Kate

                After the bus dropped me off our street, I quickly ran towards the dorm where I’m staying. Soon enough, I saw Ara sitting on one of my suitcases in the front door. She stood up when she saw me and gave me a hug. “Kate, I’m really sorry. I wanted to help you,” she said.

                I sighed after releasing from her grip. “I’ll try to ask if she can just let me stay for a while.” I started to march forward but Ara’s hand stopped me. “Ara, what are you doing?”

                She shook her head. “She still won’t let you, Kate. I already tried begging to her. She wouldn’t listen. She said she doesn’t want to see you anymore.”

                I sighed. My knees weakened as I took a seat on top of my suitcase. “Where will I go now, Ara?”

                “I guess I can let you stay in my place for a while. I just hope my landlady doesn’t find out,” she told me.

                I gave her a quick hug. “I’m gonna find a new place to stay as soon as I can.”

                She smiled. “I’ll help you on that.”

                Ara’s place was just as small as my previous place. I know that staying here is just temporary and I need to find a place for my own. I know that Ara will get into trouble if her landlady finds out that I’m staying here. But, how will I find another place when I don’t even have enough money left? I don’t wanna tell this to mom and dad ‘cause I know that the money they’re earning is just enough for them to sustain their daily needs and they’re also saving up for my sister’s internship. I don’t want to be a burden to them anymore. Being a scholarship student is the only good thing I’ve done for them so I don’t wanna ruin that.

                When evening came, I couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Ara let me sleep on her bed while she slept on the floor which I totally disagreed upon but she still insisted. I got up from bed and decided to walk around the neighborhood. It’s already 11 pm yet the streets still seemed to be pretty busy. My eyes suddenly caught something that says, “Books are free, foods are not” sign in front of a diner (or more like a coffee shop) called Kona Beans. Since I’ve got nowhere to go, I decided to enter the shop knowing that I didn’t even being any money with me.

                As I opened the door, a female server bowed and greeted me, “Annyeonghaseyo!” so I tried my best to do the same even if my Korean language is still broken. She started to ask me something in Korean but I couldn’t quite understand it. She was constantly pointing at the book shelves in one corner and her other finger pointing on the counter. I guess she was asking if I’d like to order or not so I just shook my head and headed towards the book shelves.

Andrew

                As I took a sip on my coffee, I glanced at the girl who just entered the diner. She was wearing a lousy shirt and pajamas. Maybe that’s the new trend nowadays - Roam Around Seoul in PJs. I laughed at the thought of it. Suddenly, my cellphone rang. Apparently, it was my manager, Nathan Kim. “Where are you Andrew-ssi?”

                “I’m here at our coffee shop,” I replied.

                “You’re there again? I already told you that the paparazzi will easily catch you if you always hang out in your own diner. Can’t you just think a little?” he scolded me. AGAIN.

                “Arasso. I’ll go home soon. Bye Mr. Kim,” I mumbled, as I ended the call.

                I stood up to return the book that I got from one of the bookshelves. As I was looking for the aisle of the book, I suddenly overheard someone speaking in another language. I tried to listen closely. She’s speaking in English.

                “Mom, I’m fine here,” the voice said. “How are you and dad?”

                I finally found the aisle and placed the book back to its original position. Suddenly, I froze when I saw that girl talking on the phone with tears on her face. She was the girl wearing PJs. Clearly she’s not fine yet she’s telling to her parents that she is. Aish! What’s wrong with you people these days?

                I was about leave when suddenly, I heard her say, “I promise I’ll find Dr. Choi for you.”

                Why did she mention my dad? Does he know them? Maybe she’s one of her patients. If she’s trying to find my dad, I probably should go up to her and tell her that I know where he is. But, if I’ll do that, she’d know that I eavesdropped on her. Aish! Never mind. Why do I care anyway? It’s not like my dad will even attend to her. He doesn’t even pay any attention to his own son so I don’t think he’d even bother to look at her if they meet.

Kate

                I tried to control my tears as I talked to mom over the phone. I couldn’t tell them that I got kicked out in my dorm. I’m sure they’ll quickly tell me to fly back there and I don’t want that.  I haven’t served my purpose here yet. I haven’t seen Dr. Choi and I haven’t seen actual cherry blossoms. How can I just leave like that?

                “Are you sure you’re okay there honey?” mom asked.

                I didn’t respond quickly.

                “Kate?”

                “Yeah… mom,” I paused.

                “I said are you alright?”

                “Mom, I’m fine here,” I finally said. “How are you and dad?”

                “We’re good. Everything’s fine. Take care of yourself there dear. We miss you,” mom said.

                “You too, mom. I love you all,” I said. “I promise I’ll find Dr. Choi for you.” I hang up after that. I quickly brushed away the tears from my face. As I made my way out of the aisle, I noticed someone looking at me. He’s about 8 inches taller than me. His hair is neatly quaffed up and his jaw is like the ones you see in the magazines. His eyes are small and mesmerizing. I’ve never seen such gorgeous face.

I hadn’t realized that I stared at him for too long until I bumped into one of the aisles. I touched my head to steady myself. “Ouch, that hurts! Stupid! Stupid!” I cursed myself. I heard him laugh a little then he walked away. I sighed and proceeded to the washroom. I quickly freshened up myself to clear up my tears.

When I stepped out of the washroom, I saw the tall guy again talking on one of the servers near the counter. It seemed like he’s scolding her. But why? As I approached one of the tables, I noticed that his white shirt turned into dirty brown. Then, I saw a cup of coffee spilled on the floor. Maybe the server bumped into him and accidentally spilled it on his shirt. The server bowed many times before him trying to apologize but he’s now yelling on top of his voice. He didn’t even give her a chance to defend herself. ‘What a jerk!’ I thought to myself.

Marcus

                I just finished meeting up with the ambassador. We’ve been talking for hours and I wasn’t even interested to a single word he said. I know I should be used to it by now ‘cause I’ve been doing this for three years now but I still want to enjoy my life. It’s hard having a lot of obligations not just for my family but to the whole country. It’s like everything should be perfect and there’s no room for mistakes.

                I sat down my couch and decided to call Aiden. He’s the only one whom I can trust. I feel like he’s the only thing that’s left normal in my life. But sometimes, he tries to annoy me and act like my assistant because he knows that I would hate it if he becomes one. I don’t like the idea of him being my assistant. He’s better off as my best friend.

                “Yah! Marcus, it’s in the middle of the night,” Aiden blurted out. “What’s your problem?”

                I laughed. “I just finished the meeting.”

                “So?”

                “I want to go out,” I said.

                “Now?” he asked almost yelling.

                “Ne,” I answered.

                “Aish! Go out by yourself. I’m sleeping.”

                “Aiden-ah, I would’ve done that already if I know that the guards won’t see me,” I said.

                He sighed. “Do your guards ever go to sleep?”

                I laughed again.

                “Marcus-ssi, remember the last time I sneaked you out of the palace?”

                “Ne.”

                “I almost got into jail. The King and Queen will never forgive me. So can you just stay there in your room and do something else? I’m going back to sleep. Bye.” He hanged up on me.

                Aish! This guy! Sometimes, he just couldn’t understand what it feels like being in my position. I guess no one could ever understand unless they’re put in the same situation as mine.

I got hold of my video camera and started to play some clips that I recorded. Suddenly, I clicked on the clip where I saw this girl on the school park. I tried to look closer to see her face but I just couldn’t recognize her. Then, I remembered that I kept the sketch she crumpled. I dug into my bag to find the paper. When I found it, I straightened it up again and studied the drawing.

The cherry blossoms that she drew seemed to be a bit different from the actual ones. The sketch is pretty much amazing but if you’d looked closer, you could easily see the flaw. Why is it that she lacked the details? Did she do it in purpose? If so, then why?

∞∞∞

Author's Notes: Annyeong! Short chapter, eh? I’m sorry my mind isn’t functioning quite well at this hour ‘cause it’s already late and I just really wanna update. Anyway, I hope I’ll have time again to update soon ‘cause I really want to write this story. Please help me by supporting this :) If you have any suggestions, I’m very open to hear them. I need your ideas.

Thank you and love y’all :*

P.S. This chapter is for the first commenters on my story mmmjkk and PhoemelaKim26 :)