italicized is English

~~~

I smiled as the boy pushed me on the swing. “Higher! Push me higher!” I laughed. He complied, pushing me as hard as he could manage. I felt like I was flying. It was so freeing. The boy laughed along with me, his eyes disappearing under the influence of his brilliant smile. Our laughter filled the summer air. When I was done on the swing, we laid in the shade of a giant tree, holding each other’s hands. We didn’t talk, just watched the clouds into the evening until we had to leave for dinner.

Every day, I met that boy in the same park where we’d play for hours then lay under that same tree. Over time, he became interested in singing. He would sing to me quietly as we lay there, his voice lulling me to sleep in the warm evening. He began to talk of becoming an idol. He wanted to perform for people. I knew he would do wonderfully as a star. As we lay under the tree one day, he was unusually quiet. No singing, no humming, not even a word was spoken.

“Oppa?” I asked quietly, squeezing his hand lightly. “Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” He sounded as if he were just woken from a daze. “But, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I’m…going to have to leave soon,” he whispered.

“What?” I sat up and looked down at him still lying in the grass. “Why?” He closed his eyes and slowly sat up.

“I’m going to be an idol. I got signed by a company and I’m going there to train so I can debut. I won’t be able to come here anymore.” He stared at me, waiting for a reaction.

“How…How long is it until you leave?” He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know exactly. Soon.” I sniffed as tears started to form in my eyes. He quickly grabbed my face in his gentle hands. “Hey. Don’t cry. I never want you to cry because of me. I want you to be happy.” He flashed me his brilliant and contagious smile. “Promise you’ll never cry about us not seeing each other.” I looked up at him with glistening eyes.

“I…I promise,” I whispered. He smiled and kissed my forehead.

“Good.”

That day marked the beginning of the end. Our times together in the park grew shorter and shorter until one day I waited for him and he never came. The next week I’d go and wait for a boy who never came. He was gone for good. I didn’t cry though. I had made a promise, and I intended to keep it.

That was thirteen years ago, when I was still in elementary school. I lost contact with him right after he left. I had no number to contact, not even his home. We had never thought to give our numbers to each other. I missed him, yes, but I never cried. I made a promise. Eventually, I went overseas to study in Japan. A major in entertainment with and emphasis in video design. He began to slip farther and farther from my mind with each passing day.

I eventually returned to Korea to start a career in the music entertainment industry. I searched company to company, seeing who would take me. I was denied by places like Loen and SM Entertainment, amongst many more. I was beginning to lose hope. If smaller companies wouldn’t even take me, what hope did I have? I was finally down to the last possible pace for me to check. YG Entertainment. Surprisingly, I had managed to get farther with them than any other company and today I had an interview with Yang Hyunsuk, the CEO, himself. I waited outside of the heavy wooden door. “Yang Hyunsuk CEO” was engraved in gold on the small black plate. With a deep breath and shaky hand, I knocked on the door.

“Enter,” called a strong voice. I pushed the door open and was faced with a gorgeous view of Seoul. I quickly shifted my attention to the man sitting behind a large wooden desk. He radiated confidence and authority. Exactly what you would expect from a CEO. I bowed 90 degrees. “You must be the girl here for a spot on the video committee,” he stated bluntly. I nodded.

“Yes, sir. My name is Hyun Jae. Shin Hyun Jae. It’s an honor to be able to speak to you.” He nodded curtly.

“Please, have a seat.” He gestured to a plush seat across form his enormous desk. I did, folding my hands in my lap to keep from fidgeting while YG sifted through paper on his desk. “Here we are.” He spread the papers on the desk: transcripts, essays, portfolios. “I’m intrigued by your experience, Hyun Jae. Internet video advertisements and assisting in minor TV commercials along with shadowing for music videos for lesser known idols. All of which have a unique twist or premise to them.”

“Thank you sir.”

“So, down to business.” He shuffled my papers to the side and pulled out another file, setting it in front of me. “This is a contract for YG entertainment that you will sign should you chose to join and work with us.” He slid the file to me and I took it, opening it to see a thick packet of papers. “Read over them thoroughly. I’ll be back in an hour to hear your decision. If you have any questions, you can ask them then.” He stood up and walked to the door. “Press the blue button on my desk if you need anything.” He stepped out and pulled the door shut. I sighed and leafed through the packet before beginning to read. The hour passed quickly and Hyunsuk returned. “So. Any questions?” He sat back behind his desk as I stacked the papers neatly together.

“No, Sir. It all seems fairly straightforward.” I smiled up at him and he returned it, nodding slightly.

“Good. So, what is your decision? Or do you need a day to think it over?” I shook my head.

“No time, Sir. I’ll gladly accept the offer.” He smiled, handing me a pen and pressing the blue button on his desk. A secretary came in and hovered over the desk.

“Witness,” he said in response to my confused glance. I nodded and quickly signed my name where indicated. “Beautiful. Welcome to the YG family, Hyun Jae.” He stacked the papers and handed them to the secretary who scurried off again before coming around his desk to stand in front of me. He extended his hand and I shook it firmly.

“Thank you, Sir.” He released my hand and I bowed.

“Now. How do you feel about being put on a job right off the bat?”

“Well, I’m fine with it, Sir. I’m here to work after all.” I smiled lightly.

“Bigbang. Why would he put me with Bigbang!?” I grumbled to myself as I pulled into the lot of the on-location shoot. “I know nothing about them! He could have at least given me a band I know for a first assignment…” I grabbed my hat and glasses then slung my bag over my shoulder before grabbing my clip board and notes. “Well…here goes nothing.” I grumbled to myself the whole way into the building. I really should be more understanding and thankful. After all, I did have a job. When I entered the building, I was met by a small, balding man.

“Hyun Jae?” He pointed at me and I nodded. “Um…No…Hangul good.” He shifted his weight around nervously.

“English?” He nodded frantically. “Okay. I speak English too. My name is Shin Hyun Jae. I’ll be assisting you on set for the MV.”

“Thank goodness! Okay. Let me show you around.” He led me through the halls that were still under construction. “Jiyong has a vision, so we’re trying to fulfill it, but we can’t seem to get inside his head. Maybe you can?” He looked at me with hopeful eyes.

“I’ll see what I can do. Is he here yet?”  The man checked his watch.

“He should be. He’s probably talking to the backup dancers/mob.”  I nodded. Mob?

“Where?”

“I’ll take you.”

“Thanks. By the way, I never got your name.”

“Alexander Carlson.”  He grinned up at me.

“Nice to meet you.” We made our way back to the break room rather quickly where a group of guys were standing around laughing.

“GD!” Alex called. A young man with a fashionista sense of style looked up at us then excused himself from the group before coming over to us.

“’Sup man?” He said happily.

“GD, this is Hyun Jae. She’ll be working with us in creation and fruition of the MV.” GD bowed to me.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Like wise. I was told you need help in design?” Alex took his leave and GD nodded energetically.

“Yeah. Can you help?” I pulled out my sketch book.

“Why don’t we find out?” He smiled and took me by the arm before pulling me into a quiet, furnished room. We sat down on the couch and he got us some water. “Alright. Let’s get this started.” For the next hour and a half, Jiyong explained his vision to me. Everything from set design to progression of the video to make up. I filled up quite a few pages of my sketchbook.

“This is exactly what I’m picturing!” he cried as he flipped through the pages of notes and sketches. “You’re amazing!” He smiled up at me.

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it. I’ll take these sketches to Alex and we’ll work from there.” We stood up and walked to the door.

“Thank you so much. This will be Bigbang’s best MV yet!” I laughed as he walked me out. I like this kid. “I’m looking forward to working with you more!”

“Same. I’ll see you soon!” I waved as I headed down the hall to find Alex, still looking over my sketches. I didn’t even notice the figure heading towards me until I bumped into him. “Oh gosh!” I yelled as I dropped my sketchbook and notes and stumbled backwards. “I’m so sorry!” I looked up to see who I bumped into, freezing when I saw his face. This…can’t be real.

“It’s not a problem,” he said in his soft voice. “I wasn’t watching either.” He smiled at me and his eyes disappeared, just like I remembered. He reached down and picked up my sketchbook, handing it back to me. “I’ll see ya ‘round,” he said before walking off. My heart sank. Had it really been so long that he forgot me? I sighed and continued to find Alex. This will be a long production…

Speaking of the production, it was going along well. Alex made the necessary adjustments to the set and costuming and everyone seemed pleased with how it looked. They guys of the group seemed to be having a lot of fun with the filming and that made me happy. Seungri, TOP, and Taeyang all came over to meet me, and they were some of the nicest boys I had ever met. It made me sad, though, that Daesung didn’t come over to talk. Maybe he really had forgotten me and all the times we spent together as kids.

“Alright guys! That’s it for today!” Alex clapped, getting all of our attention. “Be on location at six a.m. tomorrow for makeup and set up!”  I translated quickly and the boys all whined like kids for having to be up so early. I chuckled at them as I packed up my notes. Korea’s idols, ladies and gentlemen! After they were done complaining, everyone headed for their cars while Seungri came over to me.

“What’s up, Panda?” I used his affectionate nickname.

“They guys and I are going out for drinks tonight and we wanted to invite you!” I smiled as the energetic maknae.

“Thanks for the offer, Seungri, but I have some planning to do for tomorrow’s shoot.” He pouted and I reached up to ruffle his hair. “Don’t be like that. Maybe we can celebrate when the production is finished.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He grinned and hugged me before running off to TOP and GD. “What a kid…” I let out a sigh and grabbed my things, heading out for my car. When I got in, I just sat there for a few minutes, staring at noting in particular. How could he have forgotten? All those years of carefree play and chatter. I never once forgot him. Not even when I was with my past boyfriends, which is why said past boyfriends never stuck around long…I jumped, jolted out of my daze when there was a light tap on my window. I turned to see Daesung standing outside my car, so I rolled down the window.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack…” I mumbled.

“Sorry.”

“What do you need? I have work I need to do for tomorrow.” He shifted nervously.

“Um…could you give me a ride back to my dorm?” He gave me his puppy dog eyes. Some things never change…

“Aren’t you going with the guys to drink?” he shook his head.

“No. I want to take a shower and go to bed, but they won’t take me home.” He continued to pout. “So…can you drive me?” I looked at him for a minute, then sighed.

“Fine. Get in.” I unlocked the car and he smiled, hopping in the passenger seat. “You’ll have to tell me where to go.”

“Straight ahead!” It took about a half an hour to get to the dorms. Half an hour of uncomfortable silence. I was hoping he would speak first, but he seemed content with the silence.

“Well, here you go,” I said, breaking the silence. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He nodded at me and smiled.

“Yeah.” A moment of silence. “Thank you, Jae Jae.” He quickly got out of the car and headed to the door of the dorms, leaving me stunned in the driver’s seat. He called me Jae Jae…He was the only one to ever call me that. Not even my parents used that nickname. I got out of the car as quickly as I could. He remembered.

“DAESUNG!” He stopped, but didn’t turn around. I ran around the car to him, stopping shortly behind him. “Daesung…do you…remember me?” He turned slowly back to me.

“How could I remember you?” He asked softly. My heart broke.

“O…Oh…” I said quietly. You stupid girl. “Never mind…” I turned to leave again and felt his hand on my wrist. I tried to yank away, I had heard enough. “Please, let me go…” I couldn’t help the tears that began to fall down my cheeks. Remember you promise… But I couldn’t stop them.

“Jae Jae…you promised me, remember? You promised you’d never cry about me.” I froze. “How could I remember a woman I never forgot?” I turned to look back at him.

“Dae Dae…” He smiled at me before wrapping me tightly in a hug. I couldn’t do anything but stand there speechless as he held me to him.

“Hey there Hyun Jae. It’s been a while.” I let out a strangled giggle at his remark.

“I was so sure you had forgotten.”

“How could I forget my best friend?” He asked quietly. I smiled and pulled away from him to look at his brilliant smile.

“I missed you…”

“I missed you too, Jae Jea.” We stood there for a few more minutes, just smiling at each other. “So…do you want to stay over?” I grinned up at him.

“Sure.” He laced his fingers through mine and led me into the dorm. Imagine the looks on the faces of the rest of the group when they walked in and found us on the couch, curled up with each other and talking at three in the morning.

“Hyun Jae?” GD asked.

“Hi guys.” I waved at them from my spot next to Daesung.

“Guys, meet my good friend Hyun Jae. The girl I told you about.” He really didn’t forget.

“You mean the girl you never shut up about?” Seungri piped. I giggled when Teayang smacked him over the head. Daesung chuckled.

“Yeah. That’s her.” He squeezed my hand gently. “I finally found her again.” The guys all chuckled and went to go take a nap before the shoot.

“We’re going to be so tired tomorrow,” I muttered, leaning heavy on Daesung’s shoulder.

“Mhm. Hey, will you come with me for a minute?” I looked up at him.

“Where to?” He smiled and pulled me up with him. “Dae Dae?” He kept grinning.

“Come on.” He pulled me out of the dorm and up a set of stairs, opening a door when we got to the top. The door led us out onto the roof of the dorms.  “We can be alone up here.” I looked up at the sky to see the stars twinkling softly over the muted roar of traffic. “Hyun Jae…” Daesung whispered. I looked back at him.

“Yeah?”

“Hyun Jae…” He grabbed my hand in his. “I made a promise to myself all those years ago. I promised…I promised that I would find you again, and that when I did, I wouldn’t let you go again.” I was silent as I looked at him. With each of his words, I felt my heart swelling. “Shin Hyun Jae, will you stay with me? Will you be with me again?” He stared at me intently as I looked into his eyes. Stay with him? Does he mean…as a couple?

“Dae Dae…” I started, but he cut me off.

“We don’t have to be together if you are uncomfortable. I know we just found each other again after 12 years. Just…I just need your friendship again and I-“ I put my hand over his mouth.

“Daesung. Breathe. You talk too much.” I smiled and pulled my hand away. “I’m not going anywhere.” I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” I felt him pull me closer to him.

“Hyunki!” I yelled at the small child running around back stage.  “Come back here. Daddy will be done soon!” The small boy ran back to me, grabbing what he could of my hand in his small one.

“Momma? Are the Bigbang uncles here too?” I grinned at the boy.

“Yeah. You can ride on Uncle Seungri’s shoulders too, if you want.” He giggled but quickly started cheering when we heard the girls cheering. Bigbang walked down the hall from the stage, cheering and congratulating each other. Hyunki laughed and ran over to Daesung who picked him up and spun him around. Hyunki let out a delighted giggle.

“Daddy!” he cheered. Daesung kissed him and handed him off to the others before coming over to me.

“Good show, Jagi. The girls loved it, I could tell from their screams.” Daesung smiled and kissed me gently.

“Thank you. Now let’s go home.” We called Hyunki over to us and we each took one of our son’s hands. Years ago, I never would have imagined this life. Now, I can’t imagine anything else.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

FINALLY! I'm so sorry this took so long to get up. Life is crazy right now. I've started a workout schedule, I've got a job and I'm getting ready for a flight to New York.  ><

Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you guys like it!

Oh EXO COMEBACK! TBH, I'm kinda disapointed with Wolf, but hopefully, the rest of the album will be amazing. Aslo, I'm dissapointed in the EXOtics who were at Changsha airport when EXO arived. It's cool to be supportive, but those guys were scared and angry that their fans behaved in such a way. Honestly, people need to cool down and give them their space. They may be idols, but their people too.

Well, that's that. 

Hopefully I can get the next chapter of my story up before I leave for NY. Comments and subscriptions are much apreciated.