Prologue

 

"....work things out with him, will you do it for me, honey?" Carmina sighed as she nodded in silence. "Hmmm? Mina?" The voice from the other line repeated. "Yes, mom. I promise to try." Carmina answered as she sighed for the second time. "Well, at least you'll try. You know how hard-headed your dad is." Her mom's voice sounded comical. "Yeah, mom. I most definitely know."

 

"Well, now that you're in Seoul alone, are you sure you can handle it on your own? Do you want me to send your Yaya?"

 

"No, mom! Please. I wanna learn how to be independent."

 

"Honey, you are independent. You've proven that already when you studied in London."

 

"Yeah but I practically lived with Gert so how can that be called independence." Carmina answered in a sarcastic tone. "Plus, you sent Yaya over after a few months." Her mom laughed. "Ugh, was I the one who sent her?" Carmina rolled her eyes. "You see, I'm not comfortable knowing you're alone in that city." Her mom replied.

 

"Well, that's your problem, mom."

 

"How did I raise a rude, heartless woman." Her mom replied in another comical tone.

 

"I have to go, mom. I need to look for Gert since she hasn't arrived for like two hours already."

 

"What? She hasn't picked you up yet? You're still at the airport?"

 

Carmina flinched her eyes. Gahd, why'd I have to say that? "Ugh, mom- hello? Hello? I- I can't hear you-- Hello? Mom?" *click* Carmina pressed the end call button, I'm sorry, mom.

 

She looked around the lounge, Just where could Gertrude be. I've been waiting for her for ages.

 

Carmina got up and went out of the Business Class Lounge where she had been waiting for over two hours. She headed towards the Reception Area when some girls suddenly ran pass her to the main entrance. What the--

 

She paused briefly then headed to the Information.

 

"Hi!" She beamed at the receptionist who smiled back upon seeing her. "Hi! How may I help you?"

 

"Ugh, well, this is my first time here in Seoul, I badly need to book a hotel room, but I'm not familiar with the area-- can you help me out?"

 

The receptionist smiled, "Of course, for a moment, Miss." then turned to her computer.

 

Carmina answered with another smile before looking around the lobby.

 

She again spotted some girls-- no, a crowd, camping by the entrance. She frowned, What is happening? Could there be someone famous coming?

 

Curious as to what the commotion is all about, she excused herself from the receptionist then proceeded to walk towards the crowd. Noticing that some girls are with high-powered SLRs, while mostly have their camera phones out, she tried peaking to where they are looking at.

 

What is going on here.. She thought to herself while trying to make her way through the crowd. Could some Lee Minho guy be coming?

 

She peaked through the entrance. She then saw two men at the other side of the pedestrian lane: one wearing a white T-shirt, washed jeans and a sunglasses, while the other wears an over-sized black T-shirt, over-sized black linen pants and a black cap, but both with mouth covers.

 

I can't even see their faces, why am I even bothering getting myself through the crowd. Carmina thought to herself.

 

As she was about to get out of the crowd, they suddenly started screaming. W-wha-- why-- what's happening--

 

Carmina found herself being squeezed deeper into the crowd. She started to lose balance and is now completely reliant to the movement of the crowd. Most of the people in the crowd are girls, some look young, while others look a little older.

 

"Oppa! Oppa! Can you please look here, oppa!" A girl on her right shouted. But her shout seemed futile as the crowd is too noisy for her to be noticed.

 

It became a total chaos, and one woman even accidentally elbowed her face as she was wrestling her way out, which caused her to be pushed deeper into the crowd. It even started moving to the Check-In counter, and just the same, she wasn't able to do anything but to go along with the crowd, as getting out of it seems impossible.

 

The crowd, as of now, is by the Check-In area where a transparent divider separates the passengers from the public. By this time also, Carmina found herself at the front row which resulted from all the squeezing and pushing that happened while the crowd was moving earlier.

 

What the hell-- how did I end up here. I need to go back to the Reception-- She thought as she struggles to get past the second row.

 

But then, the girls suddenly became aggressive again. She looked back on the divider and saw that the two men are in front of her.

 

The crowd suddenly started camping on her area aggressively. She was squeezed onto the transparent divider as the girls wanted to be there upfront to get closer to the artists. She started to have a difficulty in breathing as the people behind her pushed her. Her face is now glued to the transparent divider, and she knows the artists can see her as she's the only one who looks ridiculous here.

 

H-help... Can someone just please-- help...

 

Her knees are giving up on her. She can feel her consciousness slipping off of her. She can't breath, she can't ask for help, and these girls are far from noticing her. Can someone just please--

 

She heard someone knocking from the other side of the divider. "Hey! Hey! Excuse me, can you hear me?! Miss?!" A man's voice asked "Excuse me! Security!" His voice faded, as he seemed to ran off to find help, then another man's voice shouted, "Excuse me, guys! Can you please back off, she can't breathe--"

 

Just then, the girls squeezing her where pulled off her, and airport personnel gushed towards her, trying to talk to her back to consciousness. She was seated on a wheelchair while her mind became clouded and groggy. The personnel pulled her off from the crowd when she took a glimpse of the person who, she presumed, was the one knocking on the divider earlier. He was looking at her direction. Carmina can tell that he's worried.

 

She didn't get to see his face as he's wearing a mouth cover. But he's wearing an all black outfit with a cap.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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