Seungri was sandwiched between the mama-san and Ryuji, with Hyomin, the CEO and Takagi-san sitting on the other side of Ryuji. Once the girls entered the room, the party officially started and Hyomin made room for a girl to sit between her and the CEO. He observed as the CEO pawed at the hostess’ bare thigh while he continued joking and bantering with Hyomin.

“You keep staring at Hyomin, do you not like any of my girls?” the mama-san asked in Hangul. Seungri turned to her with wide eyes and she puffed nonchalantly on her cigarette. “Don’t look at me like that. I married someone here but we broke up. I had to survive and look after my son.”

They chatted comfortably in their native language for a while. However, Seungri would steal (not so discreet) glances at Hyomin to check if she was OK. The mama-san soon caught on. “Are you the boy she left behind in Seoul?”

Without waiting for an answer, the mama-san squinted at him as she took a last drag on her cigarette. “Don’t think badly of her – I’ve taught her how to take care of herself. Just watch carefully-“ she nudged Seungri to look at Hyomin as she continued bantering with the CEO. “Men here like to think they are superior to women, even at work. They prefer to be treated like lords and with alcohol, things can get out of hand sometimes but Hyomin has learnt well. Just watch, if someone tries to touch her, she quickly reaches out to stop that but will respond by touching him – on the hand, shoulder, whatever. She never lets anyone touch her.”

Seungri nodded as he watched Hyomin do exactly as the mama-san had just described. What he had taught was flirting on her part was actually the way Hyomin defended herself from roaming hands. “And Ryuji is always on alert to protect her – he’s a really good boy.”

Seungri’s attention turned to Ryuji now. Although he was flirting and chatting with the hostess he had picked, Seungri saw that Ryuji seemed to be listening in on Hyomin’s conversation and kept looking at her through sideway glances. At one point, the CEO leaned forward, presumably to hear Hyomin better but he almost lost his balance and tried to reach for her thigh to hold him up. Seungri had never seen anyone react as quickly as Ryuji – he reached out to catch the CEO’s hand just before it landed on Hyomin’s thigh and helped him up with a friendly smile.

Finally, Hyomin went over to Seungri and the mama-san. “Aigoo Hyomin ah! Are you hungry? You’re losing weight again!” the older woman her cheek lovingly and Seungri was surprised to see Hyomin smile childishly. “What do you have in the kitchen today?”

Hyomin stretched her hand out to Seungri, inviting him along. He followed her quietly through the darkened hallways where many couples were making out – but he also noticed some of the girls give Hyomin discreet nods and smiles as they went pass. They finally arrived at the brightly-lit kitchen and an old lady grinned at Hyomin.

“Aigoo! Hyomin is finally here! Eat up!” she pushed a small bowl of spicy rice cakes to her and Hyomin grabbed it greedily. “Yah! Sit!” Hyomin told Seungri as she pushed a chair to him. There were a million questions in Seungri’s mind but he didn’t know which to ask first.

“Why do you know this place so well?” he asked as he picked up a toothpick and popped a rice cake into his own mouth. “The mama-san is a good friend. We met on my first visit here with Takagi-san and some clients. The mama-san basically taught me how to handle the men here.”

Seungri stared at Hyomin – she was so nonchalant about it. Is this what she had been putting up with? Just to drive our popularity here? Hyomin detected his mood shift.

“Don’t look like that – it’s not as bad as you think. Ryuji and Takagi-san both look out for me. It’s just that the clients like having me tag along for dinners and stuff since I’m the one who has worked the closest to all of you. They usually ask questions about all of you; if they can get autographs for their wives or daughters, that sort of thing.”

Hyomin laughed when she saw Seungri’s doubtful look. “It’s all good!”

“Well, if you say so. I don’t think the hyungs will like it though. You know how protective they are,” Seungri said, earning an awkward smile from her. “You just left – no calls, no texts… They haven’t quite been themselves too.”

“I think, they just need more time to forget,” Hyomin said carefully. Seungri gave her a scrutinizing look. “You haven’t moved on either. You miss him.” She blinked as her eyes threatened to tear.

Hyomin’s chest felt heavy with emotions. It had taken great self-control not to throw herself at Seungri and hug him tight. He was the first physical reminder in three months of the memories she had left behind, and what she was still working hard for. Yes, the YGEX team had been welcoming – Takagi-san and Ryuji took great care of her – but she still missed them. As much as she thought she would leave everything behind and move on, she couldn’t.

And somehow, she wished that Seunghyun wouldn’t move on too.

“Seungri ah, I do miss you all,” Hyomin allowed herself this little release and sighed as he pulled her into a friendly hug. He patted her back and released her again to look at her. “We all miss you too – as much as I hate to admit it, I only have Anri to argue with now. No one in YG comes close to you when it comes to bickering with me!”

“I don’t know if we can ever go back,” Hyomin said sadly as she finished the last piece of rice cake. “I don’t even want to imagine what it’ll be like seeing all of you together again when we film this CF here.” Seungri stood up and stretched his hand out to her. “We will eventually get there,” he reassured her.

Seunghyun focused his sight on the waiting vehicle as he walked briskly past the fans with their cameras. He thanked his manager as he crouched a little to board the MPV. Once the doors shut, he took off his shades and removed his earplugs. It was winter in Japan now and he was finally on the same land as her.

He recalled the emotional rollercoaster he had gone through during the meeting with sajangnim when he had announced that Big Bang was to film the CF in Japan. They even had a short teleconference with the YGEX team’s Takagi-san and each time Hyomin’s name had come up, his heart had skipped a beat. That distraction had ensured that Seunghyun left the meeting without full details – his manager had to brief him again separately.

The door slid open again, this time to let Jiyong into the vehicle. Seunghyun knew his friend was as apprehensive as he was to see Hyomin again. They were heading straight to YGEX for a meeting before a dinner engagement with the company’s CEO. Sajangnim had already mentioned how the people in Japan did business and Seungri had also provided some key information when he had flown back last week.

“Do you think she’ll recognize us?” Jiyong said drily. Seunghyun smiled softly, knowing Jiyong was as frustrated as he was that Hyomin had chosen not to contact any of them at all. Seungri had escaped interrogation just because their schedules had been totally crazy. “I don’t know – maybe your new hair color will throw her off but I should be fine.” Seunghyun said. The two guys exchanged looks and cracked into laughter. Look at us, nervous over a girl.

Just as Seungri had received a warm welcome when he had first visited, the YGEX staff was ecstatic to see all the members in the flesh. They were greeted by Takagi-san and some of the project team members at the lobby. After exchanging quick greetings, they were ushered to the conference hall where the rest of the team was waiting.

“Annyeong!” Hyomin greeted cheerfully almost immediately. While Seungri, Youngbae and Daesung gathered around her easily, Seunghyun and Jiyong both found themselves hanging back. Why was she behaving like there was nothing wrong? Like nothing ever happened? That it was natural to meet up again?

“Jiyong Oppa,” Hyomin smiled, “had a good flight in?” Jiyong walked up to her and hugged her tightly. Some of the female staff was staring enviously but he didn’t care. He only let go when Hyomin pretended to choke and cough. Jiyong was disappointed to see her eyes shift away from him to Seunghyun, who had been waiting behind him.

“Oppa,” Hyomin said, almost in a whisper. A small sigh escaped her lips but Seunghyun was already drawing her into a tight hug. Jiyong watched as both closed their eyes and his heart sank to see Hyomin’s hands tremble as she pressed them against Seunghyun’s back.

They pulled away from the hug but said nothing, just staring at each other for a second. Seunghyun’s eyes told her everything – anger, regret, sadness and worry. But Hyomin just smiled and turned to return to her seat towards the head of the table. Seunghyun watched her go and saw a guy staring back. Seungri had already mentioned to them about Ryuji and Seunghyun guessed that was him.

Jiyong had already found a seat and was staring at Hyomin as she turned back to her laptop, probably going through some files before the meeting. She was in a quiet discussion with Ryuji. He didn’t like how Ryuji would lean in so close to Hyomin – even if it was because the screen was so small and he just wanted to have a closer look.

The meeting went well with everyone clearly instructed on the next three days’ schedules. Big Bang will have a local manager assist them throughout and some emergency contacts. Seunghyun stared at the sheet before him – Hyomin’s name and number was there. While that was meant for the managers, he whipped his phone out and quickly entered her number. As he slipped it back into his pocket, he saw Jiyong doing the same.

When they had finally finished the two interviews which had been lined up by YGEX, Seunghyun was glad to know that they were now heading to a restaurant where the dinner was going to be held. He laughed to see Daesung ooh and aah when they arrived. The restaurant was housed in a refurbished traditional house and they were amazed to see a woman in a kimono come out to greet them. They walked past a few rooms from which they could hear hushed conversations or raucous laughter.

Their managers were also happy to be receiving the VIP treatment tonight. They entered the large tatami banquet room and were introduced to the CEO as well as his subordinates by Takagi-san. Youngbae and Seungri were already distracted by the maiko who was performing a traditional dance to the accompaniments of some musicians. After they were shown to their seats, Seunghyun was happy to see that there were two empty seats to his left. He noticed that Hyomin and Ryuji were not here yet so he could only hope that she will end up sitting beside him.

Right on cue, Hyomin and Ryuji entered, apologizing profusely for arriving late. Seunghyun’s throat clamped up when he saw the CEO wave Hyomin over and pour her a drink. She took the cup politely and drank it in one shot. She was now speaking to the CEO in Japanese and he couldn’t understand a word.

“She’s just doing her job,” Seungri whispered to his hyung. Ryuji had now settled in the seat beside Seunghyun and both exchanged greetings. Across the room, Jiyong had forced Daesung to translate as much as he could understand. He didn’t like how Hyomin was chatting so easily with the CEO and how he kept pouring alcohol for her. Dinner has not even started yet.

As the dinner went on, Seunghyun suddenly realized that Hyomin was the only girl and she was constantly going around to the company representatives to chat with them and pour them drinks. While most kept a respectful distance and didn’t try to behave inappropriately, he knew that the conversation was becoming less innocent as they drank more. Well, Ryuji thought he was just being a good host when he decided to translate every word to Seunghyun and Seungri so that they wouldn’t feel left out.

Seungri knew exactly how Seunghyun must be feeling – he had guessed just as much when he had first seen Hyomin in action. Across the room, he could also see Jiyong was fuming. He hid it well but they had known each other long enough to see past the facade. Seeing how upset his hyungs were, Seungri wondered if he had made the right decision to not have given them heads-up on how work was like for Hyomin now.

The dinner finally came to an end but the CEO was clearly not ready to go home. Takagi-san finally relented and agreed to go to the club with him but had asked that he spare the idols since they had to film the CF the next day.

“Sure, but Min-chan is not filming so she can come along right?” he reached out towards Hyomin but only managed to catch hold of her wrist. While the rest couldn’t understand what was being said, they could clearly see that Hyomin was caught in an awkward situation.

“I’m sorry but she can’t,” Ryuji said as he pulled Hyomin back and stood between her and the CEO. This did not go down well with the CEO who was already very drunk. Although he was swaying unsteadily, he managed to land a punch squarely on Ryuji’s left cheek. “Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?!”

Everyone was clearly stunned but Takagi-san was already pulling the CEO to a waiting car and seemed to be pacifying his anger. Seunghyun was fascinated to see Takagi-san turn back a last time to give Ryuji a discreet thumbs-up before hopping into the car. Hyomin was helping Ryuji up and checking his cheek.

“You had to use this tactic again,” Hyomin chided gently as she stood back to inspect the damage. “Looks like it was a soft one – no permanent damage.” Ryuji smiled as he dusted himself off. “Better that he gets angry at me than at you or Takagi-san. We all know that and we agreed that this is how we’ll roll.”

“Are you alright?” Jiyong asked Ryuji, although he was more concerned about Hyomin. Ryuji grinned and raised both hands up to show that he was fine. “It’s my duty – I’m noona’s knight!”

As transportation for the group was sorted, Seunghyun was sorry to have to part with Hyomin but he knew he would see her again tomorrow. Before Seunghyun could head into the shower, the doorbell rang. He was tired but decided to let Jiyong in.

“Hyung, Hyomin can’t stay here,” Jiyong said. Seunghyun stared back at him blankly. “She is only here because of us. Don't say that as if it’s easy. I don’t like having her go through that too. It disgusts me to know that she probably went through similar experiences many times to be so blase about it now.”

Seunghyun slumped down onto his bed and kicked off his shoes. “I’ll let go.”

Jiyong froze at Seunghyun’s words. All he had to do was agree and he could have Hyomin. His hyung was offering to back down.

“I’m not going to let you be the hero,” Jiyong said slowly. “If you let go, she’ll be heartbroken. But if I let go, she’ll be relieved. What she feels for me is nothing close to love. It’s just pity.”

Seunghyun stared at Jiyong silently. “That was pretty much what you said the last time too but look at what happened.” Jiyong nodded, not denying his words but this time he was ready. He wasn’t so selfish that he would leave Hyomin here in Tokyo. He wanted her safe and sound back in Seoul. Not here.

“I promise to play the role well and until the end,” Jiyong said with determination. “She’ll never love me, so this is the only way I can show her my love.”