Jiyong's PoV

How do I know she’s not a saesang?

'She' (for now, let's assume) shook my shoulder. I actually examined the person in front of me. Like me, this person also wore a hat, glasses, and a facemask. She wore a regular hoodie, leggings, and Converse. Nothing looked brand name or expensive, yet this person was in a full clad disguise. Who is this person?

“Do you trust me?” She asked, holding out her hand.

I wasn’t sure if my determination sprouted from the fan closing in or me wanting to know who this person was, but I reluctantly grabbed her hand.

The next you know, it feels like we’re running the speed of light. I had no idea where all this energy came from, but I kept going. Even if that fan noticed us running, he or she would never be able to catch up to us.

I held on to this person’s hand. I followed closely behind her.

Where are we going? Everything was mysterious, but I felt exhilarated. Soon we were going down a flight of stairs. Where those there before? Are we allowed here?

This is a bad idea. My conscious finally fell through.

I stopped in my tracks. Since our hands were linked together, the person jerked forward.

“What are you doing?” She whispered loud enough for me to hear.

She didn’t even give me enough time to answer. She pulled me in close.

I was about to protest, but I heard footsteps above and nearing us.

I was trying to keep quiet, but it was difficult to control my breathing. My running high made everything seem too intense, yet euphoric. The one clear thing on my mind was the girl next to me. 

Could they even hear us down here? 

Suddenly we heard a multitude of footsteps. I nearly panicked. My anxiety reached a maximum. 

My first instinct is to run, but the girl keeps me down by covering my mouth with her arm.

"Just try to breathe normally. Calm down. You won't get caught and I'm not going to expose or hurt you." she whispers.

I've have crazy fan encounters before, but this was different. If I were with my members we could play hide-and-seek all day, but I'm a prisoner on the run. If anyone catches me, it's game over. The media outlets will find out. YG will have to clean things up. My manager will have to be more strict. Yang-sajangnim will lose trust in my members because they had to lie for me. My members will lose trust in me.

Most importantly: I will lose the little freedom I have.

I guess it's my fault for sticking out like a porcupine in a balloon shop. It's my fault for always causing trouble when I'm out with frieds.It's my fault for shamelessly shouting my name out in the open.

But hey. Is it my fault the people love my music? Is it my fault everyone knows G-Dragon? Is it my fault that my popularity, good or bad, is so big?

...Not really. Not completely.

In the long run, do I deserve this?

We were quiet until the sounds subsided. There was still a collective sound of footsteps, but they weren’t heavy or fast.

“I think the coast is clear.” The girl (yes, I can confirm it’s a female since our bodies were pressed against each other. Either she’s a woman or a really chesty man.) lightly pushed me off.

I don’t know what went through my mind, but I grabbed for her face. I reached for her sunglasses sunglasses.

“Hey. What gives?” She slaps my hands. I barely pulled them away from her, so I didn’t get the chance to inspect anything about her.

“Sorry. I just wanted to know who you were.” I guiltily said. What’s with me? 

I only saw her eyebrows, but I could tell her expression softened up.

She walks to the edge of the stairs. It was only then that I saw the wonderful view of the bridge and the water below.

The view was so captivating. Calming.

"I always visit this place even when I was a trainee. I come here and yell out my frustrations. It's a convenient spot. There's no camera or any kind of recording device since there's one above and below. Not a lot of people pass by, especially at 4AM," she gives me a glance. I chuckled, remembering my previous outburst and realizing how absurd it must've been to witness it at such ungodly hours. "And the best part is it's just me. I can vent out anything without worrying or burdening my friends or family."

I join her side. At the edge, the breeze was surprisingly stronger. I felt like I could fly.

If only I could, I'd fly away from all my problems. No more music ideas being denied. No more paparazzi following me. No more dissapointed fans and fan wars. No more haters spreading rumors about me taking drugs or plagurizing music. No more dating scandals. No more having to introduce myself to pointless officials that want me, but are just using me as connections to YG.

Realization then hit me. "Goodness gracious! Please forgive me!" The girl turns to me. Before she could react, I take a few steps back and face her. "Hello. I am Kwon Jiyong." I bow 90 degrees, giving a typical greeting. "Thank you," I speak out of character, not informally, but genuinely. "For basically saving my life. I really owe you. Would you like compensation? Would you like Big Bang tickets? A meal?"

The girl was a bit taken aback. She turned back to look at the waters.

I scratch my neck and look down with embarrassment. "Sorry. I didn't mean to come off that way. It's just--."

"It's fine." Her voice zooms past my train of thought. I wasn't sure if se was fine about the compensation or fine that I tried to bribe her with my popularity. 

I expected her to speak more—to introduce herself—but nothing came out.

I worried too much about a fan noticing me, but here a stranger saved my life. She's still a witness and I need to keep her quiet, "Look. The situation's complicated here, but long-story-short, no one is supposed to know I ran away and I'd appreciate it if you didn't--." My voice sounds desperate. 

"It's okay. I won't leak anything." She cuts me off nonchalantly. "I have no interest in doing so. But I'll be honest, I do take interest in those concert tickets." Her voice turns playful.

This woman seemed strange, but I felt I could trust her. "Promise?"

She held up her pinky finger. Her hands were so skinny and dainty. Maybe she was an actress? "Promise." She seals the deal connecting our thumbs.

Shortly after out deal, we turned our attention back to the bridge above. We watched cars passing by the bridge for who knows how long. I kept thinking it was weird that I was standing next to a stranger and we were simply staring at the Banpo Bridge.

"I'm surprised you haven't said anything." She finally comments.

Once I registered that she spoke to me, I snapped out of my trance. "What do you mean?"

She giggles cutely. "Not even an hour ago you were yelling at the top of your lungs. Now that we have privacy, you're quiet."

I smile. She has a point. I stare at the asthetic of the bridge. There was a layer of fog covering the support. It gave a nice effect to the rainbow lights. "How could I yell at such a calming view?"

She stares at my direction. "Fair enough." She sighs. "It's not usually like this. Even at 4AM there's a lot of honking and skidding."

She must come here often to know what. What else does she know? Is that fog usually there? What is it like during the winter? The spring? I want to keep talking to her, but my mind goes blank. I can't think of something. "So," she turns her head to me again as I grasp for words. "What about you?" I say rather slowly.

She laughs at my obvious nervousness. "What about me?" she mocks my slow speech.

I shake my head. What's with you? "Why aren't you yelling? You just said you always visit here to 'yell out your frustrations'." I repeat her words using air quotes.

She contemplated her thoughts. "I've never really yelled in front of another person before, I guess I'm self-conscious."

I thought about asking her if I should leave, but I really didn't want to leave her. "How about we yell together?" I gather the courage to hold her hand.

She looked shocked. "Wait!" She pulled her hand away. With her actions, I felt guilty for making a bold move.

She took a few steps back. I was worried she would fall. Abrupting my worries, she spoke. "Kim Taeyeon."

My mind did not register what was going on.

She removes her glasses and facemask. I didn't get to see her face completely for she bows 90 degrees. "I'm SNSD's Taeyeon. Please take care of me." She stands straight again, but she appears shy. She couldn't make eye-contact with me and she bit her lip. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself when you did. I didn't expect things to—." She suddenly stopped her words.

"It's okay." I repeat the words she said to me earlier.

"I always visit this place even when I was a trainee." her voice repeats in my head. And I couldn't recognize her voice? Her subliminal messages gradually pieced themselves together. 

The atmosphere became awkward.

Why didn't I question her being a trainee?

You were scrambling my brain, thinking of conversation starters and you didn't think about what she said about being a trainee?

I shake my head and rub my face with my hands. I'm such an idiot. 

We decided not to talk or discuss things; we'd respect each other's privacy. SNSD's Taeyeon? How is she the same person? I get different personas, but she's... really different. "But you said it wrong." I blurted out.

She looks at me with confused eyes. "What are you saying?"

"You're Kim Taeyeon." I say bluntly. She's even more confused. "You're not SNSD's Taeyeon." I look into her eyes for the first time. "Not now." The lights from the bridge are reflected from her orbs, nearly losing myself in them. "I met SNSD's Taeyeon a while back at a music show recording and I didn't like her. She seemed fake. Right now, I'm talking to Kim Taeyeon. She's the most genuine person. She's talking to Kwon Jiyong, not Big Bang's G-Dragon."

It was as if there was a magnetic pull between us, but both of us were fighting it. We were staring into each others' eyes for a long time.

She looks away, breaking our connection. "Thank you." "I'm sorry." We say simultaneously after a long pause.

"For what?" We talk at the same time again.

"You go first." She smiles.

This time, I couldn't look her directly. "I didn't mean to judge you. You seem like a cool person Taeyeon-ssi." I check to see her reaction and thankfully she didn't look hurt. "I promise to respect SNSD a little more. I mean. Their leader just saved my life and confessed that she vents her frustrations to a bridge." She chuckles. "I guess we're not so different if we talk to inanimate objects."

She shrugs her hands in her jacket pockets. "It's okay. I'd be lying if I said I had a bad impression of you. You seem like a guy with a bigger story. I honestly thought you would be the type to drink and party your troubles away, not scream at the water." This time she makes me laugh. This is my first time venting on Banpo Bridge, but I've been elsewhere. "And I don't blame you for thinking I was fake. Being SNSD's leader is just..." She sighs. I didn't push her to continue. Although I wanted her to finish what she started, I felt that we already had enough intimacy for our first meeting.

After a reflexive pause I finally asked her, "And you?"

She almost forget what I was talking, but she later smiled wide. "Thank you for sharing this moment with me." She cautiously says. "Thank you for not freaking out when I revealed myself." She paused. "Thank you for making me feel like a real person." She turns around and leans her hips on the rail. She crosses her arms. 

I look at my folded hands, smiling like an idiot. "Thank you for sharing your place with me today. It's beautiful."

She goes by the stairs and sits. My eyes follow her and she pats the spot next to her so I could sit as well. When I sit, she leans her head on the hand rails. "Isn't it ironic how we're not yelling, but thanking each other?"

"Keep quiet Kim Taeyeon-ssi." I tease.

"Kim Taeyeon." She repeats. I glance at her. "Usually people only call me that when I'm in trouble, but when you say it, I really feel more like a human being. Nowadays, I'm having difficulties deciphering who is who. If I make a mistake as SNSD's Taeyeon, I'm scolded as Kim Taeyeon. I guess there's still a difference." She turns her neck and stares into my eyes. "Thanks sunbaenim." She giggles. She takes a deep breath in. "By the way, I apologize. I'm usually not like this with my honorifics. It's just that I feel comfortable—."

"It's okay." I cut her off. "I forgot them earlier too. I guess we got caught in the moment." We paused. "You can call me Jiyong. Considering we shared such an intimate moment together, it only seems right. Let's just talk comfortably from now on." We look into each other's eyes. She looks concerned. It's that look idols give each other when we decide to speak casually. If we got caught doing so, we have to explain how our relationship came to be. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to forget about this night. I don't want to."

After a while, she looks away.

No words were spoken between us for a long period of time.

I felt my phone vibrate again. I ignored it, but told myself I had to leave soon.

I stood up and held my hand out to pull her up.

"It's okay. You can leave first, I'm going to stay here a little longer." she smiles, looking slightly disappointed.

I grab her hand with no patience. I drag her to the railing we were at earlier.

"I'm not leaving until I yell. You're going to yell with me."

She looked flabbergasted, but I faced the water and began screaming my heart out.

Seconds later, she began passionately screaming her emotions out.