(Jessica)

I woke up later an I thought. Because I had fallen asleep at 3 in the morning, I saw that it was already noon. As I looked around me, I remembered. I was on earth now.

Kris and I had went to the place where we were always required to stay while we were on earth, in a cozy little hotel that I found comfortable and safe. Sadly, even when on earth, I had to stay near Kris. He was a great person but it was hard always being with him.

"Oh hey, you're finally up!" Kris said, handing me a nice, warm cup of coffee. I took a sip, nodding.

"Why did you wait for me to wake up? You could have just gone out without me, you know?" I asked.

"Sorry, I just didn't... Sorry," Kris mumbled.

"No, no, please. I'm sorry, you did nothing wrong, Kris," I reassured. "I'm gonna head out to a ddukboggi (Korean spicy rice cake) shack, okay?"

"Don't you want to go to a fancier place?" Kris asked.

"Fancy? Oh god, no. We get fancy food served to us everyday, I want something cheap and cozy for once," I said. "I'll get going. Bye!" He waved as I exited the room.

Then I looked down. Shoot... Still in PJs. With a snap of my fingers, I was in torn white denim skinnys and a comfortable sweatshirt. Out of all of the fancy restaurants, I chose a small ddukboggi place. 

"Good afternoon young lady! What can I get for you?" the woman running the stand asked.

"Um... One order of ddukboggi and also a fish cake soup?" I ordered. She scooped out the dishes from a steaming hot pan and gave them to me, nice and toasty.

I ate in silent thought. The taste was so good... It was... Plain. And I liked plain. Everyday, I had to eat fancy, specialized foods that had abundant and rich Flavors, but having the, everyday was boring. Now, tasting the simple but delicious food of this small stand, I felt like my mouth was in heaven.

"Thank you!" I said, paying the lady and walking back to the hotel. I saw that Kris had left when I went into our room, and I collapsed on my bed. It was so soft... The small discomforts made me happier, actually.

Being down to earth (literally) was so much better than being in the perfect, planned out ice castle in the skies. Then I realized, looking at the time. 

I had a fake date to get ready for.

and I wanted to get ready for it... For real. Not just using my magic to put on perfect makeup and hair in a second, but using my own efforts to make myself look nice.

I decided to go to a store to pick out my outfit. As I browsed through the dresses, I settled on a navy blue minidress with a silver belt and black coat that came with it. I also bought a silver necklace and some accessories while I was at the mall. Now hair and makeup... I bought supplies I needed and went back to the hotel, then sat down in front of the mirror, examining everything I had bought.

I changed into the clothes I bought first, then I started on my hair. I picked up the curler, waited until it was hot, then started curling my hair, section by section. It took me nearly an hour to perfect it myself, but I was finally satisfied. And now makeup...

I started with a base foundation. Gently applying it on my face, I moved on to bronzed and highlighting certain parts of my face. Picking up the dark eyeliner, I drew a clearly defined line both over and under eyes. 

Eyelash curling, mascara applying, and lipgloss applying was all finished, and I felt good. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw a real person. I looked like a regular young adult ready to go out on a date. And I loved that.

Before I knew it, it was 7:30. I would need to start heading to the cafe. So, I sprayed on some perfume, put on my heels and walked out of the hotel confidently, hailing a cab and going to the cafe.

7:45. I arrived at the meeting place, seeing Jonghyun already there. He gave me a friendly smile, making my heart pound. He was wearing a dressy shirt and coat, along with more formal style dark jeans. As I sat down next to him, I saw that the people, I was guessing his friends, were quite... Intimidating.

I knew that I didn't look like a friendly person, but Jonghyun's friends seemed so perfect and comfortable.

There was a tall one, dark brown hair with huge, frog like eyes, sitting next to a girl with long black hair and defined features. Then there was a slimmer guy with distinct lips and an even slimmer girl next to him. The girl looked so familiar... 

Then the name rang through my head. krystal. Krystal Jung.

My birth sister. Tears nearly came to my eyes as I tried to hide my face. Krystal was part of my birth family. I had been taken away from my family by a worker at the Ice Castle after I found out I was the destined Ice Princess. Krystal... She was so beautiful now, all grown up. But I could not even think about telling her that it was me. 

"Hey guys, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," Jonghyun introduced.

"Jessica? Funny, I used to have a sister named Jessica," Krystal said curiously. I could hear the hurt in her voice and saw the guy sitting near her rub her back consolingly.

"I'm Yuri," the first girl said, "and this is Minho," she continued, motioning to the taller guy. 

"Krystal," Krystal introduced. 'I know,' I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut. "This is Taemin," she said.

"Nice to meet you," I said. "I hope we can be good friends."

And I meant that statement with every ounce of me that I had. This was an opportunity. To have more friends. To be with Jonghyun. And to be closer to the sister that I was forced to leave.