After a few minutes of looking at my reflection in the mirror, trying to calm myself down, I finally opened the door again and went back out into the hallway. I passed by my brother's room, to hear Patrick laughing about something. I peeked in, to see Donghae and Zhou Mi both sitting on the floor in his room, pretending to die every time he poked them, then popping back up.

Patrck thought this was hilarious. I leaned against the doorframe, watching it happen. "Patrick, do you like Sister's crazy friends?"

He poked Donghae again, and this time, instead of "dying", he jumped to his feet, exploding into the air before running over to me. "Minsung-ah, your brother is adorable!"

"I know."

"MEL!!! Come on downstairs!" I heard my mom yell. I grabbed Zhou Mi and Donhae's wrists, then pulled them down the stairs with me. 

"What's up?" I asked Mom.

"How long are you all planning on staying?"

"I don't know. The performances aren't until Friday, so we've got all week to mess around. So for today... I don't really know."

"Are you going to stay for supper?" she asked everyone, not just me.

Suddenly I felt a dozen pairs of eyes on me. "Oh, fine!" I caved, knowing that was what they wanted to hear. "But if you're eating our food, you have to help make it!"

They all agreed quickly, and after quick instructions from my mother, I led them out through the back door and out into the yard.

The cameras were back with us, filming as we made our way out. "Okay, so the menu is grilled chicken, corn-on-the-cob, and crescent rolls, with apple pie for dessert. And then we also have to feed the chickens while we're out here. So who wants to do what?"

"Do what?"

I laughed. "All of the ingredients are fresh. We have to go get them from the orchard and the garden."

"Do you own a farm or something?!" Eunhyuk asked, trying to take the whole yard in.

"It's just a vegetable garden and a few fruit trees. Hardly a farm. Now seriously, welcome to the countryside! We grow our own food!" Before they could wander around too much, I started off towards the orchard.

It took a little bit of time to give everyone a job, and have them all fighting to grab the different ingredients before everyone else. They were so hilariously competitive, it took effort to stop laughing and hurry over to the chickens.

I grabbed a bucket of feed and a scoop of corn, then went into the chicken run, carefully closing the gate behind me. After filling the feed trays, I sat down in the dirt, and dug my hands into the bucket of corn to hold it out for the chickens. 

Kyuhyun and Ryeowook, apparently chased away from corn-picking by the extremely competitive Siwon and Donghae, watched me with increased interest. I looked up, ignoring the chickens eating from my hand. "Well, come on in, Oppa."

Their eyes got big. "No, thanks, we're okay out here."

"Oh, come on, Oppa! They're not going to kill you. They're just chickens!" I dropped the remains of the corn into my left hand, so with my right hand I could reach out and the feathers of a light golden hen. "See, they eat out of my hand. They're just a bunch of fat birds."

"But the rooster..."

"Who, Mister? He's fat and lazy, too. See? He doesn't have any tail feathers. He looks like a dork."

I poked the rooster with my foot, causing him to squack and run away. I picked up the chicken I'd been , and stood up with her. "This one's 'Sweets'. I promised her a nice long life, since she was so well-behaved at the fair."

I went over to the guys, stepping out of the gate and closing the door behind me. "Go ahead- you can pet her."

Warily, they reached out and her golden feathers. She burbled a little, settling into my arms. "You have a pet chicken?" Kyuhyun asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I used to have a dog, but, well... sometimes our pets don't stay with us. Sweets likes to follow me around asking for food. She's a really pretty bird, isn't she?"

Ryeowook still looked like he was afraid she was going to bite him. "Yeah. Really pretty. You seem really at home here."

I shrugged. "My family's been country people for generations. Both sides, although my father's side more than my mother's. I guess you could say it runs in the blood. I like animals. You should see me in pet stores."

"That's something I think I'd want on camera," Kyuhyun laughed.

I made a face at him, then opened the gate to put Sweets down. "Come on, you guys- let's go check and make sure they didn't destroy my family's garden.

Actually, the guys had been remarkably quick, gathering entire buckets of ripe corn, red cherries, and beautiful strawberries in record time. Half of the garden had been picked in about ten minutes. 

"Yes, that's wonderful, you guys. Now get your butts back inside and give the food to Mom."

Ryeowook seemed happy to help Mom, asking her all kinds of questions. She actually asked him why he wanted to learn American recipes so much, and he could only reply that he wanted to know more recipes to feed the members. 

Personally, I was proud of their English. They seemed to get along well enough with my parents and little brother, only slipping into Korean occasionally. 

I went out the door with Patrick, to go on a little walk down the street, to show the world back in Korea what my home was like.

"On a nice, hot day like this, there's probably going to be a lot of people walking their dogs, or riding bikes, or going for a jog," I explained, starting to head down the road. "Hey, are you gong to be okay? It's a long walk from here to the end of the road. A little less than a mile."

As usual, my cameraman didn't say anything.

"Where are we going?" Henry asked, strolling up next to me with his hands in his pockets. 

"Just down the road. You want to go see the llamas?"

"Llamas?!"

"I could swear I've told you and Amber that there was a llama farm just down the road from me."

"Pictures?"

"Pictures."

After a goofy time where Patrick showed Henry how to feed the llamas, and we got to the end of the road and turned back after a lot of narration on my part, we started heading back towards the house. We passed several people on the way, most of them my neighbors. Several of them stopped and asked me how I'd been, what Korea was like, and what it felt like to be back home. And then some of them just wanted a picture with me and Henry.

Finally we were back at the house, ready for supper. Heechul and Yesung were on the swingset, like children, and my father was letting Ryeowook try the chicken.

I shook my head, laughing. Who knew that my house would be such an entertaining place for a bunch of Korean guys?

I ran my fingers along the walls of the school, remembering how I would walk down it so my fingernails would graze the sides, reminding people to stay away from me. I was alone in the hallways- the guys were playing soccer with the high schoolers out on the side field. It was oddly quiet, not surprising considering it was summer, but I'd still wanted to walk around and see the school I'd never graduated from.

In a lot of ways, it was still the same. The same clubs, displaying posters up in the front cabinets, the same basketball trophies and tables and chairs... since I wasn't there during the school year, I had to go looking for the changes.

A few of the teachers had retired and been replaced with new ones. Some had changed classrooms. But most of the teachers I had been familiar with three years previously still worked there, still taught the same things they'd taught me. And I remembered most of it. Briefly, I wondered if they'd think all of that education spoiled in a Kpop idol. I didn't use it to become a psychologist, or a teacher, or anything... all I really used it for nowadays was for my own amusement.

 I wandered down into the newest part of the building, where all of the excercize rooms were. The fitness center, the pool, the bigger gym... all still quite similar to the way they'd been while I was in high school.

I looked at all of the trophies, wondering if the basketball team had managed to catch one more division championship while I was gone. They hadn't. 

"Melissa?"

I spun around from the display cases, and found myself face-to-face with a taller boy with wide shoulders, a Polish nose, and small blue eyes. A face I knew.

"Hey," I said flatly, wondering what in the world he was doing there.

"I didn't think I'd see you here," he said, seeming wary of me.

"Neither did I. A little bird told me you were going to college up in Marinette." I couldn't help it; I was acting extremely guarded.

He shrugged. "I came down for the big concert. It's not every day an international star comes to visit small town Wisconsin." He paused, seeming to look hesitantly at me. "It's good to see you. You look... different."

I did. I wasn't actually wearing anything much different from what I used to wear in the summers ofmy high school years- shorts, tennis shoes, and a tank top- but I did look different. I was thinner, stood straighter, and didn't blush and look away when he talked to me.

I scanned over his suit and tie, probably for some official interview or something, and despite how different it was from the sweatshirt and jeans he'd always used to wear, I said, "you look exactly the same."

"Do you... want to get coffee or something?"

I exhaled a laugh, setting a hand on the left side of my heart. Steady as a clock hand. "You're asking me this now? Of course. Now that I'm worth something, now that I'm not someone you'd be ashamed to be seen with, now that everyone in town knows my name and doesn't fear me because of my strangeness..." I gave a pointed look to the large posters on the wall with pictures of my face and those of my friends in Rstory, "Now. NOW you're not afraid to ask me."

He seemed a bit shocked. But, of course, his face relaxed back into its usual expression of clever coolness. He had always been smarter than me. "It's okay, Mel-Mel, you don't have to be so judgemental."

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" I asked, growling it, but for once, my voice not breaking or squeaking. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was facing my high school crush, and I was as calm as the wind around the equator.

"You knew. You knew I liked you. And what did you do? Nothing. Because you were afraid. Because I was too weird for you. Because I wasn't cool or pretty, and that didn't make me good enough. I gave you plenty of chances. And you squandered every single one of them. And you think I'd give you a chance now?"

I delighted in the amazed expression on his face. I felt power over him, for once in my life. Power that didn't come from giving him a black eye. "If you'd taken even one of them, I might have said yes today. Because if you'd taken even one of them, chances are I wouldn't have gone off to Korea, became a trainee, and surrounded myself with wonderful, amazing, talented guys who didn't mind that I was strange, and didn't only seem to see me when I was doing well, who encouraged me to stand on my own when I was having a hard time. Not like you. So I suppose I should thank you for being a coward. If you had done anythig back then, I wouldn't be my true self right now. So thank you."

"You really are a lot different," he finally said, starting to turn away, "By the way, you never did what you told me you would."

"What's that?"

"Write my valedictory speech for me. Since you're so good with speeches."

"Hey, Mel! We were going to go to the football stadium today? Are you coming?!" I heard Henry yell from down the hall.

"I'm coming!" I yelled, then turned back. "Have a good life, smart one. And be nice to Kelly. She's a very nice girl- much nicer than you."

I saw him shake his head as he turned away, starting to walk off down the hallway. 

When I caught up to Henry, he messed up my hair and asked, "who was that?"

I felt my heart beat again, and its steady rhythm. I smiled, not looking back at the boy I'd left behind. "Just an old flame who never thought I was good enough for him."

 "Welcome, kids, to Lambeau Field," I stated as grandly as possible, throwing my arms in the air. "Home to the Green Bay Packers, and the biggest building in Green Bay, Wisconsin."

"Ahjumma, my voice echoes!" I heard Kangin yell. 

"It's not that different from a soccer stadium, you know."

"What do you think; could I play football?" Eunhyuk asked, coming out of the entryway wearing a big plastic helmet.

"Oppa, where did you get that?" 

"From the apparel store. I wanted a souvenir."

"They sell those at the store?" Donghae asked, his eyes wide.

"One of the nice noonas at the counter gave it to me. She said I was cute."

"She did not! She said Ryeowook was cute!" I heard Kyuhyun yell.

Henry came running out with an Aaron Rodgers Jersey. "They had these on sale! Hey Mel, we used these for '1-4-3'! Remember?"

"You used them for '1-4-3'. I was only a trainee at the time. And besides, those were Donald Driver jerseys. Not Aaron Rodgers."

"Does it matter?" He asked, looking up from the jersey.

"Of course it does! One was a totally awesome running back, and the other's a quarterback! COMPLETELY different!"

"Means nothing to me."

"That's the thing with football," I declared, leaning over the railing and shouting at the top of my lungs. "It's like a Roman Collusseum!" I leaned back, grinning. "A whole bunch of guys, ramming into each other, and tackling each other to the ground... the ball is just a symbol. It's really about conquering ground. Like a war zone. We're American. We just love seeing a bunch of guys hurting each other."

Heechul stood up straight from looking down the rows of seats. "Minimin, you are officially the most terrifying woman I have ever met."

"You haven't met Emily yet."

"She's not as bloodthirsty as you are. Just crazier," Henry clarified.

"It's an American pastime!" I argued, then pulled them back towards the atrium. "But there's more to it than blood and a field. It's history. It's a part of what makes Wisconsin, Wisconsin."

When we were finally in the Hall of Fame, I pointed to the sign that said "Vince Lombardi". "You see that man there? He wasn't just a football coach. He was a teacher. A leader."

"He was Italian."

I glared at Kyuhyun. "That's as important to his character as saying that I'm short, or have gray eyes." I grabbed his arm, and, not wanting to be lost without their guide, the guys followed me in. "This entire section is dedicated to Vince Lombardi. Why? Because the man told us about life, not just football."

I pointed to one of the quotes on the wall. "You know that quote I said when I told you why I quit cross country? 'Quitters never win and winners never quit'? That was Vince Lombardi. And this one," I pointed to a brass plaque behind the glass, " 'the greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall'. I think that applies to you and me as well as any athlete. We all have hard times and good times. Lombardi took some decent players and made them a great team. Before Lombardi, teams would trade their players to the Green Bay Packers to get rid of them. After Lombardi, it was the greatest team in the country."

Startlingly enough, I had all of their attention now. "I didn't know you were such a football geek," Siwon commented.

"I'm not. But I know when a person deserves to be respected. I know you don't all understand football, and I'm hardly an expert-- I spent much more time on the arts-- but we all know hard work and teamwork. Otherwise we wouldn't be here today. It's not just a football thing. It's a life thing. We worked hard to be on the stage. You guys made yourselves into a complete team. I brought you here today because the football field, the stage... they're really the same thing."

Soon enough, we were back in my town, and the sun beat down on us as we walked through the fair. I had to teach them everything. The judging, the 4-H clubs in the barns, the carnival rides, the food, and even grandstand entertainment.

"There's a different activity for every day of the fair. The two biggest days are Friday and Saturday, when they bring in the big name performers. Usually it's a country artist, but this year it's... drumroll please... US!"

"But we're just performing on Saturday..."

"They're having a 'hometown heroes' special this year. So the other performers are-"

"MEL!" Jacklyn came running up from the rides section of the fair, a slushie in her hand. "OMJ they really are here!" She stared wide-eyed at the guys, then waved and bowed, her slushie spoon still in her hand. 

"What, you think I'd mak this crap up? Oppa-deul, this is my friend Jacklyn, from Rstory."

They bowed to her, and then the other girls were coming from the entranceway. "We've been getting stopped on the streets. I'm not used to this. It's weird," Emily stated.

"You, too?!" I squeaked, remembering walking through, when everyone had treated me like some kind of celebrity, and it had taken me a second to realize that I was. 

"We just wanted to look at the fair..." Ali pouted. "So what are you all here for?"

"Queen Be Hometown Exploration," I quoted, grinning. "See the cameras? It's a documentary. My Oppas just came along to make it more interesting."

"Thaaaat's freaky. Are you coming to our performance on Friday?"

"Planned on it. You ready for the contest?" I asked Jacklyn.

She grimaced. "I can't believe you talked me into this."

"Aw, come on! I talked Kangin into it, too!"

"You, Me, Kangin and..."

"Leeteuk. They're weird. I think they think they're not going to get dirty."

"In a catch-a-pig contest?"

"What's a little mud? I hear it's great for your pores."

"You're a terrible human being, Mel," Ali scoffed.

"I know. But hey, won't it be fun to see some Kpop idols get a little dirty?"

Okay, so we lost the contest. Badly. But we did it with dignity. And mud. Lots and lots of mud. Maybe it was because I spent most of the time laughing at the two guys. Although Jacklyn and I eventually did catch the pig in the end, we were the ones doing most of the work. When we finally came out of the grandstand, all four of us were covered in mud from head to toe. 

"Choi Minsung you are the craziest woman in the world! A woman shouldn't be doing things like this! How in the world did you not run away!" Leeteuk exclaimed, flicking mud from his shirt at me.

"It was going after you. All I had to do was run after it and laugh while you ran," I laughed, flinching away from the mud.

"It was charging me! I could have died!"

"Oh, relax, Ahjusshi. You scream like a little girl, by the way."

"What about you?! That was not feminine!"

"Nope."

Jacklyn, for her part, was taking pictures with the other catch-a-pig teams. And then with the rest of Rstory.

She waved me over, and we took pictures together. Eventually I got back to Leeteuk and Kangin, who were still disturbed by the whole thing.

"What can I say? We live out in the country. How do you think we entertain ourselves?"

"Barn parties?' Leeteuk suggested.

I rolled my eyes and threw a towel at his head. "Shut up and take your shirt off, Ahjusshi."

"Why?"

"You're a walking advertisement. We have to get you cleaned up before we give you a change of clothes."

"What about you?" 

"I'm not wearing a shirt."

"What?!"

"I'm wearing a sports bra. Now seriously, before I spray you with the cattle hose."

The night passed quickly, after karaoke in the Budweiser tent, in which I tried to make Leeteuk and Eunhyuk perform "y back", and I confess, they were just drunk enough that the audience quite enjoyed themselves.

And then the next day we were back at the fair, this time taking more time to look at the animals.

"Patrick, did you see me catch the pig yesterday?" I asked my brother, holding his hand as he reached out and brushed the bristles on the back of one of the sows.

"Minsung, look at this thing's HORNS!" I heard one of the guys yell.

I laughed, listening to my brother talking to the pig. "What's she saying, Dude?"

He oinked a little bit longer, then giggled and went over to where my sister was. I followed him, watching as he reached out and petted the back of a goat.

Jackie reminded him that you weren't supposed to touch the animals, then looked over at me. "I think your boyfriends are a little lost. They keep calling for you. I think that is your name, right? 'Minsung'?"

I nodded, then shrugged. "The idea was that they would explore on their own today, and I could spend some time with my siblings, who I haven't seen in a long time."

She looked back, where Zhou Mi and Eunhyuk were looking warily at a pair of rams. "But they've been following us this whole time."

"They're just being scaredy cats. They know I'll protect them, so they've been sticking close. Don't worry-- they know how to run away."

She laughed. "Want to try getting a free slushie?" 

"Don't pick number five. It's rigged. five of the guys tried it earlier, failed every time. The only one who got a free slushie was Siwon, and that was just because he gave the girl his number."

"He gave them his number?!" I heard shouted from behind me. I ignored them, shrugging and heading through the doors.

We spent time all around the fair, my sister, brother and I. The chickens, the sheep, the petting zoo, all the while followed closely by a bunch of Asian guys. It even got to the point that they'd go and hide whenever I looked behind me.

We went back into the open, and I heard familiar music. "Oh hey! The polka tent's open!"

"The polka tent?" I heard Shindong ask, interested. 

"It's another one of the entertainment tents. They play polka music, and we dance." I turned around grinning at the guys.

"What's polka?" Heechul asked, raising his hand.

"It's a Polish dance! We're in Wisconsin; almost everyone is at least a little bit Polish."

"What about you?"

"Me, too."

I looked at my sister, then at the guys, starting to get the urge to dance. "Okay, Jackie, I have to go show these dorks how to polka. Think you can handle Pat?"

She shrugged, and I grabbed the nearest member's hand (Kyuhyun) and pulled them towards the tent. "Polka time!"

The dance music went on, and I whispered in the lead musician's ear. He smiled at me, then shrugged. When the song was over, he spoke over the microphone.

"Hey everyone! Look who we have here! Our very own Queen Be!"

I heard people cheer, and I laughed a little bit. 

"Queen Be says that her friends don't know how to Polka, but she doesn't want them to feel uncomfortable. How about we help them learn?"

There was a good amount of agreement, and then the guys were being pushed away from my side and into the center of the dance floor.

"Alright, be nice to them, alright? Queen Be might be upset. And here we thought you'd be too cool for us now, Melissa!"

I laughed. "This is still my town. I'm never too cool for you."

I heard Yesung whisper behind me, "Minsung, these are all old people!"

"And what are you?! I mocked, then nodded to the musicians. I grabbed Yesung's hand as the music started, dragging him out. "Don't worry, Oppa. I'll dance with you."

The afternoon moved on into night time, and the music moved on from polka to line dances, to the ever-popular Chicken Dance. It was just the right amount of craziness for my Oppas, I think, because they stayed there most of the time, sometimes sneaking out to get a drink. But they'd come back in, always watched by cameras and old people.

I switched partners more times than I could count. It felt like floating on air. The people of my town treated me like some kind of hero, all the while enjoying seeing all of us on the dance floor.

The older man from the south end of town. Henry. A kid from my graduating class. Patrick. Heechul. Another older man. Leeteuk. Ryeowook. Eliz. Em. So many different partners, all whizzing by as the line dances swtiched, again and again.

I laughed and danced, spinning and kicking until I tried to link arms with Zhou Mi, but he was too tall, and I tripped over his foot and ended up with Kyuhyun instead.

And then, when it came time to swtich partners again, Kyuhyun kind of... pushed me away, so I lost my footing and fell right into Zhou Mi, right in time for the song to end. And as I felt my cheeks go hot, the entire crowd cheered.