CHAPTER 1.1

- I'm going to visit South Korea. The flight ticket has already booked.

Mashiho quickly prepares his luggage. He is intending to live in Seoul temporarily few days and then taking part in a fanmeeting as well as a fansign of his favourite author whose new writing has just published. Actually, Mashiho is still vague about the information of that author. Some people say that is a male author some say female, even there are several people say that is two authors cooperating under the same pen-name, so he cannot help hiding his curiosity. Mashiho puts the most recently published book into his backpack and inwardly imagines of the atmosphere at the forthcoming meeting which will be like a festival.

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Coming to the gate of Incheon airport, the South Korean atmosphere goes straight to Mashiho's nose that makes him not want to go back to Japan. There were a lot of things that Mashiho could not explore when he lived in South Korea one year ago. Now, he has money and still be flexible and energetic, but on the contrast, he has no much time anymore.


Stopping at the hall and observing an airplane slowly taking off, the memories of a certain day of many years ago suddenly come to Mashiho's mind. Junkyu hyung, Mashiho has lost contact with him. What is he doing? Where is he now? Is he living well? Mashiho doesn't know and Yoonbin hyung doesn't know either. Perhaps only Junkyu knows the reason why he actively stopped communicating with everyone. Did not they believe that they would meet again?





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The meeting will start few hours later. Mashiho quickly takes a cab and goes to the venue after throwing his luggage into the hotel's room. Having not relaxed and setting off immediately makes him quite tired, but his excitement is spreading so that he cannot stop smiling everytime he realizes a part of his most favourite book's cover appearing in his eyes. The radio of the driver also announces the meeting, most of the readers are curious about the gender and the face of that famous and gifted author, undoubtedly Mashiho is one of them.

- K.M-ssi, everything was finished. We're going to review the scenario a while.

With his brisk paces, Mashiho brings with him a big-sized camera he has just bought for few days and runs to the main area of the event very early before the "gold" hour. Hearing the director's voice through the microphone, Mashiho feels his heart palpitating so that he is speechless. He silently steps back far away from the backstage, finds a seat near enough to photograph the most beautiful moments.

The meeting finally starts.

- Yoonbin hyung, I'm joining in the fanmeeting of K.M.

- Oh, K.M? Call me when it's finished. I'll ask Jihoon to pick you up.

- Ok I got it. See you later.

- OMG! That's a guy. A guy.

Mashiho is startled. He inclines his head and follows people's eye direction but sees nothing. Abruptly, the shadow of a tall boy in a mysterious heel-length black jacket appears, all female students are in a great hurry and they begin to stand up.

- Hey...

Unable to stop the overexcitement of the crowd, Mashiho elbows others out and finds way to escape. He is pushed and nearly strikes his face on the wall but finally, he can find an airy place. Mashiho sighs with release then raising high the camera and getting ready to carry out the work. His heart keeps beating fast. It is not something strange because this is exactly the moment he can meet his idol.

- Everyone please sit down. Sit down and be quiet.

Letting fall the camera, Mashiho lets many memories of his student life in this country run inside his mind. That is the boy who used to hold Mashiho's hand and say in front of the crowd, "I like him.", hug Mashiho tightly after drinking like an aloner unintentionally finding out the anchor of his life. He used to say nothing but stepped forwards and kissed Mashiho after being angry and rushing his car onto the pavement. He is also the one who used to ask Mashiho not to walk out on him. That boy... is right before Mashiho's eyes.

- Junkyu hyung...





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Many years ago…

Class 12A, "X" High school in Seoul...

Five minutes has passed but the overlapping sound of comments about a younger Japanese student having just moved to class is non-stop. A person wonders why that kid can take a leap to the higher level compared with his real age so easily, another one cannot stop admiring because she thinks that kid is very excellent, one more person continuously compliment the kid on learning Korean program rather than Japanese. There is another thing that makes the students not less curious, why that young boy decides to experience his last year in a Korean high school not a school in his hometown. The given topic about this new person is more and more attracting attention and it becomes the hot potato in the whole classroom, no, the whole school this morning.

- But what's his name?

- Takata Mashiho.

- Do you think if he will come into Kim Junkyu's sight?

- Only God knows.




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As a new student, Mashiho temporarily sits at the end of the class, but that thing is not important than the fact that he feels the atmosphere around him quite fishy, there is even the taste of strong murderous air making his heart beat so fast that it is about to fall off his chest. Since the moment he stepped into class and introduced that he came from Japan, he has made the class whisper and comment a lot; and Mashiho heard vaguely someone's name, they said in the past, the boy used to be bullied by a Japanese fat person so now he is quite sensitive to the students from Mashiho's country. Actually, Mashiho does really not care how that guy is obsessed by the past, but maybe now he is mature enough to realize that not all of people are bad.

- Hello new student.

Mashiho shyly nods at the girl in front of his eyes.

"She's so beautiful."

- Your name is Mashiho?

- Yes, it is.

- Don't be afraid. It's just because there was no Japanese student coming here to learn in recent years, especially a younger one learning with all the seniors in class. All of us are at the awkward age so curiosity is a common thing.

Hearing that, Mashiho feels a bit release in his mind, but the pressure of living and working in a community with full of older students making Mashiho nervous. He scratches his head because of embarrassment then asking privately:

- Is there anything I have to notice?

The girl hurriedly moves nearer to Mashiho, her fingers quietly knock on the table-top few seconds then her eyes glance at two directions.

- There're two people you should keep distance. The first one is the boy sits at the last desk of the farest row.

Before Mashiho had time to glance up, he was immediately stopped.

- Don't look at him in the face, he will give you a really black look. His name is Ha Yoonbin and he's our monitor.

- Monitor?

- Very cool and well-schooled. So you'd better not break the school's rules. If not, you'll be in trouble.

- Y... Yes.

Nothing has happened yet but Mashiho was in a sweat of fear.

- How about the second one?

The girl sits up straight, her finger points at the person sitting at the second desk in the same row with Mashiho's. Mashiho can not see his face, only his wide back gives the first impression.

- He's a part of the press-gang.

- Press-gang?

- Sh! In class, he keeps being taciturn with no talk no laugh, sometimes he says few words with the monitor, like a killer. I hear that he has a quite close relationship with our school bullies but after that, they never talk again so he is often taken revenge.

The story is told so detailed that Mashiho does not know what he should doubt. Suddenly remembering the first moment when he came to this classroom, he apparently met that guy face-to-face. Perhaps that is why he always feels the creepy taste in this class?

- About the fact he has a bad impression on Japanese students, I think he's crazy.

- That's him?

- Two years ago, a Japanese fat guy in the press-gang of our school hit him just because he often stewed in his own juice. After that, he changed, not talk and laugh more but becoming a big brother in that press-gang.

- That's enough, Youngie.

The deep voice of someone echoes like a sharp knife and attracts Mashiho. His heart suddenly beats fast but he does not know why. The charm from that voice somehow is irresistible and if Mashiho was a girl, he might fall in that guy like a tree. Mashiho leans over and casts a furtive glance at the place where he knows he should not look, then he is sure the voice is of Yoonbin hyung. Anyway, right after that authoritative statement was risen, noona sitting by Mashiho's side nearly jumped out of her skin.

- I'll go back to my seat.

- Noona, what is the name of the person you've just told me?

- The bully? Kim Junkyu.

- Youngie, go back to your seat now.