Coming Together

“She did what?!?!” CL stood up from the dining table, almost toppling down her plate. Seung-ri, T.O.P., and Dae had picked her and Bom up from the apartment after learning that Minji and Dara had gone grocery shopping.

Today was the first day after “Jin-ah-unleashed-the-dogs-from-hell-with-her-screeching” - as Daesung had begun to call it. They were now, after securing Ji Yong’s approval, telling the girls all about what went on the V.I.P. Parking Lot sans Minji because they needed her to distract Dara.

“I tell you” Seung-ri continued as Dae pulled CL down to sit and calm herself “she was struggling so hard against me I was thinking whether she learned judo somewhere.”

“Good thing you were able to hold her off” Bom told him with a smile, picking at the crackers set beside her plate.

“Of course noona” the maknae answered proudly, stretching his arms a little which showed that he actually had scar marks.

“Did she do that to you?” CL asked, taking a hold of Seung-ri’s right arm.

“She did but it doesn’t hurt” Seung-ri responded, trying to take his arm away from CL.

“Don’t deny that it does” the 2NE1 leader replied “I have an ointment to help heal the stings out of that. I’ll give it to you later.”

Seung-ri kept his mouth shut, he didn’t know whether he should continue saying that the scratches didn’t hurt to top CL off or be touched by the fact that despite apprehending him, she offered to give him an ointment to ease the stings.

Smiling at Seung-ri’s tongue-tiedness, T.O.P. leaned over Bom to take the sweet corn side dish that she was served. Bom tapped his hand away and looked at him accusingly “Why are you taking that away?”

“Gym trainer said you’re not supposed to eat corn” T.O.P. reminded her.

“I know that” Bom replied “and I’m not eating it ok? I’m just… just looking at it!”

Everybody in the table laughed. “Yeah right” T.O.P. told her and still pulled the corn bob away “Going back, I think I should warn you girls that Jin-ah seems very serious with her last threat.”

“What? That she’ll make sure that Ji-oppa and Dara-unnie will never be happy?” CL asked.

“Uh-huh” T.O.P. now began munching on the corn bob much to Bom’s growing frustration “Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned or so they say and Jin-ah was really serious. We all saw already what she can do and I think she’ll do something really bad soon enough.”

“If there is something more evil than her screeching I’m really afraid” Dae responded very seriously “I tell you. I thought Seung-ri and Ji Yong had let lose a she-wolf in the parking lot and when we got there, Jin-ah even looked the part.”

Bom, despite engaging in a tug-pull-coz-the-corn-is-mine contest with T.O.P., managed to laugh at Dae’s description “I wish I could have seen that, most especially how she looked like when Ji told her he will never love her.”

“I think you wouldn’t really want to see that noona. The way she looked would have given you nightmares” Seung-ri replied “The earth would have opened and she would have been eaten by it at that moment but the way her face just fell wouldn’t have changed.”

“So, what is Ji-oppa’s plan now? Shouldn’t we be doing something? I mean, we’ve confirmed it already. Oppa has admitted it and shouted it to the face of that “creature” so they can fully come out in the open now!”

“Not too fast Chaerin” T.O.P. told her “There are still a lot of things we need to think about and Ji is considering all those. It doesn’t necessarily mean that now that we all know they actually care for one another is they can just come out like that. Firstly, you girls are tied to a bond of non-relationship for five years. Second, we’re all sure that just a hint from Ji and Dara will set-off those D.O.M.s and they might do something drastic like fire them and make sure that they don’t get a job anywhere else. Thirdly, Manager still does not know of it, and last but most importantly not the least – those two haven’t actually admitted what they feel for one another!”

“Oh yeah” CL answered, deflating like a balloon “I had forgotten all about that.”

“If they only had themselves to think about, it would be really easy” Bom added “but we all know that Dara needs to help in supporting her family and so does Ji Yong. And if they get fired… how are our groups going to be like??? I can’t imagine 2NE1 without Dara nor Big Bang without Ji Yong.”

Dae heaved a sigh and scratched at his hair “This is really too much to think about. I wonder how those two aren’t going crazy.”

“Well… I think they are going crazy but they’re just really good at hiding it” Seung-ri responded “Now… we just need to wait for what Ji-hyung will decide to do and be there for the both of them. They will be needing all of us to be there.”

CL shook her head in helplessness “I can’t believe I am about to say this but for the first time ever I would have to agree with you.”

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Just the two of us

Dara was going to call home again but decided to go up the rooftop to make sure that none of the girls could hear Durami teasing her. She had heard an earful last night and had ended the call in such embarrassment that she was sure that if one of the girls saw her as she looked last night after her call, they’d get suspicious.

And with all the things happening around her, she didn’t want anybody really getting suspicious – it could mean her job if ever she decided to risk it and as much as she would give a limb to do what she wanted to really do, she knew that there would be other people who would hurt of that lost.

So, the roof top was the perfect spot to make sure that no one could hear. And it was also a good place coz she would always know if someone else was coming up. Living in the apartment complex was proving a challenge in trying to keep her privacy.

Opening the door with such confidence that she was the only one there at this time, she almost jumped upon seeing that Ji Yong was standing in a pool of moonlight, looking out into the city.

“Ow!” she exclaimed before she could control herself.
Ji turned to face her and that You-will-totally-melt smile lit up his face.

“A-a-anyeong” she greeted him, trying to not turn into a puddle.

“Anyeong” Ji replied.

“Wha-what are you doing here?” Dara asked awkwardly, then mentally kicked herself for acting like a school-grader stuttering in front of her crush. They saw each other everyday! Even train together for Pete’s sake! She shouldn’t be acting like this really despite the fact that this has been the first time in a long time that they’ve been alone together.

“I just wanted to relax coz I had a lot of things on my mind” Ji answered, cutting off her thoughts “How about you?”

“I… uhmmmm… was planning on calling home because Umma has been sick and I… well… I mean… you know…” she paused and bit her lip in embarrassment – “Way to go Dara! You have not only developed a stutter, you have also lost the ability to form any coherent thought” she scolded herself.

Ji’s brows furrowed in concern “How is your umma? Has she been sick long? Is she in the hospital?”

“Oh… no” she replied, still trying to grasp and connect all her brain neurons “Umma is being taken cared off at home by Durami and I just want to check how she’s been doing.”

“Well, it had been getting pretty cold already so I hope Auntie takes care of herself well. You should too, you know? You’re winter clothes are not as warm as they should be and it will be difficult if you get sick.” He had his bossy tone on again when he began talking about her winter clothes.

Dara frowned at that. Ji had a way of talking to her like he was talking to a toddler. Well, it culd also be that she does tend to act like a toddler around him – what with being incoherent and all that awkward teen-ager stuff but still! “You always say my clothes are thin. They’re not you know. I wouldn’t have survived the cold here if they’re as thin as you think they are.”

“You survive because I always let you borrow my jackets” Ji told her.

“That’s not true!”

Ji walked towards her and shrugged off his jacket to put them on her shoulders despite the look of protest on her face “Yes it is” he told her “That had always been the case since the first day we met.”

Surprised at his sudden reference to the past, she forgot her annoyance. This was the first time since they’ve met again as employees of Teddy that he had referred to that day when she crouched under bushes to hear him rap.

“Well, isn’t it?” Ji asked her, mistaking her look for a defensive retort.

“You – you just like to always give me your jackets” was the only reply she was able to form at his challenging look.

“Coz you always seem to beg for them” he answered with a wink as though to say “thus ends this conversation and nothing you say on the matter will change my conclusion”.
She punched his arm. “You never want to lose!”

Ji pretended to wince then laughed “You punch like a kid.”

“What?!?” Frustrated, Dara punched him again.

Ji laughed harder “It still feels like a kid’s punch” he teased and pulled at her hair. “You should stop eating those intant ramens and do as I always tell you to do… eat REAL food.”

More aggravated, she heaved a sigh and… “Why do you always treat me like a child?!? You’re always teasing and laughing at me and being smug of yourself! Everytime we’re together, even during practice you’re never serious with me. I would appreciate it you know, if I could just really talk with you once! I call you oppa and sunbae for respect and don’t even react to you not calling me noona but can you treat me like a woman and not a tot coz I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all!”

Taken aback, Ji seemed to have frozen himself after her outburst.

Dara’s brows rose as she noted that Ji’s face became as blank as a white sheet of paper. Wow! She surely outdid herself with that announcement. She had never thought she’d fire the whole thing in one go.

“So, you don’t like it when I treat you like a kid?” Ji asked her in a whisper that if she had not seen him open his mouth, she wouldn’t have thought it came from him.

“Uhmmm… No” she answered truthfully, unsure of how to react to this very sudden “seriousness”.

Ji seemed to turn the thought over in his head, taking his time as he looked away from her to stare into the bright lights of the city. She did the same too, uncomfortable with just staring at him. She always found herself looking from the locks of his hair, to his eyes, to his nose, to those –

“I’m sorry” Ji said aloud.

“So – sorry?” Her gaze went back to him as he kept staring on. He was definitely surprising her tonight.

“I always see you as someone I need to look after” Ji began, gulping at the admission but still looking at the city and not at her “I see you as someone I always need to protect from all the things that could hurt you. And I tease you coz I want you to remain as strong as you are in your beliefs and opinions.”

“But it feels otherwise” Dara told him sincerely “As I said… it just feels like you see me as a child sometimes.”

Ji, then, turned to look at her “Believe me… I have never and I could never see you as a kid.”