5 KiYoung (3)

'Damn I'm going to be late again. And it won't even be the first time this week!' I thought while sending a vicious look towards my new manager who caught my glare and swallowed hard. The plane was docking slowly but I had already pulled down my carry-on bag and was holding it in my lap, eager to be off as soon as I could get through the short row of seats in first class. I held in my bad temper as well as I could, but anger bubbled in my stomach in time with a rising headache at my temples.

I had recently received a new manager from Mercury since I had started to do so many of my own solo activities and although things had gone smoothly while we were in and around Seoul, newer opportunities outside the city had quickly gone downhill. MinShik was his name and he had scheduled a photo-shoot 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 my new manager's incompetence everything had gone wrong as soon as I'd landed.

The ELLE Korea magazine shoot had taken place the day 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 rehearsals of the drama I was starring in, I'd 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 still sunny outside, all the while plotting MinShik's imminent death.

It was no surprise that the shoot had been delayed time and again because of the weather, meaning that it had lasted until around eleven that night. I was beyond tired when I finally left, but unfortunately my trials didn't stop there. After that fiasco, MinShik had incorrectly booked my hotel room and it wasn't supposed to be available for another two weeks. 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 as I sat in a chair that was too hard to rest comfortably in, I felt my head begin to pound at the thought of how relaxed he must be feeling snug in bed.

By the time I had gotten a room and finally been able to rest, it was 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 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 drama.

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. No one wanted a star who was late or a diva on their set; I would need to apologize to everyone for my lateness and no matter the reasons, there was little to be done besides grovel if I wanted to maintain my standing in the industry.

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. Harsh breaths puffed into the face mask I wore to keep people from recognizing me, and the sound of them reverberated in my ears. In my haste though, I abruptly crashed into someone and sent him or her flying across the floor. Shocked by the impact, I quickly turned around, an apology already on my lips. But my words came out with a barely strangled sound as I looked at the African-American girl who 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 tall. Unconsciously I was already bent down towards her now, ready to help her up when she quickly glanced up at me. As our eyes met, my heart beat out a hard thump against my chest and I let out a slight gasp of surprise.

Not a girl, the woman 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 a hand that she'd fallen on. I observed quietly, 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.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized in English, finally remembering my manners.

"Could you help me?" She questioned me and automatically I reached my hand forward without even realizing I had done so. I made sure to try and hold her steady but I only hovered my other hand behind her, reluctant to seem too familiar. Her palm in mine was warm, her fingers long and her thumb encased in a rose-gold ring. With a light touch I ran my fingers over it.

"I'm sorry, I should've earlier. I wasn't thinking and-" I muttered incoherently.

"KiYoung-ssi, we're late," a panicked voice said from somewhere behind me and I finally came to myself, letting the lady go faster than I would've liked. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses and I looked into them, liking the warmth I saw in them.

"I'm really very sorry, but I have to go. Will you be ok?" I managed to smile despite everything I was feeling inside, and honestly I was feeling a lot. A squirming, fizzing sensation that I hadn't felt since I was a kid with my first crush.

"Oh, yes go ahead. I'm fine," she told me, her smile faint but adding a pretty curve to her lips. I gave her a full on smile, the one my fans called my 'killer look'.

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 I knew I would get caught up in her everything and my job came first. As I continued to run out of the doors and into our 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.