"Hey, when did you get home? Doesn't that meeting thing end like at nine or something?" Dj Tiz asks me as I walk into our room, toweling wet hair.

"Some stuff happened again..." I give a brief summary to DJ Tiz who is typing away. He was fast asleep when I came home last night.

"Again? What stuff?" he asks. He's looking at me in concern, attention away from the laptop sitting on his lap.

"The girl who's supposed to sing with me hit her head on a fire hydrant so I took her home."

"Oh, you're partner is a woman?!"

"Yeah" I reply, taking note of the slight excitement in his eyes.

"How old is she?"

"I don't know. Like about our age."

"Oh, what's she like?"

"Hey, why are you so interested about her?" I finally question.

"Why wouldn't I be? You get to meet a Kpop idol. What's her name? What she look like? Is she hot?"

I answer with a smack to his head. "Don’t talk about her like that."

"HEY!" he says, rubbing his head. "Why are you so mad? Did you already declare her yours or something?" one of his eyebrows goes up. 

"No" I tell him with a serious face.

"So what's her name?"

"It's Song Jieun. Do you know her?"

"Uh, doesn't ring a bell. Wait, let me look her up."

I hear typing sounds and then a click. 

"Asa! I know that band! She's from Secret,” he enlightens me.

"Secret?" I ask.

"Yeah and how do you not know who secret is when you're working with one of their members?" he’s shaking his head.

"Yo chill, I'm not up to date with kpop you know."

"But still, don't you hear the radio in stores going, 'I wanna wanna I - I wanna wanna!'" he starts singing and moving his hands around in a girly way. Recognition hits me. This is one of those songs that I kept hearing whenever I walked into a mall or super market a long time ago. However, being the audience of Dj Tiz performing the song isn't very appealing. 

"Okay, enough! I get it! Stop singing!" I yell but he doesn't stop until I throw a rolled up newspaper at his head.

"Hey!" he yelled again, rubbing his head. "Am I really that bad?"

"I think you should stick to rapping, okay?" I advise.

"Yo, let's check out their music videos and stuff."

I walk over to his bed and sit down. Then he places the laptop between the both of us. He types in Secret I want you back in the search bar for YouTube. A whole bunch of videos pop up and he clicks the first one.

(Here's the link if you want to see it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVELY_qeg20)

"Load load load.. Finally!" Dj Tiz impatiently mutters.

"Secret time" it starts.

"So which one is she?" he asks.

"Um, I'm not sure. They look kind of different here," I tell him as I watch a dance around in a side to side motion in front of the camera. My eyes lit up at recognition, "Oh, wait that’s her!" It's a close up of Jieun, staring into the camera, singing in a sweet melidioc voice. She looks a bit different in the video but I know without doubt that it's her. I can recognize those puppy dog eyes anywhere.

I wish I had that rolled up newspaper in my hands again because DJ Tiz starts commenting, "That's her? She looks like a little girl!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I hear myself demanding to know.

"I was thinking of a curvier, d cupped -" I cut him off with a blow to his head using my fist this time. 

"Yo stop talking about her like that,” I demand.

He is rubbing his again while asking, "Hey, dude. Do you dig her or something?"

"Yo! Where'd you get that idea from?!" I yell.

"You keep defending her! What am I supposed to think?!" He has a point there… Why am I defending her like this so much? 

I retort to Dj Tiz, "Just because I defend a girl that means I like her?"

"No... Its just that… It’s kind of strange. I've never witnessed you act like this about a girl before. She’s not even here!"

"What you trying to say bro?!" I demand, looking like I'm about to slice his throat.

"It's really strange of you..." Suddenly, he looks at me with concerned eyes. "It's been only two weeks and you’ve already become one of those caring, sweet, and polite guys! What has TS Entertainment done to you?!" he's gripping my shoulder like mad.

"Yo, RELAX! I'm still my usual self."

"No your not. You've become so UPTIGHT!" he sounds serious.

"How is this uptight?" I ask him in wonder. 

"It's just not like you... Your the one who talks about girls like that all the time! I still remember the time how you pushed Eun Mi to the floor.  Why you acting like this about her, man? What she to you? It's been only two meetings but you're already like this... What's up with you and that girl?"

Everything he says takes time to sink in. The way I'm acting is way more than just abnormal. Now that I think about it, he is right. I treat women equally as men, so why stop now? The Bang Yong Guk I know doesn’t go by the rules, “Ladies First,” or “You’re not supposed to hit women.” If a woman starts talking about me or thinks she can hit me without me doing anything about it, she better think again. That’s just not how I run, even with the opposite gender. The only exception is my mother of course.

"I don't know..." I mutter, deep in thought. I really don't know.

"What do you mean you don't know? Tell me why you keep hitting me whenever I mention her?"

"It's just that she’s so timid and fragile. It's weird hearing other people talking about Jieun like that..." I'm not even sure about what exactly I'm trying to say.

"So you don't think of her as a woman?" he looks curious.

"No- what- I don't know!" I feel confused. What is she to me? Why am I'm acting like this?

"That girl isn’t even your type! TIMID, FRAGILE?!!! Don’t you despise weak women like that? She doesn’t even fit the look.” He glances back at the computer screen.

“Yo, did I ever say that I like her like that?!” I’m yelling at him.

“No, but your HESITATING! How can you hesitate about that baby faced, innocent looking girl?! Damn, what’s going on with you?? Are you going crazy?” he points to his head.

“She’s something else… Not just a woman to me…” I respond.

“Hmm…” two of his fingers are scratching his chin. “The only other thing I can think of is that she's like a little sister to you. Taking her home, making sure she's safe, defending her, hitting erts like me for talking about her... Very oppa like. I never knew you had this in you."

"That kinda..." The gears in my head are turning. "makes sense." Trying to heal her wound, lecturing her about staying in bed, trying to tuck her in, reminding her friends about making sure to give her medicine... Is all oppa/fatherly like. Maybe that's the answer. But do oppas think about their "sisters" consistently like this?

“But how can she be like a little sister to me if I’ve only just met her?” I wonder out loud.

“You probably developed care for her since you guys are in the same company. After all, don’t want the girl who’s going to promote you, being in bad condition,” he gives me a theory. “Because if you fell for that little thing, OH MY GOD, I don’t know where we would be. Even if she is a kpop idol… She’s not right for a guy like you at all.”

“Yo, you saying I’m HEARTLESS?!” I’m about to seriously strangle this guy.

"NO! So, how are kpop idols like?" he moves on to another topic.

"How am I supposed to really know? I only met four of them.”

"Well, how is Secret?" he's watching the video, a part where Zinger is sitting on top of a car and rapping. "Hey, that girl's not bad,"

"Oh her? That's Zinger. She's probably the rapper of the group," I tell him.

"And I'm guessing that your Jieun is the main vocalist. She has a lot of the long notes."

"My Jieun?" 

"Yo, just kidding. Stop glaring at me like that!" 

"Whatever..." I turn back to the screen just as my cell phone rings.

"Hello?" I ask when I pick up.

"Yong Guk!" a woman's voice screams out.

"Yeah, this is me. Who is this?" Who would call me this early in the morning, I wonder when I take a glance at my alarm clock and see that it's merely 7:45 AM.

"It's Hyosung and we were wondering if Jieun was with you... We don't know where she is," her voice sounds urgent.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is?!" I can feel DJ Tiz gawking at me in confusion as I talk into the phone.

"We don't know... She wasn't in her bed when we checked and now we don't know what to do..." she sounds helpless.

"Go look for her!" I scream into the phone before slamming it down on the bed.

"Yo, where ya going?!"

"Somewhere," I tell him as I pull on some jeans over my boxers.

"Where somewhere?!" he sounds so flustered. 

"To save my 'sister'," I say before grabbing my leather jacket.

“Sister?" he asks in confusion. Wow, he has already forgotten about the theory he made.

"That girl," I answer as I tie the shoelaces on my sneakers.

"Are you going crazy?!! I don't get it. WHATS GOING ON WITH YOU?!!" I hear him yell before I let the front door slam when I leave the apartment. I feel bad about leaving him in the dark. But then again, I’m not sure of the details myself. All I know is that the girl's missing and I need to find her before she gets sick again.

***

"Did you find her yet?" I ask with the phone pressed against my ear, waiting for an answer. It’s freezing outside, but I’m still going in and out of all these coffee shops, libraries and shopping stores with no luck of spotting my target.

"No… Not yet..." the friend of the target replies. I wonder who it is talking in the phone. And yes, I know that there are only four members in that band but all of their voices sound the same to me. Except for the one with the puppy dog eyes that is...

"Where does she usually go in the mornings?" I'm trying to get a clue of where she can be right now.

"Jieun rarely goes alone anywhere in the mornings. At least one of us is always with her. Unless she has a doctor's appointment or something..."

Hmm, maybe it is something like that? "So does she have a doctor's appointment," I ask worrying that I did all this deranged exploring for no reason.

"I doubt it. The four of us originally planned before she got sick, on taking a trip to the ice skating rink today. So she would have told us if she couldn't come."

"So you have no clue where she is?" I don't know why I'm feeling this anxious but maybe it's that "oppa instict" kicking in? I check my watch for a brief second and see that it's 8:45. Already an hour... Where can this girl be?

"Where are you anyway?" I ask whoever I'm talking to.

"Me and Hyosung are checking the ice rink right now, because she might have went down there early. Sunhwa is at home just in case she comes by." So it's Zinger who's speaking to me right now I realize but then go back to worrying about the girl.

"Oh, did you try calling her again?"

"Yea, but the problem is that she won't pick up!" the girl apprehensively exclaims. The lines on my forehead are standing out more and more as time passes by. Why won't she pick up her phone and stop making us worry? The mere thought of her in danger makes two of my upper front teeth press down into my lower lip.

"Where are you then?" she asks me.

"I'm in that busy area - around Mcondalds."

"Oh are there any coffee shops or a gym by you?"

"Yeah, I checked the coffee shops already," I look around for a gym until finally; a sign with the word gym in it sticks out. The building looks really small and doesn't stand out much.

"And I've just spotted the gym."

"I doubt that she would be working out at a time like this. But check it out anyway since your there. And check out some of those breakfast places or something while you're at it," and with that, she hangs up.

I check out some food restaurants before heading toward the gym. What would that skinny girl be doing there anyway? However, the .05% chance of her being there carries my feet over. When I enter the lobby, a woman in click clacking heels walks up to me with a smile on her face and asks, "How may we help you today?"

"Did you see an innocent looking girl with puppy dog eyes come in?" I ask without thinking.

"Uh... Puppy dog eyes?" she stares at me in confusion.

Wow, I'm such a genius. Using my personal description of the girl to describe her at a time like this.

"I mean, a girl about this height," I show her the height I'm talking about by placing a hand at a place around my chest.

"She has a cutesy style in sense of clothing and has brown hair," I continue on.

"Does she have front bangs?" the woman asks.

"Yes!" I feel myself getting excited for some reason. Do I really want to see her this much?

"You’re in luck because I think I saw a girl with your description walking in that way a few hours ago," she points behind her toward a hallway that ends at a pair of double doors.

"When?" Hours ago?

"Around 5:00 AM"

"Wow that's early..." Would Jieun really come at that time? Especially after coming home so late? Maybe I've got the wrong girl…

I'm about to turn around when the woman continues the conversation, "Whoever she was, she looked really stressed and tired."

"Stressed and Tired" Those words repeat in my mind. Could that be her? 

"Maybe that's her," I say and start walking past the woman towards the double doors when she stops me.

"Wait, you can't go in there," she bursts my bubble.

"Why not?" I ask as I try stopping my legs from pushing past the woman.

"Because it's private and for females only. Guess you're going to have to wait."

She probably reads the antsy expression on my face because she adds on, "Don't worry. I think she should be out soon." She checks her watch before saying; "After all, it's been four hours already."

"Oh thank you," I reply before I begin to head toward a pillar to lean on.

She stops me with a startling question though, “By the way... Are you and this girl… Lovers by any chance?”

Caught off guard, I don't know how to respond.

Not wanting the pause to go on any longer, I give her the technical answer. "No."

She looks a bit surprised but then says with a smile, "Ooh, So you’re not lovers... Yet."

"What?" I immediately question. 

"You'll see what I mean some day," she says with a knowing smile and walks off, leaving me with a shortage of words. 

***Half an hour later***

 I'm looking down at the floor. Still pondering the odd but thought provoking question as I lean back against a white pillar in front of the entrance to the private, female's training area when the voice I've been looking for interrupts my thoughts. "Yong Guk," the quite low and frail voice called out. At first my conscious interprets the voice as an illusion but when I look up; my eyes are met with assurance. Indeed the voice I just heard was the real thing... Or why else would those puppy dog eyes in front of me feel this real as they make contact with mines? But something about them doesn't feel right... Even with the distance between me and her, the sense of distress in her eyes is like a stab to my heart. What made the girl standing in front of me like this?

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 Hey guys! Since some people mentioned to me that centering is kind of odd and font is hard to read, I changed it. Kind of hard decision tho since i was  so attached to times new roman lol... Should I keep it like this or go back to the other way?