Prologue

  The man was walking back to his car alone after a long night drinking. Suddenly, a handkerchief was shoved over his mouth and nose, forcing him to inhale a strange scent. That would be the last thing he would be aware of for a long time. "What the..." was his last thought before everything went black.

  The woman was head bobbing and singing along to the radio, trying to stay awake as she drove hom after midnight from a fill-in shift at work. Her husband had died the year before, so any chance she could get to make some extra money, she pounced. She was just going to switch stations when she noticed the truck ahead of her blow a tire and begin skidding all over the road. What looked like a person flew out of the back and landed in the grass as the truck hit the median and flipped. By this time she had stopped and was calling 911. Explaining what had happened with a calmness she didn't feel, she grabbed the flashlight she kept for emergencies and slowly made her way to whatever had flown out of the back. As she got closer, she saw that it really was a person. Gulping at the thought of what she might find, she knelt down to check for a pulse. It was faint, but there. She laughed in sheer relief, then narrowed her eyes. Shoving the phone between her ear and folder since she was still talking to the dispatcher, she shined the light on the person's face. Brushing the matted but soft hair out of the way, she made a small sound of disbelief. What the heck is Kim HeeChul doing flying out of the back of a truck in this little corner of Michigan of all places? Oh, she knew very well it was him, as he was one of her favorite Korean idols, and one of the few she didn't feel squicky fangirling over at her age.