“We have finally landed ladies and gentlemen. The weather outside in Los Angeles is about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Please wait for the doors to open before grabbing your luggage from the overhead bins. Thank you again for flying with us.” The soft voice disconnected and Yonghwa took out his phone to change the time settings. He barely noticed the Korean version of the announcement being repeated and tried to get his things together.

            “Ahjusshi, if you aren’t going to finish that, can I have it?” A little girl with cute pigtails pointed at his peppero package.

            “Haneul-a, you can’t.” The young mother bowed her head. “I’m sorry, she’s obsessed with those things.”

            Yonghwa laughed and found a brand new package in his bag. “Here you go Haneul-a. But I’m only going to give it to you once you say I’m not an old ahjusshi and I get some aegyo.”

            “Uncle bbuing bbuing?” small hands clapped once she got her red bag.

            “What do you say?”

            “Oh right, gamsahamida!” she gave a small bow and immediately opened the package.

            “Thank you for sharing.”

            “Oh it’s nothing, I was glad to have someone sitting next to such a well behaved girl.” Yonghwa bowed goodbye and exited the plane. Hot air hit him as soon as he set foot on the connector and felt the wind blowing.

            He found his bag easily enough and hailed a taxi to his hotel. His phone rang and he fumbled to find it. “Hello? Ne umma.”

            It was his mom…again…

            “Ne umma, yes I’m going to the hotel now. No I haven’t been attacked yet. My taxi driver?” He looked at the whistling driver who sang along to Miley Cyrus on the radio. “No I don’t think he’s a bad guy…Yeah yeah…no the audition is tomorrow. It’s connected to my hotel. No I won’t go and see American girls…umma! Yes I’ll eat dinner. Do you want a proof shoot too? Okay then.”

            He sighed and just listened to all the directions and nagging. But one name caught his attention. “Wait umma what?”

            “I was just saying that if you run into Seohyun, then you should take her out to dinner. Isn’t she studying abroad there or something?”

            Yonghwa bit his lip and shifted in his seat. “Yeah…something like that.”

            “Well her parents are coming over later so it would be nice if you could share some news. They’re worried about her being alone there.”

            “Yeah…if I run into her. Okay, bye umma.” He turned his phone off and shoved it into his bag.

            “So you have a girlfriend here or something?”

            “No but…” Yonghwa froze. The taxi driver had just spoken to him in perfect Korean. Okay maybe he wasn’t completely normal.

            “Relax, I’m married to a Korean. By the way, she runs a very nice Korean restaurant by the beach if you’re ever craving some home cooking.”

            “Okay, thank you.”

            Yonghwa raised an eyebrow but just continued to take in the scenery. After a few awkward beats, the man spoke up again.

            “So you have an audition or something?”

            “Yes sir. I have a temporary contract with an agency, but they wanted me to audition for the American branch as well just in case they want me to enter the American market.”

            “I see. Well you have the looks and I’m sure you have the talents if they sent you all the way here with first class tickets.”

            Yonghwa stared again, okay he was seriously starting to get freaked out.

            “The tickets were in the plastic part of your bag that I put in the trunk, relax.”

            “Ah, sorry. It’s my first time abroad.”

            “Well, how about I drop you off at the hotel and then take you to my wife’s restaurant eh? There’s nothing like getting used to a country besides a nice bowl of kimchijigae.”

            Yonghwa cracked a smile. “Actually sir, my audition is tomorrow and I want to practice tonight. Would it be okay if you took me tomorrow after my audition?”

            “That sounds fine. I’ll pick you up around four?”

            “Yes that would be perfect, thank you.”

            “Well here’s your hotel. I highly advise room service. They put you in just about the nicest hotel in LA without the billionaires.”

            “Thank you again.”

            Yonghwa grabbed his bags and paid the nice man. His luggage was immediately taken to his room and his eyes widened at the hotel. It was incredibly tall, had a polished lobby that teemed with rich people and businessmen, and it had the distinct scent of money.

            He took out his card to check in and carefully asked about his room. He was quickly informed that it was on floor 20 and that his tab had already been taken care of as well as dinner, breakfast, and lunch. He would have to get tomorrow’s dinner on his own, but he had that taken care of. Thanking the receptionist, he took the elevator to his room.

            That night, Yonghwa looked out to see the various buildings outside. He thought he saw a shooting star, but it turned out to be a plane. The last time he thought he had seen one was last winter.

            It had been 3 years since Yonghwa and Seohyun had started university together. They weren’t together, but they were friends. And they had been happy with that. Yonghwa was easily the top student of the applied music department and Seohyun was queen of the classical class.

            They met every lunch and were the envy of many jealous classmates. The fact that they were both talented and best friends was just too much. It was on a random winter Friday when they decided to go visit the student center and watch a movie.

            No one else was on campus, winter vacation had begun a few hours ago and everyone was already home, on an mt, or somewhere else.

            He had brought her favorite gogumas, a huge keroro blanket, and some drinks. She brought the movie, Avatar.

            “Oppa, do you want the lights on or off?” Seohyun asked from the light switch on the back wall.

            Yonghwa had been spreading a few blankets on the floor and fluffing up pillows when she asked. “Is that a question? Aren’t you supposed to watch with the lights off?”

            She grinned as she clicked them off. “Well, last time you got up in the middle and the lights. Said something like ‘oh our Hyun’s too scared everyone, carry on’ remember?” She started peeling a goguma and flopped on her back.

            Yonghwa pressed play and sighed. “That was a scary movie though. Avatar’s going to be fun.” He pouted silently until she stuffed some goguma into his mouth.

            The ending credits were starting to roll when Yonghwa stretched and brushed off some snack crumbs from his chest. “Hyun? You want me to walk you back to your dorm?” He glanced at the windows to see a pitch black darkness greet him. Then he saw a speck of light and grinned. A shooting star? “Hey Hyun look! Oh wait, never mind, it was just a plane. Oppa babo right?”

            He looked to see Seohyun sleeping peacefully on the pillow next to him. He brushed a few strands back from her face and quietly pecked her lips. There was never going to be another chance. He had lost the papers where he had written his confession on graduation day and that was pretty much like the universe telling him to give up already.

            But the strange thing was, she kissed back.

            The next morning Yonghwa woke up to Minhyuk’s incessant whining for more food. That was when he remembered what had happened the night before. Was he finally getting a girlfriend?

            “Hyuuuuung!!! FOOD!!!”

            “Hyung, can you just give him some food? I’m tired!” Jungshin’s muffled voice came from underneath 3 pillows and a huge down comforter.

            “Here you go! See you guys later!” Yonghwa dumped a box-full of granola bars on the bed and grabbed his coat.

            “What’s wrong with him?”

            Jonghyun barely looked up from his computer game. “Oh he said something about Seohyun...avatar…goguma…kiss…” he mumbled distractedly from his eternal spot on the bean bag.

            “What?!”

            “I don’t know! Now be quiet, I’m almost on the next level.”

            “Oh, annyeonghasaeyo sunbaenim!” a cheerful voice chirped from outside the dorm room that Yonghwa had walked up to.

            “Hey Sunny, is Hyun home?” He grinned at the bubbly blonde and handed her his third cup of hot chocolate.

            “Oh sunbae, didn’t you know?” she sipped her cup and looked at him curiously.

            “Know what?”

            “Seohyun’s not here.” She wrapped her jacket around her tighter.

            Yonghwa tilted his head. “You mean she’s at the practice room? At this hour?”

            “No…she went to America.”

            “What?”

            “She didn’t tell me either until about an hour ago. Something about studying abroad.” Sunny sipped her drink again. “But she did say to thank you for bringing her home last night and that she really liked the movie.” Her phone vibrated and she groaned. “Sorry sunbae! I have to go to class, some important lecture or something. Bye! Thanks for the drink!”

            Yonghwa grinned and waved. He took a huge gulp of hot chocolate and endured the scalding burns inflicted on his throat. “America?”

            Yonghwa sighed as he walked down the bridge connecting his hotel and the audition venue. He was wondering why he had come at all. It was just him getting jetlagged. All he did was watch some people in suits watch his audition tape that he had sent to the company in Korea. Didn’t they have e-mail?

            And then some more paperwork. He sighed and messed up his hair. Yonghwa had just stuffed his suit into the closet and changed into something more comfortable when a knock echoed on his door.

            “Mr. Jung? There is a very…enthusiastic taxi driver outside waiting for you.” A irate looking receptionist calmly informed him.

            “Ah, okay. Thank you very much.” He grinned and gave a small bow, to which the blonde just raised an eyebrow, and quietly closed the door.

            Right….bowing wasn’t really normal in America…He grabbed his wallet and sunglasses before heading out.

            Finally he had a few hours where he could just be himself before starting life as a fulltime musician and under contract.

            “Yah! Jung Yonghwa!” He heard a familiar voice yell his name and grinned when he saw the taxi driver from the other day.

            “Annyeonghasaeyo ahjusshi! I’m ready for your wife’s famous cooking.”

            “Yep, I told her all about you. How was the audition?”

            “Well, let’s just say it couldn’t have gone smoother.”

            “That’s good to hear.”

            “Wah immo! This is amazing!” Yonghwa exclaimed as he scraped his fourth bowl of rice clean with some galbi-jim. He glanced at the other empty bowls, empty stew bowls, and a grill with some meat still left.

            The taxi driver’s wife beamed at him. “I haven’t had anyone eat so enthusiastically since that bakery girl had eaten here last winter. Would you like some more tea dear?”

            “Yes please! And could I have one more bowl of rice and kimchijigae?”

            “Have you not eaten for a week or something?”

            Yonghwa shrugged.

            After paying an exorbitant amount of money, and that was after she had given a discount, and bowed goodbye (and got one back!), he walked to the bakery next door to pick up some snacks for tomorrow’s breakfast before his plane left in the morning. Airplane food is not fun.

            “Annyeonghasaeyo!” A pretty blonde greeted him at the door while she was arranging some packages in their respective baskets. She was pretty, but she looked at him a little coldly. Her nametag indicated that she was Jessica.

            He nodded in return and grabbed some cream breads and one chocolate covered twist before giving his basket to Jessica at the front counter.

            He paid and grabbed the little bag she offered him. “Can I also have an ice coffee?”

            She nodded and called out an order to another girl working the coffee machine. “She’ll give it to you down at that end.”

            “Thank you.”

            Yonghwa walked down and waited for his drink. He looked at the girl operating the machine. She seemed much nicer than Jessica. She was humming a tune while she worked and generously poured in coffee, some whipped cream, and chocolate sauce on his order.

            “Iced coffee for a Jung Yongh—“ she froze and slowly turned to look at him. “Oppa?”

            “Seohyun-a!”

Heh...I guess there's another chapter...whoops...I'm like 98% sure the next one will be the last...sorry!

*To those of you on Idols of Olympus....that next chapter's a bit on hold until December...which starts in two days...but yeah :)

Thanks for reading :)

- chocolate-notes :)