JESSICA’S POV

INCHEON AIRPORT

        Flashes of lights surrounded me and Kyuhyun when we got off the plane. One of the reporters tried to squeeze himself in the crowd and asked me.

        “Jessica-ssi, how do you feel now that you are back in Korea?”

        “Um… Great, great. It’s great to be back.”

        “Please tell us about your new project.” He asked again.

        “I can’t really tell anything right now, but please do look forward to it. Thank you.”

        We reached the exit of the airport and immediately got in the van that was waiting for us. The first thing I wanted to do was visit my family. Teukie Oppa said it was okay so we headed to my hometown. My mom didn’t know that I was already here. I’m just gonna surprise her.

       I rang our doorbell twice. I was really excited to see my mother. The door opened and it was my sister Krystal. She was so surprised when she saw me. The look on her face was priceless.

        “I’m back.” I smiled at her.

        “U-UNNIE! OMO! OMOO! OMONAA! OH MY GOSH. YOU’RE HERE! YOU’RE BACK!” She screamed as she ran towards the gate and opened it.

          We were jumping while hugging each other for a minute. I felt like crying. I missed my sister. WAA~

        “Unnie! Why didn’t you tell us that you were coming? You should have told us. We could’ve picked you up, you know!” She pouted.

          “It’s okay. I wanted surprise you guys. Where’s Eomma?” I asked her.

          “Oh, right! Oh gosh. I totally forgot about her. Haha!” She was giggling as she wrapped her left arm around my waist.

           We went inside the house without making any sound. My mother has a healthy heart so I guess it’ll be okay to surprise her.

           “Krystal, where is Eomma?” I asked her after I took a look around the house. Nothing changed.

           “I think she’s cooking something.” She said.

           I sneaked into the kitchen. I ran towards her and gave her a back hug.

           “Eomma!!!” I closed my eyes and hugged her even tighter.

           “Si-Sica?! Omona!” She turned around and hugged me back.

           “Eomma!!! “ I cried.

         So that’s how we reunited. I was scolded by my mother for not telling her I was coming home, but it’s okay. I told her that I wanted to surprise her, just like what I told my sister. My mother made me eat the food she was cooking and asked me about everything. These are the times when I wanted to be just a normal girl. I wanted to stay at home and be with my family.

          “Eomma, I have a schedule today.” I told my mom.

          “You just got back from Japan. What are you talking about?”

        “I have a new project and I need to practice. I’ll tell Teukie Oppa to let me stay here and not in the hotel. I will sleep here.” I promised her.

          “Oh… Okay. Take care. Don’t overwork.”

…

SM ENTETRTAINMENT

JESSICA’S POV

         I practiced and recorded the song with Kyuhyun and everything was going well. Teukie Oppa was right. Going back to Korea was what I needed. This is my home and I won’t even have to worry about how I act. Japanese people are nice but we still have a lot of culture differences. In Korea, I feel at home. It is home.

…

        Two weeks have already passed since I came back in Korea. I appeared on some variety shows, but I was never so active. I  started recording songs for my next album. My duet with Kyuhyun was one of the songs. I’m really excited because finally, we’ll be singing it together at the cultural festival. I’m kind of nervous because it will be my first time to perform here in Korea after staying in Japan for a year. But I don’t need to worry. Getting nervous is good. It keeps you alert.

…

        Today is the day that I will finally sing on stage again in Korea. I’m just not sure if I’m still excited. I feel like something’s going to happen. But I hope it’s good.

        Teukie oppa opened the door of the waiting room with a worried look on his face.  I automatically stood up and asked him what’s wrong.

        “What’s the matter?”

        “Kyuhyun…”

        “What?” I grew impatient so I gave him a just-say-what-you’re-supposed-to-say look.

        “He cannot come today. He’s-“

        “WHAT?!” I cut him off; my eyes bulging.

        “He’s really sick right now that’s why he can’t come today. He was exhausted from all of his projects.”

        “Why didn’t he tell us last night? He could have called us. What am I going to do now?” I wanted to panic but I stopped myself. Freaking out is not the best thing to do right now and it’s not professional.

         “You’re still gonna sing.” He said.

          “Sing? On that stage?” I said, pointing my index finger to the direction where the stage was. I couldn’t believe what I just heard.

          “On that stage.” He repeated while nodding his head three times. He must be out of his mind!

          “Oppa. OPPA. HOW. AM. I. SUPPOSED. TO. SING. A. DUET. ALONE??” I said slowly, trying to put sense into his head.

        “You’re not going to sing alone, okay? Someone will sub Kyuhyun and sing the duet with you.” He told me, holding my shoulder.

          “Who?”

          “Onew.”

          “Onew? Who is that?”

        “He’s a trainee. He’ll be debuting , but it seems like he’ll be debuting sooner. He’s the only available SM singer right now and somehow, he knows the song. I don’t know why, but thank God for that.” Teukie oppa sighed.

         “I don’t know, Oppa. How am gonna sing with someone I don’t know? We didn’t even practice.” I said with a frown on my face.

         “You’ll be okay. He’s a really, really good singer. And you are too. I know you can handle it.” He smiled at me but I still wasn’t sure.

 …

          “Jessica-ssi, you got three minutes to prepare yourself.” Staff eonnie told me.

          Three minutes. THREE MINUTES. Okay, Jessica. Breathe. Everything will be alright.

          “Jessica, you’re sweating. Are you nervous?” My make-up stylist told me.

         “N-no. Um, I just feel hot, that’s all.” I forced a smile, but it didn’t work. She stood up and gave me a patof powder on my nose and temple.

          “You’re gonna be okay. You’re a great singer. I know you’ll do well.” She told me.

…

           I came out of the waiting room, ready to sing. Onew-ssi, take care of me. Let’s do well.

…

...

          I started singing. The anxiety I felt slowly went away and I made it into the chorus.

…

        A familiar voice started singing. I wanted to turn around to look at the guy who was singing, but at that time, I felt like I had a stiff neck. I could not even move.

“Lee Jinki!” The fans chanted after the first and second line.

         L-Lee Jinki? Onew…  is Lee Jinki? How did this happen?

        My mind went blank. It’s just so hard to believe that Onew is Jinki. I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. I put a forced smile on my face while my heart was rapidly beating out of my chest.

         I must remember the lyrics. God, please help me. I don’t want to mess this up.

[BRIDGE PART]

         I started singing and my voice shook a little. I just had to look at him. I needed to connect with him to sing our duet properly.  He also looked at me as if he’s really singing the song for me.

[CHORUS PART-LAST]

          Now he’s approaching me. My voice was shaking so I looked at the audience instead. I could feel his stare and it’ll be weird if I didn’t look at him back. I didn’t even dare to look at his eyes. I focused on his chin to avoid his eyes. I took a step forward and smiled at him. I don’t even know why I did that. But he didn’t smile back…