Erika’s POV

I am on my way to Yang sajangnim’s office. I got a message earlier today to meet with him, but he did not tell me what he would be telling me. I am rather nervous; what if I did something wrong? What if he tells me that he is shortening my contract? What if he sends me off to another company? What if, what if, what if…. That was all I could think of at the moment.

I finally arrived to the seventh floor and head toward the office door. I stand there and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I signal to the secretary that I am ready to be announced and she goes in to tell Yang sajangnim that I am here. She comes out seconds later and motions for me to go in. She follows closely behind.

“Annyeonghaseyo, Yang sajangnim,” I greet him with a deep bow.

“Umm… sit down,” he does not look up from the papers he is pouring over at the moment as he points to the white couches in front of his desk.

“Would you like something to drink?” The secretary asks me.

“I’ll have some tea, thank you,” I smile up to her as I sit on the couch. I make myself comfortable as I sit back, looking around the office.

The secretary came back with my tea in a couple of minutes and left right away. I took a sip of the bitter tea. I sigh lightly, Moments like this I miss China. I miss drinking tea at every meal and with any snack.

“Are you comfortable?” Yang sajangnim’s voice brought my attention back to reality. He was smiling at me in amusement.

I nod in response and take another sip of the hot tea and then put it back down on the glass table before me. “The tea is really good,” I look down at it.

“Mm… It was a present from Jiyong-ie,” Yang sajangnim nodded.

“Do you miss him?” I ask curiously.

“He has only been gone for half a year,” he laughed lightly.

“Yes, but still,” I look down at the tea. “I would miss someone I really liked if we were to be apart for even a month.”

“I guess,” Yang sajangnim stopped working on the papers he has on his desk and got up and walked to sit in the couch with me. “Would you miss us when you leave?”

“Of course,” I reply at once. “the YG staff and artists have become like a family in this short time that I have been here, and I will really miss working along so many talented people.”

Yang sajangnim nodded. “What if you were to leave for a couple of months?”

I looked up at him in shock. Is he really sending me away?

“I am sending you off to Taiwan,” Yang sajangnim said

And now he can read my mind? I am even more shocked that my mouth is almost hanging open.

“Mm…you don’t have to go if you do not want to, mmm… but I prefer you take the offer,” Yang sajangnim probably saw my shock.

I quickly compose myself. “What do I have to do there?” I gulp hard.

“You have received an offer for a role in a Taiwanese movie,” Yang sajangnim informed me.

“Oh! I thought you were throwing me away,” I say without thinking.

“Hahaha!” Yang sajangnim burst into laughter. This is the first time I see him laugh so hard, ever. “No, why would I do such thing? You are really talented. I would lose too much if I let you go.”

I bow and smile. Did he just compliment me? Wait! I’m going back to China? Well, by China…. “But why me? I mean, for the movie? What role will I be playing?”

“As far as I know, mmm… it is an action movie. Mm… you will play the villain, mmm…,” Yang sajangnim informs me.

“Ooh! The villain? I always wanted to be a villain,” I smile widely.

“You don’t seem like the type to want the role of a villain,” he said amused.

I nod frantically, “I am always fascinated about how well the villains plan an attack on the other characters. The only time it is bad for the villain is when their schemes are interrupted by the hero at the end of the movie,” I explain.

“Mm…I learn new things about my artists every day. Mm… I just learned that you might end up as a serial killer,” Yang sajangnim joked.

“Hahaha! No, I don’t think that ‘villains’ in real life are good, only in movies,” I smile.

“That’s good,” he nods. “Then, mmm…will you take the offer?”

“You say that I have to go to Taiwan, right?”

“Yes, the movie itself is Taiwanese.”

“Mm…. You don’t have the names of any other actors who will participate in the filming?” I ask, hoping that there is a Taiwanese actor that I like.

“No, there is only an offer for you,” Yang sajangnim stated.

“I will have to talk in Taiwanese, too?”

“Mm…. It will depend on whether you need to talk in Chinese or not,” Yang sajangnim told me.

“Mmm…Ok! I’m up for the challenge,” I accept.

“Alright, I’ll call for an arrangement in your new project.” Yang sajangnim stood up from the couch and I followed suit.

I bowed to him as I excused myself from his office.

***       ***

After walking out of Yang sajangnim’s office I walked out of the building and headed for my car. I get in and take off to the streets. Before YG had called me I had already planned to go out today and explore the streets of Hongdae. It is the middle of the day right now, around three-thirty, but I don’t mind. I am not exactly in search for partying in clubs; I just want to go around the small stores and eat as many street vendor snacks.

But first, I need to find a parking spot…. Once I finally find a parking place I get out and unplug my phone from the charger—I have to make sure my phone doesn’t run out of battery and leaves me stranded in the middle of Hongdae. I walk in through one of the streets and into another, and I am glad that I quickly come in contact with the long streets full of street vendors and small trinket shops. I start walking into the already crowded street and look around to see if anything catches my attention.

Ooh! Finally, I spot something intriguing: sweaters and jackets! I have an indescribable love for jackets and sweaters and hoodies, but here is the catch, they have to male sweaters. I look around the store full of guy coats and I am sure anybody passing by could see the little hearts coming out of my eyes. I stop abruptly when I spot a black and white Mickey Mouse hoodie. I check the price—not bad. I check the size—awesome! It’s a large in male size.

I search more in between the other sweaters and I am slightly surprised to find a cute yellow hoodie with Winnie the Pooh’s face on the front.

I look though the others and I see a lot with word and skulls and plain and, Did I just see right? Oh My GAWD!! I want this sweater! It is a galaxy colored sweater with a DJ cat on the front.

In the end I buy none, though I really liked that Winnie the Pooh and that cat…. And that Mickey! Never mind, I end up buying all three and don’t look back at the store or else I might buy the other sweaters and end up homeless with too many hoodies.

I walk onward on the same street. I look around and see that there are actually many foreigners aside from me. There are also many couples walking around, hand-in-hand, making me want to have a partner of my own…. Oh well! Ooh! Is that ice cream I see? I walk over to the street vendor that is serving the vanilla ice cream into the ‘J’ shaped wafer. I get in line and wait until it is my turn after the twenty-six person’s ahead. I pay for my ice cream and then head to the—

“Ah!” I cry as I bump into a person and I accidentally drop my ice cream. “I didn’t ever get a single bite…,” I whimper at the site of my floored ice cream. I slump my shoulders forward and turn to the person I bumped into. “I’m sorry.”

“Argh,” a deep voice groaned and I saw that he was trying to wipe away at the spot were some of my ice cream landed.

“At least my ice cream died a fighter,” I softly whisper.

“I’m sorry I didn’t—ah… it’s a foreigner. Umm… Sorry—” He stopped talking. “Oh! You!” He pointed at me.

I look up at his face and a smile instantly creeps over my face. “Taewoon-sshi!”

“Ivy, what a surprise to see you here,” He extends a hand for me to take.

“I know, I didn’t expect to meet anybody here,” I say surprised.

“I’m so sorry about your ice cream. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he rubs the back of his neck as he apologizes.

“Oh…it’s ok,” I wave my hands in front of my face. “I’ll just buy another one. I wasn’t looking where I was going either.”

“I’ll buy you one since I made you drop it,” he offers.

“Mmm…Ok!” I smile. “You know,” I laugh as we now wait in line for the ice cream. “Someone once told me to accept anything and everything that someone wants to give you.”

I look over at Wuno and see a confused expression on his face. “I guess that makes sense in a way. But why would someone tell you such a thing?”

“That someone wanted to buy me a meal and I kept insisting that I was fine,” I laugh at the situation. I am talking about Zico to his own older brother.

“So basically he told you to take the food he was willing to give you?” Wuno contemplated the matter. “I would probably do the same.”

“Hehehe! Of course you are related,” I laughed.

“Huh?” Wuno was confused.

“Zico was the one to tell me that, that’s why I was so willing to let you pay for my ice cream,” I explain. “I don’t usually like incommoding others.”

“Oh…. That explains a lot.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. That just seemed like the right thing to say,” Wuno let out a contagious throaty laugh that I just had to laugh as well. I didn’t care if people were looking at us weirdly.

We calmed down and we waited silently for the nineteen people in front of us to get their ice creams before our turn. And just then my stomach decided to make an obnoxious appearance by growling. It was not until this moment that I remember not having eaten at all today.

“Did you hear that?” Wuno looked up at the sky. “I think someone’s tummy is announcing thunder for today.”

I blush deeply and look up at the sky as well.

“Come,” Wuno takes my hand and drags me away from my ice cream. “We’re gonna go eat something good.” He looks back at me with a big smile.

***       ***

We now sit at the back of a warm barbeque restaurant that according to Wuno it is the best barbeque place in Hongdae.

“I thought you were more of a gentleman…,” I laugh lightly.

“You thought right,” Wuno smiles back at me.

“So you dragged me here like the gentleman you are?” I raise an eyebrow in amusement.

“No, that was me dragging you like a guy friend I am,” Wuno keeps smiling. “I saw that way Zico talked to you when we first met, and he is comfortable enough with you that he does not act like a complete and retarded gentleman like with other girls, and so I want to be as comfortable around you as well. It is only fair.”

“Ha! Him? Comfortable with me?” I laugh sarcastically. “Don’t get me wrong, Wuno-sshi, but I don’t think Zico even likes my presence.”

“What makes you say that?” Wuno looks confused.

“Nothing,” I shake my head. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“So, umm… What did you buy?” Wuno points over at my shopping bag.

I blush slightly and open the bag and pull out one of the sweaters. “Just some sweaters.”

“Pooh, huh?” Wuno raised an eyebrow.

“And Mickey, too,” I pull out the Mickey sweater.

“Nice,” Wuno nods his head. “Anything else?”

I try to hold my laugh but I fail miserably as I pull out the galaxy colored cat sweater.

“Umm… why am I not surprised?” Wuno laughs too. “They are nice.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to buy them, but then I could not bear to leave them behind.”

Wuno smiled and nodded. “I understand completely. I am like that with shoes.”

“Hehehe! I’m glad I am not the only one,” I smile. I put away the sweaters and just at that moment the meat we ordered gets here along with a bunch of banchan and two rice bowls. I take the tongs and place several pieces of meat in the already burning hot grill between Wuno and I.

“Do you usually come here, to Hongdae, I mean?” Wuno asked me.

I shake my head. “This is my first time here.”

“Really?” Wuno was surprised. “How long have you been in Korea? You haven’t had time to come here?”

“Nope, this is the first break I get from acting, but I am soon starting again,” I say. “And you? I have a feeling you know this place like the back of your hand.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Wuno laughed. “Are you going to do another drama, though?”

“Umm… I don’t know if I should talk about this,” I say doubtfully. “But umm…I got an offer for a movie.”

“Oh cool,” Wuno looked more excited than me, to be honest.

“Yeah, but it’s not going to be here,” I turn over the meat on the grill that is now looking rather crispy on one side.

“So, you’re going abroad?”

“Yeah, to Taiwan,” I answered. “Just don’t tell anyone, ok? I don’t want too many people to know. I would feel too under pressure.”

“Can I at least tell my mom? She would love to know you are filming again,” Wuno asked genuinely.

“Hehehe! I guess you can tell your mom, just make sure she doesn’t tell anyone else.”

“Alright! You got my word,” Wuno put out his hand with pinky up toward me.

I looked down at it and then back to his face and smiled. I intertwined my own pinky with his and locked the pinky promise. How old is he again? Hehehe! So cute, I blush slightly. I take the scissors and cut the meat in small pieces and then stir them around carefully.

“I think the meat is ready,” Wuno takes one piece and blows on it before putting it into his mouth. He chews and abruptly stops chewing with wide deer eyes. “What did you do to this meat? It tastes…so…delicious!”

I let out a sigh of relief. “I thought I had ruined the meat,” I take a piece of meat too and try it. “Oh my gawd! It’s so, so….” I don’t even bother finishing the sentence. I then proceed to make myself a lettuce wrap with lettuce and a perilla leaf, filled with rice, a bunch of different sauces, garlic, and of course meat. “I think this is what I will miss most when I am not here in Korea.”

“Hehehe! I know, I missed this too while I was in LA,” Wuno also made himself a lettuce wrap. “But, seriously, the meat tastes so much better this time. Maybe because you cooked it,” Wuno smiled as he chewed on his lettuce wrap.

I smile back and put more meat on the grill to replace the one we are eating. We finally finish eating about an hour later and Wuno payed the bill and we went back out into the chilly afternoon. It is getting darker now and the road looks as packed as ever.

“Do you still want your ice cream?” Wuno asked me.

“I don’t know,” I rub my stomach. “I think I will have to pass up on it. I need to be careful about what I eat now.”

“Oh, right,” Wuno nodded in understanding. “But, was it fine for you to eat all of that in there?” He nodded his head to the restaurant.

“Excuse me,” I laughed amused. “We ate all of that together.”

“Hahaha! You caught it,” Wuno smiled down at me. “Well, do you want to walk around?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I need to work out the food either way.”

“Come, I’ll show you around.” Wuno offered to take my shopping bag, but I refused. That would be too much of me. “Do you like accessories?”

“Yeah,” I nod.

“I’ve seen this place that girls go to a lot for earrings and necklaces and all that,” Wuno informed me. I simply looked at him, mesmerized by his deep voice.

I cleared my throat and looked in front of me and followed Wuno closely, trying not to get lost in the crowd. Soon we arrived at a store with so many cute hair accessories and earrings and bracelets. I found some cool snake fake gauges.

And some awesome weird dragon earrings.

And these cool fake gauges.

I took all three again and paid for them before I took anymore and really end up without any money.

“Let’s go, let’s go,” I push a bemused Wuno out of the store. “Let’s go before I turn around and buy all the store.”

“Really? If you want anything else I can buy it for you,” Wuno suggested and started to push me back into the store again.

“No, no,” I pushed him out of the store completely with much of my strength. “I have the money to buy more, but I can’t spoil myself too much.”

“You are the weirdest girl I’ve yet met,” Wuno let himself get dragged by me. “A girl who doesn’t want to spoil herself? Hehehe!”

“Thank you, now show me another place,” I ordered as I was still holding onto his arm.

“Like what?”

“Shoes, guy shoes,” I looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Another one of my obsessions are shoes.

“Alright, follow me,” Wuno smiled and let me through another street and into a small, yet packed shoe store that was playing loud American music. “Are you gonna buy shoes for someone else, or for yourself?”

“For me!” I point at myself with a huge smile on my face. I walk toward the Vans section and I instantly saw the pair of shoes that fit my personality perfectly. “Check this out! Hamburgers on my shoes!” I look excitedly at Wuno and he smiles back at me.

“I like those for you, though,” Wuno points at another pair behind me. He walks to them and I turn around to see him holding a pair of Vans with Disney characters on them. I take that pair and hand him the first pair.

“Now, this is what I’m talking about,” I sit down at one of the benches and try on the new pair. “Heol!” I look up at Wuno shocked. “They fit perfectly,” I violently whisper. “I’m getting these!” I take them off and change back into my favorite red Converse. I go up to the register and quickly pay for them and head out of the store with Wuno at my heels.

“That was the fastest I have EVER seen a girl shop for anything, really!” Wuno looked at me with an expression of wonder.

“Hehehe! I don’t find the reason to have to stay and try on so many pairs of shoes to only buy a couple,” I look at him with a smile. “I can just come another day and buy another pair, and then again another day, and so on. No need to try everything at once.”

Wuno raised his eyebrows in astonishment. “You—I—Heol!” He stuttered in the end. “Is there anything else you want to buy?”

“I think I should stop now,” I say more to myself. “I just want an ice cream.”

“I thought you we—”

“When I want ice cream I need to have ice cream, no if’s, and’s or but’s,” I smile after interrupting him.

Wuno sighed and then laughed. “You really are different,” He looked around to figure out our location. “Come, this place is the best for ice cream,” Wuno pulled me forward by my arm into what I would call ‘Ice Cream Heaven’.

I stand before the display window separating me from all of the delicious, mouth-watering ice creams. “Oh, what flavor should I get?” I whisper to myself.

“I suggest the wild berries one,” Wuno stated. “Jiho always gets that one.”

“Cool, I’ll get that one then, and Tiramisu and coffee,” I give a solid nod.

“We’ll have one medium cup with Wild Berry, coffee, and Tiramisu, and another medium cup with mango, lemon, and blueberry, please” Wuno ordered for us as I went to sit down at a table before they were all taken. A minute later he come back and with our frozen deliciousness. “Now, I know this is not ice cream ice cream, but it is still very good.”

“It’s ok, I just wanted something cold,” I thank him and take a spoonful of my gelato. “Mm! This is really good!”

“Hehehe! Yeah,” Wuno stares at me as I eat my gelato with such childish joy.

I look up and see him staring at me in amazement. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” Wuno shakes his head with a warm smile on his face. “You just, umm… you really know how to enjoy food.”

“Umm…” I put on a confused face.

“Oh my, no, no,” Wuno waves his hands inform of him. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Hehehe! I didn’t think you meant anything wrong with that,” I assure him.

“Hehehe…,” Wuno scratched the back of his head and began to eat his gelato before it melted. “Maybe I should take some to Jiho,” Wuno said softly, probably thinking out loud, but I heard him. “I’ll be right back,” Wuno announced and got up to order another cup for his brother.

I sighed just thinking about Zico. Will I be able to settle things with him? I think as I finish my gelato just in time for when Wuno comes back with a covered exact replica of my own cup of gelato, only a bigger size, for Zico.

“Should we head out?” Wuno suggests and I get up and we exit the shop together. “Where are you parked?”

“Umm… at the end of the street that we met up,” I said.

“Oh cool, I’m parked near there too. Let’s go,” Wuno began walking and I just followed quietly behind him. “Is something wrong? You seem awfully quiet.”

“Hehehe…. No, I’m just tired,” I stated. It was true, I was tired.

“You want me to carry you?”

I stopped dead on my tracks and looked at him with wide shocked eyes.

“Hahaha! You should see your face!” Wuno laughed heartily and nudged me forward. “Don’t worry, I won’t carry you if you don’t want to.”

I frantically shook my head. My cheeks burning a deep shade of purple from the embarrassment. “This is my car,” I speak up at last when we reach my car.

“Oh! Mine is this one!” Wuno said amused as he pointed to the car to the left of mine. “I guess we were just meant to meet today,” Wuno smiled. "Oh, hey, would you mind if we axchanged numbers?"

"Umm... no, here," I hand over my phone to Wuno after unlocking it. "Just send yourself a message after putting your number in."

"Ok, cool! I got it," Wuno hands me back my phone. “It was nice seeing you around, Ivy.”

“Umm… please, call me Erika.” I laugh awkwardly as I put my shopping bags in the trunk of the car.

“Erika?” Wuno asked slightly confused. “Oh! Is that your real name? I knew Jiho had called you by a different name when he talked about you…,” he spoke absent mindedly.

“Zico talks about me?” I ask surprised.

“He was the one to inform me about who you were, since I asked why mom was so intrigued by your acting,” Wuno explained.

“Oh,” I nodded. “Well, it was nice meeting you again, Wuno-sshi,” I said.

“Call me oppa,” He smiled warmly.

“Wuno oppa,” I chuckle lightly. “Get that gelato to Zico before it melts!” I smile and wave at him one last time before getting back into my car and leave to my apartment.

----------

No One’s POV

“Yah!” Zico yelled when he felt someone slap him upside his head. He turned around ready to yell at whoever it was, but stopped when he saw it was Wuno. “Oh! Hyung,” Zico and Wuno greeted each other and Wuno sat in a rolling chair beside Zico.

“Here this is for you,” Wuno handed the large cup of Wild Berry, coffee and Tiramisu gelato to Zico.

“Thanks, hyung,” Zico uncovered the cup and started to eat the gelato with such vigor that Wuno could not stop himself from chuckling. “What?”

“Nothing, you just reminded me of Erika,” Wuno said as he sat back in his chair.

Zico basically started to choke on the gelato when he heard her name. “Erika?”

“Yeah, I met her in Hongdae today.”

“What? Why?”

“I meant to say, we bumped into each other at Hongdae, literally,” Wuno chuckled. “Apparently that is the way that we meet each other now. First at Inkigayo and now at Hongdae.”

“What was she doing there? Who was she with?” Zico tried to sound as uninterested as possible.

“Why are you so curious? Just ask her yourself,” Wuno caught Zico’s curiousness, though.

“I’m not curious,” Zico took a big spoonful of gelato to only get a brain freeze.

“Hehehe… fool,” Wuno chuckled. “She was alone,” Wuno decided to just tell Zico. “She was just trying to waste some time before she leaves—oops!” Wuno stopped himself too late.

“WHAT? SHE’S LEAVING?!?!” Zico literally yelled and stood up from his chair.

“Calm down,” Wuno sat up straighter in his chair. “She didn’t want me telling anybody, but she is leaving Korea soon.”

“What? Why?” Zico looked straight ahead to nothing in particular. “I have to apologize to her before she leaves. But I thought she was staying her for two years, not even a year has passed yet,” he spoke his thoughts out loud.

Wuno observed his younger brother’s actions in curiosity. Who is Erika to Jiho? Why is he so shocked by her leaving?

 

-------------

 

Erika’s POV

I was in bed when I felt my phone vibrate. I checked it and I saw that I had a message and I smiled widely when I saw who it was from.

From <3 Mino Oppa <3
Are you busy tomorrow? Let’s go out tomorrow! :)

I was about to answer his message when I got a new message. Well, isn’t he impatient?

“Oh! It’s not Mino,” I said aloud when I saw the new message.

From Unknown Number
Let’s meet tomorrow. We need to talk.

I was frozen in the spot. What am I supposed to do now?

 

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