“Lights! Camera! ACTION!”

The young beautiful woman who looked all nervous a moment back perked up with a dazzling smile to the camera and turned to him. Kyungsoo could applaud her professionalism.

“Hello! Welcome to the X channel. I am Priscilla Germund and today we have Mr. Do Kyungsoo with us,” She started loud and bright, pausing to clap a little before turning to him, “We are delighted to have you here! You are known for avoiding interviews but we are so glad to have trapped you here with us today.”

She laughs at her joke and he also cracked a small smile and a nod to go along.

“So Mr. Do,” She turns serious, “What does it feel like to be a worldwide super personality?”

He chuckles lightly at that. “I would not consider myself a ‘super’ much less a worldwide one.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest.” She says looking personally offended. “You are the most known travel blogger to have ever lived! If that is not super, I really don’t know what is!”

“Alright, alright…” He replies with another chuckle while shaking his head showing his disbelief. “It feels almost like a dream. After all, it is not every day that you wake up and see that the world seems to love what you are doing. So right now… I would say I am living a dream.”

The girl smiles at him and nods admiringly.

“If we were to go about in numbers, your fame is staggering,” She goes on looking at the cards in her hand. “Your YouTube channel which you’ve been running for just 5 years has 23 million subscribers with over 5 billion views. Your second YouTube channel which has your personal Vlogs also have more than 10 million followers. Your Instagram account which you update regularly has an astounding 60 million followers. Those two are your highest followed accounts and where you are most active in.”

He nods at that.

“Of course your blog ‘Travel Marvel’ is almost a common household name and where it all started. It has an average of 500,000 unique viewers every single month. What makes you different from other travel bloggers that you have amassed such a huge following that other travelers cannot even come close to?”

He smiles and paused some seconds giving it a thought.

“I think what sets my vlogs and my blogs apart is that I don’t travel simply because a place is hyped. You must have noticed that I usually go to places that people don’t know about and I don’t just stick around popular tourist spots… instead I get to know people there and really experience their lifestyle. I think people are thirsty for more profound content rather than simply ‘oh look, I am in another country’.”

She nods at him looking enthralled.

“Also I think one of the reasons is that I don’t just visit places people have never been to. I go to popular places as well, I go where they live and actually brings out things they always miss out on in their everyday life. What I really love is finding out things about certain places that the world still doesn’t know about be it a whole town or a small spot. I suppose that is what makes people love what I do as well.”

“Wonderful!” She claps a little at that and turns back to her memo, “From what you said in your ‘Draw my life’ challenge on YouTube, you said this all started as a hobby. How did this hobby become so big?”

“Well…” He folded his legs and gave a wide smile at the interviewer, “My family went for a vacation in New Zealand many years back when I was still a little kid. Over there I, unfortunately, became sick and could not go to the popular spots where my family went. So instead I stayed around our hotel and talked to people. I think that was where my love for this started.”

He glanced at the camera, his smile still intact. “So after that, I began to do that every single time we went on vacations. It became something that I enjoyed a lot more than seeing famous places. When I turned 17, I decided to keep a track of all these beautiful people and the warm memories I shared. So I started the blog and the rest is history.”

“Wonderful,” The young woman sighed dreamily. “It is almost unbelievable that your blog is now 10 years old. Which leads us to another question.” She gives him a cheeky smile.

“Over the years we are yet to see any romance in your blogs or videos although we have seen some friends and celebrities and even presidents from all over the world. Is there currently any romantic interest in your life?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head in amusement and laughs at the question.

“When you are a traveler, that seems almost impossible because we never stay in one place long enough to know and fall in love with another person.”

“That’s heartbreaking but at the same time that is the reason why you have such a strong fan base. Some claim you are coming to their country to marry them.”

The two laugh aloud at that.

“Unfortunately I have a long list yet to be checked and marriage is not in there yet. Perhaps in the distant future.”

“Waah…” The reporter expressed brightly, “I am sure whoever it is will be a lucky one. Moving on I really wanted to discuss your other passion. You’ve uploaded a short video of you singing and it has gone viral. Some say that you should have been a singer rather than a traveler. What are your thoughts on that?”

He smiles again and paused a second before starting.

“Music has become a sort of companion for me in my travels that it is almost a partner. As a traveler, I spent a lot of my time alone and during those times, music has been my sanity. So I think I can say I am a lover of music and now it naturally feels like I can express more with singing. I sing along to any songs that come and goes and somehow my love for singing picked up from there.”

“Is there any musical plans then?”

“Well… I am thinking of writing an album that showcases my entire journey. I already have some songs done.”

“Oh wow. What can we expect from this album?”

“Um… I’ll say a mix of everything just like how traveling is exactly like. I think we can look forward to all types of genres built in there.”

“Wow. That is fantastic. What are your next plans then?”

“I am traveling to this small town in N country next week but the town will be a surprise.”

“Oh! By any chance, is it the same one you and your family went to when you were a kid?”

“Umm… No. I wish I could go there but that is not the one.”

“Can’t wait to find out all about it. Sadly our time has ended here. Thank you so much Mr. Do Kyungsoo for joining us today. It has been a pleasure meeting you.”

“Thank you for having me as well.”

Vlog dairy entry 1
Location: N Country
Dated: September 5

“Hello…” Kyungsoo waved at the camera flashing a small smile. “Today we arrived at N country and it had been a busy day. This place is breath-taking and we went around planning out our video shooting sites as well as meeting the tourism company who sponsored us for this video. Everything is going smoothly so if it goes according to plan, we will be able to wrap up our video in just a week.”

He pauses to yawn and stretch. “It has been a long day and I have to get some sleep as we will start our shooting at dawn tomorrow. I hope we will have a wonderful stay here. Bye for now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Vlog dairy entry 2
Location: N Country
Dated: September 6

Kyungsoo turns on the camera and smiles at it. “Do I look tired? I think I do. We spend the whole day touring the place and getting footage but I think we did a good job.”

He gives a giant yawn and chuckles. “I can’t deny that I am tired though.”

“We were able to start our shooting and the locals have been wonderful to us too… they welcomed us well. Also, may I add they have the most amazing pies ever! We were able to cover a lot of places in just one day… but then again we’ve been doing this for so long and even if it is a foreign country… we just know what we want.”

He pauses, rubs his short hair, and looked like he was in deep thought. “Tomorrow afternoon after we finish our shoot, we will drive to a more remote area… Not remote per se but more scarcely populated than where we are right now. We will wrap up our shooting there and continue after some days. You know how we always have the time where we can go alone do whatever we like for 2 to 3 days? Yeah. This time we squeezed in 3 days in between our official shooting so hoping for the best.”

He leans forward to turn off the camera. “I got to sleep. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”

"Bye."

Vlog dairy entry 3
Location: N Country
Dated: September 7

“We are here in N country Y province,” Kyungsoo announces looking more rested than before. “I was able to catch some sleep in the journey so I am not as tired as the other days in fact I am excited about what tomorrow’s going to bring. I am free as of now till…” He looked at his phone’s screen, “the 11th of September. So obviously I am going to be going around the entire county and hope that I will meet some interesting locals.”

He gave a wide smile. “I looked up this place in Google and it has some crazy places that I want to explore and I cannot wait. We reached only when it was dark so it was impossible to go about but tomorrow I am starting at dawn!”

He takes a bottle of water and gulps down some mouthfuls. “I’m going to bed now so that I can get up at dawn. See you! I am sure I will bring several things to share tomorrow. Bye!”

Vlog dairy entry 4
Location: N Country
Dated: September 8

Kyungsoo sits down with a smile a little different than the ones he usually wore. “I met someone today…”

He smiles again his lips uncannily like a heart, this time looking far away above the camera while placing his hand on his chin. “As I planned, I woke up at dawn and took my rental car for a drive. The place is perhaps one of the most beautiful places I have ever been… or I am being biased because like I said… I met someone today.”

He sighs softly and looks into the camera again but this time without a smile. “I met snow-white today. Do you remember how she is my favorite Disney Princess? Yeah. I met snow white today… and she was simply beautiful!”

“After my tour this morning, I went to a diner for a breakfast and I saw her there.” He looked lost again for a moment.

“Ah! Right… where was I? Right… the diner. I pulled up at the diner and it is a classic Hollywood style with all vintage decors and colors. It is a really cool place. Anyhow before I got in, a tall Asian boy walked out, and then…” He grinned, “She followed him out. I did not see her face then so I walked in to have my food.”

“Did I mention they are of Korean descent? She is a waitress there and she took my orders. She is the shyest person I have ever met and to think she is a waitress.” Kyungsoo chuckles fondly shaking his head a little.

“Anyhow I had a small conversation with her and she was hesitant at first but I found out that she does not speak Korean at all and that the tall boy was her younger brother. I asked her if she could help me look around but since she was busy she asked her brother to do it instead.”

He laughs loudly at that. “His name is Sehun and he cannot be any different than his sister. Oh… Her name is Nara.” He twirls a little at his seat. “Unlike his shy sister who barely said five sentences to me, he talks a whole lot. Apparently, they were adopted by a family here when he was one and she was six. He seemed like he loves his sister a lot. He took me for a tour all over their small town and you know what? He is a fan of our channel and so it was even easier because he knows what I wanted.”

He stops his twirls with a frown. “He invited me to dinner with his family. Their family owns that diner but since their parents are now advancing in years, Nara decided to not go to college instead starts helping them in the diner. Sehun says she is brilliant so he wishes to see her college but she insists on taking care of their diner instead.”

“Their home was just a stone throw away from the diner and I felt welcomed. Their mother is a lovely woman whose hug might have broken two ribs of mine.” He chuckles again at that. “Sehun is a mirror image of his mother. I think Nara was more like their quiet father.”

He zones out again as though recalling all that happened in their home. A smile tugged on the corner of his lips.

“She cooked a Korean meal for me… it was delicious.”

He looked grim for a moment. “To be honest, she is not what I am looking for in a woman. Although it is not like I am looking for anyone at the moment,” He lets out a sigh. “She’s quite the opposite of me… you know, rooted and not looking for an adventure.”

Kyungsoo brings up both his knees to his chest and hugs it. “She is so pretty and soft spoke and cooks so well… But I think anything between us may be impossible. I wouldn’t mind knowing about her though.”

He leans his head down to his knees and sighed. “I really like her though…”

Silence ensues for some good minutes.

“Right… right… I think I talked too much today. Tomorrow as well I am going around with Sehun. Let’s see what tomorrow brings to us. Bye.”

Vlog dairy entry 5
Location: N Country
Dated: September 9

“Hi again…” He grinned at the camera looking ready to spill some facts. “I got to talk with her a lot more today thanks to Sehun.”

“She is still incredibly shy but Sehun says she’s always been shy. I keep on thinking that she must be going through a lot daily if she decided to be a waitress knowing she will serve people. She is quite a resilient being if I may say so.”

Kyungsoo takes a sip from the bottle and rubbed his neck as though he was guilty, “Today I don’t remember going anywhere because she was the one who took me around instead of Sehun. It seems once a week, Sehun helps them out at the diner in her place before he leaves for college next year. It seems he applied to SNU and got into it. Happy for him.”

“The whole day we toured around but all I remember is how pretty she looked in her floral dress. I am not even exaggerating. She is a real-life snow white. I couldn’t even eat because I was too happy to be out with her. It felt like a date.” He sighs out loud at that. “If I ever decide to settle down, she’d be someone I would love to come home to…”

His eyes cloud a moment later and he shakes his head grimly. “But marriage…” he chuckles, “who am I kidding, right? I would only be deceiving myself.”

“I might be feeling like this at the moment but a month… some weeks into marriage and I would die of boredom. Staying in one place simply isn’t for me.” He shakes his head slightly. “It would be terrible for whoever even agrees to marry me if they are not the type to go around like me and talking with her today… she doesn’t seem to like going around so much. She loves this place and her aging parents.”

He leaned down his chair and rubbed his hair with both his hands. He comes back to the camera with a serious look. “She thinks she owes her life to her parents because she says she remembers being orphaned. Nara and Sehun are not related by blood but she really loves him and wants to support him for his college.”

“I asked her if she was willing to travel around even once… she says she would love to someday when her parents were properly looked after and Sehun is settled. Wouldn’t that be years and years from now?” He shakes his head, “She carries so much burden for just a 24-year-old girl. I don’t think I will be handle so much.”

He sighs and grabs his photo-camera. “I got good photos today thankfully, to remind me of where we went…” He grins as he continued looking at the small screen in his camera, “and also a lot of her photos… she is such a shy person but I got some when she was not looking.”

He glances at the camera as though he was caught doing something he shouldn’t, “Aishh… Don’t worry I won’t publish them. Besides,” He says with one of his eyebrows up, “these photos are too beautiful to share with everyone. They are only for my eyes.”

He chuckles a little and quietens down. “Tomorrow is my last free day.”

He places the other camera down and rubbed his head again. “I asked her if she would take me around again… she says she’s busy but she said if I want, we could have dinner again… but with her family. I mean that is sweet and everything but I want more time with only her.”

He pauses and looks up as though formulating some thought. “Maybe I could bribe the boy. The boy has holidays these days as he is waiting for the college to open up next year… Yeah… I can tell him that I will let him come to work for me during our shooting and he could be in the video too.”

“Anyhow our latest video is doing amazing. We’ve already hit 4 million views and we uploaded only yesterday.”

He comes forward to close the video, “I hope my plan works out tomorrow. I’ll update you soon. Bye.”

"AH!" He exclaimed just as he was about to turn it off, "I actually wrote a song about her."

He laughs out loud at that. "I am so cheesy. Bye."

Vlog dairy entry 6
Location: N Country
Dated: September 10

“My plan worked!” A glowing Kyungsoo beamed at the camera looking shy but happy. “Sehun persuaded her to go with me. I got to reward the boy accordingly.”

He laughs a little as though he couldn’t help it. “She wore a pink dress today and had prints of ice cream in it… Now I think I love ice-cream more than I already do. Anyhow she took me to this place that was breathtaking. At least I remember that place because she said it was her favorite place. Imagine… she took me to her favorite place.”

He brings up one of his legs and hugged it, his cheek on his knee. “It was a secluded lake in the middle of deep woods and honestly, I felt as though we were in school camp again.”

He keeps quiet for some time as though deep in thought. “That place was like her… quiet, secluded, and rooted. There were lots of strong, sturdy trees… I felt out of place being there.”

He looks into the camera again looking sad. “I think I am more of an open country with the breeze blowing and… I don’t know… shrubs and grasses that withers with winter and springs up with summer. She’s… but still, I cannot help but like her so much. The last three days I’ve been riddled with the thought of her, with the life I could live with her and I know it sounds crazy but when you meet someone and you begin to think about your future with them… that is some serious right there.”

He puts his leg down and ran his fingers through his hair looking distressed. “I’ve only known her for three days but I feel as though I know her since forever… and that includes Sehun as well. I don’t know man… I can’t think of tomorrow and not seeing her. I think I am going crazy. Have I ever ranted like this about my previous girlfriends?”

“Huh…” I pause, “I don’t think I have. Okay, I know… it’s not like she’s my girlfriend and she is far from that. What am I even saying? But do I sound cocky if I say she might be attracted to me too? She barely speaks but her eyes tell so much…”

He sighs dreamily at that and a smile appears on his face. “When she came up to me this morning after Sehun had gone in to persuade her, she gave me a bright, shy smile and I swear I melted into a puddle. As opposed to yesterday, she talked to me a lot and even looked straight into my eyes.”

“And then we went to this cute restaurant for lunch… I think she loves sweet because she loved the dessert and even ate a little of mine.” He crinkles his face fondly at that and bit his lips as though trying to stop his laughter. “Why is she so cute?”

He pauses and it looked like he was reminiscing about their lunch.

“Oh! I had dinner with them again and like yesterday I felt welcome and happy. It made me miss home… probably for the first time in a long, long time.”

He stops when his phone rings. The video is paused. After some time he is back.

“That was work,” He says sighing and leaning down on his chair. “We’ll be shooting tomorrow and the day after for the whole of it and leave on the same night.”

He swirls on his chair still leaning on it, “I don’t know if I will be able to see her… to see them again. I’ve promised Sehun to help in shooting so we’ll see him but…” He stops talking looking sad again.

“I just began to know her…” He sighed defeated, “But I guess this is what happens with me… drift away before any real connection is made.”

He suddenly sits up straight. “But I’ve never felt the want to stay back in one place... ever! I’ve been all over the world and even if I fall in love with the place… I never have the urge to stay. Do you think if I listen to this, it will be detrimental to me? Don’t you think it will be easier if I escape as soon as possible and you know, cut it off before I feel even more?”

He begins playing with his hair again. “I’m only 27 with a life ahead of me… Being tied down is the last thing I want now… but ugh…” He groans. “I want to stay back so badly this time. Do you think maybe if I don’t see her for two days maybe it will change? Maybe. I hope so.”

He lets out a sigh and leans forward to close the video. “Maybe not seeing her would actually put me back on track so I’ll let you have an update tomorrow. See you. Bye.”

Vlog dairy entry 7
Location: N Country
Dated: September 11

He turns on the video and this time he is eating a sandwich. “I am famished. Haven’t had dinner yet.”

There are lots of noises at the back. “We’re still shooting. Say hi to Sehun…” He turns the camera towards an excited looking man.

“HI! I’M SEHUN!” The skinny young man shouts at the camera making Kyungsoo laugh at that.

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” He turns to Sehun, “Strike a pose for the camera.”

The younger man chuckled and puts down his sandwich somewhere to strike a pose. He brought his hand up dangling just below his chin, his gaze burning into the camera. True enough the younger man was handsome, strikingly so. His jet black hair flopped down naturally accentuating his pale skin and his striking features.

Kyungsoo brings the camera back to him with a fond smile.

“Today’s shooting just ended and we’re having dinner…” He says shaking the sandwich.

“Nara will kill me if she finds out I am having this for dinner,” Sehun frowned looking at the sandwich like it was some abomination. Kyungsoo takes the camera a little far away so that both of them come into the frame. A slight change of expression is seen in Kyungsoo’s face though as soon as Sehun mentions her name, his smiles slipping off.

“Um… She cooks rather well.” He nods at the younger boy.

“She’s the best,” Sehun takes a bite and grimaces, “Now I want to eat her cooking. This sandwich tastes terrible.”

Kyungsoo smiles at that, eyes on his sandwich but it was undeniable that he was thinking about something else.

“It’s so late now though…” Sehun pouts and checks his phone, “But it doesn’t matter. I’ll call her and tell her to cook something for me.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes visibly darken at that although it was still focused on his sandwich.

“Wouldn’t she be sleeping?” He asks looking down unsurely. He seemed to have forgotten about the camera altogether.

“Yeah…” Sehun shrugs, “but she’ll still cook for me.”

“You’re a spoilt brat, aren’t you?” Kyungsoo’s lips twitched up a little. “She seems to spoil you a lot.”

At that Sehun chuckles loudly. “Is it that obvious?”

Then he sobers up looking serious. “She goes out of her way for me. She’s the perfect sister.”

“Seems like so…”

“I just wish she’ll meet someone and I don’t know… have some fun too. She’s always worried about my future, about our parent’s future, and everything.

Kyungsoo had turned his head to look at the boy and was staring at him intently.

“Next year I am leaving as well…” Sehun pouts and blew a raspberry. “I’ll miss her a lot.”

The two men sat in silence for some time, both their thoughts seemingly on the same girl.

“Ah, right! I’m gonna call her… I think I have to call it a day as well.” The boy stands up dusting his hands.

“Oh… Let me drop you off.” Kyungsoo comes to take the camera and then it’s turned off.

The camera is back again but this time it’s in a different place. It was inside a car with Kyungsoo driving in the dark, his face lights up once in a while when he crosses street lights or other cars pass by.

“Hi…” He says after some time of silently driving. Then he lets out a long breath, his eyes on the road. “I saw her again.”

He presses his lips against each other. “I couldn’t help it. I just had to see her… I could have declined Sehun’s offer for dinner together but the thought of seeing her… and I nodded.”

He chuckles at that, “I feel so incredibly weak. Right now I feel as though if she asks me to stay… I’d stay. I don’t know for how long but I will stay.”

He glances at the camera, “I seem pathetic, don’t I? I heard from Sehun that she’s never had a boyfriend b