It was a picture of them.

Jay and Chaerin

It wasn’t just a normal picture. They were looking at the camera, smiling brightly and they were hugging. They looked like a freaking couple.

‘’ he thought.

The table was silent. The members half expected him to lash out or something but he didn’t. He just sat there. Nobody was moving. Even TOP was scared of what the Dragon might do since they were in a public place.

Youngbae then reached for the phone and saw. The picture sent small pricks to his heart so he knew it struck Jiyong more. He returned the phone to Seungri, who became regretful of bringing up the topic. Youngbae mouthed ‘Not your fault’ to Seungri when he saw guilt on his face. The maknae just smiled at him.

Jiyong suddenly stood up.

“I’m done eating. I’ll just go get my phone. Wait for me in the van.” he said as he walked away.

He was feeling depressed. He knew Jay was there but to actually see them together, that close with each other… he wasn’t ready for that.  He was walking slowly to his room. The day just started for him and he was already not feeling well. It was almost 2 now and they had a schedule at 2:30 so he needed to get his act straight.

He unplugged his phone that was charging and went down to their van. He didn’t even turn on his phone. He didn’t have the will to.

The day passed quickly. They finished their activities for the day and went back to their rooms. The leader was still undeniably feeling down but of course he still acted professionally and kindly to everybody. The members were worried about him, especially Youngbae. He kinda knew what he was feeling since he was also feeling the same. They just handled their emotions differently.

At some point in the day, Youngbae almost told Jiyong what he did wrong so he can fix it already because he couldn’t see his friend in that state anymore. Even if he knew that by telling him that, his chances with Chaerin would get even slimmer than they are now. He didn’t care. Because he knew that it was Jiyong who could make her happy.

Jiyong was on his bed already, too tired to do anything else. Then he remembered his phone. He took it out of his pocket and turned it on. As soon as it , it sounded continuously. ‘’ he thought. There were tons of messages. He let it be until it stopped sounding then he took it and looked through the messages. Some were from YG, his mom, his dad, Kiko, manager hyung. He continued to scroll down mindlessly until he saw that name ‘Hunchae’. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but it wasn’t. It really was a message from her. He looked at the name for a second more and opened the message.

He slowly read the contents.

“Jiyong oppa… thank you. I appreciate your gift. Please take care of your health well…”

He reread it again just in case he missed something.

He felt… happy. Really happy. Just one message from her erased his bad mood and immediately replaced it with warmth. The message was short and didn’t contain anything cheesy like ‘I miss you’ or anything but her message was enough. It was more than enough.

He didn’t look at the other messages and just let his phone stop at her message. He just kept looking at it. Now, he was sure.

He loves her.

He loves her and he’ll fight for her. He’ll tell her everything.

They were back to Korea. Their plane just landed and they were now walking past the paparazzi and the fans to get to their van. Jiyong walked hurriedly towards their van. He couldn’t wait to get to their company. He wanted to see her. He missed her so much.

When they were all in their van and the van started, Jiyong was feeling excited. He looked out the window and took in the familiar sights of the city. He couldn’t wait to see her. But…

“Hyung, where are we going?” Jiyong asked when he saw that they passed the turn going to YG HQ.

“Oh we’re going to the dorms. YG sent me a text that you should just report tomorrow and rest today since you’re just back from overseas.”

“WHAT?” he said

“Oh thank heavens.” Seungri and Daesung said.

TOP couldn’t be bothered and Youngbae was sleeping.

“He also specifically instructed me to tell you not to disobey him and go there. He said you should rest even just for today.” manager said.

He knew he couldn’t go against YG. He respected him too much. He just needed to wait. He needed to wait a bit more to see her.

“So, where are you gonna spend the night, Chaerinnie?” Dara said as she watched the younger pack some clothes.

“Probably a lodge near there.” Chaerin said as she packed a thick jacket.

“Ohhh, do you want me to come? I could come if you want to.”

“It’s okay unnie. We just finished our concert and I know you’re really tired. Thanks though.” Chaerin said as she smiled sweetly to her unnie.

“Really Chae, I don’t want you alone that time.” Dara said worriedly.

“It’s okay unnie, really. I can handle myself and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“But…”

“Unnie, come on. Didn’t you say you really wanted to go to the spa. Well, the time’s here. You should go with the girls”

“Okay, but if something happens, call me ‘kay? Whatever it is. Whatever time it is. If you’re bored or anything. Okay? Or else I’ll tell the others where you are.” Dara said threateningly which made Chaerin chuckle. She knows Dara wouldn’t rat her out.

“Unnie, really. Aigoo. I promise I’ll call you” Chaerin said as she zipped her bag.

“Take care, okay? Call me when you get there.” Dara said as they were heading to the door.

“Yes mom.” Chaerin said teasingly.

“I’m serious Chae-ah”

“Okay, okay. Promise. Stop worrying too much. I need to do this. And thank you so much unnie for your support and everything. I know I don’t say it much but I really am grateful and I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Chaerin said while hugging her unnie.

“Aigoooo, this Pudong-ah. Of course, I’ll always support you. Take care, arasso?”

Chaerin smiled to her unnie and left.

She was really feeling nervous. The day has come. It was time.

Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think :)