As soon as the concert ended, I changed my clothes (Joohyun had taken the measures to pick out what I should wear). Once I was done, I heard a knock on my door.

            “Yonghwa-sshi, special delivery for you! Happy birthday!” Danny hyung said as he handed me medium-sized box. I reached out to take it but I nearly lost my balance because of its weight.

            “Hyung! What’s in this? Rocks?! You should’ve warned me that it’s heavy!” he kept laughing and even hi-fived with Shindong hyung.

            “That would spoil the fun, Yong! Haha! I have to go. Enjoy the rest of your birthday! Annyeong!” I bid him goodbye and I turned my attention to the card.

            Yong oppa, whenever you’d think of giving up, remember this: just keep trying. The surprise that await you will make you smile. Maybe you should play CNBLUE’s Try Again, Smile Again when you’re having a hard time. Don’t give up on this, arasso? See you later.

*P.S. YOU ARE SO GOING TO REGRET IT IF YOU FAIL TO SOLVE THIS THING.*

            Solve? Andwae. Please don’t let this have something to do with academics or anything that would twist my brain. I kept repeating that in my head as I unwrapped the box. My jaw dropped as soon as I saw what it contained. The sight of 100 mini-Rubik’s cube (in various shapes and sizes) greeted me. An instruction card was included:

SEO JOOHYUN!!!! Why are you still such a nerd after all these years?! How can I solve the puzzle when I don’t even have a clue about the picture I’m supposed to form?! I have no other choice but to start working on this.

I wanted to look at the cubes first and try to think about what the picture would be, but Shindong hyung pushed me. My right hand touched ten of the cubes. The square pod started to light up and make this irritating noise. The timer was on.

            “HYUNG!!!”

            “We still have a schedule to stick to. You need to start working on that puzzle. It’s not like the Rubik’s cube she chose are complicated! This is a child’s cube, not an adult one! Aish.”

            I wanted to be mad but there’s no time for that. I frantically tried to solve the puzzle. What picture is this? A goguma? A guitar? An elephant? What!

            “2 minutes left.”

            I was panicking really hard. When Joohyun says I’m going to regret it, I know she meant it.

            “1 minute 40 seconds.”

            What is this picture supposed to be?!

            “60 seconds.”

I was on the verge on giving up when something caught my eye. Something red. I instantly knew what the picture is. I hurriedly rearranged the cubes. The puzzle pieces finally clicked in place. Just as soon as the timer stopped, the picture was formed. It was our first picture together. Way back freshman year in high school. Joohyun was scowling in the picture because I had her in a headlock. It was supposed to be a formal group picture but the two of us looked so out of place. The early days of Yong Choding.

Just then, the pieces started to glow and transformed into a screen. Where’d she get something like this? I was amazed at the technology but I didn’t have time to dwell on that as the next set of instructions were flashed:

A polygon?!!!! 5 minutes?!!! How is this possible?!

*P.S. YOU ARE SO GOING TO REGRET IT IF YOU FAIL TO SOLVE THIS THING.*

*P.S. YOU ARE SO GOING TO REGRET IT IF YOU FAIL TO SOLVE THIS THING.*

*P.S. YOU ARE SO GOING TO REGRET IT IF YOU FAIL TO SOLVE THIS THING.*

*P.S. YOU ARE SO GOING TO REGRET IT IF YOU FAIL TO SOLVE THIS THING.*

            Her reminder kept echoing in my head. Arasso! There’s no time to waste. I brought the cubes to the floor. Shindong and Heechul hyung kept laughing at me.

            “Omo. Yong Choding is here!”

            “Hahaha! You really look like a choding who just got his new set of toy blocks!”

            “HYUNG!”

            I couldn’t complain more as I only had 45 seconds left on the clock. Almost there! One little block, and YES!! I did it! I did it! I was so happy I jumped for joy and kissed my manager’s cheeks.

            “YAH!”

The polygon started to glow again and one by one, the cubes started to fall off and melt. Once all cubes were gone, it revealed a key with a music note shape. I took the key and Shindong hyung brought me to the parking lot. A red Lamborghini was there.

            “WOAAAH!! SEO JOOHYUN IS DAEBAK!!!! WHOAAAAA!”

            “Don’t get too excited Jung Yonghwa. That’s only a rental. Hahaha!”

            I felt my hopes drained when Shindong hyung did show me the papers that confirmed this isn’t mine. He handed me the key and told me to just follow the GPS. I took countless selcas with this car before I proceeded to the place.

            It was the mini concert hall where CNBLUE’s first showcase occurred. It’s locked. I remembered about the music note key. It was dark and quiet until the sound of an electric guitar blasted through the speakers. The lights and I had to readjust to it. My vision landed on the band performing onstage.

            “This is for you, Yong! Happy birthday!”

            This isn’t real. They’re not really here. I’m dreaming. No. This isn’t a dream. The man I look up to the most when it comes to music is right here. BON JOVI.  Hyun’s right. I will regret this for a lifetime if I gave up on that stupid puzzle. I looked around to see that the place was then filled with other people. I screamed my lungs out like any hardcore fanboy as the lead singer continued to set the stage on fire.

            I felt like I was on cloud nine when he singled me out in the crowd and brought me along to sing a duet with him. I know I sound like a girl but what can I do? This is a once in a lifetime chance. It’s every person’s dream to get onstage and perform with his idol. This has been my dream since the day I learned how to play a guitar.

After what seemed like the shortest concert in Bon Jovi’s history of existence, I was led backstage. I proudly flashed the VIP card hanging on my neck to every other fan that was I attendance. HA! I’m the only lucky fanboy who has a backstage pass. I spent the next hour just talking to Bon Jovi. We’ve discussed a lot about music and our other career ventures.

            His agent is close to Yunho sunbaenim. The band  is currently on their world tour and the next stop would be Japan. They were planning to have the exclusive fanmeet/mini-concert in Taiwan or Hongkong prior to the Japan leg of their tour. Joohyun begged Boa sunbaenim to tell Yunho sunbae to contact the agent and to convince the group to conduct the mini-concert in Seoul instead.

As per Seo Joohyun's style, she not only made a project proposal (one that is on par with a term paper or short thesis; this yeoja! Having worked in a research institute coupled with her way of thinking just resulted to this ), for this concert but also for her event for me. She flew all the way to Germany (where the band was at that time) to meet up with them personally. I am reminded of that time I went to North Carolina just to convince her favorite author to do the same thing. 

            “She’s a very pretty girl. Your Seohyun.”

            My Seohyun. I love the sound of that, especially since I heard it from my idol too.

            “She’s not pretty. She’s gorgeous. A goddess on earth…MY GODDESS. Mine.”

            I must’ve looked and sounded like a possessive pabo in love. I was high from the happiness of meeting this band and I was also high when it comes to Seo Joohyun. He laughed and we continued to converse for another 10 minutes. He said he’d love to collaborate with CNBLUE on their next album and there’s a chance for us to play as their opening act for their upcoming world tour if the collaboration pushes through.

            I thanked him for all the time and the opportunity he is willing to give to CNBLUE. I couldn’t wipe the silly grin off my face. I didn’t pay attention to what Shindong hyung was talking about as he led me outside the venue.There was a white stretch limo waiting for me.

“Shouldn’t the guy be the one doing this, not the other way around? Aigoo, Jung Yonghwa. You lucky namja! Go now. Don’t let your lady wait for too long.”

            I was tempted to enumerate every single event I worked on. This ahjussi doesn’t even have an idea of what I went through to prepare for those. The ride didn’t last long. The driver opened the door for me (no matter how much I insisted I can get out of the car by myself) and pointed to a horse carriage.

            “Seo Joohyun…mwoyah?!” I mumbled to myself as I got in. Am I being brought to a swampy forest or something? The coachman helped me down and led me to where Joohyun was waiting. The sight of her in that dress is taking my breath away. She looks so dazzling and beautiful.

            “You look really beautiful tonight.”

            “Thanks. You don’t look bad yourself.”

            I pretended to feel offended.

            “I’m just kidding oppa. You look perfect. Come.”

            She took my hand and we were now standing in front of a boat. She’s not planning on us riding that thing? What if we flip over and fall?!

            “Oppa. It’s just a small pond. You won’t drown or anything. We have to ride this to get to the other side. Let’s go.”

            We got in the boat and she handed me one paddle.

            “You can’t expect me to row this thing on my own, oppa.” she bossed.

We kept rowing until we reached the middle of the pond. I was going to row faster so we could reach the other side but she held my hand and told me we should stay for awhile. She fixed some blankets and motioned me to lie down. As soon as I did, she lied down beside me. I placed my left arm under her head for her to use as a pillow. I pulled her closer towards me so we could cuddle. She didn’t refuse and that’s what made my heart soar.  My hand played with the strands of her hair as I leaned closer to kiss the top of her head. Strawberry vanilla. I'll never get tired of this scent. Should I buy the same shampoo as hers? MWOH?! Buy the same shampoo?! This is crazy. I'm crazy. I'm high, and Seo Joohyun is my crack. 

I was busy staring at the perfection that is Seo Joohyun when she asked,

            “So..how does it feel oppa? To be one with nature?” She teased me.

            “What are you talking about?”

            “You..reuniting with your fellow species.” She laughed as she pointed to something. I looked at that direction and saw it. DUCKS. WHITE DUCKS. WHITE DUCKS SWIMMING EVERYWHERE! I pouted. This yeoja!

            “Omo! You look exactly as they do right now! Hahaha! Kyeopta!”

            “Seo Joohyun!”

            “Wae? It’s true. You look like a duck when you pout. Haha! Arasso. I’ll stop teasing you now.”

            We were quiet for a few seconds before I started to speak up again.

            “So..how many guys have you done this for, Seo Joohyun?”

            I saw her eyebrow raise but she just shrugged her shoulder as she coolly responded, “Just you.” That simple answer made me smile like a pabo.

            “Be honest with me..have you never really thought about another guy during that time..you know the 6 years? Not one?”

            “Nope.”

“Not even Edward Cullen?” I . There was a time that Soojung and Sooyeon were so obsessed with that anemic looking vampire to the point that they watched Twilight on a daily basis.

            “I’m not a fan of Twilight or shining vampires or shirtless werewolves. Not my type.”

            “Then what’s your type?”

            “Hmmm….look in the mirror, oppa. That’s my exactly type.” she responded as a matter-of-fact and then she looked up at me and winked.

            This sneaky girl! Since when did she become so mushy?

            “You honestly never thought about anyone else at all? Not even one?” I prodded. She sighed and then looked at