It took JiYong a few seconds to remember where he was when he woke up. He looked around the room in confusion until everything came back to him. He was at Jodi's house. He had fallen asleep before she started the movie. How lame.

Looking down at himself, he saw that he was still fully clothed and on top of the covers. Must have been more tired than I thought, he told himself as he wiped his hands over his face. Pulling his hands back, he saw black streaks. I didn't even take off my makeup.

Shaking his head, he sat up and stretched. By the closet door, he saw his huge, red Birkin bag, with his phone charging on top of it. She's so thoughtful, he thought as he touched his heart and smiled. Looking at his phone, it was 9a.m., and way earlier than he usually rose. He answered a few texts and looked at his schedule. It was clear. There was nothing on it. Just to be sure there wasn't a mistake, he called MinJung to clarify. Nope. Not a mistake. G-dragon, one of the biggest stars in Asia, had nothing to do.

Digging through the bag, he pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He threw them on the bed, and they landed next to the pile of clothes that Jodi had left behind. Black track pants, a white, v-neck T, and a black zip-up sweatshirt. JiYong looked back and forth between the clothing choices, and decided on hers. He put his clothes back in to his bag and put it in the closet. He twisted the knob and noticed that the lock was on the inside. Strange, he thought once again. With a shrug, he went to take a shower.

When he came out, Ebah was waiting for him outside the bathroom, ready for a display of affection. He rubbed her soft fur and scratched her chin. It was very quiet in the house and he didn't see Jodi around. “Where's your momma, girl?” he asked, not that he expected a response. He called Jodi's name a few times, but got no response. Remembering what she said about the sound system, he walked over to the intercom and hit the bar. “Jodi?”

A few seconds later, he heard loud music get shut off. “I'm in my studio. Come on up,” she answered. So he did.

Jodi's studio was pretty much what he expected. The walls were all painted white, there were more large windows and skylights. The view was breathtaking from up there. Easels were stationed at different places around the room with paintings in varying stages of completion. Jodi herself, though, was wearing all white for a change, an apron, safety glasses, and wielding a staple gun.

“Morning, nampyeon!” Jodi waved him over. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did,” JiYong said, eyeing the gun warily and keeping his distance.

“What? No 'good morning' kiss for your beautiful wife?”

“Not as long as she's holding on to that,” he told her, nodding to the thing in her hand. Jodi looked down at it and rolled her eyes. For his peace of mind, she set the gun down. With that done, JiYong felt comfortable enough to walk over and kiss her on the cheek. “What are you doing?”

“Building canvasses. I like to do oddly shaped pieces from time to time. It's easier if I just do it myself. Cheaper, too.” JiYong moved around, looking at the in progress paintings. A landscape of the mountains around Seoul, a good look at the river behind her house, and an abstract likeness of Ebah. The painting closest to him was a still-life of an apple, an orange and a bunch of grapes. He looked at it curiously, because it didn't seem like her style, based on the ones she had pointed out at the museum.

Jodi came over to stand by him and bumped her shoulder against his. “Boring, isn't it?” she said with a smile and nod at the painting.

“Uh, I wouldn't say boring, but I didn't think it was your taste.”

“It's not. Still-lifes are the basics, though,” Jodi explained. “If you can't paint a believable apple and orange, then painting might not be your thing. I do them every once in a while to keep me sharp. You know, brush up on my technique.”

JiYong nodded along while he kept evaluating her space. Like everything else he had seen in her house, it was clean and organized. Sure, there was paint splattered everywhere, but he could tell she took care of the space. Along one wall, there were two doors, one black, one white. “What are those?”

“White door is the bathroom, black door is my darkroom.”

“You develop your own pictures? I thought most photographers use digital.” JiYong stood in front of a window, staring down at the water below. He felt Jodi come beside him and reached to hold her hand.

“For work, I do. But for my own pictures, I prefer film. There's a texture that digital doesn't have. Digital is sharp, film is softer,” she explained as she took off her apron without letting go of him. JiYong's eyes caught on something to his right on one of the side tables and gasped. With an amused look, he lifted and wiggled a box of cigarettes. “You caught me. I am, in fact, not perfect,” Jodi said with her head hung is feigned shame.

“I can't give you a hard time. I smoke, too. I'm just surprised.”

“It's not every day, but there are mornings when I come up here, watch the sunrise, and a cigarette just seems like the perfect way to start the day.”

“Watch the sun rise?” JiYong said with a shiver.

Jodi laughed and pushed her hair behind her ears. “I usually wake up around 5 a.m. I go for a run from that bridge,” she pointed to the JinPu Bridge, “to that one,” she pointed to BeopGot Bridge in the opposite direction. “I shower, wake Soo and the boys up, make breakfast, then go about my day.”

“Busy woman. You must drink as much coffee as I do,” he joked.

“No, but I do take naps.” JiYong looked at her in surprise. “What? I don't know why that's so controversial. If my schedule permits, I lay down for an hour before the boys get home. I need to outlast them,” she finished with a shrug.

Her phone rang before JiYong could say anything else. “Hey . . . You got the things? . . How much did you get? . . Alright, fine. If that's all there was . . . How much this time? Okay . . . Come on in. I'll meet you out front.

“Do you want breakfast?” Jodi asked JiYong after she hung up. It took JiYong a moment to nod because he was still trying to make sense of the conversation he had heard. “Cool. I've gotta get something from a friend, I'll meet you in the kitchen.” And then she was gone.

* * * * *

Jodi came back upstairs with a huge smile on her face and waved around a bag of . . . “Persimmons?” JiYong asked aloud.

“Hell, yeah! These are the best persimmons in the world,” Jodi responded excitedly. She ran straight to the sink to rinse a couple off. “I have no idea where the ahjumma gets these, but I'm pretty sure the devil is involved. That's my theory. Want one?”

JiYong nodded and Jodi dried one off for him. He bit into it and had to agree, it was delicious. The persimmon was at the perfect stage between crunchy and juicy. Jodi moaned in ecstasy as she bit into one herself. “I'm telling you, cater to my sweet tooth, and I am yours for life.”

Good to know.

Jodi clicked through her iPod and choose her Putumayo playlist of world music to motivate her to cook. She dug around in the fridge, gathered ingredients and swaying to the music all the while. “Do you do everything to music?” JiYong asked.

Jodi smiled shyly and nodded. “It's quiet here without the boys running around. It's a big space, and music helps fill it so it won't seem so . . .”

“Lonely.” JiYong finished for her. Their eyes met and held. How very telling, Jodi thought. She was going to say 'empty', but . . .

Jodi nodded slowly. “Between the rocking sound system and the parties, I keep it full.”

“Ah, yes. These supposedly epic parties that I have never heard of. Do explain,” JiYong taunted, leaning back in his seat.

“I'm telling you, my house is the best-kept secret in Seoul. This building is Switzerland. People from any company are invited. There are no rivalries here, no fan wars, no rankings or ratings. It's mainly celebrities, so there's less chance of anything leaking out.

“BINGO night is the first Monday of the month. Second Tuesday is English Night. That's when we native English speakers get together and watch movies with no subtitles.” Jodi pumped her fist with joy. “Those are the only fixed ones, but there have been 'Fajita and Margarita' nights, slumber parties, movie nights, 'Par-tini' nights. That's when I play bartender and make a menu of martinis to choose from. I throw bar-b-ques in the backyard, stuff like that.

“The most epic, is the Halloween party. There's usually a theme, last year was 'Angels and Demons'. I clear everything out of the downstairs studio and call in kegs, heavy security, crates of alcohol and catering trucks. I lay mats and stuff on the second floor because the rule is, 'if you're drinking, you're staying'. It's a safe and secure environment, and it gives them a chance to go crazy without fear of paparazzi. It's invite only. No plus ones.”

“Wah, so cool,” JiYong mumbled as she handed him a plate of sliced fruit. “Does this mean I'm invited?”

“I'll consider putting you on the list.”

* * * * *

After eating, JiYong lingered at the dining room table, mindlessly twirling his coffee mug. “What do you have planned for today?” he asked between spins.

“It's a quiet day for me without the boys. I want to hang some art prints. The walls look without the family photos. I have some editing to do, and I need to do the mock-ups for the shoot with YoungBae and Luna. Having it all in my head does my assistants no good,” she joked. “What about you?”

“Not much,” he responded, still staring into the empty mug. I guess I could go in to the studio. I told HyunSuk-hyung twice a week, and I've already done that. Aish, I don't really want to go home. There's nothing to do there. At least if I'm here, I have someone to talk to that I want to talk to. Maybe I'll drive down to Dolce Vita and see my parents. No, I don't really want to do that. I guess I could stop by and see Bae—no. Can't do that either. Damn. I guess I could—

“Would you like to hang out here today?” Jodi cut in.

JiYong's eyes snapped up and he looked her her curiously. “How do you do that? It's like you're reading my mind.”

Jodi smirked and scratched the back of her neck. “Situational awareness.” JiYong tilted his head to the side in question. “My daddy was a cop, right? He drilled into me a healthy dose of paranoia. He had three rules. 'Always know where you are, always be aware of shifts in moods around you, and always know how to get home.' Part of the 'be aware of shifts in mood' is the situational awareness. Picking up on details, noticing the undertones in conversations and body language, that kind of thing. Like the guy from 'Psych', but not so dramatic.

“That being said, your hair was wet when you came in to the studio, meaning you showered this morning, and not last night. I had to look in your bag for your phone charger—sorry, I have a iPhone and yours was beeping—and I saw you had another change of clothes. You chose to put on the ones you would never be caught dead in outside of here. You lit