I sat on the sofa and cried for hours. I could feel myself shaking and my head ached very badly. My stomach hurt and I felt weak and faint. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down but tears just kept flowing. Never in my life had I felt this frightened and lonely. Back at school, I always had friends that I could talk to and depend on. At home, I had my mother. Now, I had no one and this was torture. 

 

I emptied an entire packet of tissue crying away my sorrows. Used tissues were thrown all over the floor. Soon, I had no more tears left to cry. My throat was sore and my voice became hoarse.

I could could hear my stomach grumble- I was hungry. Comfort food, as they always say. Eating always helped me recover from emotional breakdowns. I wandered into a kitchen a few feet away from the living room and switched on the lights. The kitchen was amazing! A breakfast counter lined with all sorts of snacks caught my attention. Food, glorious food! I grabbed a huge packet of chips and tore it open with all my might. Soon, I was busy munching on the snacks. 

 

After all that crying, I felt thirsty. I went to the refrigerator and opened the doors.  I was greeted by rows and rows of soju bottles. I couldn't help but laugh as I recalled the running man episode where Gwang Soo framed Ji Hyo for drinking a lot. So Ji Hyo does drink a lot, i thought. I was already feeling much better. 

 

As I was pouring a glass of plain water for myself, the phone started to ring. I glanced at the phone on the coffee table outside, wondering if I should answer it. Who was calling? Would it be safe to answer the call? I tried to ignore the calls but the persistent caller continued to ring me. Finally, I gave up and answered the phone.

 

"Annyeonghaseyo, may I know who's speaking?" I asked the caller at the other end. In my heart, I was secretly wishing that it wouldn't be Chang Joo. I already had enough of him for one day.

 

" Yah Ji Hyo ah, I called you so many times but you didn't answer, don't tell me you've been drinking again. Is everything alright?" The opposite end replied. His voice sounded really familiar but my brain was so muddled up that I couldn't recognise him. 

 

"I'm alright, why did you call?" I asked. "Ummm......okay then, why not we meet up? I'll come over to your house now, meet me downstairs okay?" His unexpected reply caught me with surprise. Without knowing it, I agreed to his suggestion and he put down the phone.

 

At this point, I felt like strangling myself. Why on earth would you want to meet a stranger for no good reason? You don't even who he is. Even young children know that talking to strangers is wrong. What would happen to me now? If I didn't go, I would feel bad for making someone else wait. If I went and I got into trouble.... I didn't dare think of the consequences. What should I do? 

 

In the end, I decided that I might as well meet the guy. After all, he didn't sound like he meant any harm. I found a baseball bat in one of the cupboards and stuffed it into my bag, just in case of an emergency. Armed with my weapon, I marched of the house, locking the door behind me. 

 

I waited at the arranged meeting point. I was finally going to meet someone, someone who probably won't throw water on me after meeting for the first time. Soon, a black van pulled up the pavement. I strained my eyes to see through the windows of the van. 

 

The door opened and out came a masculine man. He was tall and muscular, with muscles bulging out everywhere. His legs looked like pillars and his arms looked like legs. I was horrified. Fear overwhelmed me and i started to shake. My palms became sweaty. Why do i make such terrible decisions? I quickly whipped out the baseball bat, focusing on the target with eagle eyes. I was prepared to defend myself in everyway possible. 

 

As he turned his body around, I positioned the bat, clenched my teeth and summoned all my strength. He showed his face and I swung the bat with all my might. Suddenly, I felt a tight grip around my wrist. I was about to scream when I heard him say:

 

"Yah Ji Hyo ah, what are you doing, it's only me." I looked up and got a shock of my life. 

 

"Annyeong Jong Kook-ssi" I stammered as I tried to hide the bat from his view. 

 

"What's wrong with you today? I thought we dropped the formalities after we finished filming family outing? " He said as he tilted his head and pointed to the bat I was holding in my hand.

 

"Oh... I'm sorry Jong Kook oppa....errr... The bat.....mosquitoes... Yes, I was bothered by mosquitoes so I brought a bat along to swat those pesky things away. You know how annoying they can be... Right?" I tried to cover up. I was feeling really embarrassed. I was standing in front of the idol I wanted to meet for a long time, and yet I was playing a fool. 

 

Though he looked amused, he must have believed my bizzarre explanation because he told me to put the bat in the boot so that I could use it later. 

 

He motioned for me to get into the car and he started the engine. I slid into the car seat and fastened my seatbelt. Everything was like a dream, a fantasy. Fangirls all around the world do anything to be in the position I was in now. 

 

He started the conversation. Unlike what I expected, the atmosphere wasn't awkward at all. He was warm, friendly and engaging, and he talked as though we were friends for a long time. I could feel my heart beating as he spoke every word. Time flew by really quickly as we drove along the dark and quiet streets.

 

" Ji Hyo ah, how have you been? When will you be shooting a new movie?" He said suddenly.

 

" Well, I don't know, oppa... When will be filming running man? " i asked. 

 

" Running man? What's that?" His answer shocked me. Was there really no such thing as running man? I panicked and quickly gave him a reply.

 

"Oh I'm sorry, I must have gotten something wrong... Anyways, how's your new album 'Journey Home' doing? Did it sell well?"  

 

"Ji Hyo ah, are you okay? You seem to be acting a little weird today... I didn't release any album lately..." He put his hand on my forehead to check if I was okay. I sighed and apologised to him. Everything was just too confusing.

 

As we turned the corner, he pulled up along the sidewalk and parked the car. He pointed to a underground restaurant and told me that we were going to eat dinner there. I nodded he lead the way into the restaurant. We found a seat and sat down.

 

"Ji Hyo... I'm sorry I didn't notice this earlier but your eyes... Are really swollen. You cried?" He suddenly commented. 

 

I looked down and tried to cover my eyes. Thankfully, he didn't question me further. The food we ordered arrived and we started eating. I couldn't even finish half the bowl of noodles I ordered. I stared at the food. It was delicious and that I couldn't deny... But I was full.

 

"Yah Ji Hyo why aren't you eating? Did you eat something before I came?" He asked.

 

"I'm sorry oppa... I was hungry so I helped myself to a few packets of chips I found I the pantry." I replied as I pushed my bowl to him. 

 

"WHAT? CHIPS? Don't you know that potato crisps have a lot of Calaries? Imagine the amount of sodium, fat and oil you just ate... Don't you feel disgusted? I'm sure you don't want to grow fat. Next time make sure you check the nutrition label at the back. You might get cancer which is..." I cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

 

 "Yah oppa! You're telling me I'm going to get cancer? " I glared at him, trying to hold back my laughter. This was getting pretty amusing. This oppa in front of me was really~ health conscious. He tried to explain himself but soon, I burst out laughing and he joined along. Everybody in the restaurant looked at us with puzzled faces but we continued laughing anyway. We left the restaurant with smiles on our face. 

 

On the car ride back home, we started talking about our lives. I acted as though I was Ji Hyo all my life, telling him of how I always had trouble memorising the script for dramas and stuff like that. Although I felt like I was cheating his feelings with my endless lies, I continued talking. All this time, I only had one thought in my mind- to go home .

 

As much as I enjoyed his company, I really wanted to go home. I might as well make the most out of the times I could spend with him. Time passed really quickly and soon, the car stopped in front of the house.

 

"Ji Hyo, I really had so much fun when I was with you. Well, I'm free tomorrow so do you need a lift to your office?" He asked as I got out of the car. I accepted his offer and thanked him for the ride. 

 

As I watched his car drive into the distance, I sighed at the thought of meeting Chang Joo again struck me.