Chapter 3

That night, Tiffany went home in a good mood with a happy smile on her face as she thought about the fabulous lunch she had, the new friend she made & of course, the raise in her pay that would help her out a lot financially. She walked down the streets. It was really late & the streets slowly got more & more dark & dangerous. She clutched the small bag of flowers at her side, letting her feel a sense of protection. She looked to the stars for help & a smile came to her face as she spotted a shooting star. This was only the second time that she had seen a shooting star & she saw it as a sign of security & hope. She wished underneath her breath as tears fell down her cheeks. Oh, how she longed for the wish to be fulfilled, “I wish that I can see Jaejoong Oppa again.” The memories from the restaurant made her long to see her best friend again, a friend that she hadn’t seen in over eleven years. She didn’t know what happened to him. She would never forget the day that she had to say goodbye to him. It was only a week after he had given her the roses.

*Flashback*

Five girls rammed into the one fragile & bruised up Miyoung. She was sobbing as those girls mocked her & laughed at her tattered clothes & various bruises on her body. They kicked her as she huddled by the tree in the playground & called her names, saying that she didn’t deserve to be in the company of Jaejoong. Finally, Miyoung couldn’t take it anymore. She remembered the words said by Jaejoong & surprised the mean girls by pushing them away. That didn’t go well with the girls but before they could hit her again, Jaejoong came dashing towards his precious friends side & acted as a human shield in front of her, “You girls better scram. If you hurt her again, you will have to answer to me, my family & friends & believe me, you don’t want to mess with us.” Jaejoong glared at everyone of the girls, his eyes boring into theirs, making them apologize quickly & run away, frightened.

Miyoung was really grateful & a smile broke out through her tears again. She hugged Jaejoong from the back & held onto him tightly, “Thank you Jaejoong Oppa.” Happy tears rolled down her face now & she made wet spots on the back of Jaejoong’s black shirt but he didn’t mind, “You will always be there to protect me, right?” Miyoung innocently asked. Jaejoong stiffened at those words & turned around to face the little girl. He wiped the tears off her face as he always did & smiled sadly, “I would love nothing more than to be able to protect you forever but as I told you before, I will always be by your side even when I’m not with you.” He took the rose pouch from her side & his & showed them to her again, “When I’m not with you, this pouch will symbolize me & remember that I will always have it by my side & think of you.” Miyoung tilted her head to the side, not knowing what he really meant. To her, Jaejoong will always be by her side. She never thought anything otherwise. Then it dawned on her young mind, he was leaving.

Miyoung cried & hugged Jaejoong again, “No, don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me? What will I do without you, my best friend, the only person that cares about me in this world.” She was sobbing uncontrollably now. Jaejoong hugged her close to him & cried himself, “I’m sorry Miyoung. I really am.” He sighed & took in a deep breath, his voice breaking, “My parents have decided to expand on our business & go to Tokyo, Japan. They think that we will have a lot more golden opportunities there.” Miyoung shook her head furiously. She was truly depressed but knew that he had no choice.

“Everyone good in my life always leave.” Miyoung whispered softly. Jaejoong shook his head, “No, don’t say that. I promise you that I will come back for you one day. Just wait & I will make you my wife.” He grinned as he said that. He didn’t know the real concept of marriage then but all he knew was that if he married her, then he will be able to protect her from harm forever. Theirs was an innocent love then. Miyoung looked up at him with eyes wide opened & face wet with tears, “Really? You promise?” Jaejoong nodded his head vigorously & Miyoung stared deeply into his eyes to see if he was really telling the truth & when she knew that he was, she laughed for the first time that day. Just as long as Jaejoong comes back for her then he would never really leave. That was the last time that they saw each other but that promise was imprinted within their hearts & minds forever.

*End of Flashback*

Tiffany smiled at the memories of Miyoung & she was no longer afraid. As she was walking past a park, eight young teenage girls were giggling & singing at the top of their lungs of some song that Tiffany knew was popular but didn’t know who sang it & what the lyrics actually were. She didn’t have time for entertainment so she knew nothing about that part of the world. All she could actually pride herself in knowing was food since she worked in a grocery store. These eight girls were running & one of the girls was skipping backwards joyously. She ran into Tiffany & knocked her to the ground. It was almost just like how it was those many years ago except these girls were different.

The girl dropped her bag of cd that she had just bought, causing them to fall out, “Oh, I’m so sorry.” The skipping girl said to Tiffany, as she helped her up. Tiffany felt a slight pain on her arm & realized that she had scraped her arm a bit on the gravel when she fell. It was just a minor cut but the skipping girl felt really, really bad. Her friends soon had made their way over & one of them reached into their purse to get a bandaid for Tiffany. Once the cut was bandaged, the girl that ran into her apologized again, “I’m really sorry. I should have been more careful. It’s just that I was so happy to buy these cd’s today.” She smiled at Tiffany as an idea came to her head, “Please let me make it up to you?” She dug into her bag of cd & took one out to give it to her, “Take this, it’s the new Kim Jejung cd. I’m sure you have heard of him.” She didn’t wait for Tiffany to reply & just the cd into her hands. She apologized once more & told Tiffany to be careful in walking home alone. Then she left before Tiffany could interrupt & give the cd back to her.

Tiffany looked down at the cd & saw a very good-looking Asian guy on the cover. She gasped, ‘Those eyes.’ She thought, ‘Could it be him?’