The bus ride from Seoul lasted for close to 3 hours. While on the train ride, Maria relaxed on the bus ride, thinking about what it was gonna feel like when she finally step food in her hometown for the first time in 5 years. Even though it was only a 3-hour ride from where she currently resides, she always traveled to perform in different countries and spent the holidays there because of it. That doesn’t mean that she didn’t call though. She bought her parents iPhones just so that they could facetime together whenever she was in a new country. So, when her high school asked her to teach a masterclass, it was a no brainer to take the opportunity not only to visit her family but reconnect with her past in the best ways possible. As she looked out the window, she reminded herself about what she’s going to teach her new students. After all, this is her first time teaching a group of people. She figured that young students are just as impactful as she was when she was their age. So, whatever she says, they’ll take seriously.

As soon as she gets off the train, she’s welcomed with open arms by her father and mother who had been patiently waiting for their daughter to come home. With tears of joy, they all embrace each other in a big, warm group hug.

“Eomma! Appa! I missed you,” Maria says as tears continue to run down her face.

“I missed you too so much, sweetheart! It’s so wonderful to see you. Look at you all grown up,” Maria’s mom says as they break their group hug.

“Our daughter has blossomed into a beautiful flower. I remember when you were obsessed with magnolias when you were a girl. To me, you’re still the most beautiful of them all,” Maria’s father adds.

“Appa! That’s enough, please. You’re embarrassing me,” Maria says as she giggles and hides her face with embarrassment.

“Okay, fine. You go in the car with your Eomma. I’ll get your luggage.” After saying this, Appa grabs her luggage and puts it in the trunk.

As they drive to the family house, Maria sees something familiar.

“Look! It’s the old tree! I used to go there all the time! I can’t believe it’s still there!”

“Yup! Maybe you can go by there sometime when you’re not teaching,” Eomma adds.

“Eomma, I’m only teaching for one day,” Maria says.

“Then, why did you say that you were going to be here for ten days,” her mother questioned with curiosity. Appa was curious too.

“I wanted to spend some time with my amazing, loving, caring, and supportive family. I mean, I haven’t seen you in five years. The least I could do is spend some time with you before I have to leave again,” Maria said in her defense.

Silence fell in the car for a moment. It wasn’t the best choice of words, but it did get the point across. Eventually, Appa spoke up. “Well, Eomma and I are glad you’re home whether it’s been five years or five days. You know how much we love you. And we will continue to share that with you every day for the rest of our lives. This family sticks together no matter what.”

“Thank you, Appa. That means the world to me.”

After a few minutes of driving, they finally arrive at the house. As soon as she gets out of the car, Maria makes her way to her room with Appa following with her bags. Her room hasn’t changed one bit. It’s been cleaned over the years. She takes a look around and sees the bookshelves filled with stacks of DVDs of her favorite musicals and Disney movies along with all of the memorabilia from 2NE1, Beyonce, and Rihanna. It instantly reminded her of when she used to watch Beyonce’s concerts as a kid when others would pick on her at school. Both of them shared a similar body type so Maria thought that if Beyonce could perform to a sold-out crowd, so could she.

On her desk were memorabilia from her 5 years of touring the world that her parents set up as Maria sent them photos and souvenirs from each country she visited. Her parents were truly proud of who and what their daughter had become.

As soon as she finishes looking through the room, she pulls out her phone to check on Yongsun. To her surprise, Yongsun had finished with her meeting with Byuli and tells her that it went well. Maria proceeds to joke around and laugh while texting her unnie.

As the day slowly turns into night, Maria helps out with making dinner and while eating, asks her parents questions about how they’ve been ever since she left ten years ago to pursue her dreams in Seoul. The only thing that she remembered was when her uncle passed away five years ago. That was the last time she came back to Jeonju. After finishing dinner and washing the dishes, she got into her father’s car that he didn’t use because Maria bought him a new one a year ago. It still ran well because he drove it once a week to keep it running. Maria turned the car on and drove into town. There wasn’t much open except for a bar that wasn’t ever really full at 9’oclock at night. She parks her car in the parking lot and walks inside the bar. The lights are dim except for the stage that you see once you come in through the doors so Maria takes a seat at an empty table. The lights get even dimmer as a woman comes up to the stage with her guitar. The entire place erupts with applause as she bows and sits on the stool with a mic in front of her. She begins to speak.

“Hello. My name is Shelby, and tonight, I will be singing some covers of songs for you. The songs are called: “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran, “Honey” by Kehlani, and “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. Hope you enjoy.”

“She has the most beautiful smile. And that dimple ...,” Maria thought.

As soon as Shelby starts playing the guitar, Maria is under her spell from the chords being ever so gently played by this goddess of a woman. Then when she opens to sing, Maria is blown away by the honey-like vocals coming from this Shelby. She looks at her with her star-struck, glowing eyes studying the way Shelby moved with not just her hands on the guitar, but with her whole body. The way her blue hair perfectly framed her face, the way she slightly tapped her foot to keep her rhythm, and the way she showed the most beautiful emotion on her face. It’s like she read the third line in the music and transformed herself into a made-up character. It was mesmerizing.

When Shelby starts singing “Just the Way You Are,” she looks right Maria, making eye contact and sends a wink in her direction. As soon as Maria realizes what just happened, she smiles and giggles to herself while listening to the song being sung by the angel in the spotlight. Throughout the song, Shelby continues to look at Maria, making eye contact with the woman she enchanted. She could tell that another person has fallen in love with her voice.

When the song ends, Shelby says, “Thank you all so much for coming to see me tonight. It means so much to me. If you’d like to show some support, ask a bartender how. Thanks again!” As she leaves the stage, Maria stays sitting at her table still starstruck and in love with the voice of the local celebrity at the bar. All of a sudden, she’s greeted by Shelby. “Hello. I couldn’t help but notice you in the audience. You seemed to have enjoyed my performance, unlike anyone I’ve ever seen before.” She giggles showing her infamous dimple on full display.

“I’m-” Maria pauses. She doesn’t know what to say or do.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just that as soon I heard you sing, how do I put this? It’s like you put me under some kind of spell. I was so enchanted and mesmerized by everything that you were doing. I didn’t care about what I was doing. I just wanted to listen to you. I’ve never heard anyone as amazing as you before,” Maria said nervously.

“Well, I think it was cute,” Shelby says smiling.

“Really? I was cute,” Maria questions her in a surprised tone.

“Yes. As I said, I’ve never seen anyone enjoy my performance as much as you did. You must be new around here. I’m Shelby,” she says as she stuck out her hand.

Maria joins her hand with Shelby’s and shakes it. “Nice to meet you, Shelby. I’m Maria. I was actually born and raised in Jeonju and left when I was fifteen. This is my first time coming home in five years.” Now, Shelby is the one starstruck.

“Wait! You’re the one that’s teaching the masterclass tomorrow at the high school! You’ve traveled the world, made your own music, and-”

“Yes. That’s me,” Maria says trying to calm down Shelby.

“Wow! I can’t believe I just met Maria Ahn! The real celebrity from here in Jeonju! Man, if only my grandmother were here to see this!”

“Well, where is she?” As soon as Maria says that, Shelby slowly loses her glorious smile. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

“No. It’s not you. It’s just that my grandmother passed away when I was seventeen. I was still in high school then,” Shelby says while trying to maintain eye contact.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Maria quickly apologizes.

“Thank you. It’s also not your fault. You didn’t know,” Shelby says with her beautiful smile.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, are you signed to a label or anything or are you just staying in town to perform,” Maria asks.

“I’m actually an indie artist. I’m not signed to a label. Everything is pretty much on my own. I don’t really trust that part of the industry anyway. It doesn’t sit well with me,” Shelby explained to her new fan.

“Well, is there anything they can do to change your mind?” Maria was starting to think about an idea.

“There are many things, but I don’t really want to get into it. All I really want is for me to have the final decisions and fair pay. I want to be in charge of my music with people advising me and not taking control of me. You know what I mean?” Shelby continues to explain to Maria who’s very interested in this topic.

“Yes, I know what you mean. Well, if you find a place like that, go for it. I’ll even help you find a company that’ll do what you just said as long as we see each other after tonight,” Maria says ever so slightly.

“I’ll think about it. Maybe we’ll have to meet at the restaurant across the street tomorrow night if you want to see me again. Maybe I’ll have to snag your phone and put in my number too, hm?” Shelby was good at seeing right through Maria and her secret goal for tonight.

“You can put your number in if you want.” Maria hands Shelby her phone. “And I think we’ll have to meet in two nights, not tomorrow night. I’m teaching all day tomorrow. Also, I would go out to dinner, but I’d rather spend the whole evening with you instead of just dinner.”

“Well, Miss Maria, because of your busy schedule and wanting to spend time with me, I will take you up on that compromise,” Shelby says.

“Good. I’ll text you the day off in the morning to go over the plans I have in mind. Unless you want to take the wheel,” Maria says with a smile.

“No, I want you to surprise me,” Shelby says trustingly.

Maria stands up from the table and gets her phone back from Shelby.

“Well, all right then. I guess I’ll see you soon. Did you by any chance want a ride home?” Maria offers.

“That’s alright. I usually walk,” Shelby says as they’re leaving the bar. They’re starting to walk in the opposite direction.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Positive?”

“Yes. Good night, Maria.” As soon as Shelby finishes says Maria’s name, Maria watches her as she slowly disappears into the darkness with her guitar case in hand.

When she gets into the car, she thinks to herself about the whole night. Shelby. Why is that name so familiar? Why does that voice sound so familiar? Why does she look so familiar? She made it her mission to find out before she sees her again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At Shelby’s trailer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Shelby gets home, she’s greeted to an empty travel trailer. Not that there wasn’t any furniture. It was pretty decorated. She didn’t live with anyone else or have any pets to talk to, unlike Maria who had her parents. As soon as she takes off her shoes, she puts her guitar and bag on the floor in the dark and makes her way to her closet. She turns on the lights and finds a tank top and shorts to wear to bed then turns off the lights to change. She goes into the bathroom to take off her makeup and brush her teeth. As soon as she reached her bed, she falls onto her bed and begins to cry.

With tears falling down her face, she sits up and says to herself, “I wish you’d remember.”   

Then, she falls asleep with teardrops all over her pillow.