C H A P T E R 1;

“No!” I heard a voice shout out hoarsely and the next thing I knew, my eyes were staring right at a blank white canvass. It took a moment to register.

That voice was mine.

I was staring at my bedroom’s white ceiling.

I have been dreaming that dream again.

I groaned slightly from my sleep as my head spun back to reality. I sat up, pressed my hand against my sweaty forehead, trying to make the spinning motion stopped.

Once it did, I flipped off my blanket that felt more like heavy sheets to me at the moment, and planted two feet on the ground, desperate to get some solid standing, a feel of the real world.

I made my way to my bathroom, felt for the switch and flicked it on, and found myself staring right at my own bleary self reflecting from the bathroom mirror.

There was my black long hair that looked like haystack all over my pale face. My lips looked almost swollen and red, my eyes were too bright and my onyx pupils seemed to dilate under the harsh bathroom’s lights.

I sighed, leaned over and splashed the cold water from the running tap, filling a shock in my skin against the water’s contact. I stood up straight, another fact was registering in my now-freshly revived mind.

My lips parted for another sigh – I’ve woken up earlier than the alarm for today again.

Then as usual, I opened my wardrobe and retrieved out my daily outfit – a black plain tee and a pair of jeans.

With sluggish movements, I peeled my large t-shirt and gray sweatpants off me and flung them to my bed.

I reached out for the shirt first and as I put it on, I caught the glance of my birthmark on my chest, placed slightly more to the left. If I have to put it more accurately, it seems to be located right above the spot where my heart is.

That birthmark never ceased to catch my attention. I ran a finger over it, observing the shape of it on my skin.

How ugly it is.That thought always crossed my mind.

It looked exactly like a stab wound, like a knife that had plunged in for a quick, clean kill.

It apparently wasn’t a scar, my mum had confirmed with me. It was there since I was born.

Such a pity…she had called it, for that thing to appear over my snow-white skin.

I brushed the thought off my head as I pulled down the shirt and slipped on the jeans.

A last glance on the clock – six forty-five, I opened my door and left my room.

**********

“Seo-Yun!”

“Coming!” I called out in response as I shoved my way through the bustling crowd with a large cardboard box in my arms. A few annoyed faces turned to look at me as I brushed past them and I threw them an apologetic look.

“Is that all, Unnie?” I panted slightly when I finally put the box down. The young lady looked up from the wall she has been painting and smiled at me gratefully. “Yes, thanks!”

“There’s paint on your cheeks” I gestured to my unnie’s face and gave an amused smile.

“Oh.” She blushed and hurriedly used her sleeve to wipe the paint off.

“How’s the progress, Miss Art-director?” I chirped and leaned over to examine her work.

“Good.” My unnie replied. “How about you? Coping well?” She threw an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry I have to drag you in this. It’s just that we’re seriously short-handed now.”

I smiled. “No worries! I’m just glad I have the time to help out! Thank your lucky stars that I’m having school holidays now!”

“But…”

“No buts!” I stopped her. “Just remember you owed me a treat!” With a wink, I headed back to work.

I yawned for the umpteenth time and wiped away tears from my eyes. With a head shake, I shook away the sleepiness, trying to complete the painting before the stated time. My eyebrows ceased as I poured my attention on the art piece I have been doing, ignoring the increased squealing and chattering in the studio warehouse.

But my ears soon caught the voices of a group of young men nearby, and I couldn’t help but hear their conversations.

“An Americano for Jinki hyung, espresso for Jonghyun hyung, ice café latte for Minho hyung and caramel latte for Kibum hyung!” A young voice chirped.

“Yah Lee Taemin! What about that cup in your hands?” An older voice responded. “You aren’t supposed to drink any caffeine at this time! Not when we’re about to do the recording!”

“But hyung, I already brought it!” The young voice protested.

“Taemin ah…you know you’re sensitive to caffeine unlike us.” Another older voice cuts in, “Kibum is looking out for you. You should know that.”

The voice sighed in defeat. “But what should I do with this…?”

By then, I felt I had enough of eavesdropping. Anyway, it wasn’t a polite thing that I would like to indulge further. With that, I focused back to the task at hand, taking little concern of the sound of approaching footsteps that had stopped right behind me.

“That’s a nice painting you have there.” A familiar voice, I guessed it belonged to the person named Taemin, spoke to me.

“Thanks.” I simply replied, not bothering to glance up for I was stuck in a delicate process right now. But a yawn managed to escape from my lips despite my attempts to bring it down.

“Are you tired? I got an extra cup of café latte! Want some?” Taemin asked cheerfully.

I felt my lips involuntarily twitched slightly to a side as I took in his cheery tone. “Sure.”

I sensed his presence leaning closer as he examined the painting. “You are working hard for our props, aren’t you?”

My heart quickened in pace at his proximity. But he remained nonchalant about our situation as he continued to gaze at the painting.

“Yah Taemin!” Another voice called out, interrupting the moment. “It’s time for recording!”

He finally leaned back and turned away from me. “Coming!” He responded before turning back to me. “Got to go!”

I finally looked away from my work only to find myself staring at the back view of a young man running away, his auburn hair bouncing with every step he took.

As I looked down, I caught sight of something on the dull gray floor that brought another smile to my lips.

It was a cup of steaming café latte with a black bold Fighting! :) marked across the white paper cup.

#Author's note =D

**Unnie = Older sister

If you're one of the readers of "A Love Blew From Nowhere", you're probably surprised that the main female lead is called Seo-Yun as well right? I can't seem to think of any other Korean names suitable for the girl in this story. So after a while, I thought 'Heck, I'll just stick to the one I love." and Ta-dah! It's Seo-Yun again! For those who do not know, the meaning of her name is 'Melody'. Nice, isn't it? =D