You step out of the dressing room, glad to be back in your normal clothes. You put your baseball cap on your head, turning it so the bill is in the back.

You see Siwon speaking with Mr. Yoon a few years away. As the door to the dressing room closes behind you, they both turn in your direction. 

"Ah, Miss Jang!" Mr. Yoon says, approaching you. He pulls out an envelope from his pocket, handing it out to you.

"What's this?" you ask, taking the envelope. 

"It's compensation for doing the photo shoot," he replies in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Oh," you say. You hadn't even though about getting paid. "감사합니다 [Kamsahamnida]." You bow your head in thankfulness.  

Mr. Yoon smiles. "잘 오셨습니다 [jal osyeotsimnida (You are welcome)], Miss Jang." He gives you a slight bow as he turns to leave. 

"안녕하세요 [Annyeonghaseyo]!" both you and Siwon say, bowing your heads in unision. You both look up, grinning. "Jinx!" you both cry again in unision. 

"Jinx again!" you cry again. "You owe me a coke!"  You chuckle, remembering when you used to do that.

"How about I treat you to lunch instead?" asks Siwon with a smile.

You shake your head. "아니요 [Aniyo]. I was just joking."

"I know that, but I want to."

"아니 [Ani]."

He raises his eyebrows at you. "Are you going to be disrespectful to your '형 [hyung]'?" he asks, emphasizing the '형'.

"네 [Ne]," you reply with a slight nod and a small smile.

He puts both of his hands together and tilts them toward you. "Please, Jaehwa-ah."

You scoff. "아니 [Ani]." 

He tilts his head to the side and raises his left eyebrow up at you, keeping a firm stance

 "왜요 [Waeyo (Why)]?" you ask, not understanding why he wants to treat you so bad.

"Jaehwa-ah, I haven't been able to treat you to anything in over eight years." He gives you a small bow and a smile. "Allow me to treat you, as any gentleman should do for a lady friend."

You stare at him a moment. You already know that he's not going to budge.

"Fine!" you give in.

****

2005.05.12 (May 12, 2005)

"YOUNNNNGWOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!" you shout, running after the jerk.  You follow him as he runs down the empty corridor to one of the back doors of the SM building. "GET BACK HERE!" you yell as he opens the back door and dashes outside. "YAH!" The door slams shut behind him.

You reach the door and yank it open. You see him running down the street. "KIM YOUNGWOON!!!!" you shout, "GET BACK HERE NOW!" 

He glances back at you for a moment before picking up his pace. 

"AISH!" You run, making your legs go faster than before. "YAH!" you cry again as you begin to near hm.

He ignores you. He picks up the pace again and runs into a nearby park. You follow him, getting ever so much closer to him. "I'M 'ONNA KILL YOU!" 

He keeps running, but he glances back with a look that contains both shock, bewilderment, and a little bit of terror.

Fueled with anger and a need for vengence, your feet pound against the pavement and onto the grass, nearing Youngwoon with each step. He runs through a wooded area of the park, as if trying to lose you among the plantlife. He starts panting really hard and tries to find a way to hide. Like a predator hunting its prey, you bolt for him with strength and vigor. He dodges in between a set of trees and you run faster around the other side of them to cut off his exit. You crouch behind a tree and wait for him to appear. He's going to get his...

You can hear him panting and the sound of his footsteps before you even see him. Three... Two... One! You tackle him from the side, like an American football player, making him fall to the ground with a shriek of surprise.

"Yah!"

"GOTCHA, YOU JERK!" You snarl at him as you pin your fists into his shoulder blades. 

He stares up at you wide-eyed. 

"I don't know who you think you are," you spit out, glaring daggers at him. "But I'll have you know that I don't take that from anyone! You got that?" You raise your hand in a fist, ready to punch him in the nose. 

Someone grabs your wrist. You snap your head around,  your whole body seething with anger. "Let go." He doesn't loosen his grip. You wrench your hand away from him, but he catches it up again and snakes his other arm around your waist and pulls you off of Youngwoon. You struggle to get out of his grasp, but his grip around you tightens. 

Youngwoon sits up, watching the whole scene before him with wide eyes, panting for breath.

"Jaehwa-ah! Stop it!"

"아니 [Ani]!" you shout, continuing to struggle. "I have to teach him a lesson!"

"Jaehwa!!!" He struggles to constrain you, as you try to wrestle out of his grip.

You both lose your balance and topple to the ground. He takes advantage of the moment and sits on top of your stomach, pinning your hands above your head.

You glare up at Heechul. "Yah! Why can't I just punch his lights out?!" You fight to get your arms free.

"Jaehwa!" Heechul screams at you. "Youngwoon was just teasing you!"

"That wasn't a joke THAT was derogatory and--" Heechul cuts you off by cupping a hand over your mouth, freeing one of your hands temporarily before he grabs both of your hands in one. 

"Shut up," he says, angrily. "He was just trying to tease you! You should just take it, since it's not like anyone is going to say that to you for real. You're not even half attractive enough for anyone to say that for real," he scoffs. 

You stop struggling and stare up at him wide-eyed. You have half a mind to hurt Heechul really bad, but the truth of his words sink in.  You turn your head away from him, getting his hand away from your mouth. "Get off," you say coldly in a low voice, so low he can barely hear you. 

"Promise not to hurt Youngwoon-ah?"

You nod. "Promise."

He gets off, releasing  your hands. You get up, looking away from them to avoid any eye contact. You straigthen your wrinkled T-shirt and adjust your baseball cap, pulling it low over your eyes, before heading away from them, head bent low. 

"Jaehwa-ssi?" you hear Youngwoon's voice. You ignore him, putting your hands in your pockets and walking faster. You can hear him, still panting from running. He won't even try to catch up to you. Good riddance!

****

Present:

"Jaehwa-ah, I have to say that you did a really good job today. It's never been that easy working with another model before, and I have to work with professionals," Siwon says, taking a sip from his drink. 

You scoff. "You're just being nice Siwon-ah."

Siwon shakes his head, setting down his drink on the table. "아니 [Ani]. I mean it."

You chuckle. "You're too sweet, Siwon-ah. 감사 [Kamsa]." You take a sip of your cola. "Maybe I should get into the whole modeling thing," you joke.

Siwon does not catch the teasing tone in your voice. "You mean you want to do modeling in addition to singing?"

You almost choke on your soda. "Mwoh?" you say, a look of befuddlement on your face.

Siwon raises an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean 'in addition to singing'?" you ask, knitting your eyebrows.

"Well, aren't you going to start your singing career now that you're back?"

You take another drink of your water. "아니 [Ani]."

Siwon tilts his head puzzeled by your response. "왜 안돼요[waeandwaeyo (Why not)]?"

You shrug. "I'm too old."

"What do you mean?"

You let out a slow sigh. "I'm 26 years old. There's teenagers who are debuting. I can't just waltz in there and go through the auditions and training again. I'm too old." You look down at your glass. Empty. Just like your old dream. You continue, "Besides, I haven't done anything like that in eight years. I think I've lost my touch." You chuckle during the latter part, trying to make a joke out of it. Problem is, your voice cracks at the end, giving away your innermost feelings in the matter.You shrug.

"You still have a chance, Jaehwa-ah," Siwon says with a reassuring smile.

You shake your head. "I had my chance eight years ago. It's over now. I need to move on in life." Before you can say another word, the waitress arrives with your order. You decide to leave that conversation and move onto another one. No point in brin