Taeyang’s thoughts - Blue

IU’s thoughts - Pink

IU’s Manager’s thoughts - Green

Previous Chapter:

The PD stood to the side, watching. “At least we won’t be exactly ruining his image...More like creating some headlines and news that will be discussed for a while after this episode airs.” The PD muttered quietly, to no one in particular.

He then smiled to himself, before motioning Taeyang to follow him to the filming.

Chapter 3:

Taeyang quickly readied himself, looking in the mirror. Satisfied with his appearance, he stepped back and put on his sunglasses. He always thought he looked cooler in them. The PD gave him a thumbs up, signaling him to enter. Taking one last look in the mirror, he adjusted his collar on his white button-down dress shirt.

**Hm. Handsome as usual. These staff and cast members won’t know that I usually live with a messy lifestyle, if I look like this. And...I don’t think IU would remember...**

Narcissistically, he smiled at his reflection before quickening his pace to enter the filming. The PD was about to throw a fit because of his delayed entrance. Taeyang felt like bursting out in laughter, but held it in.

**Composure, Composure; Relax, Taeyang. Act social, cool and a guy that everyone would want to see. You’re also a representative of Big Bang. Don’t make things awkward.**

He then walked into the room, a cool aura surrounding him as he walked in. And of course, did his signature pose as well, arms to his side, and spinning around once.

“OMO OMO OMO~” Shin Bong Sun exclaimed despite her shocked state of mind.

She fell backwards. Everyone else squealed.

IU tried hiding behind the others, but they pushed her from the back to the front. Basically,  right in front of Taeyang. She stood there awkwardly, but was secretly overflowing with happiness. Anyone could tell she had a crush on him.

Except for him...

“IU, sing for Taeyang!” the MC, Hongchul, exclaimed, knowing he’d get many viewers for it.

IU nervously shook her head. There was no way she would sing for Taeyang. It was too embarrassing. She was not like that shameless girl when she was little. She was now shy, but playful. She was also really competitive, willing to take up any dare or challenge issued to her. Besides that, there was another reason why she didn’t want to sing for him. He didn’t look the same.

**You’re not the same guy who was introverted, and didn’t have any friends. Or the anti-social and awkward guy who I met at our special pond, anymore, are you?**

He looked as if...he changed. Maybe it was his appearance or his personality. Back then, she usually went over to his house and it’d be incredibly messy. His room and wardrobe were the major disasters, and looked like they were hit by a tornado. She felt comfortable with that kind of Taeyang who was messy and did not have a care in how other people viewed him. But now, it seemed as if there was a huge gap between them, that could not come back together by itself. She felt more distant towards him, not knowing whether or not Taeyang would acknowledge them as close friends. She barely even knew what Taeyang thought about her. So, she continued denying the request to sing for him. However, Narsha, Nicole and Jiyeon encouraged her.

Realizing she had no choice since it was a variety show, she sang a bit of Taeyang’s song, I Need A Girl. But she switched up the lyrics, changing it to I Need a Boy. Her voice was beautiful, as usual. Taeyang smiled without noticing himself do so, and IU squealed, running away to the back of the cast members. The cast members all thought that IU was more of a die hard fan, than a friend, and all laughed, looking at Taeyang. However, IU just wanted to appear that way. She could sense the awkwardness between her and Taeyang, and decided to keep her distance.

“Wah~ IU is getting better and better at singing everyday. And of course, more beautiful each year.”

One of the other cast members smiled at his sweet phrase, adding onto his statement. “IU-ah, your dream is coming true, hahaha~”

IU, still hiding behind the others, smiled to herself as well, as the MC changed topics.

~*~

“You must do it, IU-ah. It’s a once in a lifetime chance, an opportunity!” A cast member exclaimed.

“Yeah, IU-ah! You deserve it.” Jiyeon added.

“After waiting for four years, your dream has finally come true,” Nicole agreed.

IU laughed nervously, and peered at the national rugby team, the unpopular team, and the backup dancers and Taeyang performing on stage. Overwhelmed, she went to go talk to the camera, located at the far end of the backstage tent. Or, well, she went to go talk to the camera man.

“What should I do? I --I --I--Should I--Aish! I -- I -- I --What should I do? Should I kiss him? But wouldn’t that be--ahhhhh!!!” She ranted out her nervousness to the camera, listing everything one by one.

The cameraman laughed, while filming IU. She sighed, knowing she herself wanted to kiss him on the cheek too, even though it seemed as if she was denying it.

**It shouldn’t mean a lot to him anyway even if I kiss him on the cheek, should it? Dara unni did it in Taeyang’s MV too. For all I know, they could be dating. I don’t even know what his love life is like...It’s embararssing to even say that he’s one of my close friends.**

Returning to the opening of the backstage tent, the other unnis cheered her on with a *fighting* and squealed along with her. They all shared the same nervousness as IU, and maybe some jealousy from one particular person.  But no one noticed. IU then watched Taeyang to get the signal to enter the stage.

With a confident stance, IU walked on stage, back straight, head held high, and a sweet smile on her face. She has always loved the feeling of being on stage and being able to perform for an audience. This was just one of those times where she would be able to perform with a top idol and friend. Well, more like acquaintance, now. Taeyang smiled back at her, taking her hand and twirling her around. Then got to the main part of the song. Taeyang linked his hands with hers, and brought them over his head, to his neck. He then anticipated IU’s kiss on the cheek. He wondered if she would do it, instead of pretending like she did during the so called “auditions”. The rest of the cast members had auditioned and had a chance to dance with Taeyang and fight for the part earlier, but Taeyang’s decision remained unchanged, still IU.

[Girl like you...]

**It’s almost the kiss on the cheek part..**

**That’s it. I’m going to do it. It’s a once in a lifetime chance right? You never get to kiss a guy on the cheek who was once your best friend. Friends don’t do that.**

[Gotta make it right...]

**Does she have the guts to do it? She wouldn’t, if she was the IU I once knew..**

**I’ll categorize myself as a fan tonight. Someone who really wants to kiss him on the cheek. Not the IU who wouldn’t have the guts to do it.**

[Gotta treat you right...]

**Here it comes...**

**Here I go....**

[Baby~]

With a quick, yet much long enough kiss on Taeyang’s cheek, she smiled to the national rugby team and unpopular team in the audience, before confidently walking offstage.

[Woahhh~ Girl, I Need A Girl...]

**Oh. My. Gosh. I. DID. IT. IU, WHAT THE FREAK DID YOU GET YOURSELF INTO?!**

**She did it. I can’t believe it. Maybe she’s not the IU I used to know. Maybe she changed? She had the guts to kiss me on the cheek. Maybe it’s just me who has the butterflies whenever I see her. I should stop acting like this then, if she doesn’t feel this way for me too.**

**But, why do I feel nervous all of a sudden? No, IU, you can’t be like this. You can’t like him. He doesn’t like you back. It’d be a painful onesided love with one of Big Bang’s most popular members. Wake up! Onesided love never works out.**

“Omo, did Taeyang almost stutter on stage right after IU kissed him on the cheek?” Bong Sun marveled, as IU was almost done dancing her part with Taeyang.

“Aiyyy, ani!! Why would he do such a thing?!” In Na retorted. “It’s not like they’re close friends who like each other!”

“Aish, In Na-ah. Sometimes you’re so clueless. But you’re still cute and pretty, so no worries.” Hongchul, the MC, commented.

In Na glared at him before the others continued on for the scared MC.

“ They are close friends, can’t you see?” Inyoung continued, supporting IU and also terribly pissed off by In Na’s attitude.

“ The way they interacted and performed on stage, and offstage.” Narsha added on. “They didn’t even practice much. Such coordination in such little time. It’s like they were meant to be on that stage together, doing performances like that.”

“The way Taeyang complimented her awkwardly because they haven’t talked for 4 years.” Said IU’s other close friend, Nicole. “Taeyang was trying to keep up his image on television, yet live up to IU’s expectations and hint to IU that he still hasn’t forgotten about her.”

“It’s OBVIOUS. In Na, you’re not the only adorable one here.” Bong Sun flaunted, still holding a grudge against In Na, for getting a higher rating from viewers than her. “It’s not worth arguing with you anyway, Miss Rank #5. You just don’t get concepts like this.”

“Especially, since IU has Tae’s cellphone number, which is never given out to people who aren’t close to him.” Ga Eun joined in.

“And of course, the fact that he already had been filming for his MV for 6 hours straight, yet he still came upon IU’s call!!” Hong Su Ah ended the conversation with the final evidence.

Nearby, Sayeon was eating a sandwich, obviously hungry while listening in on all the performances. She spotted several cameramen filming  the casts’ heated conversation and decided to step it up.

“YAH!” Sayeon shouted, once she reached the backstage tent. “Who gave you permission to film this? Stop filming this conversation, and do not add it to the broadcast.”

The cameramen nervously nodded their heads, intimidated by the big Sayeon. They packed up their equipment before heading off to where the rest of the staff were, facing the performing stage. Once Taeyang finished performing, he quickly did what Hongchul wanted him to do, even though he was completely anxious to see what IU was doing and where she was. He worried about her, and wanted to see if she was safe or if she was hurt any time during the performance. He knew that she was really clumsy and could fall down at any time.

**I shouldn’t be worrying like this. Taeyang, forget about the past. She won’t remember it anyway. Why do you even try?**

Meanwhile, IU was walking back to her manager’s car, ready to leave. She felt hyped up, yet exhausted at the same time. She had originally wanted to check up on Taeyang and if he had performed well, and if he was okay, but her manager said that it was getting late, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to wait up for him.

Obliviously, IU followed her manager’s directions, and followed him to the car. IU always knew her manager like a brother, and followed everything he said. However, she didn’t know about the fact that her manager always got her out of sticky situations, and situations she almost had to face in the past. Her manager was very overprotective, and this time, he noticed many things. Especially things about Taeyang. IU never noticed how her manager protected her, but because of this, IU never faced any situations like scandals and other things that may scar her happy and bubbly personality.

**IU’s growing up so fast...It’s sad to see my dongsaeng like this. She looks so hurt because of Taeyang. Ever since I found out that Taeyang was her first friend, I was worried that they’d meet up again and now that they have....I really feel like I have to protect IU at all costs. Whatever it takes.**

It was then that the manager’s thoughts were interrupted. By a particular voice.

“IU-ah! Are you okay? Was my performance good? I looked cool, right?” A nervous, yet composed voice asked.

“Damn....” IU’s manager muttered. “What’s with this guy’s timing?”

“You were awesome, oppa!” IU exclaimed. “My manager and I were just about to leave because we didn’t want to bother you.”

“...Just about to leave...” IU’s manager emphasized under his breath before heaving a sigh. “Guess we’re not leaving in a while..”

~*~

A/N:

Hello! Thanks for reading Chapter 3 :) I hope you enjoyed it!! I am SO sorry for not updating in a very very very very long time T-T. I had a lot of stuff to do, so I got to a resolve that I had to make up time to update my stories.

Hope you continue to support, rate, comment and subscribe! I might be updating Chapter 4 tomorrow to make it up to you guys, so make sure to check in and see if it's there tomorrow night!

More better chapters and ideas to come, 

Kpopchicken & Immortal611 :D