"The latest development now  is a plane crash that occurred in Hiroshima, Japan. The flight, with 287 passengers on board, originating in Seoul, Korea, was supposed to have landed in the Chubu airport in Kyoto. However, the plane, as quoted by witnesses, "suddenly came out of the sky at high speeds, crashed into a field and burst into smoke and flames", at exactly 23:13 hours last night. The Fire Department and medical response teams are currently here at the scene, trying to control the situation. Unfortunately, they have been unable to find any survivors thus far. The causes of the plane's abrupt crash are unknown but as they continue their examination, they can only assume the intense weather last night as the main culprit. The pilot, Choi Kang-Kuk, who has been piloting for......"

                 The newsreporters mouth was still moving but Nana couldn't hear anything. She stared at the screen in her living room, trying to comprehend the reporter's words. Plane crash? Last night? Unable to find any...survivors? Was mom and dad on that.......

                 No! They couldn't have been. Nana thought , her eyes b with tears. They're still in Korea, Baka (idiot). They're at that important meeting right now, right? Nana rounded all her attention back at the screen.

                  "... first decent on this flight. The Gimpo International Airport in Seoul reported that 40 of the passengers were students from Osaka university who were coming from a school field trip to Seoul. The airport has also reported that CEO Lee, of the famous Lee corporation in Kyoto, and his wife were on board. They were initially supposed to return to Kyoto on December 26th but allegedly rescheduled their flight to Kyoto back two days earlier in time for the holidays. Our condolences goes to the victims and the victim's families. The Fire Department is now...."

                   Nana stopped listening completely as the world crumbled beneath her feet. She stood there watching the television display images of the plane engulfed in flames with the firefighter's trying to extinguish it. Rescheduled their flight? For the holidays? Nana didn't notice the doorbell ring and one of the maids answer it as the other maids who were watching behind her, break out into mourns. She also didn't notice the tears streaming down her own face.

                   "Nana?" Maid Arisa crouched beside the child and shook her firmly. "Answer me!"

                    Nana didn't make a sound. She just stared blankly at the screen as the maid tried to get her attention. She tuned everything out, drowning herself in her thoughts.Unfair.Cruel.Harsh.Painful.Wicked. That's what she thought of the world. How could the world just take them away? How could it? She didn't do anything bad? She got good grades. Never asked for anything unneccessary. Worked hard to be the mature, calm, and collected daughter of a famous CEO. How could she forgive the world for this? Promises are lies. She thought, remebering the promise her mom made to her. (Chapter 1)

                "Nana!" Manager Joon rushed to Nana's side after being let in by Maid Ichinose who told him about her unresponsive behavior. " Come on, talk to me!" He searched the girls face. She looked horrible. Her skin was flushed. Her cheeks stained with tears. But, her eyes scared him the most. They were red from the tears and looked hollow; like her soul was just out. They didn't even look green to him anymore;they just looked like empty orbs staring out into the unsound distance.

              "She won't respond to me!" Maid Arisa cried.

              "Maybe we should take her to the hospital?" Maid Nagisa suggested, wiping the moisture from her face.

              "I'll take her." Manager Joon said, picking up Nana who didn't even flinch as his arms wrapped around her, bridal style, and carried her out of her villa.

               Nana stared up at the sky as the man carried her across the front lawn. She used to love to stare at the sky and wonder if the whole world was just being controlled by someone, like puppets under a puppetmaster. She would find it amusing to picture a giant, moving all the houses and buildings like it was furniture for a doll house and playing with everyone like they were barbie dolls. However, the more she thought about it now, the less amusing it was. How was it funny to think that someone would be controlling your life, making it miserable or turning it all upside down whenever they felt like it? That's what her life was right now. Upside down. Whoever her puppetmaster was had just been bored and decided to take her two most precious people away from her. The world is just toying with me. As another tear rolled across Nana's face, she closed her eyes and drifted off....

            ******

               Why is it so cold? Nana tried to open her eyes but found that she couldn't. Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift so she decided to keep them closed. She had woken up to a cold drift. Probably from a window. She thought. And where am I?

               Suddenly, everything came rushing back into her head. Watching tv, someone calling her name, arms wrapping around her and then..... that was it. That was all she remembered. What happened after that. As she tried to figure it out, she noticed she was becoming a bit sleepy. I'll just go back to sleep. But, just as she was dozing off.....

              "What do you mean they're not coming?!" An agitated voice whispered. Nana's senses jumped back awake just as they were shutting off. "They're not going to take responsibility for her?" Nana noticed the voice was kind of muffled so she guessed the speaker was just outside of the room she was in.

              "I guess not." A deeper voice said. "The relationship between Mrs.Lee and her in-laws has always been less then friendly. I think the highest you could call their relationship would be 'acquaintances'. I don't know exactly why, but Mr.Lee's family never approved of the marriage. So, I'm not surprised that they don't want anything to do with Nana."

             Dad's family, huh? Of course they don't want anything to do with me. Nana thought, not even confused by the conversation going on. She never got along with her dad's family. (Btw, Nana's mom doesn't have a family) She never even considered calling them 'her' family.

             The only time she would see them was when they would come from their home in Korea to celebrate her dad's birthday or Thanksgiving; never on Christmas.When she did see them, they would just give her and her mom a cold look and talk among themselves with her dad. While they would be conversing in the dining room, Nana and her mom would just go into the den, make jokes about the people in the other room, except her dad, and watch old, mystery television shows. "Did you see what Aunt Mimi was wearing?" Her mom would say. " Please learn how to dress your age, women! And her make-up? She looks like a clown!" Nana would giggle uncontrollably and they would continue whispering, afraid their guests in the other room would hear.

             After the in-laws would leave, her dad would join them and add some of his own jokes about his family here and there which would result in them bursting into laughter.

             Nana felt tears welling up in her eyes. She would miss these moments. All the late nights working on her school projects with her dad. Watching 'chick flicks', cliche soap opera's and playing piano with her mom. She wouldn't be able to experience those times anymore; the times when she was loved. She started to cry hard.

              "Then who is going to be her overseer?" Nana was startled from the voices she had almost forgotten about and the sound of a door opening. She tried to choke back her tears and pretend to be asleep even though she wasn't tired anymore.

              "Do you think she has to be orphanized?" The voice asked again. Orphanized? For some reason, Nana couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She trembled as the tears continued to flood out of her eyes.

              "Maybe we shou- Nana!"

              Nana immediately opened her eyelids right away when she heard her name to see her dad's manager and Maid Arisa staring at her with worried looks. They looked tired and pale, like they hadn't gotten sleep in days.

              "Why am I here?" Nana asked as she forced herself to stop crying and looked around the room. It was a hospital room. There was an open window to her right that was letting in the cool breeze she had felt earlier. On the far side of the room were two chairs and a loveseat surrounding a coffee table. There was also a tv on the wall above the loveseat. To the left of her stood Manager Joon in a wrinkled suit with his brown hair all tangled up. At the foot of the bed stood Maid Arisa who looked as horrible as the latter.

             "Um...." Manager Joon hesitated.

             Not hearing a response from the man, Nana slowly sat up and turned her attention to Maid Arisa, looking at her with eyes that pleaded for her to answer.

              Maid Arisa hesitated too for a moment but seeing the look on Nana's face made her sit on the edge of the bed next to Nana's feet. "You don't remember how you got here?"

             "I remember being carried by Mr. Joon..." Nana furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard about what happened after that. "Then everything after that is all...black."

             "Well, you weren't responsive when you saw the...uh... announcement, so Manager Joon volunteered to take you to the hospital but you fainted in his arms. You've been asleep for two days straight."

             "Oh....." Nana looked down at her hands and twiddled with her fingers, trying to bite back the tears that fought to come out of her eyes. She didn't want to cry, especially in front of them. She wanted to be the mature child of CEO Lee like she was supposed to be. That was the image she had to live up to.

             "Are you hungry?" Maid Arisa asked, attempting to change the subject. She noticed tears forming in Nana's eyes and being her maid, she knew that Nana never liked to cry in front of anyone due to her image and pride as a 'Lee'.

            "Kind of.....heh." Nana put on a small smile and faked a laugh.

            "I'll get you something." Maid Arisa smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Joon and Nana alone.

            "Thankyou." Nana mumbled under her breath.

            "Huh?" Manager Joon was surprised by her breaking the awkward silence, especially with a ' Thank you'.

           "Thank you.... for carrying me here."

           "Your'e welcome, Nana." Manager Joon smiled. "It was really nothing. Your father was like a brother to me so I consider you to be my niece. I would do anything for your family."

           Nana managed to smile a bit as she too thought of Manager Joon as her uncle. But, she remembered the conversation earlier and couldn't help but want to continue it. "Mr. Joon, about what you and Maid Arisa were talking about earlier..." Manager Joon shifted uncomfortably. Had she heard? "....Who will take care of me from now on?"

         Manager Joon thought for a minute. Does she really have to be orphanized? "I really don't know Nana. I'm sorry. If you want, I could contact your family in--"

        "No! Please don't!" Nana begged. She was alarmed at the thought of living under the same roof as her dad's family; she would rather live alone forever. However, she didn't want to be an orphan. "But.... please don't take me to an orphanage either."

            Manager Joon sighed.

            "Take care of her for me while we're in Korea." Mr.Lee told Manager Joon the day they left for Seoul.

            "Of course, Junho." Manager Joon answered.

            "Make sure to keep us coming back home early, a surprise." Mrs.Lee cut in. " I want it to be like an early birthday gift for Nana."

             "Of course Chitose."

            "Well, we'll be going now." Mr.Lee waved good-bye as Joon waved back.

             Take care of her, huh? Manager Joon thought as the memory faded away. Take care of her. Take care of her. The words repeated in his mind until he realized the obvious. That's it!

             "Nana, how do you feel about me becoming your guardian?"

             Nana widened her eyes at the thought. What would it be like to live with Mr. Joon? She really did think of him as her uncle. He would always give her  present's on her birthday's and called it his 'birthday gift streak' since Nana always liked the gifts he gave her. He would also help her with her homework when her parents were away on business. She wouldn't mind at all if he became her guardian but she didn't want to move in with him. Her house held too many memories and she just couldn't bear to part with it. Nana looked up at Manager Joon.

              " I would love it if you would become my guardian but I don't want to leave my house. Please understand."

              Manager Joon took another minute to think. " How about.... I'll become your legal guardian but I'll put your house under my name so that it will become my private property and you could continue living there while I'll stay at my house. I'm sure you wouldn't want me moving in."

               Nana smiled so brightly that it looked like the room dimmed a little compared to her face. "Thank you Mr.Joon! I'm so grateful to for this!" She got up on her knees to hug him.

               "You're welcome." Manager Joon smiled and hugged her back. Nana sat back down on her bed.

                "Well. I should be going now. I have.... some things to attend to." Manager Joon said. He actually had to go take care of things over Mr. Lee's will and his corporation but didn't have the heart to tell Nana. Nana wasn't dumb though. She was a clever girl and she knew he had to go take care of a few business affairs, being the Manager of her CEO father; especially now that he was deceased. Speaking of her dad....

               "Mr. Joon, about my parents... did they really reschedule their flight for the holiday's?" Manager Joon turned pale. Should he tell her? She has the right to know.

              "Yes, Nana. They wanted to be back a couple day's earlier for your birthday. I'm sorry." Manager Joon looked down at his feet as Nana looked down at her hands, trying to hide the tears again.

             "You don't have to apologize."

             Maybe I shouldn't have told her. Manager Joon exhaled. Wait, I still have that thing!

            " Speaking of your birthday, Happy belated birthday, and Christmas." Manager Joon congratulated, pulling out a letter from his jacket and handing it to her.

            Nana looked down at the wrinkled letter in her hands. There was a smudged signature on the front in blue ink.

            Our Beloved Nana

            This is mom's writing. Nana looked up at Manager Joon with doubtful eyes. Joon nodded and walked out of the room to give her some privacy.

            Nana quickly opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. She felt tears cascading down her face and fall onto the paper she was reading, smudging some of the writing.

            She couldn't hold back anymore. Nana broke out into sob's as she cried her heart out, letting out all the tears she had tried hard to suppress the whole time.

            I miss you so much!

To be continued...