J POV

            The next day, I tiptoed into the backstage quietly. Super Junior wasn’t set to go on for a few hours, but I needed to find my nametag before the boss does and gets pissed off, like he normally does. I scoured the entire backstage and didn’t find anything. Damn, I cursed silently to myself. I had to find Ji Yun unni and get her to make me another one fast.

            I ran around the corner quickly and couldn’t stop in time for the black streak coming towards me. For the second time in two days, I found myself falling in midair, but this time a pair of strong arms came behind me. The shock made my eyes fly open.

            Staring down at me was a concerned Sungmin. “Ah,” I yelped.

            He set me down gently and put a hand on my shoulder. “We have to stop meeting this way,” he said, smiling. I blushed and looked down at my shoes, not sure what to say to this smiling prince.

            “Why are you in such a hurry? The crew isn’t even here yet and you’re already getting ready? Aren’t you a hard worker?” he joked.

            I mumbled, “I lost my nametag.”

            “Ahh,” he said. I saw him reach into his pockets and out came my nametag. “You dropped this yesterday and I was looking for you. So I came here to find you.”

            I couldn’t contain my happiness and impulsively hugged him. I only breathed in the warm scent of him for two seconds before withdrawing and bowing. “Kamsahamnida,” I whispered hurriedly and turned to go.

            But, he put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t go. Come on, we still have a few hours, and given how I found your nametag for you, I think you owe me something.” He grinned widely and put an arm around my shoulder.

            I swallowed and looked nervously at his arm. “What do you want me to do?”

            Sungmin flashed his perfect smile again. “No worries, I’m not evil like Kyuhyun. I just want you to go out with me today. I’m bored and there’s still a few more hours for me to kill. I want you to spend it with me.”

            My mouth dropped open. Me? Spend time with Sungmin? THE Sungmin? I gasped at my fortune. “Yeah, s-sure. Do you have any place in mind?”

            Sungmin looked at me. “Hmm, let’s go eat. You’re so skinny, you look like those stick thin models.” He wrinkled his nose and took my hand. I felt a jolt of electricity and stared down at our entwined hands. His fingers were long and their grip was strong. I felt so plain next to him in my jeans and t-shirt.

            He gently led me away from the studio and out into the public. I was grateful for the sweltering weather because there were little people on the streets. The few who were there didn’t seem to recognize him, much to my relief. He led us to a burger shack and ordered a large burger and shake for me.

            I stared at him aghast. “Oppa, why did you assume I would eat all this food? My mother tells me that a real lady only eats vegetables and the occasional meat.”

            Sungmin snorted. “That’s stupid. You’re so thin already. You need your nutrition. You work so hard, how do you expect to survive?”

            We walked to a booth in the back, hidden in the shadows. He sat serenely, watching me eat. I was so self- conscious I dropped pickles and tomatoes, making me even more embarrassed. He chuckled and wiped my chin.

            “Eat slower. I like watching you eat. It’s cute.”

            I blushed and offered him a bite. He shook his head. “I said I like watching you eat. It makes me happy.”

            After a silence he spoke again. “So, how old are you anyway? You seem too young to be working backstage. Most of our crew are noonas.”

            “I’m twenty-one. I wanted to earn some money so I could go to music college. I had to drop out when my mother was sick and my father passed away a few years ago. So now I’m the only one who could support us.”

            Sungmin’s face fell in shock. “What? Chincha? You work so hard. That’s it. Come early every day. I’ll take you places. You deserve it for working so hard. Don’t shake your head. I’m determined. There’s no arguing.”

S POV

            When I heard her story, I couldn’t stop the sympathy that reached out to her. She was so alone in this world, and so brave. I stared into her sparkling eyes and saw steely willpower there. She was so strong. I made up my mind right then and there to take care of her.

            After I paid the bill, I took her to the nearby park. “I always like coming to this park. It’s filled with only ahjummas, and they rarely bother me. So, I walk to the pond to think or to relax. Come, we can feed the ducks.”

            I took her to the sparkling pond and we watched as the ducks swarmed over to us. I leaned over the railing and scattered pieces of bread. She did the same. It was so peaceful, watching her smile as the ducks bobbed on the water, fighting for the food. I was so intent on watching her, I failed to notice as a duck came up to my fingers and nipped me.

            Panicking, I leaned away from the rails and attempted to shake the duck off. But the beak was deeply embedded into my hand. I screamed and tried to shake it off. Jasmine looked at me and quickly knocked the duck off by grabbing its tail. The indignant duck quacked before joining its family back in the pond.

            “Are you okay?” she grabbed my hand and looked at it intently. “You’re bleeding!” She rummaged in her bag for napkins before taking out medicine and a Band-Aid.

            “Do you have an entire pharmacy in there?” I joked. She chuckled and proceeded to fix my hand.

            When she was done, I shook my head ruefully at having our afternoon ruined. “We only have another hour left; I want to show you my favorite place!” I grabbed her hand and took her into a little cove. It was underneath a bridge and was closer to the waters.

            “Look,” I pointed at a tiny mound in the sand. “They’re baby crabs. Be careful.  I used to like to catch them when I was young. Take them home and keep them as pets. But they always died before the day was over. I used to hold little burials for them too.”

            She laughed and high fived me. “I used to do the same! In fact, I would name them all, only to have to reuse some names when they all died.”

            I bent and gently picked one up. Its tiny claws pinched at me, but it didn’t hurt, just tickled. I held it to my face and posed for her camera. “The crab’s saying ‘I love you’ to you,” I told her seriously.

            She laughed and picked one up of her own. I grabbed my own camera. “Smile!”

I'm so sorry for not updating so much, but I've been working on my other stories. This one is just developing~

Thank you to the loyal subscribers. Saranghaeyeo~

AISH STUPID ME

I was wondering why I got no comments or anything... then I realized, I still had it marked as save as draft >-<

sorry HAVE FUN READING