I was sitting nervously on a park bench, surrounded by the usual camera crew and the staff. Several weeks ago, I was told that I was going to be on the show, Music and Lyrics. Now, here I was, palms sweating, waiting to see who I was going to be working with for the next several weeks.
I looked up and down the road, not seeing anyone much. Extra security had been called in to give me a little privacy from the curious fans and passerbys.

I curled a strand of hair away from my face. I had never done something like this before, and I was nervous. But excited at the same time.
The sun was shining high in the sky, and they reflected off the cameras that were hovering around me. It felt strange not being with my band mates, but I managed to be okay with it.
I supressed the urge to check my watch, knowing that I didn't want to show my impatience in front of the cameras, so I just crossed my legs on the bench instead.

About 10 minutes later, a figure came strolling down the path, surrounded by a camera crew as I was. I was tempted to stand up to get a clsoer look, but the director signaled me to stay seated.
From what I could see, the figure was wearing a bright red jacket on top of many layers, casual jeans, and a pair of Converse high-top sneakers. He looked around the park, scanning the area, until he saw me sitting on the bench.

At once, his face lit up, and I recognized his smile immediately. Everything added up. There's only one person that could rock a red jacket like that.

“JiYong oppa!” I beamed, as he ran over to hug me.
He lifted me right off my feet, aware that the cameras were filming. “HyeRa!”

G-Dragon took of his sunglasses and stuffed them in his pockets, showing his dark brown eyes. He put me back down, beaming, and I couldn't suppress a smile and sigh of relief, knowing that my partner was someone I was comfortable with.
“Yah, I can't believe it's you,” he said, patting my head. “I'm glad they put us together for this show.”
He made eye contact with the director and gave a small nod.
I laughed. “Yeah, me too. Come on, the car's waiting to take us to the studio.”
We walked down the path as the camera crew hurried to keep up with us.

I stretched my arms. “Ah~I'm so excited for this! I've been wanting to do a collaboration for a long time!”
He smiled. “Yeah, me too. With my lyrics, and your music, this will be a hit for sure!”
We piled into the white van that was to take us to our temporary studio where we were going to work on our song.
“So how is everyone?” I asked, sitting down next to him.
“Great,” he laced his fingers and put his hands behind his head. “TOP's still quiet, Daesung is still loud, SeungRi's still the maknae, and Taeyang's still dancing. You?”

I laughed, nodding. “Same old, same old.”

After a short drive, the van pulled into a small pension/studio, and we walked in, kicking off our shoes and flopping down on the couch. G-Dragon took out his precious lyrics notebook and handed it to me.
At once, I realized that the fans watching would have realized that we were really close. JiYong would never hand over his notebook to just anyone. I opened the delicate cover as GD his laptop.

“I can't believe you still have this,” I said, flipping over a few pages, some still from his pre-debut days, and others more recent as his latest album.

He chuckled. “I remember who gave it to me, too.”
I put the book down, careful not to let any off the pages fall out. “Yeah, it was a long time ago. I didn't even think you would actually use this thing. I did tell you I got in on sale, right?”
He laughed. A real laugh that I had rarely seen on TV.
“Come on, let's get to work,” I said.
The two of us worked for a few hours. After humming to ourselves for the right melody and beat, we quickly scribbled down some suggestion and pretty soon, we had come up with half a dozen ideas.

“This is going to be so catchy,” I pointed out, humming a few bars while GD snapped his fingers.
“Yup,” he agreed. “I'm going to record some of it. Let's go to the studio.”

I sat down on the spinning leather chair while GD put on his headphones.

We cranked the volume up, and I began to put some pieces together on the computer. The song had a simple, repetitive beat, and JiYong was already working hard on the lyrics.
Later, the director and staff almost had to drag us away from the studio and told us to go home.

“Just 10 more minutes,” I said, leaning closer to the computer screen, and after an hour or so, the crew gave up and told us to get our own rides home.
“Um, HyeRa, maybe we'd better go,” JiYong said after I yawned.
I glanced at the clock. What? How was it already 11PM?
“Yeah, maybe we should,” I saved our progress and straightened up the room while JiYong called a cab.
“I can drop you off at home,” he hung up the phone.
I shook my head. “Don't worry about it. My dorm's just 2 blocks down that way.”

I opened the door, only to be splashed with rain. The weather hadn't stayed nice for long, and dark rainclouds caused the ground to be drenched.
“Aw, it's raining,” I muttered, flipping open an umbrella that I had found in the shoe closet.
“Wait, where are you going?” JiYong asked, pulling me back from the rain.
“Well, I've got to get home,” I raised my eyebrow, and GD sighed. “If I wait for the cab, it will be really late.”
G-Dragon contemplated it for a second. “Okay. Then, let me go with you!”

“Wha--? Oppa, just go home. I--” the umbrella was suddenly pulled out of my hands, and JiYong wrapped his arm around me shoulder, pulling me closer to him so we could share the umbrella.
“Okay, okay,” I finally relented. “But if you get a cold, don't blame me.”

We walked down the road, watching the raindrops fall to the earth. They ran down the umbrella and gathered at the edges. GD stepped into a puddle twice, but he didn't complain.d However, I thought I heard some incoherent cursing.
“Thanks,” I said once we had arrived in front of my dorm. “You didn't have to do that, you know.”
He shrugged modestly. “The least I could do.”

I smiled. It was a good thing I had friends like JiYong around. 

Next Chapter (chapter 53)