Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of rapid 10-keying fired away as Yuri logged another accounts payable invoice into the system.  She hated Mondays.  It seemed like everyone waited to pile everything on her desk on Mondays just to jumpstart her work week off on the worst possible foot.  Didn’t they realize she worked on other days besides Mondays?  There was no need to hoard all the bills for what was quickly becoming the holy day of all invoices!

Yuri sighed, plucking out another paper carbon statement to enter.  She glanced cheerlessly at her inbox.  Stuffed to the rim, it was slowly losing its battle with gravity.  She gave it a death glare and watched grim-faced as it started making its descent, inching bit by bit towards the floor.  No amount of magnets was going to hold that puppy up! 

Absolutely none.

With a loud pop, the inbox unlatched from her metal file cabinet and flopped onto the floor.  She stared wide-eyed and unmoving.  The inbox… just died.  It just sank and died before her eyes. 

“Ah, here,” a familiar masculine voice filtrated through her daze.  “I’ll get that for you.”

Yuri snapped out of her reverie, embarrassed to have been caught staring at something as stupid as her plastic inbox.  She flushed even more when Seungri dipped onto the floor next to her and started picking up the laden of invoices.  Her laden of invoices!

“Hajimayo – I’ll get it,” Yuri begged, her cheeks burning.  She attempted to rise from her office chair, only to brush her pantyhose covered knees against the side of his arm.  There was no way she was going to be able to kneel down next to him to take over the task.  The space in her cubical was too small.  If she moved in any direction, he’d end up giving her a piggyback ride.  She sat immediately back down and lamely offered a free hand to his side.  “Here, I’ll take them.”

Seungri glanced sideways, his eyes traveling up the length of her shapely legs.  He eyed the hem of her skirt, which fell right above her knees, with a spark of interest before continuing onward with his path.  He felt heat pool in his loins as he met her wide-eyed gaze.  He could see tiny gold flecks in her irises and suddenly wondered what her eyes would look like if they were full blown out with desire.  “I-it’s no problem,” he stammered, clearing his throat. 

Quickly glancing down, Seungri grabbed a handful of whatever pieces of paper were in front of him and jostled them into a messy pile.  He motioned to get up, brushing against her in his haste.  He flushed.  “Mianhaeyo…” he mumbled, offering the stack of papers to her.  He straightened and wished he didn’t.  At this angle, he could see straight down her blouse. 

He swallowed hard.

The stack of invoices teetered in her hands because they were shaking so badly.  Yuri swiveled in her chair away from his view and quietly set the papers next to her keyboard.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  It was one thing to have a crush on someone.  But to know, without their knowledge, that they reciprocated feelings for you only served to make every moment in their presence worse.  Feeling calmer now, Yuri glanced over her shoulder until she turned around completely to face him.

She hoped her face wouldn’t give her away.  “Gomawo, Seungri oppa.”  She bit down on her lip nervously.  “What can I help you with today?”

The sight of her nibbling her lips drew his attention.  His eyes became fixated briefly until the motion of another employee walking by broke the spell cast over him.  He blinked rapidly to clear the haze.

“I, uh… just wanted to turn this in.”  Seungri pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket.  ‘It’s for some business expenses.”

“Ah.” Yuri nodded her head, taking the invoice from his outstretched hands.  “Sure, I’ll get it taken care of for you.”  She gave him a small smile and waited.

He continued to stare at her, lost in thought.

Yuri shifted uncomfortably in her seat.  “Umm… was there something else?”  She averted her eyes the minute he started flushing again and pretended to concentrate on adding his invoice with the rest of the pile.

“Uh… actually yes,” Seungri brightened, his winsome smile breaking across his baby pink face.

“Neh?”

“Neh… when’s the last time you had a break?”

“A break?”

Seungri grinned at her incredulous expression.  “Neh.  A break.  Look at all this work,” he swung his arm wildly to indicate the pile of papers around Yuri, nearing hitting her in the process.

She jumped back in her seat, her eyes wide as saucers.  He didn’t seem to even notice the almost near incident.  “Uh…” Yuri nervously laughed, glancing back at the clock on her computer.  It had been a couple of hours since her lunch break.  “It’s been a while,” she admitted.

“You need a break.” He jerked his head towards the door and gave her an encouraging smile.

She felt her heart rate speed up.  “I really shouldn’t.  I have all this work to catch up on,” Yuri explained lamely, while the inner voices inside her head started screaming obscenities.  Try as she might, ever since her confrontation with Amina, she still wasn’t able to indulge in her daydreams as easily.  Just knowing her unnie disapproved of the match made her spirits sink.

“Nonsense,” Seungri argued.  “It’ll only be a short break.  Nothing you can’t catch up on quickly.”  His eyes twinkled.  “C’mon…” he coaxed.

Yuri wavered for a moment, shooting him an apologetic expression.

He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Look.”  Seungri his lips and put on his best emcee persona.  He motioned to her seat.  “You can continue to sit here and get through one or two more pieces of work or…” He motioned to the office door.  “You can pick what’s behind door number two and who knows?” He gave her his best shocked expression.  “You might win yourself…”

Yuri’s eyes widened.

“…a brand new car!”  He whipped his arm around, flailing them all over his head while making “ding-dinging” sounds.  “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner right here!”  He yelled out loud and then cupped his hands over his mouth to imitate the roar of a crowd, to which afterwards, he began clapping his hands exuberantly.

Yuri started laughing at his antics.  Her crimson cheeks burned hot with embarrassment from all the attention he had garnered with his display.  But she couldn’t control the glimmer of admiration that lit her eyes.  He was tenacious, she’d give him that.

Seungri chuckled and settled both of his hands over trim his hips.  “So what do you say?” he smiled widely, his eyes filled with a boyish glow. 

He looked so eager, like a puppy waiting to be taken out for a walk that Yuri almost gave in right there and then.  But she held back.  “Aniyo… it wouldn’t be a good idea.” 

“Wae?”  Seungri lifted a brow.  “We’re just two friends, taking a break at work.  Everyone takes breaks around here,” he reasoned.

Friends?  He considered me a friend? Yuri couldn’t contain the euphoria that flowed through her blood veins.  It was one step closer than where she thought she was on his long list of acquaintances.  Her head started bobbing on its own, her smile slowly widening.  Before Yuri knew it, she had agreed and they were both walking side by side down the dimly lit hallway. 

“Where are we going?” Yuri asked, glancing sideways at him.  They were moving at a snail’s pace, both of them painstakingly lingering over each step they took.

“Wherever you want to go,” he replied softly, before realizing how suggestive that sounded to his ears.  He immediately reddened and cleared his throat before quickly glancing away.  He heard her hesitant breathless laugh beside him and grew an even more cherry shade of red. 

Sinking his hands deep inside the back of his pants pockets, Seungri his lips nervously as his mind went into overdrive.  “I bought this new CD on my last trip from Tokyo.  Do you want to see it?”

Yuri viewed him curiously before shrugging her shoulder delicately.  “Sure… where is it?”

He glanced at the overhead lights above with great interest.  “It’s… in my car.”

Yuri’s mouth opened and closed while sparks of amusement lit her luminous brown eyes.  “Don’t you mean, ‘my car’?”

Unsure if he heard correctly, Seungri whipped his head around and met her welcoming tender gaze.  Feeling foolishly light hearted, his lips slowly curved up into a lop-sided grin.  “Well, you have to win it first.”

Yuri nodded her head and did her best to hold back the laughter inside.  “Hmm… Are you sure it’s worth winning?  I mean, what if I don’t like it?  What if it gives off a funky smell every time it rains and pours outside..?”

“What!” Seungri sputtered, his face pulling into an open grin.  “It doesn’t smell!”

Yuri chuckled, bending over in half. 

“I don’t know what kind of cars you drive, but Lee Seunghyun does not drive smelly cars!” He puffed up indignantly, doing his best to appear affronted.  But he broke his façade when a grin crossed his face.

Yuri snorted.

He jumped at the obscene noise.

She snorted again at his reaction and covered the lower half of her face.

He stared at her in confusion before allowing himself to grin.  “W-was that… was that you?”

Yuri nodded, her eyes filled with mirth.

 “Omo… “ Seungri admonished, looking bewildered.  “How can something so loud come out of something so small?”  He watched her body shake with suppressed laughter and couldn’t stop himself from smiling back.

The cool conditioned air welcomed Amina like an old friend the moment she stepped inside YG Entertainment.  And not a minute too soon – thank goodness!  Her cheeks were rosy hued and the new blouse she wore was beginning to stick indecently against her person.  She quickly reached behind and pinched the silky white fabric near her bra line and fanned herself briefly before venturing towards the elevators.

“Sixth floor,” Amina mumbled quietly, as her eyes scanned the directory that was etched on the stainless steel wall near the lifts.  With a reluctant sigh, she pressed the up arrow button and waited in silence.

The elevator chimed.

The sound of quiet laughter echoed behind the heavy doors and caused Amina to hesitate.  She stood frozen and watched as Seungri and Yuri stepped out into the hallway, the cheesy smiles on their faces nearly identical.  They were in their own little world and barely noticed her standing off to the side, until she stuck her hand out to halt the sliding doors from closing.  Seungri noticed the movement first.

“Ah… noona,” Seungri grinned, a surprised expression on his face.  “What brings you here?  Are you looking for Youngbae-hyung?”

Amina immediately schooled her features and planted a polite smile on her face.  “Annyeonghasaeyo…” she lamely replied, glancing warily at the couple before her.  She could see Yuri fidget briefly from the corner of her eye, looking anywhere but at her.  The visible slight momentarily caused an ache at the pit of Amina’s stomach but she steeled herself and trained her gaze back at Seungri.  “Ani… I actually have an appointment with President Yang.”

“Oh,” replied Seungri, his smile suddenly faltering.

The guilt on his face took Amina aback a bit before she quickly pieced together the cause.  Apparently, Youngbae failed to fill him in on the recent news.  Heck, maybe no one knew.  She kept her face neutral just in case.  “Neh, it was just kind of a sudden… I really don’t know why,” she lied smoothly.  “Youngbae oppa just told me to come at this time.  He said the matter was pressing.”

 “Hopefully nothing too serious, eh?” Seungri airily chuckled, looking nervous.  He reached up and tugged the collar of his dress shirt with his index finger and swallowed hard.

“I hope not.  I didn’t even realize President Yang knew who I was,” Amina answered, her eyes darting back to Yuri’s profile once more.  The girl was still staring off to the side, but Amina could tell she was listening.  “But just in case, maybe you can give me a few pointers before I meet with the big guy?” she joked horribly, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Seungri let out an uneasy laugh.  “You should be alright, noona.  He only yells at his employees.  You should be safe.”

Then I should be safe for the next day or two, Amina thought sarcastically to herself.  She quickly stored the information for later use and nodded her thanks.  “Well, I have to get going or else I’m going to be late.”  She shot another small smile to the both of them and quickly walked inside the lift.  She kept her gaze planted towards the floor corner and didn’t look up until the doors were closed.

Safely secured, Amina released a sigh of… relief? Anxiety?  She didn’t know… maybe both.  She was glad that the brief awkward encounter was over with but at the same time, it only served to bring more issues to the forefront.  Issues that were becoming more and more absurd with each passing minute.  Because if she planned on working at YG, not only would she have to find ways to avoid Nara but she’d also have to avoid Yuri as well.

God, at this rate she’d be spending her lunch breaks inside the woman’s restroom every day!

Why am I doing this again? Amina moaned to herself for the umpteenth time that day.  The click-clacking sound of her heels echoed as she traversed the familiar hallway.  Ah, yes! she mentally answered while pausing in front of the dedication artiste portrait of Taeyang.  She narrowed her eyes and glared at the picture.  If he wasn’t so handsome, so y, so persuading, she wouldn’t even be here.  “This is entirely your fault,” she muttered grimly, fighting the urge to draw a mustache on his face.  Amina let out a huff of disgust and continued walking towards the executive office.

Amina was greeted by a petite woman in her early forties when she entered the spacious modern office.  The light bouncing inside the white interior was blinding in comparison to the dimly lit corridors.  Blinking rapidly for a few seconds, Amina returned the polite greeting with a weak smile before telling the woman the reason for her arrival.

“Ah, yeh,” the woman replied.  “You’re just on time.   Just one second.”  She stood out of her chair and headed over to the wide door behind her, rapping her knuckles twice before opening.  After sticking her head inside and quickly rambling that the next appointment had arrived, she left the door slightly ajar and returned to her desk.

 “President Yang will see you now,” the older woman smiled, her hand gesturing that Amina should proceed.

“Kamsahamnida,” Amina quietly replied, bowing her thanks.  She took solace in the woman’s warm response and felt some of her nerves fade away.  Re-adjusting the purse strap on her shoulder, Amina slowly pushed the door open to reveal an even larger space.  It was floor-to-ceiling white-on-white with the exception of a small sitting area in the middle of the room filled with grey sectionals and chrome and glass low end tables.  But the most damning thing of all, in Amina’s opinion, was the full sized figurine dolls that lined an entire side of the room.  Talk about toys!

On the verge of outright staring, Amina quickly glanced away and met the gaze of her soon-to-be-employer.  He motioned for her to come further in, a polite inviting smile on his clean-shaven prolific face.  Amina quickly bowed her head in acknowledgement and shut the door behind her before proceeding towards his desk.  They traded quick greetings as she took the chair opposite of him.

He stared at her face in silence.

Used to people staring, Amina sat quietly and waited until he finished.

The seconds stretched on until finally he finally blinked.

“Ah,” President Yang started, a small smile of embarrassment on his face.   “I can see why Youngbae-yah was quite taken with you,” he explained, voicing his reason for lingering.

“Oh,” Amina lowered her gaze, a becoming blush breaking across her face.  “Kamsahamnida,” she quietly replied, a small reserved smile in place.

“How are you feeling?” he politely asked.

It was a loaded question, she knew, but she responded as expected.  “Very well,” Amina replied, nodding her thanks once more and waited.

“Pregnancy is treating you well?”

She didn’t know why, but the kindness in his voice suddenly brought the onset of tears to her eyes.  Amina began clearing and rapidly blinked the sting of tears away.  “Umm… yeh,” she answered, bobbing her head up and down.  “Pregnancy is going well for me.”

“That’s good to hear,” he responded warmly.  “My wife had side effects, especially with morning sickness.”  He gazed off for a moment, briefly reminiscing to himself.  “There are days she can cry suddenly for no reason and then blame me for her misery.”

Amina grinned.  “Now that I can relate to.”  He chuckled at her wry response which immediately made her feel more at ease. 

“Don’t worry,” he continued.  “It will pass.  Or…” he quickly back-pedaled.  “…It should pass, I should say.”  He shot her a sheepish smile.  “I keep telling myself that at least.”

“Oh, is her pregnancy going well?”

“Oh,” he flushed.  “Ani… she’s not pregnant.”

Amina looked puzzled.

“She gave birth to our second child a couple of years ago,” he explained, “but the symptoms are still around.”

Amina laughed.

“Neh,” he grinned.  “She still blames me every day for her misery.”

“Don’t have her catch you saying that,” Amina chided teasingly, merriment in her warm brown eyes.

“Oh, I know,” he replied.  “I’m aware of the consequences, trust me.”

They shared another quick laugh before he quietly sobered and gazed meaningfully into her eyes.  “Speaking of marriage… I guess I should say that well wishes are in order.”

The smile on Amina’s face slipped for a second before she hesitantly nodded.  “Kamsahamnida… although, we aren’t exactly married yet.”

President Yang nodded.  “I was told it is to occur this week?”

“Umm… yeh,” Amina answered.  “Although, I’m not too sure of the details.  Youngbae-sshi was supposed to call someone and get us an appointment.  But with his schedule… and some of my personal things that came up…” she trailed off lamely.

He nodded in understanding and raised his finger to pause.  “Here, give me a second.” 

Amina watched as he grabbed his personal phone off the corner of his desk and thumbed through his screens, searching for something.  Within seconds, he found what he was looking for and pressed the key to dial before raising it next to his ear.  She watched in silence as he rambled off the need to speak to someone with great urgency.

He waited briefly until a familiar voice came on the other line.  A smile broke across his face.  “Kwang-Sun-ah…” President Yang drawled.  He chuckled a bit and traded pleasantries with the other gentlemen.  “Neh… I have a personal favor to ask of you.”

Amina watched as he grabbed a paper pad and pen nearby.

“It’s for a private matter that I need to be handled personally.”  He nodded his head and scratched a few marks on the notepad.  “Dong Youngbae,” he responded and handed the pad to her.  “And Eun Amina,” he ended, looking up at Amina.  “Do you have a given name?” he inquired.

Amina shook her head negatively.

“That’s right,” he responded into the phone.  “Just ‘Eun Amina’.”  He looked back at her.  “Could you write both of your parents’ names down?”

She quickly nodded and penned her parents’ full names before passing the notepad back to him.

“Ah, neh,” President Yang nodded.  He narrowed his eyes briefly as he rattled off her parents’ information.  “Neh… Eun.”  He then supplied Youngbae’s parents’ full names and waited.  “That’s right.”

Amina watched as he tore off the piece of paper that she wrote on and scribbled down something new. 

“Nine o’clock sounds fine,” President Yang responded.  “And I apologize for the late request, but you know how these things go.”  He chuckled once more.  “Neh… Annyeong.”  He hung up his phone and finished writing.  “Here…” He handed the piece of paper to Amina.

“Park Kwang-Sun is a good f