The Prologue

"Yuriah. Come on, you need to get out of the apartment!" said Lee Hyori, pulling on a black tank top. She was starting to get impatient with her couzin. "There's a jazz performance and I heard they are really good! Sunny and Gahee said they will save us seats. Nice place and nice food, what can you possibly not like about that?!"

Yuri sighed. "I'm tired, unnie." She continued clicking the TV remote mindlessly, trying to find an interesting show. "I still have to write a paper, and there is someone grandpa would like to introduce to me."

Lee Hyori made a disapproving face while applying her mascara. "Oh, save the drama. You are a Senior High School student on third grade!" She put her red lipstick on, and turned to Yuri. "Can you please like, get a life? Like me?"

"That's my point," Yuri glared at the older girl. "I'm still a high school student. Don't expect me to go out every night and have fun like you, unnie."

Wrinkles appeared on Lee Hyori's forehead. She was clearly not getting Yuri's point. She ignored Yuri's last statement like it had never been spoken. "We are leaving in 10 minutes~"

"Ah unnie! It's pouring outside and-" Kwon Yuri's alibi got cut halfway by the curly tanned girl.

"Ten minutes, not a second longer, or you are not my dongsaeng anymore." Lee Hyori gave a smirk and motioned a long distance air kiss to her cousin.

By the time the girls had arrived to The Palmer, a bar in Chicago, and got themselves into a table with friends from school, Yuri regretted her decision. She rubbed her forehead. Why can't she ever say no to her cousin? Now she has to put up with the scenario in a packed bar, with people waiting for a jazz performance that she has never been interested of.

She doesn't like jazz, or any live music for that matter, unless it happened to be Yiruma's. Yuri crossed her arms, posing off her offensive gesture. She was not in the mood and was feeling more and more irritated by the minute. She tried to chanel her irritation into something, and that was when she saw an intresting scene.

In this crowded place, a blonde girl was hitting the table with a spoon. She seemed to be frowning because of something that Yuri couldn't decipher yet. The girl in action then pouted, before the light of bulb seemed to cross her mind. She move away from the table, and took a rather big glass of beer. She placed it on the desk and soon her grin appeared.

She felt temporary glad when the pretty, blonde bartender succeeded in making some noise.

However the sound wasn't that alarming yet. The blonde put more strength into it, catching the people's attention.

"Hello! May I have your attention for a minute?" The blonde says, her voice somehow appealing.

The blonde studied the room, with her usual stoic face, and waited for the noise to die down. "I know you are all getting excited to hear the performance tonight, but we just got a call from the band, they are stuck in traffic like right N.O.W and are going to be late."

The room was filled with rousing boos.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I know it ." She paused and looked around, hands on her hips, currently looking for a victim.

"How about free snacks as an apology?" said a man, sitting in the back row while holding up his hand.

The blonde bartender laughed sarcastically. All eyes were on her. "That is acceptable- only if anyone wants to come up here and entertain us." She looked directly at the man, who just shook his head. The blonde girl humph-ed, "Seriously we've got a perfectly good piano. Anyone interested to play? Its free nachos, guys."

The room was silent as everyone glanced around at each other.

"Yuri yah, don't you play?" Hyori whispered loud enough for their table to hear.

Yuri rolled her eyes, and responded to the mockery. "I got kicked out of the band by my band leader whose name I still remember: Choi Sooyoung, in fourth grade because I couldn't read sheet music." She later sent a glare to the older girl, "And you want me to play piano. Very cool, unnie."

Her cousin snickered.

"Come on, people? I'll give free pitchers and nachos for the room if someone entertain us for a few minutes." The blonde persuaded.

"Doesn't Jessica play?" Hyori pointed at the blonde. "And where is Tiffany?"

"Ah." Sunny responded. "Jessica and Tiffany are going for an audition by SM Ent. by the end of summer."

As far as Yuri remembered, Sunny's uncle was currently the CEO of SM entertainment company.

"They are amazing, talents and looks. I gave them my uncle's card and encouraged them to join the company. They agreed to give it a try." Sunny looked at the blonde. "I guess Jessica decided to hide a bit of her skill before she really becomes a singer."

The table fell silent but with all of them nodding in agreement with what Sunny had presumed.

"Yuriah. Free nachos. Just go and play with all your skill, it's free food and drinks!" Lee Hyori poked her cousin's waist.

"No. Way." Yuri replied with a frown. "Even if you give me your Bentley, I won't do that."

"Geez grumpy teenager," Hyori muttered, and soon after she received another glare from the girl, and a laugh from Sunny.

Just then, in the moment of silent, a replied was heard: "I will play."

Yuri and the rest of the people followed the voice and they saw a pretty girl standing up not far from where the bartender named Jessica was. The girl was in jeans, very simple brown sweater and cap even though it was summer. Yuri had not noticed her before but randomly thought that the girl might be reasonably prettier if she throw the cap away.

The blonde bartender looked amused, and smiled knowingly. "Yoona."

Yuri made a mental note about the name. So to say the girl was Korean, just like Yuri and the rest of her friends on that table.

"Yoona, piano is all yours!" The bartender smirked jokingly as the girl named Yoona climbed into the piano bench. She played a few notes, messing around with the timing and rhythm, and the audience lost interest pretty quickly and went back to their conversations. Kwon Yuri was an exception, though. Yoona quietly played an entire song, something ballad-y, the music was more like background noise. But after ten minutes, she played the intro notes and started to sing the lyrics in a surprisingly clear, lovely voice. The room fell into great silent.

All eyes were on the piano girl once again.

Although the song was familiar distinctive repetitive of 'star, star, star', Yuri got chills running through her limbs. She scanned the room, her heart beating so crazily. Were other people feeling this way too?

Yoona's hands moved effortlessly across the keys as she somehow infused each word with intense feeling. Only when she had murmured the final drawn out of star, star, star did the crown react: they clapped, whistled, screamed, and almost uniformly jumped from their seats.

Yoona looked embarrassed, shy and sheepish, before she began to walk back to the bar stool.

"Damn, she is good," breathed Hyori to her friends at the table, her eyes fixed on the piano player.

"We want more!!" called Gahee who clutched Hyori's hand. They nodded and echoed her call. Within seconds, the cheering had doubled in volume and the entire room was demanding second song from Yoona.

Jessica who was behind the counter all the time, grabbed Yoona's hand and pulled her back toward the microphone. "Pretty amazing, right guys?" she yelled, beaming with pride at the younger girl. "What do you say if we convince Yoona to play some more?"

Yuri turned to her cousin, finally enjoying the night. "Unnie do you think she's going to play something else? It's amazing how fortunate it is she's in this bar. I mean, wow, to see someone who sings so well; celebrity quality live, what are the chances?"

Hyori smiled at her and leaned in to make herself heard in the midst of all the noise. "She is really talented! Too bad she looks like that."

Yuri felt as though she had been personally insulted. "Yah, unnie. Looks like what? She looks good with that. You don't just point something out like that. I think she deserves to be a star someday."

Hyori shrugged. "Not a chance. She is talented, but so are million other people who are more outgoing and a whole lot better looking."

"She's cute," Yuri said a little indignantly, ignoring her own blush.

Lee Hyori ruffled her perfect curly hair, sending glances to Jessica and Yoona before replying, "That is why I said too bad she looks like that. She could have worn something better! Removing the cap could make us see her real face."

Before Yuri could leap to Yoona's defense, the girl in cap had returned to the bench and began to play again.

This time it was a cover of 'Stardust', and again, somehow, she managed to sound a lot better than W & Whale. A deeper, ier voice, and expression on her face of intense concentration.

Yuri was lost in the experience she barely noticed that her cousin and their friends resumed their chitchat as the promised free pitcher of drink and nachos made its way around their table. They poured, gulped down and poured some more, but Yuri couldn't take her eyes off the piano angel-like girl: Yoona.

When the girl walked out of the bar twenty minutes later, bowing her head to her appreciative audience and offering polite, shy smile, Yuri seriously considered following her. She'd never done anything like it in her life, but she thinks its right. It would feel right.

"Should I go introduce myself?" she muttered to herself but by then the conversation ended and everyone on the table heard her.

"To whom?" Hyori asked.

"To Yoona."

"Yoona, the girl in cap?" Gahee asked, surprised.

Hyori rolled her eyes and took a swig of the drink. "What are you going to do? Chase her down and tell her that you are a big fan?"

"That girl is interesting, though." Sunny claimed and smiled at Yuri, expressing her support.

Yuri stood up after hearing Sunny's agreement.

"No way! You are not following her, are you? Piano girl could be serial killer!!" Hyori said, exaggerating. But then again, she had always been protective over her little dongsaeng here.

"I'm not following her," Yuri said. Instead, she made her way to the bar and after digging her nails into her palms and changing her mind seven times, she finally worked up the courage to ask the bartender if she knew anything else about the mysterious performer.

"Excuse me," she said in English.

The bartender, Jessica, didn't look up as she mixed a batch of baileys cream and replied Yuri with her perfect English: "What do you want kid?"

Kid? "Uh, I wonder if you know more about Yoona?"

Jessica looked up to the girl she addressed as kid just now. Apparently observing first before giving any information. "Are you friends with Sunny and Hyori unnie?" Their English conversation continued.

"I am. Yes, Hyori unnie is my cousin."

Jessica changed her language to Korean and for a moment Yuri was taken aback. "Then let's talk in Korean. Take a seat, kid."

"I'm not a kid... Errr, anymore."

Jessica looked at Yuri. "Okay. Take a seat, teenager."

Yuri did not comment on her obvious mocking. Seniors these days. She sighed and waited for the blonde to speak again.

"You are not the only one asking for her information. What makes you better than others, to let me tell you things about my dongsaeng?" Jessica asked and looked sternly at Yuri.

"No, uh. Just curious." Yuri stammered, feeling like an idiot.

Jessica glared at her.

Yuri had turned back toward the table when the scary bartender-Jessica called out: "She does part time job to sing in weekends. Regular customer here on Tuesdays. Just go around popular Korean restaurant around here if you want to see her again."

Yuri bowed with a smile of gratitude.

Jessica let a humph sound, as if saying, "no problem."

Yuri could count on one hand the number of times she had gone to see live performance. She had never tracked down and followed any performer. This was the first time, thus none of this stopped her from making a half dozen phone calls to find the right place and, after another two weeks working up on her nerve, she got on her silver SLK  on Saturday night, walking in front of the entrance of the destined bar and lounge. Once she sat down, finding one of the last seats in the corner, she knew it had been worthwhile. The bar was packed.

By the time Yoona claimed her seat at the piano and began her checks to make sure the sound was okay, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation. She started playing and the room seemed to settle into the rhythm, some people swaying, some with their eyes closed. Yuri, who had never before understood what it meant to get lost in the music, felt her entire body relax. Whether it was the wine or the y crooning or the foreign feeling of being in a crowd of complete strangers, Yuri was addicted.

She went to the bar every weekends for the rest of the summer. She never invited anyone to join her, even when Hyori and her brother Lee Minho insisted on coming. Just being there, watching Yoona and hearing her music, Yuri began to feel like she knew Yoona. Yoona's music, without so much as a hello, could affect her mood and change her mind and make her feel things that were completely outside the realm of her daily routine.

She was happy enough.

Now Yoona was there, and the fact that they never exchanged so much as a glance didn't bother her in the least. Kwon Yuri was perfectly content just by watching her.

Yoona made the rounds, reluctantly, it appeared to Yuri, after each performance, shaking hands and modestly accepting the praise everyone lavished on her, but Yuri never once considered approaching her. By the end of the summer, Yuri learned that the Yoona she liked a lot was a beautiful shikshin who laughed recklessly with mouth wide opened; a cheerful and outgoing caramel addict who loves to eat jajjangmyun, omurice, ddookbookki, to drink cold-served black bean soy milk like every day, a Yiruma fan who liked to listen to sad songs, and a rilakkuma shipper.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of her second semester in University life in Chicago, Kwon Yuri never got the chance to see Yoona perform again. After gaining some information about her bias, Yuri was sad with the fact she came to know. Yoona, finished with her high school in Chicago, has moved to other country. She went back to Korea, to Seoul, her hometown, chasing her dream.