Vertigo. 

Cartwheels.

Smoke.

When the music stopped, I opened my eyes to see a hazy image of Lee Junki sitting in front of me. I think his eyes became bigger... and so did his mouth. He started clapping and it sounded like drums... drums...the world was... spinning... 

..... ..... .....

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?

Then just when I was going to give up, the figure became clearer and stopped walking. He turned around and I saw his face. It was that of a black puma. It gave me a grin that went from ear to ear, and it bounded away and up into a tree. 

"Wait!" I called out to it. I ran until I came to the bottom of the really big tree. It didn't have a lot of branches at the bottom and I had no way to climb up. The puma-faced man appeared, clinging to one of the high branches, and purred to me, "Sometimes, you can't stick to how things have always been done to get to where you want to be." Then he climbed up higher in the branches.

What did he mean? How does that connect to this stupid tree?? I walked around it a gazillion times already and I still haven't found anything. 

"Try walking backwards then," a voice purred. 

I had run out of ideas, so for the heck of it, I walked backwards around the tree. That was when strange carved words began appearing around its trunk. As I stepped over each root, another word would be embossed. Once I had done a complete circle, I went closer to read it. It said,

Place your right hand in and shake it all about.

What? ._.

I thought that it was going to say something serious and mysteriously mystical. All it said was "Place your right hand in and shake it all about." What the crap? It sounds too simple. What if it's a trap? I sat down beside the tree and leaned my head against the trunk. The sun started to go down. I didn't know that it took me THAT long to decide whether I was going to go follow the instructions on the tree or not. Maybe it's too late now. I had wasted so much time...

.... ..... ..... .... 

I could feel that I was lying down on something soft... My head hurt...

I slowly opened my eyes to find the face of the Grudge right in front of me. 

...

"GYAAAAAA!!!!!!!" I screamed as I kicked it. 

"OWW!" the Grudge said. It removed the mask it was wearing. "Ya, can't you kick more softly??"

"Whose plan was it to scare me so early in the morning??" 

"Since you are most likely hungover, I thought that you might need some adrenaline pumping. Our flight is tonight, after the press conference," a very annoying Junki said as he stepped out of the room. 

I covered my head with the blanket. Augh. I hate the fact that it actually worked. I can't get back to sleep. Wait a minute, how did I get here in the first place? I don't remember walking home... And I'm so thirsty.

"BREAKFAST!" he shouted. 

"HAIII," I answered back. 

I went to get water in the kitchen and drank a hell lot of it. Breakfast was chocolate pancakes with strawberries and cream. (oishiiii~~) Junki was lying down by his side of the table, reading a book. 

"How's your head?" he asked me.

"It's okay. It hurts just a little but it's bearable. I'm just really thirsty."

"Finish your food and tea. After this, you're taking me sight-seeing because today is our last day here and I have a press conference at 8 in the evening." 

"Where do you want to go, ajumma?" 

"Hmm..." he thought, tapping the book against his chin, "I want to see the cherry trees." 

"But it's winter." No one would want to see the cherry trees when they're not in full blossom. What's the point? "Let's just go somewhere else like a Temple or something, ajumma." 

"No, I really want to go to the cherry trees," he insisted. "I don't care if it's winter, I just want to see them."

"Then, we're going to the Philosopher's Walk. I'm telling you to be prepared for a disappointment though because nothing is blooming right now."

"It's fine," he said with a twinkle in his eye as he went back to his book. 

.... ...... ...... ......

The canal hadn't frozen up yet but there was a thin blanket of snow that covered the path. There weren't so many people since it was winter season (obviously) which was also why not all the stalls lining the walkway were open. As I said, the cherry trees were completely bare. 

"Okay, this is it," I told Junki. "Told you it wasn't a good time to come here."

He walked further away from me and stopped to look at one of the cherry trees. He looked back at me and smiled. I think my stomach just twisted. He motioned for me to come closer, then he pointed out the cherry tree in front of us.

"Don't you find this beautiful?" he asked.

"Not really. It's a dead tree."

"For now, maybe. But do you know what I see when I look at this tree?"

"Uhh, bare branches?"

"Not only do I see the bare branches like you do, but I also see how it would look like in the spring. This is how it starts out: dead and seemingly lifeless. But deep inside it's growing. When the right time comes, all the preparations that it has made will blossom outward and it would be the most beautiful of all the trees. Now, do you still not find it beautiful?"

I was speechless. What he said made me realize how shallow I had become over the years. Thinking too much about all the troubles and hardships had blinded me from what treasures life still held in store. It was then I saw... that the world was beautiful.

Was he also talking about me? I looked down at my boots and remembered my barefooted memories. I wonder... can this also be true for someone like me? 

As if he had read my mind, he pinched my cheeks and said, "You're kind of pretty, you know that?" I felt my cheeks turn red as I looked into his crescent eyes. I quickly looked away, thinking that I could hide my flushed face. He smirked and started walking further down the road. I followed, stepping in the marks that his footsteps made in the snow. Something caught my eye on one of the red stalls. I went closer.

It was a Tohoshinki poster (actually, it was just a JYJ poster but they're forever THSK to me) with Junsu, Yoochun, and Jaejoong standing side by side in simple yet manly postures. When will I be able to see you, Junsu? I hope I'm not too late by that time. Please don't do anything rash because there are a billion girls around the world who pretty much depend on you for happiness. 

"Are you a fan?" 

"N-no, I was just looking at the poster," I lied. Junki might get the wrong impression of me if I told him that I was. I might not be able to meet them at all. I sighed as I walked away. 

Junki's POV... ... 

I stopped hearing her footsteps. I looked behind me and saw that she had stopped at one of the stalls. Going over to see what she was looking at, I saw a JYJ poster. Her eyes were so intently focused on it. It was obvious that she knew who they were. I came closer and I asked her,

"Are you a fan?" 

"N-no, I was just looking at the poster," she said before walking away. Oh, Chihiro-shi, It's so obvious that you are from the way you gazed at that poster. Why won't you just tell me? 

"Ya," I called out to her, "Let's go have lunch and then go straight to your place so that we can pack your things." 

.... ..... ...... ......

She stayed in a dormitory that looked like it hadn't been taken care of in years. As we went up to her room, she kept nervously saying things like, "Ajumma, sorry if it's just a small room," and "It's kind of messy, so please don't judge me." I didn't really care so much. It couldn't be THAT bad. 

We got to her door after walking up four flights of stairs. No wonder she was skinny. She opened the door and slammed it shut in my face. 

"What the hell??" I shouted.

"Wait a minute please, I'm just going to fix up really quick."

"It's fine! It's not like you have snakes in there." 

"I actually found one in my bathroom once," she answered back through the door. 

I must admit, that made me a bit nervous. After several minutes, she finally opened the door. "Sorry, for the mess," she said meekly.

What mess? It was pretty neat inside her room. It really was a small room though. Just enough space for her bed, a closet, and a little table which she put next to her bed. 

"Okay, let's get started," I said rubbing my hands together. She took out two big lime green luggage cases. 

I walked over to her closet to open it. "Let's see what clothes you have that we can bring with us..." 

"NO DON'T--" 

An avalanche of clothes, papers, and lots of other things fell on me. I jumped out of the pile.

"I'm sorry, I told you not to open the closet..." she said with her palm on her forehead. 

I saw a poster of DBSK on the pile next to me and was about to reach for it when she suddenly snatched it along with some other clothes as if to hide it. Why is she hiding it from me? Does she think I'll get jealous or something (Although I know that I'm already a really pretty man)? 

Chihiro's POV

DID HE SEE IT??? I knew I should have put them under the bed instead. Gaaahhhh... What'll he think if he saw them? I don't want to think about this anymore... 

"Ajumma," I said in a rush, "you can go and uh, lie down on the bed and take a nap while I fix up these things."

"Huh? Are you sure you don't need my help?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said trying to put on a big grin. 

He lay down on my bed and put his arms over his head. "Be finished when I wake up. Can't be late for dinner."

"Yes, ajumma.." I said as I started folding and putting my clothes in my luggage cases. Mostly T-shirts and knee-length pants, I had a really simple wardrobe. I used to have nicer clothes but I had to sell them when I couldn't pay or rent. I'm not regretful at all that I had to leave and say goodbye to all the things I used to have. This way made me appreciative of many things and gave me a wider perspective though sometimes I think too much and, well, people like that end up over the edge of a building. Or maybe that's just my own tendency. 

I took a look at Junki sleeping peacefully on my bed. He's a really nice guy when he's quiet like this. Not bothering anyone with his mischievous glances and whatnot. I tiptoed closer to get the files under my bed. I took my time in looking at his face again with my face resting in my hands. Sigh. If only Junsu was this close, I could only reach out and touch him (Yes, I reached out to Junki as if to mimic my words but NO I DID NOT TOUCH HIM) and finally, my search would be over. Sadly, this chinky eyed gi--I mean, boy-- Isn't him. WHYYYYYYY??? 

Junki's POV

I heard something moving near me. Still pretending to sleep, I opened my eyes just a little bit to see her leaning over the side of the bed. She was... what was she doing? She's going to touch me. o_o She's reaching out her hand to touch me. What the heck is this girl planning?? ... !!!!

Oh, she pulled back. She's so dramatic when no one's looking. It's like the end of the world in her mind or something. Phew, that made me nervous. I wonder what her motives are though, and moreso her motivations. She doesn't seem to value fame and money. The clothes she's keeping in her luggage are just simple shirts and pants-- nothing special. Now, she's looking at some envelopes from under the bed. Letters? From who? From the look on her face, it's a mixture of sadness and anger. Probably parents. Or an ex-boyfriend. I wonder if she'll pack all those letters. She's crumpling them? Omo, she threw them out the window. I can hear her sniffling. I feel bad for her. I wish she would open up to me soon, then maybe I could help her pain go away. I don't want what happened to happen again. I need to do something this time. For her, for me, and for Leea.  

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Sorry I wasn't able to update sooner! Got busy with papers and all that. D: I'll do my best to write everyday though. :D