Minji took a deep breath as she listened to the powerful chanting on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling curtain. In just a few moments, the curtain would fall and she'd be standing in front of thousands of her fans. She still couldn’t believe this day had actually come, the day where she would hold her very own concert all by herself. She always imagined she would go solo some day. Being way younger than the other members of 2NE1, it just seemed bound to happen. But she never expected it to happen to soon.

She thought back to her journey of where it all started and was amazed by how far she had come. She was completely grateful for everything she had, and knew she had to treasure something as wonderful as this. But even so, there was one thing that she couldn’t help but be disappointed about.

She had pictured this concert in her head many times, and one of the most important details was that Jiyong would be right by her side, cheering her on. Yes, she still missed him. She thought about him constantly. They say only time can heal a broken heart but it seemed as if not even a day had passed since he left. She had no idea where he was and had no way to contact him. Was he even still alive? She didn’t know.

But what she did know is what he told her that night in the elevator. ‘Don’t worry Minij, we’ll see each other again someday.’ Thinking about those words was the only thing that got her through, because as slim as the chances seemed, she believed one day they would meet up again.

“Minji,” One of the staff members called. “It’s time.”

She turned towards the staff member and nodded. Now wasn‘t the time to think about Jiyong. Now was the time to perform. The music started just as the curtain began to drop from the ceiling. The crowd roared with excitement. Minji smiled to herself and stepped out to start singing her first song.

The energy was amazing. She felt like she was on top of the world as she danced around the stage and sang her heart out. Fans sang along and shouted her name at the top of their lungs. It was one of the most memorable moments of her life and Minji was in all smiles…until she spotted one particular person in the audience.

At first she thought she was imagining it, but after she took a double take, she knew she wasn’t seeing things. It was the one man who could make her heart flutter yet break it at the same time. Kwon Jiyong.

~

Jiyong still couldn’t believe he was here, in Korea. But after seeing that commercial, all he could think about was Minji’s concert. Something was telling him he had to see her again, and the thoughts tortured his mind until he finally bought a ticket and boarded a plane to his hometown.

And so here he was now, standing in a crowd full of males and females of all ages, waiting for Minji.

After what felt like hours of standing around, the music finally started and Minji came out onstage. Her style was so different than what it was when she was in 2NE1 that he almost didn't recognize her. She was no longer sporting the short hairdo she was known for and instead had long black hair that soared through the air when she danced. It seemed YG had also finally stopped restricting her from wearing anything revealing because instead of the jackets and pants look he as used to seeing from her, Minji was wearing black shorts with a cropped top.

The minute Jiyong's eyes landed on her, he felt something weird in his stomach. He wasn’t sure how it would feel seeing her in person again after so many years, but he definitely didn’t think it would feel like this. It was almost like…he was attracted to her.

But how could he be? She was just the sweet, cute little Minji. Practically his little sister.

But as he continued to watch her grace the stage, realized she wasn’t the cute little girl he once knew anymore. She was now a beautiful young woman.

For the rest of the concert, Jiyong watched her attentively. Everyone around him was screaming and dancing in their seats, but Jiyong stayed completely still. He was trying to clear the nonsense going on in his head, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t ignore how his heart would pound faster every time it seemed like she looked his direction. Especially when during the last song of the concert, Minji started to come over to his side of the stage.

His nerves went crazy as she drew closer and closer. He wanted her to see him, but part of him wanted to hide. How would she react to seeing him? Did she hate him for leaving? She scanned her eyes over the crowd, smiling at everyone she could. But her smile instantly faded the moment her eyes landed on him.

Jiyong didn’t know what to do. Her gaze said so many things, but he couldn’t read any of them. With one last beat, the song ended and the stage went dark, signifying the end of the concert.

~

It wasn’t until the stage turned dark that Minji remembered that she was having a concert. Seeing him had completely stopped her in her tracks, but luckily the song had ended just in time.

He was really there. The one that she called her best friend. The one she grew up admiring, and over time, fell in love with. The one that she had been praying would somehow come. There he was, after all these years, just a good few yards away. All thoughts left her mind except for one: She had to see him.

She immediately rushed off the stage, pushing passed all the staff to go to the entrance of the building. As soon as she stepped out, she was mobbed by her fans, screaming and rushing towards her. But she completely ignored them. She jumped over them, trying her best to find him.

But it seemed she was too late. No matter where she looked, she couldn’t spot him.

She had lost him. Again.

~

Something happened during the moment when they made eye contact. He wasn’t sure what, but he knew he had to see her.

Being a performer for a good portion of his life, he knew the way stages worked and darted over to the side that staff members usually sneaked through to get backstage. There was a good chance security would stop him, but he knew it was the only way to get to her.

To his relief he made it through unnoticed, yet when he made it to the area where artists usually hung out after a concert, she was nowhere to be found. He overheard staff members saying she was out with her fans, signing autographs and spending time with them. Jiyong hung his head low. He couldn’t believe he assumed she felt the same way he did after that gaze. It was no big deal to her. For all he knew, she might have been looking at someone else.

Jiyong could hear YG’s voice down the hall, and knew he couldn’t stay any longer. The last thing he wanted to do was see his old boss, so he darted out of one of the back doors and waved down a taxi to take him back to the airport.

He mentally slapped himself as he buckled himself in the back seat. He had been so close. She was only a good few yards away!

But despite having no luck, he was thankful that he at least got to see her again.

***

Minji walked down the busy streets of New York, exactly one year after the day of her solo concert. The concert had received so many good reviews, it seemed that her career was going to completely take her to the top. There was even talks about her doing a world tour next.

But before anyone could even try to convince her, she quit. Sure, the life of a star was glamorous at times, but there definitely was a downfall. And one thing she found with being a solo artist was loneliness.

She tried to convince herself that seeing Jiyong at that concert had nothing to do with it, but she knows that’s a lie. She wants to believe she didn’t quit so she could go find him, but that’s not the case.

But with the look he gave her that day at the concert, how could she not do anything?

However, that was a year ago. That stupid, silly delusional mind of hers had since settled. She was old enough to know better, and had finally pushed away all those feelings for him. Now she was starting a new life and new career as a choreographer in the US.

She continued on down the street, taking in all the sites around her. As her eyes browsed her surroundings, she managed to catch site of a little café. She had no intentions on going inside, but as she passed by, the smell of whatever was cooking inside began to tempt her. What finally sealed the deal was the growl of her stomach, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything all day. Without further delay, she pulled open the door and stepped inside.

It was completely empty, which surprised her since it was located on such a busy street, but she took advantage of the opportunity to eat in quiet and rang the bell for service.

“Just a minute!” Someone called from the back. She waited as a young waiter finished up with cleaning the dishes and came out to help her. “What can I get for you?”

Minji studied over the menu, having a little trouble since it was in English. She did recognize the word ‘hamburger’ though and decided to get that, but Minji stopped ordering mid-sentence when she realized the waiter was looking at her like she was some rare species.

“You’re…you’re that Minzy girl," He stuttered. "Aren’t you?”

Minji cracked a smile. She was always surprised when she got recognized outside of Korea, and it was times like these that made her miss being in the spotlight. “Yeah, that’s me.”

She expected him to ask for her autograph or picture, like most fans do, but instead he made a statement that shocked her.

“What happened to you?” He asked. “You were on top of your game and you just…quit.”

Minji hated being asked this. Ever since the day she announced she was leaving the industry people hounded her with questions like his. But it was personal, so it was going to stay that way.

“One hamburger please,” She said, ignoring him. He took the hint and nodded apologetically.

“Coming right up…”

Minji rolled her eyes and headed over towards the bathroom as the waiter started her order.

~

As soon as the waiter heard the bathroom door close, the front door of the café opened.

“Jiyong!” The waiter called out when he saw his friend. “How have you been man?”

“I’ve been ok.” Jiyong answered. He slowly took his coat off and looked around the café. It had been awhile since he had last been here.

“Hey,” The waiter whispered as he leaned in closer to Jiyong. “You know that one really hot Chinese girl that was always on tv?”

Jiyong rolled his eyes. “Korean.”

“Yeah, yeah, Korean whatever. Dude…” The waiter leaned in closer and quietly added, “She’s here!”

Jiyong laughed to himself. “You’re funny.”

“I’m serious!” The waiter defended. “She just went to the bathroom.”

Jiyong rolled his eyes. He wasn't stupid enough to fall for what his friend was saying. He sat down and started to order when the phone rang. The waiter quickly ran off to the back to answer the call.

Jiyong took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. After a few seconds, he heard the waiter arguing into the phone and knew the conversation was going to take awhile. Since he had time to kill, he stood up to go to the bathroom. Right as he turned the corner for the restrooms, he smacked into someone else.

He said a quick apology and stepped aside to continue on to the bathroom. He didn't bother to take notice of the persons appearance until he heard something that stopped him.

“Jiyong?”

Recognizing that voice anywhere, he slowly turned around and said the name of the person standing before him.

“Minji?”

They both felt like they were in a dream as they stared at each other, completely at a loss for words. “What are you doing here?” Jiyong finally asked to break the ice.

“I live here now,” Minji replied. “I, I quit the entertainment business.”

Jiyong was well aware of this, but still never understood why she quit. “How come?” He asked. “Your career was about to take off.”

She let out a sigh. “I know…but…I felt so…alone.” She carefully chose her words as she continued to answer. “I had no one by my side…”

She had hoped her statement would make him realize she was talking about him, and he did. He let out a sigh and stared straight into her eyes. “Listen, I’m sorry for leaving. I’m sure it was hard on you.”

“You have no idea.”

“But Minji, I had to leave.” He insisted. “There was nothing left for me there.”

Minji bit down on her lip to try to stop the next sentence from coming out, but after all the years of keeping it in, she couldn’t. “What about me? Was I nothing?”

“What?” Jiyong asked. “No, of course not. I didn’t mean it like…”

“Did you ever even notice?”

He stopped his words and carefully studied her unusual expression. “Notice what?”

“Me?”

Jiyong laughed. “Of course I did! How could I not notice my favorite girl?”

He reached up his hand to mess with her hair, but she grabbed onto his wrist and stopped him. “But did you ever notice me as anything over than a little girl?”

“What do you mean?”

She let out a defeated sigh. “Jiyong, I can’t keep hiding it, so I’m just going to say it..." She took a deep breath and blurted, "I love you. I’ve always loved you. And no, not that ‘YG Family love.’ The real love. The kind you see in movies. The kind that people write songs about.”

Jiyong was completely stumped. The only thing he could think of to say was, “How long have you felt this way?”

“Since I was a trainee.” She said. “At first it was just admiration because I was so young, but then it grew into something else…”

Jiyong suddenly thought back to when they were younger. How Minji always smiled to him, no matter what. How she always kept his secrets, no matter how big or small they were. How after he started dating Sandara, Minji always seemed to hold a grudge against the older girl. It was completely obvious, so why didn’t he notice?

“But you only saw me as a girl,” Minji said, answering his question. “I was just your dongsaeng and nothing more. I thought maybe when I got older things would change but then you left…”

Jiyong slowly processed her words. He knew leaving hurt Minji, but seeing her speak these words now, he realized how much pain he caused the young girl. Pain he wished he could take back.

“Minji…” He said, not knowing what else to say.

She continued on. “But I thought about you everyday. Thought somehow we could reunite, because you said we would. And when I saw you at the concert, I just…”

She trailed off, but his heart was pounding with curiosity. “What?” He asked. Had she been feeling the same way he had after the concert?

She took a deep breath and let out the truth. “I thought maybe you finally saw me in a different light. I thought maybe…maybe you could love me the way I love you.”

She looked down at her feet, embarrassed by her sudden confession. Jiyong took a deep breath before responding to her. “You’re right Minji.” Jiyong suddenly said. “I didn’t notice you that way. But you were underage Minji. What did you expect me to do?”

She hated his words, but knew they were nothing more than the cold hard truth. “You’re right.” She answered quietly. “I was too young for you. I should have just accepted reality and moved on.”

Not wanting to embarrass herself any further, she moved to the side and began to walk by him. Her eyes were set on the door but she was suddenly stopped by Jiyong’s firm grasp on her arm. She slowly turned back to face him, his eyes staring straight into hers.

“But after that concert, I did see you in a different light.” He answered. “I’ve been going crazy, trying to figure out why I’ve been feeling the way I have towards you.”

She replayed his words in his head, not quite sure what she was hearing. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to say more.

“And it’s true, you were too young for me.” He continued. “But that was then, and this is now. Things have changed, and I’ve realized what I want.”

“And what is it that you want?”

A smile formed on his face as he tightening his grip on her arm and pulled her close, so close that their noses were nearly touching. “I want you, Minji.”

Minji would have never believed that sentence if he hadn't smiled at her the way he did and once she realized this wasn't her imagination and that it was real, she smiled in return with the first real smile in years.

“Can you promise me one thing?” She asked.

"What is it?"

“Promise you won’t leave again.”

He flashed another smile that made her weak in the knee’s and told her just the thing she wanted to hear. “I’ll always be by your side Minji.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I promise.”

And just like that, the two best friends were finally reunited once again in that little cafe. The past had been forgotten, and all that mattered now was their future. Because even though it had started out as a simple bond, through the years they realized just how much they needed each other.