I know some of you are already waiting for your chance to strangle my best bud, Jiyong hyung. Believe me I know how you feel. You guys aren’t the only one who wants a piece of him (this time though not of his playboy, swoon-worthy !).

That same night at Club NB 2 Fridays ago after Jiyong hyung’s announcement of finally finding his “masked lady,” I was carefully observing Dara noona.

The moment that I realized that noona saw hyung walk inside Club NB with a beautiful lady that night, I saw an abrupt change on noona’s once excited and happy face. The shine in her eyes was soon replaced by panic, confusion and hurt.

That look in her eyes gave her true feelings for my hyung away.

Dang! I feel so guilty. I so wanted to bash hyung on the head for making me part of his silly plan. Honestly, I don’t really see any reasons for him to make things this complicated. Why not ask Dara noona instead, right? That would be a lot easier.

It was a week after Seunghyun hyung’s wedding when Jiyong had told Youngbae and I that he had already “unmasked” his “masked lady.”

Youngbae hyung and I didn’t believe him at first. As far as I’m concerned, it was a well-kept secret. Just then, I saw Youngbae hyung giving me one of his did-you-say-anything-to-him questioning look.

So I instantly threw him one of my own how-dare-you-accuse-me-of-leaking-a-secret look and arched one of my brows at him. Youngbae hyung was about to glare me his reply when Jiyong  hyung put us off.

“Yah! You two! Just what are you both doing?” He questioned us.

“Us? We’re not doing anything. Aren’t we Youngbae hyung?” I guess I must have sounded a little guilty on that.

Me and my darn big in’ mouth.

The next thing I knew, Jiyong hyung, who was sitting right across Youngbae hyung and I narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. After a few seconds, he gave the same stare at Youngbae hyung. Then I got a painful nudge from Youngbae hyung’s elbows on my side.

“I’m sensing that you know something about this that you’re not telling me. And I’ll give you this chance to redeem yourselves.” Jiyong said in a considerably low and calm tone.

Youngbae hyung and I held our silence. My lips are sealed.

“Come on spill. Or do you want me to use force for you to do my bidding?” This time, Jiyong hyung wasn’t that calm anymore.

Youngbae hyung and I kept our silence still.

“ Lee Seunghyun!” Jiyong hyung’s voice boomed on top of our silence. He slammed his closed fist on our table sending Youngbae hyung and I to jerk a little from our seats. I turned to look at Youngbae hyung who was holding onto his usual poker face.

“Well”  Jiyong hyung continued to ask both Youngbae hyung and me.

“Ask him.” Youngbae hyung was pointing at me.

“You know me, I don’t try to meddle with someone else’s business.” Youngbae continued.

“What?” I just couldn’t believe that Youngbae hyung bailed out on me instead of helping me out here.

“You’re on this as much as I am, may I just start reminding you, Mister-I-don’t-meddle-with-things!” I told Youngbae hyung.

“I said I tried not to.” Youngbae hyung replied calmly.

“Still..”I swear I want to wring Youngbae hyung’s neck that very same moment.

“Cut it out you two! Just tell me what you know. I am losing my temper here, you know.” The dragon butted in.

I sighed.

“Okay, here goes nothing.” I silently said to myself.

And so, without any more delays, I told Jiyong hyung what I know about his “masked lady”. I told him how and when I found out.

“Can I just say that I was the last one to know about this?” Youngbae hyung informed Jiyong after I finished with my story.

“You’re not! Cause I seem to be the last one to know about it.” Jiyong hyung corrected him.

“Not so.” I corrected both of them.

“Seunghyun hyung and Bom noona doesn’t know yet.” I supplied them.

“I can’t believe you guys didn’t tell me.” Jiyong said in frustration.

“Well, can’t blame us on that. We had fun keeping the secret from you.” I grinned at him.

“Thank you for laughing at me.” Jiyong hyung gave me another glare.

“How did you find out it was Dara then?” Youngbae questioned Jiyong this time.

Just then, a thought shot through me. As far as I know, there was only one way for Jiyong hyung to find out.

“OH. MY. GAWD. You kissed Dara noona! Not the usual kinda friendly kiss on the cheek that you two always do but the..!” I stopped in shock.

“You don’t need to continue, Seungri. We all know how Jiyong devour his girls with kissing.” Youngbae said.

“When did this happen?” I curiously asked.

“After Bom and Seunghyun hyung’s wedding. I took her home, remember?” Jiyong answered.

“Wait! Wasn’t she drunk that night?” Youngbae asked further.

“She was.” Jiyong replied.

“You took advantage of her in that state? Jiyong hyung! What’s with you?” I couldn’t help saying.

“I did not! She was actually the one who came on to me.” Jiyong defended himself.

“She finally had the guts, huh?” Youngbae murmured.

“She was so drunk that she doesn’t know what she was doin’ anymore. She even stripped her gown and didn’t make any move to dress herself again. Believe me, it took a lot of courage on my part not to look and touch her.” Jiyong breathed in a sigh.

“She got in front of you? She must really be drunk then. But man, you got lucky that night.” I tried to stop myself from sounding too excited about the turn of events.

“How did the kiss happen then?” Youngbae asked.

“Well I was telling her to at least put on something to cover herself up. Like I told you earlier, she came on to me. She told me to kiss her.” Jiyong narrated.

“And of course you did just that.” Youngbae said quietly.

“I didn’t have any choice. She pulled me for that kiss.” Jiyong defended again.

“And after the kiss? What happened then?” Youngbae questioned Jiyong again.

“She passed out on me.” Jiyong answered.

“What a way to end that much awaited kiss. Surely that was a bummer considering that a lot could happen after that.” I said grinning from ear to ear.

“Seungri! Even if she didn’t pass out, I wouldn’t have taken another step further after that kiss.” Jiyong defended himself for the nth time that night.

“So, what do you plan on doing now? It has been a week since that happened. Have you talked to Dara yet?” Youngbae asked.

“Not much. I think she’s trying to avoid me.” I heard Jiyong say.

“What do you mean?” I asked this time.

“Well, it’s actually like this.”

And so, Jiyong began to relate us the morning after.

“Shame on you, Jiyong!” Youngbae uttered in disbelief.

“Yes! Shame on you! But then again, that was some story you cooked up.” I said.

“So what’s next?” I added.

“I have a plan and I’m going to need your help on this one.” Jiyong said and started to tell us about his plan. Youngbae hyung and I settled on our seats and listened.

***

“Oppa! I’m surprised that you’re already awake. It’s not even lunchtime yet.” I immediately my heels when I heard her voice coming from behind me. I was enjoying my cup of coffee at the pool area two days after Jiyong introduced Renee.

“Minzy! You’re here. And you’re early. I didn’t know you were dropping by.” I tried to say with my usual calm voice. I reached up for a kiss. And I try to hold her closer and prolong the kiss. While I did this, I saw Minzy’s eyes close as mine looked up towards the sliding glass doors.

“Oh God! Please make her stay inside.” I prayed.

“Wow! That was some kiss.” Minzy says when she pulled herself away from me.

“I’m on for another one.” I teased and pulled her back.

“Much as I want to, I have to settle myself with the one that you just gave me.” Minzy refused my offer.

“So, what made you come then? Did I forget that we’re supposed to go somewhere?” I asked her.

“No, silly. I just thought of dropping by. But you can come with me if you like. I’m going to see Dara unnie.”

“What’s up with her?”

“I just want to check up on her. I haven’t heard from her since that night at Club NB.” Minzy said worriedly.

“Oh, I see.”

“Do you think that we should tell Jiyong oppa that he got the wrong girl?” Minzy asked.

I just kept my silence and continued to sip on my coffee.

“I’m sure unnie’s devastated.”

I was really not paying much attention to what Minzy was saying. Inside my head, I was still hoping and praying that “SHE” wouldn’t show herself in another couple of minutes. Or else.

“And that Renee! If I know, she’s just on for a ride with Jiyong oppa’s story. Don’t you think she’s only after oppa’s money?” Minzy asked.

And just then, I figured I didn’t pray harder for “SHE” was coming out from the mansion that very second wearing the skimpiest 2 piece bathing suit.

“Daesung ah.” SHE called.

I’m afraid this is the end for me. Adios! Sayonara! Paalam! Goodbye world!!!

Jiyong hyung! I swear I’ll hunt you down for this.

“Renee?” Minzy uttered in disbelief.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know you’ve got company, cuz.” Renee said.

“Cuz?  Kang Daesung. What’s the meaning of this?” Minzy turned to look at me with a deadly glare.

“I can explain.” I really do. Honest!

“Uhhh. Ummm..”I tried to say.

“Well?” Minzy prodded.

“Can I just call Seungri?” I asked.

“Don’t try to be funny with me Daesung. It doesn’t suit you.” Minzy replied and her brows started to lace into a straight line.

I had no choice. It’s either I won’t tell Minzy the truth then she’ll have my head and hide, or, I tell Minzy the whole truth and live and breathe again. I opted to tell the truth. Hey! I still want a life okay? I’ve realized just now that I haven’t done much for myself since I’ve been practicing that 15 hour sleep of mine, so I promised myself I’ll cut down my sleeping hours to, say, 14 hours instead of 15? Well a lot could already be done in an hour, mind you.

“So everything at NB that night was just a hoax?” Minzy asked after I told her the truth.

“It’s all part of Jiyong hyung’s plan.” I said to her.

“I hope I did justice to my role.” My cousin (Yes, you read it right! She’s my cousin.) Renee (Ji Min in real life) said.

“Oh yes you did missy.” Minzy assured her.

“Sweetie, don’t you recognize Renee” I mean Ji Min?”I asked Minzy.

“ Ji Min? You mean you’re Ji Min?” Minzy couldn’t keep her shock from knowing who Renee really was.

“Yup. It’s me Minzy. And it’s really nice to see you again.” Ji Min replied as she came up to my girlfriend giving her a hug.

“I hardly recognized you. I mean, honestly, I still can’t believe it’s you.” Minzy excitedly says.

“Better believe it cause it’s really me.” Renee did a model-like pose flaunting her “new” self.

New self, you might be wondering? Well Renee, or Ji Min is my cousin from my mother’s side of the family. When we were much younger, she used to look like a geeky girl who wears big-rimmed glasses and dresses like one too. And she was, fat. Okay not fat. Chubby. She was also quiet and doesn’t socialize much.

The rest of Bigbang would always play tricks on her until she just breaks down and cry. Actually not all of us were that cruel with her. Although Jiyong hyung would join in with the teasing, he would always be the one who’d ask us to stop. You know Jiyong hyung he had always had a soft spot when it comes to women. Be it in any kind, shape or size.

But before we entered middle school, Ji Min’s family moved to London. Since then I haven’t seen her since. Until I was surprised when Jiyong hyung told me that he saw Ji Min in HK (note: that piece of story which Jiyong told us at NB is actually true!) When I came to pick Jiyong hyung up from the airport coming from his trip in Hong Kong and saw him with a beautiful girl in tow, I just actually shrugged my shoulders and said to myself that he’s back to his old ways.

But then this girl who had her arms wrapped on Jiyong hyung’s arms suddenly broke free from my brother and ran towards where I was standing. The next thing I knew, she had flung herself at me and hugged me real tight. So tight that I could hardly breathe. And then, she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I was so shocked after what she had done that I couldn’t think of anything to say to her that immediate.

“Umm..Welcome to Korea.” That was the only thing that I could think of saying. Fine laugh at me! Well, I am a man of few words!

“Oh Gawd! It’s good to be here at last Daesung ah!” The beautiful woman said with her foreign twang.

“You know my name?” I couldn’t help asking. But then it dawned into me that hyung must have told her about us here. So SLOW, aren’t I?

“Of course.” She said with a smile.

“She does Daesung.” Jiyong hyung said as he stood beside the woman standing right in front of me.

“Must have told her already about us here, right?” I said.

“I actually told her what she missed while she was away.” Hyung replied.

“Huh?” I was honestly clueless. I was suddenly lost.

“You don’t recognize her, do you Daesung?” Jiyong  hyung asked me as he sensed my confusion.

“I can’t believe you don’t know who I am. And we claim to be cousins?” The girl said.

“We? Cousins?” I was still clueless. I can’t remember any member of my family who looked this good.

“It’s me, Daesung. Ji Min!” The girl revealed excitedly.

“What???” My voice croaked. “Ji Min?”

“She is. I too couldn’t believe it when she came up to me at a restaurant in HK.” Jiyong hyung told me.

“How? Why? Oh. My. Gawd. Ji Min! It is you.” I finally was able to resurrect myself from that pit of darkness that I was in for the whole 10 minutes.

“What happened to you?” I couldn’t help asking.

“Well I got rid of a few pounds during my teens” Ji Min said and blushed.

“Few? You lost a LOT of weight.” I still couldn’t believe that my cousin was such a looker.

The three of us ended at my mansion coming from the airport.

“So how did you two meet again?” I asked as we settled ourselves at the den.

“Jiyong oppa was lunching on his own when I asked if I could join him. I actually thought that he looked familiar.” Ji Min started.

“We got into a conversation and introduced ourselves. Well, actually I introduced myself first.” She continued.

“As Renee.” Jiyong added.

“But when he said that his name was Jiyong, I honestly almost screamed. That’s when I told him that I am Ji Min, your cousin.” Ji Min’s excitement couldn’t hold her down.

“Oh yeah, I remember your mom already addressing you as Renee when they visited us here a couple of years back.” I recalled.

“That’s my English name.” Ji Min replied.

“Anyway, I asked Renee to come back with me here in Seoul. And thankfully she agreed.” Jiyong hyung continued to say.

“So, are you here for a vacation? My mom would be happy to see you but my parents are in Japan right now. If you want I can fly you there.” I told Ji Min.

“There’s no need for you to bother with that, oppa. Besides, I’m really here to help Jiyong oppa.”

“Help hyung? With what?” I asked.

“Remember what we talked about at NB before I left?” Jiyong asked me.

“Oh, your plan, you mean?”

“I convinced Renee to help us on this and play the role of my “masked lady”. Jiyong hyung explained.

“Actually, Jiyong oppa doesn’t need to convince me further. I owe him that much for being nice to me when we were younger. Among the fiveof you, Jiyong oppa was the only one who was nice to me.” Renee said.

“Well yeah, only when you’re around. You should have heard him saying some nasty things about you behind your back.” I tried to enlighten my cousin that hyung was NO SAINT.

“I’m actually aware of that but he was still the one who’d make you stop making fun of me.” Ji Min rescued hyung’s back.

“See, it really pays to be nice to women.” I heard him say.

“Oh enough of the past. It’s really good to be back home and it’s nice to see you again, cuz!” Ji Min happily said.

“It’s good to have you back, Ji Min.” I caught myself saying in all honesty.

“It’s Renee now, Daesung oppa.” She corrected me.

“Renee it is.” I smiled at her. I wonder if Seungri would recognize her. I can’t wait to see what his reaction would be when he finds out that this gorgeous lady is none other than my cousin, Ji Min.

***

I purposely filed a week’s leave of absence from work the next Monday after that Club NB night when Jiyong introduced Renee to us.

“Renee.” Who Jiyong claimed to be his “masked lady.”

But that’s not the truth. She couldn’t be the masked lady. She couldn’t be Jiyong’s masked lady.

I’m the masked lady. You know that. Everybody knows that.

Well, except for Jiyong.

“Maybe I should have told him.” Admit is more likely to be the proper term for that.

But I can’t tell him that now. Not after I saw how happy he was when he told us about finally finding his masked lady. I just couldn’t let his happiness dissipate.

And for the nth time this week, I started to cry again.

I’m slowly feeling him slipping away from me. He hasn’t even contacted me in any way for the last five days.

“Why would he?” I asked myself.

He’s got Renee now.

Gawd! How could I have forgotten about that one detail? And for sure they’re together right now.

I glanced at the wall clock that was hung on my bedroom wall and learned that it was almost 2 in the morning. Then I started to see Jiyong and that girl locked in each other’s arms. Their breathings even after their lovemaking.

“NO!” I’d rather think that what they had was just . Not lovemaking.

“Stop this instant, Dara!” I reprimanded myself. I knew I had to stop thinking about them. I knew I needed to gather myself up and face the music.

“You can pull through this, Dara!” I reminded myself this time.

I wish it were that easy cause I know that it’s easier said than done.

Again, I cried myself to sleep just like the past four days before this.

The following day, I busied myself doing my house chores. I swept, dusted, polished, and mopped the whole of my apartment until everything sparkled clean. But that’s not where I stopped. I soon started to do my laundry. And as I did this, I couldn’t keep myself not to recall that one time when Jiyong did my laundry for me.

I helplessly sat on my tiled floor facing the washing machine while I held on to my laundry basket close to my body.

“Those were the days, Dara.”I told myself. It was good while it lasted.

I doubt it if Jiyong and that Renee would share the same “good times” together.

“As if Jiyong would let her lift a finger on dirty laundry.” My mind continued to battle with me. Knowing Jiyong, he’d only spoil her. He’d probably do more than spoil her. He’d pamper her. He’d shower her with things. The list could go on.

And though I didn’t shed a tear this time, I ended up hurting inside. Really hurting inside.

“I wish she’s just like his other flings.” I sighed deeply.

But then, I still wanted him to be happy. He seemed happy to have found her.

“Oh God! Please help me!” I silently prayed.

The next day, I received a call from Minzy. She was inviting me to do some shopping with her. I was actually hesitant to accept at first but then I thought that it would be good for me. At least it would take my thoughts away from Jiyong.

“I need to buy myself a new pair of shoes.”I immediately realized.

And though Minzy and I agreed to meet around three this afternoon, I left my apartment right after I had my lunch. I was thinking that I could shop by myself first for a while. So I called Minzy to let her know of my plans and told her that I’ll see her at three. Then, I got inside my beetle and headed downtown.

I was busily going through shops after shops when I heard someone call my name.

“ Dara!”

Just my luck! It was Renee. And it wasn’t long when I saw Jiyong trailing her from behind.

“Uh. Hi!” I greeted her trying to keep my cool.

“I knew it was you.” Renee said excitedly as she tossed her long silky black shiny hair to one side of her shoulder.

I breathed in a sigh as I noticed how Renee looked so beautiful even without much make-up on. She still looked sophisticated and lithe. Compared to her, I looked like a peasant.

“I see you’re doing some shopping.” Renee said as she noticed the parcel that I was holding on my left hand.

“Not really.” I replied.

“Shoes?” It was Jiyong who said this.