Incomplete

YB and the rest of the group watched from the VIP lounge as Ji awed the audience with his performance.

“He did great” T.O.P. commended.

“He did” YB agreed. He and Ji had differences in their music preferences for the solo projects they were given but he respected him as an artists who was now a producer as well. Ji had written everything that was on that album that Teddy will be launching to the patrons on Ji’s birthday. YB was yet to achieve such a feat but he promised himself to work really hard on it.

“It’s too bad that the girls aren’t here to watch this” Daesung declared.

“Well… let’s just hope they’re having a great time on their vacation” T.O.P. responded “And we have this on video so they’ll get to watch it still.”

After the “almost disbandment” of 2NE1, the girls made the hard decision of submitting themselves to the 5-year No Boyfriend Rule (except for Dara and Bom whose restrictions were shortened to three years). It wasn’t a very popular choice amongst all of them but seeing that nothing can be done about it now, Big Bang just accepted the consequences albeit grudgingly.

Teddy had announced to the girls that they’d be given a three-day all-paid vacation trip for their sacrifices and the girls instantly jumped at the opportunity.

“We need to forget all about this even for three days” CL had told the girls and YB agreed with her 101%. Three of the girls decided to go out of the country. CL wen to Japan, Dara went to the Philippines, and Bom went to California.

It was a surprise for most of them to learn how international the group really was. The girls had grown and had lives in different countries.

“Being here made me miss who I used to be oppa” CL confided in him “Here, I need to be mature and I need to stand up to a lot of things.”

He felt powerless and utterly useless after realizing how he couldn’t do anything at all about the situation. He and the guys have been harboring guilty feelings because of the incident and more than once, they’ve talked about how they could possibly resolve this but always ended up in frustration – nothing was going to get them out of this mess.

Now, as their brother glorified in the audience’s embrace. He knew that his success felt lack luster. Dara wasn’t there to watch his very first performance. She was in the Philippines where she could possibly even see her ex-boyfriend – a guy that YB felt Ji was really jealous of.
Ji’s eyes were fiery green when Seung-ri once asked Dara to talk about her life in that country and a mention about a previous boyfriend surfaced. His brother hid it well but YB had become an expert on looking for those hints of emotion in his friend.

He had also seen such displays of emotion from Seung-ri.

The maknae was better than Ji Yong in hiding it but YB saw through the nettings. The guy liked CL a LOT. Hence, he acts like a butthead whenever the girl was around.

Unlike Ji, who has already accepted how much he really cares for Dara, Seung-ri was running from his feelings. And who could blame him?

Love was a hard thing.

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Revelation

Dara looked at YB’s message. “Ji was really great” it said.
She had prayed hard for him to have a very successful debut. She couldn’t be there for him but she hoped he felt her spirit with him.

“You look solemn” Roxy, one of her friends here in the Philippines, commented.

They were eating out in a restaurant and she felt happy to note that at least half of her friends were able to come see her.

She smiled and covered up the worry that lined her face. Ji had been great. There was nothing to bother her.

“So Jim came to see you up there?”

“He did” she answered “I was really surprised but I really wasn’t able to see him because a lot of things happened afterwards. I did call him, though.”

“I think you shouldn’t see him anymore” Roxy told her.

“What are you talking about? Jim is our friend.”

“If you really think about it, he isn’t. Jim became our friend because he was Joseph’s friend. You took interest in him because you’re both Koreans but that’s all. And since you and Joseph are not together anymore, I think you should not see him. He just wants you to get back together with your ex and I don’t want that.”

“Roxanne!” She was shocked at her friend’s blatant admission.

“Joseph is an ” Roxy expounded “He was an to you and for that, I really can’t quite find it in me to really be friends with him. You might have parted amicably but I don’t like what he did to you.”

“That was so long ago…”

“I know but…” Roxy shook her head, something that really angered her was evident in her profile.

“What’s wrong?”

Roxy breathed in “There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for the longest time now but I didn’t think it was something I should discuss with you over the phone or on e-mail so I waited until you could go here or I could go up there in Korea.”

Dara felt her race pulse “What’s going on?”

“Joseph isn’t just an because of what he did to you that caused that break up” Roxy answered “He’s an because he did a lot of things even before that.”

“I don’t understand…”

Roxy held her hand. “When you left, I learned something that explained to me a lot of things about you.”

“You’re confusing me all the more” Dara told her.

Her friend looked at her with utmost sincerity. Roxy had knowledge of something that had changed her when she learned of it. It was now Dara’s turn to finally learn of it. Joseph did a lot of things but for this, Roxy really couldn’t forgive him and she hoped that all assumptions by that guy that Dara will readily take him back will be crushed to the ground.

“You fell in love with another guy who, I believe, deserves you more than Joseph will ever deserve you. Your good-for-nothing ex did something to make sure that you can never be with that guy. You’ve told me about him before and it made sense to me when I learned all these why I saw such sadness in you…”

Dara covered … “No… don’t tell me…”

Roxy smiled sadly “It might be too late now but I still want you to know this coz I want you to finally turn your back on Joseph…”

She couldn’t hear whatever followed Roxy’s litany as she realized one thing… “It’s been so hard… and now, I learn that others made it difficult… it wasn’t fate at all.”