Keys to Happiness

4. Key

I was totally going to be late, and it wouldn't be the first time either, I thought bitterly to myself as I jogged as fast as I could without running through the terminal in the Seoul airport. I had recently received a new manager from SM since I had begun to do so many of my own solo activities and although things had gone smoothly while we were in and around Seoul, things had quickly gone downhill from there. MinShik was his name and he had scheduled a photoshoot on Jeju-do, requiring me to take a plane there and back.

While this trip was one I had taken countless times before over the years, because of the new manager's incompetence everything had gone wrong as soon as I'd landed. The ELLE magazine shoot had taken place the morning before and it had rained all day; this would've been OK if the shoot was scheduled for indoors like I had been led to believe, but of course it had been outside.

Already slightly under the weather and with a sore throat from musical rehearsals, I had caught the sniffles halfway through the shoot. As the rain had beaten down on me, the only thing I could do was smile for the pictures and pretend it was sunny outside, all the while plotting MinShik's imminent death. It was no surprise that the shoot had been delayed time and time again because of the weather, meaning that it had lasted all night until around 11 pm.

I was beyond tired when I finally left, but unfortunately my trials didn't stop there. After that fiasco, my manager had incorrectly booked my hotel under his own name, making it impossible for me to check-in with my ID. This led to a two-hour standby while the hotel prepared a room for me at the last minute, and I'd been forced to wait in the lobby until it was ready. MinShik had sought his own rest hours ago and I felt my head begin to pound at the thought of how comfortable he must be feeling snug in bed.

By the time I had gotten a room and finally been able to rest, it had been about one in the morning. My plane to Incheon was leaving at 6 am sharp, so I was only able to get about four hours of sleep before I had to be up again. I had dragged my exhausted body out of bed and into a hot shower, telling myself that I could sleep more on the plane. But even that hadn't gone to plan; instead to make matters worse, the plane had been delayed because of the continuing rain from yesterday. Consequently I was sick, tired, about an hour late and currently running pell-mell through Incheon airport to make dress rehearsals for my newest musical.

For the first time in my life, I was regretting wearing heel lifts as I tried my best not to slip and fall in the busy terminal. My breath puffed out in short bursts and I thought longingly of the end of the day when all of this would be over. Even better would be when I asked for another manager; it was one thing to be incompetent, it was something else to make me seem as though I was as well. Faces and people blurred together as I ran past, my eyes not focusing on anything but the large automatic doors leading to the outside world and my ride to the theater. In my haste though, I abruptly crashed into someone and sent him or her flying across the floor.

"Joesonghapmida! I didn't mean to. Are you ok?" I asked in panic as I cast a glance at the doors again. Somehow, they seemed to get father away but I knew I couldn't just keep going.

Ah shit, I'm so screwed! I thought as I stopped to see the damage that I'd caused.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back around and what I saw shocked me. An African-American girl lay half-sitting, half-sprawled out on the floor beside my feet, looking dazed as hell. I was still desperate to leave but in a separate part of my mind, I couldn't help but notice that she was well dressed and also quite tall. Unconsciously I was walking towards her now, ready to help her up when she suddenly looked up at me. As our eyes met, my heart let out a hard thump against my chest and I let out a slight gasp of surprise.

She was beautiful, but more than that, she looked elegant. Her skin was a warm brown tone that reminded me of walnuts, and she had long, curly hair that seemed to be everywhere at once but still styled to perfection to frame her face. And that face? It captivated me as I watched her wince and shake out the hand that she'd fallen on. I stared, entranced as her nose crinkled when she tried to regain her footing.

She wore glasses that set off her high cheekbones, only adding to her overall look, which instantly made me think of a sexy librarian. All this had only taken seconds for me to take in, and during that time another girl had run over to the beauty, calling her Unnie but speaking in English. That brought me back to myself and I glanced at my watch in horror.

Aish, Aish, Aish! I'm so dead!

"Oh, you're American," I said quickly without making eye contact. "I'm really sorry, but I need to go. Are you going to be ok?" I didn't want to look at her again, I knew I would get caught up in her everything and I really had to go or my career in musicals would be over.

"I'm fine," I heard her whisper and a shiver went through me at her words. They were like warm honey and they spread throughout my body, causing the most delicious tingling sensations to go through me.

"Ah good. Then, sorry again. Bye!" I responded quickly, unable to waste any more time.

I didn't look back as I ran, wanting more than anything to stay and talk to the girl that had caught my attention. But my job came first and as an idol I was expected to always be on my best behavior, I couldn't make any mistakes even if they weren't my fault. As I continued to run out the doors and into the waiting taxi, my thoughts stayed on the beautiful black girl. I thought about the possibility of seeing her again and if I did, what I would say. As I let out a deep sigh, I pushed those thoughts away. Things like fated meetings only happened in dramas and chick-flicks. Life was never that easy. But even through my rehearsals I saw the girl in my mind's eye.