T-ara Camera Off

(To avoid confusion, all italized letters are spoken in ENGLISH)

Eric Kim can’t remember the last time he’d been to Korea. And he has never ever been here alone, except today. Artists of his kind weren’t supposed to visit Korea during their spare time. Naturally, Eric should be in Paris or something. But he ended up here, in Seoul where there’s actually not much view to see other than these tall buildings and all these people rushing to their own destinations, too busy to notice him hanging around.
Why is he there doing nothing? Oh, long story short, some guy stole his wallet. Now, he doesn’t have any money, no food, no credit card, no everything except for a few pair of clothes in his bag and his art materials.
“15,000 won for a drawing”, he’s been holding the sign for hours. But, he wasn’t on the seaside he was in a city with a bunch of busy people walking by. He must’ve looked really stupid.
Eric started to pack. No way he’s gonna spend the rest of his day humiliating himself. No way he’s gonna look like a desperate man like that, because he isn’t. He is an elegant artist, and he’d rather starve to death than to get laughed at all day.
“Stupid thief… stupid vacation…”, he’s been muttering to himself before a small lady stood in front of him. He turned and waited for her to say something. But the girl just kept her head low for a few long seconds then started to run away.
Somehow he managed to get all his stuff before running after the strange girl. Why is he going after her? He had no idea. For some reason, he caught something in the way her eyes met his. Eric wasn’t sure of how old the girl was. It’s always been difficult for him to estimate Korean age. But one thing he knows, the lady sure could run.
She got farther and farther, flawlessly getting through the crowd while Eric follows way behind managing to bump into, he guessed, everyone on the street.
“Hey! Wait up!!!”, he managed to shout out in between his apologies to people he ran into.
One last turn into an alley, he lost her. Eric was panting, trying to catch his breath as he looked around, but the girl was nowhere to be found.

“I can’t do it!!!!!”, Boram cried out as she got back, panting, to where Qri, Eunjung and Soyeon were hiding.
“What?! Unnie, you didn’t even try!”, she heard Soyeon say, but they just don’t understand. It’s not that easy for Boram. Not easy at all.
“Ughhh!!! Then why don’t you just go then?! Why am I always given the hardest one??!!”, it was true… Of all the guys in Korea, why that guy? Shadow is soooo dead when Boram sees him.
“HARDEST?!! Unnie~ at least he doesn’t seem like someone who’d throw water balloons at people…”, Soyeon had a point, Boram still hates Han Kyungsam but still…
“Kyungsam’s a nice guy!”, Eunjung said to Soyeon before turning to Boram. “Boram unnie… At least your guy doesn’t lock himself at home… Why, would you rather have Jeon Eunjo instead???”
“No~!”, Boram meant it, Eunjo-ssi’s case was hard. In fact, she didn’t get how Soyeon did it.
“Hey! Eunjo’s not that bad!!!”, Soyeon said, glaring at Eunjung.
“But I’d rather want Hwangjoo-ssi though…”, Hwangjoo might be creepy sometimes, but at least he’s normal.
“HEY!!!!”, Qri protested. “Hwangjoo doesn’t like you! He likes ME!!!”
The chaos of their topic was stopped by the ringing of Boram’s phone. Boram could feel her blood rushing as she answered Shadow’s call.
“You’re dead Shadow!!! You Are DEAD!!!”, she yelled at the phone. “Change my mission! Change it! I mean it!!!”
“It doesn’t work like that. And, Eric Kim is leaving Korea in three days. I thought you’d want to know that, and… Fighting!”, Boram didn’t even get the chance to make her point. Shadow dropped the call immediately.
Boram tried to call him back, but his phone was turned off now. She’s so gonna kill him.

“Hey Sweetheart… how is it so far? Are you enjoying yourself?”, though his moms voice somehow comforted him, it didn’t make things go easier for Eric.
“Mom~! Nothing is going like the way it’s planned! Some thief stole my money AND my credit card!!! I am not enjoying this at all!”, he felt bad yelling at his mom on the phone but he’s totally mad.
“Alright honey… okay… just calm down and stop being such a baby! I told you never to keep your valuables unattended! You still have your ATM card in your bag, right? For god’s sake Eric I told you to put it there, and please tell me it’s there right now.”, he checked his bag as soon as his mom mentioned it.
“It’s here mom! Oh god~ how could I have not thought of this before?”, he was so stupid! Humiliating himself in the middle of Seoul without checking for his ATM card first… Raaaahhh! …
“Well you better start making your way to some ATM machine.”, exactly. His mom had a big point right there.
“Okay mom thanks! I’m hanging up now.”, Eric immediately hung up.
But there was just a small problem… ERIC HATES HANGUL! It’s written all over the place, and his head is so aching now. He had to find an ATM machine but he didn’t feel like humiliating himself again asking people around. All he could do is trust his sense of direction.
It’s been an hour after lunch time, but that’s alright. Eric is still determined to find an ATM machine by himself.
“Use your charms Boram unnie~ Everybody has their own charm.”, that’s what Eunjung advised, easy for her to say. Boram is bad at this. She may be the oldest in T-ara but she’s also the worst when it comes to stuff like this.
She had no idea what to do. No idea at all! She didn’t understand why they had to do these stupid missions. At first, Boram was excited about meeting guys and dating secretly. But, she never considered that she would have to be the one to make the first move. Guys were supposed to do that, not girls.
And one more thing, Boram would still have a hard time if she was given a normal guy for her mission, but Kim Eric? Or Eric Kim, whatever, Shadow just made it a mission impossible for her. How is she gonna make a guy fall for her when she can’t even communicate with him? Boram is allergic to foreign languages, especially English.
It’s just exactly three days before their comeback. Exactly the same time that Mr. Impossible Target will be staying in Korea. Boram hated it! How come she has a time limit to do her mission? Qri did it for like weeks. Eunjung did better but still, even Eunjung couldn’t have finished it in three days. And Soyeon… come on… Soyeon did it for like a month! And now Boram has to do it in less than… less than seventy-two hours? Go… give the hardest to the weakest!
Boram demands for justice! But it’s not like she has a choice.

Eric’s could hear his stomach rumbling as he fell on a bench. He felt so hopeless, no way he’s gonna survive in Seoul for 3 days. He was only doing it for his parents. They always wanted him to be open to Korean culture. But, Korea is so different from US.
It’s not gonna be easy. Eric knows that for sure.
He just wanted to faint as he checked his watch and it was already 2pm in Korea. He was about to give up when a familiar figure stood in front of him.
“Hey~ it’s you again!”, Eric didn’t know if he sounded mean or what, but the girls looked away when he met her eyes. “Who are you?”
Instead of answering his question, she handed him a piece of paper. Eric’s head was spinning due to hunger, but even if it didn’t, he thinks he would still be as confused of the way this girl is acting.
“Oh… Uhmmm… You want me to have this? Okay…”, he had no choice but to take the paper.
To his surprise, she sat with him on the bench.
Ignoring the girl’s weirdness, he just opened the folded piece of paper to see a drawing of a guy that somehow looked like him. No, it wasn’t like his more realistic works. It was a manga style drawing. But it somehow caught his special features like the shape of his eyes that made it look like him. It was also wearing a similar V-neck shirt he was wearing.
“Uhmmm… Wow… This looks like me! Y-you made this?”, Eric was having a hard time trying to have a small talk with the weird lady. It’s like she’s not paying attention to whatever Eric says. The girl seemed to be keeping her head low all the time, like she wanted to be invisible or something. And her eyes won’t stop glancing at people who walk by, like they were vampires in disguise.
“Maybe she doesn’t speak English”, Eric thought. He hasn’t been doing this since he was a kid, but he had to at least try.
“Uhmmm… K-kum-Kuma~wo?”, he seemed to have caught the girl’s attention with his awful Korean.
“Kumawo?”, he said again. “Am I saying it right?”
Instead of giving Eric a simple reply of ‘yes’ or something, the girl suddenly switched into talkative mode all of a sudden. She was speaking in Korean too fast that Eric couldn’t make up anything she’s saying.
“H-hey! Hey!”, he motioned with his hands giving her a sign to stop. “Slow… down…”
She seemed to have understood what he said and spoke slower. “Can.you.speak.Korean?”, she asked slow enough for Eric to understand.
“Oh! Well, I only know a few words and I’m not that good at making sentences but I’ll be able to understand you if you speak slo-“, the look on the girl’s face stopped him.
“Uhmmm…”, he tried again. “Korean-a little. Speak-slow. You.speak.english?”
“English?”, she asked like he just said Voldemort’s name out load. “a little bit…”, Eric made a small laugh as she spoke.
“That wasn’t so bad…”, he said and smiled though he doubted she understood him.
The next thing that happened was definitely not the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to Eric, but he still hated it. He was talking to a cute girl he just met and his stomach starts rumbling… The girl laughed at him as it did.
“Kaja!”, the girl stood and pulled him.
“What? Eo-Eodi?”, Eric didn’t had a chance to protest as the girl dragged him along.

Eric always knew tteokbokki was the best. But spicing it up with extreme hunger makes it the most delicious thing in the whole universe. It was heaven! Eric had no idea how much the girl had spent feeding him Korean street food. All he knew was that the tteokbokki was getting along with him really well.
They sat quietly as Eric finished another cup of tteokbokki. They’ve been like that for who-knows-how-long. The girl didn’t say anything much. She just kept quiet keeping her head low, like always.
“Hey~ So… Uhmmm… What’s your name?”, he hoped to get to know her more since he owed her a lot of wons now.
“Name?!”, the girl repeated as she tensed.
“Yeah~ Name. Ireum-i?”,Eric continued.
“I’m Bo……”, the girl replied in a whisper that Eric couldn’t make up.
“Huh? What was that?”, he tried to ask nicely.
“I’m Boram… Jeon Boram…”, she whispered the last ones in his ears.
“Oh… okay… I’m Eric. Eric Kim. Oh, I mean… Kim Eric. Well, whatever…”, he offered her his hand for the first time since they met. Eric felt bad for not introducing himself immediately.
The girl took his hand and bowed. Her hand was surprisingly soft. Though Eric already expected it, he still thought it was nice.

Boram was a bit surprised and a bit relieved that Eric Kim didn’t freak out when she said her name. He probably had no idea of who Korea’s Jeon Boram is. Boram didn’t know whether that was good or not. In fact, she didn’t care. All she wants to do right now is get this thing over with. How? She had no idea.
Boram signed to Eric asking him if he wants more tteokbokki. He simply shook his head. Boram was glad he didn’t want more. She should’ve brought more money with her and now she doesn’t even think she has enough to pay for transportation back to their dorm later. That wasn’t much of a problem with her, though.
What she’d been worrying about is this guy with her. Where is she gonna take him next? What is she gonna do with him? How is she gonna deal with this? She doesn’t even know what to say to him. Good thing that Eric Kim is so talkative. Boram didn’t need to say a lot other that nodding and signing and all. Eric does all the talking.
Gathering courage, Boram tried to change the way things are. “You… artist?”
He looked a bit surprised. Maybe Boram haven’t been speaking anything at all. He must have forgotten she wasn’t mute.
“Yeah! Yeah… I-ah~ I do uhmmm… painting… drawing… sometimes sculpture…”, Boram appreciated his effort for speaking slow enough for Boram to understand. He’d speak Korean from time to time too, but he just can’t get rid of his accent. Boram was fine with that, she can’t blame him.
“Ah~~……”, and that was it… conversation… END. Again. “This is hopeless”, she just thought to herself. She didn’t know what else to say.

“Uhmmm… can I ask you something?”, Eric said, breaking the silence.
The girl, Boram, seemed to understand what he said, and nodded.
“Do you know where I can find an ATM machine?”, he went on. But Boram doesn’t seem to have understood that one.
“Uhmmm… A… T… M…? machine?”, he tried again, this time slower and with gestures, like playing charades.
“ATM?”, she repeated with her Korean accent. Eric used to hate Korean accent, but when it comes to this girl, it wasn’t so bad.
“Yeah! ATM…”, he said as he went through his bag and brought out his ATM card.
“Ah~ okay! I know one…”, her Korean was slow enough for him. He thinks they’ve both already gotten used to talking slowly like this.

Boram was relieved that she didn’t have to think more about where they should go next. She didn’t know whether Eric Kim is doing this to hit on her or what. But he looks serious about it though. Maybe he really didn’t have any money. Maybe that’s why he was trying to earn some on the streets this morning.
Eric Kim looked like he’s gonna tear up when they reached the ATM machine, like he’s watching a very touching drama. While waiting for Eric Kim as he withdrew some money, Boram started thinking again. “Where to go next?”
She glanced back at the guy as his eyes glittered when money came out of the machine. Boram couldn’t help but smile, he acted like a kid. She thinks it’s cute.
Despite his accent, Eric Kim looked like a normal Korean. He didn’t have the western height, Boram is very thankful about that. He didn’t have the western looks. In fact, he’s a good looking Korean, Boram’s type actually. But every time Boram hears his accent, she is reminded that it’s not gonna work.
“Hey!”, Eric snapped Boram back to reality. “Since I owe you a lot, I’m gonna have to treat you too… Dinner’s on me tonight.”
“Huh?”, Boram felt embarrassed every time she couldn’t understand what Eric says.
“Tonight… We… eat dinner… together… my treat!”, he repeated for her.
“Ah~ okay!”, Boram got all excited as Eric said it. She was going on a date tonight.
Boram had a brilliant idea. But first she had to get ready for her date. She can’t just go out looking like that.
“I have to go home…”, she told Eric Kim before rushing off.
“Wh-What…????!! Hey… wait!”, she could hear him yell as he tried to catch her.
“4pm…!!! Han River!”, she turned to yell back and saw that Eric stopped running when he heard her. With a smile on her face, Boram dashed off back to their dorm.

“Boram-ah~ what’s wrong with you?! Stop that!”, Qri said annoyingly as Boram kept throwing her clothes all over the place with most of it reaching Qri’s side of the room.
“Omo~ Thank God you came! Help me out here. I need something to wear!!!”, Boram said as the clothes throwing went on.
“Huh?! What are you talking about? We’re just going to practice. Just get some random practice clothes and let’s go!”, Qri replied while she picks up Boram’s clothes from the floor and threw it back to Boram’s side.
“No! No! No! I’m not going practice tonight. I have to meet Eric!”, Qri didn’t understand what Boram was talking about.
“What? Who’s Eric?”, she asked.
“Eric… Eric Kim!”, it struck her the moment Boram said it.
“ERIC KIM?!!! As in Mr. Impossible Target Eric Kim?!! The American Halfie with the stupid drawing offer sign in the middle of Seoul this morning? That… Eric Kim???!!”, Qri couldn’t believe it. She underestimated Boram’s charms. “Omo Rambo-ya~… FIGHTING!!! I’ll go get Hyomin!!”
“He’s not a halfie! He’s pure Korean who grew up in the US!!!!!”, Qri heard Boram yell at her as she rushed out to find Hyomin.

Boram stared at the mirror, seeing her reflection wearing a pair of green fit jeans, a simple orange blouse and a cute red hat.
“Hyomin-ah~… Are you sure about this?”, Boram asked her fashionista dongsaeng as she turned around still not sure about her outfit.
“Of course unnie! Park Hyomin is the best!”, she enthusiastically replied, looking proud of her work.
“Really? I don’t look like a traffic light?”, Boram said, turning back to the mirror.
“WHAT? Are you insulting my masterpiece unnie?!!”, Hyomin said, sounding offended.
“OMO!! BORAM UNNIE YOU LOOK LIKE A TRAFFIC LIGHT!!!”, Jiyeon screamed the moment she entered the room.
Everyone in the room started laughing. “Aiiishh~ You’re all making fun of me!”, she whined.
“No unnie! Trust me, you look cute! Now go! You shouldn’t keep Mr. Impossible Target waiting~”, Boram couldn’t argue, she knew she’s running out of time.

Hyomin cracked up and laughed so hard with the rest of T-ara the moment Boram was gone. Boram seriously looked like a traffic light.
“Unnie you’re too mean! You’re sabotaging Boram unnie’s first mission date!”, Hyomin heard Jiyeon say in between her laughs.
“What are you talking about?! I’m doing her a favor! Now, Eric Kim’s never gonna forget her.”, Hyomin seriously loved her prank on their oldest unnie. It was another typical prank afternoon for T-ara. They seriously needed some laugh.

She looked like a traffic light. Still, he thought it was cute. Eric was sitting nearby Han River with a picnic set good for two. He’s been there 15 minutes advanced, which is weird because Eric’s always late for appointments.
“Hey~!”, he greeted her with his brightest smile.
She didn’t hey back to him though, instead she sat casually with him and pouted. “Truth… Boram like a traffic light?”
Eric tried to hold it back, but he burst out laughing at her question. But, he couldn’t get it all out because his date started crying.
“H-Hey… Hey… Wh-Why are you cryin’?”, he forced to cut out his laugh and tried to sound comforting.
“Sorry… My friends made fun of me and told me to wear this. Tonight… Eric date traffic light.”, Eric knows he wasn’t supposed to, but he smiled at her as she spoke the words. She was so cute.
He laughed a little before pinching her cheek. “Gwenchana~ You look cute!”, he said and smiled.

Boram received a lot of complements from Eric before she could stop her tears. She felt so embarrassed. She is so gonna kill Hyomin when she gets back to the dorm.

Boram’s Killing List:
#1 SHADOW
#2 HYOMIN.

Boram always dreamt of a sunset date at the beach with a cool guy. But, a sunset date by the Han River with Eric Kim was close enough. They spent the rest of the afternoon telling facts about themselves and sat beside each other ‘till the sun was completely out of sight.
Today, Boram learned that Eric’s parents met in the US and got married in the US and Eric was born in the US. So, basically the only thing that kept him Korean is his blood. He is an only child and used to visit Korea yearly during vacations with his parents until he was in middle school. Hangul gives him headaches, he loves tteokbokki, wearing hanbok irritates him, and he’s not fond of K-pop. That explains why he didn’t know Boram.
Boram told him about herself too but lied about one important thing: who she really was. No, she didn’t lie per se, she just didn’t tell him everything. It’s a totally different thing.
Boram liked the feeling that Eric gave her, a feeling that she’s already forgotten, a feeling she never thought she’d ever feel again. The feeling of being just a typical Korean citizen, just a normal person, just a regular girl, running around Seoul to her desire, sitting by the Han River, having a date with her guy. Her guy… Since when did she start thinking of him like that? She didn’t know.
As promised, Eric treated her for dinner. Good thing that he chose a fine elegant restaurant, that only offers expensive food. Those kinds of places are one of the few ones where idols don’t have to hide. Of course she still has to be careful of paparazzi, but at least no one would react when they see her. Everybody there is richer than she is, too rich to care about who she is. And she guessed Eric Kim must be a really rich guy as well.
As usual, Eric does all the talking. She admired the fact that their language barrier didn’t stop him from trying to keep their conversations going. She’s thankful to him for that.
Boram always knew that a lot could happen in a day, since they’ve been having uncountable schedules daily. But, she never thought that you could know a lot about a person in less than a day. That morning, she was whining about her mission being too impossible for her, but now here she is sitting across her Mr. Impossible Target having dinner at a restaurant that could wipe out her bank account.
Boram didn’t want the night to end, but of course, nothing ever goes her way. Eric got her a taxi as they got out of the restaurant. Boram prayed a lot. She started calculating the possibility of her having a taxi driver fan that would go crazy the moment she comes in sight. When the she entered the taxi, she knew the driver recognized her, thank goodness that he didn’t seem like a fan and just ignored her. Boram felt lonely as Eric closed the door and waved goodbye to her.
As Boram waved back to him from inside the cab, Eric felt somehow sad that the night is over. For some reason, he enjoyed his time with that girl, Jeon Boram. He felt happy when he was with her. He was also very talkative. He wasn’t usually like that. A lot of weird things are going on with him since he got to Korea. No, since he met that girl.
He wants to meet her again. That’s what Eric thought to himself as the cab started moving slowly. “I’ll see you again…”, he said. See her? Again? How? “Sh*t!”.
“Hey! Hey! Hey wait up!!!”, adrenaline rush filled Eric as he ran after the cab. He must’ve been really gone crazy today. “Wait!!!”
To his surprise, the taxi stopped. Boram got out and ran back to him.
“I… I-ah… I… forgot…to get your num… ber…”, he panted, his hands on his knees.
“What?”, he heard her ask.
“You’re number… Jeonhwabeon…”, he repeated.
Boram understood and gave him her phone number before getting back in the cab. Eric watched ‘till it got farther and farther. “Jeon Boram…”, he thought to himself. “Jeon Boram…”, he said again, making sure he won’t forget. He checked in to the hotel his mom told him about.
“Hey honey… how was your day?”, he heard his mom’s voice from the other end of the line.
“Oh mom~ it was… it was… wonderful mom… I had a great time.”, he meant it. He didn’t understand why, but that was what he felt.
“Honey? Are you on drugs?”, his mom asked out of the blue.
“What? Mom… No!”, he didn’t know what’s wrong with his mom. Eric only did drugs once so as to satisfy his juvenile curiosity when he was in high school. He hadn’t even thought about doing it again especially not when he got to college.
“You met someone, didn’t you?”, she asked again.
“MOM!!!!”, that’s another thing Eric didn’t get. How does his mom know this kind of stuff. “I’m hanging up, mom. I’m tired.”
Eric dropped the call. But no, he wasn’t asleep. He’s wide awake thinking of that girl that stood in front of him that morning, the girl that he ran after all over Seoul, the girl that got him speaking in Korean again, the girl that made Korean accent sound good, the girl that he watched the sunset with him by the Han River, the girl looking like a traffic light that he brought in an elegant restaurant, the girl he liked.

“Hey~ It’s Eric. You free tomorrow? I’m not actually sure how to get to N Seoul Tower.”, Boram smiled as she read the text message from Eric.
“Sketch… of Seoul from the view up in N Seoul Tower.”, Boram remembered Eric told her while they were by the Han River. He said that was the only thing that his parents used to convince him to go to Korea. He said he always wanted to make a sketch of Seoul from Namsan Tower, but he never got to.
“I already got everything planned for tomorrow. I won’t take no for an answer.”, his second message came even before Boram could reply.
She called her boss instead and asked for a day off, like what her dongsaengs did for their missions, and said yes to Eric immediately.
Mission. Realizing the whole thing drained the happiness out of Boram. Everything about today was a mission. It was a mission, yet it felt so real, because for Boram…… it is real.
She closed her eyes and saw the scene of Eric and herself watching the sunset. She felt her lips form a smile.
“Rambo-ya~ What’s wrong with you? You’re smiling by yourself…”, Boram almost forgot she was sharing the room with Qri.
“Uh? You’re awake~…… You won’t believe what happened today. It was soooo beautiful.”, Boram placed her hands on top of her heart as she said so.
“You like him?”, Boram’s hearts skipped a beat at Qri’s question. Does Boram like Eric?
“Yeah~ I think I do. He’s like a typical Korean too, you know… a normal Korean who’s bad at Korean.”, Boram chuckled at the thought of Eric’s accent.
“Feels wonderful, does it?”, Boram saw Qri smile herself.
“Ya~ You ever felt this way for Hwangjoo?”, Boram asked.
Boram pretends she doesn’t, but she knows Qri always scan her photos with Hwangjoo every night, before she goes to bed. Qri told her she didn’t fall for Hwangjoo, but Boram knows she at least liked him.
“Yeah~ But nothing more than that. Liking someone is alright, you know. It’s not a sin. But cross the lines, and I don’t think it’d still be right. Not for us, I mean. We’re idols, don’t you ever forget that.”, Boram absorbed everything that Qri said.
“Of course… I won’t go that far.”, Boram assured her.
She closed her eyes wanting to end the day immediately, so she could see Eric Kim again, her guy.

This time, she’s dressed better. Eric’s thankful for that, but he liked the traffic light outfit though. It looked really cute on her.
“Annyeong~!”, she greeted him as she met him once again by the Han River.
“Hey~!”, was his reply. She looked pretty and cute… both at the same time.
Boram was sitting beside him when he realized he’d been staring. She seemed like she’s been talking to him and she’s now waiting for him to reply.
“Huh? Wh-what was that?”, he tried to focus.
“What are we going to do today?”, she asked.
Eric was suddenly on the emergency thinking mode. He remembered he told her last night that he’s already planned everything. But, all he got is that they’ll be at Namsan tonight. It’s still seven in the morning and he has no idea how they’re gonna spend the day.
It would’ve been easier for him if they were in the US. That was his place, his town. But here, he could barely remember his times at Seoul when he was young, how is he supposed to show a girl around her own town which he barely knew?
“Oh… Uhmmm.. uhhh~”, he had no idea what to say and his head is not working.
“No… plan?”, she asked him, meeting his eyes.
“Uhhh… No… I… I got nothing.”, he admitted, feeling embarrassed.
“Good! Boram got a lot!”, she beamed at him, looking really excited.

Eric didn’t even know the place existed. Yes, he is an artist and yes, he knew every amazing art museum in the world. Well, at least he thought he did. Did he really hate Korea that much, that he never paid attention to anything in Korea?
Trick Eye Museum was the best! Boram was all excited on their first stop. At first, Eric was trying to keep it cool, but when he saw the gallery, he couldn’t deny it, he was impressed. The art sure was tricky to the eye. In a few minutes, Eric was going crazy about everything, especially the ice museum. He noticed that Boram was so happy about it too. It was their favorite part. After a few hours of taking pictures, they stopped by the Santorini Café for some first-grade organic coffee, while viewing their pictures and making fun of each and every one of them.
Ever heard of Original Drawing Show Theater? Yeah, when Eric heard the drawing part, he felt trilled about it. But, the theater part, he wasn’t so sure about that. He’s not really a fan of theater arts. But when the show was over, Eric totally changed his mind. It was amazing! So, that’s what happens when ‘drawing’ and ‘theater’ comes together. The actors were living art! Yes, that is a metaphor. Eric saw how good they were. Yeah, Eric himself can do quick drawing, but he thinks the water drawing was the best part. He’s heard of it before, but it was his first time to see it live. It was just awesome.
Alright, Eric told Boram the day before that his parents wanted him to be open to Korean culture, he didn’t know that she’s gonna be serious about it. Korean Culture House (KOUS) was their third stop. The art performance was alright. People performed traditional art performance with all the dancing and stuff. If Eric came there with his parents, it would’ve been the worst day ever, but with Boram, that was a different story. He enjoyed the wood class a lot since he has experience with wood carving. The learning to play janggu (Korean instrument) part was fine too, though Eric doesn’t have rhythm. But the taekkyeon part, Eric though it would’ve been the worst if Boram was not as bad as he was, thank goodness she was even worse than him, so he thought everything was just alright.
After having lunch as a VIP, at some restaurant called Sweet Chopsticks with some weird waiter who happens to be Boram’s friend, Eric thought the Korean Culture thing was over. Guess he was wrong, again.
Eric’s been to some old Korean palaces before in his past trips to Seoul, but the last thing he expected to happen today was going to each and every one of it. Eric told Boram he was already tired, but she kept insisting. She said as a Korean, he has to see those places. Though it seems a lot like it, Eric can’t deny that it’s not that boring, especially when there’s a cute girl with you. Eric memorized the names of the palaces, well almost. One was called Deoksugung, the other one, he thinks it’s Uhhyeongung, the third one is Gyeong-something and the other one was something with a Chang.
It was 6pm before they knew it. And finally, now they’ll be at their last stop, the moment Eric’s been waiting for since he was a toddler.
Boram tried to have the time of her life with a very busy and somehow adventurous date with Eric Kim. But her members have been calling her and sending her text messages to come to the practice room. They said it was some emergency change in choreography. No. Boram said no. She told them she can’t come. Shadow tried to call her too, even their Sajangnim asked her where she was.
Boram tried to hide it from Eric, but she wanted to cry the whole time. After their debut, things were never easy for her. There are a lot of things that you have to sacrifice in order to become an idol. Back then, Boram was willing to give it all up just for her dreams. She’s always been fine with it actually. But now, that everything she missed from life is being given back to her by this guy she’s with, she can’t just walk away from it again. Just once, for just this one time, can’t she feel it all again, going after what you want?
She turned off her phone after they had lunch back at sweet chopsticks, and now they were standing beside each other, staring at the view of the city. Boram could sense the happiness in Eric’s eyes. Excited, he prepared his drawing materials ready to start working. Boram was assisting him before everything went wrong. As usual, nothing ever goes her way.

Yeongwon made sure Boram would notice him. He stood close enough to her and Mr. Kim. People started hissing. Of course, a handsome young man, in a suit was hanging around, who wouldn’t hiss about that?
He knew he got her the moment Boram met his eyes. He saw everything in the way she looked. Surprise, anger, fear, disappointment, sadness, her eyes told him everything. He stared at her, making sure she got the message. He motioned down, telling her to meet him at the car.
“She’s with me now, Sajangnim. I’m taking her to the practice room.”, Yeongwon said to Kim Kwang Soo on the phone as Boram entered his car.

Eric didn’t understand why Boram suddenly acted like that. One moment, they were all happy about everything, then all of the sudden she was crying and telling him she’s sorry and she has to go. Eric grabbed her before she could run off again, and told her that whatever the problem is, everything’s gonna be alright. He told her they could just meet again tomorrow, same time same place. She smiled at him before she left, making him promise to show her his sketch after he finish it.
After Boram left, Eric put his hand in his pocket as he usually does when his thinking. He was surprised that there was something in the pocket, a wristband along with a paper, saying “To Eric Kim, From Jeon Boram.”

Boram pulled back her tears as they reached the practice room. No, she didn’t argue with Shadow. During the practice, she never said a thing to any of her members. Boram knew it wasn’t right. But sometimes, it makes more sense to do the things that aren’t right.
They didn’t understand her. Though she knew that it was her responsibility to take care of her job, but somehow her heart says otherwise.
Boram spend the night lying on her bed, crying. Though she knew Qri’s watching her, she ignored her and let her tears fall.
“You love him, don’t you?”, Qri asked her the same question she’d been asking herself.
“How can I love him? I’ve only met him yesterday. Don’t be silly.”, it was true. How can you love someone you don’t even know?
“But you do, don’t you?”, Qri kept on asking.
“So what? What’s so wrong about that, huh? Why can’t idols fall in love?! Why can’t idols make mistakes?! We’re human being too, not saints!”, she cried out.
“It’s just the way it is… There’s nothing we can do. It’s the life we chose. We have to face the consequences. Good Luck on stage tomorrow…”, Boram forgot about their comeback. How could she forget about it? It was something they’ve preparing for more than a month. But, somehow,all she was looking forward to was a sketch of Seoul from the view up at Namsan Tower.

“No.”, Shadow simply told her. “You can’t go.”
“Unnie… Our comeback is within hours… You can’t just go…”, Eunjung followed.
“Yeah unnie… Forget about the mission for a second, our comeback is more important.”, Hyomin told her, as well.
“Mission?! You just don’t get it, do you? He not just some mission! He’s way more than that to me!”, she screamed at them.
“Stop that Boram-ah! You’re speaking non-sense. Pull yourself toge-”, Shadow was cut off as Boram’s palm hit his face.
“This is your fault.”, were the words she left hanging in the air as Boram walked away.
Boram’s heart was breaking every second that passed. She knew Eric’s waiting for her by the Han River. Shadow took her phone and she doesn’t even know how she’s gonna communicate with him.
The day passed and sun was no longer in sight. With a familiar melody, Boram danced and sang with T-ara on stage. She knew Eric could be gone any moment now, the guy she drew on a piece of paper, the guy who likes tteokbokki, the guy who looks cute doing taekkyeon, the guy she fell for, her guy.

Boram rushed to the airport as soon as their performance was over. She didn’t care even people would recognize her. She was trying hard to find Eric through her tears. She was crying, and panting, and she didn’t know what to do.
“Hey”, she turned as a familiar voice said from behind.
Eric Kim stood in front of her wearing shades, looking as cool as ever. She hugged him without saying a word. But instead of hugging her back, Eric slowly pushed her away.
“There’s something I haven’t told you. And I’m so sorry…”, he told her. “I’ve been lying to you and I hope you can forgive me.”
“I can’t accept this.” He went on, handing her the wristband.
Boram understood everything he said. But she couldn’t get was what exactly he was trying to say.
“I have a girl back home, Boram-ah… I’m sorry I never told you…”, Boram couldn’t believe his words. “What? No.”, she thought.
“You’re lying!”, she yelled at him.
“Her name’s Stela… I’m so sorry… I have to go.”, he turned his back and walked away from her.
“No!”, she caught him and hugged him from behind. No matter how much she wanted to let him go, she just couldn’t. For a moment, she was willing to lose everything, her career, her job, her image, everything. All she wanted was for him to say that he love her too. “I love you Eric.”
He slowly took her hands off of him. “This isn’t love.”, was his last word before slipping through the ticket station, disappearing in the crowd.

Notes