My alarm clock went off the next morning angrily in my ear. I sighed and hit the snooze button, refusing to get up after how late I was out last night.

                “JENNA! GET UP!” yelled Eun in my ear. I shot out of bed, scared stiff, as she laughed in my face. “We do have school today.”

                “I don’t want to go,” I mumbled. “I don’t feel so good.”

                “Fine, stay home. I’ll get your homework.” She started to leave but paused in the doorway. “You are so lucky you have a sister like me.”

                “Sure.” I rolled onto my stomach and groaned. I heard her leave and started to close my eyes before my phone started ringing. I reached above my head and flipped it open. “Hello?”

                “Jenna!” greeted an over-enthusiastic Jeremy. No matter how famous and cute he was, it was too early and I was lacking on sleep.

                “Jeremy,” I said back. “It’s nice to hear from you so….early.”

                “You aren’t being sarcastic are you?” I heard him chuckle. “A.N. JELL has the day off, and I was wondering if you would like to come visit our dorm.”

                “Really?” The thought of this definitely woke me up. “Are you sure you want me to come?”

                “Of course! Hurry though. I’m bored.” And with that he hung up, leaving me speechless and laughing, and even if that doesn’t sound possible, it was. I stood quickly and dressed myself in a pair of jeans and a cute purple top that Mother had got me but I’d never had a chance to wear. Slipping on my ballet flats(and grabbing his jacket he’d lent me) I grabbed my phone and ran out the door, heading towards the place we’d met last night.              

                After taking the bus I arrived at the fountain again to find Jeremy bright and shining, as usual. His smile greeted me.

                “You’re beautiful,” he said in English, and I blushed.

                “Uhm….here’s your jacket.” I handed it to him and didn’t look at his face.

                “Thank you, Jenna,” he smiled and took it from me. “Well, let’s go! You can meet Hwang Tae Kyun and Go Mi Nam and even Shin Woo.” Without any hesitation he grabbed my hand and began to lead me towards the back of the building where the band dorms were.  I treasured the sensation and smiled at his back.

                To say we didn’t get weird looks would be a complete lie. Not only was I no one famous, I was American. I sincerely hoped Jeremy planned for rumors as we headed through the campus. He had slowed down and began to explain some of the parts of the building, but had not let go of my hand. His fingers had intertwined with mine instead. I nodded in the correct places and stared at our hands in the meantime. Once he caught me and smiled.

                “Are you staring?” he asked. I blushed and looked away.

                “I was not,” I lied. “What would I be staring at?”

                “I don’t know…me, maybe?” He pointed at his chest and laughed.

                “Huh. You’re very full of yourself.”

                “But I would never lie. You’re staring. Do you like me already, Jenna?” he asked, his question ringing in my ears for a while before I came back to reality. I shook my head fast and tried to let go of his hand. He tightened his grip and pulled me to face him. “Come on. You’re no challenge, are you?”

                “Shut up,” I said in English. “I don’t like you.”

                “You don’t? Everyone does,” he replied in English as well, pouting. I rolled my eyes and realized that falling in love with Jeremy wasn’t an option, so that I didn’t look like every other girl in this country.

                “Sorry.” I pulled away from him and began walking in the direction.

                “Wait!” he called out after me, and once again his hand was in mine. “I’m sorry I was being such an idiot. Forgive me?” His eyes bore into mine as he gave me the sweetest puppy-dog eyes I’d ever seen and I melted.

                “Okay, fine.” He hugged me and jumped up and down and I laughed, taking the moment as it was. When he pulled back, however, everything changed. His face was mere inches from mine, and his hands were on my waist. I could feel his breath tickling my lips gently and my face lit red again.

                “Jeremy,” I sighed when I realized his lips were definitely nearing mine and this may be the moment I’d looked forward to since we dropped our phones.

                “Jeremy!” called out an unfamiliar voice. We turned to see a younger-looking boy approaching with a wide grin on his face. I recognized him as my sister’s favorite Go Mi Nam and I bowed, embarrassed.  “Oh! Who is this?”

                “She’s Jenna,” he explained before I could say it. “My guest for today.” Go Mi Nam smiled sincerely and bowed back to me.

                “It’s nice to meet you, Jenna.” His eyes got wide. “Oh! You must be American then! Are you a guest of the Director?”

                “No, no,” I shook my head. “I’m adopted. It’s a long story.”

                “Alright then. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He smiled and continued on his way. We continued walking in silence for a while and I continued to stare at Jeremy out of the corner of my eye in a more sneaky way. Once we had made it back to the larger dorm house he stopped me and motioned with his arms widely.

                “Home sweet home!” he declared. Suddenly a dog charged at us and he bent down, opening his arms for the dog to him. “Hi, Jolie!”  I backed up slowly, eyes wide in fear. Watch out, Jenna! Watch out….were the words that echoed in my head, bouncing back and forth and repeating themselves until my legs found it in them to run. I could hear Jeremy yell after me, but I was too afraid to stop.

                One of the scariest memories I had of America was the dog who bit me. I was only five or six years old, and my parents had left me in the backyard by myself to play in our old sandbox. Suddenly the neighbor’s dog had wandered into the yard, and I had stood up to go pet it (I was a big fan of animals at the time). It was so adorable that I wrapped my arms around it to give the dog a hug. It lunged at me at full force, biting the back of my neck harshly and nearly ripping out a large chunk of my skin. I out and woke up at the hospital a few days later, doctors crowded around me, saying it was amazing I hadn’t died from blood loss. From that day on I avoided dogs at all cost, a genuine fear shaking me every time I went near one.

                I ended up in a small area with a bench, and I sat and crossed my arms across my chest, tears streaming out of my eyes. I felt like the world’s biggest idiot for running away from Jeremy just because of a stinking dog. Footsteps quickly approached and I looked up to see Jeremy out of breath, staring at me as if I’d gotten hurt.

                “Jenna! You’re crying! What’s wrong? What did I do?” he said while sprinting up to me and sitting next to me. His arms went around my waist and pulled me in, and I took the opportunity to sob into his chest. “Jenna, what’s wrong?”

                “Dog…..,” I whispered.

                “Huh? My dog Jolie? Is that it?” he asked again, pulling me back to study my eyes. “She’s not going to hurt you.”

                I stopped my idiotic crying and pulled back completely from him. “I’m sure she’s a nice dog, Jeremy. But I am afraid of dogs.” I lifted my hair to show him the large scar on the back of my neck. “I got this from one in America.” His eyes widened and, to my surprise, his hand reached forward and traced the contours of my ridged scar. I shivered and closed my eyes. 

                “I’m sorry,” he apologized quietly. “I didn’t know. I’ll be more considerate from now on.”

                “It’s not your fault,” I replied, regaining the strength in my voice. “It’s my own fault. I should get over it. It makes me feel weak.”

                “Stop that.” He suddenly scolded me, and I looked at him in surprise. “You’re not weak if something hurt you like that. I think you’re brave.” He held his hand out to me and we stood. “Now, let’s go back to the dorm. I put Jolie away.” I nodded and followed him back to the building and into the living room.

                Actually, I was shocked at how nice it was; it shouldn’t be, but for a commoner like me the room seemed unnaturally large. There was a nice white couch right in the center, and all the boys of A.N. JELL’s pictures were up on the walls. I paused to admire each one of them before stopping on Jeremy’s. He looked most seriously like an angel; his hands were covering his headphones and he looked like he was in mid-song. His eyes were closed and his lips were pulled up in a smile. If I could have my way, I complained inside my head, he wouldn’t appear so beautiful and we could just be friends.

                “Do you like the picture?” he asked, laughing at me. I turned to him and gave him the biggest sigh I could manage.

                “It’s so-so,” I said. “Not really that great. I’ve seen better.” His jaw dropped down in shock and he ran up to the picture, analyzing it as if I were actually right. He complained loudly about the angle, and his outfit, and his expression, but I just giggled quietly. It was amazing how quickly he took everything to heart.

                Soon I was dragged into the kitchen to, as Jeremy said it, get a cup of something. A presence I was unfamiliar with greeted me and I bowed as the boy turned to me.

                “Hello,” the boy said. “You are Jenna?”

                I rose up from my bow and raised an eyebrow. “Yes. How did you know?”

                “Jeremy wouldn’t shut up about you last night,” he laughed. “I’m Kang Shin Woo. It’s nice to finally see you. Would you like tea?”

                “Oh, thank you,” I smiled, sitting at the table. Jeremy sat beside me quickly and I looked to see his eyes on me again. “What?”

                “Nothing,” he said too quickly, and Shin Woo laughed at him. I turned a bright red and sipped my tea, pretending I wasn’t aware of his staring. I know it’s because of my foreign face.

                “So Jenna,” said Shin Woo as he sat down beside me, “how did you and Jeremy meet?”

                “Oh! I dropped my phone,” I laughed. “We had a mix-up.”

                “Lucky you didn’t call anyone with it,” Shin Woo smiled.

                “Who would I call anyways? I’m not your fans.” I continued to laugh as the two looked at me in shock. “What? I don’t like Pop bands. I’m from America, remember?”

                “So you don’t like me?” Jeremy pouted.

                “I like you,” I replied, and was rewarded with a huge grin on his face. “Jeremy!……Shin Woo, I feel so suddenly bad for you.”

                The older boy smirked and laughed a bit, sipping his tea. “It’s like caring for a five-year old. I was surprised that he likes a girl who is at least more mature than himself.”

                “Shin Woo!” Jeremy said, and I could have sworn that a blush colored his perfectly tanned cheeks. He stood from his seat and grabbed my arm again, dragging me up a set of stairs. I could still hear Shin Woo’s laughter echoed in the hallway. We finally reached a beautiful white room, easily identified as a pop star’s room. More and more pictures of Jeremy were on these walls. I sighed in annoyance.

                “If you want to look at your face, why not just hang a million mirrors on your walls,” I said angrily as he sat down on his bed, patting the mattress.

                “I’m not handsome all the time,” he answered as if I were a complete idiot. Rolling my eyes I sat beside him at a reasonable distance, avoiding his eyes.

                “It’s hard to imagine a moment where you aren’t,” I counter-argued. “Isn’t it your life goal to be pretty and sing songs?”

                He frowned. “Girls are pretty. Guys are handsome. Are you saying I’m a girl?”

                “Sure.” His hand went immediately to my shoulder and turned me to face him. I was caught in his warm brown eyes again and I gasped quietly.

                “How can I assure you I’m not a girl?” he asked, his hand moving up to my chin. I trembled lightly under his touch but couldn’t look away. “Should I kiss you, Jenna?”

                “No,” I lied through a whisper. He smiled slowly and started to learn in for the second time today. 

                “Jeremy,” a voice said harshly from the doorway. I hadn’t realized that Jeremy’s hand had moved up to my cheek until he dropped it suddenly. We stood as quick as possible and I bowed in embarrassment.

                “Hwang Tae Kyung,” Jeremy said coldly, “I thought you and Go Mi Nam were going to go out to a private photo shoot today.”

                “I’m afraid plans have changed,” Tae Kyung replied, looking at me with an evil glare. “And who is this?”

                “I’m Jenna,” I said, repeating my bow. “It’s nice to meet you.” He strode across the room as gracefully as someone possibly could and stopped short in front of me. Although I had been in Korea for a while, I still wasn’t used to boys getting so close to you when they talked. It wasn’t…normal for someone from my home country. I blushed a bright red as he leaned in to talk to me.

                “Are you going to use Jeremy to get famous, American girl?” he asked slowly. “Because if you are I do not tolerate those kind of girls in this house. In fact, if it were up to me, I’d leave right now and pretend you’d never met him.”

                My eyes narrowed and I was afraid that he was bringing out my firey side. “Are you going to try and intimidate me, Tae Kyung? Because if you are, it’s not working. I’m not going to use Jeremy or any of you to get famous. I get enough attention because of what I am already. Back down.” To my surprise his eyes widened and he broke away from me. I sighed, rubbing my temples.

                “Demon girl,” he said, leaving the room in a hurry. I looked over at Jeremy hesitantly, and his eyes matched Hwan Tae Kyung’s surprised look.

                “I’m so sorry, Jeremy,” I explained. “When I get angry or threatened I have a temper. I don’t mean any disrespect towards you or your band.” I bowed, embarrassed. We stayed like that for what seemed like forever, his surprised look and my sad look. After I realized I was going to get no reaction I sighed and left the room, finding the kitchen.

                “Hello again Jenna,” Shin Woo greeted warmly. “Where’s Jeremy?”

                “Upstairs,” I sighed. “I scared him. When I get angry I get defensive, and I’m sure in this culture that most girls would not stick up for themselves the way I did against Hwang Tae Kyung.”

                Instead of giving me the look,  he laughed. “You said things against Kyung? That’s good! He is too angry all the time.”

                “It’s good for you, but now I’m sure Jeremy hates me. So if you’ll excuse me, I should go,” I said, walking to the front door. I bowed and smiled at Shin Woo one last time. “It was so nice to meet you. Thank you for letting me talk.”

                “Anytime,” he waved as I walked out the door.