The end of her pen tapped gently against her desk as Jin stared at the blank notebook that laid upon the hard surface. With an aggravated sigh, she leaned back in her chair and laid her head onto the headrest. Jin had received her assignment almost a week ago and couldn't think of a thing to write. She didn't have any inspiration, she couldn’t think of a topic or a theme that she liked, and a possible title for the song refused to pop into her head. Everything she thought of were things that had already been used in other songs and she was not planning to commit any form of plagiarism and risk her job and a reputation that she didn’t even have yet.  Usually when she had to write song lyrics they’d would flood into her head, but that wasn't the case this time. This road block she had in her head right now was extremely unusual and even more infuriating the more she thought about it. Tossing her pen onto the desk, she pushed herself back and let out a breath as she turn side to side. Being this stuck on something she usually found so easy to do completely baffled her. After sitting in thought for 5 minutes, Jin decided that it was useless for her to waste her time. Maybe, if she went outside, she'd be able to find something to write about.

Jin walked down the empty side walk gripping the handle of her guitar bag tightly. When she left, it was already almost 10 PM. She usually didn't go out that late but today was an exception. She couldn't bare being cooped up in that tiny apartment anymore and even though she wasn’t claustrophobic, she knew she would have felt that suffocating feeling if she remained in en enclosed space for too long. Sometimes, it was just too much for her to handle. Jin had walked out towards the park that was built alongside the Han river, figuring that it would be one of the quietest places to be right now. It was a popular place but at this time of the night, most people would have already headed home. Usually, Wednesday nights weren't the typical social nights anyway. Kids had school the next day so most would have already gotten home and older people usually tended to head straight home after a long day at work. Jin was just that awkward person in the middle that didn't fit either category.

The chilly, brisk air bit at her exposed cheeks but she couldn't help but to enjoy it. Jin enjoyed nights like these. The night sky was surprisingly clear even if the unwanted light pollution clouded its true beauty. The stars that she could see shone brightly in the night sky, glistening like rain drops under the light of the sun. The soft chirping of crickets sounded in the background in tune with the faint hocks and the occasional murmur of people. This time, with a sigh of content, Jin sat down onto an empty bench she had come across and ped her large black bag. She crossed her right leg over the other and nestled the waist of her honey brown guitar onto her thigh and began to strum something she had written long ago. Her fingers gracefully strummed the metal strings, flicking back and forth skillfully. Her body began to sway slightly to the harmonious tone of the piece, her eyes closing as she sang softly to the music.

Jin had actually written the song before she left for Juilliard, not long before their conflict. She remembered the day she wrote it, the days when he still attempted to study with her. He had fallen asleep on the table across from her and she was sitting on the other side with her notebook and pen in her hands. He was drooling a bit onto his papers, his mechanical pencil still sat in his hands, and his hair was a mess that day but he still appeared as handsome as always. After Jin had finished her homework, she had planned to wake him up but he had looked so peaceful, so comfortable. Or... as comfortable as one could get on a cold, hard table. As Jin sang the song, she could remember what she looked at as she wrote the lyrics. His nose, his lips, his eyelashes; everything. Even after she had finished singing, her fingers still strummed the chords and notes. And then their conversation from the week before jumped onto her train of thought. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if she had told him the truth that day. For the longest time, Jin had thought that she was over him, that she had moved on and that there were no longer any lingering feelings for him. She couldn't let her attempts go to vain by easily succumbing to her selfish desires. With a sigh, this time in disappointment in herself, she strummed at the strings in a furious manner making an incomprehensible and rhythm-less sound.

"Get a hold of yourself." Jin scolded quietly. Digging into the bag she had brought with her, she pulled out her Ipod and unraveled the tangled cords. To distract herself from such annoying matters, she decided to drown out her thoughts with music, however with her frustration, came her rare instances of clumsiness. Just as she managed to undo the mess of wires, they flung out of her hands and flew back behind her. She groaned softly and tossed her Ipod back into her back, losing her desire to listen to music. Just as she stood to retrieve her stray ear buds, a hand surprised her as it held the white cords. Jin followed the arm with her eyes and smiled.

"Lose these?" Kris said with a grin. Jin chuckled and nodded as she grabbed them.

"Yes, I did actually. They weren't cooperating with me and that's how they ended up over there." Kris nodded feigning comprehension and handed them back to her. He laughed along with her and gestured to the bench with his chin. "Can I join you there?" Jin followed his gesture and nodded as she grabbed her guitar and her bag.

"Of course," she said as she zipped it up, "anything for my wonderful brother." After she had cleared off the seat next to her, Kris sat down with a heavy sigh and outstretched his arms over his head groaning softly before folding his hands neatly in his lap. Watching him, Jin was able to detect tiredness and fatigue in his voice. Now that the makeup was gone, she could see the dark bags that had begun to form under his eyes symbolizing the countless nights he had without sleep. Jin gave him a look of sympathy before turning away. Knowing Kris, he’d freak out if he knew she was worrying about him.

“So what are you doing out here?” Jin asked breaking the comfortable silence between the, “I’m pretty sure that you’re not supposed to be out right now, am I right?” Kris shrugged silently and slouched a bit in his seat.

“The dorm was too stuffy.” Kris replied shortly, “I just needed some air.”

“It’s dangerous isn’t it? For you to be out right now. What if you get caught by some fans or if the media somehow finds out and mobs you out here?” At this, Kris laughed softly and shook his head before turning over to her.

“This isn’t like the paparazzi back at home, Jin.” he said, “Most times they won’t bother you. There might be pictures but they won’t actually come to bother me.”

“You don’t know that.” Jin rebutted back, “If they find you outside of the dorm with an unknown girl, things are definitely going to get complicated for you.” Kris laughed a bit again and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about me Jin.” he said reassuringly, “I can handle it. Some rumor isn’t going to put me down.” Jin gave him a skeptical look and gave him a nod as she gave up the argument.

“I know. I just don’t want you to get into trouble.” she told him. Kris gave her an affectionate look and ruffled her hair.

“Well baby sis, if you think that’s trouble then you haven’t seen anything yet.” Jin swatted his hand away and combed back her hair.

“Well older brother, promise me that you won’t cause any trouble.” She said giving him a look. Kris snorted and shook his head defiantly.

“Something you don’t know is that my middle name is trouble.” Jin laughed loudly in amusement to his response and rolled her eyes at him. They both knew that that wasn’t true but played along with him anyway.

“Oh yeah, you were definitely a bad boy in high school.” she said sarcastically. Kris rolled his eyes at her mockery and smiled genuinely. “So tell me. Why exactly are you out here by yourself on such a cold, Spring night? And on a Wednesday night too? Don’t you have a job to get to tomorrow?” Jin snorted and rolled her eyes as she disregarded his playful mockery.

“No, I don’t actually. Tomorrow is my day off. ” she said, “And, I came to think… To get some sort of inspiration for the song I have to write and to clear my head I guess. It’s just been pretty stressful lately but I’m sure you know all about stress. How is work anyway?” Kris made a noise in agreement and groaned just at the thought of work.

“It’s been pretty hectic actually. Because of the new album and the tour coming up this summer, it’s been nothing but deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Some of us haven’t really slept in a while because of it.” Kris sighed tiredly and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Ahh,” Jin said nodding in understanding, “But I suppose it’s worth it, right? That’s what you trained so long for.” Kris glanced over at her and remained quiet. Jin looked back at him and cocked her brow in curiosity.

“Well, little sis… I’ve been thinking for a while now…”

---

“Hmm.” Jin hummed as she looked through the variety of ramen and clicked her tongue in deep, concentrated thought. She honestly didn’t know what she wanted. There were at least a dozen different brands on the shelves and all were deliciously delectable in in their own ways. There was Samyang, Neoguri, Ojingeo Jjampong, Mupama. The variety was virtually endless. Jin didn’t eat processed ramen often, but when she did, she thoroughly enjoyed it and she wasn’t going to change that this time, even if it was nearly midnight.

After finally settling on a cup of Shin Ramen, she sat down at the counter in the convenience store and laid her chin onto her fists and she watched he