"Again!" Jiyong snaps into the microphone which is connected to the recording booth and leans back to glare at the computer screen in front of him. He's not in a good mood and the nervous shuffle sounds coming from his behind are telling him that the other people in the studio can also sense it.

"Let him get out from there for about 5 minutes, Ji. He needs a break" Youngbae said and glances inside the recording booth to see Seungri, the youngest member of their band, looking at him pleadingly. He's been in there for the past hour, repeating the same verse again and again yet he seems couldn't give what Jiyong wants.

"He's not being serious!" Jiyong growls.

"He's just not in his best state, Ji. He's not feeling too well" Youngbae leans forward and pressing a button, he talks into the microphone. "Seungri, why don't you take a break for 5 minutes?"

"Is that ok with you, Jiyong hyung?" Seungri asks, not sure if he can really rest with that deep scowl on his leader's face.

"Yeah, take a break" Jiyong finally said and stands up from his seat just to throw himself on one of the couches behind him. He doesn't realize until then that his body is too stiffed. He sighs and brings his arm to cover his eyes. Why is he so tired?

"Are you ok, Ji?" He heard Seunghyun's concerned voice and just nods without a word. He doesn't want to talk to anyone right now. He's too tired for that. No one speaks for another several minutes as they all sit in their seats quietly but Jiyong knows they are looking at him.

"Is that about Bom?" Youngbae's voice appears in the end and Jiyong lets out a loud sigh. Of course they know what happened to Bom 3 days ago even though that news is well kept away from the media eyes and citizens. But he's not sure if he's ready to talk to someone about her. He's not ready to share the truth of his feelings and the fact that he's suffering. That sounds so pathetic. 

He sits up on the couch and shakes his head with denial. Then he decides to change the topic. "Are you going to the event this Friday?" He asks and looks around the faces of s.

"I have to leave to Japan for fan-signing event tomorrow, hyung" Daesung said.

"I think it's only going to be you and Youngbae, Ji" Seunghyun straightens in his seat and glances down at the lyrics sheet in his hand. "I have photo-shoot and Seungri has already schedule, right?" He asks Seungri who is standing near the computer and re-listening to the recording to see what he has to fix.

"Hmm" He murmurs without looking them back.

Jiyong sighs again and wishes he can also back out just like them sometimes. But being a leader, he has more responsibility and duties than the others on his shoulders.

“I’m going to take Hayi with me” Youngbae announces. And he doesn’t have to say it out loud for Jiyong to know that his best friend is silently asking him who he’s going with to that god damn event.

“I think I should ask In Na noona if she’s busy that day. If she’s available, then she’s going to be my partner” He said with a shrug, pretending to be nonchalant.

He saw Seunghyun looks up from his lyrics sheet and frowns at him at the corner of his eyes.

“What about Bom?” He asks.

“What about her?” Jiyong responds. He really doesn’t want to talk about her but he knows his friends are going to push him.

“I thought you were going with her, was I wrong?”

Jiyong merely shrugs and stands up from his seat. He better puts his mind back into the work before it runs towards her again to torture him with the thought that she has really rejected him. He has done it for the whole night. Tossing, sighing and hurting in his room are not something he wants to experience again soon in the future.

“I will never understand you, hyung” He heard Daesung’s frustrated voice. “You are married to one of the most beautiful perfect women alive yet the fact that you hate her”

He doesn’t hate her. Not anymore. And that’s the problem right now. But he doesn’t say those pathetic words out loud for his friends to hear.

# # # # # # #  

“And the deal with the Chanel?” She talks into the phone while her eyes concentrate on the paper in her hand. The details on the paper are clear and she understands every single statement but hearing from her lawyer will put more ease into her mind.  

“They will remain as it is and their legal team is completely satisfied with the conditions you have given them, ma’am” Choi Dong Wook, her personal lawyer and the head of her legal team, said clearly and Bom doesn’t suppress her relieved sigh from getting out loud. They finally did it again and she can’t be happier. It feels as if she has gone back to the time when she started to build the Empire and faces the triumphing feelings all over again after solving the problems with the owner of the shops inside the building.

“Congratulations, ma’am” She can feel the smile in his voice and she can’t stop a small smile forming on her own lips. This man was with her from the start and he’s still here.

“You deserve the praise too, Choi. You and your team worked really hard” Park Bom is never the one to compliment others easily but her legal team really deserve one right now. She should really think for their rewards after she deals with all the disasters. “So what do we left?” She said and putting down the paper on the table in front of her, she stands up to pace back and forth in the great room. She’s been sitting