Ayako pokes her head in my office. “______. Boss wants to see you.”

“Should I be worried?” I ask nervously. I’ve only been working here a few weeks, but I hadn’t heard any complaints about my work.

“I don’t think so. It may be a new job for you,” she says with a wink.

“Oh,” I say, instantly brightening. “Great. That group of tourists last week was a blast. I hope it’s something similar.”

“No idea. Good luck, though.” She gives me a thumbs up before disappearing.

    Walking down the hall, I smooth my clothes before knocking. Although my boss, Lee Young Ja, is a big teddy bear, I’m grateful to him for hiring me and want to look my best.

“Come in,” a booming voice says.

“Good morning, Lee-ssi. You wanted to see me?”

“Good morning, _____. How’s my newest dongsaeng?”

“I’m fine. And you?”

“Very good. Please, sit," he says, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. "Are you ready to find out your next assignment?”

“Of course.”


“First of all, I want to say I’ve been very impressed with your work thus far. Miss Kim was right when she told me you were one of her best students.”

I blush a little at his unexpected praise. “I still have a lot to learn.”

“You will, especially with this job. Usually, I’d give this to Sharon, but since she’s on maternity leave, you’re the only one that fits the client’s qualifications.”

“Qualifications?”

“S.M Entertainment is a very good client so we always try to accommodate them. They asked for a native English speaker, specifically an American, interpreter who in addition can speak Japanese. You don’t find many Americans in Korea who are fluent in both languages. Thus, you’re the best choice,” he says with a smile.

“Thank you, Lee-ssi. What exactly will I be doing?”

“One of their groups is going to Japan in a few weeks for a concert. Then a few more weeks later, they’re going to the United States for filming and a photo shoot. They’ll be there about two weeks. You’ll need to meet with them before you go, help them with their Japanese if they wish, so on. If it goes over well, you’ll definitely accompany them to America and you may even end up working for the company again.”

“That would be wonderful. May I know the name of the band?

“...DPSK? Maybe?” He waves his hand. “Something like that. I’ve heard they’re very popular.”

My excitement grows as I realize who he’s talking about.“Do you mean DBSK?”

He looks relieved. “Oh, thank goodness. I’m glad you know who they are.”

“Of course I do,” I laughs. “They are very popular. Very talented.”

“And very handsome, I’m guessing?” he teases.

I bite my lip in an attempt to hide my smile. “So I’ve heard. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t really had a chance to get a good look at more than one or two of them.”

Mr.Lee laughs. “Then I don’t think it’ll be too much of a hardship for you to work with them. Hopefully they won’t be spoiled.”

“Even if they are, if I could handle that American couple last week, I can definitely handle them,” I assure him.

“So you did,” he chuckles. “If I didn’t think you could, I would’ve recommended a different agency. Your meeting with them will be at ten a.m Wednesday at their dorm. I’ll send you directions and your pass tomorrow. Arrasso?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you don’t have any questions, I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thank you,” I smile. “Thank you so much.”

    He shooes me out with a smile. I make myself remain poised as I exited the office. Once I close the door, I let out a muffled squeal and do a little dance. Still squealing happily, I run into Ayako’s office and slam the door shut. She freezes at her computer, staring at me.

“Could you give a girl a bigger heart attack?” she asks, clutching her heart. “Don’t do that! You know I scare easy!”

I just grin at her.

“Wait, you’re beaming. What happened? You couldn’t have gotten a promotion that quickly, no offense.”

“Guess who I get to work with for an unspecified number of months?”

“Who?” she asks, bouncing in her seat as she catches onto my excitement.

“DBSK!!” I yell, doing a repeat performance of my earlier dance in the hall.

“No way!” she shouts, joining my dance. As our excitement simmers down, she pouts a little. “Why didn’t Young Ja pick me?”

I give her a hug. “It’s nothing you did. They wanted an American because they’re going to America later.”

“Phooey. Why’d I have to be Japanese?”

“Hey, there are so many cool things about being Japanese.”

She sighs. “That’s true. We got sushi and ninjas.”

I laugh and hug her again. “That’s the spirit.”

“When do you get to meet them?”

“Wednesday.”

“This is so...so...cool! Who’s your favorite?”

“I’m not really sure. I don’t really know the individual members, just some of their songs.”

She playfully smacks my arm. “You better do some research.”

“I will, I will. I'll look up some of their videos tonight.

“You are missing out on some beautiful, beautiful men...especially Jaejoong,” she sighs.

I giggle. “Someone’s a fan girl.”

“A proud Cassiopeia. That’s what their fans are called,” she explains when I give her a confused look.

“Oh. Well, since you know them better than me, do you have time to tell me about them?”

She turns off her computer and pats a free space on her desk. “I was just tying up loose ends for next week's business conference. Besides, I always have time for DBSK.”

I jump up and make myself comfortable.

“Okay, to start off, they debuted in 2003. There are five members; all with really, I mean really beautiful voices . The oldest is Jaejoong. He’s kind of the pretty boy, but he can be really dorky. The leader is Yunho. He’s an amazing rapper and dancer. There’s the evil magnae, that’s the youngest, Changmin. His cute role was kind of stolen by Junsu. Then there’s Yoochun. He writes some of their songs. He’s actually from America too, kinda. He was born here but his family moved to ia for a while.”

    Yoochun? Could it...no, no way.

“Ayako! I need you!” Mi Sun, the receptionist, yells from the lobby.

Ayako rolls her eyes. “I’ll finish your education later. Got to go.”

    I make my way back to my office, the name ‘Yoochun’ running through my mind. The realistic part of my mind refuses to admit the possibility, but my inner dreamer won’t let go of the chance that DBSK’s Yoochun is the same Yoochun I had briefly met. Although it's been six years, I still remember him. I make myself focus on work until closing time. Unfortunately, Ayako doesn’t have any free time the rest of the day so I don’t get to ask her Yoochun’s last name.

 When I get home, I go to my computer and start my search. DBSK’s Yoochun has the last name Park, but I remind myself it's a common Korean surname. Determined to know, I find their latest music video, ‘Purple Line’. The camera pans across several light bulbs as I wait impatiently. Suddenly, the music begins and half a face pops onto the screen. My heart skips a beat. I wait for the face to come back, afraid to rewind in case it doesn't belong to who I think it does. As the video progresses, he comes back for a solo and my doubts fly out the window. He's grown, but it is him. The others become a blur as I focus on him and play the video over and over again.

It is my Yoochun. He did it. He really did it.

    Leaving my computer, I walk to my bookshelf and pull out the slightly wrinkled paperback. The gold still gleams as brightly as it did the day Yoochun gave it to me. I was disappointed, but not really surprised when I had never heard from him again. Now, I begin wondering again why I hadn’t. Had he lost my email? Had he forgotten me?

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HyeSuh: I'll try for consistent updates. :)

nar12345: Thank you ^^