Noraebang
But You're a PlayboyAs you had guessed, it was time for another challenge, again. But this time, also the last.
We were split into 2 groups, each group with 7 persons. Each team was to perform a self-choreographed routine in front of a massive crowd on the next month's first Friday. After that, the loser team would have to eliminate 4 members from the 7. And the remaining trainees, would become an official YG dancer.
The last competition had everybody's minds pressurized.
4 persons at a time.. One mistake and I'm gone. Not only that we were competing against the other, we were also battling within the team itself.
The squad I was in decided to perform a theme of contemporary with a mix of hip-hop at the end of the performance.
I was having a major problem with the first part of the dance. I couldn't present the mood of the dance that our team was aiming for.
"Your legs should be here, not like that," "You should arch more," and "Your position is not right," were the things that I heard almost on every day of training.
I could see that everyone was frustrated and disappointed with my performance. Even I was annoyed by my horrible outcome. I didn't want to bring down the potential of our team just because of me.
Occasionally, I heard people from other team (and also from my team) said, "If they are to be eliminated, one of them must be Crystalbel," or something like "I thought Crystalbel's good, now look at her."
Since then, I stayed back every night on weekdays until I sort of got the dance steps right. This was the only path for improvement.
Be so good they can't ignore you.
I normally wouldn't go back till the clock struck 12. But today with my performance so extraordinarily bad, I had to practice longer.
It was 1 A.M., I was starting to pack my bag until someone appeared at the frames of the door.
I immediately bowed and greeted, "안녕하세요, 지드래곤씨. (Hello, G-Dragon ssi.)"
I was confused and dazed at the same time, " May I ask.. What are you doing at the trainee's training building at such late hour?" I asked.
"Oh, I was just passing-by." he answered.
My mind stopped working at his presence.
"Going anywhere?" Ji Yong asked.
I should have thoughts thrice, I should have hesitated, but I didn't.
Take this chance as a little getaway, I thought.
"Yes actually. To 노래방. (Karaoke.)"
Ji Yong's POV
I had had another MADE tour in another country tomorrow, but I would not miss the chance of being with her.
We had reached the nearest Noraebang (Karaoke place) we could find.
To my surprise, Crystalbel ordered a tonnes of beers. She hesitated before she made the orders, probably thinking whether she should drink with this stranger during so late at night.
She also chose a good handful of songs.
She sang her heart out, you could see that. Crystalbel had sung the first few songs properly and gently, like it was supposed to be.
At this point, I wondered who was her favourite member from BIGBANG. She definitely like us, because if not, why would she go to our concert?
Slowly, her voice got more relaxed and louder. As if the songs she sang before were just warmups.
Now, she was screaming and shouting over the microphone. Like she couldn't take anything anymore.
When our song 'Lies' came on, she sang along. And when it reached the chorus, a crack in her voice could be heard over the speaker.
The crack in the voice when someone is about to cry.
She was sobbing and crying hysterically.
Then, she stopped singing, letting the loud music drown out her cry.
It was clear that Crystalbel was drunk. Her eyes were not opened as widely as it used to, she walked unsteadily and was
mouthing words that was not understandable if you do not take time to analyse it.
After putting the microphone on the small table in front of us, she buried her face in her sleeves. I was really stunned at the sudden outbreak, I didn't know what to do for a moment.
Then she started speaking with her face in the fabric, "I miss my family and colleagues back in home.. I miss them so much.." She spoke with the last syllable dragging, like any other drunk person does.
"There are so many struggles happening to me.. I have no one to talk to and it is really hard to survive all the challenges.."
"And you," she looked up from her shirt to me. " You.. Nevermind.."
Tears were rolling down her check endlessly. I reached my thumb to her cheeks, to wipe off the tear trails.
"Don't touch me," she said, still unconscious. "I hate it when people see me in my weakest form.. Especially people who I care the most." She tried to be angry at me, but she was all but successful.
Then, Crystalbel continued talking and mumbling about what she had gone through in these few months. Sometimes, she talked so loud that I almost thought she was shouting. Then the other times, you couldn't even hear her if you did not get close enough.
After 10 minutes of babbling, she turned her eyes to me. "Ji Yong ssi," she said.
"I like you very much." Crystalbel declared.
I was struck by a sudden shock with a mix of happiness. Something in my bursted out like a blooming flower.
"I liked you since I was 12 years old.. And I liked you even more during this few months in Korea.."
"You may doubt that why didn't I say 'I love you' instead, it was because I didn't really know you in personal yet.." She kinda got off the topic. "The word 'love' is so over-used in this generation. People say 'love you' without meaning it. They say 'I love you' to someone that they have just met for 3 days.." she was mumbling to the floor again.
"Don't tell me about love at first sight! It's nonsense!" She shouted. Then, she continued, "Even that I have liked you for the past 9 years but I didn't have the gut to say 'I love you'.." I felt embarrassed and loved at the same time, though I did not know why.
"You always make those annoying eye contacts, always make me thinking about you over and over again," she said, with an obvious hint of she's drunk.
"And when you touched me, it felt as if I was shocked by electricity. You just never failed with making me go insane at the thought of you.." Crystalbel said, looking at me in my eyes. "But maybe you do that to all female you meet too, it's just that I do not know." She returned watching the ground.
She thought I was a playboy? Really?
"I do that to only you." I said, making sure she didn't hear it.
"You, Kwon Ji Yong ssi, you stupid idiot. I have never liked anyone so long and intense in my entire life."
What should I be feeling now? I couldn't describe the feeling I'm being through right now.
I looked at my watch, it was 4 A.M. Time for her to go back.
I tried to carry Crystalbel up from her seat by supporting her with my shoulder and my arms, but I couldn't. I could if she was conscious, in that way she would not be applying force on every solid object she could lean on. I could if that was for only a short distance, but it wasn't. I had to piggyback her. To my honor. And that was the time I realized she was exactly a head shorter than me, but a little bit taller. A little bit.
I would say that was the perfect height for couples.
Just saying.
I walked us back from the Noraebang to her dorm. I knew the way because I had once followed her back to there when her friend had passed out on alcohol.
On the way back, she couldn't stop singing. She was singing loudly to 'If You', not caring whether or not there were passengers. She couldn't stop talking neither, which was the total opposite of what she usually looked like during the time when she wasn't drunk.
She usually looked quiet and elegant, and hidden too, I hope you know what I meant. If you notice her, you would agree with me that she was very strikingly beautiful. She was not the kind of person that everyone looks at when she enters a party. She was the one who wander around during a ball leaving both men and women staring at her with jaws dropped in awe.
When we were turning into a dark spurred alley in the direction to her dorm, she stopped singing and talking to the sky. Crystalbel blurted, "야.. 자용씨.. (Ya.. Ji Yong ssi..)"
"난 정말 좋아한다. (I really like you.)"
And then there was silence. For the rest of the trip to her place.
My heart lived a little.
When we almost reached the end of the alley and arrived at the gate of her dorm, she asked, "Ya.. why don't you say you like me too? Are you going to refuse me like this? You don't like me? I am going to be so sad.." Then she laid her her on the back of neck. I giggled a little.
"What? Are you laughing at me?" Every sentence that came out from her sounded so funny and cute and was obviously dripping with drunkedness.
Looking on the ground, I whispered, "I think I am starting to like you too."
Minah's POV
There were knocks on the door. I checked my alarm clock, it was 4:30 A.M. What the heck.
I opened the wooden door, squinting at the striking bright light from the corridor lights. "Who are you and what are you doing during so-"
A figure in all black outfit and mask and cap was piggybacking a woman. Crystalbel.
"Please put her to bed." the silhouette figure said, putting Crystalbel down from his back as gently as he could.
The man looked familiar.
Dumbfounded by the situation, I said, "Thank you sir. Sorry for causing you troubles." Handling Crystalbel from his hand, I bowed. She smelled a strong scent of alcohol.
He nodded and turned away.
I was still holding Crystalbel and was leaning against the door frame when he faded away.
"Who was this special person that Crystalbel went drinking beer with until so late at night?"
Crystalbel's POV
I woke up with a sense of adrenaline surging through my mind. My body felt so sore.
A gush of warm puke was at the top my throat.
I quickly ran to the bathroom and threw up into the toilet bowl. I looked into the mirror.
My hair was chaotic, like a wild lion's mane. My eyeliners were smudged that it covered the whole area on both of my cheeks. And I smelled like alcohols and puke and I was still in my training outfit. I looked like a mess.
Talking about training outfit, I remembered something.
G-Dragon.
"Did I look like this all the time when I met GD? Holy crap.." I asked myself quietly, making sure no one was hearing from the other side of the door.
"What happened yesterday night?" I remembered we went to a Noraebang and I ordered some beers, and... and? I couldn't recall anything!
I sure did and said something embarassing.. I would do something that made me wanted to hide my face in my shirt whenever I got drunk. The first time I got drunk, I order 12 boxes of pizzas and was left to finish all those boxes alone.
Oh God, "What have I done?"
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