Chapter 18

“The girls are fine. Everyone is fine, no one got hurt.” YG stated.

“It was the largest earthquake so far. But the area that the girls are at didn’t get much damage. Although other parts of Japan got hit pretty hard.” YG continued.

“I called everyone here because of our girls and our Japanese fans. I plan on flying the girls back home as soon as flights are available. Their Japanese debut will be postponed for now.”

Everyone nod their head in understanding.

“As for our Japanese fans, I plan on donating money to their relief funds to help them. For now, all we can do is pray for Japan’s safety.”

“That is all for now. I just wanted to inform you guys of my plans because I know you guys are all worried about the girls.”

YG dismissed everyone.

“TOP still isn’t picking up his phone. I called many times and even sent him so many texts. Aish!” Daesung said as they all returned to the studio.

“Let’s just wait till he returns.” Taeyang calmly said.

“GD hyung has been quiet for too long.” Seungri said as he watches his leader quietly sit in the corner chair of the studio.

“Let him go. He’s just worried for his girl.” Taeyang replied.

2NE1

“Alright, so Japanese debut is postponed and YG wants you girls to fly back to Korea immediately.” Their manager said as he stepped back into the room after speaking on the phone with YG.

The manager then left the girls in the room as he went to check the airlines to see which flight they are able to take back to Korea as soon as possible.

After CL made sure their stylists and other workers were calmed and okay, she came back to her members who was huddle in a corner of the room.

Their manager relocated everyone to a safer place where all YG employees as well as 2NE1 were to stay in one area together.

“Everyone okay?” CL asks as she takes a seat next to Minzy.

Each member nods their head.

“What about you?” Bom asks as she pats CL’s head.

“Yeah. Dara Unnie, you sure you’re okay? Should we go to the hospital to get you checked up?” CL asks noticing Dara’s quietness.

“No, I’m fine. I’m just shaken up by what just happened. Don’t worry, I feel better just by being with you girls.” Dara replies.

“Minzy? You’re really quiet. Is something wrong?” CL asks as she notices their maknae did not say a single word since the earthquake.

Minzy nodded her head. “It just took me by surprise. Our fans, how are they? They were waiting outside for us.”

“Their okay. I asked Manager Oppa to make sure each of them were okay and send them home.” CL assured their maknae.

One of their stylists approached their girls to hand them each a water bottle and a snack.

“Girls, I suggest you all check your phones. Everyone back in Korea is wondering why you girls haven’t called or at least texted back.” Their stylist said.

“Our phones?” CL asked, searching her bag for her phone.

“Ah, yes. One of Big Bang’s stylists just called me to tell you guys that everyone’s trying to reach you girls.”

“Okay, thanks Unnie.” CL replied as the stylist returned to the other stylists.

“Omo!” Bom exclaimed at the amount of missed calls and messages she has.

Minzy and Dara both looked at their phones and also had many missed calls and messages.

Once CL found her phone, she opened it to many missed calls and messages but there was one person that she noticed didn’t call nor messaged her.

Each member called their parents right away to assure they are safe before replying back to anyone else.

“Aish, I told you for the past hour that I am okay. Stop worrying already.” Bom complained into the phone.

After a few more bickering, Bom gave up.

“Chaerin-ah, tell your oppa that we are okay and does not need to worry. He won’t stop calling me and I have to let my other family and friends know I’m alright.” Bom said as she handed CL her phone.

CL chuckled before taking the phone away from Bom.

“Oppa?”

“Ah Hunchae! Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt right? Is my Bommie okay? Is she hurt?”

CL couldn’t help but laugh at the many questions GD kept asking. He didn’t even let her answer before asking another question.

“Oppa!” CL cut him off before he could ask anything more.

GD went silent.

CL, laughed. “Oppa, we are okay. Bommie Unnie is also okay. There is not a single scratch on her or any of us. Aigoo, you’re asking so many questions.”

Jiyong chuckled a bit, he was over-worrying. He knew he could trust CL, she was a great leader. Of course, she would make sure nothing happened to her members. She always put her members before herself.

“Hunchae, are you really okay?”

CL could hear the seriousness in his voice. Why did he suddenly get so serious?

“Yes, Oppa. I am.”

“Hyung didn’t call you did he?”

CL couldn’t answer him. Jiyong always knew, she didn’t know how but he always knew.

Just as GD was about to press more, TOP walked into the studio.

“Hyung, where have you been?” Daesung exclaimed, standing up from his seat.

“Why?” TOP asked, not really interested in what got s riled up.

“You didn’t hear yet?” Seungri asked.

“We’ve been trying to reach you all day.” Taeyang said.

“What happened?” TOP asked, almost to the point of irritation with s pressing him for info.

GD sat there quietly, not saying anything, examining TOP and his irritated attitude. He forgot that CL was on the other line and could pretty much hear everything going on.

CL, on the other hand, felt her phone vibrate and looked to see that she received a text message.

“There was an earthquake in Japan, the biggest one so far. The girls are fine though but YG is trying to find flights to bring them back here right away. We figured you would want to know especially because Chaerin is there and all.” Daesung replied.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion for TOP. All he heard was earthquake and Chaerin.

“Hyung?” Seungri shook TOP lightly.

“Yah, snap outta it.” Daesung tried to get TOP out of his daze.

TOP looked up and his eyes immediately went to GD whom he noticed was on the phone.

“Is that them?” He asked GD, inferring to the members of 2NE1.

GD went blank for a second before remembering that he was on the phone with CL.

“Yeah.” GD simply replied.

“Are you talking to her?” TOP asked, meaning CL.

“Yeah” GD said.

“Can I talk to her?”

GD handed the phone over to TOP.

“Baby?” TOP said as soon as he placed the phone by his ears.

At that moment, CL was staring at a photo sent by an anonymous person.

The photo pained her greatly.

It was a photo of TOP hugging Shin Min Ah.

From the angle of the photo, it looked like TOP was hugging her back and they looked intimate.

CL could tell it was a recent photo because of TOP’s silver hair.

She didn’t know what to do; she just sat there staring at the photo.

“Baby?”

CL snapped out of her daze when she heard TOP’s soft low voice.

She tried to hold back her tears but her emotions overwhelmed her that she couldn’t hold in her tears.

Tears slowly fell down from her cat-like eyes.

“Chaerin-ah, why are you crying?” TOP could hear Bom say quietly.

CL sniffed as she quickly wiped her tears, “Something got in my eyes Unnie.”

“Babe?” TOP quietly said, wondering why CL was crying.

CL gave the phone back to Bom and quickly left the room to get some fresh air.

Bom was confused at her leader’s actions.

“Hello?” Bom said as she put the phone back to her ears.

“Noona, what happened to CL?” TOP quickly asked. “Why was she crying?”

“TOP? Wait, you just found out didn’t you? This whole time you didn’t know what happened and you just found out? Where were you?” Bom’s temper rising as she quickly connected the dots.

TOP stayed silent, he knew it was his fault for being M.I.A the whole day when his girlfriend’s life was in danger.

“I’m sure Jiyong told you about CL. She’s the type to hold in her emotions, it takes her awhile to confront anyone of her feelings. She’s the type to be the stronger person when we very well know she is just as scared as we are. But being the leader, she puts others before herself. That’s CL. We have to be able to know when she needs a shoulder without her having to tell us because we all know that she won’t ever tell us. I know you know this TOP.”

“CL may look fierce on the outside but we have to remember that she is still young. She has yet to experience all these stuff. You, of all people, should know this and always be there for her. I thought I could count on you. What have you been doing?”

Bom continued scolding TOP without letting him say anything in return.

TOP knew he deserved every scolding Bom was giving him. It was his fault and now CL was crying somewhere in Japan.

CL

She was outside, getting fresh air as tears continued to fall endlessly.

In her right hand, she clutched her phone tightly. She slowly lifted her arm and opened her hands revealing the photo sent by an anonymous person.

That photo broke her into a million pieces.

Shin Min Ah. She is one of Korea’s top beautiful celebrities that went overseas and also became successful there too.

Shin Min Ah. TOP’s first love that CL knew he had a hard time getting over.

CL knew this yet she still continued dating TOP.

CL knew she could never replace Shin Min Ah’s place in TOP’s heart.

CL knew that she can never even be compared to Shin Min Ah.

CL knew all this yet she dug her own grave and fell in love with TOP.

“Chaerin-ah.” Bom’s soft voice came as she walked to stand next to CL.

CL quickly wiped her tears and forced a smile on her face.

“Yes Unnie.”

“Don’t try to be strong in front of me. I know you’re hurting, I don’t know what the cause of it is but I know it’s hurting you.”

CL knew she couldn’t fool Bom. She also knew that she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t hurting when she was and she couldn’t bare it alone.

“Hug.” CL quietly whispered as Bom quickly wrapped her arms around her leader.

It was then that CL broke down once again. Bom tightened her hold on her fragile leader.

Big Bang

“What happened?” GD asked as TOP returned his phone.

“She’s crying.” TOP said.

“Who? Hunchae?” GD asked, “Why is she crying? She was fine when I was talking to her.”

“I don’t know. It’s my fault, I made her cry.” TOP sat down on the sofa, putting his hands on his knees, as he buried his face in his hands.

s looked at each other, no one saying anything.

It then hit GD, “Wait. Hyung, you said CL was crying?”

TOP nodded his head.

“This can’t be.” GD said as he went into deep thinking.

“What do you mean hyung?” Seungri asked, curiously.

Taeyang, the ever observant one, finally caught on to what GD meant.

“CL never cries, not in front of others that is.” Taeyang said.

“No one has ever seen CL she a single tear before.” Daesung said as he tries to think of an incident when CL cried but he couldn’t come up with any.

“The only person who has seen her cry before is Jiyong.” Taeyang said as all s look towards their leader.

TOP, listening to all this, also looked towards his leader.

“Hyung, is this true?” Seungri asked.

“Yeah.” GD simply said.

“Only you?” Daesung asked.

“Yeah.”

The members just looked at their leader, waiting to hear the story from him.

“It was during her trainee days when YG hyung were training the girls day and night without any rest. He was especially hard on CL because she’s the leader. He criticized everything the girls did. He scolded CL on every mistake she made as well as her members mistakes.”

The members of Big Bang got comfortable into their seats as they listen closely to their leader’s story.

“YG hyung really wanted the girls to be successful. He wanted to break that stereotype that YG has a curse of girl groups debuting from YG won’t make it. That’s why he was hard on the girls during their trainee days. He wanted to prove everyone wrong. So he trained the girls real hard and once he made CL the leader, he became harder on her.”

“One day, I came with hyung to watch the girls practice their debut song. It was real good; you could tell they practiced real hard. I had no doubt that their debut would be a success. But hyung, being the one to never say anything nice, told the girls how ugly they look. I could tell that his statement hurt the girls. I could see Dara Noona trying to hold back tears and Bom Noona was trying to comfort Minzy.”

“CL just stood there, holding her grounds. She didn’t show any emotion by what YG said. When hyung left, CL comforted her members and told them to take a break. Her members then left to grab a snack, hoping it would make them feel better. CL stayed behind and practiced more. She was putting too much force into her moves that she twisted her ankle and fell to the floor.”

“Hunchae!” GD exclaimed as he ran to CL.

GD then tried moving her arm so he could examine her ankle but CL swatted his hands away.

“Oppa, I’m fine. It’s just a small sprain, I can still practice.”

CL tried getting up but slumped back down to the floor from the pain of her ankle.

“Let me help you!” GD said frustrated. He knew she was holding it all in but he wanted her to let it all out.

It’s not good to hold everything in. It will eventually explode.

A minute of silence then CL finally broke. Tears streamed down her face.

GD hugged CL, “It’s okay, let it all out.”

After a couple of minutes, CL calmed down.

“Thank you Oppa.”

“No problem. Don’t you feel better now that you let it all out?”

CL nodded her head. It did feel great, she felt as if a weight has been lifted off of her.

“So the fierce leader finally breaks huh?” GD joked.

CL lightly chuckled.

“You can’t keep taking the weight on your own Chae. I know as a leader, we must be the stronger ones for our members. That is true but you can also consult in your members when you need to. You don’t have to consult them as their leader but you can as their friend.”

CL just nodded, taking in the advice from her senior.

“If you can’t do it then I’m always here for you. As a leader myself, I know what you’re going through. Don’t take what hyung says to heart. You know he’s not the type to give compliments to our face.”

With that said, they sat in silence as CL took in what GD told her.

“Okay, now let’s go get that ankle checked on then we can feed our Baby Rin some ice cream as a reward for all her hard work.” GD cheerfully said as he got up and held out his hands to help CL up.

CL smiled, took GD’s hands as she stood up, not bothering the pain in her ankle.

“So CL does have break downs.” Seungri said.

GD nodded.

“She seems so fierce and charismatic that it’s hard to picture her crying.” Daesung said.

“Hyung, I told you before and I know you don’t have short-term memory.” GD spoke with seriousness in his voice.

TOP lifted his head to look at his leader and nodded in agreement.

“I suggest that once she comes back, you find out what’s going on.” GD said as he stood up and left the room. 

Our leader is crying TT.TT I don't know but I tried to emphasize more on CL and how her personality is in this chapter so you guys can understand her actions later on in the story. I honestly would rather NOT write about anything sad but it's like the of the story so I must force myself to write such sad chapters.