New city. New keys. New home. New life…hopefully.

                Hyolim squeezed the key in her hoodie pocket until the teeth imprinted themselves on her palm. She really hoped she could start a new life in Seoul. A life without him.

                A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about him. Damn it, she couldn’t even say his real name aloud without shivering like a Chihuahua. She wished she could forget everything; she wished she could erase his existence from her conscience, but it was impossible. He haunted her dreams, her nightmares, forcing her to wake up every night at 4:00 A.M. screaming for help.

                As much as she loved Ulsan, she had to leave. If she stayed there any longer, she would be the next one to go.

                Pulling the large hood of her fuchsia hoodie over her head, she exited the airport and got into the taxi.

                “Where do you want to go, Miss?” asked the driver after he helped her load her luggage into the trunk.

                She quickly told him the address.

                He raised an eyebrow and looked at her up and down, “You’re not kidding me, right?”

                Why would she be lying to him? And why the hell was he so surprised?

                “No. That’s really my new address.” she stated.

                “Okay.” he said cynically, rolling his eyes slowly, “But just so you know, I can’t go in there. I’ll have to drop you off at Wanda Mall. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way by feet.”

                Considering the fact that she didn’t have that much luggage to begin with, the walk to her new apartment shouldn’t be that bad. She tapped her Converse tops together. Yep, she wore comfortable shoes today; it should be okay.

                Seoul was a foreign city to her, but being a city girl, she was already used to the skyscrapers and dense population. Inhaling deeply, she clutched the key again. He wouldn’t find her here; she would be safe from him, she told herself. The police would catch him and she could return to Ulsan and live her normal life again.

***

                “We’re here, Miss.” the driver said as they stopped in front of a giant, brassy-colored mall. Palm trees were planted outside the megamall, trying to imitate a beachy environment even though it was the middle of autumn now.

                “Thank you.” she pulled out a bunch of bills from her pink wallet and handed it to him.

                “You can go around the mall but I think the shorter way is to cut through the mall.” The driver informed her as he pulled her luggage from the trunk.

                “Thanks.” she waved him goodbye and went into the mall.

                The first thing she noticed was the music — the obnoxiously loud, irritably annoying dubstep music. The second thing she noticed was the screaming fans of some rookie group that she never heard of. Wincing, she pressed a finger against her deafened eardrum. Damn it, she should’ve just gone around the mall!

                Before she could make a turn, she was pushed further into the mall. Bodies crashed against her, almost separating her from her luggage. Feeling extremely irked, she glowered at the young teenage girls around her.

                “Don’t push me.” she grumbled.

                “Shut up, you know you want to see EXO too!” snapped a tall girl behind her, pushing her toward a line.

                “What?”

                Who the hell was EXO?

                “It’s your turn! Get your autograph so I can get mine!” the girl hissed, pushing her again.

                Hyolim widened her eyes as the fangirls knocked her luggage out of her hands.

                “Hey! What the hell-” she screamed at them, pushing back so she could retrieve her suitcase.

                “Miss, just get your autograph and leave, please. You’re holding up the line. And you get one signature only! Pick your bias, ask him to sign, and leave.” the bald security guard grumbled, placing a hand on her shoulder and swung her toward a table with seven boys.

                Hyolim furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms. She refused to get autographs from these nobodies. All she wanted was to see her new apartment, eat Ramen, and go to bed early. She was exhausted from jet lag; she needed to sleep before she go crazy. These maniacs weren’t helping her case; they were getting on her nerves and she was slowly losing her patience.

                “Name?” the boy at the furthest end of the table asked as he scribbled his name on a 16X20 poster.

                The poster featured seven boys in black pants and leather jackets with a hexagonal symbol on the left corner. On the right corner were the words “SM”. She blinked and cocked her head to one side as she stared at “SM” again. Even though she wasn’t into pop culture, she’d heard of SM Entertainment — they were one of South Korea’s biggest talent agencies. These seven boys must be part of SM’s new group.

                “Name?” the boy asked again through gritted teeth, raising his head to glower at her.

                Hyolim glowered back. She had no idea who he was, but he was rude. Rude with a capital R.

                He furrowed his brows, “Name, Miss. What’s your name?”

               She didn’t answer. She didn’t want to.

               He muttered under his breath and gave her the signed poster with his name, “Just take this.” Lifting a hand, he waved for the next girl on line.

               Like before, the guards escorted her out of the line. The moment she was out, she threw the poster on the ground and stomped on it. Groaning, she pushed through the sea of fangirls and tried to look for her suitcase again. Luckily, it stood out because it was pink, like most of her things. When she finally got hold of her luggage again, she threaded out of the crowd and out of the mall.

              Beyond the giant parking lot was a gated community. She recognized the silver gates immediately; they looked taller in real life than in the photo, but she recognized them nonetheless. Pushing the rude boy and the crazy fangirls from her mind, she headed toward the gates.

              The silver gates enclosed three octagonal-shaped buildings. She raised her head and silently counted the floors but she lost count after the twentieth floor. With tinted windows and an advanced security system, she should be safe.

              After checking in and introducing herself to the security guard on the first floor, she took the elevator up to the 23^rd floor.

              23B. Her new apartment.

              Smiling, she pushed the key into the keyhole and opened the door.

Author's Note:

I love Hyolim already. She's sassy, I like :)

Anyway, this story takes place 7 months after the end of The Nerd's Twin Rival. "EXO" is gearing up for the comeback here (well, soon...)

I didn't do it on purpose but it seems that Hyolim's favorite color is pink.

Oh yeah, in case you guys didn't know, Ulsan is a city in southeast South Korea.