[TRIGGER WARNING: Depression and attempted suicide… I know, this is a much darker chapter than everyone is used to… I hope it doesn’t prevent any of my beloved readers from continuing on with my story, but as a person who is writing partially on her own experiences, I completely understand and will not think any differently of you if you do not want to read. Just know that I care about every single one of you and I wouldn’t want you to read something that hurts or would make you want to hurt yourself or others, even if it is my own writing.]

                Mi Young blinked herself awake, wincing at the headache that was pounding in her skull. She yawned, still curled up in her blankets, wanting nothing more than to close her eyes and go back to sleep.

                However, when she saw sunlight streaming into her room, she frowned. Had she woken up before her alarm had rung? That couldn’t have been right—she set her phone’s alarm for 8 o’clock and the sun shouldn’t have been so bright. Maybe she had slept through it then? Crap.

                She sat up slowly and began looking for her phone, and that was when she realized something was wrong.

                “What…?” In an instant, she was alert, flying to her feet. However, She regretted the motion immediately, since it sent a wave of dizziness through her that momentarily clouded her vision in black. Once she had recovered from her blackout, though, she stared around her room in bewilderment.

                No, not her room.

                She sat uneasily on the bed she had just leapt out of. It didn’t belong to her. Not the pillows, the bed sheets, the comforter...

                “Did I drink anything last night?” She mumbled under her breath, pushing her hair back and hitting herself lightly in the forehead to try and jog her memory. She had been out with Shinhwa, yes, but she kept to her normal routine, not drinking any alcohol.

                She wasn’t hungover, that was for sure.

                Then why in the hell was she suddenly in an apartment that she didn’t recognize? Mi Young began looking around for any hints as to what was going on. The pajamas she was wearing weren’t familiar and the room was almost empty save for the bed, a dresser, and an empty desk that looked similar to the one in her apartment.

                “My laptop, my phone, my wallet…” Mi Young began going through the drawers and closet, trying to find one of the three precious possessions that might enlighten her on the current situation. However, she didn’t’ have any luck finding anything and began panicking.

                “Where the hell…” She ventured out of the bedroom for the first time, heading out into the living room and kitchenette.

                She stopped short in the kitchen area. Something was off, definitely.

                Not only was she lost in this weird place, but the style of the apartment was strange. The refrigerator was one of the older models, a giant white slab that stuck out horribly next to the vintage, aluminum, gas-burning stove.

                Whoever actually lived in the apartment seriously needed to remodel.

                The thought gave Mi Young a start. ‘Who lives here?’ She immediately whirled around, half-expecting some creepy person to be standing behind her, but thankfully, there was no one.

                “H-hello?” She called out. She retreated back towards the bedroom, but other than an empty bathroom that was just as dated as the kitchen, she found nobody in the whole apartment.

                She was alone.

                Mi Young didn’t know what to think. On one hand, she was afraid of being on her own without anyone to help her, but on the other, she was grateful that there wasn’t some crazy, murderous psychopath who had drugged and kidnapped her and was waiting for her to wake up so he could…

                Mi Young shivered. She really, really needed to stop watching those crime dramas late at night. Aish.

                ‘No, be serious!’ She shook her head fiercely, trying to clear her mind and think of a possible solution to the odd situation she was stuck in. All her thoughts were frantic and muddled, swirling aimlessly in her mind and preventing her from thinking straight.

                Mi Young took a deep breath and sat herself down on the moth-eaten couch, reaching for the blocky TV remote and hitting the power button at the top of it. The large, rectangular black box buzzed to life and after the static faded, Mi Young switched through the channels until she came to a news channel.

                “Hello, we’re here in this beautifully sunny April day, looking at the cherry blossoms that are blooming all over the country…”

                Mi Young froze, the old-fashioned remote falling onto the couch beside her. “April? What the hell?!”

                No, that wasn’t right. That wasn’t right at all. Last night had been August… Mi Young squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to remember the date. August…

                “August 15^th!!” She exclaimed, her voice echoing in the dim room.

                It had been August 15^th the day before… So why was this stupid news reporter standing in front of cherry blossoms and commenting on the sunny April weather? Mi Young glared at the screen until she noticed something in the corner of the screen, next to the news logo and the temperature outside.

                10:17AM, April 7^th, 2004.

                2004?

                Mi Young blinked at the number several times, making sure that the second zero didn’t turn into a one, like it was supposed to. No, it still said 2004.

                It wasn’t a joke, then. But how…

                She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all. No, that wasn’t right. Yesterday, she had hung out with the group, celebrating Jun Jin’s birthday a little early before everyone headed out for their breaks. It had been a hot, cloudy day that promised rain from the summer monsoons. She had gotten a bracelet from Andy, a small leather strap with a couple of beads that—oddly enough—still hung on her wrist, an old trinket that each of the members had worn in their early years.

                Jun Jin was going to be turning 35. Shinhwa was done promoting it’s 12^th album. Mi Young was supposed to be helping Eric plan Shinhwa’s activities for the next year.

                How in the hell had she ended up here?!

                “2004…” She muttered to herself, feeling a vaguely familiar rush of anxiety come over her. God, how long had it been since she last felt like this?

                Before that time…

                She hugged her knees, the trembling in her body worsening as she began having a full-blown panic attack.

                Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe it was all a terrible dream that she would wake up from in a little bit. Mi Young felt tears stinging her eyes, blurring her vision as she clenched her hands into fists, rocking back and forth. The painful sensation of her nails digging into her palm didn’t jolt her awake, didn’t release her from the nightmare.

                It wasn’t a dream. It was real.

                2004… Wasn’t that the year…? Mi Young sobbed, burying her face into her knees and wishing everything was just a sick joke.

                2004… The year after her parents were killed…

                The year she had tried to commit suicide.

                Mi Young’s parents had been moderately well-known in their field of work. Her father—Ji Seung Ho—was a mathematical genius who used his prowess to push himself farther in the still-developing chemical engineering field. Mi Young’s mother—Ji Jung Hee—had a talent for all things science, but had a fondness for chemistry and experimentation.

                They were practical people, very different from Mi Young’s aloof and creative mind. They had both been born in Seoul in the early 1960’s, both moved to the United States, and had met and married through their parents’ persuasion.

                Mi Young came along a few years after they had settled into their small dwelling in the Chicago suburbs, where she would live until her middle school years. As a child, Mi Young was drilled constantly by her parents in arithmetic and the early sciences. She didn’t have a particular attachment or skill for either subject, but since chemistry was her parents’ livelihoods, she didn’t mind going along with their antics. The one thing her parent’s did notice about her was her talent in linguistics—they spoke in Korean dialects at home, but little Mi Young didn’t seem to have any issues learning English in her classes and distinguishing between both languages.

                Mi Young loved her mother and father. They were not affectionate—as many Asian parents tend to be—but they cared deeply for their daughter and her success. Seeing her parents do well made Mi Young proud to be their daughter and she always tried her best to make sure she didn’t do anything that would make anyone think less of them. She had always been—even at such a young age—aware of the importance of social standings and respect.

                When her parents were transferred to work in Japan in 2002 on a new experiment, Mi Young had gone with them willingly. She wasn’t a very sociable girl and therefore didn’t have many friends that she left behind in America, so she transitioned comfortably to life in Japan. She was twelve when she moved with her parents to Osaka and despite being so young, she learned her third language—Japanese—with ease.

                Her parents were grateful—her ability to learn multiple languages was something that made up for what she lacked in science and math. They made sure to that she consistently practiced both Korean and English at home, simultaneously polishing up their daughter’s skills as well as honing their own. Perhaps they were preparing their daughter to be a translator for the higher-ups in the sciences.

                But unfortunately, Mi Young would never know.

                It was a snowy winter in 2003. Mi Young had been waiting at home, having gotten out of school early due to the poor weather. She had made herself a small snack—as she always did—and had been doing her homework when she had gotten the call.

                Seung Ho and Jung Hee’s most recent experiment had gone horribly wrong. There was something in the report about an explosion, and how all who were involved had died immediately. The police had come to their home, where they would find 13 year old Mi Young in hysterics, unable to answer any questions and paralyzed with grief.

                She didn’t remember much after that. Having a Korean citizenship, she was sent back to live in Seoul. Due to her strange circumstances and late parents’ standing in the science industry, she was able to obtain a permit that allowed her to live on her own as an adult, something that was almost unheard of in society at the time.

                Time passed and Mi Young stayed cooped up in the studio apartment that her parents’ salaries paid for. She sunk into a deep depression, having lost the only people she ever had in her life. Her grades and schoolwork fell as she neglected going to school, and after several months of not sleeping and barely eating, she couldn’t take it anymore.

                She planned everything out as meticulously as her parents had trained her to be, signing all of her their earnings back to the scientific field they loved so much and had died working for.

                Mi Young picked the unused seven-story building that was down the street from her neighborhood. The descent would be quick, and her death would be—hopefully—painless.

                Whether it was a miscalculation on her part, or perhaps an intervention of fate, the fall hadn’t been enough to end 13 year-old Mi Young’s life. According to the hospital, her suicide attempt had given her severe head trauma and left her in a coma for a little over a month.

                When she finally awoke, she found that she was in need of years of physical rehabilitation as well as therapy to “fix” her deteriorating emotional state. It was during her time in the hospital that she heard of a popular idol group that was becoming a household name all over the country.

                Shinhwa.

                Mi Young had never heard of KPOP before that point, but after reading about how the six men had prevailed and been successful despite various setbacks, she became inspired. To many people, finding a will to live again just because of an idol group seemed materialistic and shallow, but Shinhwa nonetheless served that purpose in Mi Young’s life. She didn’t care if it was superficial—so many things in life were, so why not indulge herself?

                She began studying music as her physical rehabilitation. In the hospital, she learned how to play violin and the piano in addition to cello—which her parents had allowed her to learn as a child—and grew knowledgeable in music theory. Once she was strong enough to get back on her feet, she began dancing and training her voice. Music was her safe haven; music was what made her feel some semblance of happiness again. It was the thing would be her connection to Shinhwa and other idol groups, until she was called by ESP in 2011.

                Mi Young thought she had put that terrible past behind her.

                She believed that she have finally found the place where she belonged, Shinhwa Company.

                So what was she doing here, back in the darkest point in her life?

                “Why here…?” She whispered, her words barely audible over the TV static.

                She stumbled off the couch, reaching for the phone connected to the wall in the kitchen.

                There was no dial tone.

                “…” She cursed, slamming the phone back onto the receiver. She didn’t know what to do. Who could she turn to? People would think she was insane if she told them what had happened to her. Hell, she didn’t even know what had happened either, let alone trying to explain her situation to a complete stranger.

                What could she tell them? That she woke up in a different time? Yeah, that would go over really well.

                That was when it hit her. Time? There was one person who knew about strange experiences with time. Sure, he could only see into the future, but if that was where Mi Young had come from, maybe he would know what do to.

                He was her only hope. And to find him, she had to find them.

                Shin Hyesung.

[Phew… This was a tough chapter to write... I didn’t want to go into too much detail about depression and the feelings associated with it—this story is supposed to be something that people read for fun, right? However, I did want to show Mi Young’s life before the beginning of the story (which—as some might be able to tell—includes references to some of my personal experiences), and this was the best time to do it.

Whoo, character development and conflict~

 Things will lighten up in the next few chapters—as things normally do whenever Shinhwa is involved—so I hope everyone will continue to enjoy!]