The phone rang six times before voice mail picked up.  Seung-Hyun scowled.  Noelle had left him a message earlier to let him know she’d arrived safely, but now he couldn’t get her on the phone.  He went to his laptop to check the time difference in LA.  “Ah,” he thought to himself.  She must be asleep.

Feeling depressed, he wandered to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge to search for something sweet to eat. 

“,” he mumbled to himself.  Daesung had cleaned out all his hiding spots.  He slammed the door shut and went to take a shower instead.

They’d pumped her stomach.  Noelle thought she’d suffered before, but this new experience bordered on torture.  The doctor said she must have had a bad reaction to something she’d eaten. They left her with an IV drip running for awhile .. then released her with a new prescription for pain meds.

She didn’t see how her body could take any more.  Back at her apartment, she crawled into bed and slept until the next afternoon.

The sound of the phone ringing pulled her out of the self-induced coma.

“Hello?” her voice was thin and raspy.

“It’s about time,” came a deep, husky voice over the line.  A voice that was pitched at just the right tone to send shivers coursing down her spine.  Suddenly she felt a lot better.

“I’m sorry.  Did you try to call? I got food poisoning when I got home and had to go to the doctor.”

“Food poisoning!?!” Seung-Hyun sounded appalled.  “Someone poisoned your food??”

Noelle laughed.  “No I mean I ate something that made me sick.  I’m alright now though, don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry when you’re so far away.  I can’t keep an eye on you from here.”

“I miss you,” she whispered as she gazed at a picture of him she’d taken with her cell phone.

“I miss you more.”

Ji-Yong turned his coffee cup in a slow circle.

“Dara,” he began.  She looked at him with wide questioning eyes. 

“I know I haven’t been clear about his before, and I realize now I should have been bolder.  But I really care about you.  I like you.  No … I’m in love with you.”

Dara looked shell-shocked.

Ji-Yong ran his sweaty palms down the length of his thighs and leaned forward over the table.  His face was pleading as he looked into her eyes.

“Give me a chance before you decide what to do …. “

She opened to respond.

“No .. please .. don’t say anything now.  Think about it.  Answer me once you’ve had a chance to think about it.”

He pushed away from the table and leaned against the chair’s wooden back to take a deep steadying breath.  He was sure he’d butchered it.  Why did the lyrics come so easily?  But when it really counted the perfect words were nowhere to be found?

“You’re moving to Seoul??” Billy Monahan sputtered incredulously.  “What the hell for?”

Noelle took a seat on the long leather couch in the center of her father’s office.

“I have an opportunity to intern with YG Entertainment.  They are one of the top companies internationally.”  She left out the part about YG not accepting her yet.

“You’re joking,” he fumed.  “I’ve been asking you to work here since you graduated and now you WANT to work for someone else?”

Noelle had to agree, it looked bad.

“It’s a great chance Dad.  To learn in a totally different environment, think of what I could bring back.”

Billy looked at her skeptically.  “What about your music,” he asked.  “You’re doing pretty well.  You don’t want to work on another album?”

“I’ll never stop writing,” she replied.  “But I never intended to go down that path for the long run.  This is what I want to do now.”

He shook his head.  “I don’t get it at all.”

“The Korean artists are doing some amazing things.  Here,” she placed a small bag of CD’s on the coffee table.  “Listen to these.  Trust me … the US market will eat it up.  Someone will figure it out eventually, wouldn’t you rather that someone be Monahan?”

He pulled out a CD and grimaced. “You know I hate pop.”

“Grow up Dad.  The 80’s are over.  Get a haircut,” she smirked.  “Trust me.  It’s really, really good.

Billy chucked.  “You gonna see your Grandma?”

Noelle nodded.  “My flight leaves tomorrow.”

Billy stood over his daughter and looked at her for a moment. “You look like hell,” he observed.

“Wish I felt that good,” she replied.

Courtney watched as Noelle left and got on the elevator.  She burst into the office and slammed the door behind her.

“What did she want,” she demanded.

Billy set his scotch glass down on his desk before replying thoughtfully.  “She says she’s moving to Seoul.  Can you believe that?  She doesn’t even speak Korean.  She wants to go work for a company there .. but still refuses to work for me,” he said angrily.

Courtney’s face turned crimson.

“Why do you even want her??” she screeched.  “I’m right here .. I always have been.  You don’t need her!”

Billy looked at his younger daughter indulgingly.  “This is business honey.  Someone has to take over so I can retire.”

Courtney’s eyes bulged as she hissed, “Are you saying you don’t think I can … ??“

He placed a hand on her shoulder and patted her gently, “I’m saying I have to do what’s best.  I love you honey but I know your limitations.  You barely made it through high school and dropped out of college your freshman year,” he gave her a squeeze.  “I know you’ve had it rough since your mom left.  But Noelle is your sister, she’s family.  Everyone has their part to play.”

Courtney trembled with rage.  That black haired witch was no sister of hers.  And her mom didn't just leave.  It was all Noelle’s fault …. everything was Noelle’s fault.