Kwon Ji Yong is now standing outside the CEO's door. His back is on the door and his eyes are looking empty towards the hallway. To his right, a secretary is looking at him weirdly and to his left, his manager is bugging him about his meeting.

"So? So? Do we leave now empty handed or do we get something?" The manager presses for the umpteenth time. 

Jiyong is still silent, unable to make any words out of his mouth. He is still while his brain is running around his head trying to make sense of everything.

'Please, Mr. Kwon. This is my plea as a mother. Please leave her out of your world. Please don't let the media eat her again' Yunshik's words are repeating in Jiyong's head.

Hyuri, Jiyong loves her. That's a fact. She loves him. That's another fact. But why? Why on earth this happen between them?! When everything turns out sweet and beautiful, the truth just had to come out and ruin the paradise.

Jiyong feels his pocket vibrates and instinctively fishes out his phone. 'Love' was flashing across his screen with her smiling face in the background. His grip on his phone hardens. He wants to answer, he wants to confide his worries and pain to her, but he knows he couldn't. He knows he shouldn't. So instead, he rejects the call.

"Take me home, hyung" Jiyong finally says.

"What? Answer me first, you rascal! What happened?" The manager grows impatient.

"I'll tell you once we got home. I need to breathe" Jiyong answers lifelessly and with that, the manager knows not to push further and lead Jiyong back to their car with people's eyes following their steps. 

Jiyong opens the door to his apartment and walks in, all the while his manager follows him closely from behind. The manager keeps on peeking to his face, wondering what's going on but has no guts to ask.

Jiyong drops his body down onto his black leather sofa with his eyes still empty and his mind wandering somewhere else. This is a rare view for the manager as Jiyong is known to always be on his toes, focused and ready. This Jiyong is confused, troubled and lost. This is a new side of Jiyong that the manager had never seen before.

"So are you going to tell me or do i have to torture it out of you?" The manager tries to sound demanding but it still comes out like a little pleads full of worry.

"They don't need a spokesperson, hyung" Jiyong answers monotonically. "Their product has nothing to do with me nor BigBang. If they want to help us with the technical stuff of our stage, where would we be able to put their name? They won't get as much exposure compare to what they would've put in into our stage."

"But... They're the one who called us! That's just stupid! Do they think we have a lot of free time that we can just go whenever they want us to come?!" The manager blows. "To think that I would consider to negotiate the payment?! Hah! Them and their corporate asses! Think they're better than us? That's---"

Jiyong lifts a hand and the manager immediately stops his ranting. "I have a headache, hyung. Can you clear up today's schedule? I think I need a day rest"

"Are you sick?" The manager leans down and reach out to Jiyong's forehead.

Jiyond quickly leans away, "I'm just tired. Please, hyung"

The manager sighs, "Arra. Call me if you need anything"

The manager hasn't had more than three steps when he halts and digs down his front pocket to retrieve his ringing phone.

"Yeobuseyo, Seunghyun-ah" he answers.

"Hyung, are you with Jiyong?" Seunghyun asks with urgency.

"Err..." The manager peers at the lifeless Jiyong. "Yeah, I'm still with him"

"That bastard" Seunghyun mumbles to himself. "Can I talk to him, hyung?"

The manager sighs, "Why don't you call him yourself?"

"I would if he could just ing answer his phone!" Seunghyun yells frustatedly.

Jiyong tilts his head slightly to face the manager. "Tell hyung to call me using his number, hyung"

"You heard him?" The manager addresses Seunghyun.

"That tard" Seunghyun grumbles. "Thanks hyung" he says before he hangs up.

Only a second pass before Jiyong's phone ringing loudly. The manager gives him an unimpressed look. "What's going on? Should I be concern?"

Jiyong shakes his head before he answers the phone tiredly. Before he says a word of greeting to his hyung, he waves his hand dismissively towards his manager who snorts and leaves the apartment.

"Where the are you?!" Seunghyung blurts loudly.

"Are you with Hyuri?" Jiyong asks nervously.

"Heck yeah I'm with her! I'm with her since this morning and---"

"Can you get out of her earshot?" Jiyong asks.

"What? Why?" Seunghyun calms for he notices the pain in Jiyong's voice.

"Because I don't want her to notice my tone" Jiyong says softly.

Seunghyun sighs and walk out of Hyuri's room silently, leaving the girls wondering. "What's going on, dude?" He asks once he is out of the room.

"I'm ed" Jiyong answers.

"Why?"

"Because I love her too much that it makes me selfish"

***

Hyuri is pacing back and forth. Her eyes are glued onto her phone and her hair is a mess after she rolls around her bed to vent her frustration. She hasn't had any news from Jiyong and it's killing her. What did her uncle said to him? Was it all really a business venture or was it something else?

"Grab something to munch, at least" Mina picks up a bagel.

"How can I eat when Idol is possibly locked somewhere in a dungeon where my family tortured the living daylight out of him?!" Hyuri let her imagination got the best of her.

"Come on! It won't be that dramatic! Even my mother wasn't as dramatic as that!" Mina sighs.

"It could happen! It could happen!" Hyuri yells and stomps her feet.

"Alright alright" Mina raise her hands, "Fine, it could happen"

"Are you serious?! It could?! Oh my God! What am I gonna do?!" Hyuri fla