"Saengg~" Ji Yong greeted with a smile as he waltzed into the school clinic. Hyun Mi looked up and slightly smiled as she saw Ji Yong. 

"Why are you calling me that all of a sudden?" she asked with a confused look.

"Eh, I thought calling you 'noona' would be a little too inappropriate," he shrugged. "Well then, should I call you 'umma' then? How's my old man?"

"I'd rather not talk about it now, mianhe Ji Yong-ah."

"Ahh, arasseo," Ji Yong replied as he saw the change in the school nurse's expression. He tried to change the topic and brought out a thick brown envelope. "Ta-dah."

"Oh, what is this?" she asked as she peeked inside.

"Just read it for yourself. I need parental consent, apparently." he shyly mumbled.

Hyun Mi took out the artist contract inside and read it thoroughly. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock. She looked over at Ji Yong who just stood there with a smile.

"Omo, is this for real?"

Ji Yong nodded and pointed at the bottom of the last page. "I just need your sign here, saeng~"

Hyun Mi frowned at him. "I can't. I'm not your legal guardian, you know. Only your father can sign this for you."

He snatched back the contract from her and quickly stuffed it inside the envelope. "Well, then forget it. I won't go to him, and I'm sure he won't approve of it either."

"Ji Yong-ah... I'll try to talk about it with your father," Hyun Mi said but Ji Yong shook his head.

"Forget about it, saeng."

"But it's your dream. Go and follow it Ji Yong-ah."

Ji Yong shrugged and slumped at the seat before him. He heaved a heavy sigh as he studied the contract again. It was true that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He didn't even auditioned, but was scouted to be part of YGE immediately. It was a choice between following his dreams but swallowing his pride to return home and get his father's consent, or to continue to ignore his roots and let go of his dreams. 

Hyun Mi glanced at Ji Yong's troubled expression. She felt sorry for him and tried to stir the conversation somewhere else. "How's Park Bom?"

At the sound of his girlfriend's name, he blushed as red as a tomato. He was speechless for a moment and Hyun Mi stiffled a giggle. "Aigo, look at you blushing like a girl." she teased.

"Yah saeng, you're teasing me." Ji Yong finally said when he regained his composure. "We're already going out." He beamed proudly.

"Omo, so our little Ji Yong has finally found himself a girlfriend. Chukhae. Take care of her well, okay?"

"Ne, saeng, arasseo." Ji Yong answered with a nod. "However, I haven't told her about this yet..."

"Waeyo?"

"Because I know she will let me. She'll tell me to follow my dreams and go."

"But, don't you like that?"

"Of course I do," Ji Yong shrugged. "But, a small part of me wants her to stop me. To tell me that she wants me to only stay by her side."

"Aish, what a selfish boy, tsk tsk." Hyun Mi said. "Keeping her in the dark is much worse."

"I know," Ji Yong muttured as he rested his head on the desk. "So I thought, why not take her along with me? But I know she'll be too shy to audition. So I came up with a plan."

"What plan?"

"This whole time, whenever we're together, I film her. Just some candid shots, nothing special, however it clearly captures her natural side. She's not yet idol material, but with her charm, I know they can consider."

Hyun Mi looked at the boy's head and wondered if she would encourage him in this endeavor or reprimand him. "Whatever your plan is, good luck with it Ji Yong-ah. Just listen to what your heart says," she finally managed to say. 

Without looking at her, and still his head on the desk, Ji Yog just managed to make an 'ok' sign with his hand as a reply.

~~

Pink, tall, fluffy, smooth and sweet. Bom sipped on her frothy strawberry milkshake she shared with Ji Yong. They were at a nearby fastfood after school. The two shared a tall milkshake and a large French fries. 

"Mmm, i wonder if they ever make corn milkshakes?" Bom wondered as she looked at the camera that Ji Yong was holding. "Would you drink corn milkshakes, Ji Yong-ah?"

Ji Yong shook the camera left to right as if to say 'no.' Bom frowned at the camera and grabbed a piece of fries.

"What about this fries? Corn fries? Sounds good?"

Ji Yong laughed and shook the camera again. "Why do you love corn so much?" he asked.

"Just because! It's like the same thing as me asking you why you like filming with the camera so much." Bom said as she pointed to the camera in front of her.

"Well, to be honest, I like it because I get to see you upclose," Ji Yong zoomed the camera at Bom's eyes. "And also I get to replay the times I spent with you whenever I'm missing you."

Bom suddenly blushed as she heard Ji Yong's words and pretended to choke on her milkshake. Ji Yong laughed as he couldn't help but think that Bom's cheeks was as pink as the strawberry shake she was drinking.

"Ah wae?" Bom asked as she pretended to be annoyed.

"You're my lady Park Bom."

"Aishh, well I like eating corn because it reminds me of my Ji Yong-ah," Bom replied and stuck out her tongue at the camera. Ji Yong laughed out at Bom's remark.

"That doesn't make sense at all."

"Of course it does!" Bom tilted her head and squinted her eyes. She pretended to scrutinize his face very carefully. "Because you'll look good with blonde hair, don't you think?"

"Ani, besides, the school won't allow that."

"I know, I was just saying," Bom said and looked at her watch. "Hmmm, is there any place you want to go?"

Ji Yong cleared his throat and smiled at her, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Bom playfully kicked his leg under the table and answered, "Aren't we already out on a date, pabo yah."

"Well, let's go to the arcade after eating?"

"Kure--"

Bom was cut short with the shril ringing of Ji Yong's cellphone. He took it out of his pocket and saw the caller ID -- Hyun noona. He smiled apologetically at Bom while he answered the phone.

"Ah, saeng?"

At the sound of her voice, Ji Yong could immediately tell that she was crying. The background noise on her side was also too loud.

"Mwo? Where are you?"

Bom looked at Ji Yong with concern. She could tell that it was Hyun Mi who was on the phone but she couldn't decipher their conversation. She tried to read Ji Yong's expression but she couldn't. She had a sip of her milkshake but it has gone bland and tasteless.

"Wait for me," she heard Ji Yong say on the phone. His chair scraped on the bright linoleum floor as he stood up. Bom silently looked at Ji Yong as if to ask where he was going.

"Mianhe, Park Bom-ah. There's somewhere I have to go. I'm really, really sorry. I'll make it up to you, ok?"

Bom opened to talk but nothing came out . There was a lot of things she wanted to say -- things like, 'What happened?' 'Is everything all right?' 'Was that Hyun Mi unnie?' 'Where are you going?' 'Why aren't you giving me any explanation?' 'Are you just going to leave me here?' 'What about our arcade date?' 'Don't you want me to come along?' to even the most trivial, selfish thing --

'Kajima.'

'Don't go.'

But it was too late, Ji Yong already bolted out the store, leaving a bewildered Bom behind.

~~

:( what a sad ending... i didn't expect the ending of this chapter to be this sad and now i'm feeling a little bit depressed :(((( pls comment and subscribe if you like it. it will make my day, promise.