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Narita Airport&039;s ter to send Ao of their China tour Cristal stayed closed to Satoshi as Aoe made their way to the line to check in Kenshin and soe on carts while bodyguards held back the croho tried to touch them or take pictures

"Yori, I love you," one teen hollered

Yori shoved his hands into his pockets and walked next to Masaaki Amaya had decided to stay with her parents and not join hiner

Cristal suspected that the plans changed because they noned a house and she wanted to stay behind and tend to everything before Yori returned and they s, and she was glad she didn&039;t have to see Araphs and posed for so lady bowed and handed him a teddy bear Takumijo accepted it and bowed to her The croild when he s of his name most of the time

Every now and then he&039;d wave to be sociable, but as far as she could tell he didn&039;t like any of it

Ichiro walked behind them solemnly He hadn&039;t said a word to anyone since they left the farmhouse She didn&039;t knohat had happened or where Shaundra had gone, but she suspected it had all gotten to be toowith her sudden uht alone had added to the older wouessed she wouldn&039;t know anything until they arrived in China

"Flight 1010 leaving for China boarding at gate five," a young woman announced over the public address system

Masaaki led the way Everyone pulled out their tickets and passports, and walked single file up to the attendant to check them in A few minutes later they had all boarded the plane

Aomori and the others dise every bit pop idols as they entered the Beijing Capital International Airport The Niigata&039;s breeding and the years of training rang suprereet their screa fans To new fans this must have made quite an impact, as the statuesque, handsome six-foot-tall males descended on them one at a tiray linen pants and jacket with a white shirt beneath it His hair now came to his neck, a little shorter in a lasses hid those spectacular brown eyes, and he appeared a bit friendlier waving to his fans

Takuray linen suit with a black shirt His hair, perfect as always, looked short and sporty, and he had added sohts He wore jewelry down froer The fe his na fans even though he could barely speak the language

Takumijo&039;s entrance was followed up by Satoshi He wore a black and white two-toned jacket hite trousers

Beneath the jacket he sported a white high-collared shirt He had pulled his hair back in a ponytail He, like the others, hid those perfect chocolate brown eyes behind a pair of dark glasses

Ichiro appeared and the croild He was dressed all in black with a dia dia in his ear The fans screa black braid hung down his back and touched his butt He waved a couple of times, posed for pictures and accepted tokens of love from the fansquite uncharacteristic of his usual shy and deht up the rear Masaaki wore a dark business suit, and Kenshin arrived in his dark blue chauffeur&039;s livery Cristal herself, getting into the role of publicist, dressed in a dark navy blue suit and puh on her head The fans surprised her as they recognized her, calling her by na for Yi- jun Her eyes were covered by dark blue sunglasses to hide the bloodshot red that stained the up to console the depressed and distraught Satoshi who missed Shaundra and felt responsible for her sudden disappearance She, like the others, had tried to convince hi and had no way of knowing that she planned to leave

Ichiro had calls into her kids and mother in the United States, but so far he hadn&039;t heard back frorees when they finally stepped out of the ter people lined the streets, bands played and people perfor Aolish and Mandarin The band members waved and s to take them to their hotel, where they&039;d stay a week before traveling to Taiwan, the second leg of their destination

Cristal looked out of the ,at the Central Business District centered at the Guomao area They rode past Jianuai SOHO, Park Hyatt and Yintai CCTV Headquarters and other tall office buildings in the financial district This was ho precincts and expensive housing They passed a lot of historical buildings which she hoped to tour once Yi-jun found some free time in his busy schedule He&039;d pro hi and getting comfortable Masaaki took the cuisine as Peking duck, sweetened vinegar spareribs, hot and sour soup, egg and shrilazed in ot back into the li National Stadium where the 2008 Summer Olympics had been held and where Aomori was scheduled to perform in two days

"Would you look at this place?" Takulasses as he climbed up the stairs "This is just too fantastic for words"

Kenshin followed hiuys have ever performed in"

"Just say the word and you can join us," Yori told him

"Ooh, not this time," Kenshin said "Maybe next ti duck"

Ichiro sat down in one of the stadiue He took out his cell phone, and Cristal sat down next to hiot Shaundra&039;s mother on the line

"Are you sure you haven&039;t heard froets in contact with you" He disconnected the international call

"No one has seen or heard from her," he said "She should have arrived in New York by now" He tried Harper&039;s corporate office again The sano one had heard froet very worried She didn&039;t take anything with her when she left, not even her luggage What if so has happened to her?"

Cristal patted his hand "Don&039;t start thinking negatively

We&039;ll find her" Deep in her heart, though, she was starting to worry too Satoshi had said she wasn&039;t acting like herself the last tihed She hoped Shaundra hadn&039;t gone off and done so "Hello Oh hello, Harper No, we haven&039;t heard from her yet" Masaaki took the phone away fro we can to find her Mr Niigata has his people searching for her Japan is a pretty big place She could be anywhere I understand she can barely speak Japanese She has gotten along so far She&039;ll run into solish" He took the phone away froain Harper still shouted, and then the call ended Masaaki shoved the phone back into his pocket "He said he&039;s hiring an investigator to search the United States for her He said the last tio when she stopped by his office"

Ichiro stood and walked back out of the stadiu someone would find her alive and well

Cristal nearly knocked him to his knees as she ran and jumped into his ar He also had a roolad to see you too," Yi-jun said as he swung her around in his arms His lips bore down on hers when the world stopped revolving

"Get a room," he heard someone say

"Satoshi" Yi-jun freed Cristal and walked over and shook his friend&039;s hand "Man, it&039;s good to see you" The two friends hugged,her feel lower than a snake&039;s underbelly for inadvertently co between them "This hotel is fabulous, and there&039;s so much to do and see in town"

"You two kids enjoy it," Satoshi said "Some of us have to work" He walked past them and headed toward the elevators with his hands buried deep into his pockets and his head down

"I feel so bad for him," Cristal told Yi-jun as he whisked her out of the hotel lobby and into a fancy black chauffeur- driven limousine he&039;d rented to ride around in with her "He blames himself for Shaundra&039;s disappearance"

Yi-jun helped her into the car and then went around to the other side and got in A pretty Chinese chauffer pulled out into the busy Beijing traffic "Satoshi has always been that way," he told her "He worries a lot about everyone and things that are out of his control He&039;s truly the backbone behind Aoroup together, so his own needs for theirs He&039;s their heart, and without him they&039;re just a band without a talented piano player"

Cristal snuggled up against hiuys are truly the best of friends"

"How good is your Mandarin?" Li-jun asked Cristal

"Not as good as o somewhere and need to take a taxi, it is best to print out the names of places you want to visit in Chinese characters, or better yet get someone from the hotel to do it for you And when you cross the street assuht of way"

"I&039;ll reo anywhere alone"

The chauffeur did a good job h the crowded road full of cars and bicycles veering toward her fro?" Cristal asked

"Tiananmen Square," Yi-jun answered "It&039;s in the center of the city in the Dongcheng District"

"Uh huh," Cristal said sarcastically

"It&039;s a big public square where visitors from all around the world visit daily" The driver parked once they reached their destination The chauffeur got out this time and opened the door for theht chuckled

"What&039;s their problem?" she asked

Yi-jun took her arm and put it near his "Most of them have never seen an African-A to be rude, just curious"

"Oh," she replied, apparently not offended and probably used to similar treatment in Korea and Japan

He led her over to the lands like the Great Hall of People, the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, the Museum of Chinese History, the Qianmen Gate of the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the Monument to the People&039;s Martyrs "Which place do you want to try first?"

"I would say the Forbidden City, but with my luck I&039;d probably end up in jail, so let&039;s try the Museu her toward the Forbidden City

"Wow," Cristal said,at the palace She was about as awestruck as the other tourists as she gazed upon a part of history fro Dynasty

"For nearly five hundred years it served as the home of the Empress and their household," he explained to her

"Can you i that time period?" Cristal asked

Yi-jun nodded and took her hand "You would be my E around through the palace by day, and ould get busy in the fancy E more babies"

Cristal playfully punched on the arhed "You have quite the vivid iination, Mr Lee"

Yi-jun chuckled If she only knew

He took her to the museum next It was impressive but not yet up to the standards of those he&039;d seen in Paris and Rome Afterwards they sat and drank tea at the Teuen District He had the driver return the and to check with their prospective bosses to see if they had any fires to put out before dashing out again This tiiao Acrobatics Theater in the Xuanwoa District, followed up by the opera at the Beijing Opera House

Things happened very fast with Cristal Most of the tient, funny, beautiful, and talented She was, as the Americans said, the whole kit and caboodle "Come with me to the United States," he said to her out of the blue after they&039;d just shared a round of silly laughter

"What?" she asked, still not fully recuperated froles

"Come with me to the United States"

"Are you serious?"

"I&039;ve never beenin my life,"

he told her as he pulled her into his arainst hers He leaned into the softness of her body and his knees felt weak; his pulse raced, and he swore he felt the planetthey stood there, both oblivious to everything around them He was in no rush to break the passionate kiss, and he was sure that she didn&039;t mind If the world ca that at that very moment Cristal wanted him as much as he wanted her

"I don&039;t know," she answered when they finally broke the kiss "This is so sudden"

The world stopped revolving

Cristal moved around in her seat, quite excited at the prospect of finally getting to see Aomori perform The stadium was filled to capacity Fans arht sticks waited for the younglike this beforeat least not for a Japanese group It ood to know Aomori was as well loved overseas as they were in Japan and Korea

"You seem as excited as most of these kids," Yi-jun said from a nearly front row seat next to her

"I a her blue stick at hi fan of boy bands"

"Then you&039;re in for a pleasant surprise These guys are fantastic"

Cristal settled back in her seat, still a bit perplexed by Yi- jun&039;s offer to join him in the United States She supposed she could use this time to visit with her parents, who in California would save her on travel expenses or where she would live for teeks if she decided to take him up on his offer But what did it h to follow hi a decision that she still needed to addressher feelings for Satoshi? Yi-jun&039;s offer was so te, especially since Satoshi hadn&039;t exactly expressed undying love for her

She wished he would do so to let her know that he actually cared for her And if she actually decided to go with Yi-jun, did that hed and settled back into her seat

The lights dimmed, and Yi-jun squeezed her hand affectionately The stadiuht sticks like a wave of water against the night skies

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our show" The announcement was broadcast in Mandarin, Japanese and Korean

The music started to play "Welcome Aomori"

The curtains lifted

Cristal involuntarily took a deep breath and exhaled She prayed for her sake that the performance went off without a hitch Oh my God Is that the doofuses? Oh hts bea dance nu the lead, while Satoshi played the keyboard, and Taku synchronized footsteps and sung backup By the end of the song Cristal found herself screas like the other tweens, teens, and star-struck femmes

Aomori were all dolled up in black tuxedos and white dress shirts, looking slim and debonair Satoshi had finally let his hair out of the ponytail In all the tiether, she&039;d never seen it this way She&039;d always had a thing for a guy in bangs Shit No Decision not ht gleaa solo, and for all accounts a love song

His eyes searched, found and locked with hers, and she rewarded him with a smile His deep and sexy voice serenaded only her

Yi-jun&039;s hand tightened on hers, drawing her away fro in herjust for you," Yi-jun whispered in her ear

"Don&039;t be ridiculous," she said, not taking her eyes off the Japanese hottie as he belted out his feelings for her in his song And when it ended, their eyes remained locked and her heart did a funny little flip What the hell aone by without a word froet the law involved He stretched out on his bed in his hotel roo of their China tour He hadn&039;t seen any of the others and didn&039;t want to He was tired of hearing questions about his state of one to By now he&039;d spoken to her entire fairl, Tricia, and so far no one had seen her since the two of theht of there Maybe she&039;d returned to Korea, since that is where her physiatrist was He got off the bed to retrieve his wallet and search for the doctor&039;s card

It was nearly noon, and he hoped the doctor hadn&039;t gone off to lunch or was busy with a patient

Ichiro reached for the phone, got an outside operator and placed the call "Hello, ?" A few minutes later the doctor picked up the line

"Hello, Doctor Wong, speaking"

"Doctor Wong, my name is Ichiro Yoshida I don&039;t know if you remember me My wife Shaundra is a patient of yours

You treated her with hypnosis for a fear of flying"

"Yes, Mr Yoshida I remember you How can I help you?"

"I have a problem, Doctor My wife has disappeared"

There was a pause on the other line "What do you mean disappeared?"

"She was supposed to accoo She left home to meet with her boss, and no one has seen her since I know you can&039;t divulge any personal information to me In fact, you&039;re my last hope I just need to know if she had an appointment with you in the last three weeks"

"I&039;m sorry, Mr Yoshida I hadn&039;t seen her The last I knew she was supposed to fly back with you to Japan"

"Yes, we did fly back to Japan Thanks to you she was able to do it without medication"

"How did she seem the last ti?"

Ichiro thought about it "Well, she did get sick shortly after we returned home, and she had to be hospitalized for her blood pressure She did see so far away frootten in touch with them?"

"Yes," Ichiro said "No one has heard fro to worry It&039;s not like her to do sos in their lives they can&039;t deal with, Mr

Yoshida Shaundra&039;s no different But no, unfortunately, I haven&039;t heard froet in touch with you if I do hear froave him his Interstate cell phone nuht now and will be here for another couple ofin China, if you don&039;t uess Shaundra failed to mention that I was a pop star"

"Yes, but Mr Yoshida, she did say that she loved you This I res and be able to travel with you I guess I shouldn&039;t be saying this, but she wasn&039;t addictedshe only took them to travel and no other time, but she saorried you were and she didn&039;t think anyone would believe her, not even you"

Tears welled in Ichiro&039;s eyes, and he choked back a sob

"Thank you, Doctor That means the world to me I will let you know if I hear from her Thank you for all you have done for us Goodbye"

"Goodbye, Mr Yoshida, and good luck"