Chapter 54

How did it become like this?!

I glance at Youngbae and then at Jiyong as all three of us sat in silence together in a small office within the YG building. Jiyong was sitting straight with his arms crossed and eyes fixed in front of him while Youngbae slightly turned his body away from us preventing me from seeing his face.

I look down at my fingers taking in the entirety of this awkward situation as I think back to how it became like this.

~*Flashback*~

“Alright. Then it’s decided,” YG sajangnim claps his hands together, “Dara will be featuring in Taeyang’s MV. But it has to be filmed and released soon if we want to intercept whatever Sohee is planning.”

Everyone nods their head as we await the question on everyone’s minds.

“So, what’s the song?” I ask and look towards Youngbae. His mouth opens to respond but the answer ends up coming out from someone else’s mouth.

“I Need A Girl.” Jiyong’s voice rings throughout the room. “Let’s do ‘I Need A Girl’.”

Judging by Youngbae’s displeased look, this was not what he had in mind.

“What? Why that song?” I could hear Youngbae say as civil as possible. My brows furrow as I look around the room. Everyone else was just as confused as I was. Well, except for Youngbae and Jiyong who were having an intense stare-down. “That’s not going to solve the problem.”

“But it won’t hurt, right? We have very little time to film all of it, let alone find or come up with some other song you could do. It’s the only finished song you have right now that doesn’t have a MV. Also, she will be paired with you. Isn’t that good enough?” The sharpness of his words cut through the air. His eyes flickered to mine for a split second telling me one thing: He was mad.

“Jiyong’s right. We don’t have much time. I will talk to the director and make the situation clear to him. He will take care of the details.” YG sajangnim cuts in, trying to calm the oncoming storm.

Everyone’s eyes were moving from Jiyong to Youngbae waiting for someone to say something.

“Fine.” Youngbae says unwillingly, frustration clear on his face. My eyes then caught the small smirk that formed on Jiyong’s face suddenly making me feel very uneasy.

What’s going on between these two?

~*End of Flashback*~

And here we are… all three of us… sitting in this tiny room… leaving me with absolutely NO IDEA why Jiyong was in the room too…

I sighed heavily just thinking about this whole situation and wishing that SOMEONE would enter the room and take me away from all of this.

As if answering my prayers, the door swings open and a familiar face emerges.

“Director!” I call out at the happy surprise as I see the same kind director I met at Jiyong’s ‘Breathe’ MV. I stand up and give a quick bow before shining a relieved smile.

“Hello, Miss Park, it’s lovely to see you again.” The director smiled back at me before making his way to the other side of the desk. Once he takes a seat, all three of us sit back down and wait anxiously for what he had in store for us.

“So I received the call from Hyun Suk and came as soon as I can. I hear that we are very limited with time, yes?” He opens his folders in front of him and takes out a small USB drive. “I haven’t had time to listen to this song, so let’s start with that first.”

[[Author's note: Open the link in a new window for music!! Music On.]]

He plugs it into the small speakers placed on the corner of the table and presses the play button. Soon, the room filled with a soft and smooth tune that was followed by Taeyang’s voice. I glanced at him and watched as he closed his eyes and bobbed his head to the music, occasionally mouthing the words.

♪ Girl, I need a girl

Pretty no matter what she does

A pretty body, too

Girl, I need a girl

Baby, I need you

Girl, you need me, too ♫

I smile while listening to the sweet lyrics and can’t help but want to sing along.

♪ A kind of girl that looks better in jeans than a skirt

A girl that will eat the kimchi fried rice that I made

A girl who looks young even though she’s old

I like that kind of girl ♫

I raise an eyebrow as I listen and glance again at Youngbae. The lyrics are oddly specific. Did Youngbae write this? Is this really the type of girl Youngbae likes? I repeat the words in my head and analyze the characteristics one by one. Maybe it’s someone I know?

I was so distracted with who this mystery girl may be that I almost didn’t notice the change of voice halfway through the song.

♪ Looks are not an issue

But a cute girl who has style

Even though our hobbies are different

Our tastes are the same

A girl that I can relate to

When we watch movies or listen to music ♫

I try my best not to turn my head too abruptly towards Jiyong as I recognize his voice within the song. This is why he’s here? He’s going to be in the MV?

♪ I love girls

Girls I do adore

In front of people, she has principles as she plays

In front of me, “Aing, I don’t know”

A voice that wakes me up in the morning

Morning kiss

I wanna start the day

I lean on my knees at night

Listening to your lullaby

I want to dream of you ♫

As his part comes to an end, I can suddenly feel his heavy stare but make sure not to return it. My heart was beating fast within my chest as everything began to make sense. This is what they were arguing about earlier today… Jiyong is going to be in the MV… So is that why he chose to do this song?

Finally, the song fades and the director pulls the USB out and back into his pocket. He stares down at the papers before him and remains deep in thought. This whole time, the song just kept repeating in my head.

“Okay. Youngbae, do you have a visual of how you want this MV to look? Or Jiyong? Since you were the one who wrote it.”

He wrote it?! My head was growing dizzy with all of these surprises and what this all meant.

“Nope, I don’t have any preference.” Jiyong says coolly while shaking his head, “Youngbae should be the one to decide.”

I turn to look at Youngbae who was also deep in thought, his hands clasped together in front of him. Finally, his eyes light up as his looks up at the director.

“Just something simple. For now.” He explains, “Since I want this to be done quickly, we could just base everything on Dara and I dancing. Simple setting, background, and choreography and I think it’ll be good.”

The director nods at this suggestion and writes a few words down, “I agree. Especially with this song, I think simple will be best.” He continues to make some notes and sketches before turning the paper towards us. “We will have just an empty set, white walls and some lighting. Everything else will just be you two and the dancers.”

I look down at the paper and see the rough sketch he had for us. I see that in the center he drew two stick figures, one was named ‘Dara’ and the other ‘Taeyang’. So where will Jiyong be in this…? The director takes the paper away and starts taking more notes.

“Alright, then I think that’s all I need for now. Why don’t you two go ahead and get started with the choreography? I assume that Jae Wook is in charge of that.” The director says while motioning towards Youngbae and I.

We both stand up and bow, “Yes, thank you for your time.” Youngbae says politely and makes his way out of the room. I give the director a warm smile before quickly trailing after Youngbae, not even bothering to glance at Jiyong.

As soon as I was in the hall, Youngbae was way ahead and showing no signs of slowing down. Is he really going to be like this? I tried to quicken my pace to catch up to him but it was no use. We continued to have a few feet between us, all the way until we get to the dance studio.

“Yah!” I call out, making it clear I was annoyed. But he doesn’t even turn around. “YAH Dong Youngbae!” I say louder. I see that we are the only two in the studio giving me the opportunity to really confront him about all of this.

“What the hell is your problem?” I growl and make my way towards him now that he’s finally stopped. Once again he wasn’t answering so I grabbed his shoulder and forcefully turned him around. His face was blank as he just stared down at me. “Why are you being like this? You don’t talk to me or even acknowledge my existence. It’s like we aren’t even friends anymore.”

I search his eyes but don’t see an answer so I push more, “What did I do to piss you off so badly?”

Still nothing. My insides were bubbling with frustration and anger with a tinge of guilt. I knew he was angry at me for not telling him about everything… but he could at least speak up!

“I’m… sorry, okay?” In the end, I push my pride away and succumb to my guilt. “I didn’t tell you everything because a lot of things were… complicated… and I didn’t want to get you mixed in with all of it…” I look down at my fingers that intertwined with each other, “Although… in the end you still did… but I’m still sorry… for not telling you everything sooner.”

The silence was eating me whole as I stood there hoping that he would forgive me… hoping that everything would just go back to normal. As a final attempt, I put my feelings into words.

“Please… I just hope that we can be friends again…” I trail off unsure if this is enough to be forgiven. I stood there staring at the ground waiting for anything to happen. As soon as I began to think that it was impossible, I feel his hand on my shoulder. When I look up at him, his eyes had changed to a much sadder look… a look I couldn’t quite understand until he spoke.

“Things aren’t going to go back to how they were before…” He said, making my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. Did I really just destroy our friendship? Words had failed me as I looked up at him, confused and worried.

“Things are going to change… and I’m not just going to stand by anymore.” He says more firmly. “It’s not the right time… but for now, don’t worry.” I look at him even more confused but my worries leave me when I see him smile that familiar smile. Suddenly, his hand moves to my cheek making me flinch at the contact.

“I’m not mad at you. So, don’t worry.” He says sweetly. I just stare at him with this unfamiliar touch… this unfamiliar voice. It was sending goosebumps up and down my spine.

He finally lets go, letting my breathing return to normal and take a chance the refocus. Just in time, Jae Wook to strides in, making a beeline straight to the stereo system.

“Great, you guys are here. I’ve already gotten half of the choreo done, so let’s get started.” He presses play while making towards the middle of the room. We both get closer to him as he begins to explain to us how the choreography was going to start.

Just as he backs away for us to show him the first counts, I glance at Youngbae who I catch already looking at me. He extends his hand towards me and shines his ear to ear smile.

“Ready?”

~*Jiyong’s POV*~

~*Three days later*~

“Jiyong, it’s almost your turn on set.” One of the crew on set calls out from the door of the dressing room.

“Okay.” I try to reply as enthusiastic as possible, even though I haven’t been able to sleep since this whole MV started. I take one last look at the white suit I was wearing and adjust it until I was satisfied. Finally, I make my way out and towards the set.

As I get closer, I could already spot Dara from a far. And she was gorgeous. The way that black dress fit her body perfectly and those revealing tights... If it weren’t for Youngbae’s arm around her waist, I would’ve been a complete goner.

I stop just a few feet away from where the director was standing and watch as the two listen intently to his instructions and which camera angles he was going to use. The whole time my eyes stayed glued on Dara and the arm around her, as if staring at it long enough would make it move. But just my luck, it stayed there.

My thoughts were cut when the director walked back to the camera and motioned to play the music again.

“From the top!” The director’s voiced echoed throughout the set as the lights dimmed. My eyes were still on Dara as she took her spot off set and waited for her cue to start, concentration clear on her face. But as soon as the music began to play throughout the studio, I saw something click inside her.

I watched as she took timed strides towards the middle of the set, meeting up with Youngbae. The lights brightened once Youngbae started serenading to her and they were too close for my liking. The way he ran his hand over her hair, her arm wrapped around his arm, her body rolls while next to him. It took me a moment to realize the pain in my hands was because of my fingernails digging into my palms from squeezing too hard. I tried to relax my hand but I could still feel the high tension inside of me, my insides felt like they were burning as I watched my best friend acting like this with the girl I thought of as mine.

But that was the problem. She wasn’t mine. And watching her right now, dancing with Youngbae, made that crystal clear. And I hated it. The way she looked at him. The playful look in her eye and her coy smile that showed she clearly enjoyed his touch. It’s an act. It’s an act. It’s an act. I repeated over and over in my head. That’s all this is. But no matter how many times I chanted it, the burning feeling never went away.

“Cut!” The director calls out, stopping everything. “Great. That looks good. Come and see for yourselves.” He motions Dara and Youngbae towards him. Dara’s expression relaxes as she blinks out of her trance. As they make their ways towards the director, her eyes finally make contact with mine for the first time today. But as expected, they only linger for a second before she rips our connection in half.

Youngbae and Dara watch the screen intently at the performance they just filmed while making comments here and there. Most of them were about how great Dara looked… and most of them came from Youngbae.

“It looks good… but…” Youngbae trails off while rubbing his chin, “I think we might need to run it one more time. I don’t like what I did here. My movements are too stiff.” He points to the moving screen. I feel a twitch of annoyance.

“Really?” Dara’s sweet voice chimes in, “I think you look cool, Youngyang.” Twitch.

“Do you really think we should do it again, Youngbae?” The director asks.

“Looks fine to me.” I say simply from behind. They all turn to look at me as I cross my arms, “I don’t think you need to re-film it. Why don’t we just move on?” I make sure the tone in my voice was clear that there was no other option. There was absolutely no way I’m going to stand here and watch them do that overly touchy routine again. Youngbae and I meet eyes, knowing full well that as usual, we knew what each other were thinking.

Nice try, Youngbae.

“Well, for now let’s move on to with G-Dragon and Taeyang, since Jiyong is already ready.” The director says, clearing the air. “We can go back and record again if you are still not satisfied, Youngbae.” We continue to glare at each other before finally Youngbae turns away towards the dressing room. I smirk and consider that as a won battle before my attention turns towards Dara whose eyes were on me.

She stared at me with a skeptical look and her arms crossed in front of her. I quickly wipe the smirk of my face and just stare blankly at her with a quick shrug. Her eyes narrow, clearly sensing that I am up to something but she doesn’t take it any further… or so I thought.

“Director,” She says while keeping her eyes on me. “I actually think Youngbae was right. I, too, am not satisfied with the last recording.” My mouth almost drops as she turns away to face the director, “Could we please record that part again after you shoot the scene with G-Dragon-ssi and Youngbae?”

This girl… what's with the G-Dragon-ssi?

“Oh, really? You too, Dara? That’s not a problem. We must do it again if both of you believe it should be done.” The director said with a smile. He turns to look at me with an amused expression.

“Don’t worry, Jiyong. We’ll film your part first before we redo the last recording.” I can hear the amusement in his voice as I look at Dara who is now smirking at me. S,o she’s doing this on purpose… in that case… I regain my cool composure and clear my throat.

“No problem. It’s great to see how serious both of my hunbaes are about this.” I give her back a challenging look, “Then, I must make sure my performance will be as good.”

I see she raises an eyebrow at me but I shoot back a challenging glance before making me way over to the couches on set. Usually, I would’ve been amused by her fiery personality… I am, just a bit… but the thought of her doing all of this with Youngbae was getting on my nerves…

She wants to play like that? Then let’s play, Park Sandara.

*BlueNote*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh my. Could it be? An update after 10000000 years?!
Yes :( I'm very sorry everyone for the long wait
I've been so busy with school that I've just had no time to write!
I hope you all will forgive me :( maybe?

Anyways, because of the long wait
I've decided to create a twitter account
Because I felt horrible not keepiing you guys updated
And not being able to explain my absense

SO, please follow me on twitter if you'd like!
It is xmsbluestarx

That's where I'll keep you guys updated with how the chapter updates are coming along.
Thank you for everyone's patience and kindness
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