“Come with me?” I look up from my papers, strewn all over the table, to my best friend’s glorious smile. She has two tickets in her hand, god knows to what, but it didn’t matter because I knew it would end with regret and one huge hangover. Jessica is my best friend, but she is every college kid’s worst nightmare. She’s a temptress, if I was to exaggerate, for the dark side of alcohol, partying and , and she knows exactly how to lure people in.

“No,” I frown, trying to put on the best serious face I could. I vowed myself to no longer be weak hearted and turned back to my research and its wonderful neon green highlighting, praying she would give up.

“It’s an exclusive invite. Not everyone can get in you know,” she continued.

“That’s the definition of exclusive, Jess. Also, I’m still not going.” I scowl, losing my place on the page. Whoever said women were good at multitasking obviously does not know me. “This is a library by the way, you’re supposed to be quiet.” I hear a small sigh from above me and see her shadow leave my desk. That was surprisingly easy. With a silent smile I start to turn the page when I see one of the tickets on the corner of my desk, an invite to a club part in downtown L.A. a debut showcase for an artist. Then, the name ‘Edan’ written in small letters on the bottom left corner caught my eye.

“Damn it, Jess!” I scream, and get up just in time to see her leave the library, a finger on her lips telling me to be quiet. I can already picture her victory laugh as she begins to walk away, her dyed brown hair swinging behind her. She already knew I would cave. After the period of boy and girl bands began to die out in the west during the early 2000s, an insurgence came from the east a couple of years later with the debuts of top-quality artists, some of which began to earn global recognition. One of those that shot to fame in 2006 went by the name of ‘BIG BANG’, but during their return in 2011, a huge scandal broke out and YG, their company, placed them on hiatus since. The dreams of a world tour and a new comeback were ultimately on hold. It has been three years since then, and the hype the scandal brought has certainly died down. All the members have gone their separate ways, with Tae Yang and Seung Ri going solo and T.O.P finally making his much needed boom in acting. The other two, in penance, took on more quiet roles. Rumors have been flying on online channels, one of them being about GD and his role as an underground composer for YG, even flying stateside to represent them unofficially. Rumors will always be rumors however and one of them was that GD’s new pen name was Edan. If it were true, it suited him. It was a safe, neutral name that would not stir up trouble here in the States, but it had a strong meaning; the fire breathing one, G- Dragon.

The sky had lost its color by the time I stacked up all my books and got ready to leave. With all the silence here in the library, time just seems to stand still and sitting in a secluded corner just made it even more so. I rubbed eyes, never realizing how tired they were, and started my walk to the car park where my chunky Camaro waited patiently. I am not wealthy, my parents are, but sometimes when their spill overs mean I get this babe of a car, I try not to refuse. They had said it was an early graduation present, but I’m convinced they didn’t want to see me die young when I was still driving my old car.

“I’m home!” I shout as I hang my keys by the door and take off my jacket. It was a Friday night and that always meant family dinner here at the Lee’s. I follow my nose into the kitchen where a huge pot of stew was steaming, surrounded by the familiar side dishes and my parents, along with my little brother already starting. A part of me can’t help but squeal in delight; I love me some home-cooked Korean food. Considering my mum’s full time job at the firm and the extra effort the variety required, this did not happen often.

“Sit,” my dad said pointing to the seat on his right, “Lost track of time again, Erika?” I could only nod in response as I began to dig in. This psychology thesis I was writing was killing me and he knew it.

“Here, eat more. Don’t stress too much okay?” my mum said comfortingly, placing a piece of fish on my bowl of rice along with my little brother’s. She always did that in every meal we’ve had together for as long as I can remember.

After dinner, I helped her clear the table while my dad and brother went through their usual ritual, a game of chess along with a classic bottle of soju, despite the fact that Peter’s actually underage. It was a competition of out drinking and out smarting each other every time, but my dad always won. Sometimes I’m convinced that Peter just lets him, because I know he’s actually a smart kid. And he has a really high alcohol tolerance. I pick up my phone and head upstairs to seek the privacy of my old bed room.

“How’d you know, and how’d you get it?” I asked, as soon as she picked up. I hear a guy’s laugh in the background, as expected. It was Friday night after all.

“Does it matter? I’m helping you relive your teenage dreams!” she chirps back, and I can’t help but smile.

“It might not be him though,” I sigh, “more importantly though Jess, what should I wear? It’s a high end club. You know, I’m starting to think this new artist he’s composing for has some serious backing.”

“Whatever you do, don’t try looking in your closet. All your clothes scream ‘old’. Drop by my place before we leave tomorrow night okay, darling?”

“I’ll be there at 4.” I hang up and snuggle into my bed. I wasn’t bothered returning to my apartment that night, and quickly fell asleep dreaming of the genius composer and Piaget*.

*Piaget wrote on developmental psychology.

Note: anything in italics is spoken or written in Korean.