"This doesn't feel right," he said. "I thought you said this was supposed to make me feel better."

    "Min Ki, it's only natural that you feel guilty," he replied. "Don't you want to be the one who debuts?"

     "Yes, but Jun Hee really loves her grandmother... What will she do once she finds out there's nothing wrong with her?" Min Ki asked.

     "Deal with it. The important thing is, Jun Hee will be on her way to Andong, which is about five hours from here, find out her grandmother is okay, then come back after 6 a.m. Sung Ho doesn't give second chances to trainees, you know.

     "Then what about you?"

    "I'll be fine. I'm not the one running away hundreds of miles from Cheongdam dong ," he scoffed.

     "But... Kwon Jin, you really think she'll miss her test?" Min Ki asked worriedly.

     Kwon Jin gave Min Ki an evil smile. "She will. Just watch."

     "What do you mean there is no Choi Jun Hye checked in?" Jun Hee shouted at the woman behind the desk. "I got a call at about five o'clock PM from Andong General Hospital informing me about my grandmother who had a this morning. Can you please check again? Please."

     "Who called you, huh?" the woman asked, growing extremely annoyed. "There are several more hospitals other than this one, so look around. I already told you once, so why don't you understand?"

     Jun Hee let loose her most dangerous weapon...sympathetic eyes.

     "No, no, no, stop it," the woman said, her nametag read Kwon Soo Yeon. "Will you stop making that face, please? I'm sorry, okay? Now which doctor called you?"

     That was when it struck Jun Hee--, "Well, um, he didn't give me his name, but--"

     "Do you know what you're saying right now?" Soo Yeon scolded. "There is no Choi Jun Hye at this hospital, and you expect me to find her location, yet you don't even know who in the world called your phone! You must be crazy."

     "He had a really deep voice!" she begged. "He said he was a doctor at Andong General Hospital."

     "All of the doctors here have really deep voices," Soo Yeon sighed. "Do you have his phone number at least?"

     I must be stupid after all, Jun Hee thought, searching her pockets for her phone. I should've given her his phone number from the start. But...my phone--where is it?

     "You don't have your phone, don't you?" Soo Yeon said. "Please, just please get out now. I don't know if this is a joke, but please get out now."

     Devastated, cold, and hungry, Jun Hee slowly walked out of the hospital. What's next? Not like I can go around Andong at every hospital there is. 

     She glanced at her watch. 10:30 P.M. I'm so hungry... How can I even think about eating when I'm not even sure if Halmoni is safe? I'm such an idiot..graduated as rank one, my .

     "Hm? Are my eyes are decieving me?" she whispered to herself, spotting an old woman across the street. "No, no that can't be her. The doctor said she was bedridden. She can't be at the supermarket now... But then again...that doctor was a fake."

     Jun Hee ran across the street, not even thinking about waiting for the light to signal her to go. Quick and nimble, she wove her way around the several cars that were in her way of meeting the woman who may possible be her alive and well grandmother... 

     "Halmoni!" she called the second she stepped onto the sidewalk. 

     Everything happened in slow motion, at least in Jun Hee's mind. The woman turned around as she watched in anticipation. Is she really...?

     "Jun Hee?" she answered.

     "It is! It's you," Jun Hee exclaimed, laughing hysterically, running as fast as she could towards her grandmother.

     "Jun Hee, what are you--" her words were cut off as Jun Hee leaped and hugged her grandmother. "What are you doing here?!" 

     "Halmoni!" she yelled again. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

     "I'm fine, you, you wretch, what are you doing here, embarrassing me in front of so many people?" her grandmother scolded. "You said you had an important event tomorrow morning."

     "You're fine? Are you sure?" Jun Hee asked, not letting go of her grandma. "I'll be back in time, don't worry about me."

     "I'm happy to see you, but...why are you here?" her grandmother asked bluntly. 

     "Halmoni, I was tricked. I don't know by who, but somebody called me this afternoon, and he said that you were bedridden at the hospital because you had a this morning and I believed it, being the stupid me, not even calling you to make sure. I rode five hours over here from Cheongdam-dong on the train and tried looking for you at the hospital, but the really mean desk lady person scolded me and told me to leave, but then I saw you across the street and ran over here--"

     "Like a maniac. Let go of me!" her grandmother said, shoving her playfully. 

     "Halmoni, am I a maniac for worrying about you?"

     "No, you're right for worrying about me, but you had your future all planned out. You were supposed to play for the CEO and all those important people tomorrow! They were going to determine whether you debut or not," she said, trying to smack some sense into her granddaughter.

     "Can't I go shopping with you?" Jun Hee asked, trying to find an excuse to spend some time with her grandmother.

     "The choice is yours. I'll buy you some food to take back to your apartment," her grandmother said. "Don't go around getting lost like you used to. I feel like you act like a child towards me just to spite me."

     "Don't worry, I'll stand by you the entire time," Jun Hee promised. "What should we get first?"

     "Do you need more side dishes? I have home-made side dishes, but these'll have to do," she said, picking up some pickled seaweed and spicy fish cakes off the shelf. "You should get some snacks for the train ride back as well. Which ones do you like again? Oh yes, you really liked these ones when you were young. Ooh, you like these even more though. Oh, and these..."

     Jun Hee couldn't help but feel overpowering emotions of happiness and gratitude as she watched her grandmother empty out the shelves that held all sorts of snacks. How does she do it? How is she such an amazing woman?

     "Jun Hee, what time is it?" her grandma asked. "You have to play for your CEO at 6:00 A.M right?"

     "Ah, it's 11:00 PM now," she replied, peeking at her watch. "The train ride is five hours, so I'd have an hour to spare once I arrive at Cheongdam-dong. Don't worry about me too much, Halmoni." 

     "Don't worry about you? How can I not after you showed me how careless you are, crossing the street that way?" her grandmother sneered. 

     "Ah, you saw that?" Jun Hee mumbled. "I don't act that way all the time... I was really excited because I spotted you from across the street."

     "I believe you," she replied sarcastically. "I think we should check out now. What would you do if you didn't make it to your audition on time... Are there any other people auditioning to debut as well?" 

     "There's only one other person, but with that kind of personality, he wouldn't make it far. He was bribing me to flunk my audition on purpose the other day," Jun Hee said. "Of course I didn't take his money, even if it was a lot. I just want to do what I love most."

     Her grandmother smiled warmly at her granddaughter. "That's why I love you so much, Jun Hee. All you ever wanted was to sing, even when you were a toddler, but your parents...they just wanted the best for you, which wasn't exactly the best in my eyes."

     "I don't remember singing when I was a toddler," Jun Hee said, stepping into the check-out line.

     "You would sing only at the market. They would always blast music in there, and you would sing along even if you didn't know the lyrics, but you would figure the entire song out and eventually, you were singing a song you've never even heard of five minutes ago. It was amazing," her grandmother reminisced.

     "Jeongmal? Daebak...so I was like a child prodigy?" she asked excitedly.

     "If that's what you want to think," Jun Hee's grandmother replied. "Your parents stopped taking you to the market and hired a nanny for you instead, which I thought was such a waste of money and talent."

     "Halmoni, have you spoken to Umma or Appa since that night? The night we left?"

     "They haven't even called," she responded, "nor visited. Or wrote a letter. Nothing."

     "Of course not," Jun Hee said half-heartedly. "They hate me and think I'm a failure. I doubt they even want to see my face."

     "Annyeonghaseyo," the cashier greeted. "Did you two ladies find everything okay?"

     "Ah, yes, thank you," Jun Hee's grandmother replied.

     "Your total is 1867 ₩," she said. "Is she your granddaughter?"

     "She is," Jun Hee's grandmother said, sifting her wallet for change.

     "Ah, yeppuda...like an idol," she complimented. She reached out and accepted the change that Jun Hee's grandmother held for her to accept. "Kamsahamnida! Have a goodnight."

     Jun Hee and her grandmother stepped into the cool autumn night, both of them dreading what was next. "Halmoni, I have to go now," Jun Hee almost whispered.

     "Speak louder. My ears aren't of the highest quality, you know," she replied. They looked each other in the eyes and grinned nearly identical smiles. "It was fun, Jun Hee, but everything has an ending. Go now before you're late. Anything can happen before you get there."

    Jun Hee bear hugged her grandmother once again and planted a slimy kiss on her cheek. "Saranghaeyo, Halmoni."

    "Saranghaeyo," she answered, wiping the drool off her cheek with her sleeve. "You should go now. It's getting late." 

     "Arassoyo. Sleep well, Halmoni," Jun Hee said, backing away from her grandmother.

     She turned away and ran in the direction of the train station a few blocks away from the grocery store. Can a person explode from feeling too much happiness? she thought, the wind blowing into her face as she ran full speed towards the train station. She finally arrived at the station and stared in shock at the train times listed on the wall. 

     This can't be right, she thought. No, no, no. The times weren't like this earlier. 

     "Chogiyo," she said to the ticket holder. "Are these the correct train times? They were different in Cheongdam-dong."

     "Ah, the train to Cheongdam-dong broke down forty miles from here, and they're doing their best to have it up and running as soon as possible," he replied. "It'll arrive at around 1:00. Are you in a hurry?"

     "My entire future rests largely on my punctuality," Jun Hee replied, slowly sitting down on the bench behind her. She felt every muscle go numb as she felt her dream vanish into the form of the train times in front of her.

"However, I suppose I have no choice but to watch the time tick gradually towards my fate," Jun Hee whispered, quietly into the night.