“I’m home!” Hye Na burst through the main door of Solar’s apartment with a grand flourish.

“There’s our little princess! Had a good day?” Joon Shin smiled at her warmly.

“Joon Shin oppa, you ask me that everyday, aren’t you bored yet?” she laughed, “I’m alright, where’s sis?”

“In her room I guess.” Joon Shin replied. Hearing his response, Hye Na immediately rushed into the room to look for her elder sister Hye Shin.

“Have you told her about it?” Joon Shin raised a questioning eyebrow at Min Woo, who had followed behind Hye Na and entered the house.

“Yeah I did.”

“So? What did she say? Is she coming with us?”

Min Woo shook his head in response.

“So you intend to leave her here?” Joon Shin questioned.

“What else can I do? The girl is even more stubborn than I am!” Min Woo flopped onto the sofa in resignation.

“Oppa you are home!” Hye Shin walked out of the room, arm in arm with a cheerful Hye Na.

“Yeah. How was your exam?” Min Woo asked his half-sister.

“I thought oppa had forgotten about it…it was alright I guess,” a pink flush crossed her face as she replied.

“Hye Na, it’s time for your medication,” Min Woo abruptly interrupted.

“Joon Shin oppa said you are leaving the country in 3 days and won’t be back for quite a long period of time… is that true?” Hye Shin asked. Min Woo merely grunted in reply.

“I want to come along too,” Hye Shin said.

“Hye Na! Medicine!” Min Woo chided his little sister, who stuck her tongue out at him before plodding towards the kitchen.

“I want to come along too.” Hye Shin repeated herself.

“Sis, why do you want to tag along! Without oppa around there will be one less person to nag at us!” Hye Na shouted back to her sister from the kitchen.

“Oppa…” Hye Shin looked pleadingly at Min Woo.

“Hye Na is right, why do you want to tag along? Your university term is not over yet. You had best stay here and study, and you can take care of Hye Na too,” Min Woo dismissed her question nonchalantly.

“Oppa you know I have no interest in studying, why do you keep forcing me to stay in university!” Hye Shin retorted.

“Look, I promised your mum that I would take good care of you, so you do as you are told and complete your studies, do you hear me? Not everyone has such good opportunities…” Min Woo said firmly.

“Promised my mum… basically you don’t care a single bit about me! Letting me live here, sending me to school is simply your way of repaying my mum for taking the two of you in!” tears welled up in Hye Shin’s eyes as she replied.

“Hye Shin what is wrong with you today! I’m tired, we’ll talk another time.” With that, Min Woo went back into his own room and shut the door behind him.

Hye Na walked meekly out of the kitchen and put an arm around her sister. “Sis are you alright? Oppa wants the best for you, that’s why he’s doing this…”

“He wants the best for you,” Hye Shin muttered under her breath before shrugging Hye Na’s arm off her shoulders and locking herself in her room.

“What’s up with everyone today?” Hye Na looked at Joon Shin, who simply smiled awkwardly in reply.

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

Three days later, the boys dragged their suitcases and themselves to the Seoul International Airport. At the departure lounge, Min Woo pulled Hye Na to one side to deliver his brotherly tirade.

“I am really not comfortable leaving you alone here…” Min Woo started.

“Oppa just relax! I’ll be fine, sis and I will be here waiting for you to return. Right sis?” Hye Na turned cheekily to a sullen Hye Shin.

“Yeah, take care of yourself while you’re there oppa,” Hye Shin replied blandly.

“Jae Wook oppa, where’s your 3 S’s? Don’t tell me they’ve finally seen your true colours and realized what a great big FLIRT you are!” Hye Na jokingly said.

“WHAT FLIRT? Men my age should naturally date a couple of girls, else I’d regret it when I’m older! Not all men are like your brother you know, forever stuck with this black face, as though all women have committed a crime against him…” Jae Wook retorted.

“My oppa’s not like a great big womanizer like you!” Hye Na argued back.

“That’s his problem. Hey Henry, look to your right,” Jae Wook jabbed Henry in the ribs, “Why are all air stewardesses so hot! If I’d realized this earlier I’d come to the airport everyday…”

“Hey! It’s enough for you to be a womanizer, leave Henry oppa out of this!” Hye Na smacked Jae Wook hard on the head.

“I was just trying to help him out! What’s wrong with helping my bro keep a look out for some nice girls? You don’t expect me to introduce brats like you to him do you?” Jae Wook scowled as he rubbed his head tenderly.

“HWANG JAE WOOK!” Hye Na shouted back.

“Why are you so fierce! Of all things to pick up from your brother you pick up his bad temper…” Jae Wook replied sourly.

“Alright knock it off you two, it’s almost time to board the plane,” Henry intervened.

“Henry oppa take care of yourself ok? You must remember to eat regularly… and if girls in Singapore try to be overly friendly with you you musn’t fall for their tricks! I bet they are only doing that because you are famous, it’s all a trap!” Hye Na rushed to Henry’s side eagerly.

“Pst, bro. She’s got her claws on you. Good luck.” Jae Wook whispered to Henry, before patting him apologetically on the back.

“Quit spewing rubbish!” Hye Na retorted.

“Ignore him, he’s always like that. Alright, we’re off. Take care of yourself Hye Na, don’t let your brother worry about you,” Henry gave Hye Na a quick hug before walking towards the departure gate.

“Bye Henry oppa!” Hye Na waved, her cheeks flushed pink from the hug, “Bye Joon Shin oppa!”

“Bye kiddo, call us if anything crops up,” Joon Shin ruffled her hair affectionately.

“Come back quickly oppa…” Hye Shin said quietly to Min Woo.

“Alright. Study hard, I’ll give you guys a ring when I get the time. Take good care of Hye Na while I’m gone,” Min Woo replied.

“Oppa!” Hye Na rushed to give her brother a big hug, “I’m going to miss you while you’re gone…”

“Yeah right, I know a lie when I hear one,” Min Woo smiled, “Alright, I’m off.” With a careless wave of his hand, Min Woo followed behind the others and disappeared into the departure gate.

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

Over in Singapore, Xue Qin was excitedly getting ready for a birthday bash. As she threw outfit after outfit out of the closet and onto her bed, her best friend Wen Yi sat in a corner reading the latest entertainment news on the internet. The media website happened to be featuring a story about Solar landing in Singapore.   

“Do you think this outfit is better?” Xue Qin held up a baby pink dress in front of the mirror, “Or this one?” She swapped the pink dress for a black top with a blue chiffon skirt.

“Pink one.” Wen Yi replied briskly without even looking.

“You sure?” Xue Qin questioned. “But do you think Wen Bin will prefer the pink one or the black one?”

“Pink one.” Wen Yi replied again.

“Is it too pink?”

“JUST WEAR IT ALREADY!” Wen Yi shouted and rolled her eyes.

“Alright alright! No need to get so touchy…” Xue Qin hung the pink dress up and began to pack the rest of her clothes back into the closet.

“It’s already five! If we don’t leave we’ll be late for the party!” Wen Yi retorted.

“What?! Already five! Why didn’t you say so earlier! I still need to drop by the mall to pick up the present and cake I ordered!” Xue Qin flew into a panic at the thought that she had barely enough time to get everything done and make it to the party on time.

“How about I go pick up the present and you go pick up the cake, then we meet up at beach ok?” Wen Yi suggested helpfully.

“Really? You’d do that?” Xue Qin smiled gratefully at her best friend.

“Anything for your future happiness my dear,” Wen Yi picked up her bag and headed out of the door, “I’ll see you at the beach at seven, don’t be late!”

Xue Qin quickly put her dress on, slapped on some blusher and dashed out of the front door. “Next stop, the cake shop!”

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

At 6pm the van carrying the 4 Solar members and their manager rolled up at the doorstep of the mall. Within the van, manager Seo was urgently dishing out instructions to everyone.

“Sorry we had to rush you here immediately after the plane landed boys. After the autograph session we’ll send you to your new home, I’m sure you’ll be pleased with it when you see it! After that there won’t be any programmes until tomorrow. We’ll be meeting the producers from Sony records at 10am tomorrow morning,” manager Seo rattled on to a rather uninterested group.

“I’m already exhausted from the 6 hour flight!” Jae Wook whined.

“This is the company’s arrangement, stop grumbling. How many times do I need to remind you that your existence is solely based on the fans’ love!” manager Seo retorted.

“Alright alright…” Jae Wook muttered.  

“Come on, let’s go. Let’s turn on that charm boys!” Manager Seo grinned widely and opened the door of the van to a horde of flashing camera bulbs and screams from fans. At the entrance of the mall, a huge crowd of reporters and adoring fans had gathered to witness Solar’s first public appearance in Singapore. The security guards cleared the way for the band as they exited the van one by one, each one radiating their own unique charisma and charm, waving to their fans as they followed manager Seo into the mall.

Not far from where they were, Xue Qin has just collected the birthday cake she ordered and was about to make her way out of the mall. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd, Min Woo accidentally knocked over a little old lady and her bag of fruits. As he bent over to help her up, manager Seo rushed over and stopped him in mid-action.

“There’s no time! We’re already late as it is, go ahead with the others, I’ll settle this,” manager Seo said as he pushed Min Woo in the direction of the others. Seeing the little old lady sat on the floor, Xue Qin immediately rushed over and helped her up.

“Are you alright?” Xue Qin asked the old lady.

“I’m alright…this bag of old bones aren’t very stable, I fall down easily…” the old lady smiled in response.

“HEY! Didn’t you see that you knocked someone down!” Xue Qin ran up to Min Woo and grabbed him by his collar, causing him to turn around in alarm.

“Hey miss what are you trying to do! We can talk about things nicely, let him go first!” manager Seo rushed up to ease the tension.

“Apologise to the old lady. If you don’t apologise I’m not letting you go!” Xue Qin ignored manager Seo and continued yelling at an incredulous Min Woo.

“I don’t think this is any of your business,” Min Woo replied coldly before pushing Xue Qin’s hand away roughly. As a result of his sudden movement, Xue Qin lost her sense of balance and ended up landing harshly on the floor, her cake flattened beneath her elbow.

“My cake!”

Seeing the she had finally let go of Min Woo, manager Seo quickly took the opportunity to hurry Min Woo away from the scene of the crime lest too many people get wind of this unfortunate scuffle. In the mess of a situation, no one noticed as something fell out of Min Woo’s pocket and landed on the floor.

“HEY! Don’t run away!!” Xue Qin shouted at Min Woo but to no avail as she soon lost sight of him in the crowd. Seeing that there was no way of getting him back, Xue Qin quickly picked herself up and went back to helping the old lady pick up her fruits before sending the old lady on her way.

“What a ridiculously rude person!” Xue Qin muttered to herself angrily, “Now I have to buy another cake!... Wait a minute, what’s this?” Xue Qin bent over and picked up something that was lying next to her flattened cake. As she flipped through the passport, her eyes stopped at the identification page, where the photograph of a familiar cold face stared straight out at her.

“It’s him? Ha! This is called divine retribution! Good riddance, let’s see how he goes back to Korea with this…” Xue Qin placed the passport back on the floor and turned to walk away. After she had walked a few steps, she suddenly turned around. “What if some person with bad intentions comes and picks it up? Sigh!” Walking back to the passport, she picked it up once again and flipped through it. “No phone number, no address, how am I supposed to return it to you! … I guess I’ll take it to the security counter.” Having come to a decision, Xue Qin stuffed the passport into her bag and proceeded to look for the security counter.

Not far from here, Solar were seated at their places and about to begin their autograph session. The boys looked composed as they smiled and waved at the adoring crowd, many of whom had come with banners and signs to show their love. Just then, Min Woo placed a hand over his pocket.

“Crap, where is it?” Min Woo patted his left pocket urgently, and then his right.

“What are you looking for?” Joon Shin whispered.

“My passport. It’s gone.”