Claire could hardly believe it. As of this moment, she was free from her CEO at Eclipse Entertainment. She was free to do what she wanted to do with her career. This morning, Claire had told her manager and CEO at Eclipse that she was not signing another contract, and instead was moving to YG entertainment. Her CEO was actually quite shocked, not wanting to lose the talented actress. However, no matter what he said to try and change her mind, she bid them goodbye.

 

Claire parked in front of YG entertainment, this time not bothering to hide her face from the multiple reporters in the area. After all, YG was about to release a statement confirming that they had signed with Claire.

 

She entered the building and walked through the corridor which had the faces of YG artists all over the walls. As she passed by G-Dragon's photo, she remembered his cute antics when she first met him last week, finding amusement in the memory. Claire took the elevator straight up to YG's office.

 

"Claire!" YG greeted her as she walked in. "Since it is your first day with YG entertainment, I wanted to introduce you to the people you will be working with."

 

A woman slightly older than Claire bowed and introduced herself. "Hello Claire! I am your manager, Park Min-jung. I hope that we can work together really well! If you have any problems or troubles, don't hesitate to ask me for help."

 

"Nice to meet you, Min-jung unnie!" Claire smiled, immediately feeling comfortable with the friendly woman.

 

YG then introduced Claire to her stylist, publicist, make-up artist and other staff. Claire was feeling pretty pampered, since YG had assigned so many people to be at her disposal.

 

Min-jung showed Claire around the YG building. The place was so much bigger than Claire's previous agency, but YG also had a lot more people. Claire also walked past the famed YG cafeteria, and made a mental note to come back later.

 

The duo then bumped into CL and her manager. CL looked immaculate as usual, with her long blonde hair and sunglasses. Min-jung appeared to be good friends with CL's manager, so CL and Claire begun talking as well.

 

Upon discovering that Claire spoke English as well, CL told her a funny story about Seungri.

 

"So, during one of the YG family concerts, we had a backup dancer from America here. She spoke Korean pretty well, but Seungri wanted to 'impress' her by saying something in English. He wanted to say something cheesy like 'never have I seen such beauty'." CL cringed.

 

Claire scrunched up her face. "I mean, it is cute but that's way too cheesy for me…"

 

"But that wasn't the problem." CL continued. "Because I told him, I TOLD HIM, how to say it properly. And then he goes up to her and says 'never have I seen such booty'."

 

Claire burst out laughing. "Holy ! You can't be serious!" 

 

"I kid you not." CL said regretfully.

 

Claire attempted to stifle her giggles, grabbing onto CL's arm as she struggled to stay standing, wiping tears from her eyes.

 

"Wait so, what did the dancer say?" Claire asked a moment later, genuinely scared for Seungri's sake.

 

"She didn't say anything." CL informed her.

 

Claire's eyebrows shot up. "Really? That's weird."

 

"Not really, because she slapped him right across the face."

 

Claire hit the wall next to her and succumbed to another fit of laughter, with CL joining her this time.

 

"I feel bad that I don't feel sorry for him." Claire said between gasps.

 

CL grinned. "Don't. Seungri bounces back so quickly from things like that." 

 

The girls' managers decided to quickly grab some lunch from the YG cafeteria after consulting CL and Claire. The girls were getting along really well, so they decided to keep chatting over lunch. It seemed Jiyong hadn't been completely lying. While the food was quite yummy, it may have been overhyped.

 

"Well I met Seungri and the rest of Big Bang for the first time last week." Claire told her.

 

 CL rolled her eyes. "Watch out, they're good at heart but most of them can be quite devilish sometimes. Although Daesung and Youngbae are honest sweethearts."

 

"Are you really close with them all?" The brunette asked.

 

CL nodded. "I've known them for a really long time now. I'm closest to Jiyong oppa though, he is really like a brother to me."

 

Claire giggled and told CL about his adorable handshake from the other day.

 

CL covered her eyes in embarrassment. "Oh gosh…Jiyong oppa's personality is really complex. Sometimes he acts like the most confident person I know, and sometimes he becomes a little bit shy. To be honest, he can be unpredictable at times, but that's all part of his charm."

 

"Anytime I see him on TV, I always think about how charismatic he is." Claire agreed.

 

"Well, I'm pretty sure you're also well-loved across Korea! Probably because of how unique you are - you're different from other actresses I've met." CL expressed.

 

"Hmm... I don't know. I guess maybe it's because I'm always honest and just tell people what I'm thinking. I'm not really that shy about things. But sometimes that can lead to a bit of awkwardness..."

 

CL's face brightened. "I totally know what you mean. I think we're pretty similar. But it depends on the person you're talking to. Like if I'm talking to GD oppa I'll probably be pretty blunt, because I know he can take it. But if I was talking to someone a bit more conservative, I probably would watch what I say. We also have to look after our image."

 

Claire's phone started blowing up with notifications. She quickly checked what was happening, and realised that it was her fans showing her support because YG had just released the news.

 

She set her phone back on the table. "I'm officially a member of YG entertainment now."

 

CL winked at her new friend. "Welcome to the family, hot stuff!"

---

Claire finished up her meeting with her manager and publicist regarding her next few job offers. She decided to take a role in a new high-budget crime movie. Both her manager and publicist agreed that it would give her an opportunity to showcase some new skills and expand her repertoire from romance and comedy.

 

In Na was busy filming a drama, but Claire actually had some free time on her hands, since her latest drama just finished. As she took the elevator down to the ground floor, the doors opened to reveal G-dragon himself.

 

"Oh hey Jiyong!" Claire waved at him as she stepped out of the elevator. "You going up?"

 

"Yeah I just forgot something up in my recording studio. Congrats on your first day at YG, Claire!" He kept the elevator doors open by using his arm.

 

"My manager gave me a quick tour around the building. Everyone here is so interesting. I met CL today and we got along pretty well!" She stated.

 

"YG is a great place to be." Jiyong paused, glancing at inside the elevator and then back at the woman in front of him. "Seeing as I'm going up to the recording studios right now, did you want to take a look around there? I can give you a bit more of an exclusive tour." He offered, deciding that he wanted to get to know the new YG actress a bit better.

 

Claire looked down at her watch. She didn't really have anything else to do right now, so there was no harm in hanging out with GD for a bit. She also wanted to see where his renowned song writing and production took place. 

 

"Tick tock, beautiful. Anyone waiting for the elevator upstairs will be getting quite annoyed." Jiyong laughed, stepping into the inside of the elevator.

 

"Well, there's no way I can turn down Kwon Jiyong, right?" Claire quirked an eyebrow and joined him in the elevator. She could see where CL was coming from when she talked about Jiyong's confident but sometimes shy personality. It was fascinating to say the least.

 

The short elevator ride up to the third floor consisted of Claire making strange faces in the mirror inside the elevator. Jiyong shot her an amused expression, then reciprocated by making equally weird faces in the mirror. But Claire realised that Jiyong's attempts still couldn't mar his undeniably handsome face. 

 

When the ding sounded, indicating that they had reached the third floor, Claire nudged Jiyong's arm so that he would return his expression back to a normal one. This ensured that the YG employees who were outside the elevator saw GD's normal face, not the funny face he had been pulling for Claire's entertainment.

 

"Saved my image there." Jiyong joked.

 

"Yeah, I've got your back." Claire confirmed. "Tsk tsk, what would you do without me?" 

 

Jiyong pretended to consider that thought. "What would I do without the girl I met literally last week? Hmm." 

 

They walked into GD's recording studio. The room was filled with recording technology, two keyboards, and tables with pieces of sheet music and sheets of lyrics all over the place.

 

"Woah…" Claire realised how packed the room was.

 

"Basically, this place is always messy. Me and the other YG composers and producers are always trying to think of new concepts, tunes and lyrics. I guess this room is a representation of our busy mental state sometimes."

 

Claire walked around the room. "That's pretty poetic. I see how that would transfer into your song-writing abilities. You should consider writing some scripts for actors as well" she remarked.

 

Jiyong was sorting through some pieces of sheet music, looking for the one that he came back upstairs for. "We tend to leave the acting-related stuff to TOP. He's the expert on that, in Big Bang at least."

 

"Don't sell yourself short. You weren't so bad in the Big Bang Secret Garden Parody."

 

Jiyong gaped at her, a pleading look appearing on his face. "Please tell me you didn't see that."

 

"So what was it like kissing Seunghyun oppa?" Claire continued.

 

Jiyong groaned, throwing his hands up in defeat.

 

"Like I said, I'm a Big Bang fan. Me and In Na watched the parody a little while after you guys released it." She said, walking over to the table he was standing next to.

 

"I'm pretty sure me and Youngbae were the weakest actors in that parody. Daesung, Seungri and Seunghyun hyung put on a pretty good show." Jiyong said.

 

"Nah, it was entertaining to watch!" Claire glanced around the hectic room one more time. "It seems like you spend a lot of time here."

 

Jiyong nodded. "I feel best when I'm at this recording studio. It's a place where I can grow as an artist, have fun and feel at peace, all at once. That's the recording booth over there," He gestured to his left. "That's where we've recorded most of Big Bang's songs. Then I usually edit and modify the recordings on that computer." He pointed towards a large screen.

 

Claire scooted over to the computer to have a closer look at it. "I know plenty of singers who are only involved in the recording and performing stages of their songs. But you're involved in every stage of making your music. Looks like you're pretty deserving of the praise you get."

 

Jiyong flushed slightly and looked at the ground, ruffling his hair. He was flattered but he never really knew how to respond when people complimented him on his music prowess so directly. "What about you? You're always in the media for your show-stopping performances. How does it all come together for you?"

 

Claire smiled, finding it endearing the way he dodged her compliment and reflected it back onto her. "I try to put a lot of effort into my work. I put myself in my character's shoes to gain a good understanding of her. I memorise my lines, add more depth and dimension to the way I deliver them, and also sometimes change the lines a bit when we start filming. It'll probably piss off a director one day, but so far they've liked the way I've changed lines, because I try to make them sound as natural as possible."

 

"You could probably even give Seunghyun hyung acting tips."

 

"Nah, he's already a great actor. And I'm in no position to give advice. Like a lot of actors, I still take classes every now and then to improve specific skills. I'll need to take some action classes soon, seeing as I just agreed to be in an crime movie." Claire said.

 

"Crime movie? Didn't think you were going to take the whole 'stealing cafeteria food' thing so seriously! I know some actors like to play roles that reflect a bit of reality for them, but you don't have to take on the role of a thief." Jiyong grinned.

 

Claire rolled her eyes. "Actually, I'm going to play the role of a detective."

 

"So you'll get a prop gun and handcuffs?" Jiyong briefly imagined a more age-restricted concept than what the film would probably be. Why his brain suddenly fell into the gutter, he had no idea, but he immediately pushed the thought away from his consciousness.

 

Seeing his momentarily dazed expression, Claire . "Alright, chill Jiyong, I don't think it's going to be that kind of movie."

 

The rapper blushed and bit his lip, as he hadn't expected Claire to be able to catch on to his train of thought so intuitively. Claire chuckled and lightly hit his arm, finding hilarity in his reaction. Cutting him a bit of slack, she went on talking about her movie.

 

"It'll be pretty interesting to try a different kind of film since I usually do romantic comedies or sad and heartbreaking movies. I haven't had a close look at the script yet, but I'm hoping it'll have quite a few twists." Claire's excitement heightened. "I've always loved watching crime movies or reading books from that genre. The mystery of seeing a crime being solved is quite satisfying."

 

"Mmmm I agree. It's also fascinating to see representations of criminals in movies. Sometimes it's important to know about why people do horrible things." Jiyong said.

 

Claire nodded. "You'd think there's no justification for doing horrible things, but in many of the books I've read, the criminal themselves always has a more personal reason for doing what they do. It's really sad how people's past can ruin them…"

 

Jiyong could relate to that last thought. While he was lucky that he hadn't experienced anything that had ruined his life, events in his past still influenced the way he behaved now. As many people knew, some of Big Bang's most heartbreaking love songs had been written by him. It really did reflect the fact that some of the love Jiyong had lost in the past had utterly crushed him.

 

As he looked back at Claire and saw her lost in thought as well, he realised that she too must have suffered loss of some sort in the past.

 

"Luckily, in most cases, the past makes people stronger." Jiyong said softly.

 

Claire shook her thoughts away and smiled. "Gotta have that fighting spirit." 

 

Jiyong checked the time, realising that the evening was approaching. He was really enjoying chatting to Claire, and had a nagging urge to ask her to dinner. But before he could drop the idea, Claire's phone started ringing.

 

The actress checked the caller ID on her phone, and her smile immediately dropped off her face. Instead, she stared at the ringing phone for a few seconds, and then looked up at Jiyong with a flustered expression.

 

"You going to get that?" He gestured to her phone.

 

"Umm…nope." Claire shoved the still-ringing phone into her bag. "I should get going though, thanks for showing me your studio!" She gave him a forced smile and rapidly walked out of the room.

 

"Claire!" Jiyong called out. "I'll walk you down."

 

The woman in front of him fidgeted with her bag, and begrudgingly agreed.

 

As they entered the elevator, Jiyong gave her a worried glance and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you alright? You seem really uneasy all of a sudden. Is it something I said?"

 

Claire shook her head. "No, Jiyong you're totally fine. I really appreciate your kindness. It's just…" She let out a deep breath, and held up her now-silent phone. "I'm facing a bit of a problem right now. I'll tell you about it some other time."

 

Jiyong slowly nodded, understanding that she obviously wouldn't tell such a new friend her personal problems. Having experienced plenty of those himself, he decided to just give her a bit of silence to think.

 

When the elevator reached the ground floor, Claire rushed out. "Bye Jiyong, see you later!"

 

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Bye, Claire."