4 - Past
H E A LOnce she reached her apartment, Claire locked the door behind her and texted In Na. Let me know when you're home, I need to talk to you.
She then took out a bottle of soju from the fridge, and popped it open. Why was that idiot calling her? She her TV and mindlessly watched the screen until she got a call from In Na.
"What's up Claire?" Her friend asked.
"Jin Soo called me." Claire said. "I ignored the call." She clarified.
There was silence on the other line until In Na's voice spoke up again, fuelled with anger. "Can't he just leave you alone?! He's done enough damage!" Claire could hear In Na stomping as she walked. The doorbell to her apartment then rang.
"I'm outside." In Na said.
The moment Claire opened the door, In Na gave her a huge hug. "Are you alright?"
Claire shrugged. "It just having to be reminded of him, you know? This is the first time he's called me since we broke up a month ago. He's probably drunk."
In Na rolled her eyes. She stalked into the living room and saw the bottle of soju on Claire's coffee table. "Nah, girl. We're going need more than that." She grabbed two more bottles out of the fridge.
Claire sat down on the couch, In Na taking a seat next to her. "I mean, we were together for 2 years. I never suspected that he was cheating on me. I still don't know how long he had been meeting that other woman, but I guess it doesn't matter. I don't have time for people like that in my life."
Her friend threw an arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. "All I know is that he messed up big time. He's not going to find a woman better than you. And cheating is absolutely despicable."
"That's why I broke up with him the moment I found out." Claire let out a shaky breath. "I thought I was doing well since then. I told myself I wouldn't give him the right to make me cry, but his phone call kind of set my emotions off again."
"Claire, you're one of the strongest people I know. I'm positive you're going to be fine." In Na told her.
"When I would hear about people cheating in relationships, it would always remind me of my sister, you know." Claire looked up at In Na, attempting to restrain her watery eyes. "And now it has happened to me."
"Oh, Claire…", In Na gave her friend another hug, feeling sympathy for her.
When Claire was 16, her older sister had experienced something similar. Her sister had been a talented writer, but she was plagued with depression in her day to day life. When her boyfriend cheated on her, and her novel was rejected by the first publisher she sent it to, it had pushed her over the edge. Her sister had killed herself.
In Na combed back Claire's hair in a calming manner. Claire smiled at her friend, showing her that she was alright. She thought of her sister every single day, always in positive light, because she knew that her sister would never have wanted her to be sad.
The two friends reached a state of peaceful silence while watching TV for the next 15 minutes. Suddenly, another thought struck In Na.
"Wait, so where were you when you got the call?" In Na asked.
"Oh I was at the YG building. Jiyong was showing me his recording studio. I was in a good mood until Jin Soo called." Claire told her friend.
In Na's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Personal tours from YG's prince? Nice, Claire!" She giggled, attempting to cheer her up. "What do you think about him?"
Claire gave her friend an amused look. "It's not like that. We were getting to know each other as friends. We got along well because he's really nice."
"And handsome?"
"FINE. And handsome." Claire tried not to crack a smile. "That's all I'm going to say. Today was the first time I spoke to him properly. Plus I'm sticking to what I told you after all this Jin Soo business. We we're together for 2 years, and now that we're not, I'm going to take some time off guys. I think I need to be single for a while. As strong as I try to be, I can't get over it that quickly."
"I know." In Na said. "Doesn't mean you can't enjoy a cute guy's company, right?" She knew Claire was serious about what she said, but she also knew that a little bit of teasing would shift Claire's attention off Jin Soo. Thinking about something else would be helpful for her.
In Na's technique worked, as Claire started laughing. "You're impossible!"
After Claire left the YG building, Jiyong had texted his Big Bang brothers instead, asking if they wanted to go out to dinner at a KBBQ place.
They all replied positively, except TOP, who was already peacefully at home. TOP instead suggested that they come to his house, since he didn't feel like leaving. This offer came along with a warning to Seungri, that Seungri would only be allowed in the house as long as he promised not to touch any of TOP's art collection.
Jiyong arrived at TOP's house around the same time as Seungri, and he affectionately ruffled the maknae's hair. TOP opened the door for them, and the duo could see Daesung peeking out from behind TOP.
TOP eyed Seungri suspiciously.
"Aish…hyung why don't you trust me?"
"Because you haven't given me any reason to."
Jiyong rolled at his eyes and shoved Seungri through the door, following after him. "Seunghyun hyung, don't let Seungri make you act childish as well."
The four sat around TOP's dinner table, chatting about their day, until the final member turned up. Youngbae waltzed through the door, with a grocery bag in each hand.
"Okay, I've brought more packets of ramen than we'll be able to eat and ingredients to make tteokbokki." He announced.
"Youngbae!" Jiyong excitedly grabbed the bags out of his hand. "We can always count on you. Let's start cooking."
Daesung snorted. "You can't cook."
Jiyong pouted. "Yeah, I mean that I'll help Youngbae. I can at least do whatever Youngbae tells me to do."
The two friends walked into TOP's kitchen, with Youngbae's shopping bags.
"By help I assume you want to taste the food as I'm cooking?" Youngbae deadpanned.
Jiyong flashed him a cheeky grin. "You know me too well!"
His friend chuckled. "Although I do prefer it this way - remember that time last year when I was sick and you randomly turned up at my place and offered to make me soup?"
The rapper ducked his head in embarrassment. "Hey - I actually tried really hard there. I was trying to be a good friend. It's not my fault the recipe didn't mention exactly how many anchovies to put in."
"It's alright, you being there fixed up my mood and that was enough to make me feel better already." Youngbae reassured him, patting his back.
Once the food was ready, the five Big Bang members sat themselves around TOP's dining table.
"So what did everyone get up to today?" Jiyong asked.
TOP shrugged. "Same old same old. Filming as usual. I feel like I'm getting too old for action movies."
Youngbae frowned. "You're 28 years old."
"Yeah but I don't work out and dance like you do. My joints complain." TOP stretched out his arms in an exaggerated manner.
"Oh stop whining." Jiyong rolled his eyes, smiling at TOP's antics.
"How's the assault on Japan going, Daesang hyung?" Seungri asked.
"By that I assume you're asking about the recording of my Japanese album?" Daesang laughed. "It's going well - I'm about halfway through."
Seungri then started talking about a variety show he guested on that day. "I was on the show with our hoobaes, WINNER. Seriously that Seunghoon guy is pretty funny, I'm proud that he's from our company. I mean, he's not as good as me, but...not bad!"
Youngbae smiled fondly. "Mino is great too - his impression of Jiyong over here is completely spot on."
"Oh yeah! Have you seen that, Jiyong hyung?" Daesang asked, chuckling. "It's actually really good."
Jiyong pondered that as he scoffed down some ramen. "Yeah I don't know, I don't think it's really like me..."
"It is like you." The other four members said in unison, nodding their heads decisively.
"I guess it's something everyone can see except me then." Jiyong put his hands up in defeat. "He's a good kid though, so talented. It's nice having them around."
"I also got to talk to Seungyoon." Seungri continued telling them his experiences of the day. "I was like, I never knew that you're related to Claire Kim!"
"Oh he is yeah! That was surprising." Daesang nodded.
"So she's part of YG now, yeah?" TOP asked, taking a bite of the tteokbokki.
Jiyong nodded. "Yeah she's signed on, I saw her at the company today."
Seungri's eyebrows shot up. "Did you? Damn, did you get to talk to her?"
His hyungs chuckled. "Didn't know you were such a fanboy of her, Seungri!" Youngbae affectionately.
The maknae shook his head. "No, I mean she's just really pretty, you know. She'd be a good match for you hyung." He raised his glass in Jiyong's direction.
Almost choking on a rice cake, Jiyong deflected the statement. "Don't be silly, she's just a friendly label-mate for us. You shouldn't say things like that - we are to be friendly and professional towards her, not creepy."
Daesang feigned an innocent look. "It's not creepy if she's into you too."
Jiyong groaned, Youngbae patting his back. "I feel like I'm in high school."
TOP laughed. "They're just kidding around. What did she say though? How's she settling in?"
"Well it's only been a day for her so I guess she wouldn't really know, but she's met her team and stuff and seems to be settling in okay. I think she also met CL today."
"Oh those two would get along well I reckon." Seungri interjected.
"Probably. Two sassy ladies." Jiyong nodded.
"Oh so she's sassy?" Daesang asked, a teasing glint in eye.
Jiyong gave his friend a warning look. "Don't even start again." He earned a chuckle from the other members as they continued their dinner, moving onto talk about what Youngbae had been up to recently.
Claire stirred from her sleep and looked at the clock. 2 AM. As she rolled over in her blankets she saw In Na fast asleep next to her. Her friend never went back to her flat today, she had called an impromptu sleepover to cheer Claire up. Claire smiled as she looked at In Na - she was lucky to have a friend like her. In Na had always stood by her and supported her over the years.
For someone in the entertainment industry, Claire supposed she didn't have many close friends. It wasn't that she wasn't good at talking to people, but more that many other actors often just remained as contacts or coworkers. But maybe with these new steps in her life she would make new friends too, as she had enjoyed talking to both CL and G Dragon today.
Jiyong. She raised a hand to her temple as she realised how idiotic she must have looked when she was leaving. Who the hell gets scared of a phone call? She would have to learn to get better at dealing with emotions when it came to Jin Soo. Soon, she hoped, she wouldn't have as many emotions about Jin Soo.
As she drifted back off to sleep, Jin Soo's face drifted away from her mind and fleetingly, Jiyong's smiling face appeared. He was handsome.
Comments