The next week passed painstakingly slowly. Yuri impatiently spent her time doing homework or drawing, which were both pretty much the same things. She also filled up her time writing in her journal and also working on a new poem in her notebook. It was titled “Butterfly Wings” and was about her feelings of fragility and weakness. Yeah, it was a pretty name for another depressing poem.

     Mina, on the other hand, kept herself completely occupied by reading. And homework. And reading. Seriously, the amount she read was almost inhumane. Already, there were stacks of books around the room that she had read. Mina also spent a lot of time surfing the internet, and drawing on her drawing tablet. She had actually been the first one to introduce Yuri to manga, and she had quickly latched on and was soon addicted. Mina was happy, because if it weren’t for that, Yuri would probably not be here, in Seoul, Korea, rooming with her. Mina shook her head, remembering that Yuri would at least have been in Korea, whether it had anything to do with what she wanted. She simply had to.

     Finally, the next Saturday came. (We really love Saturdays, don’t we?) After eating breakfast, which incidentally was not rice since Mina had woken up first and decided to cook, and getting ready, Yuri decided to pack her bag for the day. She was going to go exploring, at her own pace, without Mina. Honestly, the biggest concern was that she either was going to get lost or spend too much, which is why Mina insisted on Yuri carrying a limited amount of money on her. Yuri used a grey, medium sized drawstring bag that would be easy to carry around. In it, she put a sketchbook, her black and silver striped spiral notebook, her journal, two mechanical pencils and pack of lead, her amazing handy eraser, a colored pencil set, and a water bottle. Per Mina’s suggestion, she also put in an umbrella in case it rained for some random reason, and a map, for obvious reasons. Yuri slung her bag over her shoulder, grabbed her cell phone, and headed out.

     Once she left the building, Yuri simply stood there for a few minutes, soaking in the beautiful morning and the warm fall sunshine. Soon, though, her face darkened, both from the passing cloud and the sudden weight that was bearing down on her heart. She quickly picked up her pace, heading straight towards her intended destination, her heart as iced as ever. Yuri couldn’t go back to those days. She had left her past when she had moved to Korea. She would not let it haunt her, neither the incident nor Lucas.

     Yuri breathed a sigh of relief as she plopped into one of the benches in the corner of the small park. In front of her, still close enough to see pretty clearly, was the entrance to the SM building. From where she sat, Yuri could see everyone who went in and out of the building. Yep, Yuri did have slightly creepy stalkerish tendencies, but that never bothered anyone more than her cold attitude already did. Shaded by a tree and screened by bushes, away from the watchful eyes of people, the tension in Yuri’s frame melted away as she unpacked her sketchbook, spiral notebook, her pencil, and eraser.

     For the next thirty minutes, Yuri observed everyone, from pedestrians that passed by to stressed out staff that exited the building shouting into their cell phone. In her mind, Yuri gave each of these people a story, and wrote down the basics, as well as quickly capturing their most notable features on her sketchpad. As much as she hated interacting with people and wouldn’t trust them, Yuri loved giving characters she created a story. It was like building their life, block by block. It was an art that was necessary in any story based situations, such as being a mangaka. And it was Yuri’s gift. She could give her characters more than just a story or emotions. With each new character, Yuri put her heart and soul into breathing life into them. It was the closest she actually got to human contact.

     A few hours later, at about 10:00, Yuri had filled up pages of notes about different types of people and the lives they could lead. She sighed contently, and slowly packed up her things into her bag again. The sun, by then, had risen high in the sky and provided a warm, comfortable warmth as it was filtered through the branches of the crimson and orange tree. Yuri soaked in the calming rays, settling down into the bench while clutching her bag.

     A mysterious figure had been watching her for a while from a window of the SM building. He wondered why he was drawn so much to this girl, who he had also seen numerous times over the past month. He had seen her and another girl who he assumed to be her friend standing in front of the University of Korea’s Fine Arts when he was out running a few errands. He had also passed her a few times on his occasional morning walk. The girl had even accidentally knocked him over once, and stopped to apologize and help him up. What had caught his notice was that there was no warmth in her eyes, and her hand, though she offered it, was as cold as ice. There was no feeling in that girl. But as the guy looked at her now sleeping figure, there was a sort of beautiful fragility around her. So, he asked a passing staff for one of the blankets they were carrying, and headed down the stairs. He quickly exited the building, remembering to put on his sunglasses and hat. The young man, who couldn’t have been over twenty, carefully covered the sleeping girl with the blanket.

          Before turning around to leave, the boy had an idea. He picked up the girl’s cell phone, added her number into his phone, and added his own number to the contacts, under the name “Mysterious.” The young man chuckled as he sent the girl’s phone a message, reading as follows:
          “Hello, beautiful girl!

          I couldn’t help thinking that you would be cold, as clouds were starting to cover the sun. Please enjoy the blanket and I hope you had good dreams! Feel free to call or text  me whenever! Oh, and since you owe me for the blanket, you better not delete my number ;)!

          -Your new friend, Mysterious”

          With that message, he replaced the cell phone in the girl’s pocket and quickly ran back into the SM building. On his way up, he bumped into a manager, who said,
          “Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking for you! You’re needed on the 4^th floor, quickly! The recording is about the start!”

          The boy quickened his pace, smiling to himself as he reached the 4^th floor. His newfound person of interest would have to wait, because right now, it was show time!

Hello everyone, lunastorm here! What do you think of the new chapter? Can you guess who "Mysterious" is? As always, thank you sooo much for reading and feel free to comment or sub!

Bye bye~!