"I am the king of the world!" Shizu screamed as she opened her arms wide.
"This is not Titanic, we're not even on a cruise." Mika giggled as she joined her bestfriend to open her arms.
The gentle breeze blew Shizu's long wavy hair. They were now in Haeundae Beach, South Korea! The girls were on a 7-day organized tour in South Korea and just arrived yesterday.
Some passerby stared at Mika and Shizu, giving them a weird look. Mika bite her lower lips as she felt uncomfortable but Shizu tapped her shoulder and smiled at her.
"It's fine Mika, it's not that we're gonna see them again."
"Um!" Mika nodded her head, agreeing with her bestfriend.
It's been 2 years since she broke up with Kira. Kira only showed up once at school, and he never reappeared in front of Shizu. He cut all ties with Shizu, changed his number and blocked her on all social medias. He did not even go to the school graduation- it was rumored that he went homeschooling. For all these years, Shizu held a very big regret in her heart. She kept blaming herself for everything and grieved.
Shizu and Kira lived in the same neighborhood. After the breakup, in the morning, everyday she would stay in front of Kira's house for several minutes, hoping that she could see him.
'I am sorry.' That's all what she wanted to say.
But enough was enough. No matter how painful and haunting her mistake was, she decided to move on. That's why she asked Mika to come to South Korea for a short holiday. She wished to forget everything and start over with her life.
"Let's go Shizu, the guide is calling us!" Mika grabbed her hand. Shizu nodded her head then obediently followed her best friend.
....
The girls and their travel group arrived at their hotel in Seoul. Saint Lazarus, a luxurious 5* hotel. Amazed by the hotel design- they decided to look around while the group leader was dealing with group check-in.
"Mika, this is awesome. Maybe I should buy an aquarium so that my guests would feel close to the nature." Shizu took out her phone then started taking pictures. Mika just shook her head cause she thought it was stupid.
Shizu's family had moved from Tokyo to Osaka as her father wanted to take care of his mother, leaving Shizu and the 4-bedroom house alone. She rented out the empty rooms and got to keep the income as long as the house was well maintained.
Unlike Mika who already got accepted into a medical school, Shizu did not pass her exam to the business school due to emotional stress. So for the past 1 year after the graduation she went to the extra preparatory courses and worked.
Apart from renting her rooms, she took other part time jobs and overworked herself for distraction. She realized it was a bad way to vent her frustration that's why 1 week before her vacation, she quit all of her part time jobs and decided to start anew. She wanted to go to college. She wanted to live, like a normal person.
Shizu was so busy taking pictures and video, she did not realize she arrived in front of a small temple. It was weird, why would a modern hotel like Saint Lazarus have an old buddhist temple?
But there was something about the temple. It had this soothing, calmness about it. The wind blew her hair gently and she could smell the scent of early spring. She couldn't stop herself from taking a long breath and breathed in all the purity of spring. It was earthy and aqueous. She had never been this calm. Shizu put away her phone, lowered her head and whispered.
"God, give me a chance to apologize to Kira. I have moved on so please let me meet my soul mate. Whether it's Kira or anything, I am ready."
"Meow."
Shizu rose her head. A kitten? Here?
A frown appeared on her temple before she decided to follow the sound.
"Shizu where are you going?"
Shizu did not answer Mika, the cry came from the outdoor swimming pool area. There were a lot of trees and decorative rocks. The kitten was crying so loud it almost sounded like he was suffering. She was so setermined to find it. But where did the kitten hide?
"Mika there's a kitten and it's crying! We should find it and feed it some milk, it brings bad luck if we neglect a cat!"
"Shizu, we're still not done with the check-in and I think the hotel's employees will kick us out if we ever show up with a kitten. Let's come back tonight." She then dragged Shizu back to the front office.
....
"What the hell are we supposed to do? Contract my ass! Do they think we're puppets? There's nothing humane about it, the higher ups are just trying to play us!" A black suited guy yelled as he crossed his arms.
He was wearing a designer outfit from head to toe, his pleasing face looked so much younger than his actual age, his name was Son Kangyu.
Son Kangyu threw a glance at the calm guy who sat beside him. He'd been listening to Son Kangyu's complaints for quite some times but said none, he knew it was time for him to at least give some response.
"They are bold." Baek Woochan coolly replied then turned his face towards the window. The traffic was bad, he wondered if it would take them long to reach the hotel. He loosened the necktie on his collars then opened the top button before taking a long breath. Just like Son Kangyu, he also wore a designer black suit that highlighted his well built form.
Kim Yoonjae, the most good-looking one among them put his gaze on the leader Han Ryeowook, then to the youngest Lee Changhyuk. In fact, the five passengers in the van were all wearing black suits, as if they just attended some formal events.
Kim Yoonjae didn't say anything but just like Son Kangyu, he was also waiting for their opinion on the latest issue on their contract.
The leader did not have the energy to reply Kim Yoonjae, he reluctantly shrugged his shoulders and sipped the beer in his hand whereas the youngest Lee Changhyuk gave a short and nonchalant answer: "It's nothing new."
His voice was as indifferent as his handsome face, he crossed one leg over the other and rested his head lazily against one hand as he stared outside the window.
Yuph they're the legendary GreenEast, the number 1 boyband from South Korea! They were commuting in a luxurious van in Seoul after having a meeting with their label.
Due to internal conflict with their company, GreenEast limited their activities for the past year and could only release songs through the company's website. They could not perform in any music programs nor have any official interaction with their fans.
But GreenEast, being the most popular boyband in all Asia, was fully supported by their international fans. Hence the label was obliged to negotiate with GreenEast and have their conflict resolved- in this case, contract renewal. Or they would face a massive boycott from the fans.
The 5 idols arrived at Saint Lazarus Hotel. They were guarded by bodyguards and escorted through the private entrance to avoid attention.
"Meow"
Vaguely, Lee Changhyuk the youngest member, heard a kitten crying. He rose an eyebrow then looked to the right and left. Not that he liked cats, but how did a kitten end up in a hotel like this? The sound came from the outdoor swimming pool area.
That was a real kitten and not a ghost, right? What a coincidence, he just watched a horror movie last night with Son Kangyu and it was a story about a cursed black cat.
He grabbed Son Kangyu's shoulder. "Hyung(1), did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Son Kangyu got confused, he was talking to Kim Yoonjae and this brat interrupted him.
And Son Kangyu, he might be awarded for having the most beautiful voice in all Asia and a charismatic performer on-stage, but off-stage, be it meteorite or tsunami, once he talked he would only focus on his conversation.
"Please keep walking, there will be another VIP group using this path." One of the bodyguards said to both of them.
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Hyung (1) : a Korean word which means "older brother" from a younger male to an elder male.