First day of work . . . and first day of confusion. . . .

            Ellie, Samar and Krizzia arrived quite early. The DBSK boys still haven’t arrived and only a few of the staff members were already present.

            “Why is it that whenever we go somewhere . . . we always end up being the first people to arrive?” Krizzia uttered as she she sighed and slowly sat down on a chair.

            Ellie laughed. “Well . . . it’s always better to be early than to be late. And besides you know how I hate being late . . . that’s why we’re always early.”

            “Maybe you can start to look around Ellie. At least, you can look at the props and the things that they will be using. It will make you more familiarized with the scenes that they are going to do today,” Samar reminded Ellie.

            Ellie slowly nodded her head. “You’re right. I can start my work already. And besides, I know I won’t be able to look around once the other staff members arrive. You know I hate such noisy crowds. I think I would just hide in the van once everyone arrives.”

            Krizzia shook her head. “I think we will have a problem with that. I am already wondering how you will be able to do your work when you don’t even want to interact with the people working here.”

            “And to think you need to supervise the whole making of this project. So you can easily know what to revise or change when problems arise . . . How are you going to do that if you’re going to hide yourself again?” Samar asked as well.

            Ellie smiled. “Honestly . . . I don’t know either. Remember this is the first time that I am working outside my home. And besides you guys already know that I can’t stay in a crowd with so many men. I just can’t afford to lose myself here once someone accidentally touches me. It would be so embarrassing.”

            Samar sighed. “Yes, I was worried about that as well.”

            Krizzia suddenly remembered something. “Ellie, what are we supposed to do with your supposed to be boyfriend? That Micky guy will surely want to talk to you again. Are you sure you want him to get close to you?”

            Ellie’s face quickly changed and turned serious. “Yes, I really want to know what makes him so different.”

            “But . . .” Krizzia was about to say something but Samar shook her head as if to stop her from saying anything.

            Krizzia sighed and just stayed silent. She knew she couldn’t do anything else but accept everything that was happening.

            Ellie saw the worried look on Krizzia’s face. She started to laugh. “Krizzia, stop being so serious. It doesn’t suit you. Don’t worry. I’m not going to make a scene here . . . Well at least . . . I could try not to. Just make sure you guys have my drugs ready. . . just in case I go into an episode again.”

            Krizzia sadly stared at Ellie. How she pitied her. She knew how hard Ellie’s life was for the passed six years. Somehow she didn’t want her to go through the same phase again.

            If she could only erase Ellie’s memory totally . . . . so she could finally have a normal life. She would have already done it a long time ago. How she wanted to protect her and make her happy again.

            Ellie tried to smile at her friends. “Hey stop that! Why are you guys like that? Just bear with my madness . . . please . . . I promise this will be the last time I will make such a crazy decision.”

            Samar nodded. “Just make sure you know what you’re doing.”

            Ellie smiled again. “I love you guys so much. You know that, don’t you?” she asked while trying to act cute and sweet.

            Smiles quickly appeared both on Krizzia and Samar’s faces.

            “Yes, we know,” the two girls replied.

            Another fifteen minutes passed . . . .

            The DBSK boys finally arrived, together with almost all the other crew members.

            As soon as Micky arrived, he immediately searched for Ellie.

            “Uhmmm . . . excuse me. But can you tell me where Ellie is?” Micky asked Samar politely.

            Samar  slowly looked up from the book she was reading. “Ellie? She’s in the van, reading or writing . . . I think,” she answered while carefully studying Micky’s facial expression.

            “Why isn’t she here?” Micky curiously asked.

            “She’s not used to being in a place with too many people. So she’s hiding in the van,” Krizzia casually answered.

            “What?” Micky asked curiously. Somehow he suddenly became more confused.

            “You really have no idea of what you are getting yourself into huh?” Krizzia suddenly asked with a raised eyebrow.

            “What do you mean?” Micky asked again.

            Krizzia gave Micky a cold stare and just turned to face Samar. “I’m going to the van. If you need us, just call me by my phone,” she said as she slowly stood up and walked away.

            “What’s the matter with her?” Micky asked Samar. He was totally confused as to what was going on. “I get the feeling she doesn’t like me,” he uttered again.

            Samar lightly laughed. “Please forgive her. She’s just not used to seeing Ellie get interested in a man, that’s all. And frankly, she’s just concerned that you’re going to fool around with Ellie. That’s why she’s being rude with you.”

            “Fool around with Ellie? Don’t worry, I am not that bad. Anyway I just want this project to push through, that’s why I agreed with Ellie’s condition. And regarding your friend . . . please tell her that I don’t intend to hurt anyone, especially not Ellie,” Micky said seriously.

            Samar smiled. “That’s good to hear. I will surely tell Krizzia what you said. So . . . why are you looking for Ellie? If it’s important, I can call her and tell her that you’re looking for her.”

            Micky smiled as well. “Well, I just wanted to talk to her that’s all. Maybe get to know her. But if she’s busy. . . maybe we can just chat some other time.”

            Suddenly their conversation was interrupted when the other DBSK members arrived.

            “Micky, we’re going to start the shoot in a few minutes,” U-Know uttered.

            “Oh, really? I was just talking to Ellie’s friend. Can I know your name again?” Micky asked with a sweet smile.

            “I am Samar and the one who just left is Krizzia,” she answered.

            “Oh, sorry. I am sure to remember your names this time,” Micky said apologetically.

            “It’s okay. Anyway I hope that you can be patient with Ellie’s temper and mood swings. If you happen to encounter a certain problem with her, just tell me. And I am more than willing to help out,” Samar said.

            Micky nodded. “Thanks. I will remember that.”

            “What are you guys talking about?” Ellie suddenly asked as she slowly approached.

            Samar smiled. “Nothing. Micky was just asking about you.”

            “Yes, Krizzia already told me,” Ellie said with a smile.

            “Ellie, the director is looking for you as well,” U-Know suddenly remembered.

            “Really? Thank you for telling me,” Ellie uttered casually.

            Jaejoong just silently watched as Ellie passed him by. As soon as he saw her again, his heart had started to beat very fast. He still couldn’t get the thought out of his mind. . . . the thought that Ellie was Lena,

            “Ellie . . . .” Krizzia called out.

            Ellie quickly turned around. “What is it Krizzia?”

            “You forgot to take your medicine. I told you to drink it before you go out of the van and you just left it there on the seat,” Krizzia said angrily as she immediately handed Ellie the small tablet in her hand.

            Ellie smiled mischievously. “Mother Krizzia is busy taking care of baby Ellie again . . . .” she teased.

            And upon hearing those words . . . . Jaejoong’s heart suddenly stopped.

            Flashback . . . .

            Lena was sitting on a chair near the dining table while Jaejoong was busy cooking something.

            “Hmm… smells so nice. Do you think I can have a small bite already?” she asked sweetly.

            “No,” he simply replied.

            “Please . . . pretty please . . . with a cherry on top . . . “ she said as a joke.

            “No, you have to wait until I am finished . . . then we can both eat,” Jaejoong replied again.

            “Mother Jaejoong is busy taking care of baby Lena again,” she started to in a sweet voice.

            Reality . . . .

            Jaejoong’s heart was already beating very fast as he quickly approached Ellie. . . .

            “Lena? You’re Lena, aren’t you? Please tell me you are . . . Please,” Jaejoong suddenly said with the sadness and longing in his voice. He tried to touch her hand, but she quickly moved away from him.

            Ellie looked at Jaejoong with fear in her eyes. She tried to back away from him. She was afraid that he was going to try to touch her again. Somehow she didn’t know what to do. She was totally caught off guard by Jaejoong’s action.

            “No, I’m not. So just back off,” Ellie said with anger. But her face had already turned pale and somehow her body was already shaking in fear.

            “No! I know you’re lying. I know it’s you. Lena, please talk to me. Do you know how long I have been searching for you? Please Lena . . .” Jaejoong uttered as if he was about to cry. He tried to approach Lena again.

            “No! I’m not Lena! I’m Ellie!” she shouted angrily as she moved back again. She was trying to set a distance between her and Jaejoong.

            Samar had already stood up. She quickly pulled Ellie behind her. “Please stop this. Please don’t upset Ellie. We don’t want any trouble.”

            While Samar was talking to Jaejoong, Krizzia immediately pulled Ellie away from the scene back to their van.

            “I know she’s Lena . . . I . . . I . . . I . . . “ Jaejoong tried to utter while confusion and grief was visible in his eyes.

            Samar shook her head. “I’m sorry but you’re just making a mistake. She’s not the person you’re looking for. So just stay away from her. If you want to have a peaceful working atmosphere here, please don’t try to make her upset. And I suggest you don’t try to approach her again. If you ever try to go near her again, I will personally make sure that she quits this job on the spot. I hope I am making myself very clear,” she said seriously before finally leaving.

            U-Know and Max quickly went to Jaejoong’s side. They were very concerned for their friend.

            “Hyung . . .” Max uttered. Somehow he wanted to comfort his friend but he really didn’t know how.

            Jaejoong looked at U-Know and Max while he tried to control his tears. “I know . . . . I can feel it . . . She’s Lena. I am not making a mistake. Please believe me.”