A/N: Struggled to write this thing...OHGAH, I'm seriously hating the way I write these days >.< I make references to 'The Wizard of Oz'. For all who don't know what that is, it's basically a movie...Dorothy being the main character...I guess it won't quite make sense to those who don't know the film =(

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Changmin’s POV

I escaped the lines of fire fast enough to avoid playing along with Kyuhyun’s match making scheme that I knew he’s brewing up. I explored the hallways lined up with hundreds of hopefuls like a curious little bastard.

These people had smiles plastered across their faces like that was the only facial expression they have; accompanied by the odd contrast of their nervous shaking knees. They practiced freely despite the limited space as if it were nobody’s business but their own. While some had decent talent, others were obviously delusional or over confident with the non-existent natural born talent that they were convinced they had, yet in all actuality—lacked.

I followed the crystal pathway of marble laid tiles as if I was Dorothy who was off to see the damn wizard in the fictional fantasy world of Oz. The hallways in the place were freakishly long. If I was stupid, I would have believed that my was walking in circles somehow. But I’m not an idiot, despite what others may think. The fact was that the hallway went on for miles. I was certain that it would take an hour before my mission to reach the back end would be a success.

As the end was finally coming into my line of vision, I heard the scream,

“Changmin-ah!!!!!”

Someone seemed to be calling out to me with a cry for help. She appeared before me pushing her way through the countless unknown faces in the crowd—like a corny scene that seemed to walk straight out from a movie.

“S-s-song…uhhh.” I forgot her name again,

“Song Qian, but everyone knows me as Victoria Changmin-ah.”

“Changmin-ah”

There it was again. Why the hell was she acting close to me…when in fact my recollection of her was slim to none? Honestly, she seemed like a strange character, but her innocence of not knowing was enticing.

“Number 465 please make your way up to the front. You’re up next!”

Her eyes were blood shot red accompanied by puffiness; the aftermath which all pointed to crying. It was this sad vulnerability that she possessed which attracted me.

“Changmin-ah, you need to help me! Chebal~ Pleaseee~”

Without needing to ask, for some reason I was able to relate to the pain and sadness that seeped out from within her.

“Neh.” I simply replied.

I was clueless as to what exactly she meant, but I refused to extract my hand from one that was reaching out for it.

She pulled me firmly by the wrist heading straight back to the front premises.

I would never know how the back end of the place looks like—a trivial stupid thought that remained unsettling to me for some reason.

Bringing my head back hoping to at least get a glimpse of that end once more, I harshly brushed shoulders with a guy who stood frozen at the centre.

“Mianhae Khun.”

Victoria quietly whispered out to the figure as we passed on by.

Slithering in the thin air, unknown missed opportunities and unanswered questions slipped away.

Sooyoung’s POV

“Changmin-ah! ~”

Sometimes I feel like I’ve completely lost my mind. Often I envision people as food. Heads as donuts, limbs as fries, and bodies in the form of hot dogs. But today, I guess I’ve not only stepped over the line of sanity, but instead took a ing jump over.

I can hear things left and right…things that I’m certain were not spoken aloud. I hear a female’s voice call out to him and my heart skips a beat. I know this delusion is bothering me as my tense hand ends up snapping the pencil I hold.

They stare at me as if I’ve lost it; although, I wouldn’t completely deny that at this point and time. I force a plastic smile upon my lips hoping that it will ease the unwanted attention I’ve gathered and guide it elsewhere. I try to fool them and myself into thinking that I’m fine, but my reflection caught in the framed records along the hall tell me otherwise. Throughout my life, I have grown accustomed to various facial expressions--a first hand present from the rollercoaster of emotions that forever rides within me.

I realize again that no matter how hard I try, a tint of sadness will appear in each smile I attempt to flash.   

“Changmin-ah! ~”

That female’s voice haunts me as the long hallways before me seem to start closing in.

====================

Flashback

The awkward tension in the room lingers as the four of them sit in silence upon the stiffened hardwood chairs.

Sooyoung plays with the mushroom creamed chicken that has remained intact and untouched for the past few minutes. He sits in front of her with equivalent confusion and disapproval to the whole proposal that their parents have laid out for them.

“You two are good for each other.”

They continuously say countless times, rephrasing the sentence over and over, but always simply regurgitating the same exact message. It’s the 21^st century yet the two’s parents remained persistent on the idea of an arranged marriage.

“You don’t understand it do you omma? I want to marry someone that I love!”

Sooyoung screamed aloud as she pierces the piece of protein with the sharpened knife. The porcelain plate cracks a slight bit as so does her heart. Her mother just doesn’t understand her at all, or in other words never cared to understand her fully.

That is why Sooyoung always kept ‘them’ a secret. 

“You can’t live life off of love alone.”

The tone of voice escaping her mother’s mouth was scary. Like ice ruthlessly running through one’s veins, it made Sooyoung quiver from head to toe. She refused to abide by her mother’s sayings. Probations in clothing choices were manageable to slip on by, but marriage wasn’t a subject up for compromise.

“I hate you omma! I hope you know that!”

Sooyoung ran towards the door, unable to stand the cold dinner that matched her mother’s heart.

He excuses himself politely while the two parents continue their conspiracy before he sets off after Sooyoung. At the nook of a lonely corner in the house he spots her curled up weeping in sadness. He pulls her off the ground as the tears continue to flow uncontrollably.

“Have you noticed that I seem to be the one that always finds you crying? Now after how many years of not seeing each other...I find you crying again...”

“We’re only 17! We’re too young to marry…”

Her voice trails off in defeat. He pulls her into the warm hug that he always promised to be waiting for her whenever she needed it.

It was strange meeting once again; moreover, in the random set up they found themselves in. It was undoubtedly a sticky situation, but they were both lucky to have one another in the mess. Out of all the people out there that her mother could recruit, she chose and found him.

“Don’t worry; our parents can’t force us to get married so easily…”

She weakly gives him a smile. She does love him, but not in that way as her heart was already given to someone named Shim Changmin and she refused to share it with another person. She just couldn’t.

“You don’t need to try so hard. I can see your sadness seeping through your smile.”

He holds her gently as he brushes the back of her head her silky straight hair.

“One day you’ll meet someone who’ll erase that sadness and replace it with nothing but sincere love.”

“Gumawo Micky.”

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Sooyoung lifts her head up after the walls retract back into its normal place. Her eyes although slightly blurry from the small traces of tears formulating in her eyes spots a familiar figure in the semi-near distance. Unkowingly, a small genuine smile graces her lips. The male figure’s back looks like the one that she used to always wrap her arms around in the past --the hair being that of the exact same which she always messily ran her fingers through.

It’s him she concludes right away as it slowly disappears once more like a favourite dream slipping away from a memory.

remains closed and words cannot be found as the sudden situation she finds herself in is too abrupt. No matter what, she cannot just watch him disintegrate down the long hallways. She begins to run, run after him before it’s too late; although, it doesn’t take too long before she loses track of him.

“YAH~PABO 1 YOU HAVE COMPANY!”

The small light that glimmers falls short once she sets her eyes on the company. It isn’t him…a small tear cascades ever so slowly down the side of her cheek.

'Just a quick hello...that is all I can afford right now if I want to catch him again~' Sooyoung thinks to herself.

Courageously picking herself, she makes her way over to that kind friendly cinnamon sharing random drunken acquaintance.

“Just follow my lead neh? I’ll just need you to sing along...”

Victoria whispers into Changmin’s ear as the two of them stand before a room full of judges in the form of bodies both young and old.

The song plays effortlessly and as always it commands his attention completely. ‘Their’ song acted like the most immense drug out there, leaving an ecstasy too good to be true. A song that was hidden for a long time has once again welcomed him. He closes his eyes and naturally sings the lyrics that are forever engraved inside his memory as he pictures her once more.

“Stop. Stop…Mianhae, but you Mr--”

“Changmin. Shim Changmin…”

“You sound brilliant, but you still seem to be disconnected from the song. How about you try singing solo for a bit without the music?”

Changmin stared back at them. Disconnected from the song? Their words poisoned his brain as it slowly began to heat up like a steam engine that refused to cool down anytime soon. It was a harsh slap to his face and a cold stake to his heart.

“Mianhae…my partner…you see Changmin-ah isn’t really even auditioning for a position he’s just-”

His voice interrupts through the faint chit chat here and there. Giving the same affect of a symphony of an orchestra, all eyes migrate back under his command. 

“He sure sings exceptionally well, but there’s no passion…”

“He’s good looking, but can that alone carry out a performance?”

“The audience wouldn’t be able to connect with him.”

The judges continuously exchange concerns while Changmin’s eyes slowly meet that of a small opening of the crack in the small door to the side.

Dark brown and full of warmth, her pupils soothes him like it always secretly did.

Sooyoung.

Getting lost inside her gaze as if he can just forget the world at that moment, he continues on with their song—serenading it to her.

‘Live more intensely and love more passionately,’ she once told him…

Wrinkled sincerity unfolds inside of him, a small tear propels down the corner of one eye, and he continues to belt out each note genuinely until the very end as he looks at Sooyoung from afar.

“Now that’s passion…”

“Congratulations the two of you. You’ve passed.”

Overwhelmed with happiness, Victoria attacks Changmin…the victim being his lips.

Pulling him down to her, she lands a kiss upon his frozen face. Awestruck, his confused body malfunctions and movement is something which cannot be done.

His eyes never once leave that of Sooyoung’s.

“If you’re a couple, than please make sure to keep it low profile…The company doesn’t completely disallow it, but since I understand how happy you both probably are, we’ll let it slip by for today.”

As their faces finally part ways, Victoria lightly brushes the smudged light smear of red lip gloss now gracing Changmin. Still floating on cloud nine, she is still unable to comprehend the situation she has caused.

Sweetly smiling with cheeks flushed in embarrassment she replies as she links her arm with Changmin’s,

“Arasso, we’ll be sure to be more careful from now on…”

Sooyoung’s eyes remain open. The stinging sensation from not blinking is irrelevant to the burning sensation of her heart at that moment. When she finally does close them, the darkness is replaced with that of the two of them together.

Quickly shutting the door, she decides to run now hoping that he’ll disintegrate and slip on by.

!@#$%^&*

She crashes into a warm embrace. Looking up, she doesn’t find her childhood friend Micky, whom she innocently loves like a brother, but instead sees the guy who somehow always appears before her lately…the Kyuhyun character…

He wipes the little stains of tears that fall from her eyes.

“Are you okay? You disappeared awfully quickly back there after complimenting how good I look in black...”

Sooyoung smiles weakly at him, “Mianhae…”

“You don’t need to try so hard. I can see your sadness seeping through your smile. One day you’ll meet someone who’ll erase that sadness and replace it with nothing but sincere love and who knows, it just might be me…”

She looks up at him. It was déjà vu to the fullest. Would it be him? She wondered…

“You know on the second thought, I think you look much better in red or blue rather than black…”

“I know right?! Someone once told me that black was the best way to go…why don’t we discuss this over a cup of coffee? I already informed that blonde guy at the front…what do you say?”

“Hmm, I say do you know any other place that sells cinnamon buns at this time?”

The two of them disappear off into the distance, camouflaging into the crowd heading to the back exit while Changmin watches from the near distance. Tired from running after her, his mouth remains agape from the sight he has just witnessed. He pants with the very little amount of oxygen that flows inside his body.

“Changmin-ah!”

Victoria calls out to him after finally catching up to the guy who suddenly ran out the audition room. She stares at his pale ghostly white face with the small beads of sweat running down.

The long hallways seem to close in on him. His vision becomes blurry and he wishes to gain the strength to reach the damn end of the hallway where Sooyoung was headed to.

'I would never know how the back end of the place looks like'—the trivial thought didn't sound so stupid anymore and yes,  it still remained unsettling to him, but this time he knew the reason why.

‘Live more intensely and love more passionately.’

His mind drifts off as does his body feels as if it is into the tornado that ran through Kansas…once again, he was Dorothy. All he wanted was to be back home because there’s no place like home.

To Shim Changmin, home was with Sooyoung…there’s no place like home.

That is the last thing that runs through his mind before his body collapses onto the crystal pathway of marble laid tiles.

Slithering in the thin air, unknown missed opportunities and unanswered questions slipped away.

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A/N: Ok, let me clear Micky's character as well since I feel like ppl might get confused after I re-read this chappie. Micky & Soo met in Japan when they were kids. In this chpt I reveal that their parents had actually set their kids up for an arranged marriage = the first time seeing each other again after they both move to Korea from Japan (Sooyoung is already in the secret relationship with Changmin). Micky & Sooyoung meeting in the highskl reunion was an odd random encounter...I'll explain what he was doing at that reunion in the next chapter.

Seriously, I'm hating the way I write these days...everything just doesn't fit right with me argh..forever apologizing to you all! :(