Everland, South Korea - April 10th, 2008

"Minhyuk! Let's go!" the voice of an energetic Yong Hwa reached MinHyuk's ears. He was too busy examining the gardens of Everland that he was almost left behind the group. He was even behind Jungshin, who was always looking through his camera, trying to take candid pictures of the boys. 

The boys were on a technical "holiday". Coming back from Japan, with barely any recognition after playing in tons of gigs and street corners, this was a vacation for them. And also a test gig, to see how much attention they would gain in Korea if they were to debut here. 

That was, however, a matter to be discussed in several hours afterwards. It was a sunny day, cool enough to wear short sleeves and shorts, and Minhyuk smiled contentedly as he followed his hyungs to explore Everland. The ferris wheel was tall, the trees were taller, and his spirits were soaring. It was a nice break from the tiring rookie schedule, always coming up with new covers of popular songs, trying to gain a respectable fanbase in Japan. Back home in Korea, it was soothing to shed the Indie band image, and just be himself. 

"Woah..." Taeri exclaimed as she stepped foot inside Everland. She had interviewed to come to Korea as part of a student exchange program in her high school, and she was one of the few sophomores that had made it in, considering the extra disadvantage that she was part Korean and Vietnamese (they often chose non Asian students). 

"IS THIS REAL?" Michael, a fellow schoolmate of Taeri yelled. Ever since they had met their Korean family and explored Seoul and the cities around it, this seemed like a dream. It was too good to be true for the entire group of students. 

"Come on Taeri-ah, this way!" Yeorim, Taeri's verified Korean "sister", dragged her along. It was a beautiful day and the view was breathtaking. Taeri's hands itched to take out her Canon camera that her parents bought her for this trip. There was too many photogenic spots to take photos of, so she just stood there, breathing in the scented air of roses and trusting her memory to recall all of this. 

The saying goes, "We don't remember days, we remember moments." 

Taeri and Minhyuk both remembered this moment for the rest of their lives. It was a perfect, happy day for them both. And this moment made it even more special.

"I heard that a rock band was performing at the Four Gardens stage! Let's go watch!" Yeorim said excitedly, as she dragged Taeri, Michael and their fellow friends towards the garden. Taeri sighed, it had been an exhausting day, going on and off rides, walking the perimeter of the park, and her feet ached even in her most comfortable pair of Nike shoes. Nevertheless, she planted a smile on her face and persevered onwards. 

"Let's go! LET'S SEE WHAT THIS ROCK BAND HAS TO OFFER!" Michael yelled. He really seemed like his energy never ran out. Pulled by the wrists by both Michael and Yeorim, Taeri had no choice but to oblige. They got front row standing seats to see the band. It was small actually, and not many people seemed interested to watch. 

It was sunset and the band was setting up its instruments. Taeri took out her Canon, focused on the drummer, who was the most stable out of the entire band, and snapped a picture. The quality was amazing and the drummer's features seemed well defined. Yeorim peeked over her shoulder and zoomed into the drummer's face. "Ooh, he's a cutie! Take more pictures of them! No, let's take a picture with them later!" "Alright Yeorim, as long as you don't act like too much of a predator." Taeri responded back jokingly. The boys only seemed about a year or two older than them, yet it was surprising to see them play in a rock band. 

The drummer began to set the rhythm and the band launched into its covers of many famous songs, such as Stairway to Heaven and the Beatles' Yesterday. 

Michael put his hands up in the air and grabbed onto Taeri's arms. "Come on! Swing your arms around... they're actually pretty good singers." 

Grumbling, she hung her camera onto her neck and swung her arms side to side. The drummer looked up and smiled at her, or at something behind her. Taeri hurriedly looked behind her, but Michael appeared to her right side. 'Huh, maybe he did smile at me.' She tried catching his eye a couple of times during Yesterday. This time, she smiled first, and he took his drum stick and waved at her. Michael then proceeded to do some crazy punk rock rendition of an excited crowd at a concert and started fist pumping and head rocking. 

Maybe in the US, Taeri would never have even looked at Michael. Nevertheless considering doing what he was doing. "THIS IS THE WAY AMERICANS PARTTYYYYY!" screamed Michael as he started jumping up and down, attemping to touch the lead singer. Taeri could tell the drummer looked amused and the rest of the band started laughing and acting as if they were famous. There was only a crowd of 15 there or so, and Michael, Taeri, and Yeorim were at the head of it, fist pumping and acting like they were having a good time.

At first, it was all an act, but later, as the music got inside her soul, Taeri actually felt hyped up. She opened up her camera and started videorecording the band and its members and the crowd she was with. Eventually, when the ruckus died down, she took the opportunity to take candid portraits of the band members. Smiling, she tucked her camera back in her bag when they finished. 

"Let's go say hello!" Yeorim decided.

"Do we have to?" 

"I mean, you took photos of them, stalker!"