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Jinyeon's POV

I felt like a crook. No, to be more exact, I felt like a crook that was going to get caught at any second. You know how the crook always breaks in when there's no one in the house? Well, in my scenario, I'm the crook who breaks in and then the owners come back not three seconds later which means I have to escape.

And that is exactly what I'm doing, except, well, not the whole stealing and breaking in part.

I'm sneaking out-

-out of my own house.

The whole story is complicated and I don't want to waste much time thinking about it; the whole thing is this:

I am running away to audition for the school in my dreams. It doesn't sound so bad does it? Well, the horrible thing is, is that it's the school my mother forbids me to go. Okay, not forbid, but she really doesn't want me to go. Which is stupid because, well, I was never the type to give up my dreams.

It all began when I was six. My father just died and gone was our income support. My mother was then left with the burden of raising my siblings and I which consisted of: Jaekyung (oldest son + eldest child), Jaemin (second oldest child + second brother), me, and Jinhee. Life was hard and my mother was rarely home; she was only at the house to cook for us and then leave.

That's where my story began. Being a little child, I couldn't sell newspaper or walk dogs like Jaekyung or Jaemin did so I helped around in the house. I did my best to take care of three year old Jinhee and help around the house. At my toung age, I already had a long list of chores to do: sweep floors, wash dishes, fold clothes, etc. But my favorite chore I did was to help my mother in the kitchen. I don't know why but the kitchen makes me all warm and fuzzy. All the delcious scents make me feel at ease. I picked up cooking techniques rather quickly and by seven, I was the one in charge of all the cooking. It started out basic at first: tofu soup, kimchi fried rice, and a plate of fried chicken. However, I began finishing chores quickly to go the library and check out recipe books. As time went on, I became a better and better chef, mastering not only Korean cuisine but other cultures as well. I loved cooking, but my mother did not.

When my mother found out that I had rejected all of the colleges that had accepted me to go to the crummy culinary school about five miles away, she had been furious, but she couldn't change what I had done. However, that didn't stop her from finding ways to try to stop me from becoming a chef. She's tried many things but she had failed until this plan. My mother only paid tuition to the end of this semester (a week away!) and she isn't going to pay any more. My part time job at the coffee shop isn't going to even cover a quarter of the costs!

And then this miraculous event came up. The most famous culinary school worldwide, Bon Appétit was opening in South Korea! Not only was it my dream school, but also my way to continue cooking! To get into Bon Appétit you had to audition to get in. If you do a really amazing job then not only do you get in, but you also get a free scholarship as well. And to make that sound even better, there's free dorm expenses involved! As a student at Bon Appétit, you had to live in the school dorms. Not that anybody minded 'though because their dorms were for EXTRAVAGANT people. Just their bathroom was bigger than the room I share with Jinhee.

So, back to where I am. The time is five ten and at five twenty, the first bus to the city leaves. It takes about five minutes to sprint to the bus stop which means I have five minutes to get out of here. It doesn't sound that hard except for the fact that I have to get pass way too many obstacles.

First obstacle: stairs. The stairs are so old that they squeak at just the lightest touch!

Second obstacle: my mother. Since she found out about the auditions for Bon Appétit, she has been sleeping in the living room with Jaemin and Jaekyung.

Third obstacle: Jaemin. Jaemin has to be the lightest sleeper ever and my mother bribed by two brothers into stopping me from auditioning. For money, my brothers would do anything.

Inhaling a deep breath of air, I warmed myself up for the first obstacle. I stood on the tips of my toes and slowly pranced down, ballerina style. The stairs did make some noise but it only whispered out their pain. Wiping the imaginary sweat off my face, I walked into the living room as quietly as possible. I was pleased to note that my two brothers occupied the sofas; it meant umma was still working.

And now came the hardest task, to get past Jaemin. I passed Jaekyung without a problem; he was the exact opposite of Jaemin and slept like a rock. As I approached Jaemin 'though, I felt my hands warm and I held in my breath as I neared him.

I was already this far; I couldn't fail.

I concentrated on the floor and made sure I avoided the dents; they squeaked if you stepped in them. It felt like I was on a tightrope; one wrong step and I would fall to my death. As nervous as I was, I managed to pass by the Jae brothers and I quickly jogged to the front door. There, I slipped on my worn out high tops and and unlocked the door.

CLICK!

My eyes widened at the sound it made. Not wasting any more time, I yanked open the door and quickly slammed it shut, knowing that Jaemin would already be at me heels in seconds. Deciding to still run for it, I took off. However, I was only down the front steps when I got pulled back. To my horror, it was Jaemin who was holding my arm.

I knew this was going to eventually happen; Jaemin was not only in cross country, but track, soccer, football, and basketball as well. He was the most athletic member of our family and recieved scholarship because he was such a good athlete.

"J-Jaemin oppa," I squeaked and tried to use my best puppy dog face at him, "p-please let me go."

"You know, umma said she'd double my allowance this month if I caught you."

See? My brothers really did do anything for money, even wrecking their sister's dreams.

"Oppa, you can't, you can't!" My eyes watered and I brushed the tears away. I wasn't going to let him see me cry.

"Yes I can Yeon-ah, you know I can."

"FINE!" I shouted, not caring if it was still early in the morning. I'm sure my neighborhood was used to the sounds of arguements anyways.

"Yah! Don't you dare throw that temper tantrum," Jaemin narrowed his eyes at me, "or I won't let you go."

"I DON'T-Wait, you're letting me go?"

"I'm not that evil am I?"

"Yes you are."

"Fine, then let's go back in-"

"But you're still the best brother in the world!" I quickly added, my eyes shining into his. He smirked and ruffled my hair.

"Hurry up and go, you don't want to miss the bus."

"Thank you oppa. I love you!"

L. Joe's POV

I could feel the insides of my stomach churn as I waited for the bus to come. It wasn't often that I felt this way but I did. Even the music blasting out of my earphones didn't take my mind away, in fact, it made me have a headache. I yanked off the earphones and continued my wait, alone. It wasn't unsual that there weren't any people waiting for this stop; it was only five thirty and my street was known to be the "slum" part of the city. Most of my neighbors didn't work and if they did, it was at night. In the mornings they were just coming home from wherever they were.

"I told you we wouldn't be late." An energetic voice surprised me and I turned to find the source.

"Byunghyun-ssi?" The girl was revealed to be Kim Jinyeon, a girl in my current culinary class. Amongst my other classmates I found Jinyeon the most...hardworking. Just because it was a beat down culinary academy didn't stop Jinyeon from working hard. In a way she and I could connect; we both felt passion with cooking.

"H-H-Hi L-L-L. Joe sunbae." My eyes turned to the girl next to Jinyeon. It was So-something, Jinyeon's "sidekick". The two were literally inseperable except for class time since they had different classes.

"You're trying out too?" Jinyeon asked and I nodded. She smiled warmly at me, "I hope we get in the same class again!"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

Her smile, it didn't seem like other girls. When a girl smiled at me it was usually to flirt, but her smile, it seemed different. Her smile was pure.

"The bus is coming!" Jinyeon's clone called out and the three of us squinted at the distance. Sure enough, the bus was approaching us.

"Did you bring money Somin-ah?" So the midget was Somin.

"Yeah, did you?"

"Yeah, but I don't have much," Jinyeon turned to me, "Do you want to join us for lunch after auditions?"

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Somin elbow Jinyeon.

I shook my head and I swore I saw life enter Somin's body again. At school there were two types of girls: girls who "loved" me and girls who were afraid of me.Somin obviously fell into the second category.

"Oh," Jinyeon pouted a bit, "good luck you then Byunghyun-ssi."

For a moment I was stunned.

Byunghyun.

I don't remember the last time someone called me by my real name with such gentleness.

"Are you getting on young man? I have a lot of other stops to stop at." Breaking out my thoughts, I quickly scrambled onto the bus, taking the farthest seat from Jinyeon and Somin possible. For some reason Jinyeon always managed to make me helpless and I didn't like the feeling one bit. The source of heat that shot to my cheeks, the rapid beating of my heart-

I didn't want to think about it.

Taking out my earphones, I stuck them into my ears and turned the volume as high as it could. My mind then drifted back to the audition, to the school.