Seunghoon was alone in the recording studio when Park Bom walked in.

He was lying on the couch, a pencil and paper in his hands that were stretched out in front of him. He stared hard at his messy scribbles written on the paper-- lyrics to the new song that he was composing.

His watch let out a couple beeps, signaling that it was midnight.

Seunghoon was muttering under his breath, thinking hard. He began to repeat the rap that he was stringing together when the door to the studio opened with a soft click.

He wasn't expecting it. With a start, Seunghoon quickly sat up and swung around to see who the new arrival was.

Due to his quick and sudden reaction, the person in the doorway let out a scream of surprise.

"Aego...you scared me!"

"S-sorry, noona!"

Seunghoon stuttered his apology. Bom stood in front of him by the doorway, a hand to her heart, letting out a long sigh.

Bom was wearing casual jeans and a T-shirt, her long black hair messy. Her eyes were wide with shock.

At the sight of the 2NE1 member, a thousand thoughts rushed into Seunghoon's mind. Bom and her scandal. About the drugs. About the claimed "smuggling". But the official statement from YG was that it was actually prescribed to her in America and it turned out that it was illegal in Korea and---

His thoughts were cut off as Bom spoke.

"It's okay, Seunghoon," she said, pulling on a smile as she gained her composure. She leaned against the door frame. "Sorry that I suddenly barged in here. I thought the studio would be empty at this time and I don't recall any recording plans..."

"Oh it's okay, you didn't barge in, noona---" Seunghoon shut himself up. Actually, it seemed as if Bom tried very hard to make as little noise as possible to open the door. But he thought it best not to mention that. "I-- uh..." He tried to break the ice. "I was writing... a new rap. I dunno why but I'm able to think clearly and get inspiration here."

"I see... Wow, you're really full of spirit, aren't you?" Bom chuckled lightly.

"Y-yeah. Thank you. You too, noona."

The two stared at each other for a couple seconds before Seunghoon cleared his thoat. "So, uh...what brings you here in the middle of the night?"

Bom blinked. She may have tried her best to look strong, but Seunghoon saw the fragility in her eyes.

"I left something," Bom answered. Her voice was weak. "Something very important to me."

"Oh..." Seunghoon let his eyes roam the room. "What is it?"

Bom slowly left the doorway and walked towards the couch that Seunghoon was lying on a moment ago. "My jacket," she answered. "My grandmother gave it to me..." She picked up a pillow from the couch, revealing a jacket underneath. "Found it."

"I didn't realize it was there," Seunghoon said, scratching the back of his head.  "Sorry."

Bom smiled warmly at him and carefully put on her jacket. She tucked her arms into the sleeves. "No need to say sorry. I'm a klutz for leaving this here."

Seunghoon smiled back without realizing it. Bom had a charm that made people around her cheer up and feel better. Even when she herself was feeling the exact opposite.

It was true that he and Bom didn't spend that much time together. He was struggling so hard to debut and finally when he did, there were music shows and concerts and all the events that made it hard for him to interact with her. But even so, from the moments they spent on Winner TV and the YG Family concert, Seunghoon found himself drawn towards Park Bom. As if he was metal and she was a magnet. Bom radiated a spirit and energy that he liked. She shined and he was happy to bathe in her light.

It wasn't as if Seunghoon was in love. He didn't know what it was. Perhaps it could have been a romantic attraction, or simply admiration of a dongsaeng to his senior, or the yearning of an intimate friendship.  But what he was sure of was that he wanted to spend more time with Park Bom, and to become closer to her. He wanted to get to know her better, and wanted her to know him more as well.

When he heard about the drug scandal a few days ago, it felt as if the air left his lungs. His mind went empty. His entire body went numb. Because how could the noona that he respected...How could she...? Should he trust the media? And YG's words... As the news sunk in, his empty mind was instantly flooded with those thoughts.

And as Bom stood now in front of him, Seunghoon felt his heart becoming heavier and heavier. He was reluctant to watch her go. He knew that once Bom walked through that door, he wouldn't be seeing her for a long time. She would go somewhere until the media cooled down with the scandal. Somewhere to also clear her mind. That would take months. He was afraid it'd take longer.

Their eyes were locked. Seunghoon was trying to read her and it seemed she was trying to read him too. The smile on Bom's face fell ever so slightly as she gave a nod and began walking towards the door.

"I should get going. Goodbye, Seunghoon."

At her words and the sound of her footsteps behind him, something inside of Seunghoon snapped.

Without thinking, without even looking at her, he grabbed Bom by the wrist.

Bom's arm twitched. Seunghoon felt her quickening pulse against his fingers. She didn't try to pull away, yet Seunghoon tightened the grip.

"Don't," he said.

"...Seunghoon?"

"Don't say 'goodbye' as if you're not coming back." Seunghoon turned around to meet her eyes. It was so hard to read her expression. "Please say something more reassuring, like 'I'll see you soon.'"

"Seunghoon..."

"Say you'll be back." Seunghoon grit his teeth, trying to hold back his confusing emotions before continuing. "Say we'll meet again."

Seunghoon saw Bom's lip slightly quavering. He felt her arm shaking, her pulse quickening. Her eyes were deep, and he wondered if he saw the tiny hint of tears in them. But he was sure that Park Bom was doing all she could to not show how she really felt. She pushed back her feelings and emotions, trying to appear strong in front of her dongsaeng.

"Please." Seunghoon felt his voice crack.

A long silence passed as the two stared at each other. Finally Bom pulled on a smile and used her free hand to reach out and hold Seunghoon's hand in hers.

Seunghoon was not expecting that. It took all his willpower not to jump in surprise. After a brief mental war with himself in his mind, he decided to release his pincer grip on Bom's wrist. Bom took his newly free hand in hers as well, surprising him even more.

"Seunghoon," she said gently. "I will be back.  I'm not leaving YG, nor am I leaving you. This isn't a permanent goodbye."

She gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. "Noona promises you."

Seunghoon stared at her gentle face, and then at their interlocked hands. He felt his cheeks color. He felt the bliss relief to her words.

"Noona..." Seunghoon felt himself overcome with emotion. He had told himself that if he were to meet Bom before her leave, he would not speak a word about the scandal. But seeing her right now in front of him, he couldn't hold it back. He blurted out his thoughts, unable to stop them.

"This is so unfair. It's not your fault. You were prescribed those medicine... You needed it to cope with an incident from your past.... Those "drugs" were even legal in America. You just happen to not know that when you were having them sent to Korea. You...You shouldn't have to leave at all. It was just a blunder. A mistake. You... You..."

Now it was Seunghoon's hands that were shaking.

"Noona should just stay here," he finished.

Another long silence filled with the air. Bom stared at him and Seunghoon found himself looking away, unable to meet her eyes. Bom's hands were warm.

"You worry about me that much?"

Hearing her words, Seunghoon quickly turned his head to look at her. Bom had a small, fragile smile on her face.

"Thank you," she continued. "Thank you for caring. You're the second oldest in WINNER, right?" Her eyes were sad. "Being one of the oldest in a group can have a lot of burden on yourself. You have to be a good example to the younger members. The smallest mistake can be fatal." She let out a long sigh. "Though I’m the oldest in my group. I'm scared to see the girls. Chaerin, Dara, and little Minzy... They put their full trust in me and I screwed up."

"You didn't screw up, noona!" Seunghoon was quick to say. "It was just a misunderstanding and mistake. You did nothing wrong! You--!"

His words were cut short as Bom gave his hands a hard squeeze.

Then she spoke in the most softest of voices.

"It's okay, baby. Please don't cry."

Seunghoon perked up. Trying to calm himself down, he tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "Are you hitting on me?"

With a laugh, Bom lightly let go of one of his hands and smacked him on the shoulder. "It's lyrics from my song, stupid."

Seunghoon chuckled, heart instantly feeling a bit lighter. "Yeah, I know, noona. But you're the who held my hand first."

"That's only because you looked like you would burst out in tears!"

"Aww, noona cares about me~"

"Oh shut it!" Bom giggled, giving Seunghoon a rather hard shove that sent him flying. Seunghoon held tightly onto her hand, dragging her along with him.

They bumped against the couch and nearly fell over if Seunghoon didn't keep his balance.

"Geez!"

"You started it, noona!"

"No, you did!"

"This is Winner TV all over again."

Bom laughed and tried to pull her hand out of the other person's tight grip, but Seunghoon wouldn't let go.

"Oh come on," Bom whined. "Don't let another scandal happen."

"Wow, we do look like we're dating," Seunghoon commented, swinging their interlocked hands.

"Yaah! Cut it out!"

"Never~"

"Stop acting like we're couples and let go!"

"I think your face is getting red, noona."

With a tug that took all of her strength, Bom freed her hand from Seunghoon's. She stumbled back a couple steps before regaining her balance.

She made a pouting face. "Oww, now my hand hurts."

"Would you like me to kiss it?" Seunghoon knew he was going overboard but he didn't know when he was going to have another opportunity to interact with Bom again. He didn't know how badly he was going to miss her presence.

His latest pickup line earned him another smack on the shoulder. Seunghoon let out a dramatic groan as if it hurt a lot and flashed a smile at Bom's way.

She smiled back at him. The two smiled at each other in comfortable silence. Then Bom cleared .

"I gotta go. It's late."

"Ah, su-sure..." Seunghoon felt a pang of disappointment and it must have shown on his face. Bom gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"You know, I was hoping to come in here and retrieve my jacket without meeting anyone." She smiled. "But I'm glad that I bumped into you, Seunghoon."

Seunghoon grinned, though his heart still felt heavy. "I'm glad too, noona."

Bom gave a nod and let go of his shoulder. Then she turned around and made her way to the door.

Seunghoon didn't like the view of her getting farther and farther away from him. He opened his mouth for one last comment.

"When you come back, let's cook ramyon for the kids again!"

Bom stopped in her steps and turned around to look at him. She let out a sigh, but she was smiling. "Now it sounds like we're married."

"We could be in the future."

"Is that a proposal?"

"It could be."

"Ah geez!" Bom laughed lightly. "You are really something, Lee Seunghoon."

And then she turned towards the door again. A couple steps and then she was gone.

Seunghoon stared at the spot where she was a few seconds ago. He stared for what felt like hours.

Then he flopped down on the couch and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his music list until he found Park Bom's Don't Cry. He covered his face with his arm as the song began to play.

Then he closed his eyes.

He knew what lyrics to write when he woke up in the morning.


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Author's note:  receiving comments is like being given a big yummy cookie :) I love to hear what you guys think. Thank you for reading!