Chapter Two:

Seoul was a busy city today, and Kwon Ji Yong found himself staring out at it, from the very top of his office. The YG Magazine building was practically his home, but there was nothing he liked better besides writing the latest scoop in fashion and creatively creating the next magazine of Hot Issue. That was looking out at Seoul and looking at all the busy body people rush about their day. The more he thought about it, the more that everything came into perspective.

As much as he wished for just a moment of peace, of time to stop, it never truly did.

Because there was always something going on everywhere and currently there was a lot going on in Ji Yong’s head. It mostly had to do with what he had told his brother Daesung the day before.

The whole love thing…, Ji Yong had never even had a crush!

He admired people, he knew how to praise other for their talents, but he never thought of anyone as good boyfriend nor girlfriend material.

You wanted to talk about beauty and how great it was? Well, he had always been called beautiful; he was beauty in the flesh if you wanted to go that route. That wouldn’t do. Besides, he heard so many things about the tall tales of falling in love-like staring at their eyes, your heart beat pounding way too fast, thinking they were more than great, wanting to see that person all the time, to think that they are cute even though they are doing the stupidest or maybe nothing at all but sleeping, thoughts about them all day, paying complete attention to all they have to say and blushing when they say something sweet your way, and…and well basically all those other mushy things that are supposed to happen! 

No one had ever stunned him into actually pausing in his guile step and actually stare at them. No one popped a WOW in him, and no one made him want to sing for them. And Ji Yong loved singing! It was a part of who he was.

Humming to himself he thought about how Minzy made Daesung feel, and how Young Bae made Seungri actually laugh and snort since he was laughing so hard. Maybe finding love was not so bad. It would be nice to have someone to make him laugh hard, and make him happy… to have someone whom he could make happy. Thinking further on it he scrunched up his face at the thought of also getting into a fight with that person. About all the down times they would have to also share, with the good at that.

“Why aren’t you working on the new hot topic spread?”

Ji Yong snapped his head up and looked at one of the elder employees there. Dong Wook, or often called Se7en by his girlfriend came in, his dark eyes narrowed and his dark grey pointy cat ears flicking in annoyance, his tail slightly straight. Ji Yong groaned and his own tail flicked in slight annoyance. “Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts,”

“You get lost in your thoughts much more than half the time,” Dong Wook sighed. “Anyways, I came to deliver some of the pictures from the earlier shoot. I don’t think any of them would work for the spread unless you can find a way to make them work.” He said, carelessly dropping them on Ji Yong’s desk.

Ji Yong stood up and walked over to his desk as he looked at the new spread of pictures that Dong Wook had placed on his desk. Frowning, he looked at each one with a critical eye. He moved them around, and then finally nodded as he picked two out of the whole bunch. “These two will do nicely, they show off the product and it looks like she’s wearing it rather than it wearing her. I don’ t know what she was doing for the rest of the shoot, this hand here looks dead, and this pose is so over played,”

Dong Wook nodded his head. “Yeah,”

Ji Yong looked up at Dong Wook and gave him a slight look. “I bet you already knew this though, why you come and ask me anyways?”

Dong Wook sighed as he sat down, “Had to find an excuse to find a break from Han,” He said, running his hand through his sleek black russet hair. Ji Yong sat down and glanced at his lap top.

“Arguing again?” he cautiously asked.

“You could say that,” Dong Wook then narrowed his eyes, “Besides, you were slacking off as well, so you can’t tell me anything,”

Ji Yong chuckled, “I’m not about to say anything on slacking off. We’ve been working our butts off to get this to the printers on time and I feel like we are, I was just taking a moment to think on…” Ji Yong made a face, “my lack of love life,”

“Oh,” Dong Wook looked intrigued now, “Are you going to participate in the mating thing then?”

Ji Yong shrugged, “I’ve been thinking about it. I mean it’s when many singles get together in one area and claim each other for courting. I would like to try it. I think It will if I get my heart broken though,” He made another face, clearly not enthusiastic.

“Well you can’t expect it to all be perfect, love and roses, and all that,” Dong Wook rolled his eyes, “I mean Han Byul and I start out lovey dovey, but we have our arguments, and you know, it’s fun. Despite it , fighting helps us get closer, and its fun to argue with her sometimes. The making up part though, that’s the gold,” Dong Wook winked. “Trust Ji, if you take the good with the bad and balance it out, finding and facing love isn’t so bad,”

“I guess,” Ji Yong sounded like he didn’t believe Dong Wook.

“And look at it this way, you are finding a mate, but as long as they don’t really mate with you, you can leave them and find another,”

Ji Yong tilted his head a little and then shrugged. “That’s true, I won’t be trapped. After all,” Ji Yong smiled, “Mating happens only one time and then you are stuck with that person,”

“That’s why there is courting before an official mating,” Dong Wook proudly said and then grinned, “I think I am going to mate with Han Byul though, I can’t imagine my life without her. I can’t keep letting time pass me by.”

Ji Yong looked at him slightly surprised.

Dong Wook stood up and waved at him as he left his office. Ji Yong turned his eyes on the seat Dong Wook had just vacated, and then let his head fall into the desk. “Man, love sounds like it so much, so how come they can smile through it so happily!!” Ji Yong demanded to know, from no one. Clenching his fists, and letting out a frustrated sigh, he made up his mind.

He was going to go out there and find himself a mate!

And he was going to do it with style! His Style!

Oh, and his mate had to meet every one of his qualifications.

After all, they had to be just as perfect as he is!

He was not going to go for just anyone. He could get just about anyone with his looks, but if there was going to be any mate searching it was going to be done on his own accord.

Feeling pumped and motivated, he started to do his job efficiently and before the day was over he had his cover pages finished and he was ready to present them to the board the day before printing went to publications. Like any other time, his page was colorful and catchy. Packing up his things, he rushed home.

He was hungry after a long day.

When he got home, he found Daesung and Minzy both grinning widely and staring at each other, the food before them completely forgotten. Young Bae and Seungri were in the living room both eating pizza and watching some sort of movie. Ji Yong ignored them all as he went to the stove and started to eat his share of the food that his mother had obviously made before she left with her friends for girl night or some other.

That was the incredible thing about them. They were practically immortal, living long lives without aging past a certain age. Ji Yong was one of the lucky ones that practically found himself not aging past the age of twenty-one. Like the cat that they were spliced with, it was believed that they had nine lives. Not that it mattered to Ji Yong.

 He never thought about why he was alive, or how he was alive after so many years, he just accepted life and went with it.

Humming to himself, Ji Yong flicked his tail back and forth. his lips, his ears stood tall on his head when a small sound caught his attention and he turned around to face his brothers and their lovers. “What?” he asked a piece of soft fleshy white fish hanging from between his soft pink lips.

“Nothing,” Seungri said, his gray tail waggling behind him and his gray ears flicking to the side in apprehension. Ji Yong narrowed his eyes at him.

“Right…” he said and flicked his eyes to Young Bae who had a slightly suspicious look on his face. His brownish ears straight on his head and his tail low, moving slowly from the left to the right, almost like a ticking clock. Ji Yong then flicked his eyes to Daesung who had his orange ears much the same as Young Bae’s, but his tail was straight and alert. Minzy’s white ears and tail were all neatly tucked down as she looked away trying not to get in the middle of their little chat.

There was definitely going to be a word exchange going on.

Ji Yong was sure of it, but since they were waiting to say anything, he continued to eat.

“Alright, what have you decided?” Seungri finally asked.

“Decided?”

“On the mating process that is going to happen” Daesung clarified.

Ji Yong turned towards them, tilting his head slyly to the side, a smirk curling his lips, “Ahh…” he drawled the one word seductively, “Now isn’t that a load of none of your business,” he sighed, bringing one hand to run through his silky white blond hair and decided he was going to leave.

“Come on Ji, don’t be so difficult!” Seungri begged as he followed his brother to the living room.

Ji Yong rolled his eyes, “Fine, I’m going to search for a mate, happy?” he asked.

This drew exited looks from everyone’s face.

Ji Yong groaned silently at the back of his throat. He could only guess what their excited looks meant, and he didn’t like it. It was not like he was going to actually choose someone! He was just going to look around and see if anything caught his eye. Which he doubted that anyone would. No one was right or perfect the way that fit his standards. They were just getting their hopes up for nothing.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” he hissed.

“No, it means you are growing up,”

“Ah, I wonder who you’ll court, or will they court you?” Daesung asked, obviously trying to pick out what Ji Yong was.

Ji Yong of course didn’t respond as he looked away. This was too much. He had wanted to keep quiet about finding love. He wanted to keep his itching curiosity, but the more he wondered about it the more he wanted to at least experience it one time. A part of him thought it was quite foolish.

That is why he held onto the notion that there was not going to be much love finding. “So, when is this going to happen?” he asked. Daesung, Minzy, and Seungri all looked towards Young Bae. Young Bae sweat dropped at their expected looks and then sighed. He had done this several times before he met Seungri, so he had it memorized.

“In a week’s time.” he answered.

Ji Yong frowned. That was still a long ways from now. Maybe he should do something to look good and appeal. The thought then vanished. No! Maybe he should do the opposite, be really plain looking and see if there was anyone that would still look at him. Looking around, he looked at what his brothers were wearing and shook his head. No, they all dressed too good and fashionably. He was going to have to go to the poor side and buy dull clothing.

Once that was done, well he didn’t know what else he could do to look plain and normal.

“You are plotting something,” Seungri suddenly said, “You have that look in your face that just screams a warning to the world.”

Ji Yong smirked, “I was just thinking, you know, of making things really interesting in my search for a mate,” he stood up, “Ah! I got another idea, bye,” he dashed off to his room to plan everything out. The others watched worriedly.

“Do you really think he’ll be okay, he has never gone on a search for a mate before,” Daesung worriedly said, “I think rejection is what he has been avoiding though and I think he rejects before he can get rejected.”

“I agree,” Minzy said, “But at least he seems to be making an effort now, you know. Even if he doesn’t find someone this time around, in time he’ll open up more to the idea… Right?”  She hesitated.

Young Bae and Seungri both looked at each other and shrugged.”This is Ji Yong we are talking about, he’ll be just fine,” they both said at the same time and then lovey dovey smiled at each other making Minzy and Daesung roll their eyes at them.

Great.

Let Ji Yong find his own mate alone could only bring one thought to mind, catastrophe.