I start panicking in the worst way I can. I look around for a place to hide. The voices get closer maybe almost near the door. I don’t have another choice; I quickly run into that storage room. Its door is left open and it is the only choice I have. It looks pretty scary but it’s not dark. I hide behind a CD rack and breathe heavily to calm down myself.

      In a millisecond the voices are out. They are out of the room. I was right; they were coming out. Their voices get a bit closer to the storage room but they stop in a certain place. They aren’t coming in; thank god!               

      “Why didn’t you say anything then?” Leader asks.

      I lean my ear towards their side to hear the words more clearly.

      “I didn’t have a choice” Young Saeng says.

      His voice still makes me nervous.

      “Ajhumma already knows it right? That you don’t want to do this?” Leader asks again.

      “I told her like a zillion times but she doesn’t listen to me” YS answers.

      “How’s the girl? Pretty?”

      Girl? Which girl?

      “Here” Saengie says in an ignorant tone.

      “Wah… she’s so pretty man!” Leader’s voice rises.

      “I know…”

      “Wait… you carry her picture with you?” Leader’s tone turns into a teasing one.

      Who the hell are they talking about? What girl? My hands start sweating with my less patience. Who’s the girl? Not me right?

      “Ah geurongeo aniya! I just forgot to remove it from my bag. I seriously don’t know what to do” Saengie says again in the same ignorant tone.

      “Arrange marriages might not be that bad eh?” Leader asks.

      Arrange marriage? Now don’t tell me my stupid imagination was right! The picture is; me?

      “If you really don’t like it then tell ajhumma” Leader adds.

      “She might get hurt and even it’s not like I got the whole control over this thing. Omma keeps bugging me asking me to marry her. I don’t even know her!”

      “Don’t you usually talk about this stuff with Kyu Jongah?”

      “He ain’t going to help me rebel against omma”

      “I ain’t going to do that either. But seriously the girl’s pretty okay so think about it. And get over that whole ‘I don’t want to marriage’ melo-drama. It doesn’t suit you anyway” Leader’s voice fades.

      Maybe he went into the room again? Yeah has to be. His footsteps didn’t last long.

      “But I really don’t want to do this Hyun Joongah” Saengie shouts.

      “Ah jinja” Leader’s voice comes out again. “Explain to your mom about this and ask her to tell it to the girl’s parents too. If you really don’t want to do it then at least that girl will find a better husband than you” Leader sounds teasing again.

      “Yah! What’s wrong with me?” Saengie’s voice echoes.

      “Oh I see… So you don’t want to marry her but don’t want her to find a better man either eh?” Leader chuckles.

      “Seriously people should never come to you with their relationship problems. You mess up their heads jinja! I should consult my ownself, that’ll be better”

      “That’s more like it, Heo professor!”

      They both sniff at their words. Then it goes silent. They might have gone into the room again. Young Saeng’s words echoes inside my mind; ‘But I really don’t want to do this’. My body goes weak and I feel like I might fall anytime. I grab on to the CD rack and take a deep breath.

      Yes it’s true that I didn’t want this happen in the first place either but… why did he have to say that? He doesn’t even know me! He doesn’t know what kind of a person I am at all. But I know him, and I came to this decision after knowing him for more than 11 years.  He doesn’t even know me and he suddenly decided he doesn’t want to do this?

      Or maybe the reason he decided that, was because he doesn’t know me? Yeah, like how can you spend a marriage life with a stranger anyway? Ah jinja! Stupid me for letting that inner fan-girl of mine to keep any hopes. I really didn’t expect this.

      “Isn’t she a fan?” Hyun Joong asks again.

      Oh they haven’t left! And what? Fan?

      “She is; I’ve seen her a lot of times though” Saengie says.

      Oh ! He knows me then? What the-

      “Then what’s so wrong about her?” Leader asks again.

      “There’s nothing wrong with the girl. The problem is with me; I don’t want to get married”

      “What are you scared that she’ll eat you?” Leader pauses. “Well that’s possible though” He adds and laughs.

      Ah yah! I love my bias but I won’t eat him you silly leader. Oh god these guys, never give a rest to their teasing tongues.

      I hear Young Saeng sighing. I sigh along with him. It feels like a mountain of hopes just fell down. I really shouldn’t have kept any kind of expectations. It was really stupid of me to even come here. And even omma handed me a damn Kimbap box! God my life !

      “Ah aedueliyah” A familiar voices comes from afar.

      Oh ! Dad’s friend! Oh no! Why? Why on earth?

      “Ah ajhussi annyeonghaseyo” Leader greets.

      Oh… he knows the members too, not only Young Saeng?

      “Ah Hyun Joongah… Young Saengah where is she?” Dad’s friend asks.

      Can he be any stupider?

      “neugeu ajhussi?” YS asks back.

      “Sae Ra…”

      “Sae Ra?” Hyun Joong’s voice is curious.

      “Sae Ra? Here? What do you mean?” Young Saeng asks; his tone surprised and confused.

      “Who’s Sae Ra?” Leader asks again.

      “The girl in the photo” Saengie replies with the same ignorant tone.

      Does he hate me? Why does he sound so low when he talks about me? And what’s with this ajhussi ruining my whole plan! What am I going to do now? Ah jinja ottokae?

      “She’s here?” Leader shouts.

      “Yeah she came to meet Young Saeng. Why? Didn’t she meet you?” Dad’s friend asks.

      “Erm… no. Where is she? She might have got lost” Saengie says.

      “Aniya… I showed her the room even. I just went to grab a cup of coffee. Didn’t she come to meet you?”

      “No. No one came and even me and Hyun Joong was talking in the hallway all along. We didn’t see anyone”

      “Oh my. Where has this girl gone? We should find her”

      “Maybe a guard saw her and thought she was a sasaeng or something?” Leader asks.

      “Oh… but the gate guards saw her with me so there wasn’t a problem”

      “But they don’t inform all the guards nah? So maybe someone kicked her out” Saengie says.

      “Oh I’m in big trouble now. I have to go and find her” Dad’s friend’s voice fades.

      “We’ll help you” Leader says and all their footsteps fade away.

      I start to feel guilty. Dad’s friend might be scared now. I shouldn’t have hid myself like that. I don’t even have his number to call him and tell him. Argh I can’t go out either! I don’t want to meet any of them. What is wrong with me? Why am I messing it all up? Not only I’m making myself uncomfortable, I’m dragging others along with it too.

      Ah jinja ottokae? Should I just go home? Maybe then I can come up with some lie and get away with all this right? Yeah, I can just tell that I got lost and came home and couldn’t find ajhussi either. I don’t want to face them now; I’d be utterly embarrassed. I won’t be able to even talk. I should just sneak out from the company and go home.

      I can still hear a several voices from that room. I try to focus more into it.

      “Yah!” Jung Min’s loud voice stands out suddenly.

      I startle with it. Oh I really want to see him! Ah Jung Min! Ah ottokae? Ah jinja I want to see him! Why is my life like this? Ah how I wish I was at some fan sign event or something right now; then I wouldn’t have to hide like this. I would have freely gone to them and see them. Ah this is all omma’s fault! She doesn’t listen to me even once. At least I could have made up my mind to meet YS and came here. But no, she just pushed me here when I wasn’t ready! Ugh.

      I growl with annoyance and slowly walk towards the door. I carefully look both sides; the hallway is clear. I don’t even try to take a glance at their room. I step into the hallway and slowly walk with my toes. I don’t want to make a sound either.

      I take a look around again. I remember the way back to the main door from here. Best thing for me to do right now is to run. Thank god I didn’t decide on my wedges earlier. I go through the way back to the gates through my mind. I cannot stop anywhere. Okay then… bless my feet; here I go.

      I take off like a bullet from the hallway. I run at the best speed I can. People pass by me like air. I fully concentrate on my way. I can’t take a wrong turn; I don’t have time for that. I keep running through the hallways and arrive at the staircase. I descend it as fast as I can. As soon as I step on the ground floor I bump into someone and fall onto the floor.

      “Ouch” I whisper as I hit my head against the person’s chest.

      “Aigo genchanayo?” He asks.

      A shiver runs down my spine as I recognize the voice. I keep panting and continue to stare at the floor. I don’t have the energy to look up at him. Why did it have to be Young Saeng out of all the people? Oh just kill me now! Ottokae?

      “Genchanayo?” He asks again and his tone’s really worried.

      He’s stepping closer to me; I peek through my upper eyelashes. I slowly lean away as he bends down to lift me up. As soon as his hands touch my arm I flinch. He immediately takes them off.

      “Joesonghabnida” He says.

      “Ah… Genchanayo” I barely manage my words.

      Okay… I can’t keep staring down like this forever. I got to stand up. He might think I’m weird. But how am I going to face him? He will recognize me right? He might laugh at me!

      Well Saengie usually doesn’t but he might later on. I even fell in front of him! Is this a good first impression huh? Oh my god my damn life. I repeat my life .

      “Can you get up?” He asks with his forever kind voice.

      I cough with the sudden beautiful voice attack. He’s my bias after all!

      “Shall I help you if you don’t mind?” He adds.

      Oh no! I quickly shake my head and get up on my own; still staring down. Not in this life I’m going to face him ever again! I quickly turn around and walk away without saying a single word.              

      “Juhgiyo” He shouts from behind and I immediately stop; god that voice.

      I shake my head again to kick off my fan-girling mode. Juhgiyo? Why the heck is he calling me? I don’t want to turn, I don’t want to turn; I chant inside my mind for a several times standing still on the spot. It doesn’t take another second for him to appear in front of me. Oh !

      “Actually you dropped your mobile phone back there” He says holding it out.

      I quickly look down again not letting him catch my face.

      “Your phone?” He holds it out more towards my side.

      I immediately grab it being very careful not to touch his hand.

      “Kamsahmnida” I bow almost ninety degrees.

      As I lift my head from the bow my impatient and playful fan-girl makes me glance at him forcibly. He was staring at me with a smile but as soon as he sees my face, the smile fades away.

      “Oh…” His mouth drops open.

      I immediately look down again. Should I run?

      I should run!

      “Kim… Sae Ra?” His voice breaks with surprise.

      Praise the lord! He recognized me! Andwae! I got to run away!

      “I’m sorry, this is a huge mistake!” I snap and try to leave.

      I don’t know how those words came out from my mouth though. But then he grabs my elbow and stops me; so not Young Saeng type.

      “Where are you going?” He asks sharply staring into my eyes.

      Oh no those eyes. Oh he’s touching me! Oh no, no! This is not a good time to fan-girl! No Sae Ra, no. Control yourself please!

      “Ah… erm…” I stutter.

      “SeoJoon ajhussi was searching for you” He says in a comfortable tone; still using honorific.

      What’s with that tone? And why is he touching me? Ain’t Young Saeng usually shy? What’s this whole-

      My thoughts pause as he takes his hand off my arm again. He breaks the eye contact; I was looking here and there the whole time anyway. I have to escape.

      “Joesonghabnida” I bow again and walk away from him.

      I increase my pace as I get further and further from him. There’s a turn to go to the main door. I take it but then I stop. My mind wants to see him again. My inner fan-girl is yearning for him. I slowly take two steps back and with a pounding heart I peek next to the wall.

      Boom! He’s gone! He’s not there anymore. I facepalm myself and turn around. Why did I even look? Seriously, didn’t I push away all the expectations from the first place? What is wrong with me? Why do I even think that he’d be there waiting for me to turn! What a stupid person am I?

      Okay, no time to think about that. I should just run away from this place. I quickly head towards the main door and exit the building. I release a sigh of relief as I’m out. I don’t even take a glance at the building again as I walk forward. After a few seconds I fasten my pace as ajhussi or someone else might catch me here. I go out from the DSP gate and quickly walk through the streets.

      My eyes turn a bit red as I remember Young Saeng again. I really thought he would be there when I turned. Maybe he went to look for dad’s friend but still…I didn’t take more than ten seconds to turn. Why so fast? I blink a several times and fade away my tears and sigh. Then I turn around after I’m so far away from the company. I take a look at it; it still stands high there without a single scratch… and I’m the one who’s hurt.

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I made a new book cover for Timeless Love ^^ coz the last one had a typo..I hope the cover is good .. thank you for reading ♥