SM Entertainment revealed today that SHINee will join the wave of K-pop artists promoting in Japan. A Japanese version of “Replay,” which was also their debut song in Korea, is the first single slated for release.

“Jonghyun ah, you better start packing now. We’re leaving for Japan first thing in the morning tomorrow,” Onew said to Jonghyun.

“Yes hyung,” Jonghyun mumbled.

Japan huh? It has been 6 years already, Sakura ah. I wonder how you’re doing right now. Shouldn’t you be in Japan right now? I really miss you. Everything wasn’t the same after you left.

Since the day you left me without even saying "goodbye"
I felt the scenery and scent of this town change

“Hyung! Have you seen my phone?!”, Taemin yelled from the room, turning his whole room upside down while frantically searching for his phone.

Everyone sighed. It was not the first time Taemin lost his phone, but they were rather tired and Taemin won’t stop whining if he can’t find anything. Jonghyun felt something hard poking him as he laid down on the couch. He dug out the object and raised an eyebrow looking at Taemin’s phone in his hand. Taemin walked out from the room and saw Jonghyun holding his phone.

“Ah! Hyung! Thank you so much for finding it!”, Taemin smiled as he skipped into his room. A few minutes later, he yelled, “Hyung! Have you seen my mp3?!”

Key rolled his eyes and ignored him, as he continued packing his bag. Onew was too busy stuffing himself with chicken before they departed for Japan. Jonghyun sighed and fell asleep on the couch. Somehow, Minho had found Taemin’s mp3 in the bathroom. Apparently that was normal. Taemin’s lost items could appear in the weirdest places in the dorm.

“Dear Miss Cherry,

I have not received your draft for the sequel to “Torn” and I would appreciate it if I could have it by next Saturday. There isn’t much time left and I’m afraid you will have to find another publisher if you do not hand it in on time.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Park Hye Mi”

Sakura sighed as she read the email. She was suffering from a serious writer’s block and it did not help that she had been unwell for the past 3 days. She had moved to Japan 6 years ago when she was only 15 and had to enrol into a Japanese high school as soon as she got there. It helped that she understood a bit of Japanese but she improved over the years. She even moved on to be a popular writer in Japan though nobody knew her identity.

Aish, what am I supposed to write?! I don’t know how to continue it. Should I go out and get some fresh air? Ugh.

“Sakura ah! Okaa-san’s going to work now! Take care of yourself!”, Sakura’s mother yelled from the front door.

“Yes okaa-san!”

I should get a decent bath and walk around. It feels like years since I stepped out of this house.

Sakura took a quick bath and dressed up. She quickly brushed her hair that she had kept short ever since she came to Japan. Her bangs were still intact though she wore a headband that separated her bangs from the rest of the hair. Sakura stared at her reflection in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction. She quickly grabbed her bag and went out.

“Welcome to Japan. Please enjoy your stay here.”

Screams were heard as soon as SHINee checked out. SHINee was popular in Japan even though they have not officially made their debut. Smiles were plastered on their faces as they nodded at their fans with Key occasionally rolling his eyes when a fan pushed him a bit too hard for his liking. Luckily for him, he was wearing his sunglasses. Minho nudged him and whispered “Yah, be nice to them.” Key tsk-ed and whispered back, “I’m trying to, if they will just STOP pushing me.”

Jonghyun was excited to be in Japan. They’ll be promoting in Japan for the quite some time and maybe he would bump into Sakura. Well, hopefully. Japan was a rather large country and finding one person was just almost impossible.

Their van came to a stop in front of them and they quickly boarded the van almost sighing in relief. Taemin looked like he aged a few years as he was d by a few noonas. Onew was rubbing his knee as he lost his balance in the crowd and fell. Fortunately for him, the fans were rather understanding of his Onew Condition and helped him up.

“All of you will be attending an interview tomorrow to promote Replay so better get some rest tonight. I don’t want the fans to say that everyone looks too tired,” the manager said.

“Yes hyung~”, everyone chorused.

Before they knew it, it was already time for the interview. Fans were already lining up from outside the building one day before it has started. They were excited to see SHINee. After all, SHINee was making their debut in Japan.

“Guys, remember your introduction in Japanese alright?”, Onew fussed over them like the leader he was.

Key rolled his eyes. “Hyung, I think you should be the one worrying for yourself.”

“Shut up, Kibum ah. We’re already nervous enough as it is. We know you’re the best in Japanese out of all 5 of us,” Minho glared at Key.

“Stop it. Let’s just finish this interview as soon as possible,” Jonghyun said, irritated with all the noise. He was tired from practising Japanese all night and nothing much had been absorbed.

Taemin kept quiet, witnessing his hyungs bicker. He knew everyone was still suffering from jet lag and it didn’t help that they were nervous for their interview in Japan about their Japan debut. He sighed.

“Let’s welcome, SHINee!”, the MC said.

SHINee walked in and said their introductions in Japanese. Everything seemed to be smooth and the interview ended just as it started. They had to pass through the fans that had somehow gone bigger while they were being interviewed. While they were walking, a fan was accidentally pushed out and she fell in front of them.

Jonghyun quickly helped her up and brushed her knee. “Are you okay?”, he asked in Japanese. The fan nodded and quickly gave him a book in Korean. Jonghyun raised an eyebrow and the fan said in broken Korean, “It’s a popular Japanese book translated into Korean.” Jonghyun took the book, smiled at her and joined the others.

“What was that all about?”, Key asked him when he joined them.

“Huh? Nothing much. A fan gave me a book. Something about it being a popular Japanese book translated into Korean,” Jonghyun replied.

“Let me see!”, Key snatched the book out of Jonghyun’s hand. He quickly flipped the pages till he came to the end of the book.

“Look at this! It was originally a Japanese book but has been translated into Korean and English by the author! Do you think she’s multilingual? Oh wow, she has more than 10 books published and translated into 2 languages under her name! Do you think she’s mixed?”, Key started rambling.

Jonghyun snatched the book back and stuffed it into his bag. He knew they had no schedules at night and he wanted to read the book once he had the chance to. It was finally night time. When everyone was sound asleep, Jonghyun quietly switched on the bed lamp and started reading. One page turned to one chapter, and soon, Jonghyun realised that he had read till the half of the book.

This book is addicting. It feels weird though. I feel like I’m reading about my past with Sakura. I miss you, Sakura ah. Will I ever see you again?

If I was given a chance,
I would want to say again, "I love you so much"
But my feelings for you and the overflowing words won't reach you now

Jonghyun’s eyes slowly drooped as sleep overtook him. His body could only take so much and he fell asleep dreaming about Sakura.

“Yah! Wake up! We have a schedule later!”, Key’s loud voice rang in the room.

Jonghyun yawned and stretched his arms. Key glanced at him and burst into laughter.

“Yah, do I look that bad every morning?”, Jonghyun raised an eyebrow at him.

Key pointed at the mirror, trying to stop his laughter. Jonghyun sighed and walked to the mirror. Words from the book had been imprinted on his face as he had fallen asleep on the book. It looked as if he had tattooed himself with words. Jonghyun growled in irritation and pushed Key out of the way. He definitely did not want to step out of the room with words on his face.

Sakura heard screams as she walked closer to a building and wondered if anyone famous had come to Japan. She knew that Korean idols had started to debut in Japan and she had completely stopped listening to Korean music ever since that happened.

I wonder who is it now? I bet it’s another Korean group who can’t sing in Japanese again. They’re completely not letting the new Japanese singers debut properly.

Sakura sighed and walked faster. She did not want to get caught in a group of screaming fangirls who were only interested in the idols’ faces.

“It’s SHINee and their debut single "Replay -君は僕のeverything" is certified Gold for selling over 100,000, a first for a debut single for a Korean male group. It had alsosold 50,000 copies on its release date, debuting at the #2 spot of theOricon Daily Singles Chart,” the MC announced.

SHINee smiled and nodded along to whatever the MC said. Even though they had a translator with them, it was rather difficult to react spontaneously if the MC had said something funny. Only Key could somehow get the gist of the conversation. It was rather frustrating for them, but they aimed to learn more Japanese.

The music show ended, and again, they had to pass through the hoard of screaming fangirls. It was then, that Jonghyun saw someone familiar. It was Sakura. Somehow, she was curious about the idol group and had waited along with the fangirls, even though she was at the very back of the group.

Isn’t that…Sakura? Is that really her? I can’t be mistaken. There aren’t that many people with emerald eyes.

Aish, I can’t see. Ah! they’re already out! Isn’t that…Jjong? So far, he’s the only person I know who resembles a dinosaur and a puppy.

Sakura and Jonghyun stared at each other, trying to figure if it was the other. Sakura gasped and clapped a hand over .

Omo! It’s really him! I should leave now. I’m scared of his reaction.

Sakura quickly walked away, tears in her eyes. She was afraid of what he would say to her for leaving without saying goodbye.

I don't feel happy without you again
No matter how hard I tried
Tears are falling down, and it won't stop anytime soon 

That was Sakura! I knew it! Why is she leaving!? No no! I tried to find her for 6 years!

Jonghyun quickly ran after Sakura. He completely ignored s’ calls and continued running to the direction Sakura had walked to. He ran from one street to another, but he still could not see her. On the other hand, Sakura had walked into an aisle, trying to hide herself from Jonghyun. She knew that he was following her and she was more afraid than ever.

Jonghyun looked around, trying to find Sakura. However, he was already too tired from the lack of sleep he had been getting and he eventually fainted. People around him screamed, seeing someone fall to the ground.Sakura peeked out of the aisle and gasped when she saw Jonghyun on the ground.

Omo! Jjong ah, why did you faint?!

Sakura quickly ran over and hailed a taxi. She slowly carried Jonghyun with the help of the taxi driver and quickly drove off to her house. When they reached her house, she quickly took a bowl of cold water and dipped a towel into it. She then carefully wiped Jonghyun’s face and left him.

Ah. I feel something cold. Where am I?

Jonghyun opened his eyes and realised that he was in someone’s room. He panicked and wondered if he was kidnapped. Jonghyun then spotted a stack of papers at the corner of the room. It was labelled “Torn” and it was the same exact title of the book he had read. He looked around quickly and picked up the stack of papers.

Aish, what am I doing? I shouldn’t even be reading this, but it has the same title as the book that I read last night.

Jonghyun quickly read the first few lines. He then realised it was exactly the same as the book he had read. He quickly flipped through the pages and it was exactly the same, with some words or sentences being crossed out. He then looked at the end and a name was written.

Li Sakura. Penname: Cherry

The doorknob turned and Sakura came in. She gasped when she saw what Jonghyun was holding. Jonghyun looked up and he gaped upon seeing Sakura. They looked at each other with an awkward silence till Sakura stared pointedly at the stack of papers in Jonghyun’s hands.

Jonghyun felt guilty and quickly dropped the stack of papers, but realised a bit too late, that the papers were not binded. The papers flew about the room and Sakura sighed. She quickly picked up the papers and placed it carefully at the corner.

“Sakura ah, don’t you recognise me?”, Jonghyun asked.

Sakura stared back at him and tilted her head with a quizzical expression.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you are saying,” Sakura replied in Japanese.

Jonghyun was shocked. As bad as he was in expressing himself in Japanese, he could still understand a bit of Japanese.

I’m sorry, Jjong ah. I don’t want you to live in the past but I see that you achieved your dream of being a singer. I’m an ordinary writer, I don’t want to get in your life. It was the past and let it be a beautiful memory that we had.

The bright time when you were still around
That time will never come back again, but
What happens, no matter what I lose
I never want to forget the memory of loving you

Jonghyun stared at Sakura, trying not cry. He really missed her. He missed her hugs, her scent, and most of all, he missed her saying “Jjong ah.” with that beautiful voice of hers. There she was, standing in front of him, saying that she doesn’t understand him in Japanese. It was a harsh reality.

“A-are you s-sure?”, Jonghyun stammered, trying not let his tears fall.

Sakura shook her head, her eyes full of sorrow, and pointed to the door. She then bowed.

Jonghyun sighed and walked out. As he passed Sakura, she whispered to him. He then smiled and walked away.

Jjong ah.

YAY! It's done!

I know it feels incomplete, but I would like my ending to be that way. :)

I'm sorry if it wasn't how you wanted the ending to be, but I'm not the type to write really happy endings. :/

Anyway, please comment! ^^

Thank you~!