He woke up a bit early than expected. Immediately, he looked at his phone. It was empty. He sighed. He threw the phone to the side.

'Stupid, useless phone' he thought. He sighed again. 'What to expect?' he asked himself.

He got out from bed and looked for Gaho. He found him peacefully sleeping. He smiled.

It was a good thing that there's another one who can make him smile when the main source of his happiness is unavailable and offbeat.

'She's getting a lot of mood swings lately' he noticed, frowning.

He looked at his phone again, for a while, he was torn if he should be the first one to greet her after what she did last night.

'Hmmphh. I won't make the first move this time'

He then went to the bathroom and took a bath.

After a few minutes. . .

He heard his phone beeped, even if he was inside the bathroom because he put it in loud mode, just in case. He immediately wrapped the towel around his waist while his hair was still soaked in soap, unwashed. The bubbles are starting to fall on his face and eyes, but he ignored it.

He opened his phone. A wide, expectant grin on his face, only to found himself disappointed when he found out it wasn't from her. He threw the phone in his bed again, not even bothering to read the whole message the moment he saw that it wasn't from her.

"Aisshh" he exclaimed exasperatedly. He went back to the bathroom and resumed what he was doing with a frown on his face. A moment later, he heard his phone beeped again. His frown grew deeper, ignoring it.

He took his time in taking a bath, marveling the feel of the water on his skin, even if his phone was consistently ringing. He decided to just ignore it, he could call the caller back later.

After settling himself, he took time in choosing what to wear on the dry-run on the venue.

After being satisfied, he then took his phone and read it.

"Aisshh!" he exclaimed.

Dara: C u later!

And, yeah, the call that he's been ignoring was from her.

GD: Ya!
Dara: Network busy. Try again later.

He chuckled.

GD: Don't think too much of me, I don't want u 2 be distracted. haha
Dara: :(
GD: Y were u calling anyway?
Dara: I didn't intend to. I ACCIDENTALLY dialed ur number.

He frowned. He was pretty sure it was a call, since his phone was ringing for too long, it can't be an accident, can it?

GD: My phone was ringing for so long, r u sure it was an accident?
Dara: Of course. . I just didn't notice.

---->

Bigbang and 2NE1 arrived at the venue at the same time. They arrived a bit early to check the stage and rehearse a bit. It was still afternoon, so there was still a dim light in the place. The seats were still empty, except for the few people whom he guessed were the organizers and staffs. Then, he jumped in surprise when he heard a snap. He turned around and saw Dara taking pictures of the venue.

"What are you doing?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Obviously taking pictures" she mumbled then turned away.

As Dara turned away, she smiled. 'kekeke. Got the angle perfectly' she thought as she scrolled the pictures down. The first few pictures were of the venue but the next captures were not of the venue anymore.

They waited for their turn to check the stage out since the other artists were also checking the stage out.

A moment later. . .

As they went off stage, he saw that "someone" was talking to Dara. He wasn't really sure where he's from or even if he's an artist or a staff, well the truth is he doesn't really wanna know and doesn't care. What matters to him is that he's a "guy" and that he was talking to Dara.

"Ya!" he called, "have you checked out the stage already?" he added, addressing all four members. The three smiled at him while Dara was still talking to the "guy."

He was about to open his mouth but CL spoke for him.

"Unnie, let's go!"

"Oh, yes, wait!" Dara turned to them then turned back to the guy, bowed and smiled at him. As the girls passed by him, he waited for Dara to look at him and she did. Upon making eye contact, she smiled then let out a cute "hehe" to him.

'What was that for?' he asked himself irritatedly.

At the backstage. . .

He's been waiting for a moment, just a single moment to approach her and inquire her about the "conversation" she had with that "guy" But he can't find the perfect timing. She was busy chatting with 2NE1. The others were laughing nonstop at her jokes. The, he realized that maybe she was actually trying to cheer Minzy up, who cried a while ago upon hearing about her grandmother's condition. Of course he can easily approach them, but he can't just ask her about it in front of the people, when she's being her usual "civil" self towards him again. And besides, he knows she needs some time with the girls especially now that the news was out about Minzy's grandmother. So, again, he kept his distance. But as always, he kept on stealing glances at her. He can't seem to stop himself, it's becoming a habit of his already.

Later. . .

While they were waiting for their turn to perform, he was watching the other artists performing through the monitor. 2NE1 was also watching the others in awe, he chuckled how "her" mouth hanged open as she watched the monitor, too. Slowly and discreetly, he went to Dara's side, pretending to get a closer look of the performer. He cleared his throat, a smile set on place and joining the others who were clapping.

Dara looked at him in surprise. "Oh, you're there" she whispered, more to herself.

"What were you talking about with the guy a while ago?" he whispered back, barely moving his lips while his eyes were focused on the monitor, but not really seeing the performance.

"Why are you whispering?" she asked, still whispering

"Because you're whispering, too?"

She chuckled.

"So, what were you talking about?" he asked, still whispering.

"Oh, he just wants to know where I'm from" she answered quietly, not whispering anymore. It made a few people turned their heads on her but ignored it and just continued watching.

'Aisshh! She's blowing my cover off!' he thought.

As he looked at Dara, he saw a smug smile on her face, it was too beautiful for him.

"You attract too much attention to yourself" he said, still in his whisper mode.

"What are you whispering about?" she asked, in her normal volume AGAIN.

He saw that the others got curious and confused look on their faces. He cleared his throat.

"That was really an intense performance" he said, making it up, referring to the performer. He cleared his throat again. "I'm saving my voice for later"

Global Gathering. . .

He hanged out with his friends for a while, having fun goofing around since the others were being prepared and freshened up.

Then, later, he was having a conversation with Choice 37 for the performance later. Then, when he caught a glimpse of her, he went to the girls, greeting them then started goofing around, teasing Minzy and imitating Bom. He was happy to see that Minzy's mood seemed to lighten up.

'Good work, Dara' he thought.

Then, SeungRi came and joined in on the conversation. And as expected, he started playing around with him, playfully teasing him. Then, much to his surprise, CL and SeungRi started bickering at each other. Minzy laughed.

"Here comes the cat and dog" Minzy said. Bom was also busy watching the two while Dara was silently smiling and laughing, too. Then, her head turned towards him. She smiled.

He smiled back, his one-sided smile, to be exact. "Hey"

Her smile grew wide, then she sighed. "I'm really starting to fall-" she started but was got cut-off by TOP.

"Ya! What's with that one-sided smile again?" TOP asked as he approach. Then, TOP started telling the others how he noticed GD's lips going out of proportion because of "that" smile. And he didn't fail to make the others laugh, so much to GD's dismay.

'Aish! Expect him to always ruin the moment' he thought. And as usual, Dara's attention was diverted from him.

Then, it started.

Dara was clasping and unclasping her hands once again as she waits for her turn to go onstage with GD.

'Relax' she thought, slapping her cheeks lightly.

"You look like someone who's going to faint any moment" someone said from behind. She didn't have to look to know who the speaker was. She knew that voice pretty well, so she kept her gaze on the stage especially at the performer.

"Look at him, he's just playing it. You should do the same"

She smiled, feeling a bit relax hearing his soothing voice. She looked up at YB then smiled.

Then the music started playing Hello and GD started rapping.

'This is it!' she thought, a smile perfectly in place.

She started walking to the stage as she heard the others cheering for her.

"Fighting unnie!"

The moment she entered the stage, she got confused at first but then, her smile never wavered. Years of rigorous training under YG taught her that.

She got confused by the sounds. At first, she thought something went wrong because she can only hear his voice. No music, no cheer, no crowd. Then, as she started singing, she can hear two sounds. Then, another sound added. It was beating fast and lightly. 'Is that my heart?' she thought.

Then he looked at GD. He was still rapping, so it means nothing has gone wrong with the system. Then, why is she only hearing three things? Is she going deaf? 'Of course not! I can still hear three sounds!' she thought.

Those three sounds sounded beautiful in her ears.

HER voice. . .

HIS voice. . .

Her HEARTBEAT. . .

But among those three, what really caught her attention was her heartbeat. It was beating so fast and it sounded double up, as if two hearts were beating; rhythmically, synchronized at the same time; together as one. Could it even be possible that she can hear his heartbeat, too? But she knew it was impossible.

'I think I'm having heart problems, I should see a doctor' she mentally noted herself.

Then, she looked at GD again. If there's no choreography, nor a story, she would never take her eyes off him. It was weird for her to feel that way, it's as if she was drawn and mesmerized by the aura he's exhibiting.

The President was silently watching, arms crossed while the others were cheering. He noticed that Jiyong is not as intense with his other performances compared to his performance with Hello right now. Instead, he looked relax, comfortable in a way. That boyish grin flashing once in a while indicates that he was playing, he was having fun. In short, he was not perfoming for his fans and he's not performing as an Idol right now, but he was performing for her and as a normal boy. His breath was caught in his throat as he saw the look at Dara's eyes, that smile and the way she looks at him. It was a surprise to see her like that. 'Could it be?' he thought. But he shook his head as if to clear his mind. He should stand on what he said. He still needs to see more. . .

Then, he looked at the crowd and smiled at how the performance was receiving good reception. A possibility for an MV? He smirked.

GD was doing his part pretty well, but he made a mistake at the end. But he couldn't really say that it was all a mistake, but it made him dazed for a moment. The moment he looked DEEPLY into her eyes, he was caught in its depth. He seemed to forget what to do next or why he was there or where is he at the moment. But then, he felt something cold and he realized that it was the mic. It somewhat brought him back to his senses, it was a good thing Dara transferred her mic on her other hand.

Dara was in trance state. But the moment she no longer felt his presence beside her, that's when all the sound started pouring in on her: the music, the crowd, the cheers, everything. All of it brought her to her senses and she turned around and followed him.

The moment the lights went off, GD turned around, expecting her to be next to him, but she was still a few meters away from him.

"Sandara" he called through the darkness.

Okay, he knows that she's used to lights going out after performance and walking her way around the dark. But there's still 0.5-1.0% chance of her stumbling in the dark, and he can't risk that percent, can he? So he went back a little and took her hand then lead the way.

"You're overly doing it again" she said.

"What?"

"Treating me like an old lady"

He chose not to answer.

Then, he was shocked as he felt something warm, soft and gentle on his face, then at his nape and neck. His eyes widen.

"Ya! What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm just being a good noona to my dongsaeng. You're sweating, I'm just wiping it off" she said and continued wiping his sweat using her other hand since the other was still tightly clasped with his hand.