream High'. They both were talking about feelings and then they kissed while being in a wonderful Ferris Whee. That's so romantic.”

“But you know that they're both just fictional characters and that everything, including the kiss, were just fiction?”

“Yes, I know. That's why I wish I could be part of the fictional world.”

“To be honest, I think the real world does have some good things to offer.”

I arched an eye brow. “Like?”

He stood up and closed the distance between us. Then he went down on one knee, so that we were at the same eye level.

He smirked. “Like this.”

Before I could even react, he leaned forward and our lips met.

I was stunned to move. I was really taken aback. So many thoughts swirled through my head. But then my mind went blank and the tingling feeling took over. It was like a wave of heat which started from my lips and then rushed through my whole body.

When our lips parted, the heat slowly disappeared but the tingling feeling was still lingering in my body. It left me breathless.

“Wow.”, I whispered.

He chuckled. “Wow? Well, thank you.”

“No, I mean -”

“It''s better than fiction, right?”

I smiled. “Yes, definitely.”

He just chuckled.

Before we could say anything else, the Ferris Wheel suddenly stopped. Seemed like the ride was over.

We both looked at each other for a while and then we left the cabin. While walking to the van, we both remained silent. I was lost in thoughts but whenever our arms brushed against each other, the tingling feeling got stronger.

Was this reality? Or was I still caught in a dream? How was it possible, that Ok Taecyeon, one of the most popular Korean idols, loved by so many girls and women, just kissed me?

No, this had to be a dream!

I quickly pinched myself. “Ouch!”

Taec looked at me. “Everything okay?”

I smiled. “Yes, no need to worry.”

He smiled back and we both stepped into the van. Taec told the driver my address and then we were on our way to my apartment.

There was an awkward silence between us.

I really didn't know what to say after what happened in the Ferris Wheel. I couldn't deny the tingling feeling I got whenever I looked at him.

After a while, he said and sat down beside me. “I think we need to talk.”

“Hm.”

He sighed again. “I know that it's a burden for you and that it won't get easier and I want you to know that I'm not forcing you to do anything. It's your choice. I also want you to know that I don't regret anything.”

“I...I...”

He seemed to notice my hesitation because he then said “Take your time. I understand that it was kinda...unexpected.” He smirked at this point but then he turned serious again. “You can give me your answer later on. I'll wait.” He took out a piece of paper and wrote down his number. “Text me when you want to talk..”, he said and handed me the piece of paper.

The van stopped.

“We've arrived.”, he said.

“Yes.”

My mind kept on replaying the scene in the Ferris Wheel. I blushed.

“Well, then I gotta go now. Thank you for this wonderful day.”

He smirked. “You're welcome. And good night.”

“Good night.”, I said and left.

When I was inside the apartment, I saw Hyo Ri, sitting on the couch while reading a magazine.

When I entered, she looked up. “You're back? How was your day?”

I sat down next to her. “It's like a dream.”

She looked at me confusedly. “A dream? What are you talking about?” She paused. “Wait, you didn't drink, did you?”

I laughed. “No, of course not. But I bet you'll want to hear this.”

Then I told her everything about the incident at the viewing platform and about today. She was as stunned as I was.

“Omo! Really? That's...amazing! What did you answer?”

“Nothing.”

She arched an eye brow. “Nothing? What do you mean? Don't you want to meet him again?”

I sighed. “I...I just don't know. My heart says 'yes' but my head tells me that I'll only hurt myself.”

Hyo Ri smiled ruefully. “I wish I could help you but only you can decide how this will proceed. But I can tell you what I think. You need to know that being involved with an idol like Taecyeon-ssi is a complicated matter. You need to be very strong to be able to succeed in overcoming the upcoming difficulties. And considering the fact that Taecyeon-ssi's really popular, I'm quite sure that it will be even more difficult.”

“Thank you for the advice, Eonni.”

She patted my head. “Just try to sleep tonight, maybe you'll find an answer tomorrow.”

“Okay, then I'll go to sleep now. Good night, Eonni.”

“Good night, Thu Ha.”

I didn't find any sleep that night. Too many thoughts were keeping me awake.

I really longed for his embrace. I longed for the warmth he gave me. But I was afraid. Afraid of the future.

There was still the fact that I had to return to Germany in 5 weeks. I would not be able to see him anymore. And I wasn't sure if what we had would survive the long distance.

I didn't know if my heart would survive the pain it would cause to be apart from him.