JI HOO

Ji Hoo’s childhood best friend Jun Pyo had just proposed to his girlfriend of 5 years on a beach in front of him and their two other best friends, and though he was happy for them, the last place he wanted to be was at a bar celebrating the couple’s engagement. Guem Jan Di, a little commoner, a transfer student at Shinhwa, a Nobody, had changed him and became the significant somebody of his life. If only he had had grabbed her when she had a cute little crush on him… before she had fallen head over heels for his best friend…

On the way to the club, Ji Hoo had almost bailed out. But, as always, the sweet and considerate Ji Hoo always put his friends’ and Jan Di’s needs above his own.Today he was finally loosing Jan Di and had just wanted to stuff himself with pancakes till all his sorrows vanished. But he knew too well that today even pancakes won’t do him any good; Jan Di’s memories were linked to his comfort food too. The only refuge he saw was the company of his friends and some strong alcohol.

Jan Di’s best friend Ga Eul, who was also his other best friend Yi Jung’s girlfriend, joined them in the evening and the whole gang kept celebrating till midnight. In the electro-beat sounds surrounding him and the alcohol dizzying his mind, Ji Hoo didn’t notice when and where the two couples had vanished. The single one of the group, Woo Bin, also left with a girl from the club soon, but only after telling the manager incharge to keep an eye on his almost unconscious best friend. Woo Bin knew that Ji Hoo needed to be left alone, but was also worried that he might do something stupid.

Ji Hoo was left alone, sulking and drowning his sorrows in glass after glass of scotch. After feeling tomorrow’s headache already knocking at his head, he paid his tab and got up from his stool when everything started revolving and he collapsed on the floor. The last things he remembered were a pair of big brown eyes looking down at his and some words in a language he didn’t understand.

MANDY

If things kept on being the way they were, Mandy might have to seriously reconsider her idea of transferring from the States to South Korea to finish off her medical studies. Why South Korea out of all the places in the world? She came from a wealthy background and could have bought her way anywhere. It had been a decision taken at a time when there was only one thing on her mind that she needed to get away from the people who she knew. Mandy had become sort of friends with the Foreign Exchange students from a university in Seoul last semester and they had seemed like a friendly bunch. It had seemed like a better option than going just anywhere.

But now was not the time to recall all that. She was supposed to be ‘celebrating’ her arrival in South Korea. She had somehow contacted one of the girls from the group, Min Seon, and had given the news of her transfer. Min Seon had come to receive her at the airport and on the ride to Mandy’s apartment; she had convinced Mandy somehow that they should go to a club to celebrate, even though Mandy didn’t drink. And now she was seriously regretting for caving in. Mandy was now stuck with a very drunk Min Seon who it seemed was enjoying herself to the fullest. Mandy might have enjoyed herself too if she freaking understood the language! One thing to be sure of when you transfer: at least know the language! An Indian girl with no knowledge of the country’s language was planning to live in the capital till the completion of the academic year. Anybody would laugh at this statement and call this girl an ignorant fool. Well, that’s Mandy for you all, ladies and gentleman.

With the help of the manager of the club, who thankfully understood English, she got hold of a cab and deposited Min Seon in it with the intention to drop her home, though she had absolutely no idea where the girl lived; guess she’ll have to go through her friend’s phone. Mandy was about to get in the cab herself when she realized that she had left her purse inside the club. She retrieved it from the booth her and Min Seon were sitting in and started walking towards the exit when she saw a person fall down near the bar. On instinct she ran to help him.

The person in question was a guy of about her age, with dyed blond hair and was dressed very well. His face, it seemed, was a piece of marble; perfectly sculpted with definite lines of the face, and she felt herself being mesmerized by it as she exclaimed in her native tongue. When she came back from her trance, she checked his pulse and saw that he had just fallen unconscious because of the alcohol he had consumed. The manager again came to her rescue and put her out of doubts regarding the person’s safety when he said that he knew him personally. ‘He must be a regular here then’, she thought and went outside.

Outside, she somehow got the cab driver to understand where she wanted to go(Bless you Google Translate). She sat in the backseat, watching the twinkling lights of the city of Seoul pass by and hoped that this new country would bring happiness for her.