Chapter 2

The Newest Fast Food Chain

Rei finally arrived at Incheon International Airport. Seeing a lot  of people somehow made her feel uncomfortable and scared. She took a very deep sigh and fisted her hands to at least somehow give herself some confidence. She barely remembers her motherland for she last came to Korea when she was 4 years old. Nothing seemed familiar. All she saw was chaos, people running here and there, people yelling, some were even crying because of the joy of seeing their loved ones arrive. But for her, no one. She couldn’t even consider Mr. Lee as a family because he just met him a few days ago.

Mr. Lee was the one who went to the orphanage and told her that her brother was looking for her, that she had to leave Japan in order to meet the last living member of her family.
 

The chaos and unfamiliarity made her miss Sakura and most of all, Japan. She looked around for Mr. Lee, hoping he already arrived.
"Ms. Kim Rei Mi." She suddenly snapped out of her deep thoughts when she heard her name and looked around. It was Mr. Lee, a guy in his late 40s, clad in a suit and a blank expression.
 

"Hello, Mr. Lee." She politely bowed and somehow felt relieved. The guy understood Japanese so it was easy for her to communicate. "How was your flight?"He asked, his voice full of authority but still polite while taking her bag from her. She was reluctant to hand her bag, not because she didn't trust the man but because she wasn't used to anyone doing things for her.

"Everything went well." Her words were carefully chosen, a bit awkward because Mr. Lee was walking straight ahead while talking to her.

 "Ah... I think that’s good. Shall we go now?" His lips moved a bit. ReiMi just nodded and sighed.

***

"Mr. Lee?" Rei reluctantly asked when Mr. started the car.

"Hmm?" The guy didn't even look away from the road as he drove the car out of the airport.

"Where are we going?"

"Ah, well going to meet DBSK."

"DBSK?" She stared at him innocently from the back of the car and then her stomach growled at the same time. "Is that a fast food here? I'm sorry for asking but I haven’t eaten anything yet."

Mr. Lee finally gave a small smile that made her relax somehow and looked at her at the rearview mirror. "Of course, how can I forget?” He silently reprimanded himself for it. "I will get you something to eat but we must meet someone first. Is that ok with you Ms. Kim?"

"By all means sir." She happily said, totally clueless that she was about to meet someone who will make her life a living hell.

***

The drive to Seoul City fascinated her. She was in awe while they were on their way. Growing up in a small village in a small province near the mountains in Japan didn’t give her a chance to see such sight. She bit her lips in order to keep them from falling down because of amazement.

Tall buildings were everywhere and the people were too busy with their lives to notice anything around them. The sky was clear so it was a great day to walk outside. If she was still in Japan, she and Sakura would run around the field to pick wild berries and small bugs to scare the nuns at the orphanage, something that they usually do. They were always reprimanded for it but they love to do it over and over again.

That thought made her eyes water but she wiped them away even before Mr. Lee could notice. They finally arrived at the tall building, hidden away from the highway. The front wall was made of glass but you couldn't see anything from the outside. There was a small stone marker at the front of the glass door. ReiMi concluded that it was the building name.

SM Entertainment

"Ms. Kim, we're here." She gasped and shivered at Mr. Lee voice, the old man's voice was so deep, nearly scary.

Entering the building compound was like entering a mall having a 90% sale on all items. Girls were everywhere. Some were screaming, some were even crying like the scenes she saw at the airport. Many of them even wore funny hats and some held banner. She caught a glimpse of a girl holding a DBSK banner, crying.

'Geez, there's no need to cry over a fast food,' she thought.

Mr. Lee got their passes and they entered immediately. She never missed the dirty glances and murmurs when they entered the building. They entered a room full of busy people, people who were going around everywhere.

"You have to wait here for a while. I need to talk to someone first," he said, leaving her at a corner without waiting for her reply.

She held her bag tightly around her chest as she waited for Mr. Lee's return. She didn't want to lose it there. Everyone was talking in Korean and she barely understood them and so she decided to call Sakura using the last credit her phone had.

"Moshi, Moshi!?"

"Saki!!" 

"Mimi!" It was obvious that Sakura was thrilled upon hearing her voice. "How's my best friend? Where are you now? Have you met him already? How is he? Is he kind?" Sakura bombarded her with questions.

"I'm okay, I'm at a very tall building in Seoul and no, I haven’t met him yet," she answered, voice hushed. She was receiving dirty glances once again, but this time from the people inside the building. They were giving her questioning looks of why a girl with tattered clothes was inside the building. Based on their looks, she definitely did not fit. So giving them a reason to hate her by her loud voice wasn't on her list.

Then a moment of silence.

"Saki."

"Mimi." 

"I miss you!" they both said nearly sobbing.

Talking to Sakura somehow relieved Rei. Being foreign in her own land was no joke. After a long wait, Mr. Lee finally arrived.

"DBSK's waiting for us," he said smiling, taking her bag once again.

Hearing DBSK suddenly made Rei's stomach growl once again. 'Food, finally,' she thought.

They once again entered a huge room. ReiMi was expecting a fast food but as they arrived, five pairs of eyes stared at her from head to toe. She didn’t know what to do since she didn't really speak their language.

"She's the one?" the blonde guy asked Mr. Lee. The latter just nodded.

"You may now introduce yourself." Mr. Lee smiled at Rei Mi as if to encourage her.

Rei Mi decided to use the very little Korean she knew. "Anyeong Haseo,  Kim Rei Mi-inmida."

One of the guys smirked, obviously amused by her broken Korean. She wanted the earth to swallow her alive that moment and her stomach was not helping her. She looked at Mr. Lee for support but he just smiled at her. She was hungry and tired, why would they have to meet these guys before eating. A two-hour foodless flight was no joke. She had to do something and she took a very deep breath.

"Mr. Lee," she said in Japanese, almost begging. "Let's go eat at DBSK!"

aejae22

BY BLOOD