A/N: Hello, mah Spanish galleons! This is a one-shot for MidnightMistress0912’s summer contest!!! The plotline was based off of an idea I had for a manga, but I never got far with drawing it, so I modified it and am using it for this! If I ever do finish the manga, I’ll post it on here so you all can see my supposed “art skills.” So, hope you enjoy!

            <3 Kestrelsong  

P.S. Reviews = LOVE. Oh, and you should listen to Happily Ever After and Everything you Do by He is We while reading. It’s what I listened to while I wrote this.

Name: Choi Minhee

Age:19

Looks: tanned, straight medium sized black hair, straight black bangs, 5 foot 2, brown eyes, rather on the skinny side, and a c cup XD (couldn't resist adding)

Personality: sarcastic, hot-headed, pretty nice until pissed off, competitive, funny

Hobbies: reading, writing, playing bass guitar, singing, and dancing

Likes: making people smile, listening to music, and singing 

Dislikes: sad people, holding grudges, and when people boss her around

Boy: Kyuhyun

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            The scent of warm leather and crisp pages filled the apartment as the notebook was opened by eager hands. She had always loved books, but this one had been her constant companion for a while now. And besides, she did need to finish it before she left. She rifled through the finger-worn pages until she reached the very back of the book. ‘Now,’ she thought, where had she last left off? Aigoo, she would have to start at the beginning again. Not that she minded. This was her favorite story, after all.

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It was around nine P.M. on a lazy Saturday night somewhere in the middle of summer. The heat of the day had been chased away by the summer storms which had left the city fragrant with the smell of watered down gasoline and human civilization. Small children gathered in clumps along the street corners and parks, trying to fit in one last game before their parents called them in for the night. All of the street lamps had begin to flicker on, their pools of light casting shadows from the objects below; an artificial noon. Things were slowly winding down and relaxing, at least, as relaxed as Seoul would ever be. It was still rather early for Choi Minhee, but then again, all nights were long, so it didn't really matter when she began hers.

She slid into the worn leather seat of her beat-down Chevy, closing the door carefully and starting her baby up. Minhee rolled the all the windows down; she wanted to listen to music, but for some reason when she played the radio, the A/C didn't turn on. It didn’t matter though, she compromised or chose which one she wanted more. Isn’t that what life was all about?

Give and take.

As a college student (she was studying to be an engineer), she was slowly learning that life didn’t always go as planned. That you never knew when you had to say goodbye, or how you had to either. That is, if you got to say goodbye.

Jeez, all these thoughts were making her depressed. She needed her book fix.

Minhee drove slowly, one arm on the wheel, the other dangling out the window. It wasn't like she had any specific destination in mind, in fact, she always made it a point not to think whenever she took these night drives. They were her desperately needed escape from the pressure she received at home and from all the studying she had to do this summer. And when she couldn’t drive, she read books.

            She loved books, but only nonfiction and preferably biographies or autobiographies. After all, it was so much easier to live someone else’s life rather than your own.

            But why only nonfiction, you ask?

            You see, Minhee didn’t hold with the thought of happy endings, let alone fairytales. And since she didn’t believe in such childish fantasies, she saw no point in reading books that contained them. The end.

            While she was consumed in her thoughts, she wound her way slowly out of the heart of the city, to the more remote outer ring. She loved it here. It was…quiet. Dirty. Real.

            It was where she belonged.

She was so distracted by her idle mind that she didn't notice the slight groans of protest that were coming from her car. That is, until it came to a halt, the body of the vehicle shaking violently and then collapsing towards the ground with a high pitched whine. Everything fell silent as the roar of the radio wound down, the singer's voice distorting and slowing like molasses.

For a few minutes, Minhee sat in fear, trying to stuff the sickening feeling of panic back down into the little box she had kept it in for ten years. Her heart beat in tandem with the pulsating music from the nearby nightclub, the bass strong enough to shake her out of her panic driven stupor. She knew freaking out would be the stupidest and least productive thing she could do in her current situation.

And so, she picked up her messenger bag and cautiously stepped out of the car, eyes wide open and fists clenched in preparation for any poor sap who thought to take advantage of her.

Minhee took in her surroundings and evaluated her options. It was growing steadily darker, and the buildings around her only blocked the last watery rays of sunshine from her. The humidity was already causing her to sweat and fidget uncomfortably. As of right now all she could do was attempt to find a gas station on her own and risk being mugged or wait in the nearest sanitary building for someone to pick her up after she called home. Which one to choose? Yeah... She thought so too.

Now, where was she going to wait? Minhee didn't want to wander too far from her baby, but none of the uhm... businesses here looked very safe, let alone sanitary. In fact, her best bet was the nightclub she'd heard earlier when her car broke down. Outside of her car, the music, which had already been far too loud on her opinion, became an overpowering tangle of sloppy guitar riffs and autotuned voices. Probably American. If that wasn't enough of a turn off then the haphazard mess of couples and hookers that lazed about in front would suffice. There was also the heady scent of alcohol, cheap perfume, and sweat that emanated from the building each time the doors opened and closed. Minhee had the feeling that going to a place that would be just asking to get or kidnapped.

She'd have to look elsewhere then.

On a whim influenced by her lack of sleep and nourishment (She had neglected to eat dinner once again), Minhee covered and closed her eyes and said, "Hana, tul, set!" before spinning in a wild circle. She stopped after ten turns and waited for her double vision to fade, finally taking in her destination. A wide, dimly lit alleyway stretched out in front of her. With a grim smile Minhee chuckled and thought, 'Here goes nothing." At least no one would try to mug her, judging from the looks she was getting from the local homeless community.

As Minhee walked, she started singing a song she'd recently heard on the radio to calm her nerves. The notes bounced off the shadowed walls and resonated in to the night. The alleyway actually had pretty good acoustics, Minhee thought wryly. Better than her school’s chorus room even, and that was just sad.

There’s no one like you, even if I look around it’s just like that, where else to look for?
A good person like you, a good person like you, with a good heart like you, a gift as great as you
How lucky that I’m the person who will try his hardest to protect you, where else to look for?

            She sang those lines about four times (they were the only ones she remembered…) before a vague light appeared at the end of the alley way. As Minhee continued forward, it grew in size and brightness until it became a cute little building with a neon blue sign that read ELF Books. The inside was brightly lit and was crammed full of bookshelves from front to back. There were a couple boys inside fooling around, it looked like their shift was just about to end. Minhee rushed forward and stood at the door, crossed herself, and turned the handle.

            As the door swung open, accompanied by the soft ringing of chimes, Minhee was hit with two things. The first thing was a blast of air-conditioned air. The second was a baseball.

            ‘Well that was painful.’ Minhee thought as she rubbed her head and groaned. The impact had her seeing stars and to avoid the risk of falling, she opted to sit instead. As she sat there, a thought slowly emerged; the carpet was actually pretty comfortable. Her brain continued to wander further and further away from logical, comprehensive thoughts with every passing second. Minhee had a vague feeling somebody was talking to her, but they were talking too loudly and too quickly. The words ran together and slowly melted away with her consciousness.

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            11:38

            That’s what her watch said, at least. Stupid thing was always wrong though. Why was her room so bright? Minhee groaned and rolled over on her bed to shield her eyes from that stupid, ungodly light… only to fall off of a sofa and onto the ground.

            Well that was painful.

            Minhee dragged her body up with the help of the aforementioned sofa and looked around the room. To her surprise, she was still in ELF Books, surrounded by the dusty, dry aroma of books. It was the smell of her childhood.

            Her heart hurt at the thought.

            (I see beauty)

            For a moment, Minhee was under the impression that she was alone. The boys from before were nowhere in sight and there were no other sounds than the air-conditioner and her own breathing. She felt miles away from the heady summer night she had existed in only hours before. This was the haven she had wished for as a child, finally here after ten years.

            (Where others only see ugliness)

            Her footsteps were muffled and light as she made her way through the store, the floor stretching endlessly in front of her in an unnervingly dreamlike way. Minhee felt, for the first time in a long time, very young. That was the scariest part of the entire night.
            (That either makes me an artist…)

            She turned a corner and her heart stopped for the longest second in her life. There, tucked in between two of the enormous bookshelves, was a boy. He was handsome, to say the least. He had a thin figure, but she could see slight definition in his arms and his shoulders were fairly wide, suggesting that he weight lifted or something similar. His skin was pale, but it was clean, unlike many of her male classmates, and it had a healthy glow to it. His dark hair fell into his eyes (the color of dark chocolate) which were currently fixated on the book he held in his hands.

‘Piano hands.’ She thought. Her own hands longed for a pen and a pad of paper so she could write out what she was feeling and somehow make sense of this strange scenario. For the time being, she was fairly sure she was going to have a heart attack. She must’ve hit her head harder than she originally thought. If she had a car, she would have driven herself to the hospital. But, things being the way they were, she merely stood in the shop, struck dumb by this puzzling creature.

            (Or a person of very poor taste.)

            The boy looked up and jumped a little, but then settled and gave her a slight smile like he hadn’t just caught a strange girl staring at him. He stood up and brushed off his pants saying, “Hi there. Can I… help you?”

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            12:07

            Minhee wasn’t quite sure what had happened in the last half an hour or so, but she now found herself sitting on the sofa again. Only this time, there were more people present and she wasn’t unconscious. Which, in her opinion, was a huge improvement.

            She sat holding a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate from The Broom Closet (apparently a local secret) and listened to the quiet banter of the shop’s employees and the manager, Leeteuk.

            “Hey Minhee, are you okay? You’re spacing out again. Are you sure you wanna wait for the mechanic? Honestly, I don’t mind driving you to the hospital.” Leeteuk nudged her arm gently, his concern lining his face and coloring his words. He really was an angel, Minhee thought, smiling gently at his kindness. She turned down his offer in the end, saying that she would go in the morning if her head still hurt. Besides, she laughed, she had an exceptionally thick skull. A little bump like that wouldn’t phase her, she said airily. But nobody; not Leeteuk, Siwon, or even Eunhyuk believed her. And much to their despair, as soon as Minhee had finished reassuring them that she was fine, she spaced out again. However, this had nothing to do with her head injury. More like, her incomprehension of a certain man.

            ~{Flashback}~

            “Hi there. Can I… help you?” The boy was staring at her expectantly and Minhee was vaguely aware that she should answer him, but her mind was still off gallivanting about, leaving Minhee clueless about what to say. Her eyes darted about, trying to find something she could talk about and still sound somewhat intelligent after being mute for approximately the past five minutes.

            What to use? Ummmmmmm, his shoes? God no. Maybe his job. No, that’d be too dry. She certainly couldn’t talk about how attractive she found him. Wait. What?

Her eyes zeroed in on the book in his hands again. It was rather thin, as far as books went, with a battered blue paperback cover and a heavily creased spine. The poor thing looked... old and very dirty overall. Despite all this, the word Minhee found came to mind was well-loved. The boy was still staring, she realized, much to her mortification. And so, she decided to wing it.

            “So, ah, what are you reading?” The boy’s face lit up at the question; he was probably relieved that she knew how to speak. Or he really liked that book.

            The boy took a few steps towards her which gave Minhee the chance to read his name tag. Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun. She liked it.

            Kyuhyun (she was glad she didn’t have to keep referring to him as ‘the boy’) stopped in front of her and held the book out in front of him proudly. He began speaking excitedly, “I’m reading The Phantom Tollbooth. It’s about this little boy who ends up in another world because of this tollbooth. And-” Minhee couldn’t stop herself from scoffing quietly. He was into children’s books?

Much to her chagrin, his stream of chatter abruptly stopped and looked at her curiously. He cocked his head to the side like a puppy and said, “Hm? Don’t you like fiction?” Minhee scoffed again, louder than before, and said, “Obviously.” After she finished speaking, she turned and began walking away. She felt a twinge of guilt for how harsh she was with him, but she shook it off. Minhee knew she was going to be in trouble if she hung around any longer.

Her getaway lasted about three steps until she realized that Kyuhyun was in front of her again. Minhee cursed her short stature and legs. And how did he get in front of her without her seeing? Oh, he had better not be some crazy stalker vampire or she was gonna be pissed.

Minhee looked up at Kyuhyun with murder in her eyes. Unfazed, Kyuhyun grabbed her by the arms and asked, “Well, what do you like then?” Why was he looking at her like that? He looked… so serious. Bipolar much? Maybe he had a multiple personality disorder.

Without hesitation, she replied, “Nonfiction.” Seconds ticked by uncomfortably as Minhee stood waiting for Kyuhyun to reply or at least let go of her. Is this how he felt when she was staring at him earlier? Poor guy. But judging by the look on his face, you’d have thought that Minhee had just kicked a puppy or something. She felt her face grow hot, which was ridiculous; why should she be embarrassed by her choice of literature?

He suddenly began to shake her back and forth lightly, practically crying, “How did you survive as a child?!” With her face now on fire, Minhee snapped contemptuously, “I survived just fine, thank you! Just because I chose not waste time fantasizing about fairies and dragons and other riffraff doesn’t mean my childhood was any less enriching than anyone else’s!” And with that, she wrenched her body away from him, silently fuming with her back to him for extra emphasis. The air in the room grew colder from the sudden lack of communication. Minhee began willing herself to move away from Kyuhyun and just find the nearest payphone and call her mother to pick her up. To be as rational as she usually was.

Her willpower was broken by the words that warmed the room once again. She couldn’t see his face as he spoke them, but she could feel his eyes burning holes in her heart when he mumbled, “Hey… I didn’t mean to make you angry. I’m sorry, ‘kay?” Minhee froze. Why did he know just how to break her? He didn’t know how much she wanted to hear those words. Not from him specifically, just… anyone really.

“I know… I just tend to overreact. I’m sorry, too.” Kyuhyun smiled again and laughed.

Unwillingly, Minhee laughed too, caught up in his smile and laughter. God, what was happening to her?! Grinning like a madman, she managed to choke out, “Why are you laughing?”

Kyuhyun gave a smile Minhee swore could light up all of Seoul and said in between chuckles, “Because… because we’ve been talking and getting along really well… and I-I just realized… we don’t know… each other’s names.”

            Minhee’s laughter slowly faltered and died out. Kyuhyun looked over at the sudden silence, worried that he had offended her once again. Minhee took a deep breath and held it, afraid of the words she was about to speak. If she gave her name… the two of them would be linked together. If they knew each other’s names… they would lose the chance to remain as strangers. To simply let this night fade into the backs of their minds with time and eventually forget it altogether. If she told him, she would make herself vulnerable to the chance of falling in love. Minhee couldn’t allow that to happen. Not after what she done. And so, she gave him what she hoped was a playful smile and said, “I’m not supposed to tell my name to strangers.” Kyuhyun looked at her strangely, but thankfully didn’t push the issue.

            In the silence that followed (There seemed to be a lot of it when it came to them.), Minhee forced her emotions to return to normal and said jokingly,  “So, what would you recommend? If you’re so adverse to nonfiction, what should I read then?” Kyuhyun smiled and held out The Phantom Tollbooth as his reply. Minhee shook her head and laughed, “I don’t believe in fairytales, so I don’t read them. Sorry.” Oh great. The puppy look again.

            Then his face brightened and he snapped his fingers. Minhee could literally hear the proverbial light bulb flicker on with a slight buzzing sound. Kyuhyun gave her another one of his million-watt smiles and jumped up. He looked down at her bewildered face and said with utter conviction, “By the end of this summer, you will believe.” Then he turned and rushed toward the door, briefly looking over his shoulder to say, “Meet me here next week, okay? Same day, same time. See ya then, Miss Mystery!”

            ‘What a strange guy…’

            ~{End Flashback}~

            Approximately fifteen minutes after Kyuhyun had rushed off, Leeteuk and the others had arrived with food and drinks from the Broom Closet. After everyone was introduced and Eunhyuk apologized (he was the one who threw the baseball), Siwon called the mechanic and the group sat down and began a comfortable conversation in order to keep each other awake. Minhee wished that her family would, by some sort of divine intervention, be this comfortable and happy. But noooo, every time there was a family reunion, it was always accusations and insults.

However, even after a half hour of talking to these people, Minhee still couldn’t believe so many attractive people could exist in one place and have it still be legal. Was this place secretly a model agency? Or maybe some bizarre variation of a maid cafe thing. Like in the Coffee Prince!

But these men and their attractiveness had little to no relevance to her current predicament. It was distracting though... Bad Minhee, bad!

Her current predicament was deciding whether or not she should return to ELF Books like Kyuhyun told her too. The rational side of her said that coming back was simply begging for trouble and heartache. Who knew if Kyuhyun's apparent interest in her would last the week? Men where unpredictable and unreliable and to put stock in one was pure lunacy.

There was another side to Minhee though, one that insisted if she didn't take this chance, she would be left wondering for the rest of her life. Wondering about what might have happened if she actually grew a backbone and listened to her heart for once.

Oh, Minhee knew she was a coward, but she had gotten this far in life by playing it safe, hadn't she? There was no real reason she should risk the fragile peace she had created for herself over some boy. Lunacy. Minhee shook her head.

And besides, she didn't deserve a shot at love after she had ruined her parents' marriage. That was just common sense, wasn't it? Wasn't it?

Well, to her it was. So, Minhee made up her mind that she was NOT, under any circumstance, coming back to ELF Books. Pleased with herself, Minhee took a sip of her now lukewarm hot chocolate and listened to the boys chat while they waited.
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12:53

Minhee was preparing herself to leave with the mechanic, who had so kindly decided to show up after nearly an hour. She fixed her clothes and checked herself in her hand mirror to make sure she didn't look too too bad. Minhee wanted to look at least somewhat presentable when she got home; her mother was probably furious at her since she had never been out this late before without giving due notice, and if she showed up looking like the living dead, she would only assume the worst. Minhee didn't feel like listening to another lecture on teen pregnancy and the affects of alcohol and drugs on ones body and mind.  Lastly she checked her purse to see if all of her essentials were there. After all, she wasn't coming back.

When she was sure she had everything and that she looked at least halfway decent, Minhee went to look for Leeteuk so she could thank him for his hospitality and help.

She found him towards the back of the store, organizing magazines. As she approached him, her footsteps quick and precise, he looked up and smiled brightly.

"Ah, leaving already?" Minhee smiled, nodded and gave a deep bow to show her thanks. Leeteuk then spoke again, his words warm and genuine.

"Come back and visit sometime, alright? The boys really seemed to like you and I'm sure that the other employees will want to meet you. It's not everyday we get to meet such a pretty girl, after all." Leeteuk finished with a twinkle in his eyes and smiled sweetly.

Minhee gave a small smile in return and nodded before starting to walk away. She did feel somewhat sad that she wouldn't be back; they were so kind to her and she felt so comfortable talking to them. She would miss Kyuhyun most of all.

In the back of her mind, the losing part if her whispered, "You're going to regret this you know." Suddenly, Minhee felt a strong urge to prove herself wrong. She was going to make sure that she regretted nothing about this night.

That sudden determination was why Minhee stopped in her tracks and whipped around. She blushed at Leeteuk who was looking at her a slightly shocked, but expectant face. She took a deep breath, steeled her nerves and said, "Who was here earlier? When you and the others were out getting food?" Of course she already knew, but to have no regrets, she decided, she would have to forget Kyuhyun. And all she needed to hear was something bad about him. If she just had one flaw, maybe she could convince herself that he was just like any another man; ignorant and insipid.

Leeteuk seemed to ponder this for a second before he said, "Do you mean Kyuhyun? Come to think of it, he wasn't here when we got back, was he?"

Minhee nodded and replied, "No, he ran off somewhere right before you guys got back." Leeteuk laughed, to Minhee's surprise.

"Aigoo, that boy. He just can't sit still." he continued on, shaking his head and chuckling, “He’s a good kid, if not a little arrogant at times. It's still a big improvement over how he used to be, of course..."

"How he used to be?" Minhee prompted. Maybe this would be something she could use.

"When I first hired him, he was... troubled. I can't blame him, though. It was right after that happened, so... Like I said, can't really blame him." Ugh, she hated when people avoided questions, indirect or not. The indirect questioning failed, so it was time for the more direct approach.

"What happened? Did someone die or something?" Leeteuk was silent for a few minutes and Minhee began to worry she had overstepped the boundaries. He sighed out of the blue and gave a small smile, then said simply, "I'm sorry, but that's not really my story to tell." Then he winked mischievously and said, "Maybe if you come back he'll tell you himself. Oh, and before you go," he rummaged through the front pocket of his apron and produced a leather-bound book with gold embellishments on the cover and spine.

"This is for you. You look like a writer." Leeteuk put the book in her hands and then walked away with a gentle smile. Minhee was left standing there, struck dumb for the second time that day.
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            1:56

            Minhee was lying in her bed, sweating and uncomfortable no matter how many times she tossed and turned. However, something told her that her discomfort had nothing to do with the heat. She knew herself well enough to know that she’d never be able to sleep until she faced the problem head on.

            So, she thought wryly, ‘To go, or not to go?’

            Yes, she had already been through this, but her heart just wouldn’t shut up about how she was making the biggest mistake of her life  and she was never going to get a guy this way and yadda yadda yadda.

            It was making her feel guilty.

            So Minhee let her thoughts drift to Kyuhyun, going over his words, expressions, and his features and drinking them in, trying to memorize them and make them last as long as she could.

            He was so refreshing and different than what she was used to; all the dry formality and hostility that had taken over her home and family as of late. When she was with him, her heart didn’t hurt so much and she could breathe a little easier and actually act like herself, not the pristine, goody two shoes act she had to use around her mother (She Who Was Perfect in Every Way).

           And when he had told her to come back… her heart sped up just thinking about it.

           And thinking about him made her feel alive. He made her want to live like she hadn’t been allowed to after her father picked up and left.

           And for the first time since she was ten… she was actually looking forward to the rest of summer. With him.

         “Alright, Kyuhyun. I accept your challenge. I look forward to believing again. Just… please… don’t let me down.” And with that last thought ringing in her head, Minhee slipped off in to dreamland.

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            A/N: Soooooo, what’d you guys think? I’m probably going to extend this into a short story, that is, if people like it. So, if you wanna find out what happens to Minhee and Kyuhyun, comment below! I hope you all enjoyed this! Oh, and sorry about the length. It’s like 5,000 words. XP

            Anyways, Goodnight (insert location here)!

            <3 Kestrelsong