Sunggyu laughs at me, "You broke a window," he starts cracking up, keeling over, unable to hold it in. 

"Yah! I'll break your face next if you're not careful!" 

"What will you break?" the voice is angry, and one edge. ohhhhh no, I think. Vice Principle. He's failed the most students in the auditions, and thinks he's a big wig just because he has connections. I'd like to kick him too, the way he thinks he's all that. 

"Vice principle~" I squeal instead, gritting my teeth. "Whatever are you doing here?"

"I work here." the vice principle says.

"Oh." I lower my eyes, I'm not getting out of this one. 

"Come with me!" he barks and leads me away. Sunggyu stops laughing abruptly and straightens, then smirks at me as I walk away. 

Stupid Jerk.

Stupid jerk stupid jerk stupid jerk stupid--

"My, you broke a window?" the principle says, he lowers his eyes for a moment, "Well," then he looks back at up me, "That's never happened before."

"I'm so sorry!" I confess, "It was an accident! You see this boy was being really rude, and I--"

"So you're saying you meant to kick this boy, and accidentally hit the window?"

"Yes! W-well, no, um.." How do I tell him that I was literally this close from taking out another student and knocking him off the railing to his death? 

"Miss Song, we can't just allow such a violent student to stay here without reason."

"I'll work hard! I will!" I clasp my hands together as if to beg him. "Now, now, no need for that," he says, and stands up. "I think I'll just give you another mission instead."

"Mission?"

"Yes, I think you're just the girl for the job." The principle pulls some papers from underneath his desk and shows them to me. It's someone's audition papers. 

AHN DANIEL

It goes with more of his information, but I don't care to read it. "Principle, isn't he a ltitle young to be going to school here?" I ask, looking at the roughly 12 year old boy in the picture. 

"This boy is my nephew. He has so much potential but..."

"But what?"

"Well, you'll find out." I raise an eyebrow, what does he mean 'I'll find out'?

"Despite my requests, he didn't show up at auditions. I want you to find him."

I look at the boy in the picture, then the principle again, "What? Find him?"

"It's been a while since I last saw him in person...he and his mother should be living somewhere in Seoul, though."

"'Somewhere in Seoul'??? Do you not know Seoul is a freaking mega city? Do you not know how big it is!?" I want to yell, but I keep quiet. 

"If you can get him here by the first week of school, you can remain a student. If not, unfortunately you'll have to be expelled."

Isn't this illegal? Making me an endtured servant until I find some 12 year old running loose in the streets of the biggest city in all of South Korea!?

"Will you do it?"

I blink. "Yes." 

----

"My life is on the line for you!" I yell at the papers, making my way through Seoul. My neatly ponytailed hair flaps against my back, my simple yet fashionable jacket keeping me warm. "You better show up!" I snarl. 

But where do I even start? The city is huge. Everywhere I look there's another person, another face I don't recognize. Could one of these faces be Ahn Daniel? If I was a 12 year old boy...where would I go? I check all the neighboring videogame stores and lounges I can find, and every street vendor, every comic book store. Nothing. 

"Couldn't you have even given me an address??" I shout, sitting on a bench, kicking my legs out with frustration. I hear a crowd cheer behind me and turn around, swinging my legs over to the other side to get a better look. One of those easy-to-set-up mini stages is set up in the square. People have all gathered around to watch. The girl on stage finishes her song, and leaves. "A singing contest?" I ask. 

I walk over and join the crowd, shoving my way to the front. Then, I hear it.

"Ahn Daniel!" the MC calls. No respone. "Ahn Daniel?" he asks again. 

A boy appears from back stage, no older than me. He has large, deer like eyes, and thick lips. "Funny lookin," I laugh. WAIT. Wait. That's....

I dig through my purse and pull out the papers. Ahn Daniel's papers. I look at the picture, then to the boy walking on stage. "No way. THAT is Ahn Daniel?"

The music starts to play in the background, and the boy reaches center stage. He turns to face the crowd, and then his eyes widen. His jaw drops ever so slightly, and I can see him shaking. "What's wrong with him?" I think out loud. 

"Is he all right?" I hear an Ahjumma in front of me say.

"Aren't you going to sing?" a teenage boy calls. 

[ahjumma=older woman]

Ahn Daniel doesn't move. I can see his hand shaking, he blinks once and steps back. He drops the mic. It falls with a loud crash and a deafening sound echoes from the speakers, he runs off stage. I'm in shock, trying to take in all that's happened. Then I realize.

"Wait!" I shout, shoving through the crowd, running after him. "Wait!" I follow him down the streets, all the way to a zoo. He runs by the ticket booth, and goes straight to a back door hidden by thick vines growing up the walls. I stay just enough away so he can't see me, but I can see him. He slips through the gate and disappears inside. Cautiously, I follow him and dart underneath. Suddenly, just like that, I'm in the zoo!

"Oh god, this is so illegal," I say, putting a hand to my face. "Forget being expelled, if I'm caught now, I'll be arrested!"

But, of course, who cares about the consequences? If I don't find Ahn Daniel, then my life is over. 

I spot him going into a playground that looks like a jungle, and I follow him. "I seriously don't have to get in this, right?" I ask out loud, even though I already know the answer. With a sigh, I crawl through the opening fit for a five year old, and shuffle my way inside. It opens up more once I'm inside, but it's no easy task for a 16 year old to crawl around in a minitiature sized jungle. "Now, where are you...?" I ask, sitting up in a round chamber just above the slide. I hear a thump, and quickly go through the next tunnel. There's a little drop here, if I fall through it, I might just...

Uh oh. 

I lose my footing and fall through the hole, landing in a nearly-empty ball pit. But more importantly, landing ON Ahn Daniel. I look up at him, my stomach is spread across his lap. He looks at me with wide, brown eyes and I look back. I jump off and press myself up against the nearest wall. "Ch-chasohomnida!!" I shout.

[chasohomnida=I'm sorry(formal)) 

He just boys his head a little and stares up at me. "Y-you're Ahn Daniel, right?"

"You saw my audition?" he says, pulling his knees to his chest and setting his head on them.

"No! W-well, yes, actually. But that's not how I know you."

"Then how?" he turns his head to me.

"I know your uncle!" He looks interested, this is good, maybe I can convince him. "My uncle?" he asks. I nod, and show him the papers. "You didn't show up for the Kirin auditions, I'm here to bring you back."

He pushes the papers away, "I'm sorry, but I can't go."

My entire life rides on this one little thing, and you CAN'T GO?! I want to scream, but I don't. Instead, I put on my best fake smile. "Daniel," I say.

"You can call me Niel," he corrects.

"Niel," I say again, "please come with me. This is really important."

"To who? You or me?" he asks. At times like this I wish I was prettier, then I could woo him to come with me. But my resale jeans and hand me down jacket aren't going to get me far. "Why won't you come?" I nearly beg.

"I need to get famous, fast. I can't just mull around in a school for four years."

"You can become a singer while you're at the school! I've seen it done before!"

"It doesn't matter," he sighs, standing up, "I can't go."

He stands to leave the ball pit. Oh no you don't. I grab his arm and duck through the hole, dragging him with me. "What are you doing!?" he shouts. "Taking you with me!" I shout back. He stops in place, and I can't pull him. I glare at him, looking him up and down. He's pretty strong for that stickly figure. 

"Look, I said I'm not going." he barks. I sigh. That ALMOST worked. 

"Well you're definitely not going to get famous showing up to a bunch of stupid auditions and not even singing!" I yell. He looks taken back, shocked, and hurt. I drop his hand and cover my mouth. That was harsh. If someone had said that to me, I...

Well... someone has said that to me. Every hurtful word I've heard echoes inside my head. 

failure average flunkie ugly plain no future

The list goes on and on.

It wasn't their place to say such things to me, and it wasn't my place to say it to him. "I'm sorry. I really really am," i say, looking at the ground. 

"Whatever." he says. He starts walking away.

What can I do to make him come? 

"How are you?" I sing the second verse of 'Hello to Myself', inside I'm screaming with embarassement. I wonder how many other people decided to burst into song in the middle of a zoo. Song Ji Eun! Is this seriously the best you can do? 

"How does it feel once you've reached your dreams? Doesn't it hurt when you pinch yourself?" Niel stops and turns around to look at me. "Or is it that it's become boring now that it's an everyday routine?" A crowd begins to gather around me, and I can feel my heart speed up in my chest.

Yes, this is what I was born for. This is what I want to do. This feeling of nervousness in my stomach, the feeling of my heart beating as loudly as a drum, threatening to push its way through my chest. My fingers trembling, my mind racing. This is what I love. 

"If you ever get tired and lonely...will you remember me, who used to dream here?"

I don't dare open my eyes, but I can hear people around me. I fear that if I open my eyes now, I won't ever be this brave again. 

I breathe in and sing the three highest notes of the song without trouble. 

"Hello to myself," I continue to sing, pinching the hem of my jeans to keep calm. I hear another voice join me, not Niel's but a girl of the audience. I recognize her, a contestant in the singing auditions. "Hello to myself," she hites the high note flawlessly. 

I smile at her, and she smiles smiles back "Will you think of me here and smile?" the girl closes her eyes and sings along, "Yea-eah eahh~"

"Hello to myself," she sings, "Hello to myself, " I reply. "Will you be happy to the point where you heart overflows?" I sing the high line, and she harmonizes with ease. "Hello, this is february 2012, a very...cold winter." We finish the song together and the audience erupts in applause.

No one has ever applauded me before. No one has ever smiled at my voice, or chose to join me. I feel moved to tears, but I try to hold it in. Niel stands at the front of the crowd across the way, standing in silence. 

Without saying anything he turns and vanishes into the sea of faces surrounding him. "Wait!" i reach out my hand, but the girl who sang with me jumps in front of me. She tries to talk to me, but I'm busy. "Sorry, I can't talk...bye!" 

I push through the crowd after him, and see him taking off towards the hidden door. Once I'm outside the zoo, I've lost him.

"Where the heck did he go?" I shout to no one.

----

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