Welcome to Gimpo International Airport.  It is ten forty four a.m. in Seoul, Korea.  Please remain seated until the plane is parked at the gate.  Again please be careful when opening the overhead bins.

You listen to the same usual speech and you look outside the window to see the looming airport.  You fidget in your seat as the plane neared the building.  You close your eyes and try to calm your rapidly beating heart and fight the urge to scream.  You bite your finger nails as your mind went into overdrive.  This was the first time in four years since you returned to Seoul and the realization hit you that you were not ready to face reality.  You weren’t ready to face your family nor were you ready to face him and all of the pain you had caused him.  For the first time in four years, you were in the same country as him.  You were breathing the same air as him and soon enough you were going to be in the same building as he was.  No you were not ready for this.  You nervously tap your fingers on the arm rest while your stomach tied itself into what felt like a million different knots.  You let out a shaky breath and open your eyes when you feel a warm gentle hand cover your cold sweaty one.  Your gaze met the understanding gaze of your new best friend Melanie.

“It’ll be okay,” you hear her reassure you with a smile and you nod and try to convince yourself the same thing.  You send a weak smile her way before looking back out at the nearing airport and back at Melanie.  The overnight flight had been uneventful and you were thankful that Melanie had been there next to you.  It had felt good to finally share your worries and tidbits of your past with her and much to your surprise, she didn’t judge you for what you had done, instead she offered to be there whenever you needed someone to talk to and you thanked her for it.  Even after telling her about your selfish deed, Melanie didn’t push for more information or a name either and you just weren’t ready to let her know that the man you had left two weeks prior to your wedding day was the one and only Kwon Jiyong or also known worldwide as the famous G-Dragon.  No you weren’t ready to share that bit of information.

You timidly stepped out of the terminal and you instantly want to run right back into the plane and demand to return to California.  You would have done that too if it wasn’t for Melanie standing behind you, urging you forwards, or the fact that your boss had already informed YG that you were coming.  Damn him.  You looked around and you realize that although there were a few changes here and there, Gimpo had not changed drastically in the four years. 

You look around and see a man holding a sign with your name on it and you walk towards him with Melanie in tow and politely greeted the man.  You didn’t fail to notice that his greeting was rather stiff and you frowned when he refused to meet your gaze.  That was when you realized this man knew exactly who you were and that he knew what you had done to one of the most prized artist in YG.  You look back and see the confusion on your new trusted friend’s face and you navigate the both of you to baggage claim and out to the airport. 

You follow the man to a black van with tinted windows and the man wordlessly loaded the many bags of luggage into the back.  You attempt to help him with a suitcase and he silently blocked your reach and shook his head in which you stepped aside and watched him continue to handle your bags.  You waited until he finished and he led you to the side of the van and opened the door for you.  You watched as Melanie climbed in and you followed suit.  The scent you knew so well hit you face on and you feel yourself mentally stumble back into a memory of your face buried into the crook of his neck as he made love to you and you his name over and over.  You give your head a slight shake before blinking away the rush of tears blurring your sight and you blindly made your way to a seat.  No you weren’t ready for this at all. 

………..

You and Melanie stay in the tinted van and wait while the man who had picked you up at the airport and the young hotel worker pull the luggage out of the back of the van.  You hear the man roughly direct the younger man to place the luggage into the correct rooms before returning to the driver seat.  Your heart begins to beat erratically when the man starts up the van and drives away from the hotel and you begin to sweat in the air conditioned vehicle.  You anxiously pick at your fingernails before looking up into the review mirror and meet the ice cold stare of the man.  You bite your bottom lip and look away before looking back at the review mirror and you see that the man’s eyes had softened a bit and this time you can read the message in his eyes.  You hated the look of pity in his eyes because you knew that he had read the terrified message in yours.  You rummage through your purse before extracting a pair of sunglasses and slip them on and nervously ran a hand through your hair.    

You feel your heart stop beating as the van pulled up to a very large building you could only assume to be the new YG building and the design screamed Yang Hyun Suk.  You feel your mouth dry as you stepped out of the van and followed the man into the building.  You hear Melanie gasp in awe and you look beside you to see her absorb in the entire interior design of the building on your trip up to the sixth floor where you were assuming was where Yang Hyun Suk’s office was located.  You on the other hand looked around cautiously and listened intently for any sign of him, afraid to meet him by chance.  You weren’t ready for a chance meeting.  You weren’t ready for the confrontation just yet and you weren’t even positive if you would ever be ready for it.  You’re stopped abruptly from your cautiousness when you run into the back of the man and you see that he had led you to a door label with Yang Hyun Suk on it and you feel your stomach clench.

You hear the man quietly say that Yang Hyun Suk was expecting you and for you to just go in before leaving you and a very clueless Melanie behind.  You stood in front of the door and repeatedly read Yang Hyun Suk’s engraved name on the door.  Whether or not you were ready, you knew today you had to face the man that considered Jiyong as a son and had welcomed you with open arms when Jiyong introduced you to him.   You lift a shaky hand up to the door and softly knock on the door and waited on trembling knees.  Your mind replayed the day Jiyong had brought you to the old YG headquarters and you remembered that day you were scared too but the difference was back then you had Jiyong’s love to back you up.

You raise your hand back up to knock again only to jump back as the door opened and you shrink back as you meet the dark gaze of Yang Hyun Suk before quickly looking away.

“Come in,” you hear him say gruffly and you do as he says.  “Tell her to stay out there.”

You look up and see him refer to Melanie as her and again you do as he says.  You see the scared look in her eyes and the sigh of relief she lets out when you tell her to stay in the lounge area.  Much to your dismay, Yang Hyun Suk still wanted you in his office and you were still terrified as you made your way quietly back into the office.  You close the door to the office and silently take a seat in the chair directly across from him on the other side of the desk and you obediently place your clasped hands into your lap.  You don’t look up when you hear him shuffle papers around and clear his throat loudly.

“It’s been over four years since you left, hasn’t it?” you hear him say and you nod without looking up.  “I see you’ve done very well for yourself over in the States.  You’ve become quite a famous choreographer.” 

You look up and attempt to deny the claim only to have him interrupt you.

“There’s no need to deny it and there is no need to follow the proper formalities as if we are strangers.  You know that I don’t bull around,” you are taken aback at his bluntness and you look up to meet his cold gaze and nod in response.  “I also know there have been many different offers for you to return to Korea and each time you’ve refused.  I also know the main reason as to why you choose to refuse each time.  It was cowardly and selfish the way you left but you had your own personal reasons as to why you chose to leave the way you did and that is between you and Jiyong,” you continued to nod as Yang Hyun Suk scolded you.

“2NE1 will be making a comeback next month and you know that I only want the best.  You are the best of the best out there.  I hired you to work with 2NE1 and only 2NE1.  I need to know right now if you are going to be able to set aside the past and work with them,” you hear him say as he stared at you.

“What if I say I’m not able to?” you reply and you see his jaws clench.

“That is your decision and I will respect it,” he says.  “But you and I both know that you didn’t choose that decision based on whether or not you can work with 2NE1.  That decision is based solely on your fear of facing the reality of a decision you made four years ago.”

“It’s not whether or not I can set aside the past and be professional.  It is whether or not your people can set aside the past and work with me,” you state back.

“As of now, there are only a handful of people who know that you have returned and before you ask.  Jiyong doesn’t know about you being back.  I have a different schedule for him and he is too busy working on his own comeback to care about the on goings around him,” Yang Hyun Suk says and you hate that he could read your mind so easily.  “So are you willing to work with 2NE1 or not because I need to start looking for someone new if you’re not.”

You stare down at your fingers and sigh as your mind weighed out the decision before looking back up at Yang Hyun Suk and answering, “When do you want me to start?”