"Student? Student!! Would you like to buy a train ticket or not?"

Yonghwa shook himself out of his daze.

"Student, you've been standing here for a while, do you want to buy a train ticket or not? Look behind, you, there are other passengers waiting!"

Yonghwa turned around to look at the row of irritated faces behind him. Absentmindedly he nodded in apology and stepped up to the counter.

"Yes, um, I would like to purchase a round trip ticket to Busan, the earliest one possible, please. I would like to return to Seoul by tomorrow morning."

With a heavy sigh and a disdainful look, the ticket handler began searching the computer for availble seats on all of the trains headed to Busan.

The short pause allowed Yonghwa wander back into his thoughts.

He knew exactly why his mother wanted him to come out to Busan. It was for the same reason it had always been.

"Student, it is 3:30 pm right now. The only way you can make it to Busan and back here is if you leave on the train in five minutes, and get to Busan at about 9:00 pm. You will only have and hour in Busan, because the last train back to Seoul from Busan leaves at 10:05pm. You will arrive back in Seoul at about 4:00 am. Are you sure you want to purchase this ticket?"

It took Yonghwa a few seconds to process all the information he had just been told. Without a second thought, he purchased the ticket and hurried to board his train.

As expected, the train had a lot of people in it. Yonghwa found a seat, shoved his bag on th floor between his legs, and stared out the window, preparing himself for the long trip ahead.

 After about five minutes, he whipped out his phone and began reading his saved text messages again. There where plenty of texts from his band-mate dongsaengs and manager hyung, his friends from school, even a few from his real hyung, but only one from his mother. The one he had received earlier that day; the one that kept playing over and over in his head like a broken record. All it took was a simple text message from his mother to send him into intense worry.

Slowly, slowly, slowly the hours on the train passed. With every ticking second Yonghwa could feel himself becoming wound tighter and tighter into a huge bundle of nerves. He tried to control his breathing, focus his thoughts, anything that would take his mind off the impending meeting with his family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Seohyun's room was almost completely dark-only the solitary glare from her desk lamp lit up her workstation. She finished her homework with a sigh, and threw up her long slender arms to stretch. Her assignments weren't due for another whole week, but she decided to get a head start. She knew that university would be easy, as long as she didn't procrastinate like some of her unnis and friends had.

Just as Seohyun was about to take a shower, her cell phone rang. It was Hyoyeon. Normally, any calls that came through while Seohyun was busy would get ignored, but she allways had time for Hyoyeon unni.

"Oh, Hyoyeon unni!" Seohyun answered brightly.

"Annyeong, Seohyun-ah. I was just calling to see how your first day of university really was. I know we talked about it already, but-"

"Oh, aigoo~" Seohyun whined as she flopped back onto her bed. "Unni, it really has been emotional! I saw you guys again for the first time all summer, I'm taking newer and harder classes, Jinwoon is back-"

"OH, YES, JINWOON!! How do you feel about the fact that he is back now? Aren't you excited?"

 "Ne, Unni, of course I am excited...Its just so overwhelming to think about it, though."

 Both Seohyun and Hyoyeon were silent for a minute, thinking about the hard time Seohyun had gone through when Jinwoon left.

"Seohyun-ah," said Hyoyeon, breaking the silence. "Tell me about the rest of your day!"

Seohyun snapped out of her thoughts about Jinwoon and began to focus on her day.

"Oh, Unni, how could I forget to mention the part about getting lost? I couldn't find you guys, no matter what! I was so upset! If Oppa hadn't helped me-"

"OPPA???" Hyoyeon's voice carried the same tone of disgust as it had earlier in the day. "I hope you are not talking about that jerk Jung Yonghwa!!!"

"Unni..." Seohyun's voice was small.

"NO! NO! NO! Seohyun, he is bad news!!! Please believe me!"

"But, Unni..."

Hyoyeon sighed loudly before responding. "Seohyun, there are a bunch of reasons why you don't need to talk to that guy, but let me tell you the most important."

Seohyun could hear her unni shifting around in her room. Did this guy really make her that nervous? He seemed nice earlier when he showed her to class...

"Look Seohyun," Hyoyeon began. "Jung Yonghwa and Tiffany unni used to...you know...be a couple."

"WHAAAT??" Seohyun couldn't help her outburst. Why didn't she know aobut this?

"Yes, I know, it's really shocking, but the two were boyfriend and girlfriend. The bonded over their intense love of music, and the fact that they were trainees in the same agency. Yonghwa was a good player and singer whileTiffany unni was an excellent dancer and singer. They would perform together all over campus and even at local cafes and such. They grew closer and closer until Tiffany wasn't sure which one she loved more- performing or Yonghwa.

"WHAAT?" Seohyun interrupted again. "SHE LOVED HIM???"

"YES, SEOHYUN-AH, NOW LET ME FINISH THE STORY, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!!!!"

"Ok."

"Well, as I was saying, Tiffany unni was in love. She couldn't help it, she was ecstatic, and she became even more ecstatic when their agency told them that they wanted to debut them together as a duet group kind of thing."

"Oh yes!! I remember Tiffany unni emailing me about the fact that she was going to debut, but she never did."

"Yes, she never did. Do you know why? It's because before the two debuted, they had to do a series of mini-concerts for the CEO's and marketing agents and such to see how the public would receive their concept. Well, to make a long story short, Tiffany unni and Yonghwa practiced and practiced for these mini-concerts, but on the day of their showcase, Yonghwa didn't show up."

"WHAAAT??"

"YES!! THE JERK DIDN'T EVEN SHOW UP TO HIS OWN PRE-DEBUT CONCERTS! Everyone tried calling him, but he never answered or anything. Tiffany unni was devastated. But that's not even the worst part. The worst part was that two weeks later, Tiffany unni saw Yonghwa walking around campus with his arm draped around some other girl. He ruined her debut and broke her heart."

"Oh...my...goodness.." Seohyun was stunned. "S-so he never explained to Tiffany unni why he missed the mini-concert, or why he was with another girl?"

"I think he did try, but Tiffany didn't want to hear a word he had to say. Would you, after all the pain he had caused you?"

"No."

"Exactly. So Tiffany cut off all contact with him. She even withdrew from the agency and moved to a new one."

"Oh...."

"So, Seohyun-ah, we don't want you to hang around with him because he was so horrible to Tiffany unni. Understand?"

"Arasoyo." Seohyun replied weakly. The two girls talked for a little while longer before Hyoyeon had to leave.

"Oh, mianhae, Seohyun-ah, but I have to get off the phone now. I'll see you again tomorrow! Annyeong!"

"Ok. Annyonghi-kasayo Unni!"

The two hung up, and Seohyun continued her thoughts about the situation while she was in the shower. That was a pretty rotten thing to do- stand somebody up on the most important concert before debut, but why would he do that, if he was wrecking his own debut in the process? It just didn't make sense. And poor Tiffany unni! Seohyun remembered how devastated she was after her debut fell through.

Later that night, Seohyun didn't sleep much. If there was one thing she had learned that day, it was that even though she had tons of book smarts, there was still a myriad of things she needed to learn about life, love, and university.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 It took everything Yonghwa had to force himself off the train when he came up to his stop. The nighttime felt like a dark blanket wrapped securely around him, limiting his movement, thoughts, and even his breathing. Painfully, he began his walk toward his childhood home. On a normal day, it would take about ten minutes to walk from the train station, up the hill to his house. Today, twenty minutes had passed before he even saw his building in the distance. Every second felt like an hour as he walked toward his house. Finally, he reached the steps of his house. His hand was on the doorknob. He closed his eyes, bracing himself to open the door. But how could he, when he knew the horrors that waited for him on the other side? How could he open the door when his poor father would be just sittling there, in misery, and it was all his fault? Yonghwa couldn't hold back any longer. With his hand still on the doorknob, he sank down to the floor of the porch and began sobbing uncontrollably. The memories he had been trying to fight away all day all at once zoomed into his contiousness.

Yonghwa slowly opened his eyes. He was in an extremely bright room- everything was white and sterile. Why was he here? He slowly looked to his left. His mother was asleep in a tiny chair next to the bed he was laying in. Was he in a hospital?

"Mom?" he began, tapping her on her shoulder to arouse her of her slumber. "Mom, is this the hospital? What is going on?"

His mother's eyes popped open in surpise. She looked horrible. Her makeup was smuged, and she had huge bags under her eyes. Also, her hair wasn't in its normal pretty style- instead it was hasitly pulled back in a slightly crooked bun.

"Oh, uri Yonghwaaa!" she cried. "You're awake, you're awake! Thank goodness! Oh, I thought you guys would die!!!"

Wait, die? He thought. What exactly was going on? "Mom, why am I here? What happe-"

"Aigooooo Yonghwaa!" She jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around him in a large hug. For some reason, her touch sent an extremly sharp paint through his chest.

"Ah! Mom, thats hurting!"

"OMONA!" She jumped back with an apologetic look on her face. "Oh, mianhae, mianhae!"  she exclaimed.

They both looked down at his chest. He had bandage upon bandage wrapped around his upper torso. 

"MOM!!" he shouted, "WHAT IS ALL OF THIS? WHY AM I WRAPPED UP AND BLEEDING?"

"Calm down, son," came her steady reply. "You were in a car accident. You have a large cut on your chest and a few of your ribs are broken."

"A car accident?" he asked, unbelieving.

"Yes, you were on your way back to Seoul..."

Suddenly, Yonghwa began getting flashbacks from earlier that day. He remebered getting in the car, driving... OH! The young motorcylist who lost control, forcing Yonghwa to slam on the breaks and swerve...his father had also been in the car...

"Where is Father? What happened to that young motorcylist?" As Yonghwa began to remember more and more details from the accident, his tone became more and more urgent.

He watched his mother as her eyes filled with tears. "The motorcylist is fine, just a little shaken. You actually suffered more injuries than he did. Your father on the other hand...well, he is very, very hurt. He was in critical condition when he entered the hospital...right now, he is about five hours into a twelve hour surgery to repair his spine..."

Yonghwa didn't hear much more as he drifted back into uncontiousness at the shock of the news.

Yonghwa was still on the ground when he realized what he was doing. It was stupid for him to cry on the steps of his house- surely someone would hear him and come outside to see him in a slobbering mess on the floor. He needed to get away, quickly. He raced off the porch and down the street. He ran all the way from his house back to the train station. He was still bawling, eliciting stares and sympathetic looks from the few fellow patrons in the station. Before anyone could approach him, he found a dark corner of the terminal to get his feelings under control.

"Babo, babo, babo!" he said to himself as he continually beat his legs and arms. "Why did I even come here? Why...am I so dumb? How could I do this, to my own father?" He folded his head over his lap and continued sobbing until it was time for him to board his train back to Seoul.

~

Yonghwa was quiet on the long train ride to Seoul. He had exausted all of his tears, yet on the inside he was still very much in turmoil. Honestly, the trip seemed very short to Yonghwa, since his mind had been elsewhere the whole time.

It was still dark as he trudged back to his dorm. It was just as he expected when he got back- silent, dark, and peaceful. All his dongsaengs were sleeping, and the bed his sometimes manager used was empty yet unmade, meaning he had slipped out in the middle of the night- maybe even just minutes before he snuck in. He tiptoed to his room and carefully got undressed and into bed so that he didn't wake anyone.

Finally, he fell asleep, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes later when his alarm clock went off and Jungshin burst into his room to wake him up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day two of university had flown by for Seohyun. She didn't get lost or confused- instead she was able to walk around campus confidently, with a large smile on her face.

She had actually left her house early that morning so that she could walk to school at her own leasiure and clear her thoughts, but when she opened the front door, Jinwoon had been waiting for her.

"Annyeong, Seohyun-ah! I'm here to walk to university with you! Wow, you look really pretty today!"

"Oh, komawo, J-Jinwoon-ah...but I didn't expect you to be here...how...?"

"You don't think I have forgotten where you live after only three years? I used to walk you to school everyday in middle school!"

"Oh, yea, of course I remember, but what are you doing here now? How did you know I would leave so early?"

"Aigoo, Seohyun-ah! Because you haven't changed a bit. You always liked to leave for school early."

Seohyun walked with Jinwoon all the way to their destination. The two caught up and talked. Seohyun found out that her nervousness was unfounded- she expected it to be akward with Jinwoon at first, but it wasn't at all. She readily accepted the familiarity, but it really was almost as if he never left! He seemed like the same exact Jinwoon that she knew three years ago. If anybody hadn't changed at all, it was him.

Even by the last period of the day, music theory, Seohyun's enthusiasm and confidence still hadn't worn off. Her second day had been ridiculously better than her first, and their was no way she was going to let anything bother her. Not even her seatmate, Jung Yonghwa.

Barely two seconds before class started, Yonghwa sauntered into the room with that same large guitar swung over his shoulder and his confident smile aimed directly at her. All the girls in the classroom let out a lovestruck "Aww" in unison at the sight of him. He sat down and immediately began engaging in conversation.

"Annyeong Seohyun-ah. Did you get lost today?"

 How dare he talk to her so coolly after what he did to Tiffany unni? Seohyun wanted badly to give him a piece of her mind, but she was much to kind for that. She couldn't even bring herself to use banmal with him, even though he had asked her to.

"Aniyo, I didn't get lost today." She thought that maybe if she kept her responses short and direct, he would stop talking to her. It didn't work.

"Reeeeeeeeally?" came his sickly-sweet reply. "I'm so glad. My little baby is growing up!" People around them who had been listening to their conversaition began to snicker.

What? Seohyun was in disbelief. How could this guy possible talk to her so casually, especially since he had only met her yesterday?

"I'm not a baby, so please don't sa-"

"Allright class, come to order!" The professor interrupted, and began his lesson. Seohyun had never been more thankful of the beginning of class in her life. He started by grabbing a guitar and playing a fast, happy song with cute, fluffy lyrics. Then he played the same song, only slower and in a minor key, but this time the lyrics were deeper and more meaningful. It was intoxicating.

"So class, in case you haven't noticed, two songs I just played were actually the same, only the second one was transposed into a more sorrowful song. This is going to be your first assignment. I want you and your seatmate to take a song and give it two 'personalities' just like this one. Both songs only need to be two and a half minutes long each, so I'm expecting the lyrics for both parts to be really good as well. I think you will find this a little more difficult than you expect. This is due in three weeks, so plan accordingly with your partners."

Yonghwa turned to Seohyun with a smirk on his face. "So, Seohyun-ah, uri little baby, are you ready for our first assignment?"

Seohyun stared at Yonghwa with slightly ajar. She was stunned at how quickly things were moving with this guy against her will. For some reason, she felt trapped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[A/N: Omona, so If you are reading this, I just want to thank you for sticking by me. This is another loooong chapter, and I'm glad I finally found time to finish typing it! I'm sorry it took me so long, it's just that school has started back up again for me, and even though this is a pretty easy semester, I'm still kinda doing a lot of college application stuff so....yea. Like always, please keep the comments coming, I really enjoy hearing your feedback. I'm going to try to be a lot quicker with my next update, so please be waiting guys!  SARANGHAE!]