I was frozen in place. The guy was wearing a cap, he had a scarf around his neck, and was in a black snow jacket. I couldn't see his face very well from up on stage but he gestured as if to say, "Carry on." 

My mouth opened but no words came out. My lips were trembling, either because of the cold winter air or because of my stage fright again. What a good combination.

The man shouted out to me, "Why did you stop singing?" 

Because the world forced me to stop, I thought. 

"Are you cold?" he asked.

I was. I wore only a thin sweater and leggings out today. I looked down at my feet. I had forgotten to put shoes on because, you know, when you plan to die, you don't really care about certain things anymore. Even though the snow that fell wasn't that thick yet, my feet were beginning to freeze and I could almost feel nothing from them. I rubbed them together, while still holding the microphone but I avoided eye-contact with the stranger. 

"Would you sing again if I gave you some socks?" I heard him ask. He probably saw my bare feet. I felt the blood go up to my face but I bit my lip, ashamed at my stupidity. 

I gathered all the strength I had and fled from the stage. The snow had coated the streets now and every step was less painful than the next. Not good. I don't want to die without feet. 

"Wait! Stop!" I heard him call out to me. I glanced behind me and saw that he was running after me. I was never a running type of person so pretty soon, I grew exhausted. I had already gotten to a fair distance away but he stayed right behind me and was coming closer and closer. 

I tried to run faster with the remaining strength that I had but I could no longer feel my feet and I stumbled over them and into an alley. I felt my head hit something hard, followed by extreme pain. I heard footsteps crunching on the snow. And then everything out. 

------------ ----------- ---------------- 

I was inside a big coliseum. I was in the middle on a stage and I saw people rushing about everywhere carrying spotlights, microphones, and lots of other equipment that I wasn't familiar with. They didn't notice me standing there. As a girl in a headset passed by me carrying a bunch of papers, I tried to ask her where I was. She went right past me like I wasn't there. That was when I saw that behind me there were gigantic LED screens and flashing on them were pictures of Junsu, Jaejoong, and Yoochun. My eyes brightened when I saw pictures of Yunho and Changmin as well. 

They were complete again? How did this happen?

A big fat man also with a headset was shouting at the girl who had rushed past me and I overheard from their conversation that they had to have all the machines working for the concert tonight.

A Tohoshinki concert? What luck! All I had to do was hide in the seating area above until it started. No one would notice me for sure. I looked up at the rows of chairs and saw that there was nobody there except for a guy watching the set-up.

Yoochun?

They were here right now? This early? 

Then I saw three other guys come in through the door behind him. It was Yunho, Changmin, and Jaejoong. But where was the fifth member? 

I waved my arms wildly in the air hoping to catch their attention as I shouted like some crazy girl, "YA! JUNSU WA DOKO?" They didn't notice. I thought maybe I should speak in Korean, though I don't speak it exactly well. "YAAA~ JUNSU EODI SSEOYO??" But all they did was pat Yoochun on the head and go back out the door together. I frantically looked around for the way to the second floor where they were and saw a big door in front of me. I wasn't going to let this chance slip by anymore. 

I made for the door and was greeted by a blast of cool air-conditioning. I was in a... mall? I saw four escalators, two going down, two going up. By now, they might have left the second floor and had gone down. I ran around in circles looking but I couldn't find them even though there were no other people around.

I went down one of the escalators and saw that I was in a humid, dimly lit marketplace with vendors selling their goods on the floor. I thought I saw Jaejoong standing in front of one obaa-san and I quickly ran over but by the time I got there, he was gone. 

I decided to ask the obaa-san who I knew was Korean (though I didn't know how I knew this) where they went. "Shilehabnida--",

"ShillYEhabnida," she corrected me. 

"ShillYEhabnida, halmoni. Dong Bang Shin Ki eodi gasseoyo?"

"Molla."

What a cranky halmoni. I looked around the marketplace but I didn't see any trace of them. I felt that wave of despair and anguish envelope me again. I saw a gate opening slowly and I ran up the ramp through it to get outside. The sun hit my face like a water balloon filled with vinegar. Straight ahead, I saw a figure walking away from me. There was no one else around and I needed to ask someone where THSK went.

I ran.

And I ran. 

But I wasn't getting any closer even though he was always just two meters in front of me. I was so tired and couldn't stop myself from crying.

Would I be able to get there at all?

---------- ------------ -----------

I woke up to the smell of plum blossoms and roast chicken. It was warm and cozy. I think I had the most awful dream too because I just felt so exhausted. Did I sleep all through winter? Or was I dead already? 

I quickly sat up and saw that I was on a couch facing a lit fireplace. I could feel my feet now! I wriggled my toes in my socks.

Socks?

I don't remember buying a pair of socks like this. 

I looked down and saw that I was dressed in a fur jacket that was a bit too big for me and another layer of pants. Oh, and with a hat to top.

I stood up and looked around the room. Judging from the view from the big windows, I was in one of the high-rise hotels. Surveying the room, I confirmed that because everything looked so neat and expensive from the paintings on the wall to the intricately carved tables and chairs. I didn't dare touch anything. 

As I sat by the window watching the snow gather on the sill, I asked myself, 

"How the hell did I get here??"

I tried to recall what happened yesterday. I tried to jump off my condominium building, I ran to see Junsu singing, I stood there fussing about my life until the streets were empty, I went on the stage--

I froze. I seem to like freezing in place. 

I went on stage and sang... And there was somebody there. I remember running away because I was so embarrassed about myself, and I saw him running behind me all that time. His face was all a blur but his voice was deeper than Junsu's but it wasn't that deep, and it had a certain kind of tone to it. Something like... like...

"Oh, you're awake," said a voice.

THAT! Something like tha-- 

My thoughts got cut in mid-sentence when I looked behind me and saw a guy standing there in a sweatshirt and jeans with a relieved look on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him. His features looked feminine but his demeanor showed otherwise. Sharp nose, long thin eyes like crescent moons, flawless white skin, he looked oddly familiar...

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he apologized as he stepped closer putting his hands in a triangle making himself seem ten times more sincere. He seemed like a nice guy.

"I didn't mean to scare you. But I think it was your fault that you hit your head on the brick wall," he added.

Okay, he's not a nice guy.

I looked away and pouted. He was kind of arrogant but in a subtle way. I can detect subtle. And I despise arrogance. 

"Okay, maybe it was my fault too because I made you run away. How are your feet? Do you like your new socks?" 

Oh, so these are his clothes. 

I looked down at the bright orange socks that I was wearing. It was too bright for my taste but still a happy color nonetheless. 

"I put on four layers of socks because you were still chilly with just three pairs on." 

I quickly checked under the orange socks. True enough, there was a colorful array of green, pink, and blue socks hiding underneath. I pulled each of them out to a certain length so that they look like they're striped layers and all the colors would be seen. They made me feel sane.

The guy laughed and remarked, "I thought I was the only one who did that. We think alike somehow, ne?" 

I stood up and lowered my head to a bow. "Thank you very much for your help. I will be leaving now."

"What? You're leaving already?" he said, blocking my way to the door. "I don't even know your name yet."

"You don't need to know. Goodbye." 

"Wait! No. I won't let you go unless you do something for me first." 

Oh god, please tell me he's not a ert. It's a good thing I practiced Taekwondo back in high school. I hope my skills haven't gotten rusty. I glared at him and cracked my knuckles, going into my battle stance. 

Instead of the reaction I expected, he actually seemed more amused. He raised his eyebrows and a wide grin spread on his face. It made him look kind of attractive in a sheepish way. I swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat.

"Aish, this girl," he said still unable to wipe the grin off his face. "You want to play?" he asked as he assumed battle stance as well. 

This frightened me a little but I figured from experience that pretty faces like his usually belonged to people who did a lot of "talking" but who at actually "doing". He stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders and signalled for me to come at him, which I did. Regretably. 

I don't know what happened but the next thing I knew, I was on the floor and he was looking at me with his hands on his knees. 

"Aside from my 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo, I also do Judo. I merely combined them both." 

He knelt down beside me and stared at me intently, leaning his face in closer to mine. I felt my heart beginning to beat faster. He brushed away the bangs that usually covered my face and he took my chin in his hand, turning my face from left to right. With the intensity in his eyes, it seemed as if he was examining my every flaw down to the pores. I fidgeted at how uncomfortable this was. 

"Can... Can I get up now?" I asked nervously.

He speechlessly propped me up to a sitting position. Without taking his hands off my shoulders, he asked me,

"What is your name?"

I guess I had no choice but to answer. The atmosphere felt different. "I'm Yamaguchi Chihiro." 

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Lee Junki," he said as he stretched out his hand to shake mine. 

Lee Junki?

...