Can't Be Helped | Part 1
The Girl With the Angel Wings (Hiatus)
Last time --
"Ah, well you'll enjoy it. My parents fell in love there, raised me there, like I said. London is beautiful and... majestic in her own way."
Top sat back on the arm rest, turned to face her. "How did they meet?"
Mango turned her attention to her dog, his huge head now resting in her lap, probably leaving a drool spot on her pants. "Well..."
Top and Mango both sat on her sofa, sitting comfortably with each other. Mango's knees were up to her chest and Top's arm was casually thrown across the back of the sofa. Miso had finally lost interest in the two and found a cozy spot on the plush chair across from them, blinking his eyes slowly, trying to fight off sleep. He knew it was getting quite late, but unfortunately his owner and her guest did not realize this. But the dog would be damned if he was going to leave this stranger with his mother alone.
"My mum is a native Brit, and my dad came from Korea to London to study," Mango continued her story. "They both went to the same university, but they studied different things. My mom studied law while my dad studied engineering.
"They met at a coffee shop near the university. My dad had seen her before on campus and introduced himself to her, but it was hard for him to communicate comfortably with her because he still wasn't quite fluent in English. But my mum understood him and they continued talking. After awhile, my mum started to show feelings towards him. So, she offered to teach him English, but in exchange for a date. He happily agreed."
Top smiled as Mango talked. He liked the way she spoke. Every now and then her accent would slip. You could tell she tried to hide it, but it was noticeable if you listened to her talk long enough.
"So, my mum taught him English, while he took her out on dates," She continued. "They dated for four weeks until my dad finally asked her to be his girlfriend."
"Four weeks?" Top asked, raising his eyebrows. "That seems like a long time."
"They wanted to be sure; they didn't want to just jump into things. So, they were together for four more years--"
"Four years?!" Top interrupted again.
"Yes! Four years. Again, just to be sure. And then they got married, finally, and a few months later they had a daughter they decided to name after my mum's favorite fruit."
Top smiled again. "Mango."
Mango nodded. "Yes, and I'm their only one," she grinned in triumph.
She suddenly looked up at the clock across from them. It read one thirty in the morning. "Oh jeez," she said aloud. "It's really late."
Top looked at the clock as well. "Oh, it is," was all he said.
Mango stood onto her feet. "I'd better take you home. I'm sure the guys are starting to wonder where you are." She grabbed her keys from the countertop and started to slip into her sneakers.
Top made his way over to her. "It's late, I don't want you driving back home alone."
Mango scoffed. "I'm twenty six years old, I think I can take care of myself."
Top suddenly grabbed her wrist that held her keys. They clattered to the floor, and Mango looked up at him. His eyes were fierce; two pools of mysterious black. Her cheeks grew hot under his gaze. "S-Seunghyun...?" she said.
Before she even knew what was going on, Top's lips were pressed against her's. His hands gripped her shoulders so she couldn't escape. Mango tried wriggling away from him. She tried pulling away but his lips were glued to her's.
Top finally released her. They stepped away from each other. Top's eyes never left her's. Mango furrowed her brow at him, set into a deep scowl. "W-What the hell?" she finally exclaimed.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," Top confessed.
Mango wiped with her arm. "Don't you ever touch me without my permission!" she fired at him. "That was extremely unprofessional."
Top looked down at the floor. That was not the reaction he was hoping for. No one had ever said that to him. "I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted was for you to feel violated."
Mango sighed, bending down to retrieve her keys. "Let's just go. I want you out of my home." she said defensively and went for the door with haste.
As Mango drove, she was silent. A cold silence that resonated her resentment towards Top. he could practically feel the coldness that radiated from her. Finally Top spoke up. "I said sorry--"
"Oh, you're sorry?" Mango snapped. "Well that makes everything better! You know, if rapists had only said sorry to their victims maybe they wouldn't be behind bars. 'Sorry' is just a magical word that takes everything away." Her words dripped with sarcasm.
"You're comparing me to a ? Because I kissed you?" Top was very shocked and confused.
Mango fell silent. "Can't be too careful," she finally uttered. She couldn't let herself become close to him. Her life was still too much of an uncertainty. Mango knew that she was starting to feel something for Top. It might not be romantic feelings per say, but she was starting to feel a relationship between them start to build up. The way they talked to each other, the way he always came to her to talk, the way she could easily talk to him. It terrified and worried her. Nothing good would come out of it. "You just don't understand."
"Well tell me so I can understand."
"No," Mango raised her voice. "No, I can't."
"Why not? What are you keeping from me?"
She felt tighten. She couldn't tell people about her condition yet. She didn't want people to treat her differently. She was a professional and she wanted to be treated as such no matter what. "Nothing, I'm not keeping anything from anyone." She managed to blink back the tears that were starting to form at the corners of her eyes. "And even if I am it's not any of your business."
Mango pulled into the driveway of the Big Bang household. She put the car into park.
Top didn't get out right away. He looked at her, really looked at her. She had dark circles around her eyes, she never really had color in her face, and she always had to take deep breaths in between rushing around the workplace. She never really looked healthy. "Noona...I'm worried--"
"Stop," Mango interrupted, turning to face him. "I am not your friend, or your lover, or whatever. I am your stylist, though. You got that, Seunghyun? Don't worry about me. Stop trying to get to know me. It will only end badly."
Top furrowed his brow. "You're just putting up a wall because you're scared. If you would let me in you'll see that it's not so bad and you won't get hurt."
"It's not me that will get hurt," Mango replied flatly. She turned back to face the steering wheel. "Get out of my car," she demanded.
Top waited a moment to see if Mango would change her mind. She just sat there, not looking at him, as still as a statue. He finally sighed and got out. As soon as he shut the door Mango locked all the doors and immediately started backing out.
Top just stood there and watched her leave. He's never seen her so defensive and hostile. It made him feel uneasy. It made him want to chase after her even more, but he knew if he did she would just turn away from him and hate him more. He would just have to leave her alone and hope that she would come around on her own. But Top is a patient man.
The next day Big Bang had an interview and photoshoot with a pretty popular magazine, so they had to be up early and ready to go. They also had to look very good, which is why they were on their way to Mango's loft.
"Why do we have to go pick her up? Doesn't Mango noona have a car?" Seungri complained from the backseat. He was just being cranky since he had to wake up at six o'clock in the morning.
"It would be a waste of gas for her to drive all the way to the set. Might as well carpool," their manager said from the steering wheel.
"She better be ready by the time we get there," said G-Dragon. "Cause the sooner we get their the sooner we can leave and have the rest of the day off."
Top was barely paying any attention to his bandmates. All he could think of was last night and how Mango reacted to him. She probably hated him and didn't want to see him. But it was her job to commingle with all of Big Bang, so she couldn't ignore him forever. If Top knew anything about Mango, it's that she loves her job and would never jeopardize it like that.
The van pulled into the parking lot behind the building and came to a park. The manager pulled out his cell phone and dialed Mango's number. "Hey Mango, you ready? We're right outside in the lot. Meet us down here quickly."
Mango snatched her bag and slid her high tops on. "Bye Miso, be a good boy and don't poop or pee in the house! Mommy loves you, you big handsome mongrel!" She gave Miso his giant bone from off the counter and gave his head a pat on the head before running out the door. Skipping every other step, she flew down the stairs and waved at the manager.
She opened the car door and jumped into the passenger seat. "Did you guys wait long?" she asked, a little out of breath.
"Nope, not at all. You were just in time." The manager smiled at her before driving out of the lot.
Mango strapped in and turned around to see the rest of the passengers. "Why hello boys," she said with a smile, her sunglasses hiding her tired eyes.
"Hi Mango noona," they all responded sleepily.
Mango scowled. "Hey, you guys sound so dead. Wake up! You got a photoshoot today. Make up can only do so much for those bags under those dreary eyes."
"If I was you, I would be worrying about my own eye bags before others, noona," Daesung said with a cheeky grin.
"Yeah, let's see those bags!" Taeyang said, leaning forward, trying to snatch Mango's shades.
But Mango was too quick for him, ducking behind her seat. "Nice try, but you'll never know! Bwahaha," she turned back around and took an energy drink from her bag.
"Ooooo, noona, gimme some," G-Dragon said, leaning forward , his head on her shoulder.
Mango scoffed. "As if," she pressed the bottle to her lips and took a big gulp.
"So much evil inside such a tiny body," GD said, sitting back in his seat.
Mango chuckled, twisting the cap back onto her drink and setting it in the cup holder. She rummaged through her bag and came up with her cell phone.
Top sat there, looking out the window, trying to suppress the urge to talk to Mango. He felt weak. Talking to her always made him feel better and brightened up his day, but the clouds outside never seemed more depressing. He sighed as tiny rain droplets started to hit the window. Suddenly his phone in his pocket started to buzz. He raised an eyebrow and whipped his phone out.
His phone read one new text message. Top opened it to find that it was from Mango. He was quick to read it, his stomach doing somersaults.
"I'm sorry how I acted last night. I've been stressing a lot lately, so I hope you understand. How about we put last night behind us, pretend that it didn't even happen. Deal?" the text message read.
Top smiled happily and replied quickly. "Deal." He put his phone in his lap and waited for the response. He looked up to see Mango looking down at her phone and typing in something. He looked down again when his phone went off. He opened to message once again and read:
"Good. Let's work together and make this easy."
Top left the conversation at that. He was just glad to have her back. Well, he never really had her to begin with. But having her talking to him made him feel relieved.
On the set, Mango rushed around trying to make sure they all looked good enough to be on camera. She lined them all up in single file and inspected each one closely. And if even one hair was out of place, they went back to the chair.
"Youngbae," Mango stated, looking up at him. She raised her eyebrow at him.
Taeyang looked down at her, a confused look on his face. Finally he realized what she wanted, and leaned down so she could inspect his make up on her level. "Sorry, I forget how short you really are."
Mango snorted. "Well if you guys weren't such towers--"
Seungri laughed behind Taeyang. "But Youngbae hyung in the shortest out of us."
"Don't judge me!" Mango shot back at him. She looked closely at Taeyang's makeup, and once she was done she sent him on his way to be photographed.
Seungri stepped up in line to be checked next. Mango straightened his jacket and pushed away a few stray hairs. Finally her eyes went to the untied tie around his neck. She sighed and made quick work at it. "Seungri, you need to learn how to tie your own tie."
"But I like it when you do it, noona," Seungri pouted.
"But I won't be here forever to tie it for you," Mango said, tightening the silk material around his neck.
Seungri frowned. "What do you mean? I thought we had hired you for life." His frown turned into a teasing smile.
Mango did not look up at him once she was finished. Her face lacked amusement, and that made Seungri uneasy. Whenever he played with people like that they usually smiled back or chuckled in response. But Mango's grim lack of response worried him. He didn't know why, but he wanted to be close to her, be friends with her. He knew he wasn't the only one either. Seungri saw the way Top looked at her and was always seeking her out and talking to her. Seungri was a little jealous of his hyung -- the way he could get Mango to open up even a little to him.
Seungri sighed at the lack of response. "Noona," he finally said. "Do you want to...get coffee or something after this?"
Mango straightened the tie so that it was perfectly centered, all while thinking about the request Seungri gave her. After the photoshoot, she didn't really have much to do. She needed to clean up her work space back at home, and maybe sketch up makeup and outfit ideas for the boys for upcoming shows and interviews. But besides that, she was free. Before having this job, she thought she would be busier than this, but now that she's finally in the groove of things she's starting to find herself with time on her hands.
Finally, after realizing she didn't have an excuse not to, she agreed. "Sure, why not?" She looked up at him and smiled. "But you're paying, kid."
Seungri chuckled. "Of course, the gentleman always pays for the lady." After being approved by Mango, Seungri stepped aside to prepare for the shoot.
Top, being behind Seungri, heard the offer given by the maknae and was starting to question it. Why did Seungri all of a sudden take an interest in Mango? What did he see in her? What does he want to get out of it? All these questions started to bubble up in Top's mind. Before he knew it, Mango was agreeing to it. It certainly did take him aback. Mango was never really one to be seen with anyone she worked with outside of the professional work-space, and her accepting going out into a public place with Seungri was definitely surprising. But Top wouldn't be surprised if Mango just talked Seungri into going to her place for instant coffee, just to keep from being in the public eye. Even so, he wished it was him having coffee with her.
As Mango straightened his coat, Top grew the courage to ask her about it. "So, going on a date with our maknae?" he said with a smirk.
Mango only scoffed. "You're delusional, Seunghyun."
"Am I? He asked you to go to a coffee shop with him, a very intimate space usually set for dates, and he's paying. What are your intentions with our little boy?" he teased.
Mango gripped Top's tie and tightened it all the way to his Adam's Apple, a little too tight for his comfort. "I believe I've found a nose in my business, does it perhaps belong to you?" She looked up at him and smirked when his finally faded. "Kidding, Bingu. And I assure you I'm only being friendly."
"Since when are you friendly?"
Mango glared up at him. "People say you're charming. I've yet to see this." Spotting a smudge of black eyeliner on the edge of his eye, she put both of her hands on either side of his face and yanked him down to her level to get a good look at it.
Top took a sharp intake of air when she suddenly forced him only inches away from her face. His face grew hot under her perceptive eyes as she looked for more flaws. It seemed like the smudge was all that was out of place, so Mango her thumb and rubbed at the black mark relentlessly.
Top tried wriggling out of her grip once her wet thumb came into contact with his skin. "Ya! That's gross, I don't want your saliva on me!"
Mango finally let him go once she was certain the mark was gone. "Ha, you certainly weren't thinking that last night." she retorted.
Top opened his mouth to say something back, but he was checkmated. He thought she had never wanted to bring that kiss up again, but Top found himself mentally smiling over the fact that she did. "Well, when you're right you're right, I suppose." was all he could say.
Mango furrowed her brow. She was hoping for a snide comeback, something sarcastic and crude. She bit her bottom lip and stepped back, away from him. "You're good to go." she uttered.
Top nodded and walked away, but his eyes did linger a bit on her as she began to check Daesung. There was something about the way she had to look over everything, be on top of everything and have everything to her liking. And for things to be to her liking, it had to be perfect. She must be to her own liking, he thought with a smirk on his lips. Cause she's pretty perfect to me. He chuckled softly before entering the room where the photographing was going on.
Later during the photoshoot, Mango found herself getting light headed and dizzy. "," she muttered to herself as she took a drink of her water bottle. She stumbled over to a chair near her and sat down. She held her head in one hand and dialed Jin's number into her phone with the other. "Jin," she spoke weakly into the phone.
"Unni? What's wrong?" the younger girl on the other line automatically knew that something was not normal as soon as she saw that it was Mango calling her.
"I don't know, I..." Mango trailed off, clutching her chest as it grew tight. She felt her limbs start to tingle with numbness as well. "J-Jin, I need you to come back here and help me. I can't really breathe--" she took in a shallow breath of air, clutching her chest tighter as she started to feel an enormous pressure. "I think I'm..." Suddenly, Mango's eyes fluttered shut and she fell forward, out of the chair and onto the hard floor.
"Mango?" Jin furrowed her brow and looked down at her phone, seeing that she was still connected. "Mango?!" She looked around at everyone around her. They were all too busy with the shoot to notice her freaking out. Jin quickly put her phone away and ran out of the room and straight for the back room where Mango stayed to clean up.
Seungri noticed Jin's hasty departure from the room and immediately was curious. Since he was all done with his shoot, he thought he might as well go see what was up. He knew Mango was the only one who stayed back in the room, so he knew Jin was going to see her. He walked over to the door and went into the other room.
Jin, once in the room, peered around the corner and immediately noticed Mango's lifeless body sprawled on the floor. "Mango, unni!" Jin knelt beside her, rolling her onto her back. Mango's face was very pale, her lips a blueish tint. "Oh no! YG...I need to call YG!" Jin stood quickly and whipped her phone out. But before she could dial the number, she heard the door open, and she whipped around to see who had entered.
Seungri looked around the corner once he walked in, seeing Jin standing there with her phone. "Oh, Jin...what are you doing?" As soon as he said that, he looked down and saw the reason for Jin's haste. Seungri's eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped. "Noona?!" he dropped to his knees in front of her and shook her. "Mango noona?!" Once he realized that she could not respond, he looked up at Jin anxiously. "What's wrong with her?"
Jin held her phone to her ear, waiting for YG to answer on the other line. "She's really sick. I have to call YG."
Seungri looked down at Mango's pale face. She looked nothing like she did earlier when he talked to her. Now she looked like a corpse. It scared him. "Mango noona, you're gonna be alright." He picked up her wrist and started to feel around for a pulse. It took him a minute to finally make out something. The pulse was so faint he didn't even know if it could be called a pulse at all.
"YG! It's Mango, she's collapsed. What should we do?" Jin all but yelled into the phone.
"Jin, calm down. What exactly has happened?" YG asked calmly on the other line, sitting at his desk now frantically searching the number for Mango's doctor.
"M-Mango called me from the other room and said that she was having trouble breathing. She didn't know what was wrong, that's all she said. And when I finally came to her, she was lying on the floor unconscious! Help, I don't know what to do!" Jin was on the verge of tears.
YG found the number and started dialing the number on his business phone. "I'm calling her doctor right now so he knows she'll be coming in. Call an ambulance right away, but make sure not to make a scene and tell the others not to worry and to keep working."
Jin nodded as though he could see and hung up the phone. "YG said to call an ambulance. No one can know about this."
Seungri looked up at Jin like she was crazy. "How are we going to hide a loud ambulance from everyone?"
Jin shrugged. "I don't know. But what I do know is that if we let anyone see her like this, she'll kill us. You weren't even supposed to know about this to begin with. She's going to be so mad..."
Seungri frowned. "If she makes it."
Jin swallowed the nervous lump in and shook her head. "No, don't talk that way." She turned away from him and started to dial 1-1-9.
So, I've decided that I would make this chapter into a 2 parter. I've been working on it for waaaay too long now, so I just thought "Hey, why not spare everyone the engst and just split it at a good part and post it?" So I did. And here it is. I'll try to get the second part up as fast as I can. I've already started on it so hopefully it won't take too long. Fingers crossed~
I finished my first story so I'm back! I will be updating as soon as I can :) Thank you all for waiting!
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