“I’m Taecyeon. Taecyeon Ok from JYP Entertainment.” The man from in the elevator with Yuri introduces himself to her once she calmed down.

They are outside the SM building, getting fresh air.

”Are you a trainee?”

She feels much better, now that she has let out all her tears. “I’m Yuri. Yuri Kwon.” She makes a puzzled face. “What do you mean, am I a trainee?”

He sits up straight. “I guess you’re not a trainee since you don’t know what it is.” He doesn’t bother to explain to her because he can tell that she’s not interested. He sees her school uniform. “You’re dressed in a school uniform, so I thought maybe you were a trainee, since most trainees nowadays are High School students.”

“Oh,” she says. “And I’m sorry for what happened earlier.” She is finally sane enough to be embarassed. Just thinking about it makes her blush. She cried and hugged a man she doesn’t even know, and it was in the elevator! “I...I was just—” She wants to explain, but doesn’t know how.

He chuckles. “It’s okay. I don’t think you’re crazy.”

They laugh.

“But I do think you’re weird. I mean, crying in an elevator. Jeez. ” He jokes.

The two laugh some more.

“And I do hope you’re feeling better now,” he finally says.

She looks up at the clear sky. “Yeah, I am.” She looks at him. “Thank you.”

His phone rings and when he answers, he looks behind him at the agency. He hangs up the phone and stands up. ”Sorry, but I’ve got to go.”

She stands up too. ”I guess I’m going too, then.”

He protests. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

She smiles and assures him. “It’s all right. I’m okay now.” She takes out the cloth he had given her in the elevator. “When I have washed this, I’ll give it back to you.” She smiles and runs into the building.

He touches the back of his head. “She really is one weird girl.”

*

When Yuri reaches inside the building, she asks the front desk woman, “Um, where is Mr. Kwon?”

“Oh, your father is currently on a business errand. Do you want me to give him a call?” asks the woman.

She tells her no and thanks the woman. She leaves the front desk and walks into the big waiting room of the building. She sits on a brown cushioned chair and decides to wait for her father’s return.

“Yuri?” A woman’s voice calls out from behind her.

Yuri peeks back and sees Jessica of Girls’ Generation. “Jessica, right?” asks Yuri, as she stands up.

They greet one another with a bow.

Jessica smiles. “Yes, you’re right. I’m Jessica.” She looks around. “You’re waiting for your dad, right?”

Yuri becomes uncomfortable. “Yeah,” she manages to answer.

Jessica sighs. “We’re very sorry to have had that happened.” She adds, “I hope you understand and won’t stay mad at your him.”

Yuri becomes bright again. “Yeah, I understand. Thanks.” She does understand that no one’s at fault, but her. She had let her emotions get all mixed up and explode at the wrong time and at the wrong place and, most dumbest of all, she exploded her feelings to the wrong people. The one Yuri believes should deserve this is Mr. Lee.

“Oh, why did you call for me?” asks Yuri, remembering.

Jessica puts her hands in the air. “I saw you pass by and since the tour didn’t go as planned, I decided to show you around since your father can’t.” She grabs Yuri’s hands. “Come on. It’ll be fun with me.”

During all the tour, Yuri has forgotten all the problems that had happened on that day. She becomes so immersed in the tour that as the time goes on, her face becomes brighter and brighter.

Jessica sees this and her heart aches. Yuri. Sorry. Jessica apologizes once again, this time, silently to herself.

After the tour, they take a break in the agency’s cafeteria. At their table, they exchange number, e-mails, and social media.

“Wow, you really look different here!” compliments Yuri while looking at pictures of her new friend, Jessica, on a website.

“I know! Even my family says that too.” Jessica laughs. ”Oh well. I’m just glad I had makeup on that day.”

The girls laugh again.

“Thank you, Jessica.” Yuri hasn’t feel this way in a long time, even if she is with her other friends, Hyoyeon and Eunhyuk. They’re a couple already, so it’s different.

Jessica brings her glass cup and cheers it with the younger girl’s. “Hey, that’s what friends are for. Now that we exchanged information, feel free to talk to me when you’re not feeling well. Okay?”

Yuri brings her glass cup and cheers it with Jessica’s. “Got it.”

The girls walk down from the stairs after eating and staying in the dining room for almost two hours chit chatting. Unfortunately, their conversation is interrupted when Jessica has to go.

“Yuri, I’ll see you next time.”

Yuri nods and waves back. When Jessica isn’t seen anymore, Yuri walks back to where she had sat in the afternoon after she and Taecyeon met and separated. As she sits down, she realizes something. She told Taecyeon she’d give him back his cloth after washing it, but she doesn’t know when or how they’ll meet each other again.

She looks at her watch. It is only 7:38 p.m. She gets up and decides to find Taecyeon in the building. She hopes that he is still here, somewhere.

*

“That’s funny! Your team is going to lose if Yoona’s on the opposite team!” jokes Onew.

Onew, Taemin, Minho, Yoona, and Taecyeon are sitting down on the ground of the dance room talking with one another. They have been talking about the new show Taecyeon and Yoona are doing.

Taecyeon flashes a quick look at Yoona and then says, “No matter how strong and manly you are, I’ll give my best!”

Yoona jokes back and throws a punch, which Taecyeon manages to avoid in time.

“Careful manly Yoona, or else I can’t participate!”

Everyone else laughs. Yoona is known to be very strong although she’s skinny.

Yoona and Minho look at one another. They both are thinking the same thing. They are thinking that if only Taecyeon knew how she feels for him, they wouldn’t have to pretend to date one another to promote their own agency, as said by Jinyoung and Sooman—the Presidents of both agencies.

Taecyeon clears his throat and changes the subject. He looks at his pal Minho. “ How are you two doing? I hear that you have a date planned already to celebrate the airing of the premiere of the new show for h?” Taecyeon is acting all mushy as he speaks.

Yoona becomes all red and covers her cheeks. “Really, Minho?”

Minho glares at Taecyeon.

Taecyeon becomes scared. “Hey, I didn’t know that you didn’t tell her.” He looks apologetically at Yoona. “Pretend you didn’t hear what I said about the date.”

She frowns and jokingly pushes him.

The group laughs even more.

“Since we’re on the topic, when are you guys going to go?” asks Taecyeon.

Minho looks at Yoona. “When are you free?”

She thinks for a while. “Well, I have schedules for this whole week and half of next week.”

The guys pout when they hear this.

Yoona jumps in delight. “Ah, how about next Thursday?”

“Next Thursday, eh?” questions Minho. He looks over at Onew and Taemin. “Anything for us on that day?”

Onew shrugs his head no, but Taemin says something. “Yeah, we do! We’re gonna send Manager hyung off at the airport, remember?”

The SHINee boys’ eyes lit up as they are reminded of that.

“That’s right!” Onew and Minho say in unison, though, with different tones.

Taecyeon is puzzled. “Where is he going?”

“I hear he’s being sent to America for a special convention meeting in regards to the hallyu wave,” explains Taemin.

Onew sighs. “So, he’s going to be gone for a while. A long while,” he emphasizes.

“Then, who is going to take his job as a manager?” asks Yoona, worried.

Onew claps as he becomes even more excited. “His daughter!”

Yoona sees Minho rolls his eyes, and she becomes confused.

Taemin says one thing about Yuri. “She can dance!”

“She’s really pretty.” Onew adds on, “she doesn’t look her age, and she’s only seventeen!”

“She can dance!” Taemin repeats himself.

“Is that all you care about?” asks Minho in a rude and arrogant and annoyed manner at Taemin. ”I don’t think she’s fit to take care of us in her father’s place.”

Everyone becomes silent.

Taecyeon breaks the silence. “I’d like to see this person who makes Minho all grumpy.”

“I’m not grumpy. I am saying the truth.” Minho protests.

The door to the dance room opens and in walks Jonghyun. He is in all smiles. ”Hello, fellas.”

“Yo,” they greet Jonghyun in unison.

Behind Jonghyun is a girl.

Everyone, but Yoona, recognizes the girl behind him.

Yuri.

Minho averts his eyes to the windows. He doesn’t want to look at her.

“Well, here you are, Yuri. Taecyeon is here.” Jonghyun sticks out his palm toward Taecyeon.

Yoona becomes suspicious and curious. Why was this Yuri looking for Taecyeon, and how come she doesn’t know this girl? She sees Taecyeon go to Yuri with a smile.

He greets Yuri again, awkwardly, as they had just left separately a few hours ago and here they are, meeting one another again. “Me?”

Taemin, Onew, and Jonghyun look at Yuri, waiting for an answer.

Yuri greets Taecyeon too. “Sorry, but I realize that I don’t know where you’ll be next time to give this back to you.” She shows him the object.

He smiles at her, finding her funny. “Wow, you really have thought about it.”

“What happened? Why do you need to return something Yuri?” asks Jonghyun, interrupting their conversation.

She is lost for words and becomes uncomfortable because she doesn’t want to explain the embarrassing incident between Taecyeon and her in the elevator. “Because...well, because, you see...”

Taecyeon sees this and helps her out. “I dropped that and she accidentally stepped on it, so she decided to wash it for me.” He gives her a wink.

She goes along with it, feeling thankful. “Y-yeah, that was what had happened.”

“That sounds...” says Jonghyun.

“...really...” continues Onew for Jonghyun.

“...sweet of you, Yuri.” Taemin finishes.

Everyone looks at Taemin, in disbelief. They had expected something else that is more befitting.

Taemin looks around. “What?” He defends his answer. “It’s sweet of her.”

Onew and Jonghyun shake their head, knowing that Taecyeon and Yuri used that as an excuse and can’t believe that Taemin fell for it.

Yoona looks at Yuri. Even though Yoona’s all smile, inside, she feels inferior. She hasn’t seen Taecyeon this relaxed in a long time. Even if he’s with her and may put on a smile, she knows that he feels uncomfortable around her.

“That’s right, Taecyeon!” exclaims Taemin. “You acted as if you didn’t know who the girl that is going to take over Manager hyung’s place, and yet when you saw Yuri, you become so flirty around her.”

“We’re not flirting!” protests Taecyeon. He apologizes to Yuri for what Taemin had said and then looks back at Taemin and the rest. “Besides, we only met today, right before you guys called me to come up here.” He sees Yuri’s face, and she isn’t happy.

Yuri breaks into the conversation. “Taecyeon ssi, may I know when you’re coming back here?”

Taecyeon realizes this facial expression. It’s almost the same expression she had when she was in the elevator before and now he knows why she was crying in the elevator earlier. ”I’ll be here tomorrow. Around six.”

She gives one last look at him and manages to send him a smile. “I’ll just wait for you at the lobby, then. Bye.”

Everyone else becomes perplexed at the changed atmosphere of Yuri and Taecyeon. They just look at Yuri as she walks out the door.

Minho sees this and hates that he feels something.

What’s wrong with her? thinks Minho, regarding Yuri’s changed expression.

Yoona looks up at Taecyeon and sees his worried face. She looks down at her feet. Why did you stop giving me that look?

*

Yuri and her father are in the car, quiet as they aren’t speaking to one another. It is 9:26 p.m. They are finally going home.

Yuri looks out the window, not ready to look at her father and initiate a conversation she knows she’s going to explode if it is mentioned. Although she feels bad, she’s still angry at the fact that she’s the last to know. This was proven when she found out that the boys already knew that her father was going to leave to wherever he is going to go. It’s also the fact that she’s his daughter, yet she wasn’t told about any of this.

Oh, wait, Yuri remembers, I’m not his daughter, so of course I’m last to know. She scoffs.

Mr. Kwon steals a quick glance at his daughter as he looks to the right before making a turn. “Yuri ah, do you want to eat out tonight?”

She answers in an unexcited tone. “No. I want to go home.”

He becomes saddened, hoping that the suggestion of eating out would cheer her up.

When they reached home, she gets out and goes straight to her room.

As he closes the door and walks into the living room, he looks at his daughter’s closed door upstairs and feels bad. He knows what’s bothering her. He sighs and drags his feet to his room.

Yuri decides that she’ll talk to her father about it when he brings it up, but if he brings it up too late, she’s never going to forgive him. To cool off, she decides to take a bath.

*

When Yuri is out of the bath and is dressed, she sits on the corner of her bed. Across from her is her drawers. On top of the drawers are picture frames. On one of them, there is a picture her parents together. She walks over to the picture. She’s never seen her mother because her father told her that her mother died after childbirth.

Is she not my real mother, too? Yuri starts to wonder, since the father she knows isn’t her biological father. She brings the picture up close. Many people have said that the traits she and her mother shared are the nose and the smile. As for her dad, she has his eyes and the mouth.

She laughs. How can they have similarities if they aren’t related? She puts the picture back down and flops onto her bed. “Am I really not your child?” she asks, still having little doubt.

*

Mr. Kwon knocks at Yuri’s door, waking her up.

She opens her eyes. She has fallen asleep after she flopped onto her bed. She looks at her alarm clock. It is 1:58 in the morning, and she wonders why her father isn’t asleep. She half-awake gets up and opens the door.

“Sorry to wake you up. Can we talk?” His voice sounds distressed.

Concerned about what could her father possibly be needing to talk to her about this early, she allows him to enter.

They walk to her and sit at the edge.

She rubs her eyes.

“I’ll make this a quick one,” he says.

She looks at him, waiting.

“I’m...” he looks at her and sincerely continues. “I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell you.”

Yuri becomes puzzled. ”About what?” She’s too sleepy to recall.

“About making you manager to the boys in my place,” answers her father.

She looks away, trying to show him she’s remembered and is angry.

He rubs the back of his neck in discomfort. “Yuri. I know you’re angry, and you have every right about it, but...”

There is a pause from him.

She looks at him. Is he going to come up with an excuse to cover up for his boss?

He avoids eye contact as he speaks. “But you know, it was easy telling them because they weren’t you.”

She looks at him, trying to understand what he said.

“I didn’t want to mention anything about leaving you, as it would hurt just to speak of it.” He chuckles. “Even thinking about it...” he starts to tear and his voice starts to break.

She finally understands. He didn’t tell her because it was too painful to say. She hates herself now, for being angry at her father for her selfishness. She didn’t even thought that it was hard for her father to bring it up. That was why he said he couldn’t find the right time to tell her. She feels bad because she feels that she has forced him to mention something he wasn’t ready to.

She lets out a tear. “Appa, I’m sorry.” She scoots over to him and hugs him.

He hugs her in return. “No, I should be sorry. I should’ve told you about this and not let you hear it from anyone else.”

Her tears flow harder as she now thinks about the separation. But it is a different separation. Her thinking about the separation of going back to her real family.

“Appa, when are you leaving?” She manages to ask, still hugging her father.

“Next Thursday.”

She pulls away from the hug. “That soon? Why?” She remembers something, something that she knows but he doesn’t know that she knows. He is going to get a pancreatic cancer treatment.

“Ah, the boss wants me to attend a hallyu wave convention that will take months. Since I am a person he trusts, I’ll be dealing with it.”

Lies. “When, when are you coming back?”

“I...I don’t know, really.”

She becomes nervous. She knows every surgery has their pros and their cons and can be dangerous. ”You have to come back, okay? I’ll be waiting for you.” She holds her father’s hands. “If you don’t come back, I won’t ever marry! I’ll wait in this house until you return. If I have to be a ghost, I’ll be a ghost!”

He laughs in joy. “Hey, maybe I shouldn’t come back. That way, you won’t get to marry Taemin.”

The two laugh at his joke.

“No, seriously, you have to come back,” she says, almost pleading.

He puts his hand on top of her head, patting her. After a few hesitation, he promises to return. “I...I will. Promise.”

T