| CHAPTER 4 |

/Taeyang: Ailee shi, are you free tomorrow at 1pm? I thought that it would be good for us to discuss about a possible collaboration over lunch!/

/Ailee: Ah, thank you sunbae! I’ll check my schedule and get back to you./

/Ailee: I'm so sorry I think I have something on.../

/Taeyang: What to do…I’m quite busy except for tomorrow at that time!/

/Ailee: Is that so? I'll try to clear my schedule then!/

Ailee bit her lower lip.

What should she do?

What a dilemma! She promised to be a guest on her good old friend Amber’s radio show tomorrow at that exact timing, but now Taeyang…!

“Amber, he actually texted me!” Ailee showed her phone to Amber who was sitting next to her.

The two were chatting over supper at Ailee’s, being good friends who both were English-speaking kpop idols.

It got lonely sometimes, and a friend like each other was just what they needed, other than of course, a boyfriend.

Amber’s jaw dropped in surprise as she squinted and scanned through the conversation.

“Are you sure it’s Taeyang? Are you sure your phone isn’t going bonkers like it did last time?”

 “Amber Liu! Don’t remind me of that. I’m one hundred percent sure this is real. We exchanged numbers last time!”

“Fine, fine, but hey wait…1pm tomorrow? Yah! You have to go on my radio show then!”

Amber threw Ailee a don’t-you-dare-ditch-me look.

Ailee laughed in embarrassment as she quickly typed a reply to Taeyang, “I know,” she scratched her head, “but you know Taeyang is a busy man…I have to~”

Amber nudged her in frustration.

“Are you serious, my friend?”

Ailee pouted, “If you really consider me as your friend you’ll let me go!”

Amber sighed, shaking her head, “You’re ditching your friend for your idol? You’re going to become his sasaeng fan if you continue at this rate. Are you sure you only like him ‘musically’?”

“Aish, shut up~ You know it already,” Ailee blushed.

Little did she know, this was all part of Seungri’s master plan.

He told Taeyang to ask her out on a day he knew she wasn’t free, but wasn’t in for an important schedule either. An excuse about a discussion would be a good start off point.

If she was interested, she would cancel her schedule to meet her. After all, this was also for ‘work’.

Taeyang recalled a time where he listened to the radio and heard that Ailee was going to be a guest on Amber’s radio show, so he decided that there would be a high chance that he would succeed.

Sneaky, huh? ;)

Amber stood up from her seat, slightly annoyed.

“I got it. I’ll get going now! You better make it up to me another day!”

Ailee grinned, “Of course!”

ღ

Ailee stopped in front of the YG building, tapping her feet nervously as she checked her phone for the time.

There was around 15minutes until Taeyang and Ailee’s meeting time.

Thinking that it would be better to arrive earlier, Ailee set off much earlier than she would normally and considering how she still hurried to the venue, she had a lot of time to spare.

Ailee checked her reflection on the glass door and smiled in satisfaction.

Earlier in the morning, she made sure that her hair was in place and her curls were perfect, her outfit was suitable and her make up complimented her features well.

 It was nearly winter time and the weather was cold, so Ailee had a warm winter coat on.

She asked Amber if she looked okay as well, and Amber said she did, but Ailee kept wondering if Taeyang would like it, that is, if he even noticed.

Ailee let our sigh and fumbled with her fingers as more questions popped up in her mind. What would Taeyang wear? He was such a fashion icon, would he think that her outfit was bad? Or perhaps he would be disappointed during their discussion for the collaboration? Then would she end up making a bad impression on her idol?

She didn’t want to think so much either, but she just couldn’t help it.

Why was she so nervous…?

“Ailee?”

Ailee lifted her head immediately and came face to face with Taeyang.

He was smiling, and his eye smile made Ailee’s heart pound.

The weather was cold, but he was only wearing a leather jacket, yet at that time, Ailee felt all warmed up beside him.

She quickly took a step back and avoided eye contact as she cleared .

“You’re early,” he chuckled, “I thought I would arrive first.”

Ailee nodded shyly.

“Where would you like to go for lunch? It’s on me but a quiet place would be preferred.”

“I…I’m not sure, but I have a request.”

“What request?”

“I would like to eat at the YG cafeteria…It’s alright if it’s not convenient though!”

Taeyang looked surprised for a moment, and then laughed.

“I guess our cafeteria is really getting popular. Alright then! We’ll have lunch here. Let’s go in!”

Ailee nodded, following right behind Taeyang as he scanned his fingerprint to open the door.

ღ

They settled down on a table in the YG cafeteria.

“Follow me,” Taeyang walked towards the food area.

Ailee hurriedly followed, tripping over her own feet in the process.

She fell, letting out a scream, but Taeyang turned around to catch her.

His hand slipped into hers, and he held her tightly as he gave her a moment to regain her balance.

Ailee opened to speak, but no words came out as her face flushed red.

“Are you alright? You shouldn’t have worn such high heels today.”

Ailee nodded hurriedly in embarrassment.

“Be careful.”

Taeyang continued walking, but never let go of Ailee as he carefully led her by the hand.

His hand was warm and at that moment, Ailee felt comfortable and safe being with him.

Taeyang ended up recommending a few of his favourite dishes of the day and they both returned to their seats.

Seated opposite Taeyang, Ailee lowered her head shyly as she ate.

“About this collaboration,” Taeyang started casually, breaking the silence, “Your Company’s CEO is fine with it, right?”

Ailee replied quickly, “He said that it’s a rare chance and that he’s looking forward to it.”

“Our sajangnim too,” Taeyang nodded.

Ailee mustered up courage to continue the conversation.

“It’s winter soon. Would you like to do a concept that fits the weather…?”

Taeyang thought for a while as he considered her suggestion.

“Many people are coming up with Christmas songs now. I wonder if we can come up with a more passionate song for stage together.”

Ailee chocked upon hearing the word ‘passionate’.

“Sorry,” She coughed, “What did you say?”

Taeyang looked at her with concerned eyes.

“I said…a passionate song would be good. Are you okay?”

Ailee laughed awkwardly, “Yea, I’m fine! The idea is good to.”

Taeyang sighed in relief, “That’s good. You seem to like this dish a lot. You finished it really quickly.”

He pointed out at the dish that Ailee almost chocked on from eating so fast.

“Ah…yea, it’s really nice!”

“Is that so? I think I took too much of it, do you mind helping me finish?”

It would be unusual for Ailee to reject that, but she hesitated.

An image, a memory from long ago appeared in her mind.

It was her boyfriend from before, a guy that was always thoughtful towards her and even put her before anything else.

He made sure she ate well, slept well and lived well whenever he was with her.

His name was Kim Mingyu.

They dated for several years, but no matter how nice and caring he seemed to be, he left for another woman.

That woman was a complete package. She had better looks, a better body, and more wealth than Ailee ever had.

The cruel truth was that before Ailee had succeeded in the entertainment industry, without anything that the other woman had, she had no chance to keep Mingyu's heart.

Money and looks was all it took to change Mingyu.

He broke up with Ailee without a second thought, with no explanation and no looking back, he left.

Ailee spent her youthful years on him, building trust and love, but the effort ended up worthless as their relationship reduced to nothing but painful memories.

She learnt that some men could not be trusted.

She thought that she would never fall helplessly in love again, but this time, she felt like it was going to be different.

“Ailee?”

Taeyang called out and Ailee snapped back into reality.

She bowed her head apologetically.

“Oh, I can’t, I’m on…a diet. You don’t have to be so kind.”

Taeyang paused as he blinked in surprise at her unusual answer.

“Okay…then, about the song, I have something in mind.”

Ailee tried hard to push her thoughts to the back of her mind to listen to Taeyang.

She had almost forgotten about the relationship up till this day.

It hurt her so badly but at the same time, taught her so much.

No matter what happened this time…she wouldn’t be like before again.  

This time, she knew what she wanted.

She was going to take the chance to get it and she was going to make it last.

| END |