I'm back, my dear readers!!! And without further ado, I give you Chapter 22. ^_^

Kiko was agitated. The whole night at the bar was a disaster and she was definitely not having a happy new year.

She tried to get Jiyong to dance with her but he kept declining, opting instead to sit by their lounge and getting drunk on his own. All her attempts to make him jealous also failed. She danced with all his friends, except Seung Ri of course, and several other strangers but he didn't even look her way. Not even when she was practically dry-humping a random guy right in the middle of the dance floor did he spare her a glance.   The entire night Jiyong was focused on that girl. Kiko did not miss how his eyes turned to slits and how he would tense up every time a guy would give the girl a not so friendly greeting or put an arm around her waist. He practically bolted up his seat when he watched her disappear into the dance floor with some guy she was being friendly with.   Kiko was pissed off when Jiyong announced that he needed to get some air and left their group without another word. His friends did not miss the fact that Jiyong has been in a lousy mood the whole evening but they didn't ask anything.   When she noticed that Jiyong hasn't been back in a while, Kiko decided to look for him. She just stepped out to the patio when she saw Jiyong talking to the girl. She couldn't hear what he was saying but she saw the sincerity on his face.    The look that Jiyong gave the girl was something he never showed her and Kiko felt anger and jealousy boiling inside her. When Jiyong suddenly pulled the girl in his arms, Kiko wanted to run and pull them apart. But in the end, she just turned around. She was livid but she was determined on keeping G-dragon.   She managed to walk back to their table and sat beside Harry. She was already drunk but still she grabbed two shots of alcohol from a passing waiter and downed them one after the other, much to the amusement of her friends.   "You okay, Kiko?" Harry asked.   "Yeah. This party is awesome! Happy New Year!" Kiko said as she grabbed another drink.    From the corner of her eye, she saw the girl walk back in the club followed shortly by Jiyong who looked more worn down. Kiko waited the rest of the night for an opportunity to get the girl alone. When she saw her disappear into the ladies’ powder room, Kiko excused herself from her group and followed the girl. Kiko was going to make sure this little was going to stay away from what belonged to her.    ~~°~~   The party was in full rage when Ellie came back into the club. She wasn’t really in the mood to have fun especially after her conversation with Jiyong. But she decided to stay rather than go back to their suite and clear out the stock of Godiva chocolates and Johnny Walkers in their bar while watching sappy romantic movie reruns on HBO.   At least here, in the loud, crowded club with flashing lights and drunken happy people, it would be easier to pretend that she was alright. That she wasnt hurt, that she did not just walk away from the only man who made her feel loved.    She put on a brave front when she was talking to Jiyong. She wanted to believe that Jiyong was being honest to her, that he and Kiko were over. But flashes of them together earlier that day kept playing in her head, and she could hear Mari's voice lecturing her about dating a-hole celebrities.   In order to take her mind off Jiyong, Ellie grabbed a cocktail from a passing waiter without bothering to ask what the concoction was, and headed to the dance floor where her friends J and Jess were together with several strangers.    The drinks kept coming so Ellie kept drinking. By the time the countdown to 2014 started, Ellie was way past tipsy. Her brother, Gerry, and his business partner had just given a short thank you speech and wished everyone a happy new year before counting down from 10. They welcomed the New Year with loud cheers and endless clinking of glasses in toast.   Ellie greeted her parents, who had opted to stay in the relative quietness of one of the VIP lounges upstairs, before heading out to party with the revelers down stairs.   She looked for her brother on the crowded floor and she bounded to him happily when he saw him talking to several NBA players who Ellie knew were regular clients. Gerry excused himself from the group of men when he saw his sister walking towards him.   “This is the best party ever! Happy New Year!” She shouted over the loud music as she gave her older brother a big hug.   “Glad you approve, Baby G!” Gerry said with a laugh. They broke of their hug and the older man scrutinized her. “Mom and dad left a few minutes ago. And you’re drunk. How many have you had?” he asked with a disapproving glare.   Ellie pretended to count off her fingers and let a confused look flash on her face before slurring her next words. “I dunno. I lost count after the first,” she said with a fake drunk giggle.   “Giselle Walker!” her brother said sternly. Ellie raised her hands in mock surrender and spoke properly.    “Hey, chill, alright big bro! I’m good. I’m not that 15 year-old girl with a bad drinking problem anymore, OK? I’m just having fun. I won’t overdo it, I promise,” Ellie said sincerely.   She and her brother grew up very close and they both got bullied for being so when they were growing up. Gerry is South East Asian with brown skin and dark brown eyes. Ellie is oriental Asian and looked every bit like one with pale skin and monolids. Their parents were both white. Their mom had light brown hair and hazel eyes. Their father was blonde and blue-eyed. The kids at their prep school called them charity cases. Even the other Asian kids, who were already considered a minority, didn’t want to be friends with them. On days when the schoolyard shoving was a bit harder than the usual, Gerry was there to protect her. During Ellie’s rebellious teenage years, Gerry was her only ally. Despite her wayward ways, Gerry always got her back. He was always ready to clean up after Ellie while they were growing up and she will always be thankful to her older brother.   “Alright, but I won’t let you drive back to the hotel in that state. I’ll have a car ready for you, just let me know when you're about to leave, alright?” Gerry said.   “Yep, thanks! You’re the best!” she gave her brother another hug before going back to find several more familiar faces in the crowd.   Ellie hasn’t partied this hard in years and she just realized how much she missed this feeling of elation and euphoria. She grabbed another drink from another passing waiter before continuing to dance with another guy, a model named Schylur, that someone introduced to her an hour ago.   Yeah, I'll be alright. She thought to herself as she lost herself to the music. She wasn't the best dancer but in her inebriated state she didn't care. She wanted to forget Kiko, Jiyong and the pain she felt. She wanted to enjoy her evening with her brother and their friends.    She turned around and rested her back against the guy's chest, his hands finding her hips as the moved to the loud club banger the DJ was playing. From this spot she had a view of Jiyong who was sitting on one of the leather chairs up in their booth. His friends were having a toast, while Kiko sat beside him dejectedly, but Jiyong didn't join in. She couldn't see his face because of the flashing lights but Ellie knew he was watching her so she put on her best show.   Ellie knew she shouldn’t care but immature as it sounded, she wanted to show him that she was alright. She wanted him to watch her, to rub it in his face that what they had was nothing to her, twisted and demented as that may seem. She wanted to show him that she could easily move back to how her life was before she met him.    Ellie deliberately moved her body close to her dance partner giving him a seductive smile. They danced enthusiastically, Ellie deliberately rubbing her body against the guy who evidently had no problem being her pole on the dance floor.   The guy moved his head closer so his breath tickled her neck, his hand was gripping her a bit too tight for comfort but Ellie tossed aside that thought. Ellie knew it was wrong but she let him do it anyway knowing that it was pissing off someone across the room. She also knew that she was being childish but the alcohol in her system has taken over her sense of propriety.   When the