"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." — Donna Roberts

Recap:

I sigh and speak up, “Again, where are you taking me? Who are you, exactly?”

Again, they glance at one another, before the English-speaking guy nods.

            I stiffen, staring at them, eyes blinking rapidly. My breath catches in my throat, momentarily cutting off my ability to speak. The formerly disguise-clad men uncertainly glance at me while I just openly gape back at them. I’m looking right at…I shake my head. There’s no way…Yeah, I’m in Korea…but…no…it just can’t be…

The one in the middle speaks first, “My name is Park Yoochun. And this is…” he gestures to the guy on his right.

He blinks and says coolly, “I am Kim Jaejoong.” I hold back a wince at the slightly cold and guarded way he spoke, despite his somewhat thick accent.

“And I am Kim Junsu!” the last one pipes up, grinning, his accent noticeable as well.

I look at them for a few seconds, before letting out a loud, exasperated groan. They all jump slightly in surprise.

“Great! First, I get on the wrong flight and up stranded in Korea, and now, I’m hallucinating that I’m in the presence of JYJ. I guess I’m more tired than I thought,” I murmur to myself. “Lord, I bet it was all that K-pop that I’ve been listening to on my iPod during such a long flight… and now, I’m seeing idols…”

I look them all in the eyes, and let out a hearty laugh. “Jaejoong” jumps again while “Yoochun” and “Junsu” widen their eyes, glancing nervously at each other.

Still chuckling to myself, I say, “Now, what? Is Super Junior hiding in the back, trying to surprise me with an offer in their new music video?” I jokingly turn my head to the back. I turn back and look at them curiously, “Now, please tell me who you really are.”

Giving me a strange look, Yoochun responds hesitantly, “Um…you’re not hallucinating…we…we really are JYJ.”

Do hallucinations also give back responses like these?  I feel my eyes widen and my hands tremble slightly as the realization slowly sink in. “W-what?”

Junsu looks at me worriedly, and points to each of them, “We are JYJ, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu. Korean music group. Idols. You…you get it?”

My throat goes dry and I feel the blood pumping rapidly through my heart. “You’re really JYJ? I-I’m not just imagining this?” I cringe slightly. Did I just laugh like a maniac in front of them, moments before?

“So…you know us?” Jaejoong questions curiously. “You said Super Junior, too.”

I feel my ears growing hot. They’re always the first thing to go red whenever I’m embarrassed or flustered. Darned ears… “W-well, I’m a big fan of K-pop…so, I actually do know you…and other groups…,” I stutter, still not quite believing it. It-it is them? …I’m not hallucinating?

I sharply inhale, mentally scolding myself for the way I’ve acted thus far. Geez…I bow as low as my position can allow. “Um…it’s…very nice to meet you all.”

They all bow in return, murmuring consent. Junsu speaks up excitedly, “You our fan?”

I nod shyly, managing a small smile.

Yoochun smiles and asks, “Well, what’s your name?”

I pause. It wouldn’t hurt, right? I just hope they don’t think I’m a psycho foreigner…

“I’m Anika Chowdhury,” I smile shakily. “I’m a big fan, even though I’m from the United States.”

They all nod, smiling. Jaejoong asks, “What are you doing in Korea?”

I sigh before giving a kind of embarrassed laugh. “It’s a bit of a long story…”

“Well,” Yoochun replies, “we’re taking you to see our CEO, so, you can just explain everything there.”

I jerk my head towards him, alarmed. Huh? Their CEO?  “What? Why?”

Yoochun continues, “Well, you did distract the crowd, allowing us to leave the airport quickly without any serious trouble from the fans. We want to tell our CEO what happened and thank you properly for it and see if he can help you in any way. And don’t worry, he knows English quite well.” He pauses slightly, glancing at Junsu. “It was by chance that Junsu was able to pull you in with us after you saved him from the girl, and it’s good you didn’t get caught up in that crowd. Who knows what could’ve happened?”

They act like I just single-handedly took out some kind of assassin for them… I just pushed some wacko out of the way! I start to protest, but Jaejoong holds up a hand, silencing me.

“Come on, it’s really not a big deal,” he replies, smiling a little. “Just let us help you.”

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “And, how would you know I needed help?”

“Because, you just said so,” Junsu grins. I sigh, knowing that this’ll get me nowhere, except to their CEO’s office.

I nod my head in reluctant acceptance, and we lapse into a brief silence before arriving at the front of C-JeS Entertainment.

JYJ wait for me to head out first, and then, pile out one by one. Yoochun and Jaejoong grab my luggage before I can even say anything.

“Really, you don’t have—” I start, but Jaejoong cuts me off.

“Enough,” he says, amused. “Let’s just go.” I shake my head, slightly exasperated at myself and flustered, and follow them on the pathway to the entrance of the company.

However, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to find Junsu smiling at me. He inclines his head, and says, “Kamsamnidah. Thank you, for stopping that girl from hurting me.”

My eyes widen. He’s thanking me? “Ah, it’s alright…Junsu-ssi. I-I didn’t want her to hurt you…you’re welcome,” I babble.

He grins happily and then gestures for me to continue walking to the entrance. We get in and JYJ lead me upstairs, to where I assume the CEO’s office is. We get to the door, and Yoochun knocks, saying something in Korean. A voice inside answers back, and he opens the door, walking in. I’m the last to step inside, biting my lip in anticipation.

All three JYJ members bow deeply as they face the CEO. I quickly glance at them, and hastily follow suit. We stand up, and I look to see the CEO standing and smiling at all of us, although, his eyes curiously flit between me and the members. JYJ and the CEO converse for a bit, while I just stand there awkwardly, letting my gaze wander around the office. I assume they speak about me as well, from the brief glances and slight gesturing, and then, the man makes his way over to us.

He sticks out a hand to me, and says, smiling warmly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Baek Chang-ju. My JYJ members have told me a little of how they met you. Thank you for protecting Junsu and for helping them out of the airport. Your name is Anika, correct?”

I nod, a little nervous and flustered, but smile nonetheless. “That’s alright…there’s no need to thank me, really. I didn’t know that it was JYJ that were at the airport, so I assumed that Junsu-ssi was a random person, and I didn’t want the girl to hurt him.”

The man smiles, and asks, “Well, what exactly are you doing here in Korea?” He gently guides me over to his desk, motioning for me to have a seat. He speaks to the idols in the back and they come over to sit down in the chairs beside me. I can’t help but feel my ears growing slightly warm again, due to the overall surreal feeling of the situation and of my close proximity with Yoochun and Jaejoong on either side of me.  The CEO crosses back over to his side of the desk and gestures for me to speak.

I take a deep breath and say, “Well, you see, I’ve just finished my undergraduate in college in the United States. I’m majoring in journalism and literature/English, and since it is summertime, and I have no school for a few months, my parents decided that we should go visit my father’s brother and his family for two months in Australia. I still had some final studying and exams to take before I could go, so my family went a few weeks before me and I stayed over an aunt’s house for a bit.” I pause for a bit of breath, and looked at all of them, wanting to confirm if they comprehended my rambling. Jaejoong and Yoochun gesture for me to continue.

“So, then, I scheduled a plane ticket to Australia…and arrived here. I found out that I’ve somehow taken the wrong flight and ended up here, in South Korea. As I was waiting for the airline services to give me more info, I noticed that crowd of fan girls surrounding JYJ-but I didn’t know at the time it was them since they were disguised. Then, I saw this girl trying to hurt Junsu-ssi and I rushed over there and pushed her from the side. She yelled something and the crowds got distracted for a second, and then tried to pursue these three. Junsu-ssi pulled me along with him, and we got into the car, where they revealed themselves as JYJ, and here we are now.” I finish, a little out of breath for speaking for so long. Did I speak too much? Aish, probably.

Chang-ju nods, understanding. “You’ve been through quite a lot in such a short amount of time. But, have you informed your family yet about what’s happened?”

I sharply inhale. Mom and Dad! I haven’t even called them! How’d I forget?

I stutter, “N-no, I haven’t. In the rush of finding out about my wrong flight and escaping from the fan girls, I wasn’t able to contact my family.” I rub my temples, suddenly exhausted.

Yoochun lightly taps my shoulder, trying to seem a little comforting. I sigh, glancing at them reassuringly, and direct my attention to Chang-ju, “Sir, may I call my parents and tell them of my situation?”

The CEO seems to mentally mull things over, “Of course you can. However, I have a request. Can you have your parents video chat with me, so I can also reassure them of your position?”

I nod, a little surprised, and then, excuse myself and step out of the room to call my parents. I wait a little as the call processes, and then, my dad picks up.

“Anika!” he exclaims. “Where have you been?! We’ve been so worried, and your uncle and I were just going to go to the airport…”

“Um, Dad?” I start. “I’m fine, but I actually have something to tell you…”

I hear silence for a few seconds before he responds, “Go on.”

I sigh, and talk quickly, “I-I got on the wrong flight, and now, I’m in South Korea, and they said I’m stuck here for my allotted two months.” There’s a slight pause, which makes me even more scared. Finally, I hear a deep breath, and…

“WHAT?! ANIKA, TELL ME YOU’RE JOKING!” he thunders. I wince, but don’t feel too surprised. I mean, how often does one’s child end up in a different country? “You-You’re in Korea?! …Are you still in the airport?”

I pause for a second, and answer sheepishly, “No…”

I sigh as he starts his lecturing, going on about responsibility and not being aware of my surroundings and blah, blah, blah. I’ve already had quite a day; I don’t need any of this! (1)

“Dad!” I interrupt, “Right now, this CEO of a company is with me…he’s sort or helping me out…can you get on the computer and video chat? He wants to speak with you.”

He sounds a bit puzzled, but answers, “Alright, fine.”

I step back into the office, and Chang-ju is already logging onto his computer. I tell Dad to answer the video call, and his face pops up on the screen.

“Dad!” I exclaim, relieved to see him. He smiles in relief as well, and begins to question me on my general well-being and current situation.

“Dad, Mr. Baek would like to speak to you now. He’ll be able to explain my situation better.”

Mr. Baek slides the computer over, and whispers to me, “Anika, will you excuse us for a moment? I’d like to speak to your father alone.”

I nod, stunned, but nevertheless, go outside once again. I press my ear to the door, but only hear the faint murmurs as my father and Mr. Baek converse, and even the muffled noises of the JYJ members speaking as well.

Suddenly, the door cracks open and I jump a few feet from it, startled. Jaejoong pokes his head out, “You can come back in now,” he says, smirking, as if he knew I was trying to listen in.

I smile a bit awkwardly before following him in and going over to the laptop by Mr. Baek. The C-JeS CEO smiles…a little conspiratorially, in fact, and announces, “I’ve spoken with your father and my JYJ members, and we have agreed that for these two months or so, you will stay with JYJ in their dorm.”

It takes all I can to not openly gape at the suddenly powerful figure before me. What? Stay…with JYJ?! I glance at the idols and they just smile at me. That just makes me question my sanity even more. Dad clears his throat, and my attention darts back to him.

My dad smiles and says, “Since there really isn’t much I can do about your situation, I’ve allowed for you to stay there, just be on your best behavior. Mr. Baek is allowing you to stay with his company and he’ll see to it that you’ll be cared for. Plus, you’ll take all the money you have with you to be exchanged into Korean money so you can use it during your stay, and your mother and I will send you more things and money in the mail. Alright, I’ll let you go, but your mother would like to speak to you.”

“Alright, Dad,” I smile momentarily pushing away thoughts of rooming with JYJ, “I’ll see you soon…and thank you.”

He nods, and my mother comes into view. “Anika, I know what’s been going on. Are you alright?” her forehead creases in worry.

“Yeah, Mom,” I let out a weary chuckle, “I’m fine…just had a long day.”

“Well, I’m just a little miffed with you for landing in Korea,” she sighs. “You were just daydreaming with your headphones and books and snacks, weren’t you?”
I sheepishly laugh, biting my lip, “Maybe?”

Shaking her head, she says, “Well, be careful where you’re staying. Be good to the people taking care of you.” Er…why doesn’t she sound as worried as I thought she’d be? I shake my head, clearing the thought.

“You’ll never believe this, Mom,” I say, grinning, “The people I’m staying with are some of the Korean singers that my friends and I always listen to!”

She stares at me blankly, before sighing and rolling her eyes, “Of course they are.”

I glance at the three, only to find them looking as though they’re biting back smiles.

“Alright, Anika, I’ve got to get going now,” Mom says. “I’ll talk soon!”

“Alright, Mom. Bye!” And with that, I log everything off.

Mr. Baek turns to me and insists on the JYJ members giving me a tour of the company building. So, several moments later, I’ve been going throughout the beautiful C-JeS building, looking around at the studios, practice rooms, cafeteria, lounges, etc. It’s such a wonderful place…and so amazing of Mr. Baek to build to be able to meet the management needs of JYJ after filing their lawsuit against SM Entertainment. Exploring the building like this only seems to fuel the nervousness already churning within me. They’re really willing to let me stay with them? How can I live with a bunch of Korean superstars over the summer?

Mr. Baek and JYJ then take me to convert all of my current money into Korean currency and get adaptors and stuff that I’ll need for my electronics. I feel satisfied and relieved that I have a substantial amount of money for whatever I might need. He then treats us all to a slightly early lunch, and sensing my nervousness during the meal, he includes me in all of the conversations and patiently explains about the certain dishes that we order, making us have a pretty good time. I was pleased at the way we all were able to laugh throughout the day and just have fun. I almost forgot that I was spending a day with K-pop stars; they really are just normal people.

“Well,” Yoochun announces, “this is JYJ’s dorm!” I look around curiously, stopping to admire the huge photo of the three members on the wall by the doorway. The three of them had were laughing into the camera, arms around one another’s shoulders, and behind them was a lovely field, complete with green grass and a bright blue sky. They led me around the house, showing me the living room, where they all normally hung out with the large, flat-screen TV and couches; the huge kitchen, complete with all kitchen appliances and medium sized dining table for them to have their meals on; their own individual bedrooms, each having a personal bathroom and various smaller rooms around the dorm. However, the room that intrigued and excited me the most was the music room.

Leading me inside, I stopped and looked around in awe at the beautiful, beautiful music room. The room had the same pristine white color that most of the other rooms in the dorm did except it was marble instead of carpet, and the walls were also a sparkling white color. Around the wall, there were a few framed pictures of JYJ at their concerts and awards, and some of their families and friends.

“Wow,” I breathed, “This is probably my favorite room so far. And it’s great that the house has so much white, it’s one of my favorite colors!” I grin at the guys, and they all chuckle at my innocence and excitement, gesturing for me to explore a little more. On the walls are also designs in black, things like the JYJ logo, the members’ names in English, music notes and symbols, and some words in Hangul. There’s a large window on one side of the wall with black curtains, giving view to the city down below.

I smile, looking at the instruments and various papers placed around the room. There are guitars and basses lined up to the side of the room, a drum set in the back, a stereo system and iPod dock on one side, and near the right corner, is a grand white piano.

I walk over to the piano, smiling in awe. Wow… I place three fingers on the side, admiring the beautiful gold, cursive lettering of the JYJ logo on the lid of the instrument. Running a hand down the cool ivory keys, I hum a gentle tune, transfixed by such a powerful-looking instrument.

I look over my shoulder, equally as delighted to see a small recording studio built into the back of the room. They must practice their singing in here, whenever they’re staying in the dorm. We eventually exit and once again, go back down the bedroom hallway.

As the last stop, they show me to my room at the far end of the hallway.

“We have two extra guest bedrooms,” Yoochun explains, “just in case.”

I drop my luggage at the foot of the bed, and breathe deeply as I look around. It’s such a lovely room… There are the same white walls and carpet, and the bed has white sheets with a cream-ish comforter on top. There’s a big window, leading down to the view of the city, with lilac curtains. There are two dresser drawers on one side of the room and a mirror with a dresser on the other. A small lounge chair rests in a corner by the window and the room, and a bathroom was on one side. Overall, the room just has such a bright and peaceful appearance.

“Wow…” I breathe. “I-I can barely believe this.” I turn to look at them. “Thank you.”

They chuckle. “Think of it as a small favor for helping us,” Yoochun responds.

I set up some of my stuff, then join JYJ in the living room, where we just sit and relax for a bit.

Junsu looks up at me, smiling, “I think it is good you are here…now, Jaejoongie and I can improve our English.”

I look at him and smile, “Your English has improved very much over the years! You can speak very well!” I blink at myself in surprise. I guess after having adjusted to what’s been going on, I’m not finding it so unbelievable and flustering to be with them.

Yoochun nods in agreement but also says, “Also, I’ll be able to speak in English more since I really don’t get to that much here, in Korea.”

I nod and say cheerfully, “Well, I’ll be happy to help. One of my majors is English/literature. It was pretty unexpected for me to land in Korea, but since I’m here, I’d like to learn a bit more about the culture and language.”

“We can help you there, too,” Jaejoong adds.

I smile and then rummage around in my shoulder bag, pulling out my dark blue iPod Nano, and start untangling the headphones.

Jaejoong raises his eyebrows, reaching for my iPod. As he closely examines it, the corners of his mouth twitch upwards in amusement. “You have one of these?” He inquires. “They’re so old!”

I laugh, looking down fondly at the device, “I know, they’re ancient. But, I’ve always loved this little 5^th generation iPod, since I like the design much better than the iPod touch. It’s one of my most prized possessions.”

Jaejoong grins, amused, “You’re weird.” I stick my tongue out at him playfully, and immediately ram it back in. Why the heck did I do that? But, he looks unfazed as his eyes still glimmer in amusement from my earlier remark.

Junsu and Yoochun go behind his chair, watching as he scrolls through my music library.

“Yah!” Junsu shouts, excited. “You have a lot of Korean groups on here!” He starts to name some of the bands: Super Junior, Big Bang, Beast, 2PM, 2AM, f(x), Girl’s Day, After School, etc.

“She even has a lot of our songs from the DBSK days, and also the newer TVXQ songs,” Jaejoong murmurs. He smiles suddenly, “You have a lot of JYJ songs.” I grin at the three, nodding, and say, “How could I not? Your songs are quite amazing and my friends and I are all big fans…from your DBSK days…to now.”

“Hmmm,” Yoochun puts a finger to his chin, and regards me thoughtfully. “You seem to like music very much…can you sing or play any instruments?”

I raise my eyebrows, surprised. “W-well, I don’t play any instruments…but…I guess I do like to sing…I was in my high school choir for a few years and have some experience…”

“YOU DO?!” Junsu practically screams. “You …have to sing…NOW! Sing something!”

My heart thuds in my chest. Sing…in front of some of Korea’s most legendary singers? All of a sudden? I’d make a fool out of myself!

I shake my head quickly, taken aback. “Sing? In front of you guys? No way! I’m terrible!”

Jaejoong gets excited as well, and he and Junsu start up a chant, “Sing, sing, sing, sing…”

I look at Yoochun beseechingly, but he just shrugs and gives his trademark, winning grin, clearly wanting me to do it as well. Letting my stubbornness win out, I adamantly shake my head. “Really, I can’t! I’m not good at all…” I say, desperate for them to drop it.

“Oh, come on, I’m sure you’re just fine.” Jaejoong smiles. “Fine, how about we sing with you? Will that be better?”

I purse my lips, mulling it over. Fine, I guess that’s alright. I nod, and the members all grin. “Which song do you want to sing, Anika-ssi?” Yoochun asks.

Giving it a second’s thought, I say simply, “Ayy Girl,” and wait for them to start. Junsu and Yoochun blink in surprise at me, before shrugging, and starting.

I close my eyes, sighing, giving in reluctantly. Years of choir and singing in the shower, don’t fail me now! I hesitantly open my mouth, and sing:

Flashing lights

Have the time of your life

Living it up for tonight

Yeah, she living it up for tonight

Ayyy girl, I tried to make you my baby

Ayy girl, instead you made me go crazy

Just run through me!

What have you done to me?

Ayy girl, I tried to make you my baby

Ayy girl, instead you made me go crazy

I’m losing my cool!

Playing me for a fool!

Ayyyyyy, ayy, ayy girl

I know your type, I know the life

I know you’re living your life for the night

Another night

I know your type, I know the life

I know you’re living your life for the night

Another night

I pause, trying to remember the next verse to their debut song. As I’m thinking for that one second, Junsu and Jaejoong join in again, singing the next verse.

We’re so high, we touch the sky

You broke my heart, tore me apart

I smile widely, delighted that they’ve helped me remember and Yoochun and I join them, all four of our voices blending as we sing.

I never lost like this, now it’s you who’ll miss

Like I did give, because for the night you told me

I’m not the type

Flashing lights

Have the time of your life

Living it up for tonight

Yeah, she living’ it up for tonight

We finish the song with the chorus, all of us laughing towards the end, delighted in the sudden breaking out in song together. Jaejoong reaches his arm over and nudges me gently in the shoulder.

“You lied! Your voice is very good!” he exclaims. (2)

“It’s true, Anika-ssi. You were able to sing our song really well!” Yoochun grins. “We haven’t sung that in a while, do you really like that piece?”

I nod shyly, and say, “It always gets stuck in my head and since it’s in English, I’m able to sing it easily. I guess that’s why I picked it; it’s in English and is one of your songs.”

Yoochun chuckles. “Smart cookie.”

 I laugh and look over at Jaejoong and Junsu, smiling fondly at the memory, “You two had great pronunciation in the song, despite your language barrier. The song came out beautifully. And besides, I only sounded good because you guys sang most of it with me! I forgot the words! What kind of a fan am I?”

“Not a crazy one,” Jaejoong mutters under his breath, eyes dark. I look at him curiously, but the flash of dark in his eyes leave as quickly as they had appeared.

“Anika-ssi, don’t worry. Your voice was very good, and we only helped you and had fun singing together. You voice isn’t high like most girls; it’s a nice alto, so it’s a bit deeper. And, it also was that shivering type of voice, like Yoochun’s,” Junsu adds, eyes shining with his usual excitement. “It’ll be fun, being able to sing with you!”

I bow my head, feeling my cheeks turn that reddish hue, due to their compliments. I have to admit, being able to sing with JYJ feels surreal…and to think they’d like to do this quite a bit during my stay…my friends would kill me out of jealousy!

Oh my god! I suddenly remember. My friends…I forgot to tell those three where I ended up!

I clear my throat, looking up at the members, and say, “Is it alright if I can get connected to the Internet here? I brought my laptop.” I pause, biting my lip, and then continue, “You see…I have a couple of really close friends that I want tell where I am. They’re big K-Pop fans as well…probably even bigger fans than me…would-would it be alright if I told them?”

They glanced at each other, and since Yoochun seemed to be agreeing, Jaejoong and Junsu nodded after a bit.

Yoochun smiles slightly, and says to me, “Because we trust you, Anika-ssi, it’s alright if you talk with your friends. However,” he continues, “they have to promise to keep this all a secret. No one can know you’re staying with us, especially if they are fans of K-Pop…”

After a few moments, the guys helped me get connected to their dorm Wi-Fi, and I was logging on to see if my friends were there. I glanced at the time in Seoul. It’s about 1:30 p.m. here…so…I calculated the time difference.  It should be about 11:30 p.m. back in the U.S. They should still be awake. I bite my lip in excited anticipation, practically bursting to talk with them and tell them that I’m temporarily living with idols that we’ve all been crazy fans of for so long.

Sure enough, my three amigas were on, and I quickly chat with them to get on video chat.

“Hey!” I yell as I watch all three of them pop onto the screen. They all greet me back happily. You know that indescribable relief you get when seeing a familiar face? These three seem to always have that effect on me.

“Hey,” my friend, Maryam smiles, “you’re in Australia now, right?”

“Oh, yeah!” Oyshi exclaims. “You texted me, saying that you were leaving and were getting on the plane.”

I smile shakily, “Yeah…I did…it was about a 14 hour flight.”

“So, what are you up to right now?” Amber asks.

I close my eyes before sighing, “Alright…guys, don’t freak out, but I have to tell you something.”

They just stare back at me curiously and I start, “Well…I-I got on the wrong flight…and now, I’m actually in South Korea.” I wince slightly, as though waiting for some sort of impact from a head-on collision.

Amber and Maryam both shout, “WHAT?!” and Oyshi practically explodes into laughter, her entire frame shaking.

Amber carefully scrutinizes me. “Are you just joking with us?” I frantically shake my head, sincerely wanting them to understand my situation.

“Of course, being the complete dunce that you are, you would end up taking the wrong plane! Forget ending up in the wrong country, you landed on the wrong continent!” Oyshi gasps, still laughing and wiping tears from her eyes. “Oh my god, I’m crying right now.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I snap, annoyed, “we all know how stupid and clumsy I am, you don’t have to go on about it…”

“You’re really in Korea?” Maryam asks eyes really wide. “The place I’ve been dying to go to forever?! And you ended up there, accidentally?!”

I cough, my face turning slightly pink. I get flustered really easily, okay? “Um, guys? That’s not the most surprising part…I’m in a dorm, right now…staying with some people…” I quickly gesture over to the JYJ members, and shifting over as the walk into the camera’s view.

“Annyeonghaseyo. We are JYJ!” They all shout, smiling into the camera, and even standing in the JYJ formation. Really, guys?

Amber’s mouth drops open and Maryam’s eyes shift to the size of saucers, a hand flying up to her chest. Oyshi splutters, actually choking on air, now. I smirk at their expressions. Idiots…

“No way…” Oyshi mutters.

“Anika, you better not be kidding with me! Oh my God…am I hallucinating?” Maryam says, her voice getting weaker with each word.

I scoff lightly. “Trust me, you’re not hallucinating,” I say, dryly. Been there, done that, most likely not going back.

“How could I ever lie about this? They’re right in front of your eyes!” I continue, still smiling at their shock.

Yoochun puts his face closer to the screen, smiling politely, “It’s very nice to meet some of Anika-ssi’s friends. She told us that you all love K-Pop as well, so, I’m assuming you know who we are.”

“Micky Yoochun,” Oyshi whispers. She then clears . “Um, yeah, it-it’s nice to meet you.”

Amber smiles shakily, her cheeks slightly tinged pink, and says, “It’s great to meet you all. We’re all big fans.”

Maryam shakes her head, shyly smiling as well, “We’ve been fans for a very long time. I-I can’t believe you’re with JYJ! H-How did this happen?”

First, I formally introduce my friends to JYJ, and they all greet each other, my friends looking as though they can barely contain their shock. I told them everything that happened, all the way from getting lost at the airport and seeing the fans surrounding JYJ, to meeting the CEO of C-JeS Entertainment and having me stay with JYJ, and just exploring their dorm. My friends listened intently, hanging on to my every word, even when their eyes darted occasionally to the Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun, who were also listening to me recount my day.

Oyshi looks at me, concern evident in her eyes. “You’re ok though, right?”

I grin at her. “Well, I was pretty shook up before, but now, I’m fine. Thanks, Sirius.”(2)

She smiles, letting out a breath of relief, and says fondly, “You know I worry about you, Remus.”

I turn around and smile at the guys, saying, “And, now, JYJ’s taking good care of me. I’m really grateful.”

They all smile, and Jaejoong reaches over to ruffle my hair, an action that causes Maryam to raise her eyebrows so high, that they disappear into her bangs and sport a Cheshire-cat grin.

Junsu says, “We had to help you in return, you saved my life from stopping that girl!”

I roll my eyes slightly, feeling heat travel to my ears. “It wasn’t as serious as that, Junsu-ssi!”

He shakes his head, and then turns to grin at my three friends. “We told her to sing for us! She’s really good!”

I protest, “You guys started singing with me too, and you practically forced me to sing for you!”
I turned towards the girls, saying, “They kept shouting for me to sing, and I just finally sang Ayyy Girl for them, only after I made them sing with me.”

Oyshi and Amber laugh at my expression and Maryam exclaims excitedly, “You sang with them? Wow!”

Jaejoong and Yoochun nod, confirming. Maryam grins, although she also shyly averts her eyes.

“Ah!” Yoochun suddenly says. “We’ll give Anika-ssi a bunch of our autographs and such for her to give to you three. But, also, there’s something that has to be done…” he glances at me, and I nod, turning to my friends, knowing they’ll agree.

“Guys, nobody else can know that I’m staying here in South Korea with JYJ. I’m not accusing you of being blabbermouths and I really trust you all, but, I promised the guys that I would make you guys swear that nobody else would know about this.”

Maryam nods, “It’d be bad if fans and netizens come to know about this…and all stars know how bad some of them can be.” Jaejoong and Yoochun nod in response and Junsu even shudders slightly, as though the word netizens was repulsing.

“Alright!” Amber pipes up. “I promise that I won’t tell a single soul about this!”

Oyshi grins at me, “Same for me, dude. My lips are completely sealed.”

Maryam winks at me, “Well, I know I’m the craziest fan girl out of all of us, but I’d rather give up music forever than rat out some of my favorite idols and close friend.” I beam gratefully and open my mouth to thank all of them, but Maryam interrupts me before I could say anything.

“But,” she interjects, eyes twinkling, “you have to talk with us as much as you can while you’re living there for two months. There’s no way I’m missing any of this!”

I let out a small laugh and gush, “Deal! Let’s long-distance pinky swear on it!”

All four of us hold up our hands, pinkies and thumbs, extended. We simultaneously curl our pinkies and bring forth our thumbs, doing a Korean pinky swear. Junsu smiles at our choice of a pinky swear, and directs a thumbs-up and a wink to my friends, who smile in return.

After we all chatter for a couple more minutes, and JYJ get to know a bit more about my friends and life back home, I sign off, promising to call as soon as I can.

“Ah,” I exhale, beaming. “Thanks for letting me tell and talk with my friends. They loved meeting you!”

All of three of them grin at me, and Jaejoong says, “Your friends are nice. We can trust them,” while the others agree.

The rest of the day, I just organize my temporary room, and JYJ do some cleaning around the dorm since they haven’t stayed in it for a while. We then relax and just talk about random things like my life back in the States, the concert in Japan they just came back from, music, Jaejoong makes fun of my iPod again, I throw a pillow at him, we watch some TV (they’re kind enough to hook it up so that English subs are there for me), etc.

Jaejoong suddenly checks out the time when we’re in the middle of a movie, and shouts, “Yah! It’s long past dinnertime!” He gets up, racing to the kitchen. We hear some clanging and banging, and Jaejoong runs up, his coat already half-on. “Yoochunnie, we need to get to the store! The fridge is empty! I need to make dinner!”

Yoochun sighs, getting up from the couch, and looks at me, “We’ll be going to get some groceries, it shouldn’t take too long.” He stares at Junsu, and says something in Korean, and Junsu waves his hand lazily, gesturing for them to go.

I walk them to the door, calling out, “Be careful!” They shout back muffled replies, their faces covered with light scarves, caps over their heads.

I walk back into the living room, seeing Junsu looking up at the TV screen, completely engrossed in the movie playing, a comical expression on his face as he watches two characters having a fist fight. I chuckle slightly, and he jumps, staring at me in surprise.

“Ah,” he sheepishly grins, “it-it’s a very good part.”

I nod, amused. We watch in silence for a couple of minutes as the fight scene dies down and now a bunch of people are just conversing on the screen. I hear a light snore, and turn, surprised to see Junsu lightly sleeping, his features eased into an innocent look as his head lolls to one side.

My eyes soften. He’s had a long day, too. I’ll just wake him up when dinner’s ready. I slightly nudge him into a more comfortable position, and put the thin blanket already on the couch over him and gently tuck one of the couch pillows under his head. I freeze as he shifts slightly, but he only brings up his arms and tucks them under the pillow, still lightly asleep.

I breathe, and feel a soft knock at the door, and hurry over to open it. Jaejoong and Yoochun step inside, and I put a finger to my lips, pointing at Junsu, asleep on the couch. They nod, and Yoochun heads on over to his room, while Jaejoong dashes over to the kitchen. I follow him and get out some ingredients from the bags.

“No, no!” Jaejoong gently nudges my hands away. “You are our guest. You can watch me cook, but don’t help. This dinner is for you.”

I argue with him for a minute, but sigh, as I reluctantly sit down at the table, watching him work his magic. I watch amazed, as he prepares bowls of rice, some kimchi, kimbap, some fish, and soup. They really do love their side dishes! Jaejoong chats with me while cooking, talking about the dishes. I watch intently, memorizing where he puts away the food and how he prepares it. Finally, he sets everything on the table, cleans up, and goes to get Yoochun from his room.

I go over to the living room, and walk up to Junsu, who’s still sleeping in the exact same position that I left him in before.

I gently shake his shoulder, saying, “Junsu-ssi. It’s time for dinner, wake up.” I smile as he buries himself even deeper into the couch. I shake him some more, and he finally blinks open his eyes, squinting at me.

“It’s time for dinner,” I repeat, smiling. He stands up, shaking his head roughly. He nods, giving me a small smile, and heads over to the bathroom.

In a couple of minutes, we’re all settled around the table, digging into the food Jaejoong had prepared. I’m normally a pretty picky eater, but I was excited to be trying out authentic Korean food, and was even happier when finding that the meal Jaejoong had prepared was really good! We all talk and laugh throughout the meal, just rewinding after a long day.

“Wow,” Yoochun remarks, looking at my plate, “You actually eat pretty fast!” I glance at him, feeling my cheeks flushing slightly.

The others chuckle while Yoochun hastily replies, “Wait! No, I didn’t mean that you ate sloppily, just fast…Just like Junsu-ah.” He looks at me apologetically.

I nod, slightly sheepish, “My mom and I have always been fast eaters. When I see food in front of me, I just work on eating it; I don’t always take my time.” I smile at him to let him know I wasn’t offended.

“That’s how I feel, too!” Junsu exclaims. “Why do people talk so much or look around at the view and eat food slowly during their meals? If I see food, I have to quickly finish it all up.” (3)

We talk for a few minutes, before completely finishing up. I try to help clear the table and wash the dishes, but Jaejoong stops me again. I sigh, just waiting for him to finish.

After that, we all just hang out for a few hours, before Yoochun catches me yawning.

“Alright, everyone,” he declares, “I believe it’s time for bed.” I don’t argue; my eyes are already beginning to droop. I look at the clock on the wall, surprised to see that it’s half past midnight.

“Okay, goodnight, Yoochun-ssi. Goodnight, Jaejoong-ssi, Junsu-ssi,” I murmur sleepily.

Yoochun comes over and pats my back. “Anika-ssi, you don’t have to address us like that anymore. We’re all friends now. You can just call us oppa.”

My eyes widen, my need for sleep temporarily vanishing as I gape at him in surprise. “What?”

Junsu comes up smiling, “You can just say Jaejoong-oppa, Yoochun-oppa, and Junsu-oppa, now.”

I smile, still sort of dazed. Calling them oppa? But…that’s only for younger girls that are really close to them…like sisters or girlfriends…Oh, lordy-wordy…I can practically hear the fan girls screaming for my blood. (4)

I nod cautiously and shoot back at them, saying, “Fine, but from now on, you all have to call me just Anika.”

Jaejoong comes up, ruffling my hair, and says, “Deal.” They all shout their goodnights to me and to each other and make their way to their respective rooms. I stumble on over to my own, use the bathroom, and get ready for bed. Before sleeping, I take out my diary, staring at the pages, before recounting my day. The entry fills up with all my emotion throughout the adventurous day, and my thoughts on how easy it is to see JYJ as normal, caring people with whom I look forward to for the rest of my stay in Korea.

 ‘We’re all friends now,’ Micky had said. I smile, contentment bubbling deep inside my chest. Yeah…we’re friends.

I drift off, finally letting sleep overtake me, dreaming of an exciting tomorrow.

Author’s Notes: Here you have it! :D  OH MY GOD I AM SO FREAKING SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE!! Honestly, all I can do is apologize…I really hope I’m not like this in the future D: Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter….sorry it’s so long… >.< I’m also sorry if this sounded too fan-girly, lame, rushed, etc. Honestly, I really want your guys’ opinions in order to improve^^ It’ll be fun having to write about JYJ…I’ve already outlined so much…XD Also, as a big note, I’ve made the English-speaking skills of the members far better than they actually are; I’ve made them all practically fluent! >.< Well, I figured it would help the flow of the fic more and since they’re really big Hallyu stars, why not? Even Yoochun, who spent a lot of time living in the States isn’t all that great with English, but I’ve made them really good here. Sorry if this offends anyone and such in any way, I just wanted to go with this…I hope you can support and bear with me. ^^ And those three are my lovely friends whom are Kpop-crazy as well, as I’m sure you all figured…love them^^ My friend, Maryam, is Spidertao on this website and I’m the editor of her fics, so her stories are nice :D Hope you can check her out too^^ (she loves B.AP. and EXO :D). You’ll be seeing a lot of these three; everyone needs crazy friends, right? J Also, I dunno whether I mentioned this before, but I changed my and my friends’ ages in this fic to be closer to the ages of the JYJ members. So, we’re all about 22-23 years old…just wanted to tell you guys^^ Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! (OTL…this is a long author note…)

*Numbered notes in the chapter

(1): My dad realllllly lectures too much…I can’t even describe it…>.>

(2): Haha…I wish…XD I’m decent, you could say…but being complimented on singing by JYJ…wow…*_*

(3): This is very true…I eat like I’m never going to see food again…XD Although, my mom somehow eats faster…O_o Also, Junsu has mentioned before (on TVXQ Come to Play) on how he really eats fast and eats stuff up immediately when it’s set before him…my mindset as well (we have something in common… :3)! XD I can’t help it…come on, I know a lot of other people are like this too^^

(4): Yes…I can hear the fan girls /runs and hides/…To call them oppa…/sigh/ Every fan’s dream, right? XD