He was able to 'force' YB one time to come with him and visit 2NE1's practice/training. When they arrived at the studio, they saw that they were already practicing, so they silently sat in a corner.

After a while, "Youngbae!" she greeted. "You're here!"

YB smiled. "Yeah, GD kinda ASKED me to come"

"Aren't you going to greet me, too?" GD asked.

"You're almost here everyday" she answered.

"Yesterday is different from today"

"Cmon, let's show YB why you're here almost everyday" she said cheerfully.

He saw YB raised his eyebrows at him and a questioning look came to his face.

"Aiisshhh. Why should we?"

She was about to open when his phone rang.

He answered and talked to someone for a while, then he said "Okay, I'll be there"

He looked at YB and Dara, then sighed. "I need to go to the President's office, I'll be back later" he said.

Then, he also said goodbye to the others and told them that he'll be back later.

As he was walking towards the President's office, he can't stop thinking what could it be this time.

He knocked then entered the office. The President motioned him to sit down.

"So, have you decided what songs are you going to perform for this upcoming event?"

"Yes, I'd like to perform This Love and Hello"

The President was silent.

"Besides, me and Dara uh(clears throat), has been uh, practicing some moves for the song this uh, past few days" he said uncertainly.

"Choose more songs, you're not only going to perform two songs. And I'd like to see a presentation for Hello two days from now, so you still have more time to practice. If I'm not satisfied, I won't let you perform that song. Understood?"

GD nodded.

"You may go"

As he got out from the office, he smiled and run. He was a bit surprise that the President was going to give 'Hello' a chance. He was ecstatic to tell Dara the news. He can actually imagine what her reaction or reactions will be. 'One wish almost granted' he thought. As much as he wanted to perform with her on his "rumored" November concert, which is also her birth month, the very reason he wanted it to be held on November, he wanted to take advantage of every opportunity being presented to him since there's still no confirmation on the said concert.

He was happy that one of Dara's wishes is just a few steps away.

Before entering the practice room, he fixed his face into a sober one. Then, he entered. He saw YB and Dara talking at one corner.

"Oppa! You're back!" CL greeted.

He smiled.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"No, not yet. We're just having some break"

"Ya!" YB called.

He went to them and talked for a while. His tongue was itching to tell Dara the news, but he decided to tell her later.

It was getting late and he saw that it was already dark outside. 2NE1 was just wrapping a few more steps. All those time, he and YB were just silently watching, sometimes a smile would crept into their faces. There were also times that you can hear their delighted laughter.

Then, they were finished practicing and was preparing to leave.

He stood up.

"Dara, I'm afraid you have to stay" he said.

"Eh? But why?"

"We have to do some wrapping up for Hello"

She frowned. "Kyaa! Can we do it tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow will be different"

The others looked at Dara. He saw Dara nodded. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from smiling.

The others started leaving the room, which only left him, YB and Dara.

He can see that Dara was in a bad mood from the way she acts. 'She must be really tired' he thought.

"We should worked hard on Hello because the President will be here two days from now, he'll be watching us perform it. He will then decide if we should perform it onstage for the upcoming event"

He didn't take his eyes off from her face. At first, she was really looking pissed, maybe because she wanted to go home already, but after he was finished talking, he saw how her eyes grew wide in surprise and a bright smile was slowly appearing on her face. Her head snapped up at him. 'As expected' he thought. Then, a blush slowly crept to her cheeks.

"Omo! Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes"

Then, she started jumping up and down, squealing at first, then it turned into a high-pitched scream then turned into hysterical fits of giggling.

"What do you think are you doing? We should start practicing instead of just standing there" she scolded him in a stern voice and literally dragged him into the middle.

"Ya! YB, what are you doing just sitting over there? Play the music!" she commanded, looking pissed.

YB hurriedly played the music while shaking his head with laughter. GD laughed, too.

The following day. . .

2NE1 was practicing again. This time, he was alone when he visited them. Now, he got a more valid reason for his stay there: He'll be practicing for his presentation.

Nothing more, nothing less. Okay, that was a lie. Of course, he wanted to see her.

It was late afternoon when they started practicing Hello with the dancers.

Dara was confident at first because they've been practicing the song for the past few days and the song doesn't have complicated steps, more of a story, but upon looking at GD's face her confidence seemed to waver. 'He looked unsatisfied. Maybe I'm not doing well, that's why' she thought.

"Again" GD shouted. "Dara, your voice is not so clear at the end" he said forcefully that made Dara cringed.

The others looked at each other. As far as they heard, she was doing pretty well.

They started practicing again. She saw GD sighed.

"Okay, the rest can go home. Dara, you have to stay and work on that last part"

She nodded obediently.

GD looked at Dara. He felt bad for being a bit harsh. She was doing pretty well, but he wanted to push her to show her best. As much as possible, he wanted it to be perfect so the President will let them perform together onstage. But, that's only the second reason. The first of course, he wanted to spend some time alone with her, he just pretended that he was pissed off and unsatisfied so he will have a reason to make her stay.

He smiled as he saw the look on her face.

"You look scared" the one-sided smile is back again.

"You're mad"

"He chuckled. "No, I'm not"

"Yes, you were. I saw your face"

"I should get an acting award, then"

Her snapped up as her eyes squinted.

"You. . .You're just acting? KYAAAAAAA!!"

She hit him in the head and slapped his arm. He laughed as he run away from her, shr chased him around the room. She was a bit fast, too, so there were times that she was able to give him quite a few hitting and slapping.

"Okay, I think you already had enough" he said, gasping.

"Who told you I already had enough?"

After a while, they were both sitting on the floor, gasping for air. They were quiet for quite some time, then, Dara felt her shoulder becoming heavy. She looked. She saw GD was leaning on her, eyes closed.

"Are you asleep?" she asked. 'Stupid', she thought. 'If he's sleeping, do you think he'll answer?' she asked himself.

But he didn't answer. She smiled. "Finally, you learned to lean on me" she whispered.

GD closed his eyes tightly and tried to even out his breathing eventhough he was hyperventilating from what he heard. As he pretended to sleep, a thought came to his mind: he should think of going into acting, he's getting better at it.

The day of the presentation. . .

GD was not surprise to see other YG artists in the practice room. 'Other judges' he thought.

He even expected to see the rest of Bigbang and wasn't disappointed when he saw them in a corner.

Then, the President arrived.

Mr. YG watched them intently as they started performing. He also watched the reactions of the other artists. He was actually surprise to see them all smiling while watching the two, but what surprised him more is GD's expression. He never seen him like that before. As for Dara, he can see that she was a bit nervous, but everytime she and GD made eye contact, her face lights up with confidence. He folded his arms and continued watching the two. And as he continued watching, he finally understands why the smile on the other artists' face seemed so delighted. GD and Dara are exhibiting an infectious happiness around them. It's as if they were showering everyone with happiness and you can't help but be happy,too. Even he, himself can't help but smile a little. The happiness in GD's face was so genuine that it was almost too painful for him to watch.

And as the presentation ended, everyone else clapped and cheered.

He was silent and waited for the cheers to die down. He stood up.

"Okay, you can perform this" he said dismissively. "Jiyong-ah, give me your final list of songs later. I want to see the final rehearsals of everyone participating in the event. I'll just announce the day" he said, then went on his way.

Everyone bowed him out, then the other artists started leaving, too.

GD looked at Dara, but she was nowhere to be found. He frowned. 'Where did she go?' he asked himself. When it was only 2NE1, Bigbang, Teddy, Kush, and a few staffs left in the room, he was definitely sure that she wasn't really there.

He went and looked for her.

He saw her in the storage room, her back facing the door. He heard her sniffing.

He slowly aprroached her. "Ya! Are you crying?"

She then turned around and faced him. He was taken aback when she hugged him and started crying.

He hesitated at first, but he hugged her back anyways. Then he started patting her back.

"Why are you crying? It's over already, the President already approved to the performance-"

"No. It's not that"

"Then, why are you crying?"

"I'm just happy. I've been wanting to perform. . . Oh, well, never mind. Let's go, they might be looking for us already"

"No, let's stay for a while. Besides, your eyes are red, you don't want the others to see that, don't you?"

He sat on the floor and motioned her to do the same.

He smiled. "I remember seeing you and YB here before. At first, I didn't know it was you. I thought YB finally found someone, but then, I found out it was you" he started.

"Hmmm. Those were such tough times for me. I always cry that time, I was such a crybaby" she said, chuckling.

"You're still a crybaby, you know"

"No, I'm not! I've matured a lot already!" she proudly said.

"You still act like a child sometimes, you know"

"It's part of my charm"

"You should act your age already" he teased.

She threw him a glare.

"And you should call me noona if you want me to act my age"

He laughed. "I can't do that"

"Why?"

"Well, first, you really don't look and act your age. And besides, it gives me goosebumps when I call you noona" he said, chuckling.

"And because I love you" he whispered softly the same time her phone rang.

"Hello?"

Later. . .

"Okay, bye bye" she hanged up.