Hyomin let herself in to the dance studio quietly and bowed to Lee Jae Wook. The resident choreographer smiled and motioned her over. She smiled and greeted him again while the trainees continued with their dance practice.

Jennie was keeping up with everyone but she couldn’t keep her eyes off Hyomin who was in a discussion with Jae Wook, occasionally looking and pointing at some of the trainees before jotting notes down into her notebook. She remembered the first day when Hyomin had joined in their training and Jennie had been one of the first to badmouth Hyomin on her age and preferential treatment. None of the trainees had expected Hyomin to drop out of training only to return as a creative producer of YG. In the short time she had been “training”, Hyomin had built good relationships with the key people in YG and was doing well now directing Big Bang’s and 2NE1’s stages. Even Jiyong Oppa has her photo.

Jae Wook called for a break and Jennie sat down together with her friends. “I heard that Hyomin unnie is looking to involve some trainees in Big Bang’s comeback stage,” Jennie overheard someone whisper. “This could be a chance to be noticed and debut! Is it the MV or the live stages?”

While excited chatter swept through the trainees, Jennie watched as Hyomin seemed to have finished her discussion with Jae Wook and left.

Jiyong frowned when he saw his phone vibrate with an incoming call again. He knew who it was and he threw the phone back into his bag. Across the table, Hyomin had raised a brow at him and Jiyong looked away uncomfortably. Just as sweet silence descended, his phone vibrated back to life again.

“Why don’t you just pick it up?” Hyomin asked gently, even as Jiyong puffed his cheeks out in irritation and dug into his bag for his phone. This time, he turned the phone off.

“Sorry, no more distractions, I promise,” Jiyong said as he leaned forward in his seat and looked straight at Hyomin. The meeting went well enough, except for the times when Jiyong saw Seunghyun flirt subtly with Hyomin, thinking none of the members had noticed. None of them did, except for Jiyong – only because he couldn’t take his eyes off Hyomin.

But Hyomin knew too, that he had been watching her. She would catch his grin that will appear half a second too late to be sincere, the playful quip that sounded too forced towards Seunghyun and herself when the others teased the couple, and the guilty eyes which would turn away as soon as hers met his. Am I imagining it? Jiyong said he was OK, right?

With everything in order, Hyomin was ready for the formal meeting with sajangnim the next day. Daesung and Youngbae were already debating what to get for dinner while Seungri was on the phone with Anri asking if she could join them for dinner. “That must be Gina!” Hyomin said when she heard the knock at the door. She was about to pull the door open when it swung inwards, surprising Hyomin that she lost balance.

Almost in slow motion, Hyomin saw a surprised trainee watching her fall. Just when she thought she would hit the floor, she landed against a firm body. “Are you OK?” Jiyong asked. He had cushioned her fall with his whole body, too late to catch her in a manlier manner. Seunghyun was already pulling Hyomin to her feet and checking her from head to toe for any damages.

“Ya! Who knocks and opens the door without waiting for an answer?!” Jiyong said angrily at Jennie who was bowing and apologizing to Hyomin. Hyomin looked back at Jiyong who was still sprawled on the floor and scowling. Thanking him again, Hyomin turned to the trainee who by now looked near to tears. Hyomin frowned and shook her head gently at Jiyong who just turned away and went to a side with Seunghyun. She wasn’t sure too why Jiyong had burst out so angrily.

“Don’t worry, your Jiyong Oppa is just tired because I kept him in the meeting for so long. Sorry that you had to bear his frustrations,” Hyomin said as she patted Jennie on her back. Hyomin then turned to the boys and clapped her hands to get their attention.  “For Big Bang’s stages and MVs, we’re going to have our cute trainees join us to give them some experience. Be nice to your dongsengs please!”

Even as Youngbae and Seungri cheered and started quizzing which trainees were joining them, Hyomin could have sworn she saw Jiyong’s eyes flash with anger at Jennie.

Hyomin was puzzled – why was Jiyong being so uncooperative today? He had not been in a good mood since they had started shooting the MV this morning. Even now, Jiyong was behaving too coldly toward Jennie who had been paired up with him for this scene and she could see that Jennie was getting affected too.

“Shall we take a break?” Hyomin whispered to the director who sighed in defeat and nodded. Jiyong leaped up from his seat and strutted off to the dressing room. The rest of the members knew that it was best to leave him be for a while. “Jiyong Oppa! Jiyong Oppa!” Hyomin called as she gave chase. She caught up with him just as he shoved the door open and kicked at a chair.

“What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?” Hyomin asked as she picked up the chair and placed it back in its original position. It was only when she took a good look at him that she noticed Jiyong’s hands were shaking and he had a pained expression on his face. She rushed over and gripped his hands tightly. “What’s wrong, oppa?” Hyomin asked again, this time more gently. “Are you not feeling well?”

“Hyomin ah, I’m sorry I lied,” Jiyong said in a choked voice. “I’m going crazy.” He pulled Hyomin into a rough hug and held on tightly, looking up at the ceiling to stop his tears from falling. “I’m so sorry.”

Please don’t say it. Please don’t say it.

Hyomin stood frozen as she felt Jiyong’s body shake as he choked back his wretched tears. She could feel his fingers dig hard into her back and waist but she couldn’t pull away. “Hyomin ah,” Jiyong said after he had calmed down. “I hate seeing you with hyung.”

Hyomin pushed him away and put her hand out, almost as if not wanting him to come near her. “Don’t say it. Jiyong Oppa, please,” she said as she took a step back. “Please oppa, you can’t say it.”

Jiyong took a step forward while she backed away again. “I love you, Hyomin. And I don’t want anyone else to have you.”

Jiyong caught her firmly in his arms and pressed his lips against her. He could taste the faint sweetness of her gloss and her hair gently tickled his cheek. But she refused to yield to his kiss and it was then that he felt the slight dampness on his cheek. It was her tears.

“I’m sorry I hurt you oppa,” Hyomin started but the loud bang of the dressing room door made both of them jump.

******************************************

"Oh, Jennie! What's the hurry?" Youngbae asked as the trainee ran straight into him. Her eyes were wide with shock and her lips were trembling. Seunghyun and Daesung had joined him and were listening to Jennie. "I got a shock because I saw Jiyong oppa and unnie in the dressing room... I didn't know that they were..."

The three guys were puzzled, not quite understanding her nervous chatter and decided to check on them in the dressing room anyway. "Do you think Jiyong was shouting? That's why Jennie got scared?" Daesung asked as they reached the dressing room.

 “Hyomin ah,” they heard Jiyong say. “I hate seeing you with hyung.”

Daesung and Youngbae quickly exchanged looks and instinctively prepared themselves to hold Seunghyun back. “Don’t say it. Jiyong Oppa, please,” they heard Hyomin say “Please oppa, you can’t say it.”

“I love you, Hyomin. And I don’t want anyone else to have you.” Daesung and Youngbae leaped forward to block Seunghyun from rushing into the room. They were no match for their hyung and could only hold him back for less than 10 seconds.

They scrambled after Seunghyun into the dressing room and were taken aback at the sight before them - Jiyong holding onto a tearful Hyomin. That scene didn't last long as Seunghyun closed the distance in three long strides. "You bastard!" Seunghyun growled as he swung his fist hard against Jiyong's left cheek. It was chaotic as Daesung and Youngbae pulled Seunghyun off Jiyong who had fallen to the ground and Hyomin had to help push Seunghyun away. Their loud shouts had drawn curious staff to the dressing room and soon the managers were here too - all demanding an explanation on what had happened.

Hyomin had to call order to things and cancelled the shoot for the day. While she had to stay back to rearrange the schedule with the film crew again and to apologize, the members were all rounded up and sent back to YG. Seunghyun was bundled into one car with Daesung and Youngbae while Jiyong was in the other with Seungri. The boys were silent throughout the whole journey back but their managers kept exchanging concerned glances between each other. Almost at the same time, all the members and managers received a text.

Meeting at sajangnim's office at 2p.m.