Melinda's POV

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     My phone begins to ring, and I see it's Siwon calling. I answer it, but am not thinking straight and answer in English.

"Hello?"

     "Um, hi Maggie," he struggles.

I switch to Korean. "Annyeong (hi), Siwon. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking."

     "It's fine. I understand," he replies. "Ryeowook told me about your message. I'm sorry for what happened."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry I didn't send you a message. I was just about ready to break down and I could only manage one message."

     "Aniya (no), it's fine, Miso-ah. I understand. How are you and your family doing?"

"We're doing okay, but his parents are taking it pretty hard, but his fiance Elena seems okay so far, but she can put up a good front. To be honest, I think this is killing her inside."

     "That would make sense. A lot of the time, when others around us are suffering also, we try to be strong for them, but sometimes that means we don't allow ourselves to grieve. I know you're hurting, too, but try to be there for each other. She needs someone."

     I nod. "I will. She really loved him, and she needs someone there for her. It's amazing sometimes how heartbrken people must support each other, when they hardly have any strength to support themselves."

      "Well, remember, we are all here for you. And we have a strong defender on our side."

I smile, although he can't see it, and turn the locket he gave me around in my hand. "Thank you. I will remember both of those things."

     "Well, if you need me, call me, and I will be praying for all of you. I'll let you go now."

"Thank you, Siwon," I say. "I appreciate it."

     That phone call began the events that would move my life toward the promise in my engraved locket. An amazing opportunity was awaiting me, coming from someone who I least expected it to be from.

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1 month later

   Hankyung's POV

"Should I do it, hyung?" I ask Heechul, while eyeing my phone.

     "If you think it's the right time, do it," he says.

I nod and go for the phone, but hesitate. "What if I say something wrong and confuse her? I don't want to screw this up."

     He lets out a sigh. "Hangeng, it's not that hard. It's a rather simple thing, really. Brief her on the plan, see if she accepts, and if she does, speak of how you'll arrange things, and if she declines, at least you tried."

     "Alright," I say, reaching for the phone again, but then still hesitating. 

"Hyung, what if this is too sudden? She's still grieving," I say.

     "Aigoo (omg)! It's a friggin' business plan! It's not like you're asking for her kidney or her hand in marriage. And I can always steal the phone and finish speaking for you. You filled me in on the whole plan, anyway."

     "Okay."

"And remember what I said that one time? If I didn't speak for you, who would understand you?" Heechul says.

     I roll my eyes. "My Korean has gotten a lot better."

"Maybe I'll have to start speaking English to her if you begin to mess up with your words."

     "Hyung, we all know what your English is like. You'll just confuse the poor girl, " I tell him.

"Hey! I majored in English. I could communicate," he retorts.

     I know I shouldn't do this, but I start a rough imitation of him speaking English. "Uh, hello. I'm Kim Heechul-uh.... how are yeu?"

His face becomes annoyed. "Stop that."

    I laugh and continue. "You're twenty sheven? Wow, I'm uh twenty sheven too!"

"Shut up!" he yells.

     "You are so gahrgeus. Yo, sup man? Yeah, it's cool. Wanna dance? Let's-let's dance!"

"Oh my gosh. That's it!" he yells, springing up from his chair and chasing me around the dorm. I probably shouldn't have gone that far, but it's almost kind of funny to see him this pissed off just because I mimicked him. I mean, he makes fun of my Korean all the time.

     As I make a dash for our room, I grab my phone. I make a mad dash for the door, run inside, and lock the door.

"HANKYUNG! OPEN THIS DOOR! LET ME IN RIGHT NOW!" Heechul yells.

     I push a heavy chair up against the door just to be safe, and I dial Maggie's phone number.

"Please pick up," I whisper. 

     "Hello?" the voice on the ohter end says.

"Hi. This is Hankyung. Is Maggie there?"

     "This is her. How are you Hankyung?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

     "I'm doing alright, thanks," she says.

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Maggie's POV

     "So, I was calling to ask you something," Hankyung asks.

"Sure. What's up?" I reply.

     In the background I hear someone pounding on the door.

"HANKYUNG! LET ME IN! THIS IS MY ROOM, TOO!" I hear a voice yell.

     "Is that Heechul?" I ask.

I hear Hankyung sigh. "Yep. It's him."

    "Is...he alright?"

"He's fine. Just aggavated."

     "He's not losing blood or anything like that?"

Heechul must have heard me somehow, because it had gotten quiet, but then I hear his voice yell, "Miso-ah! Help me! I'm bleeding to death! Hankyung stole my kidney! Convince him to let me in."

     "He's not really bleeding is he?" I ask.

"I don't think so." Hankyung yells something to him.

   "Ask Yesung for some blood. He's type AB too, right?" he says.

I hear Heechul grumble. "You, sir, are of no help," he says. He starts to sing a song to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star."

     "My best friend's letting me die.

     I'll just sit and bleed right here.

     I think I might start to cry,

     as my time of death draws near.

      But Hangeng won't give a crap.

     I will come back to haunt him."

"That doesn't rhyme, you know," Hangeng says. 

     "Too bad."

"I can talk to you later if you're busy," I say.

     "No, no. We'll just ignore him," Hankyung says as the voice of the whining Heechul grows quieter. 

"So, I'm not trying to be rude, but what did you call for?" I ask.

     "Oh, right. You know how SME decided to screw you over just because you wanted to see your terminally-ill cousin?"

I groan. "How could I forget? I had to give up ne of the biggest opportunities of my life because of it."

     "I'm not surprised by what they did. Why do you think I left in the first place?" he says. "Well, I'm not sure if you've been worrying about this or not, but I have a job offer for you," he says.

     I perk up at thw words, "job offer". Truthfully, altough I'm still trying to get past Steven's death, this job thing has been hanging over me, too.

"Okay. I'm all ears," I tell him.

     "Well, in the next few months, I'll be doing a tour of Korea to promote my new album. After that, I'll be touring China, and I was wondering if you'd like to work on my album with me and go on tour, too."

     My heart skips a beat at an offer like this. I'm almost ready to immediately accept, except for one major drawback.

"Hangeng, that sounds great, but there's one thing. I don't speak Chinese., "I tell him.

    "I understand that," he replies. "But I was thinking of featuring a few Korean songs on my album, and since you're a good dancer, you can do some of the onstage dances. Maybe we can even do some ballet numbers together," he tells me.

     "I truly thank you for the offer, but I'm...just not sure. It's all so unfamiliar, and I'm still dealing with Steven's death. I just don't know if I can leave my family this soon."

     "I understand completely, Melinda," he says. "When I was in South Korea with Super Junior, I missed my family back in China so much, and I'm sure you felt the same way when you were with Jump Girls, considering the United States is much father from Korea than China is. But I guess I want to remind you of something. I don't want to pressure you at all with this, but I guess this reminds me of my start. I was quickly accepted into the business, I was torn away from my family and everything I knew back in my home country, and I hardly spoke any Korean. It was so much to adjust to, along with everything else that happened to me. So, I understand how scary this seems like it could be, Melinda. I've felt the fear head-on, and almost felt like I've been through hell and back. If you're scared, I get it, but don't let it hold you back. I'll help you learn Chinese, and I'll support you with everything. This is going to be really new, but maybe all you need to do is take a leap. I understand if you need time to think about it, too," he finishes.

     After hearing all that, my one drawback seems so miniscule and ridiculous compared to all he went through. I'm almost convinced to take the offer right now, but I do need to think about it.

     "Thank you so much for telling me all of that, Hankyung, but I do need some time to think about it. I will call you back soon," i tell him.

"Okay. Thank you for thinking about it. I hope to hear from you soon," he says. And with that, we end our conversation.

     Hankyung's POV

     Heechul's whining had changed to a constant tapping on the door, and I was about to let him in.

"You are so dead!" he yells as I open the door, but he stops as he sees my face.

     "Is everything alright?" he asks.

"I hope so, hyung," I say.

     "Did she accept the offer?"

"She said she needs to think about it, but I think I might have encouraged her to do it," I tell him.

     He smiles at me. "Nice initiative. I like it."

I nod and smile. As I wait for the next two weeks, I can't help but wonder what she is thinking.

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Two weeks later

     Melinda's (Maggie's) POV

It had been a long two weeks of praying, speaking with my family, and thinking of my next step, but I felt I was ready to call Hangeng with my answer.

     I call him, and he picks up.

"Hello," he says.

     "Hi, Hangeng. What's up?"

"Not much. What's happening with you?"

     "Well," I say. "I'll tell you what's up. I've thought about your offer, and....."

"Yes?" he says, anticipation in his voice.

     "I'm in."