♦ Myungsoo ♦
 

"Mum?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to go back to Korea."

She drops the flower vase in her hands, which she was previously polishing, onto the cold, marble kitchen floor with a loud crash.

"W-Why?" her hand gingerly picks up a piece of the broken china, and tosses it carefully into a rubbish bin.

"I want to attend University in Seoul..." I blush a little, "...and I want to marry a Korean girl."

"Ouch!" she grimaces as the jagged edge slices open her fingertip.

Worried, I quickly walk over to her, and examine the wound - thankfully, there were no chipped fragments inside the cut flesh, but blood dripped quickly onto the floor, staining the milky white marble with dots of red.

"Myungsoo-ah, do you not remember why we moved here, to Canada, in the first place?" she asks me in a broken whisper.

"I do."

"Then why?!" she demands, "if you remember the horrible things those people did to us, why would you still want to go back?!"

"Because," I look into her gentle eyes, "Dad's dead now, and those people won't bother us ever again."

At the reminder of my father's death, her face pales as the colour slowly drains away, and she groans, "No, they'll be back, and they'll hurt you again. I want to come with you Myungsoo."

"No," I quickly reply, "they won't find me after all these years - I was only a small boy at the time, but now I am a grown man with more strength and more intelligence than those thugs will ever obtain. Keep yourself safe - after I finish university and everything settles down, I'll come back to get you umma."

Silent tears trailed down her tired cheeks as she nodded defeatedly - I had proven my point, and she agreed with me.

"Promise me you'll ring everyday though, won't you?"

"Of course," I smile.

*1st semester, 3rd year high school*

"Woah, look at HIM!"

"Isn't he a famous celebrity? I think I've seen him in a drama before..."

"Quickly! Takes photos!"

As I walk through the tall, iron gates of Seoul Arts High School, excited whispers follow my footsteps walking from the front gate to the administration office.

Automatic doors slide open, and I stroll inside, "Hello? I am a transfer student and my name is Kim Myungsoo, may I please have my timetable?"

"Yes, yes, wait a second," the secretary waved her hand impatiently, furrowing her brows while sorting through the documents on her desk. A moment later, she emerges with a piece of paper and looks up at me with a slight gasp.

"May I take this timetable?" I ask politely. She nods, with slightly open in a dumbfounded way.

"Thankyou very much!" I smile radiantly at her.

"I-I-It's alright!!!" she squeals excitedly, fanning her self with a folder while I turn to walk back out.

♦ Jia ♦

"Kyahhh~"

Shoving my way through a crowd of girls lining up against the administration office windows, I peek curiously over bobbing heads and shoulders in an attempt to see the cause of the huge commotion.

"Oh my gosh, he smiled!" a girl gushed, and, in her excitement, elbowed me roughly in the chest and sent me toppling backwards onto the pavement.

I close my eyes, bracing myself for the fall...

But the impact of the concrete floor never hit me...

Instead, a pair of warm, strong hands caught my waist and wrapped me in a half embrace.

"Jia."

Oh. My. Gosh.

Kim Myungsoo!

Suddenly, my mind goes blank, and I hurriedly scurry out of his arms, throwing a mumbled "Thankyou!" behind me while I quickly retreat away from him, and run as fast as I could towards my maths class.

Myungsoo is back!

And he's super handsome now!

Is he really the cute little boy from my memories?

Trying to calm my ecstatic heartbeats, I settle down