Seunghyun stared at Hyomin. Although his forehead was beaded with perspiration from running up the stairs, Hyomin smiled at him calmly and took a step back to allow him into the apartment. He walked in to the living area and saw her half-packed luggage spread open on the floor.

"Don't mind the mess, I didn't think you'll be coming by," Hyomin called from the kitchen. Seunghyun stared at her as she emerged with a tall glass of iced water for him. "How can I not come by after what just happened? You were crying in that dressing room with Jiyong and suddenly sajangnim is packing you off to YGEX. I love you, of course I will be here!" Seunghyun took the glass from her and took a few quick gulps.

Hyomin turned back to her packing while Seunghyun watched her finish up. She rolled her luggage carefully near her front door. Seunghyun caught hold of her arm and turned her to face him. "Hyomin ah, talk to me."

"Tomorrow, I'll leave for Japan. I don't know how long I will be there and when I'll be back. But I do know that us being together is causing our good friend to be in pain. And if we continue, it'll get worse and start affecting even Youngbae, Daesung and Seungri. As their hyung, can you allow that to happen?" Hyomin said calmly, meeting Seunghyun's eyes.

Hyomin wasn't sure where she had gotten her confidence from but she was going to have the final say today. "I'm sorry oppa, but I think we need some time apart. There's no solution to this problem - maybe his feelings for me will fade, or maybe you will get tired of waiting. But let me start in Japan afresh."

Seunghyun glared at Hyomin one last time before walking out from her apartment.

Daesung could only watch as Jiyong finished his eighth glass of whiskey. Straight down - it was a total waste of such good liquor but Jiyong wasn't in the mood for appreciating the fine taste. He slammed the empty glass onto the counter, causing the bartender to jump a little but the discreet staff continued on with their work as though nothing had happened.

"Hyung, stop drinking," Daesung pleaded as he tried to pry the bottle away from Jiyong. It wasn't even ten at night and already, Jiyong was on the verge of blacking out. Just as Jiyong was about to slip off his chair, Daesung was surprised to see someone else catch himand sit him back firmly in his seat. He looked up to see Seunghyun settling comfortably on the other side of Jiyong at the bar. "Whiskey, neat."

"Hyung," Daesung greeted softly, acknowledged only by a quick nod from Seunghyun. Jiyong was awake and staring at the pale liquid in the glass before him. He twirled the ice around for a bit, listening to the quiet clink. Seunghyun nodded his thanks to the bartender who served him his drink. He took a sip and paused to savour the taste properly. He set the glass back down on the counter before bringing it back up to his mouth to drink it all in one shot.

"She wants to start afresh," Seunghyun said as he took the bottle from Jiyong and poured himself another drink. "She cares so much about what you think that she wants a clean break, to think things through," Seunghyun downed another shot and poured another. Jiyong was groggy and his eyes were like slits. He rested his head on his palm and looked at his friend. "So i have a chance?"

Seunghyun glared at his drunk friend who turned away only to down another shot of whiskey himself. "You were the cause of it all! We agreed, no hard feelings - we'll respect her decision and she chose me. Why did you have to ruin it?"

Jiyong sneered and stumbled to his feet, losing his balance and leaning heavily on Seunghyun's shoulder. "Because I am human and I have feelings too. I underestimated what I felt for her, I couldn't move on. For the first time, I felt pain in my chest," he thumped hard, right above his heart. "Right here, everytime I saw her with you. I felt joy when she saw only me when we were writing songs together. I felt free and happy when I am with her and I really want her to be mine. But I didn't mean for her to be sent away."

Seunghyun pushed Jiyong back into his seat. Daesung caught Jiyong by the shoulder to steady him; Seunghyun's shove had been stronger than necessary. "My feelings for her are no less than yours, so what entitles you to this self-pity when she had already chosen to be with me? You planted doubt and uncertainty in her. You know she respects you as both a friend and mentor and you took advantage of that. You are the..." Jiyong shoved Seunghyun in his chest, cutting him off mid-speech.

"Yah, I took advantage of that. I know she cares as much for me. But you're pushing the blame to me? If you really love her as much as you claim to, then protect her. Fight and keep her by your side. Or will that tarnish your cool-man image? Afraid that Big Bang will be no more? That without the group, you'll only have your acting and nothing else?" Jiyong shoved Seunghyun again. "I have much more and can offer Hyomin a lot more than you can now. But still, her first choice was you. Maybe she regretted it after thinking over rationally that's why she wants a clean break."

Seunghyun was raging now and swung his fist up high. He only stopped when Daesung jumped in front of Jiyong in the nick of time. While the two men had been exchanging heated words, he had texted Youngbae and Seungri to come over. He could now only pray that his reinforcements will come quickly. The group could not handle another in-fighting.

"Hyung, please! Calm down!" Daesung said as he hid Jiyong behind him while imploring the slightly more sober Seunghyun to sit down. This time, Daesung sat between the two and let Jiyong lean on his shoulder. His eyes were now half-closed and was on the verge of nodding off.

"Daesung, I will never let the group fall. And Hyomin feels the same way - she will continue to support us and will want to see us together," Seunghyun said, taking a glance at the sleeping Jiyong. "He's really into her this time, huh? Thought I was a better man for Hyomin since Ji has not been treating girls as well as they deserve... I might have been wrong."

"Hyung, what are you talking about? Hyomin loves you, we all can see that," Daesung said but Seunghyun patted his back. "It's still early days, better to nip it in the bud than to prolong the pain. It'll all be ok if she falls for Jiyong. I think he'll be able to love her properly." Daesung blinked. He wasn't sure if he was hearing right but Seunghyun seemed to have just declared he was giving up on Hyomin.

Seunghyun could feel a lump form in his throat. He had said it. If Jiyong can't give Hyomin up, then he will. He is an actor after all. He will learn to smile in front of them and let her go. Seungri and Youngbae had arrived just in time to hear Seunghyun's confession and while Youngbae was too afraid to say anything, Seungri was taking purposeful strides towards Seunghyun.

"Hyung! Don't be an idiot! While you are dreaming in your tragic leading male role, you are forgetting that Hyomin has feelings. Feelings for you! You're just like sajangnim, talking as if she's just an object you can pass around. We are not kids at a playground, she is not a toy you can just give to Jiyong because you feel sorry for him!" Seungri shook Seunghyun hard and they almost fell when Seunghyun slipped from the chair.

Youngbae pulled Seungri back and the maknae straighthened his shirt. He clenched his teeth and stared at Jiyong and Seunghyun. "I can't believe my hyungs are selfishly thinkinf only of themselves," Seungri muttered. "That Hyomin is an even bigger idiot..."

It was nearly 8 in the morning and Hyomin was dressed for the airport. As promised, Sajangnim came to fetch her personally in his chauffered car. She looked up at the apartment one last time - it wasn't farewell, she'll still be back occasionally and eventually, she'll move back to Seoul. She drew her jacket tighter around her as the chilly autumn wind blew. Her last fond memory with the boys was in summer. That was also when she had admitted for the first time that she had feelings for Seunghyun.

Feelings which now had to be packed away in a box and locked away in a small part of her heart. Feelings which had hurt Jiyong and had threatened to tear the group apart. Feelings for which she now had to atone for by making sure the group got bigger and more successful.

"Are you ready?" sajangnim asked as Hyomin settled into the seat. She smiled and took the folder that he had extended to her. "We're going to hit the ground running the moment we touch down. Here's the schedule."

Press conference announcing her move to YGEX, meeting with the YGEX staff at their building and orientation to her new home. That was an easy start but her eyes widened when she saw the other page with her to-do list. She looked up and saw sajangnim grin. "Don't worry, you'll be taken very good care of over there. How much risk you want to take is all up to you."

As they pulled up at the airport, Hyomin took a deep breath of Seoul's autumn air. Good bye Seoul.