Damage Control



“Did you bring the popcorn, Dae?” Youngbae asked Daesung who was busy pouring over soda on the empty glasses that rested on the table. Daesung nodded and smiled at his hyung who had his eyes focused on the TV in front of them and settled next to him.


“Seungri-ah! Aren’t you done there yet?” Seung Hyun called out to their maknae who was busy crushing some ice in the kitchen. Seungri, who was struggling with the bulk of ice in front of him, made a face at his hyung who was bossing him around.


“HAYYYSSSSSST! Crushing ice is not really a leisurely hobby, hyung!” He pouted as the oldest of the members smirked at him.


“Wuzz.” The eldest teased the maknae coolly, turning his head a little towards Seungri to give him a taunting look. Seungri only smiled at him but immediately stuck his tongue out when the eldest turned his back.


“Is it on? Is it on?” Jiyong, who just got home from his Bean Pole photoshoot, hopped excitedly towards the living room and jumped on the couch, squeezing himself in between Daesung and Youngbae.


“HYUNG HYUNG!!!” Seungri waved his hands happily, greeting his favorite hyung. Jiyong turned his attention towards the area where Seungri was standing and gave the maknae his famous smirk.


“YA! Keep it down, Seungrat! You’re disturbing peace.” He hissed at the younger guy whose face fell upon getting rejected by his favorite hyung yet again.


“Haysssst! After all the hardships I went through last night, this is what I get? Tsk tsk…” Seungri sighed dramatically as he continued shaving and crushing the ice, venting out his pent up anger and frustration in his chore.


With the maknae’s words, Jiyong’s head shot up and a weird, goofy, almost scary smile was pasted on his face. He rushed towards Seungri and clutched the maknae’s neck in his arm.


“Right, Seungri-ya! How’s my favorite maknae, eh? Did you succeed in your mission?” Jiyong wriggled his eyebrows at Seungri playfully. This made the maknae smile gleefully.


“NEH! NEH!” Seungri boasted loud and proud. “Those fanboys all left studio crying in despair!” He added as he held his head up high. Jiyong smiled like a fool while patting Seungri’s back, as if the maknae had done something worth commending.


“I knew I could always count on you, Seungri-ah. Now, how about sharing with your favorite hyung the details of you and your Dara-noona’s taping in…” Jiyong placed his arm around the maknae’s shoulder as they continued to talk in hushed whispers.


“What are those two whispering about?” Seunghyun leaned and asked Youngbae who was busy reading a magazine. Youngbae raised an eyebrow at him before following the older guy’s line of sight.


As if sensing Youngbae watching them intently, Jiyong and Seunrgi hovered closer and moved farther from the group, as if afraid that their little brainstorming would be caught by the other guys. Youngbae just smirked at the childishness his best friend and their maknae was displaying.


“Beats me. You know that when those two talk like that, nothing good will ever come out of it.” He replied with a chuckle while Seunghyun nodded in agreement. Daesung, who was observing his two hyungs’ conversation, leaned forward, wanting to be part of the conversation.


“You know, when hyung and maknae talk like that,” He pointed towards Tom and Jerry who were talking in hushed voices by the fridge. Seungri was talking animatedly with hand gestures, wriggling his eyebrows playfully while


Jiyong listened intently, his fingers touched his chin, as if in deep thought. He would have passed as someone in deep thought if not for the foolish grin that he had on his face. “there’s just one topic that comes to mind…” Daesung let his words trail off, adding mystery with his mischievous smile.


“DARA-NOONA!” They all cried out before breaking into a huge smile.








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







“WHAT? WHAT ABOUT DARA??”


Jiyong, in a mere second, dashed towards Youngbae, Seunghyun and Daesung who were all smiling from ear to ear. It really amazed them at how a simple name could activate Jiyong’s bionic ears.


“Oh, nothing much, hyung. It’s just that 100 Points Out of 100 is about to start.” Daesung replied, still smiling widely that made his eyes turn into tiny slits.


“Oh, is that right?” Jiyong smiled foolishly to himself. “Maknae, come sit down. Let’s watch your epic guesting.” He called out to Seungri who happily skipped towards the living room and sat beside Jiyong.


As if on cue, the voices of the hosts of the show boomed from the television.


“Annyong Haseyo! Welcome to 100 Points Out of 100!” Park Kyung Rim, Kim Shin Young, Tony Ahn and Park Myung Soo together with the whole cast waved to the camera that spanned around the classroom-type studio they were taping in.


Jiyong grabbed a bunch of popcorn and noisily munched on them.


“Please enlighten me why we need to watch this again?” Seunghyun asked, letting out a sigh.


“It’s because you shouldn’t miss the guesting of the greatness also known as Lee Seunghyun!” The maknae proudly exclaimed. The group groaned, well, except for Jiyong who couldn’t care less. He was too excited to see his Baby Girl appearing on a variety show.


Baby Girl? You’re not together anymore! A voice in his head yelled out.


So what? It’s not like she’s anyone’s girl as well... Another voice replied.


“WOW! We have a star-studded cast here, don’t we?” Kyung Rim voice boomed from the screen.The idols all clapped and bowed their heads, some even hooted like Yoseop and G.O.


“I see the ‘Dance Copy Machine’ Yoseob is extra energetic today, isn’t he? He was like this!” Myung Soo did a chicken dance imitation of Yoseob earlier in the opening.


“HAYYSSSST! Why must you embarrass me like that? Embarrassing! HAYSSST!” Yoseob pouted like a child.


BIGBANG laughed while watching cute little Yosoeb acting like a toddler. Yosoeb of Beast was actually close to BIGBANG, especially to Jiyong and Youngbae. They would jog in the morning together with 
Kikwang once in awhile, when their schedules permitted them.


“Let’s see here. I can see that ‘Lee Joon-sshi lovely’ is not here.” Kyung Rim announced and with that, the cast broke into a song that they always sang whenever Lee Joon was being called out.


“Lee Joon-sshi lovely! Lee Joon-sshi wonderful!”


Haaaaaayyyyyyst! Lee Joon-sshi lovely? What’s so lovely about that twerp who keeps on ogling at Dara in his every interview??? Jiyong’s brows furrowed when he remembered how Lee Joon got mad at Choondeung for not letting Dara visit their dressing room.


And he has the guts to scold Cheondoong-ah, my brother in law? At the mention of brother in law, Jiyong let out a soft giggle. Kkkkkkk!


Right on cue, Cheondoong, also known as “Thunder” of MBLAQ, materialized onscreen.


“SANDARA PARK’S DONGSAENG!” Simon D screamed with his baritone voice that could rival TOP’s voice anytime.


Jiyong’s eyes automatically turned into tiny slits, letting out dangerous heavy breathing. Seungri stole a glance at his favorite hyung and gulped a little.


Thank you dear god for giving me such a brilliant mind to stop that Simon D from coming near Dara-noona! He raised his hands towards the sky, offering a silent prayer.


His head snapped back to his favorite hyung when he heard him laugh uncontrollably, his eyes sparkling with satisfaction.


Seungri turned his attention towards the screen to see what the heck made his hyung laugh like a crazy hyena.


Oh. It was G.O’s dramatic revelation of how Cheondoong did not want Dara-noona to date any MBLAQ member. He thought to himself.


“When I asked Cheon Doong-yah during a show if there were only MBLAQ and Dara-noona left in the world, who would he choose among the MBLAQ boys to be his noona’s mate to procreate and save the world from extinction, you know what he answered?” G.O paused dramatically.


The group watched in amazement as Jiyong leaned forward, as if G.O’s next words would be the biggest discovery that would be made on this side of the planet.


“He said, ‘Let the world go extinct then.’”


“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GOOD ONE, DOONGIE-AH! GOOD ONE, LITTLE BROTHER!” Jiyong clapped his hands and started dancing dorkily like a little kid who found out for the first time that Nickelodeon would be having a Spongebob Squarepants weekend marathon.


The BIGBANG boys all looked at their leader and found themselves slightly embarrassed at the display of childishness right in front of them.


Their thoughts, however, were cut off as Seungri’s track, ‘What Can I Do?’, blared from the screen.


“VICTORY-YAH!!!!” Kyung Rim’s voice boomed from the screen as their maknae cockily made his way towards the center, looking all too pleased with himself.


“YA! That was so last last year, Kyung Rim-sshi! It’s V-I!” Seunghyun, Daesung and Youngbae chuckled at the confidence their maknae was showing. Seungri was getting attention, the reason he loves going on variety shows.


Seungri cocked his head proudly, eyeing his three hyungs who looked at him amusingly.


Jiyong, on the other hand, was still looking dazed and grinning like a fool while watching his brother in law getting focused on the camera. His eyes focused on the ring on the right index finger of Cheondoong, the ring that he bought for him together with Dara’s ring. It was their own little “family ring”.


Kkkkkkk. He’s still wearing it! Hmmm… does that mean brother in law still wants me for D-ah? Kkkkkkk.


He was giggling softly when the fire alarm blared from the screen, signaling that the last guest would be arriving shortly. He took a deep breath and felt his breath caught on his throat as he marveled at the stunning goddess that stood in front of his very eyes.


As expected, Dara took the breath away of the casts who were there taping the show. But unbeknownst to many, nobody gasped louder than the boy sitting on the edge of the couch, clutching his heart with eyes that sparkled like diamond, totally in daze as he stared at the beautiful child-like innocent girl, Dara.


My Dara…


A smile slowly crept on his face as Dara danced her part in Can’t Nobody. He really did not care that s were giving him ridiculous glances as his smile started to spread and become wider and wider until he felt his face muscles aching from being stretched too much.


“WAAAAAAAAAA! THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE!!”


Jiyong’s smile faded quickly as he heard the annoying voice of 2AM’s Jung Jinwoon.


HAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYSSSSST!! Why is that fanboy of hers included in this show??


“I knew it! I knew I should have prepared for this!”


Jiyong glared menacingly to the screen as the irritating, much more irritating, baritone voice of Supreme Team’s Simon D, boomed onscreen.


“He’s even trying to fix his hair when it wouldn’t even make a difference? HMP!” He accidentally voiced out his own thoughts.


“I thought so too, hyung!” Seungri exclaimed in agreement but Jiyong was too fuming mad to have heard it. All Jiyong’s mind could process was how he would brutally extinguish those fanboys from the earth.


What I will do with that Jinwoon is stitch up his tiny slit of an excuse for an eye and run a zipper along those big lips of his so he could stop his senseless blabbering.


And then, I will puncture the throat of that Simon D, pull his tonsils out along with his voice box and twist it continuously until he can no longer speak with that annoying baritone voice of his.


“NOONA! SIT HERE! SIT HERE!”


Jiyong’s head shot up and narrowed his eyes at the screen that showed the smiling face of his brother in law’s band member, G.O.


Oh, what will I do with this insolent boy? Jiyong imitated Dara’s thinking pose, his fingers playing with his chin.I think I will pull each and every stubble that is growing in that boy’s chin and upper lip. I will pull it oh-so slowly, taking my sweet little time so that he would feel the torturous pain of ha~~


“I think noona should sit between Seungri-ah and I.”


Jiyong’s head jerked up and a foolish grin appeared on his face again.


“Aigoo, my brother in law! You sure know how to protect your precious noona!” He exclaimed proudly, letting out a giggle. Seunghyun crinkled his nose in disgust at their leader’s childishness.


The show continued. It was pretty much the same situation inside the BIGBANG dorm. The maknae was giving a blow by blow account of what was happening off-cam while each scene was being shown. His three hyungs, on the other hand, all looked bored and annoyed by the maknae’s narration. Meanwhile, Jiyong was completely immersed in his own little world, blocking off all sounds and sights, and was only focused on one goddess, Dara Park.


They were now playing a game which made Seungri gulped a little, stealing a glance at his hyung who was watching the show intently. He took a few more gulps as he noticed his hyung stiffened.


“Ouch, hyung!” It was the part where Simon D almost collided with Dara if not for the interjection of Seungri. The maknae looked at his favorite hyung who heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Seungri blocking off the fanboy.


“Good job, maknae!” Jiyong whispered to Seungri which made the maknae’s ear clap in happiness.
They both turned their attention towards the screen once again and Seungri cursed his timing for the next shot showed Minho of SHINee trying to get close to Dara.


“WOAH! Isn’t that Choi Minho the guy that Dara-noona had a little moment with while watching the fireworks?”


Jiyong’s head shot up as he searched for the owner of the voice. He turned to look at TOP who was grinning mischievously.


“Neh. I think he’s Choi Minho. the guy who got surprised because instead of saying ‘OMO!’, Dara-noona said ‘WAAAAAAAHHH!’” Youngbae added with a smirk. Jiyong’s gaze was turning into a menacing stare.


"Neh, neh! That's Choi Minho, the guy that Dara-noona admitted to lik~~"


"NEH NEH NEH! THAT’S CHOI MINHO! CHOI MINHO! CHOI MINHO MY TUSHIE!" Jiyong let out a huff and a puff like a magic dragon. If he was a mythical creature at that time, balls of fire would have come out from his flaring nose.


After a half a second of silence, the other members of BIGBANG all laughed in unison (yes, that included the mischievous maknae, Seungri).


"YA! YA! WHAT'S SO FUNNY, HUH??!" Their leader snapped, furious with s.


"It's you, hyung! You're so funny! You looked like Puff the Magic Dragon earlier! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" 
Seungri just couldn't keep his mouth shut. The members laughed once again as they saw their leader's face turned tomato red but retreated all at once when they noticed the dangerous air Kwon Jiyong was emitting. Seungri, on the other hand, was oblivious to the current happening and continued laughing while eyes closed, holding on to his stomach for dear life.


Jiyong stood up and walked towards the back of the maknae as if closing in on his prey. The other members all shivered in fear as they felt the impending doom that was about to happen.


"Can you repeat what you just said, rat?" Jiyong hissed with voice so low it felt like the sound came from the depths of hell. The maknae involuntarily shivered, feeling the hair on his back stood up all of a sudden.


"H-h-hyuuung?" Seungri meekly asked. He felt his favorite hyung's deep breaths penetrating the small of his back.


"I-said, can-you-repeat-what-you-just-said, rat." Jiyong repeated, his voice getting lower and more eerie than earlier.


"I-I-ayyy, ah, I s-ssaid…" Seungri stuttered while trying to come up with a coherent and pleasant answer to his favorite hyung's question.



He let out a silent prayer when he heard his own voice boomed from the TV screen.


"Noona! Noona!"


Jiyong's head automatically turned towards the screen as he heard the famous greeting of the maknae towards his favorite noona. The BIGBANG members all marveled at the quick transformation of their leader's expression from looking like a menacing psycho vent on going on a killing spree to a lovestruck puppy wagging his tail like Gaho does whenever the cute dog sees Tam Tam. They could see the wide boyish grin that spread on their leader's face that revealed his gums. Yes, Kwon Jiyong's gums being revealed while smiling was the best evidence that their leader was genuinely riding on cloud nine.


"Dara..." Jiyong let out a soft and gentle whisper, letting her name slide on his tongue like sweet candy. His eyes sparkled as he watched Dara in awe, marveling at how stunning and beautiful a mortal can be.


"Thank you, dear God. Thank you, Dara-noona." Seungri let out another silent prayer as he stretched his arms towards the heavens, earning guffaws from his hyungs while completely being ignored by his favorite hyung, who was submerged in his own little world.


“Uhm, may I just please take Dara-noona’s place in the punishment room?”


The boys looked at Seungri with wide eyes all at the same time as they saw their maknae offered to take Dara’s place in the punishment room. It was rare for Seungri to show such chivalry. The only times they saw Seungri acting so gallantly were the times he was hitting on a girl.


His three hyungs eyed him suspiciously for they were sure he would never think of hitting on his Dara-noona unless he dreamt of having a very short life span.


A sly smile, however, crept on Jiyong’s face as he realized the rationale behind the maknae’s action. Onscreen, just beside Seungri, 2AM’s Jinwoon, one of Dara’s fanboys, bowed his head in disappointment upon not being able to share a room with Dara.


“Why do you keep protecting Dara-sshi? You're like a human barricade that stands in attention every time she moves.” Myung Soo’s voice boomed from the screen. Jiyong’s smile grew wider as he looked at the maknae with such proud fatherly eyes.


“Ya, Seunrgi-ah! Why do you act like a bodyguard around Dara-noona?” Seunghyun asked, curious. Youngbae and Daesung all looked at Seungri who was just smiling mischievously while stealing glances at his contented hyung.


As if answering their question, Seungri’s loud and proud voice boomed from the screen.


“A mythical creature had summoned me to guard his beloved.”


The three boys all narrowed their eyes at Seungri, curiosity bugging the hell out of them.


“A mythical creature? What kind of mythical creature?” It was Kyung Rim who asked the question.
Seungri giggled as he anticipated his answer to that question which made the three boys grow suspicious even more.


“Oh, you know, a mythical creature that breathes out fire.”


Realization dawned at the three boys as their head turned to their smiling leader who, as earlier on, fumed like a scorned dragon.


“Oh, a dragon!”


Jiyong snickered. “Damn straight!” He cocked his head with GD swag.


“Do you care to elaborate on who or what dragon you are talking about, Seungri-ah?” Jiyong held his breath as he watched their maknae’s eyes twinkle with much deviousness.


The other members held their breaths as well, afraid of their maknae’s next words.


“Gureumeul gareugo dagaon G-Dragon!”


The BIGBANG boys’ eyes all grew wide at the audacity that their maknae showed. Jiyong, on the other hand, just smirked and leaned back on the couch.


Damn right, you fanboys! She belongs to me!


“Seungri-ah, can you please tell us who is this beloved the dragon has asked you to guard today?”
Youngbae, Suenghyun and Daesung all held on to each other, clutching their chest with one hand, all anticipating their maknae’s answer.


Jiyong’s eyes could not be pulled away from the TV screen. He could feel that it was just minutes away before the whole world finds out who his real butterfly is.


“I told you I won’t be dropping names.”


Youngbae, Seunghyun and Daesung all let out a sigh of relief.


But their breaths got caught in their throats as Seungri began singing a familiar song.


“I just wanna kiss… I never wanna miss…”


Jiyong felt his eyes watering as the whole studio erupted in thunderous applause. What the maknae did was indeed a defining moment for him.


Finally, everyone will know that my butterfly is none other than Sandara Park.








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






“Tabi…” Bommie let out a soft whisper as she watched the taped episode of Strong Heart. I looked at my best friend who was so surprised at the confession of Tabi on national TV. The girls and I were only able to watch the show just now because just like me, Bommie, CL-roo and Minji all have engagements they had to attend to last night. Good thing we were able to borrow a recording of the show from YGE.


Anyway, on with the show.


Tabi was telling a story, a very beautiful story. It was a story that touched my heart.


“I don’t know how long I have fallen asleep but then suddenly, I felt something land on my shoulder. As I looked at what that something was, I was surprised to see an angel sitting beside me with her head leaning towards my shoulder.”


“She had the most stunning face I have ever seen. Her skin was creamy white as if she has never gone out or have been hiding in a tall tower ever since.”


“I watched her as she peacefully slept, unaware that gradually, she already owned bits and pieces of my heart. We stayed that way, her sleeping innocently while I was watching her intently. It was then I felt that my heart was at peace and so I closed my eyes, leaned my head on hers and slept beside her peacefully.”


I looked at Bommie and noticed that her eyes were welling up even though she did her best to hide it.
“That angel is one lucky girl! She managed to catch Tabi.” I teased my best friend which made her cheeks flushed more.


“She is, Ssantokki. She’s one lucky girl.” Bommie whispered, her eyes never leaving the screen as she stared at the handsome face of Tabi, watching him with so much love and affection.


“I wonder who that angel is…” CL-roo trailed off and looked at me then Bommie then back to me then Bommie. She wriggled her eyebrows as if to hint that she already knew something. Bommie's cheek flushed a deep crimson red as she turned her head away so we wouldn't eb able to see the evidence of her giddiness.


“OMO! SEUNGHYUN OPPA WON!!” Minji jumped up and down as if she was the winner. I laughed at the playfulness of our maknae.


“My butterfly who almost flew away.”


I didn’t have to turn around in order to recognize that voice. I swear, everywhere I go, somehow something will remind me of the voice I have memorized and sketched in my mind.


“I met her way back my training days at YG, around 2004. It was late 2004 when she was introduced to me.”


“She wasn’t wearing anything fancy at all, just a pink shirt, simple jeans and sneakers. I don’t know why but she really caught my eye that day. It was probably her smile.”


“Neh. It was love at first sight. After that meeting, I found it hard for me to sleep at night. I kept on seeing her face repeatedly, even if I didn’t mean to. She haunted me every minute, every second ‘til I found myself growing restless until I have done what I had to do.”


“2005 came and we become closer to each other. She signed up for the same class that I had together with my best friend. I found out that she had the same dream as I have but was having difficulty reaching for her dream.”


I watched intently as Jiyong recounted the days we shared back then. My heart fluttered upon knowing that after all these years, after all the fame and attention he has gotten, he still remembered their simple days as trainees Kwon Jiyong and Sandara Park.


“She told me, ‘Ji, I would love to be like that butterfly. I’d love to spread my wings and fly away, fly away to a peaceful place where there will be no hurt or pain. A place I can call my own, where I can be myself without fear of people judging. A place where I don’t have to worry about harm or negativity. But I know that’s impossible because if I want to reach for my dream, I know I have to forget about that peaceful place I long to be in.'”


I chuckled upon remembering how I acted like a little child back then, dreaming of the impossible and wishing that no matter how impossible that wish may be, it might somehow come true if I prayed hard enough.


“I told her then that she could still continue on pursuing her dream without fear of feeling hurt, being judged negatively and being harmed. She laughed and punched me playfully, telling me that I was just joking around. But I was serious. That night, with the stars and the moon as my witness, I swore to her and myself that I would do everything to protect her and keep her away from harm.”


I felt a tug in my heart as I remembered the many times he did just that. I remembered the many times he had been there for me when I had selfishly asked him not to leave my side. I remembered the times he had cancelled his prior engagements just to accompany me in Han River, whenever our trainer scolded me for not being able to be at par with my other members. I remembered the many times he had made me laugh by making a fool of himself, uncaring even if people were throwing bizarre looks at him.


Most of all, I remembered the times that though he was already the famous G-Dragon of BIGBANG, he still remained the dorky Kwon Jiyong to me, the kid who would pout cutely just to get what he wanted, the boy who would smile with sparkling eyes whenever he would talk to me, and the man who have captured my heart with his genuine love and incomparable devotion.


“I love her. God I love her so much! There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to have her by my side and if only she knew how much it killed me to say all those things to her… I felt as if I was slowly dying while I was telling her my lies.”


I gasped as I saw with my own eyes Jiyong crying his heart out in front of national television. I felt my chest tightened as I saw pain in his eyes, the pain he had struggled not to show to me whenever we were together.


“... until now, I am still wooing her. I swore to myself that this time, I will never let my butterfly fly away from me again.”


I glanced to the TV monitor and saw the determined look on his face. I felt my heart starting to beat rapidly, as if it was the first time I saw him.









~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







“Kamsahamnida, SNSD and Jun Matsumoto! What’s this all about, Nichkhun-sshi?” Seunggi-sshi's voice made me look up to the TV screen. I was at the kitchen preparing sandwiches for Bommie, Minji and CL-roo when the hosts called out Khun Khun.


“Neh. I really have to thank them from saving us from a stampede.” I watched in amusement as Khun Khun shared the embarrassing predicament we had in Japan back then.


"... I was walking with a friend in Ikebukuro one night. We just had ice cream that night and we were on our way back to our apartment when suddenly, a flock of fans surrounded us. Even though we were in disguises, somehow they were able to recognize us.”


I chuckled as I remembered how we both panicked when fans piled up and gathered around us. I blushed as I remembered how I clung to Khun Khun's well-toned arms while he firmly held out his arms to protect me.


"They were asking for autographs, pictures and questions which we did not know how to answer.”
I saw my members leaned forward, intent on hearing each and every word than Khun Khun would say.


“What were the fans asking you?”


I heard our maknae giggling at Seunggi-sshi's face was focused on the TV screen. "Minkki-ah! You're too young for giggling at boys!" I as I stuck my tongue out at her.


"Unnie!!!" Minji blushed which made CL-roo, Bommie and I laugh at ehr bashfulness.


“A lot. They were asking why we were out when it was already midnight. They also asked if we were dating because they said that we look good together. They asked how long we’ll be staying in Japan. 
Those type of thi~~”


“Fans asked if the two of you were dating? You were probably out with a famous celebrity as well seeing as how both of you needed to disguise yourself and the fans thought you two looked good together.”


We all gasped in unison as Ho Dong-sshi caught the slip of Khun Khun.


I saw Bommie looking intently at the TV screen and though my heart was beating like crazy in fear that Khun Khun's slip up would lead to a birth of a news item, I couldn't help but be amused at how focused Bommie was in watching the show. Most of the time, Bommie spaces out so I was touched that her attention was intently focused on something other than corn.


“Neh, she’s a celebrity friend.” I gulped as I noticed Khun Khun starting to get nervous.


“She’s a member of a famous girl group.” I gulped once more and this time, I heard another gulp coming from my right side. I turned towards our leader, CL-roo whose face looked pale.
Damn it! I felt my beads of sweat forming on my forehead.


“MORE! MORE!” Seunggi-sshi taunted him which he replied to with laughter.


“ANI! ANI!” He waved his hands frantically which made all of us sigh in relief.


Khun Khun continued narrating how we were able to escape that sticky situation.


The girls and I were able to relax and watch the show normally as Khun Khun continued on. However, the playfulness of Ho Dong-sshi made us all look at the TV screen in horror.


“So you admitted to using six celebrities during your night outs with this celebrity friend of yours.” A sneaky smile crept up Ho Dong-sshi’s face and I felt myself suddenly shuddering in anxiety. “Does that mean you went out on six different night outs with this celebrity friend of yours who belongs to a famous girl group but will not be named?” 


I noticed Khun Khun stiffened and I couldn't help but let out a curse. 


CRAP! SH*T! DAMN IT! 


“Nichkhun-sshi, isn’t it in an interview, you admitted that you were the closest with Dara-sshi among the 2NE1 members?” Seunggi-sshi suddenly asked out of nowhere. I saw Ho Dong-hyung’s eyes lit up as if an idea came to mind.


DOUBLE CRAP! SH*T! DAMN IT! 


I was literally shaking now, afraid that at any moment, I would be peeing my fans. I was in a state of panic that I failed to notice my band mates all looked like they saw a ghost coming forward to take them. 


I felt my whole body trembled all over as I wiped off the beads of sweat that formed in my forehead. From that state on, all I could feel and hear was the rapid beating of my heart. 


The screams of the audiences, however, brought me back to reality. I looked around and saw Minji with eyes and mouth wide open. CL-roo, on the other hand, paced the room back and forth while Bommie, well, she was sprawled on the sofa as if she just fainted. 


"WHAT HAPPENED??" I asked CL-roo who was still pacing abck and forth. She looked at me with bewildered eyes and pointed towards the TV screen. 


"Nichkhun-sshi, let's repeat this again. This time, answer us honestly, arasso?" Ho Dong-sshi winked at the audience.


I moved closer and watched Khun Khun intently.


"Miss A's Suzy or Wonder Girls' Sohee." Ho Dong-sshi paused dramatically. "The person I love is..."


I gasped and my eyes grew wide in surprise. I wasn't expecting him to be asked that question but at the same time, I was quite relieved that I wasn't part of the choices so as not to create any more buzz.


But before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, Khun Khun's answer made my world turn black, literally.


"SANDARA PARK!"


BLAG!








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






I woke up and find myself lying in bed. I looked around and found Bommie, CL-roo and Minji all crowding around me with such worried looks that I felt bad.


"UNNIE!" Minji and CL-roo both exclaimed in unison.


"W-what happened?" I was confused as to why my friends were all worried about me.


"Ssantokki, you fainted after Khunnie announced on TV that he loves you."


My eyes grew wide once again as the realization of the earlier events dawned on me.


I jumped out of my bed and rushed to my laptop. With trembling fingers, I typed gingerly on the keyboard.


"Nichkhun loves Sandara Park" I typed in the keywords hastily and was greeted by tons of news articles regarding Khun Khun's shocking confession.


I clicked on the article hosted at Naver and scanned it immediately. I hastily scanned my eyes towards the comments section and read each one.




Drachir wrote today at 01:00 PM:
DARA-NOONA AND KHUN-HYUNG! WHAT A GREAT-LOOKING PAIR!


Crysane wrote today at 01:07 PM:
WAAAAAAAAA!!! You're so lucky Dara-unnie! I want to be Dara-unnie!!


SunKwoon wrote today at 01:13 PM:
KHUNDARA FTW!!! ♥




KHUNDARA??? What's that? I thought, confused.



Anonymous193 wrote today at 01:18 PM:
i love it!!! KHUNDARA! khun-dara!!! ^_^


Oh... that was it. I finally got what Khundara meant.


k8kim wrote today at 01:25 PM:
i still think g-dragon fits dara-unnie.. have you seen his confession at strong heart as well?


Confession?? I was totally clueless.


baddestBLACK wrote today at 01:33 PM:
@k8kim - I agree! I always felt that G-Dragon has something for Goddess D. Kkkkkkkk! ;>


Jhana_USA wrote in reply to baddestBLACK today at 01:55 PM:
well, it's KHUNDARAGON, then? hehe



And the comments came pouring in. Most of the comments were positive, agreeing that Khun Khun and I looked good together while some insisted that I looked better with Jiyong.


I felt my head spinning from too much stress and decided to lie again on my bed.


It wasn’t that long when I heard a collective gasp coming from the living room.


Out of pure instinct, I dashed towards the girls to check what the commotion was.


“What happened?” I panicked. Did Khun Khun say something more explosive than what he said earlier?


“Jiyong-oppa!” Minji hissed under her breath.


I turned towards the TV screen and zoomed in on the boy Minji was pointing at.


“Oh, G-Dragon-sshi! You know her schedule?” Nicole of KARA was giggling.


“Who are they talking about?” I asked Bommie who raised her eyebrow at me.


“What??” I was totally clueless.


“Oh, being the producer of 2NE1, of course, Jiyong would know about their schedule. Right, Jiyong-ah?” Tabi looked nervous but why? And why talk about us? What’s happening??


“Neh.” Jiyong answered coolly. 


“And she told me earlier about it when I visited her this morning. We even played in the snow.” 


And she told me earlier about it when I visited her this morning. We even played in the snow… I repeated the words of Jiyong.


… this morning… played in the snow…


A sudden realization hit me.


“You said that you visited Sandara-sshi this morning and you even played in snow?” 


I felt all the blood and bodily fluids were out of me.


“Neh.” Jiyong answered with a confident smile. Damn you, Kwon Jiyong! How can you keep cool when I’m on the verge of having a panic attack??


“But aren’t the two of you awkward with each other? In 2NE1TV and YGTV, you have the least interaction with her among the 2NE1 members and you have said in your interviews that you are not really close with her~~”


“Who said I’m not close with her? I never said I’m not close with her.”


My breath got caught in my throat.


“But, didn’t Dara-sshi say in her interviews that he was awkward with BIGBANG and not talking to you that much?” 


“You know how Dara-yah is. She can be very playful and loves to tease a lot.”


Gulp.


“Plus, how can I be awkward and not close with someone I have known since my training days? Didn’t she also say that we used to go to karaoke with Dong Wook-hyung for our noraebang sessions? And I don’t think someone who’s not close with each other would buy the same outfits and share accessories with each other, right?”


Heavy breathing. 


Rapid heartbeat. 


Hyperventilating.


“So, G-Dragon-shhi, let me get this right. Are you telling us now that you are actually close to Sandara-sshi?” 


Breathe in, Dara.

1, 2, 3.


Breathe out.


1, 2, 3.


“Neh. D-ah and I are VERY close with each other.”


BLAG! 






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






“UNNIE!” I woke up to Minji’s panicked voice.


“Minkki-ah. What’s wrong?” I asked, a little dazed. I looked around and found myself in my room but somehow, I couldn’t remember how I ended there. As far as I remember, I was at the living room watching TV with the girls…


“Unnie, you fainted.” CL-roo looked at me with concern.


“I did?” I asked, confused. But why would I faint when I don~~”


“OMONA!”


Bommie jumped from her seat and clutched TamTam, almost choking him.


“Bommie-yah, TamTam cannot breathe.” I looked at my daughter with concern.


“Unnie, are you sure you’re…” Minji started to ask me but my mind wandered off as I suddenly remembered Jiyong’s words.


Neh. D-ah and I are VERY close with each other.


OMO! I felt my heart beating frantically and I couldn’t explain what made it act that way.


Before I could have analyzed and dug deeper into the phenomenon of the frantic beating of my heart, I felt my phone vibrating.


“Yoboseyo?” I answered without looking at the caller’s name.


“Dara, come here in my office now.”


That was YG sajangnim. 


GULP.


I turned towards my friends and gave them a weak smile.


“Neh, sajangnim.” I answered meekly.


It only took me seven minutes to prepare myself.


“Wish me luck, girls!” I tried to sound cheerful as I made my way towards the door but I know my voice gave away.


My three friends took turns kissing and hugging me.


“We’ll be here for you, unnie.” CL-roo assured me with a smile.


I smiled and gave them my famous smile that pulled fanboys in.


I walked out of our apartment, out of our sanctuary and walked with my head held high.


Whatever it was that sajangnim would tell me, I will not let it get the best of me.








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





“Oh, good that you’re here now, Jiyong.” 


My eyes turned to tiny slits at the person who greeted me. Inside of YG-hyung’s office, Lee Soo Man-sshi stood dignified, his arms crossed in front of his chest.


I saw Yoona looked at me apologetically. I just nod and gave her a small smile.


“What is this all about, hyung?” I asked YG-hyung who was just sitting on his chair, watching us.


“I don’t think we should start yet. We’re missing one more person.” Soo Man-sshi butted in. I felt my eyes burning with fire at his mere voice.


Just then, the door opened and revealed Dara who was panting heavily, probably from running. 


“Mianhe! Mianhe!” She bowed to all of us in apology. She looked so lost that I felt a tug in my heart.


I took her hand and pulled her to my side, keeping her close to me. I felt the need to keep her away from the beast that stood a couple of feet away from us.


“Oh, good. The YG princess is already here. We can start now.” Soo Man-sshi spoke with a mocking tone that I felt my blood boiling. If it wasn’t for the gentle squeeze of Dara’s hand in mine, I would have beaten that man senseless.


“As all of you know, Jiyong made a confession last night on national TV.” Soo Man-sshi started. I watched him intently, trying to read his eyes but all I could see was bottomless pit.


“And that confession of his led to numerous calls and emails from our partner brands, the same brands that we have signed with to have Jiyong and Yoona as endorsers.” He looked at Yoona then settled his eyes on me. His eyes betrayed no emotion, just simply staring at me.


“Let me just say that they were not too pleased to found out that Jiyong here was “playing in the snow” with Ms. Aloha early in the morning when he should have been spending precious time with his girlfriend, Yoona.” He gave Dara a meaningful stare. I felt my blood rushing at what he implied.


“Yoona and I are not a real couple. We don’t have to spend our time together, Soo Man-sshi.” I told him in a low voice but still giving him respect though I believe he wasn’t deserving of it.


“But that doesn’t mean you have to spend your time with another girl, either. Do you know the implications of what you and Dara did if a netizen saw you, took pictures of you and spread those in the internet?” Soo Man-sshi retorted, still maintaining his business-like tone which annoyed me further.


“Our fans vowed to protect Dara and I. They haven’t spread a single picture of us in the net for years now.” I confidently answered them. Our fans, the VIPs and Blackjacks have swore to protect our relationship and we are confident that they would never break our trust.


“And what if those who see you are not your fans and just normal netizens? Do you think they will still protect you?” He laughed a little, as if amused with my argument. I felt myself heating up from his mockery.


“Don’t you think you’re taking thing a little too far, Soo Man-sshi? Aren’t we forgetting that all we are doing here is just plain charade?” My voice was getting higher as my patience was wearing thin and just before I could have blurted words that I would have regret later, I felt Dara’s soft touch on my shoulder, easing some of my anger.


“Ji, calm down. Don’t lose yourself…” She gently whispered to me as she kept her head bowed down. I looked at her and felt some of my anger melting as she gave me a meek smile.


“And here I am thinking we already have an agreement, Ms. Park.” My head shot up as I looked at Soo Man-sshi. He was wearing a smirk as he was looking at Dara.


I felt Dara’s hand grip my shoulder tightly as she let out a heavy breathing. That was a sign that she was trying hard not to show her anger.


I looked at her, confused at what Soo Man-sshi was trying to imply but she looked past me and stared intently at Soo Man-sshi, her eyes turned cold and unforgiving.


“I never said I agreed with what you wanted me to do, Soo Man-sshi.” Dara answered firmly. Soo Man-sshi let out a chuckle.


“Oh, so you’d rather see your Jiyong’s beloved career crumble just so you could ‘play’ in the snow with him. I didn’t know that behind that angelic face hides a selfish human be~~”


“Don’t you dare insult her, Soo Man!” I yelled, losing every little ounce of respect I had left for the man. “You don’t ing know her so shut it or else~~”


“Or else what, Jiyong? You’ll assault me? You will beat me senseless? You will sacrifice going to jail for that woman, HUH?! WHAT WILL YOU DO, JI~”


“Don’t you dare raise your voice at my artists, Soo Man!” YG-hyung stood up and banged his hand on his fists on his table loudly, creating a sickening “THUD”.


“DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YG!” I felt my veins were on the verge of popping out from too much anger as Soo Man snapped back. How dare him raise his voice at hyung! I didn’t even realize that Dara was struggling so hard to restrain me from attacking that mean-spirited fellow.


“OH, I WILL DARE TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, SOO MAN! IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN, YOU ARE STANDING HERE INSIDE MY BUILDING, MY OWN PROPERTY AND I CAN EASILY THROW YOU OUT IN A SNAP OF MY FINGER!”


We all grew silent, shocked at the sudden outburst of hyung. I have never seen him this angry before.


“I have been silent all the while, patiently listening to your rants, Soo Man but I will NEVER ever let you or anyone for that matter, raise his voice, insult or threaten my artists in any way.” He glared at Soo Man-sshi which silenced the mean-spirited fellow.


An awkward silence filled the room after hyung’s sudden outburst.


I looked at Dara and saw her lips quivering. She looked like a child who was struggling to keep her tears from falling.


I took a deep breath to calm myself. After doing so, I gently pulled her closer to me and held her in my arms. 


Damn you, Soo Man! I won’t let you hurt her again. 


I gently placed her head on my chest and caressed her back, comforting her. I felt hot tears escaped from her eyes and stained my shirt.


After awhile, Soo Man decided to break the silence.


“So what are we going to do about this, huh? What do you plan to do, YG? The advertisers are contemplating on pulling out their endorsements as netizens are now doubting Yoona’s and Jiyong’s relationship. What will be our damage control then?” Soo Man challenged. Before I could retaliate, the door suddenly opened and the person I least wanted to see walked in, barging in on our meeting.


““Yang Goon-sshi, let me take the five-step test to date Dara formally.” 


I narrowed my eyes at Nichkhun Horvejkul, appalled by his audacity. 


He turned to me and stared straight into my eyes as he spoke his next words, letting each and every word roll out of his tongue confidently.


“I’ll be your damage control.”