“Taemin-ah! Taemin! Where are you??” The sound of waves crashing on the rocks was deafening, and suddenly a scream cut through the cold night air.

Jade’s eyes shot open as she gasped for breath. Her shirt and hair were drenched with sweat. Tears stained her face. She laid awake the rest of the night trying to think of pleasant things to push the nightmare from her thoughts. Images of Ji Eun and Jonghyun’s laughter, Han Bi’s warm embrace, Ho Dong’s crinkling smile, the smell and sights of Seoul, all flashed in her mind. She found herself thinking of EXO and then her mind settled on Kris. She had been so nervous around him but attributed that to just being starstruck. The sun came up and light filled Jade’s room, but still Jade hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. Still feeling uneasy about her nightmare, Jade decided to go clear her mind. She took a shower and put on a short flowy, floral dress with brown tights underneath, a green cardigan, her favorite cream colored scarf, and her green hi top converses. Deciding that she would probably spend most of her day there, she brought food. Jade set off down the street with her guitar case on her back and a worn out satchel at her side.

Jade often spent hours at her secret spot within the maze, playing the guitar and singing or just lying on a bench listening to the sounds of nature. She sometimes felt selfish for never telling anyone, but it was her sanctuary and she desperately needed it. She had stumbled upon the entrance to the maze years ago and it took her several different tries to actually make her way through. The groundskeeper was so impressed with her perseverance that he let her use the area freely. He was an old man who donated the money to build the maze in memory of his wife. It had been his secret hiding place for years after he lost his wife, but he could sense the same tragic emptiness in Jade so he passed it onto her. It had become her own secret garden.

Jade sat on a stone bench and practiced classical pieces—the ones her dad had taught her. She could only get through a couple songs before her eyes started welling up. She started playing an acoustic cover of Big Bang’s “Blue”. It matched her feelings so well today.

The winter had passed
And the spring has come
We have withered
And our hearts are bruised from longing
I’m singing my blues~

She closed her eyes and sang with even more emotion, but kept her warm timbre controlled and soft. She finished the song and sighed deeply. She could feel tears forming. Opening her eyes, she gasped when she saw Kris standing there with his hands in the front pocket of his navy blue hoodie. He looked straight into her eyes and his pensive look softened to a small smile that made Jade melt.

“Kris! How long have you been standing there?” Jade could feel her face burning up and wondered just how red she was turning right now.

“I got lost halfway through the maze but I followed the sound of your guitar and here I am,” Kris mused. He removed his hands from his pocket, pulling out Jade’s scarf and started to hand it over to Jade.

As she reached out her hand, he pulled it back teasingly and said, “Do you always strangle celebrities or am I just special?”

Jade stuck out her tongue, scrunched her face and retorted, “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t discriminate when it comes to strangling—I mean—helping people. You can keep the scarf. Who knows, it might come in handy in the future.”

Kris smirked and put the scarf around his neck. He cocked his head to one side and said, “You know…most girls I meet go crazy over me. They literally throw themselves at me. I’m not saying that to sound cocky or anything…it just makes me curious about you. You actually treat me like a normal person, not some perfect idol up on a pedestal.”

Jade’s heart was racing. My goodness was he handsome. She gulped audibly before replying.

“No one is perfect, but everyone deserves to be treated with decency and respect. Well…unless they do something to lose that privilege,” she said with a melancholy smile. “Ah…I’m talking too much. Anyway, did you come all the way here just to return my scarf?”

Kris shook his head and his light bangs fell perfectly, framing his face. “I like this place. Plus, you said I could use it remember?” Kris walked around Jade and headed toward a small sapling that had caught his eye. The young tree was a little bit taller than Kris and had a few pieces of folded colored paper hanging from its delicate branches. Jade sprinted over and placed herself between Kris and the tree to block his view.

“You… you can’t look at these!” Sputtered Jade.

“But what is it? I promise not to open them,” Kris assured with his sincere doe eyes. His innocent expression quickly faded when he added with a devilish smile, “Unless it’s something scandalous.”

Jade melted into laughter and rolled her eyes, “Fine, I’ll tell you. When I first found this place I noticed the only thing missing was a tree. Just imagine sitting under its shade reading a book or playing the guitar or… sitting with someone special. So I planted this tree. Then I got the idea to write a wish every year and tie it to the tree. Gawd, this sounded so much more brilliant in my head,” Jade giggled nervously.

“I like it. Tell me more,” Kris replied.

“I figured that after years and years have passed, when different people have discovered this place, the tree would’ve grown even taller and would be filled with wishes.” She realized how crazy she must’ve sounded and quickly added, “I’m not delusional; I don’t think this tree is magic or anything. It’s just nice to write down my heart’s desires… yanno yanno?” Jade nudged Kris and made a silly face, causing him to smile widely.

Kris’ face lit up and he asked, “Do you have some paper? I want to write down my first wish!” Jade retrieved a scrap of paper and a pen from her satchel. He excitedly took his materials and skipped over to adjacent stone bench to start furiously scribbling away. Just to make sure Jade never peeked, Kris used his height to his advantage and hung his wish on the highest bough.

“Jade, come here and jump for this. I wanna see if you can reach it.” After several tries, the paper was still out of her reach no matter how hard she jumped. Satisfied with himself, he brushed his hands together and shot her a grin.

“You !” Jade was never good at insults.

To Jade’s chagrin, Kris’ smile got even bigger and he turned to face her. He retorted, “You’re right. I absolutely agree.”

Jade was caught in his intense gaze and words couldn’t seem to leave . She felt like his stare was piercing through her and he wouldn’t break eye contact. The awkward silence seemed to drag on for ages until it was broken abruptly by a loud grumbling sound emitting from her stomach.

“Even your stomach is angry at me,” said Kris.

Jade laughed. “I’m just hungry. I brought extra food…do you want some?”

He nodded like an obedient child. She unfolded a light blue and yellow checkered blanket adorned with images of Doraemon. He plopped down cheerfully next to her, his lanky legs criss-crossed, apple sauce. It was amazing how he could transform from a suave, mischievous man to a playful, innocent child in a matter of seconds. She carefully unpacked lunch and set everything neatly down. Kris picked up a spoon and inspected the plastic end, which was shaped like a bear’s head.

He raised his eyebrows at Jade, who blushed slightly and said, “I thought it was cute…”

Kris laughed. “It is cute.”

“Life moves so fast that it basically forces you to grow up. Don’t you think we should hold onto our childhood as long as we can?”

Kris nodded pensively. He ran his fingers through his silky hair and rested an elbow on his bent knee.

“People know me as the leader of EXO-M. They see me as someone who can handle a lot of responsibility and stress but sometimes I wish they’d remember that I’m only 21 years old.”

Jade gave him a bright smile. Even now, he looked like he was posing at a photoshoot. The sunlight reflected on his hair and thick lashes. However, Jade could see that he was human and beyond that, someone who had to forego his last years of a carefree childhood to be cast into the limelight. She opened up a bento box, sat up on her knees and handed it to him with both hands. They ate in comfortable silence.

“This is really tasty,” he mumbled with his mouth full of food.         

Jade confessed, “Cause I didn’t make it. My cooking would probably poison you.”

Suddenly, there was a buzzing sound.

“Dude, your pants are vibrating.”

Kris fumbled to retrieve his phone from his pocket. “Hello? I went out for a bit. Yes….yes…yes sir…I remember….okay I’ll come right back…Goodbye.”

“I gotta go, have a busy schedule today,” Kris said as he stood up. He turned to leave but then walked back over to where Jade was sitting. He squatted down so that he was eye level with her and mere inches away from her face. He gently placed one hand on the top of her head, gave her a toothy grin, and said, “I had fun. See ya later shorty.”

In an instant he was on his feet again and Jade was left by herself with her heart still beating wildly.