The people’s accent here was different compared to the Londoners—it had a slangy tinge to it. For one thing, a man who passed us by pronounced ‘house’ as ‘hoise’. I turned to look at the stranger, eyes wide with awe.

“Stop staring, you’ll look like a tourist,” Donghyun said, as he patted the top of my head.

“B-But, you heard it, right?” I asked.

He smiled at me, and shifted his eyes towards the airport’s exit. “There’s Jinki now.”

I focused to where Donghyun was looking, and saw a Korean guy, wearing a black hoodie with a logo of Batman on it and a pair of skinny jeans with Vans. His bangs were swept to a side and even from here, I could see how brown his short hair was. The guy named Jinki smiled warmly at us and he ran to meet us. However, he stumbled a little halfway and I had to hold my laughter in.

“Hello!” he greeted with an unwavering grin when he was right in front of us. “I’m Lee Jinki, by the way. You must be Park Shin Hye.”

I smiled back at him and bowed my head politely. “I am. It’s nice to meet you, Jinki-ssi.”

“Jinki here is my good friend,” Donghyun said, as he patted Jinki’s shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “He lived in London for several years but his family had to move here for business purposes.”

“Ah, I see,” I said, really unable to make up a better reply. What things should I ask to a stranger, anyway?

“The two of you must be tired,” Jinki began in enthusiasm, completely brushing my awkwardness aside. “I’ve a car with me so if we just put your things in the boot then we’ll be ready.”

<:>

The ride was pretty smooth, considering that we used the motorway. The sky was a little gray and the concrete roads were wet due to the previous rain. I stayed at the backseat while Donghyun stayed at the front. He was busy chatting away with Jinki and I let them be. The music playing in Jinki’s player was an acoustic song.

“Shin Hye, you okay?” Donghyun asked, snapping me awake from my reverie. I blinked a few times and looked at him through the rearview mirror. I smiled.

“Yeah, I’m okay, Donghyun.”

“There’s kimchi at home,” Jinki said. “We should eat first.”

Two songs later, we were already entering a gate and Jinki stopped the car. “Here we are,” he said. I looked outside the window, and saw three separate buildings—all of them were apartment complexes made out of red bricks. It was a quiet place. It was no different from the depressing edifices of London, and it disappointed me a little, to be honest.

“I rent 47 and 48,” Jinki explained. “Shin Hye-yah, you can have number 48. Donghyun will stay at my place.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Jinki.”

He smiled at me. “No harm done. My friend’s friend is also my friend, after all.”

<:>

We had a pretty good time eating together. I learned that Jinki was the same age as Donghyun, and the he was helplessly prone to accidents. He was already a university student majoring in film studies and both his parents were in Coleraine, a place near the sea. Since Jinki was studying at Queen’s University, his parents decided to let him stay here for the time being, considering that his flat was nearer to his school.

“Why do you rent two apartments, anyway?” I asked.

“Don’t ask me,” Jinki answered. “Donghyun gave me the money and he told me to do it.”

“Hey!” Donghyun cried, abashed. “Shin Hye-yah, don’t believe a word he says!”

Jinki laughed, and cleared his throat. “It’s really a blessing to have you here,” he began, his voice sincere. “Being alone all the time is a bit boring, to be honest.”

Donghyun smirked at his remark, and a chuckle escaped from Jinki's lips. “And dude, what’s with the red hair?”

“It’s in season, so shut up,” Donghyun shot back. He then turned to me. “If you’re not beat, Shin Hye, we can roam around City Center.”

“There’s not much to see over there, what’re you talking about?” Jinki chimed in.

“We’re looking for a person, not a tourist spot,” Donghyun said. “So, Shin Hye, are you up for it?”

I smiled at the two of them, and nodded. Donghyun clapped his hands together. “Then we’ll take the bus. It’s more fun that way.”

Jinki and I didn’t have the time to argue. We looked at each other, and Jinki held this goofy grin on his face. “My friend’s a bit spontaneous sometimes,” he remarked.

“Tell me about it,” I replied, shaking my head.

<:>

After clearing the table and washing the dishes, Donghyun and I unpacked first before heading out for the nearest bus stop. The three of us had our hands inside our pockets and we waited patiently for the bus. The sky was beginning to show blotches of light blue and the sunrays fought its way against the gray clouds to shine down on this city.

“Ah, there’s the bus now,” Jinki said, his eyes brightening up. He stepped forward, and the double-decked, pink and white bus stopped in front of us. The door slid open with a hissing sound.

“Come on,” Jinki said, as he nodded at us.

The three of us stepped inside and we all took a day ticket each. We climbed up the stairs and settled at the very back.

“The alpha male of the school usually stays here,” Jinki said. “I feel so powerful now.”

Donghyun and I laughed at his remark, and he grinned in return. In the end, he ended up being our tour guide. He kept on pointing at one building after the other.

“This is Yorkgate,” he said, as he pointed at a huge commercial building with a wide car park. “It’s a pretty cool place but Odyssey’s way greater. Ah! And there’s the train station over there. That’s where I ride if I want to go to my parents.”

The both of us nodded. Compared to London, the people here were more laidback. I could barely see people rushing. Ten minutes later, we were already getting off the bus. I looked around, and figured that we were in front of Castlecourt.

“Compared to London, it’s a small shopping mall,” Jinki explained. “If we walk on farther, you guys can see Victoria Square and The Big Fish—” he suddenly pointed at the building on our left. “That’s the City Hall, by the way.”

“So, Shin Hye, where do you want to go?” Donghyun asked.

I looked up to think, and I a thought hit me. “Is there an HMV shop near here?”

“Ah, yeah,” Jinki answered with a grin. “You see the McDonald’s shop straight ahead?”

I looked to where he was pointing, and saw a green building with the unmistakable, bright yellow ‘M’ of the said fast food chain. “Yeah,” I said.

“Well, we have to walk straight ahead. Opposite that is HMV. Or we can walk through TK MAXX. The latter’s easier, though.”

“Let’s walk the long way round,” Donghyun said, as he glanced at me. “That way we can enjoy the pale, frozen sun.” He finished his statement by outstretching his hand and pretending to catch the golden, autumn sunlight. Jinki shrugged, and I smiled. The three of us began to walk, passing by a bank named HSBC and several more varying shops. Jinki took a left turn by the stoplight, and we followed.

“Whoa,” Jinki blurted out, stopping dead on his tracks.

“What’s the matter?” Donghyun asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, why’d you stop all of a sudden?” I chimed in.

“Look,” Jinki pointed at the people gathered right in front of HMV. Most of them were Asians. “I wonder what’s up.”

Donghyun smirked. “You’re from Belfast and you don’t even know what’s going on?”

“I study a lot lately,” his friend pouted while scratching the back of his neck.

I looked at the crowd again, and my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t want to make myself expect, but what if? What if?

“Want to go and have a look?” Donghyun offered.

I looked at him, feeling hopeful all of a sudden. “Donghyun-ah…can…I?”

He scoffed at my reply. “Come on,” he pressed on, as he took me by the hand. “I want to settle my curiosity, too.”

“Guys!” Jinki cried, as he kept up with us, his arms flailing a little. “What’s happening here?”

“A Korean indie band is taking Asia by storm, apparently,” Donghyun explained. “And the vocalist turns out to be Shin Hye’s best friend right here.”

“A Korean band,” Jinki said, taking a thoughtful stance. His eyes widened up when a wave of epiphany hit him. “Oh! That’s right. CN BLUE’s having a concert here this month.”

His eyes darted to me. “So are you going to meet him here, Shin Hye?”

“I’m not too sure about that…” I uncomfortably said. I wasn’t able to look at Jinki straight in the eye. I was too focused on the people outside of HMV, after all. They were carrying their cameras and from the looks of it, the people in green vests were guards.

“Shin Hye and her friend,” Donghyun began with a light smirk. “They have issues. We’re hoping that everything will be cleared out while we’re here.”

With a sudden yank, Donghyun pulled me closer to the circle of people, and I had to stand on my toes to see better but of course that wouldn’t help. I was only a measly five footer, after all.

“I can’t see…” I muttered in frustration.

Donghyun then bended his knees a little. I looked at him. He grinned, and  patted his right shoulder. “Hop in, Shin Hye-yah.”

Jinki let out this amused grin and I kept on staring at Donghyun.

“Hurry,” he said. “You’ll see better, I swear.”

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and boosted myself up. Donghyun hooked his arms around the back of my knees, locking it with his elbows. I craned my neck to see who these people were waiting on.

“Hey, Missy, do you want to see them that badly?” a local asked. He was one of the people who were wearing a green vest. It was funny how I was already riding on Donghyun’s back but we were still able to meet each other’s eyes.

I looked at him, and smiled. “Seems like it.”

Not long after, four people emerged from the shop, and the cameras the people in the crowd held began to flash without ceasing. The girls shrieked and Donghyun had to hold on to me tighter so that we wouldn’t topple over.

“Donghyun-ah, are you okay?”

“Yeah, carry on,” he said in nonchalance.

I stared at the four, and my eyes widened. The frenzied shouts of the people around me vanished, and time seemed to stop. In an instant, the only person I could see was the guy in a blue coat, waving to no one in particular; my heart felt like it would burst.

“Missy, Missy!” the man cried out. “I’m talking to you, hey!”

I blinked a few times, and just like that, the sounds returned, and my anxious heart was forgotten. “I’m sorry. Were you asking me something?”

“Right, love, I was asking you if you know them.”

“They’re CN BLUE,” I replied.

The man grinned, and he waved at the person wearing the same green vest as him. They talked for a minute and they kept on looking at me. I squirmed—a signal that Donghyun should put me down. He carefully did, and I thanked him for carrying me. After a moment, the man approached me again.

“Missy,” he began. “You can have a short chat with those four boys. Do you want that?”

Donghyun and Jinki high-fived each other and I stared at the man. I was aware about my jaw almost reaching the concrete ground. With trembling hands, I pointed at myself.

“M-Me?”

The man smiled. “It’s a dream come true, Missy. C’mere, I’ll lead you to them.”

I gave Jinki and Donghyun a final glance and they gave me an encouraging nod.

“We’ll wait here,” Donghyun said.

The man and I squeezed through the crowd and the nearer I got, the more difficult it was to breathe. CN BLUE was standing in front of the shop’s exit, waving at the crowd and bowing down from time to time. The man I was with called a Korean guy over and he pointed at me. The Korean smiled at me brightly, and we bowed at each other.

“So I heard you know CN BLUE?” he asked in English.

“Yes,” I answered in Korean.

His eyes widened. “You’re Korean?”

“I am,” I said with a sheepish smile.

“Then things will be easier,” he replied. “We called you over because we want to do an interview. Is that okay with you?”

“Ah, yes,” I returned.

“But for the sake of the viewers today, is it okay if we do the interview in English?”

“That’s fine with me,” I said.

“Great!” he exclaimed. “Then, shall we begin?”

“Okay.”

He pulled me in closer with the boys, and I was literally trembling. Yonghwa was a few inches away from me, but with the way his sparkling eyes looked so accommodating, I could see that he couldn’t remember me. He looked at me like I was another fan.

“Hello,” Yonghwa greeted in English. The rest of the band gave me a polite bow. It was my first time hearing his voice in person. It became deeper and fuller and yet, the same innocence was still there. His crooked grin was still there—his crescent eyes and his graceful and slender fingers…they were all there. But his memories of me? It wasn’t there. It wasn’t there at all.

“Hello,” I blurted out.

“What’s your name?” Yonghwa asked.

I looked at him, and swallowed. How could you not remember me? You wrote my name countless of times, and I wrote yours, as well. Did you not try your best, Yonghwa? Until now, can you not remember me?

The Korean translated Yonghwa’s question for the audience to understand, and I choked out a smile.

“Hannah,” I said. I decided to settle for my English name. “My name is Hannah.”

CN BLUE smiled and nodded upon hearing that. The Korean then asked what made me love CN BLUE, and I told them that their music was really good. I said that the four of them had individual personalities and they could never really be CN BLUE if one of the members is not in the group. After hearing my answer, they grinned gratefully. The Korean asked if I would support them throughout, and I smiled as I nodded my head. The questions went on and on, and I fired through them, unsure if I was still answering the questions right or not. From the corner of my eye I could see Jinki and Donghyun watching. To be honest, I wanted to cry at that moment and whine. I wanted to hit Yonghwa unconscious for not being able to recall who I was. But with the huge crowd surrounding us, and seeing that my best friend became a big hit, how could I possibly do that?

I simply do not have the right, I thought

Finally, the Korean wrapped the interview with a question, “Who is your bias?”

I looked at the four of them, and the air around us thickened. Jonghyun flashed me his pearly-white teeth; Minhyuk showed me his eye-smile; Jungshin shrugged his shoulders cutely and Yonghwa gave me that puppy stare he would always use to win me over back then.

I swallowed, and as if on autopilot, my index finger slowly pointed at Yonghwa.

“He is,” I said in Korean. Tears were starting to well up in my eyes now, threatening to fall down. My throat felt like it was clogged with sandpaper and everything around me seemed to melt away. “Jung Yonghwa…he has always been my bias. He will always be my favorite guy in the world.”

At that moment, Yonghwa’s eyes widened. “You speak Korean?”

“Yeah,” I sniffed. “I lived in Korea for years and I have a best friend there. He was from Busan. He had a funny accent but I loved him just the same. I still do.”

“I’m from Busan, too!” he exclaimed.

“So am I!” Jonghyun chimed in.

I swallowed. It felt like they didn’t care about the audience anymore. The line between us seemed to blur away. I didn’t like that because it made me feel worse.

“What’s his name?” Yonghwa asked. “Maybe I know him.”

I smiled as I shook my head no. “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “He forgot about me, so it doesn’t matter.”

“But how can someone forget someone as pretty as you?” Jungshin piped in.

“Her bias is hyung,” Minhyuk said with a nudge. “Hold yourself together, Jungshin.”

I wanted to laugh at that one, but I ended up crying, instead. I tried to wipe my tears away but the waterworks didn’t stop. I could faintly see the four of them becoming anxious all of a sudden. Just then, a warm, comforting hand held my left shoulder.

“I think you’ve seen enough of them for today,” Donghyun’s gentle voice whispered in my ear.

I bit my lower lip, and nodded.

“You should have a fan picture before you go,” I heard the man in the green vest earlier call out.

“B-But my eyes are red and—”

All of a sudden, I felt a gentle hand pull me away from Donghyun. I looked up, and lost my center when I realized that the culprit was Yonghwa himself. He gave me that mischievous smile of his.

“You have to do this,” he said. “Please let us take a picture with you. This will mean a lot to us.”

And so, on that autumn afternoon, I had the chance to be in the same picture as my best friend. But the thing was, he wouldn’t even know.

"Where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?"
- Job 17:15

So our couple finally saw each other ^^ It's a bit bland, but this is just the beginning. If I pour everything now, then a week in Belfast will suddenly feel too long ^^ So how they met, it's a bit boring, right? But like I said, this is just the first day xD More things will happen. I can see it now :D

JustBee thank you for the beautiful poster once again and I'm glad that you're well ;A;

_ObnOxiOus_ lol I wouldn't be too sure about that ^^ but then again, you have truly encouraged me and I do hope and pray that you do the same for the other authors here in AFF, as well. Your simple comments here and there truly brighten up our days. ^^ P.S. don't stay up way too late! Don't follow your unnie here who has a messed up sleeping schedule >_<

setayel aw, thanks for that! Though for this chapter, I feel that something's lacking. I'm just too drained 'cause of school OTL

Nandiferd hey ^^ if it's not too much for you, then may you point out my mistakes in the previous chapters? Hee~ I'm willing to learn :D and thank you, good madam, for the encouragement ^^ to answer your question about the haiku, I just made it on the spot ^^

I do not know why
but I enjoy writing things
in haiku format.

nnaeam now you've touched MY heart! ;A; I'm so grateful that you're enjoying this humble fic of mine ;A; God bless you, too ♥  *claps hands* YB ftw xD Things will just unfold by itself in time ^^ I really love the way you comment xD I mean, it's even better than my fic. It's so fluid, if you know what I mean~

miss-hitomi I'm just happy I managed to pull your heartstrings even for just a wee bit ;A;

laz_15 don't worry, Shin Hye will possibly think about her sparkling days with Yonghwa ^^

Guys, once again, your comments encouraged me lots ;A; It's already 12:03 AM here so I prolly should rest, too. It's Friday! :D