Miyoung’s POV:

It had been three months since I’d started practicing with Nichkhun, which meant lots of physical activity throughout the week. So having an entire week off for the summer was something I was totally not used to.

I stared at the wall clock while sitting in front of the kitchen counter, and I could literally feel every second that passed in the pit of my stomach. I was dying of pure boredom.

This sudden change of schedule had me confusing things from the very wee hours of the morning. I had woken up today (even though it was a Saturday) and had immediately gotten into the shower to get ready for practice. I didn’t even realize I was still on summer break until I was halfway out of the house and Raph stopped me on my tracks, asking why in the world I was wearing my training clothes.

It was 2:00 in the afternoon and I’d already finished reading a book I started about a week ago, I organized the shoes in my closet and spent thirty minutes trying to get some of the people in our staff to sit down and talk to me, but since my father was having an important dinner tonight, maids and cooks were running around helplessly trying to get everything ready so my dad wouldn’t have a heart attack. They obviously had no time for me.

The hands on the clock moved painfully slow, as if they enjoyed watching me suffer, and wanted to make my misery even worse.

2:01

I looked down at my phone that was placed on the counter, and wondered if I should call Nichkhun, and maybe plan out a fun day together...but no. He probably wanted to rest from my athletically handicapped self, he needed it. He had worked as hard as I did and deserved a good rest.

I wondered what he was up to…

2:02

And what if I asked Raph to take me out for a ride? He was pretty much free for the day…but why would I need him for that? I could perfectly take my own car if the purpose was to simply go for a ride. Even if I did, where would I go, exactly? The mall? The beach? The library? WHERE?

All of those places sounded absolutely meaningless if I went alone. I guess that’s the reason why I first thought of having Raph drive me.

2:04

I stared at the wall clock completely baffled. Four minutes? THAT’S ALL?

2:05

Ugh.

I crossed my arms on the kitchen counter and buried my face in them. Looking at that wall clock was driving me absolutely insane, it wasn’t doing anything for me.

The vibrating of my phone startled my moment of despair, surprising me yet giving me a small feeling of hope.

If they gave awards to ‘the fastest phone call ever answered’, this one would have won. It rang just once.

“Hello?!” I answered, in the creepiest voice I’d ever made.

“Umm…hi…is this Miyoung’s phone?” the voice sounded oddly familiar, but I couldn’t quite identify why.

“Yes, yes, this is she.” I tried to control my voice this time.

“Uh…hi, Miyoung. This is Annie.” The voice sounded scared.

Annie? Wait…where had I heard that name befo-

“I’m Nichkhun’s friend, from the staff party.”

Oh. That’s where.

“Oh right! That’s true! I didn’t recognize your voice, how are you?” and most importantly, how did she get my number? Not that it bothered me of course.

“I’m good. I just asked Nichkhun for your phone number to see if you wanted to hang out with me today.”

God bless Nichkhun and his kind ways.

“REALLY? How come? Not that I mind of course…” I started to notice I was going out of breath. And Annie seemed to notice too.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine, perfectly! I’m just a little surprised that you want to hang out with me, nobody ever does.” That was probably the saddest thing to ever come out of my mouth. How pathetic.

“Well, to tell you the truth…that happens to me too. I have no other friends besides the guys, and when they’re not around I get painfully bored.”

God bless Annie and her kind ways.

“Yes well, you’re lucky. I don’t have ANY friends!” I laughed nervously into the speaker. Way to burn yourself down, Miyoung.

To my surprise, Annie laughed. Not an ‘I feel sorry for you’ kind of laugh, an actual laugh.

“Do you want to meet up, then?” she asked.

My eyes widened and my body went stiff. “Sure! What time?”

“Well I’m in walking around Hongdae right now, maybe you want to meet up at the free market, say around 3:00?”

The free market, I’d heard about that many times before, but I was never allowed to go. It was an event held at the Hongik Children’s park, where artists gather each Saturday to display and sell their handmade crafts and accessories.

“That sounds great! I’ve always wanted to go to the free market!”

“Alright, I’ll see you then!”

Annie hung up the phone but I kept it stuck to the side of my face a few seconds longer than was necessary.

Was I actually going to hang out with a new friend? That had seriously never happened before. Being homeschooled, although a lot more comfortable, makes you miss out on an incredible part of teenage life, which is making friends. It was until now that I finally had the opportunity to actually go out to the streets and hang out with a potential friend.

Once again, God bless Nichkhun and his kind ways.

I snapped out of my state of shock and immediately ran up the large staircase of my home and into my bedroom.

My closet suffered quite a rampage after that. I went inside the walking closet and rummaged through my clothes in frenzy, looking for something nice, casual and not so flashy. Yet all I could find were dresses and expensive blouses. I honestly couldn’t believe all my life I was forced to dress like a full blown princess 24/7.

Right when my head was about to explode and nearly half of my closet was lying useless on my bed, I found a nice pair of jeans that I’d bought unsupervised when my father had sent Raph for me at the end of practice one day, and since he wouldn’t be home for a while, I convinced Raph of taking me to the mall, where I’d purchased quite a few things of my choice.

Yes, my father also controlled how I spent my money, and how I dressed. Apparently I am to be some sort of role model to the young society of Seoul, and my image of well-mannered girl had to be impeccable at all times. Sometimes I think my father believes he’s more influential than he actually is. I never saw anyone paying more than the rightful amount of attention to our family or our business. Yes, it was famous and important, but not as much as my father thought it to be.

I slipped into the pair of jeans and searched for the Geeks tee that I’d bought that day. I really liked that band.

Next, I took out my favorite black combat boots and quickly put them on. I looked in the mirror and for the first time in a while felt completely comfortable with what I was wearing. I ruffled my hair a little a fixed my bangs. I looked carefree and not as air-brushed as usual.

After I picked up my phone from my bed and grabbed my bag, I ran downstairs to get my car’s keys. Raph was sitting in the kitchen with Hye Song, the gardener, and were both taken aback by my transformation.

“Mimi?” Hye Song gasped in her husky voice.

I stopped on my tracks and turned around slowly to the sound of Hye Song’s voice, like a deer in front of the headlights.

“Yes?”

“Where are you going, sweetheart?” Raph inquired.

“Um…out…with a friend.” I sounded retarded. C’mon, Mi Young! It’s not like you’re doing something terrible.

“If it’s Nichkhun you’re talking about, don’t worry honey, we all know about him already.” Hye Song assured me.

I let out a hysterical chuckle. Secrets don’t last very long as ‘secrets’ when it comes to Raph, or any of the staff members for that matter.

“It’s not him! I am capable of making new friends you know…” That whispered that last sentence; a little bitter that everyone thought I didn’t have any friends other than Khun.

Hye Song giggled and Raph put his hand over hers, telling her to stop.

“Well, whoever it is Miyoung, please make sure to be back before dinner time, your father has guests over and he wants to introduce you to them.” He continued.

I gave him thumbs up and ran towards the back door to the garage. All the while I could hear Raph’s scold to Hye Song fading into the air.

I hopped into my car and began my 30 minute drive to Hongdae, where Annie was waiting.

-

I arrived at Hongik Children’s Park and parked my car near the entrance, but I saw no signs of Annie being close by. I took out my phone and called her.

The phone rang twice. “Annie?”

“Hey, Miyoung! Where are you?”

“I’m standing next to a silver car near the entrance? Should I go in?” I asked.

“No! That’s fine, I’ll look for you.”

“Alright, see you.”

I hanged up and rested against my car as I waited for Annie. My flashy and unnecessary silver Mustang attracted the attention of many passer-byes in that short amount of time that it took Annie to find me.

Men of all ages stopped to marvel at the automobile like it was a special kind of robot from the future. Some of them even had the nerve to ask if it was my father’s car, to which I responded with the truth that I was the only owner of the car. While some of them apologized for the confusion, others nodded understandably and others laughed cynically at me, snickering that I should just stop lying to people.

After a few minutes of that, I saw Annie’s small figure approaching. Her eyes wandered around the park in search for me.

“HEY ANNIE!!” I hollered, waving my right arm.

She followed the sound of my voice and when her eyes finally met mine they widened at the sight of the shiny automobile that was parked behind me. Another person won over by the flamboyant aura of my car.

She slowly walked closer as her befuddled face turned friendlier.

“Hey, Miyoung. How are you doing?”

“I’m good! But umm…do I look okay?” I asked shyly.

“I’m sorry?”

I sighed. “Well, I’m not used to going out to these kinds of places and…I didn’t really know what to wear.”

Annie looked incredulous for a second but my worried expression let her know I was actually serious, so she busted in a little giggle.

“You look perfect! Not too fancy and just the right amount of stylish. Plus that Geeks shirt is really gonna give a few extra points.”

She smiled at me and I finally felt at ease.

-

A few hours passed and Annie and I were having lots of fun. We walked around the park eating ice cream and having conversations about the most random things. We went from guys to how often you get a nosebleed, to favorite kinds of flowers. It felt nice to hang out with an actual girlfriend for the first time, and I finally understood the wonders of having someone of the same gender there to listen to you. Annie was easy going and with a tomboyish charm that made her and an adorable companion. She was easy to be with and talk to, and I liked her even more for it.

As for the park, it was lined with all kinds of different stands, each selling its own particular kind of art. Jewelry, hand-made crafts, cute stationary, hand bags and clothing, knitted goods, stuffed animals, paintings and many more.

Located in the center of park, were the street artists. Musicians, painters, craftsmen all under the age of 30, displayed their artistic talents to the public; some of them even offered folks from the audience to participate in their activities, both as assistants and creators as well.

It was all a beautiful thing to admire, and the fact that I’d never before seen such a wonderful display of art all at once, filled my heart with even more appreciation. I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to see such a thing. And it had always been a 30 minute drive away from home!

After checking out almost every stand in existence, Annie and I stopped to listen to one of the guitarists in the far end of the center square, where all the other street artists fought to catch every passer-bye’s attention. This guitarist in particular caught my eye, for he was basically the only one who was not interested in getting people to listen to his music, but found genuine pleasure in playing his humble, second-hand guitar out in the open, where only the truly interested ears could listen.

As we sat in a bench right in front of him, he looked up at both of us with a strange expression on his face, like he was surprised we has chosen to listen to him instead of the other musicians on the square. But he still showed silent gratitude deep within his eyes.

He continued to play his guitar passionately, but with evident ease. His fingers strummed the chords gently and swiftly, but strong enough to be heard by both of us even amongst the unbearable noise. He looked up at us every once in a while, with satisfaction and love overflowing from his delightful, crooked smile.

He played out of love, not for money. And it was lovely.

The final notes of Extreme’s “More than Words” slid off his skilled fingers softly, as if he was saying good-bye, but not for long. Bittersweet and melancholic. Torn between oblivion and remembrance, joy and sadness. Like my own heart was.

I walked over to him slowly and bowed shyly, not sure of what I was doing.

“Thank you for that, it was beautiful.” I murmured. He caught it.

“Nahh, there’s nothing to be thankful for, I do this for pleasure.” He assured me with a smile.

“May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Is this what you love to do the most in life?” I asked. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going with this, but I just had to know where all that passion in his eyes came from, and how he managed to achieve it.

“Absolutely. I can’t imagine my life without this guitar…it’s…it has given me everything I’d ever asked for.”

My eyes opened wide. He spoke so strongly about his music that it simply blew me away.

“But aren’t you afraid of failing, of nobody supporting you, of not making a decent living out of it?” my questions were requiring a little too much information form a complete stranger.

He chuckled in a husky tone and looked at me dead in the eye.

“It’s what I love to do. And even after I questioned my future, I still went back to this. Because after lots of thinking I realized I’d rather be happy doing something I actually enjoy for little money, than living a luxurious life doing something I hate, and being miserable for the rest of my life. I think I couldn’t live with myself if I did. And here I am.”

“But what if people don’t approve, or simply don’t like it?” I seriously needed someone to turn me off.

“Well…even in a huge crowd of haters, there’s always someone in that mayhem of people that are just like you. That actually understands how I feel when doing music, and can connect with me as a person. That means a lot more to me than having herds of people cheering for me.”

“And in terms of approval, – he continued.- You can’t live your life for others, because in the end it’s you who suffers the consequences of living someone else’s life, not them. Accept constructive criticism, both good and bad, and ignore anything that tries to bring you down.”

I stared at him in bewilderment. Probably too long, and to the point of making him uncomfortable, because he was beginning to shift awkwardly in his little stool.

“Are you okay?” he asked, worried.

“I’m fine…I just…thank you.” My voice sounded far away somehow.

He laughed. “Glad I could help.”

I was about to turn around when something else popped into my mind.

“May I ask one last thing?”

“Shoot me.”

“How did you figure out your true passion?”

He blinked a few times. “Tough one…but actually passion is not something you ‘figure out’ like you said, it’s something you find. You have to work hard to find it, it won’t just dawn on you. Collect all those things that you like to do, and find the one that you can seriously picture yourself doing in 20 years. And find the passion to do it, what you love.”

I stared at him like an idiot, just like before, and this time he laughed softly at my incredulous expression.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Miyoung.” I answered, but barely.

“Good luck then, Miyoung.” He finished, sincerity filling his eyes.

“Thanks.”

I felt a hand slip under my own, and it enclosed around my wrist in a tight but scared grip.

“Miyoung, I think we have to get going, your phone’s ringing non-stop.” Annie said softly.

I snapped back to reality and bowed at the guitarist a few times before Annie dragged me out of the center square.

“What was that?” she asked, excitedly.

“Nothing…just small talk about music, that’s all.” I lied.

“Well you weren’t doing much talking.” She giggled.

“You said something about my phone…?” I quickly changed the topic.

Her eyes opened wide. “Right! You left your phone sitting there on the bench and it started to ring like crazy while you talked to that guitarist guy. It said ‘Raph’ on the caller ID.”

Crap.

I quickly took my phone from her hand and checked the time. It was almost 7:30 pm and I’d completely forgotten about my father’s dinner. And in fact, I had ten missed calls from Raph and one from Hye Song. Oh boy.

I hit re-dial and Raph answered the phone after the first ring.

“Kang Miyoung can you please explain to me why you aren’t here yet?!” he hissed quietly, like he was in some place where he’d rather have no one hear what he had to tell me. The dinner had obviously started.

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m sooo late but I really lost track of time. Tell daddy I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Half an hour?! Were you buying pottery at Incheon or something?! Your father had to lie to his guests that you were diligently practicing at the Golf House.”

I squeezed to bridge of my nose with my fingers. I was so busted this time.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be right there.” I said, as apologetic as I could manage.

“You better hurry back here, young Miss.” Raph hung up quickly.

“I’m guessing you’re in trouble.” Annie stated.

“For sure.” I replied.

“Sorry I kept you here for so long…you should go.”

“Don’t apologize Annie, I had an amazing day thanks to you.”

“I had fun too.” She smiled at me.

We gave each other a hug and parted ways with a small wave, promising each other that we’d do it again soon.

-

I reached the front door of the mansion and took out my phone to call Raph. I didn’t want to make noise by going in or ringing the doorbell.

Raph came out after a few seconds and shook his head at me but let me in with nothing more. He put a hand on my shoulder and led me towards the dining table, where father was sitting amicably with a few new colleagues.

They all looked up when I suddenly appeared in the room. My father tried his best to hide a scowl as he locked eyes with me. Oh boy.

“Chief Kang Joon, this is my daughter who I had been talking about, and was looking forward to introducing her to you. Miyoung.”

The tallest of all the men in the room stood up from his seat and shook hands with me as he scanned me and my new commoner outfit up and down shamelessly.

“Pleasure to meet you. Mis Miyoung, I’ve heard wonderful things about you and your gentle character.” He complimented with a fake smile plastered to his wrinkly face.

“The pleasure is all mine, Chief Kang Joon. Father has told me so much about you.”

“I’m sure he has, dear.” He answered in a coy manner.

My father walked forward and took a firm grip on my arm, but putting a cool and non-menacing front for his friends.

“Excuse my daughter, Chief, she was just practicing like I said before, and had no time to fix herself up like the proper young lady she is.” My father said between gritted teeth.

“Don’t worry, she’ll go upstairs and come down like the lady of society we all know she is.” My father continued as he gave me a slight push towards the entrance of the dining room, signaling me to go away.

I quickly bowed and ran upstairs to my room, locking up the door behind me in the process. I laid on my bed and looked up at the ceiling.

Passion to do what I love?

That was such a foreign concept to me, but it had managed to stick to my brain ever since the guitarist said it. I realized I didn’t ask for the guy’s name, and that maybe I should have.

He had opened a whole new world of possibilities with his encouragement, and had set fire to a determination inside of me, that I didn’t know I had. I had to find that passion and start living my life for it and for myself, not for my father’s meaningless protocols that no one even cared about. Just him and his stupid band of miserable business-men.

I became determined that I would find what made me happy…at last.

Hello there! A meaningful chapter for Miyoung here :) Sorry, I'll stop promisng updates because this took literally forever haha. I hope you like it and leave comments! -Taemaximum