A/N. First, I wanna start off by thanking the people who reviewed. You guys really helped me to get enough courage to continue when I realized there were people who read the whole chapter rather than just subscribing to view.. So thanks so much!
Secondly, Aish over 4,000 words. This chapter was so hard to write. I think the length was necessary for me to introduce her family and her relationship with her current (rumored) boyfriend of the time. I'm a little bit worried it won't be interesting enough for you folks yet since a certain fishy hasn't even been mentioned yet... But I swear it's leading to it!

Please Read and Review if you can.

December 2004; Busan, South Korea

        It was a little after one in the afternoon when they finally landed in Busan. Her memories of the city didn't do it justice. As soon as she stepped out of the airport, she closed her eyes and embraced the cold, salty air of the East Sea that kissed her cheeks and tousled her raven locks like a long lost lover. Sandara drew in a deep breath and let out an "Aaah" at the refreshing smell. There was something about the scent that, in her mind, was incomparable. It's like she can really breath for the first time in years after living in the smog-filled Pasay city. She opened her eyes to gaze at the landscape of the home she missed so much. Sleek, glass buildings towered over rolling, green hills, while turquoise waters or snow-dusted mountains can be seen in the distance if she looked left or right. She absolutely loved it.

      After basking for a bit, the Park family went to their grandparents where they would spend the night while they're in Korea. Although it was a little awkward for the younger two siblings since they have very little memories of their grandparents,  Sandara was happy to see them again. They were just as she remembered them. Her Halmoni was still the same smart-mouthed, plump old woman who doted on those she love by use of force, while her Harabeoji still had the same timid disposition and a smiling face that can instantly spread a feeling of warmth in a room. 

        After all the bows and hugs were exchanged for introduction, the grandparents took in how much the Park children have changed since they have last seen them. The grandparents agreed that the girls turned quite beautiful, and the young ladies bashfully thanked them for their compliments. Then, the sisters got a good laugh at watching their Halmoni make fun of Sanghyun's scrawniness. She would pinch his thin arm and whine: "Sanghyun-ah why are you so skinny?! Are you eating?" The old woman then whipped her head towards the Park women and grilled while pinching pinching Sanghyun's cheeks, "Aigoo. Don't you girls feed this poor boy?"

        Sandara noticed the look of discomfort on her brother's face  and promised to herself not to save him and add to it just this one time. She chuckled, "Umma and Rami always makes sure he eats, Halmoni." The eldest sister then mock whispered conspiratorially, "But between you and me, he's also the one to stink up the bathroom really bad. So, I think any food we do give him goes straight through him."   

        "Yah, Keun Noona!", shouted indignantly the now mortified little brother. His other sister burst out laughing, his timid Harabeoji and his similarly tempered mother lightly chuckled at their antics deciding not to intervene just yet.

        Halmoni squinted her eyes in mild disgust and clicked her tongue against the roof of : "Aigoo. Well I guess I'll have to cook you a big, hearty meal then, so hopefully something sticks." She squeezed her grandson's shoulders: "How else do you expect to bulk up and get the girls?"

        Sanghyun awkwardly scratched behind his neck and mumbled, "De, Halmoni."

        As his grandma was heading to the kitchen to get started on the feast for later, she called back to her grandson: "And you better hold it in for awhile. I'm not making all this food for the toilet to enjoy."

        Soon, all the other women were called into the kitchen to help. Before Sandara could get five steps within the kitchen, Sanghyun advised his grandmother to not let her help-- out of fear that she would dinner. Her brother then exacted his revenge by recounting all the meals she messed up--namely the eggshell scramble she made him when their mother had to take an ill Durami to the hospital. The eldest sister's defenses fell on deaf ears, so she admitted defeat and headed into the living room to hang out with the males of the house.

        While the cooks of the family prepared dinner, Harabeoji showed the eldest and the youngest around the place. It was an old, modest place that managed to maintain its old architecture in the modernized city of Busan. When they were through with the tour, they went back into the living room and the siblings told him what they've been up to. He was proud to hear about all the fame his granddaughter had due to her hard work, while he was impressed with Sanghyun's ability to learn the piano and the violin while still being active in sports. After a while, their grandfather excused himself to use the restroom.

        Sandara used his short absence as an opportunity to check her phone, since she hasn't bothered looking at it after she sent off a text message earlier to her boyfriend, Joseph, letting him know that they've landed safely. After turning on her phone, she saw that she had nine missed calls and fifty text messages. Sandara listened to her voicemails first. While most of them were from friends that didn't realize she was out of the country, two of them were from her boyfriend who was angrily asking her why she wasn't answering her messages from him. To see what he was talking about, Sandara checked her inbox and saw that while a majority of her messages were from various friends, one was from her manager, and eight of them were from Joseph with his words getting more frustrated with each text message. 

        The pale-faced girl let out a huge sigh and decided to deal with manager Jerry's message first, since it was the easiest to deal with. Sandara was actually quite surprised how well Jerry was taking her absence. At first he was adamant on her not leaving at all. But after much arguing with her mother, he finally caved into their wishes. Her manager--being the professional that he was-- managed to shuffle her entire schedule around. Because of that shuffling, her past two weeks were even more hectic than usual, but they managed to pull it off. Jerry had her finish up the scenes on whatever episode of the dramas she was on and had the writers make alterations to the script to explain her absence. For the last two weeks, Jerry had another runner-up from Star Circle Quest fill in for her on all the broadcasts she hosted while she was away. On the days that she wasn't shooting a drama she would film two or more CF's in a day just to fulfill the agreements she was already obligated to, while other advertisers were told to either wait until she comes back or find someone else. 

        She read the message he left:

    "From: Jerry
    Saaaaaaannnndyyy~!!!!! anyong! howz ur time n ur mother country? run n2 Lee Hyori yet??? haha. newayz bck 2 bzness. i got gr8 newz! mor advrtsr's want ur purdy face 4 thr brand. i thot u leavn 4 2 mths wuld b da death of ur career. bt lookz like ur still in!! thumz up 👍👍. newayz contact me l8r 4 all da deatz. ttyl."

        The upcoming actress shook her head in amused exasperation at her managers way with words. As if using conversational English and Tagalog wasn't a challenge enough for her to understand, he used shorthand English and Tagalog text in what seemed like randomly removing vowels. She understood enough shorthand text after asking her friend's what the short phrases meant, but Jerry's text was just excessive. But she just had to accept it as a part of Jerry's eccentric character.

        She replied back:

    "Jerry, i think you forgot I just arrived today, so there hasn't been anytime to meet my goddess. But don't worry, I'll meet her one day! I'll be the pride of the Fin.K.L fancafe when I do!! keke. Ok cool. I can't really text all that much with the international fees, so I'll email you later. Probably tomorrow. No internet at grandmas, so I'll have to go to an Internet cafe. Btw thnx for your confidence. What would I ever do without your overwhelming positivity? :P ttyl.

        Now with the smaller problem out of the way, she finally took a look at her boyfriend's text messages. Most of the texts were marked with his frustration. After sending that short text message to him letting him know she landed safely, it seemed like most of his replies were aimed at trying to pick a fight with her. Joseph's first replies tried to make her feel guilty for "forcing the writers to change the script to their drama", and he followed that by sarcastically telling her that he hopes she enjoys her vacation while the rest of the contestants have to pick up for her absence. The later text messages were mostly short replies of, "Why aren't you answering your phone?",  demands of "We need to talk.", and questions of "are we through?".

        Although his need to fight with her annoyed her, she could slightly understand why he was angry with her. Sandara forgot to tell him right away that she would be leaving. There was an awkward moment while they were working where he actually found out she was leaving indirectly from her manager. 
        

        All of the top ten contestants of Star Circle Quest were making a guest appearance on a music countdown show. When the broadcast was over, Jerry walked up to her and grabbed her arm to whisk her off set to the next destination. "Come on, Sandy! No time to waste with you leaving soon!"

    Before they could leave, she heard Joseph casually ask, "Where are you leaving to?" Although his tone of voice suggested that it was just a typical question a friend would ask another, she knew it was anything b