“You said hello and I turned to go, but something in your eyes left my heart beating so. I just knew that I’d love again, after a long long while, I’d love again. It was destiny’s game for when love finally came on I rushed in line only to find that you were gone. Beautiful girl, I’ll search on for you. Till all of your loveliness in my arms come true. You’ve made me love again, after a long long while in love again and I’m glad that it’s you…you…ooohh…beautiful girl”.

She was smiling from ear to ear, still trying to absorb what exactly transpired right in front of her very eyes. All she knows for sure is that this handsome well- mannered man is staring straight into her eyes as he smiles back at her in the most genuine manner. As the last few lines of the song faded in the background, she began to realize that he was also securely holding her right hand in his left. Before she knew it, he was already planting a subtle kiss on the back of her hand in a prince-like gesture. This was enough to totally take her breath away and deepen the redness of her cheeks. That’s the time it dawned on her as to where they were at that moment. After a couple of seconds she hears the thunderous clapping matched with the deafening shrieks of the apparent huge crowd gathered to witness the 2012  Asian MTV Awards. She had to cover her face with both hands upon hearing the entire stadium seemingly approve of the interaction between the two artists.

When she regained awareness of the other person standing close to her, she politely bowed her head and clasped her hands together like a shy school girl. The man who looked dashing in his grey suit flashed a winning smile and bowed his head in response. After which he waved back to the approving crowd that appear to be enjoying every minute of this performance. She knew that they don’t speak the same language as he’s a Filipino and was just invited as one of the major performers in this event. They were not even supposed to be having this moment had it not been due to the fact that she was on the side of the stage when he sang the song that he was nominated for – “Beautiful Girl”. All she can remember is that she was readying herself for what she’s supposed to say on stage as she presents the award with the help of TVXQ’s leader Yunho, when she sees this man slowly approaching him and reaching for his hand to guide her to the middle of the stage. First thing that came to her mind was “why the hell is he doing this?” and then she wracked her brain and tried to remember the man’s name. As he slowly guided her to share the limelight on centre stage, the image of how they were introduced backstage came rushing back to her memory.

 A polite knock was heard right outside of her dressing room which she shared with fellow Korean female artists who were either performers on this musical gathering or award presenters just like her. The room had the 2NE1 group doing the last minute rehearsal of their new song while Hwayobi was trying to memorize her part of the spiels. Slowly, the door opened with the head of the assistant floor director peering in. After finding the 2NE1 girls inside, he casually made his way to the group. Trailing behind him was a tall man in a grey suite which fitted him so well.  He had round brown eyes which were quaint and serene matched with a shy but inviting smile. As Hwangbo busied herself with fixing her make-up, she heard a surprised shriek from one of the 2Ne1 members, “ Kuya Christian! Andito ka!” Dara exclaimed. This was enough to get her attention and make her look back at the sudden commotion to the left of the room. There she saw standing close to each other Dara and the so-called “Christian”. She didn’t understand most of what Dara uttered but it’s evident that this guy’s name is “Christian”. The girl group member and the formal-but-friendly looking young man started having what appears to be a very casual conversation but she didn’t understand what they were saying as they spoke in a different language. The other members of the girl group seemed to act rather shy towards the man. But Hwangbo overheard the girls talking to each other saying that he looked even more dashing as compared to when they met him during their concert in the Philippines the year before. She was all of a sudden taken back to her memories of visiting the said country a few years back. However, she was interrupted by Dara who apparently has decided to introduce her to the mysterious man.“ Unnie, this is Christian-shii. He is a good friend of mine back in the Philippines. He’s here to perform one of his nominated songs. I just remembered that you recently released a song entitled “I’m still beautiful” and coincidentally his song is entitled “Beautiful girl”. Isn’t that nice? Maybe you could even perform the songs together one of these days. Hehehe”.  “This young lady is up to something fishy” Hwangbo thought to herself as after saying these she was sure she saw Dara wink at her and then to the man standing before them. That’s when she realized that Christian-shii was smiling at her politely and looked rather a little nervous after Dara winked at him. He offered his right hand to Hwangbo to shake hands with her. When she reached it with her left, he looked into her eyes while saying “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Hye Jung”, with perfect Korean pronunciation. She was surprised by the fact that not only can he speak the language in a rather clear manner considering that he’s a Filipino, but he also called her by her first name. Most people would just address her “Hwangbo” but this man knew her name and was too comfortable calling her by it. A sudden urge to correct him on how he should address her properly  came to her but dismissed the idea right away by thinking that he might not be used to honorifics and addressing people the Korean way since he’s from another country and culture.  So, she decided to politely return the greeting with a warm smile and shook back his hand and said “Nice to meet you too, Christian-shii. Good luck with your performance later. It would be nice to hear you sing that song. I’m sure it’s a lovely one”.  Dara was gushing like a fan girl seeing how Christian-shii’s face lightens up and his eyes sparkled after hearing Hwangbo’s comment. Meanwhile, Hwangbo found it amazing to see the pinkish blush on the man’s face but what she didn’t expect was what came after. Without removing his hand from her light grip, he uttered the words with dreamy eyes “ Hye Jung, domo-domo ippudda (Really, really beautiful)”.  This time around, it was she who blushed profusely and decided to slowly remove her hand from his. Dara, satisfied with what she has done, decided to in “Christian Hyung has wanted to meet you in person after I told him about you and what your Compassion band has been doing in the Philippines. He was wondering if he could join you in one of your visits as he does a lot of charity works as well. Maybe you could also get to know each other more then, right Kuya Christian?”. As if looking for any sign of agreement from her, Christian-shii looked at Hwangbo with puppy eyes that could easily melt any lady’s heart. Still feeling embarrassed by the complement she got, Hwangbo replied nervously, “Oh, I see. Well, we’re planning on going back there next month with the rest of the group. So, we’ll appreciate any help we could get”. With this, Christian-shii’s smile brightened up even more. He then asked hesitantly, “I understand that you have a twitter account. Could I add you up so we could get in touch and talk more about the charity event?” Hwangbo smiled warmly and replied “Oh, sure. It’s Estella816”. Before Christian could even say another word, the assistant floor directed interrupted their pleasant conversation by saying that he has to go back stage already to prepare for his production number. They had no choice but to say bye to each other and the two men were gone as quickly as they entered the room. Hwangbo couldn’t help but feel intrigued by this man called “Christian” and before she knew it, she was at the back stage together with the other artists trying to prepare for the part in the program. She was fixing the strap of her elegant black dress which falls just above her knees, when she sensed the presence of someone at her back. The person cleared his throat purposely to get her attention. When she turned her head to look at who this was, she couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. Standing just inches away from her is the man who can easily steal her breath away with just a simple smile. But before she could say a word, she was called on by the floor director to take her place on stage with Yunho who immediately followed the order. This left her no chance to talk to the man she fondly calls “Shillang” and so, she just offered her a quaint smile as she was ushered to the stage.

As if waking up from a dream, she was transported back into the present time as she felt a tug on her right hand from the same person who sang her that beautiful song which made her heart flutter earlier. He was signalling her to go with him to the side of the stage as their production number is already done. She nodded and followed the lead of Christian-shii but before exciting the stage, she caught a glimpse of a handsome young man in black suit seated right in front of the stage with eyes  which were earlier gave her a warm feeling inside, are now looking at her with hurt and disapproval. She knew right there and then that she hasn’t seen the last of those eyes today, nor will she be leaving the event without a word with .. “Hyun Joong”.