Author’s POV:

 

 

"Krystal… Thank you for updating me your location right now. I just need to know that more than anything, actually. I was glad you were alright. Last night, I was worried because I thought you were already in Seoul and stranded somewhere. Your GPS not showing your last location was what made me upset. Please take a good care of yourself while in Singapore. Talk to you again later. I love you so much, baby sis." Jessica ended the phone call after her sister returned the same affection statements.

 

"I love you too, Jessi. I would be just fine in here. Don’t leave from the house till the storm was over, okay? I hope to see you the soonest possible. Wear extra layer, stay warm, stay safe, and don’t forget to eat on time. Love you, unnie."

 

Krystal’s messages were not fully registered in Jessica’s head because the person outside of her house who fought walking against a strong bitterly cold wind accompanied by a widespread heavy snow has captured her attention. Even when she had three layers lightweight clothes on her body and her house has a floor heater to keep the place warm, it doesn’t really help much, she thought. She could still feel the biting cold right now. What’s more walking outside with only a plain uniform. The person must be losing her mind to walk against the storm. Can't the person wait till the storm was over if she wants to go out? What's so urgent till the person needs to face the storm?

 

Distance from where the person was into the fence of her house is only less than ten feet away. The house where she occupied right now was previously owned by her adoptive family. It had been transferred to her as the only next of kin after her adoptive parents died during typhoon Mega twenty years ago. Because the person passing by near the entrance of her house, she could see what the person had on her body. She was certain she only sees white apparel like chef uniform. She can’t see other things like a scarf, winter jacket, gloves, or bonnet on the person's body to protect her enough from the storm. Her hair has even turned all white. Full with snowflakes. She looks like she’s trying so hard to move her feet from the thick snow. In less than a few minutes, the person might turn into a snowman or iceman if she doesn’t try to do something to help the person, she thought.

 

Jessica placed her cup of coffee with her cellphone on top of the table in her attempt to rescue the insane human who went out on the snowy street at this stormy weather. As when she wants to open the door, she remembers something about who she was. This made her pause for a little while. She is a famous violinist in the United States. She sold million copies for her single hit Fly. It was her luck song. The song was the reason why she becomes a well-known person. Each year she received a million-dollar royalties from director all over the world who used her song as a background music in a drama or a movie. She received many duet requests as a violinist from top singers. And recently, she just released Christmas songs that topped the U.S billboard chart. It was something to be proud of as a Korean-American musician.

 

As a famous musician, she can’t just welcome anybody simply in her house. What's more the person that she has no idea about their background. What if the person outside of her house is a robber or worst case like maybe her stalker? Her fans had seen her shopping at the nearest department store a few days ago before they received the news about the snowstorm. Her fans even posted the selfie she took with them to make it known to the public that she already arrived secretly in the country. So, she wasn’t so sure if she should simply open the door or not when she lives alone in the house with no bodyguard or her sister's presence.

 

The wind howling with blizzard spreading in high intensity when she took a peek from the window again. That’s it! Her compassion as a living human on this planet won against all her bad thoughts. Damn with her title as a famous musician, she thought. She is a human before she becomes a musician. And she felt obliged to save the person in this condition. She doesn’t care anymore if the person is really a robber or her stalker that disguise herself in chef uniform. Handling one bad adult is not that hard. Moreover, she has an experience being a bad teen herself. Without further ado, she brought one long coat for the person and wore her winter boots. She ran with all her strength to fight the strong and chilling wind to get the person on the street in less than a minute.

 

Jessica's ran on the thick ice that covered the ground become painfully slow as when she’s getting closer to reach the person. Her face turned as white as snow when she happens to see the person from the side. She has no pulse. Her heart merely stops pounding, which stops oxygen-rich blood from reaching the brain and her other organs. The scolding word that she had in her head, she can't seem to utter it out loud. She was so speechless. It felt so hard to believe. Seeing the person's side view, the person's perfect jawline, the person's big ears, the person's upturned nose, the person's bangs, and the person's uniform in close distance.

 

They just fit perfectly like the person who had disappeared without a trace from their neighborhood. The person really looks alike the unnie who cooked a simple, but very delicious meal for her twenty years ago. She remembers her face till today. How can she forget her face? She even had her image printed and kept it in her purse all this while. The flip phone that she had in her pocket which she had forgotten to return it back to the unnie twenty years ago was how she could obtain her picture.

 

‘Is she a ghost? Or is she the unnie's daughter?’

 

Jessica asked the two questions in her head repeatedly. Her heart was thumping so hard the following second after. This person looks so real to her. Ever so real. Just the same as the unnie. How can that be? The person's face, the tie on her hair, her ginger hair color, and her uniform, they looked exactly the same like the last time she had seen the unnie. Minus this person is not wearing a spec like the unnie. The cold wind suddenly has no effect on her. She felt her world suddenly froze back to the time when she knew about the unnie had disappeared following the storm that had killed her adoptive parents. She received a flashback. The memory that she had about the unnie and after the storm calmed down come to her one by one.

 

 

 

-20 years ago-

(Three days after the typhoon Mega hit South Korea)

 

The noisy sound from outside of Jessica's house wakes her up from her sleep. Sirens from police car, ambulance, and fire department could be heard in the neighborhood again today. It's been days she was left at home alone. The storm has cut off the power supply and the phone landline for days. She stayed indoor in the dark at night after the power cut.

 

Her adoptive parents were still unknown their whereabouts. She lost communication with them. She tried to call them using the unnie’s flip phone that she had in her keeping. However, the unnie’s phone has no stable line to send a message or to make any phone call. Even if her adoptive parents never treated her as a daughter in the family, she still cannot stop from being worried about them. Actually, she’s dying to know about where they were and why they never come back till now.

 

The table clock shows her the current time, 8AM. As normal, she boiled the hot water using gas stove to prepare for her bath. No water heater due to no electricity in the area had directed her into this option. At 9AM, she ate her breakfast after taking her shower. Half from a slice of Chicago cheese cake was her breakfast again today. The cake was truly yummy and creamy. Sadly, she can't eat it more than like what she wants. She had to divide it just in case if her adoptive parents still didn’t return home in a couple of days more.

 

Thanks to the cake that she received from the kind unnie who owned the Wonderland café in her neighborhood. She survived the storm with the cake and bread she had as her only food stocks. And the kiss that she gave to the unnie was the only thing that kept her sane during the storm. She got it playing in her head the entire time like the greatest entertainment she ever had. The unnie’s shocking face, she remembers it clearly. The unnie looks ever so pure or innocent to receive her kiss. She was wondering if the unnie felt surprise to get a kiss from a minor, or if the unnie felt surprise to receive a kiss from the same gender, or if the unnie felt surprise because she never experienced a kiss before? Among the three, she doesn’t know which one was the reason from the shocking reaction she witnessed. Maybe she should ask the unnie if she met her again. Because she wants to so badly about the kiss.

 

Since the storm was over, she decides to check the surrounding area once she had her breakfast. It was her first time to experience a national disaster. Not that it excites her. Honestly, she was scared to be left all by herself in the place. She was just curious about the entire situation outside of the house. She had seen the situation a bit from the window. The flood had completely gone this morning. That’s the reason why she dares to leave from the house. And the other reason she wants to go out is because she wants to meet the unnie again. The unnie’s phone was in her possession till now. She forgot to return it back to her the other day after she had a meal at her place.

 

Going out of her house was a bit hard. She had to push the door with all her might to move the fallen tree branch that blocking the door. As she steps her feet out from the house, she saw all the mess in the surrounding area. She could see mud, trash here and there, tree branches and leaves, and others debris that had been brought by the storm. Her trial to visit the unnie’s café failed at that time. She was occupied, helping her nearest neighbor who needs to clean the area for the safety of everyone who uses the road.

 

On that day, her neighbor had helped her to contact the police department to make a report about her missing adoptive parents if just in case they have any news about them who haven't returned home yet. And her kind neighbor had provided her something to eat before she went back to her house. With the power supply being returned back to them, she wasn't staying in the dark anymore. That night, she got to watch the latest news from the TV like normal. She was surprised to know the number of people who were killed in the storm. Their place was only affected a bit because of the typhoon. The flood only recorded 2 feet high during the heavy rain. With five injuries reported, but no casualty. She was lucky, her adoptive parents' property was unaffected too. Because it might be harder for her to handle it all by herself to clean the property.

 

Only the day after that she managed to find her way to