Jin Woon knew that on Wendesdays, Jiyeon and Suzy don't have classes. So it suprised him to see that when Thursday came, he saw Suzy sitting alone in the couch at the ritzy school lounge with no Jiyeon in sight.

"Ya, Blogger, did Jiyeon ditch school again to do a modeling gig?"

"Ani. Jiyeon's no longer going to continue with her studies."

Jin Woon blinked his eyes uneasily. "M..mwoh? She..dropped from her studies? Wae?"

Suzy sighed as she looked at the magazine she was reading. She knew where Jiyeon was, but she didn't want to tell Jin Woon as per Jiyeon's wish.

"Molla."

"Blogger, you're her friend, and you don't know where she is?"

Suzy stood up and went to face JIn Woon. "I do. I do know where my friend is. But it's none of your business to know because she told me so. And though it hurts me to know that she was leaving, I can't force her to stay. Better I let her go than she commit suicide."

"S..suicide?"

"Oppa, you know how desperate people here are. I wanted to spare Jiyeon from all that anguish by letting her do what she wants than imprison her and slowly watch her die."

A few of the students who passed by had heard the conversation, and they stopped to eavesdrop.

"If you're a real friend, you'll tell her to stay," Jin Woon said.

"You say that because you don't know what's on Jiyeon's mind. On the contrary, I'm doing her service by letting her go."

"Did she enter the military like what she planned?"

The mention of Jiyeon entering the military sparked interest in the students. Suzy looked at them with disdain, then she looked back at Jin Woon.

"Ani. She's not in the military camp right now. I'm going to keep her secret, and you can't force me." Suzy reiterated with force.

***

Mr Park heard that Jiyeon didn't attend class. More so, when the housekeeper went to her room, she found it very clean and orderly. Jiyeon left her cellphone on the desk, which was unsual. Calling her master, the housekeeper reported to her master all that she discovered. Mr Park immediately went to his daughter's room. He check for any unusual things. He checked her cabinet and her things. He couldn't find her passport, her luggage was gone, and her money was gone as well. Sensing that Jiyeon defied him, he called his secretary. He ordered her to call the police and his connections in the airports to track if Jiyeon had exited the country. True enough, a call an hour later confirmed that Jiyeon had left Korea for Africa. Mr Park scratched his head in disappointment. His spoiled daughter had indeed give him a headache. He then told his secretary to tell the authorities not to look for Jiyeon. He even told her to contain the news so that the media would not be alarmed. He didn't want to waste his time on this good-for-nothing ungrateful daughter.

***

When Jin Woon heard from the news that afternoon that Jiyeon had indeed left the country, he was shocked. Even though Mr PArk had given strict orders not to let the whereabouts of Jiyeon be known, some long-eared individuals were able to get the scope. However, they didn't mention where Jiyeon went. The said reporters went to Mr Park's office to give his comment of the issue, but he declined to have an interview.

Jin Woon sat on the chair, pale. Yong Hwa saw his brother's expression and went to comfort him.

"I hope Jiyeon would be fine."

"Why? Why didn't she even say goodbye to me? Why?" Jin Woon asked as tears fell from his eyes. He looked up the television screen again and saw a footage of Jiyeon in her photoshoot, smiling like an angel: that same smile which hid a thousand wounds in her heart.

"Jiyeon, why did you leave?" he asked himself.

***

Two months later, and a letter unexpectedly came to Suzy and Jin Woon's desk. To their surprise, it was written by Jiyeon.

My dear friends,
 

I'm so sorry to make you worry. I didn't mean to make myself a burden to you all, but I needed time to think what I really wanted in life. I wanted to clear my mind too.

As of this writing, I'm in Africa, joining a team of volunteers who would help the natives build their houses and help them have their supply of food and water. With me is a Japanese friend. His name is Matsumoto Jun-Oniisan. He's a member of the boyband Arashi. And he's famous in Japan. However, he told his manager he wanted to take a break and discover himself too. And so, he went here. We didn't expect to become fast friends. We spoke in English because I don't know Japanese and neither does he know Korean.

Jun-Oniisan and I helped build houses. The heat of the sun burnt my beautiful skin. And though I had to wear longsleeved clothes to protect me from the heat of the sun, it's just sweltering hot. However, I didn't mind it because I was having fun. An American volunteer, Mr. Casey, taught me how to mix cement with water. I had fun turning the shovel so that I could make a good mixture that would be needed when we put the hollow blocks on the metal cables that make the house's frame. When the house was done, I learned how to paint. I realized it's much fun to paint a house than to paint a drawing! Jun-Oniisan would climb to the roof to paint, and I would paint the walls of the house. The future owner of the house was so happy that she helped us do our jobs. 

Every night, we volunteers would rest and some would cook our food. Thanks to you, Jin Woon Oppa, because I now know how to cook rice. But since we don't have electricity, we have to use wood as source of fuel and a brass container as container to cook our rice. Jun-Oniisan was very helpful to me too. He taught me how to skin the chicken and how to clean the insides. He chopped the chicken and had me skewer them on sticks. We grilled the chicken, including the entrails, the heart, the liver and the feet. Some would cook vegetables that the natives gave us as sign of thanks. I now learned to eat my vegetables. We sang songs. Some even asked me to sing. And of course, I sang and danced in Korean since I don't know how to sing and dance the American songs. Jun-Oniisan sang and danced too.

When we slept, we slept on bamboo benches. My back hurt at first because I wasn't used to it. But after a week, I finally dozed off after a few minutes. Jun-Oniisan commented that I grind my teeth, and he found it irritating. He was reminded of his girlfriend everytime I do that.

"Really? Does Yukie-Oneesan really grind her teeth too?"

"Hai. I found that out when she fell asleep on the set of a TV series we were in and she was so dead tired she slept in one corner of the set. I was about to sleep beside her when I heard the disgusting sound."

"Ahhh..I really didn't know you find it disgusting!"

"Hai. I feel that your teeth would be ruined and pounded to dust after all that grinding."

 Anyway, the work here is almost done. Jun-Oniisan said he'd tour me to Japan so that I could get to meet his girlfriend Nakama Yukie-san and his bandmates. He said he'll introduce me to Teppei Koike-san, to Mokomichi Hayami-san, to Kazuya Kamenashi-san, Akanishi Jin-san, to Miura Shohei-san, the fashionista Narimiya Hiroki-san, and my favorite singer actress Nakashima Mika-san. 

When I return to Korea, please don't find me. I don't want to expose myself to the media yet. And I am in doubt whether I'll be entering the military or not. But when the right time comes, I'll find that other missing piece of my happiness. Suzy-ya, I can say I have finally found peace. I owe you my many thanks for forsaking me, for not finding me, and for letting me go around in peace. Jin Woon Oppa, thank you for bearing with my childish antics. You and Jun Oniisan will always be those strong walls I can lean on. And thinking of all that had happened between us, I finally found my resolve. I will never be subject to that rich spoiled man who was to be my "future husband", for I will never say yes to the marriage. If I wanted someone I wanted to spend my life with, I've finally found my answer. It would finally be you, Jin Woon Oppa. And I love you too.

Your Annoying Chingu,

JIYEON