Ro made way to a nearby market where she saw a board that clearly read ‘Pet Animals’. Being on stranger lands was the first time for her, and it was clearly not as good as others described it to her. It was rather a pain. Just to look for that damned creature she had been roaming this stupid and crowded city for the past 7 to 8 hours and she couldn’t even find it.

She had to find it, though, even if it took her a whole year or maybe more. Because if she didn’t find it, she would probably never be able to return home, and save her loved ones as well.

“Cats…” she read the underline of the pet shop’s board,  “Hamsters…Dogs…snakes…fish…”

If it was a normal day for her, she’d grow hungry because of the delicious smell and aorma of food that roamed the streets of Iteawon, but thanks to two earthling strangers, namely Taecyeon and Junsu, she had her fill for the time being, and they indeed fed her delicious food. Maybe by saving their lives, she’d be repaying them.

Yes, that was the only way she could repay them. She smiled to herself, when she realized that she knew almost everything about this planet, and that was also thanks to the earthling Taecyeon’s old tech computer. It was a bit slow, but she learnt almost 44 languages, the world’s geography and topography and how this place worked.

It was strange as well, she was supposed to have a smooth landing, but instead her ship crash landed and now was in the hands of an organization that was called ‘NASA’. Strange name, she had thought. But at least she survived. Now if she can find the cat and the galaxy, she’d be able to save these people, return home and live peacefully on her planet.

Planet…what a big word. Ofcourse, to those who thought she was one of them, just because of her looks, she wasn’t. She was, what humans would call her, an alien. Traveler from a far of galaxy, in search for an object that was here on Earth.

It was cliché, she thought, how like a movie, she ended up going to Earth. She knew what movies were, her planet was just like Earth, with people like Earth and an environment like Earth’s. But they were far more advanced. What Earthlings considered ‘Hi-tech’ was a piece of junk for her.

“We can grow money on our planet..but here…I’ll have to work for it. Who knows how long will it take me to find that damned creature…” she whispered to herself and then looked around when someone bumped into her, and she fell, landing on her , “Ouch!”

“I’m so so so sorry!!” a man, with blonde hair began bowing in front of her frantically and she squinted her eyes to get a good look at his face. The sun behind him, hid his whole appearance almost making her vision black. He quickly offered her his hand and she got up, dusting her clothes, “Please watch where you walk,” she tried to sound as polite as she could and he bowed again, “I am so sorry. I was in a rush---Oh the thief! My money!”

She turned around and saw a man running at a very fast speed, and suddenly she ran after him and was really fast. She jumped over a few side rails and finally caught up with the thief and grabbed him by his hoodie, “Stop.”

She stopped and the man fell back, she was way too powerful, he felt it in one jerk only. The blonde man caught up with her, and huffed cold breath as everyone was staring at the three of them. She snatched the purse and glared at the thief coldly, “Stealing is a crime.”

A police man nearby, on a patrol saw the whole commotion and hauled his way out oof the crowd, “What’s going on here?”

“He stole my purse, this lady helped,” the blonde Asian answered and the police man took hold of the thief and bowed to Ro and the other guy, “I’ll take care of him.”

“Make sure he pays good for such a crime,” Ro hissed and turned around with the thoughts of her planet in her mind. Thievery, was not at all tolerated on her planet. Actually any crime, had a strict punishment, and she herself had a distaste towards criminals.

“Thanks you so much,” she handed him the purse and he bowed to her, “Its fine. Just make sure you don’t let such a thing happen again.”

“I will,” he smiled and then sighed and smiled, “How can I repay you…?”

The word ‘repay’ reminded her of the two other earthlings whom she owed money to. For once she thought of asking for money, but that would be a very unwise request, instead she asked, “Can you tell me, if I can work somewhere for a day and make money?”

“Excuse…me?” he bucked his eyes at her and she repeated her question.  He didn’t know what to say. Making money was not a day’s job. He himself had worked hard to earn every single penny in the last four years. How could he just tell her something like this. But then he took a step back and noticed her eyes. Big doe eyes, with the a cold honest look. Something that suited a model. And it suddenly hit him, “You want to make money right?”

She nodded and then he pulled his phone, “I’m gonna click a quick picture of yours and send it to a friend and maybe I can help you in making money in a day.”

Ro nodded and without a warning, he clicked a picture of her blank face and then typed in a message, while thinking of the outcome in his mind, ‘Maybe she should be suitable.’

Hyung, I found a perfect model for the jewelry photo shoot. Do you like her?

He waited for a few seconds and the reply came fast, which seemed like a yes to him.

Get her to the studio now. Let me see her first.

A wide smile spread across his face and he looked at Ro, “Hi, my name’s Wooyoung. Jang Wooyoung.”

Idols didn’t really have to do the job of model hunting, but the fact that Wooyoung’s elder friend, a new photographer with a fashion jewelry contract in his hands, was model-less. He said he’d keep an eye out for a good model. It had been almost three days since that promise and when he saw Ro, a positive vide spread through his mind.

“She’s perfect, where did you find her?” MinJae, the photographer, whispered to Wooyoung, while his assistant took Ro to the dressing room, “You won’t believe.”

“Amuse me,” Minjae smirked as his eyes never left Ro, who seemed too over whelming to look at. Not in an affectionate or seductive way, but in a photograph way. He could already imagine the girl on the posters and banners with the beautiful jewelry around her neck and wrists, clinging on her ears. She had an unearthly radiance around her. Something that might outshine the diamonds on the jewelry itself.

‘Perfect’, Minjae though.

Ro walked out in a beautiful black gown with diamond jewelry radiating on her slightly wheatish skin. She looked like a goddess, everyone on set thought.

The set was ready, and so was the photographer, but was the model ready?

“So, what do I have to do again…?” she asked Wooyoung and he pointed at the set, “You stand there and pose. You know modeling…”

“Modeling…” Ro had heard of the term, but she wasn’t really familiar with the glitz and glamour of her world. She was a scientist, and her job was to work on bio specimens. But clicking photographs was an old concept when you could just create everything on the digi-ters (their world’s computers) and models just had to wear clothes and take a few hundred shots in a second. Even if they came out wrong, they could be fixed. Technology, it could do wonders.

“Okay…” she said and walked on set. The huge screens around her and the white light really hurt her eyes but somehow, her face was expressionless and cold. Her doe eyes were looking at the photographer who ordered her to lift her chin a pit, strike a pose and then clicked pictures.

She knew how to lift her chin, strike a pose, but only with her friends or family around. Back home,  she had a long distant cousin who was fascinated by old age cameras with digital screens and something that was called Polaroid. She always told Ro that she was ‘photogenic’ and her cousin would keep on taking her pictures. At times Ro would strike poses that were just called ‘goddess-like’ but she didn’t get it.

Why was she compared to a belief set in by people. The concept of gods and goddesses was long forgotten by her people. There were a few ‘lunatics’ who would just keep on chanting about God’s power and how one should ‘fear’ it. She didn’t understand why people would blindly believe in something never seen or heard from.

She was a scientist, and only believed in things she had seen by her own eyes and heard by her own ears. One thing she had noticed about Earthlings was that they were blind believers of God.

Wooyoung gawked at the girl in front of him. Only an hour ago, she was on the ground, in a tired grey sweater and black jeans. Fifty five minutes ago she helped him by catching a thief. Forty five minutes ago she was asking him about a job, and now here they were. She was right in front of him, posing like an ice queen from a far off land.

‘She’s something…’ he thought as he saw her turn to her right, blinking as flashes went off conitnously. He could see she was a bit blinded by the lights, and wanted to step in and cover her eyes, but she wanted to make money, this was on of the fastest ways.

“That’s it….thanks, Ro,” Minjae smiled at her before shaking her hand and then Ro went in to change out of the awfully tight clothes.

“Hyung…she has one simple demand though…” Wooyoung whispered and MinJae cocked an eyebrow, “What is it?”

“She wants her paycheck today. Nothing else,” Minjae sighed and then called his secretary, “Sooyoon! Get the company checkbook! And a pen!”

Ro was out in a second and she looked at the man, “I need cash.”

“You can cash the cheque at the bank with me,” Wooyoung suddenly interrupted and then Ro looked at him, “Fine. But I don’t have much time.”

Minjae gave the cheque to Wooyoung and whispered, “Is she under some debt?”

“I doubt that…she was looking at a pet shop, when I saw her earlier, maybe she wants to buy a pet…” Wooyoung replied.

Wooyoung took her to nearby bank and deposited the cheque for her and took the cash to her, “Here’s you money.”

“Thank you for your help,” she bowed to him and he shrugged, “You helped me, I helped you back.”

“If you don’t mind me prying…” he spoke, swinging back and forth with a stupid look on his face. Ro gave him a prompting look and he continued, “Do you have a debt to pay…?”

Ro slightly chuckled, which took Wooyoung by surprise. This was the first time in the last three hours that he had seen her smiling. It was a short, yet had a warm feeling to it.

“No I just need money. I’m a foreigner, and my luggage got sent to Bali. So I’m here in Seoul, waiting for it. So till it gets here…” she lied. It wasn’t something new for her. Ro lied all the time. She lied to her panrents, when she didn’t feel like coming to meet them she told them that she had work to do. When she wanted to break up with an accidental boyfriend she told him she wasn’t free and could care less about a relationship under her pile of work. She lied to her long distant – camera infatuated – cousin when she denied that she didn’t like the pictures that she took of hers. She lied all the time.

She lied when she said that she was heading to Galaxy Mena 8, when she was heading to Omega 7, aka the Earth’s solar system.

She lied all the time.

“Ah…do you have a place to stay?” he asked her and she nodded, “Yes I do.”

“Thanks for your help, I need to go now,” she bowed and he bowed back, “We’re even.”

He saw her walk away as the sun began setting, she glanced back, their eyes met, and he couldn’t get them off her as she waved at him while walking away. Indeed she had a breathtaking look. With her long black hair falling down to her waist and mild chocolaty skin, she was every man’s dream.

Unearthly.

Goddess like.

_______________________

Okay..Long...i hope.

So did anyone see that one coming...Ro is an alien..?!?