It was Saturday evening and Caden was running late.  Not too late, but still.  Her responses to the chatty cab driver were less than engaging as she stared out the window, mentally willing the traffic to speed up.  She really should have accounted for this in the side she'd set aside for getting ready.  It was Saturday night and she was heading deep into downtown Seoul - of course there would be traffic.  She took a deep breath - resisting the urge to check the time again - before attempting to shake herself out of her annoyance.

She decided to turn her attention to the driver instead.  He had been excited about her adept Korean, practically showering her with praise from the moment she gave the directions.  Now he was inquiring after her advice on chatting with foreigners- which phrases would be the best for him to learn.  Having come to the conclusion that if she was going to be stuck anyway, she may as well make the best of it, Caden gladly taught him a few simple conversation starters in English.  The man was equally delighted when she offered to share a few questions in Japanese as well - apparently he often picked up Japanese tourists who spoke even less English than he did.

Caden was pleasantly surprised by the man's enthusiasm.  Now that she had been in Korea for a few months, she was already starting to notice that, while Koreans found running into foreigners on the street plenty interesting (although Seoulites were probably the most accustomed), the majority of them had little desire to learn about the language or customs in detail.  They were often surprised and much more impressed by a foreigner who bothered to learn Korean language and customs.  Meeting a cab driver who had a desire to communicated closely with tourists was a rare find.

By the time she finally arrived at the venue, she was happy to find that she was only a half hour late.  She quickly paid and thanked the driver before heading inside another extremely high end hotel whose first floor restaurant was hosting Jiyong's birthday celebration.  Despite her hurry, she couldn't help but be a little blown away by the luxury of the place.  Everything gleamed from top to bottom.  Every few feet of wall was dotted with art that seemed like it should only be found in museums.  She made a mental note not to bump into anything - she'd didn't have enough lifetime left to pay off some of these trinkets if they broke.

Pulling herself back from the distractions, Caden made her way briskly over to the front desk where she politely asked to be pointed in the direction of the hotel restaurant.  This the concierge gladly did, sending her down a short hallway on the other side of the lobby.  Unlike the hotel restaurant Jiyong had brought her to the previous weekend, which took up the entire top floor of the building and was all about natural light, open space, and a killer view, today's venue was far smaller - a dark, intimate affair with few windows and a ground floor feel.

She was greeted in imperfect, but perfectly understandable English by the smiling maitre d' - a handsome man, likely in his mid thirties.  She returned his polite smile, answering back in Korean.  She explained that she was looking for the party of Kwon Jiyong.  The man nodded with a look of slight relief before bowing deeply.  He asked for her name, adding almost apologetically that this event was a private party.  Caden gave him her name, which was predictably found on the guest list in his hand, and was immediately escorted inside, all the way across the restaurant, past numerous tables and booths and finally through a small door into a private room with two long tables set against opposite walls.

"Caden ssi, you made it!" came a booming voice from inside.  She turned to see GD wearing a broad smile and holding a half-empty glass of champagne as he made his way over to greet her.

"Jiyong-ah, hello," she said with a smile, bowing her head slightly toward him.

"Hello," he returned brightly, grin widening further.  Then he glanced at the maitre d' who was still hovering slightly behind her. "I see you were shown in without any problems."

"Oh yes!" she replied, turning to face the restaurant employee. "Thank you very much."

"No, I think we're fine for now," GD answered thoughtfully. "We're still waiting on quite a few guests.  But could you make sure to send someone back in about 15 minutes to take more drink orders?"

"Yes, customer- of course," the man replied, bowing low before subtly retreating from the room as soon as GD's attention returned to Caden.

"I'm sorry that I'm so late," she apologized quickly, still feeling rather guilty about making the birthday boy wait.  She knew she was far from his most important guest- she had no right to cause trouble. "I should have expected the traffic and left earlier to compensate."

"Oh, don't worry about that," GD replied lazily, shooing her apology away with a wave of his hand. "Traffic is slowing a lot of guests.  You're still in the first half of arrivals - even our dear maknae has yet to show his face."

"Aish, that boy..." Caden murmured, shaking her head in dismay and causing GD to grin appreciatively. "Making his elders wait like this."

"Oh, I'm sure he is a very important and busy person, unlike the rest of us," he responded cheerfully.  However, Caden caught a glint of malice in his eye when he added,

"I'll be sure to interogate him on the details of his oh so important errands just as soon as he arrives."

She couldn't help but laugh a little at this as GD grinned.  Suddenly he looked around - realizing that they were still idling in the doorway, never having made it fully into the party room.

"Enough standing around," he pronounced authoritatively. "Come, come - let's go inside."

With that, he threw a casual arm around her shoulder, leading her into the center of the room - the space between each of the two tables that were set up for guests.  Caden eyed the gesture with some amusement.

"Just how many of those have you had?" she joked, nodding her head toward the glass of champagne in his other hand.  GD followed her gaze with some suprise (she couldn't tell whether or not this was feigned).

"This?" he asked innocently, indicating the arm around her shoulder by giving her a playful tug, rather than the glass of alcohol that she had been describing.

"How dare you!  Such an accusatory mindset, Teacher," he teased. "For your information, this is my first glass. Rather than alcohol, I'd say that I'm drunk on the happiness and excitement of having my friends gather around me to celebrate my birth."

"Hul! Too cheesy!" she joked in return, srunching up her nose in feigned distaste, bumping his side playfully with her hip.

"But it's true!" he laughed giddily, taking another swig of his drink.

"Well, I guess you can get away with acting like this... but only because it's your birthday!" she allowed with a grin.  Then she held up the decorative bag that she had brought with her. "Anyway, where would you like me to put your gift?"

"A present?" he asked excitedly. "Why you shouldn't have!  But seeing as you did, I'll take it and put it in the pile with the others."

With that, he untangled his arm from around her, taking the bag carefully and making his way toward a smaller table in the corner which was already fairly crowded with gifts.  After only a few steps, however, he paused, turning back to her quickly.

"Caden ssi - feel free to have a seat," he announced with a smile. "I'm guessing you haven't yet found your place card?"  She shook her head no, prompting him to continue.

"I believe they have you set right over there," he informed her, coming close again so that he could point it out. "See? You're right between our stylist noona and Chaerin. Alright? We'll be eating as soon as everyone arrives. Until then, make yourself comfortable and feel free to have a drink."  With a bright smile, he turned away once again, leaving her staring after him imploringly.

Finding herself rather unable to properly articulate her issues with the seating arrangment, Caden slowly turned her gaze back toward the spot in question.  Even from the back she recognized the stylist noona that GD refered to.  Although she hadn't yet had much contact with the rest of Big Bang's staff, she had been introduced to this woman in passing on several occasions (although, predictably, she was now having some difficulty remembering her actual name).  Luckily, she could easily get away with refering to her simply as 'unnie' for now, so this mental block didn't particularly phase her.  She was a very friendly woman, probably an ideal seat mate for a gather such as this, where Caden knew only a few people.  This would have set Caden very much at ease, if it weren't for the person - or rather, people - sitting on her other side.

There they were, sitting and chatting together - two on each side of the table.  The four most gorgeous, most lovely, most talented girls on the planet (not that she was in any way biased). And she, a mere mortal, a lucky pauper among beautiful, talented royalty, was supposed to brush elbows with them? What right had she? None! Or so Caden told herself...

All of these thoughts were not helping the clearly dire situation - in fact, she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Or, more likely, internally combusting.

As she stood there debating various tactics for approaching the situation (versus the appeal of running), she felt a hand on her shoulder.  Successfully drawn out from her inner turmoil, Caden turned to find another familiar face peering down at her inquisitively.

"Caden ssi," Top greeted with a polite smile.

"Oh, Topie-yah! How are you?" she responded with some relief, bowing her head in greeting. She still felt a little strange calling him casually by his stage name, but even though she'd admitted to being younger than the eldest (Top), she still had the right as their teacher. He chuckled slightly, returning her greeting before answering,

"I'm fine, thanks.  Actually, I came over because we all saw you come in earlier, and were trying to get your attention, but you never came to say 'hello'."  He gestured with his free hand around at the table behind them, where she spotted Daesung and Young bae, who were currently in the midst of chatting with GD, as well as a few friends whose acquaintance she had yet to make.

"Wow, I'm sorry," she apologized briefly. "I didn't even realize you guys were here..."

In fact, between GD's greeting and her nervousness about her seating arrangements, Caden hadn't taken the chance to look around at her fellow party guests at all.  She quickly took the opportunity to observe the rest of the attendees closely.  First she noted all the people that she recognized - whether it be (as of yet) on from YouTube and 2NE1TV, like producers Kush and Teddy, or the people she had been briefly introduced to - like some of the Big Bang staff.

Next she noticed the ones who she found vaguely familiar - like GD's handsome model/actor friend who had appeared in a 2NE1 music video recently. Lastly, she took in the faces of those friends and staff that she didn't recognize yet at all.

As she was looking around, she managed to catched the eye of Daesung, who waved merrily, nudging Young bae who did the same.  Noticing the shift in his band mates' attention, GD glanced over at her as well, shooting her a happy grin and raising his glass toward her before returning contentedly to his conversation.  Caden waved back at all of them, glad to get at least a brief moment to acknowledge their presence. 

With that, she turned her attention back to Top, who was still smiling politely, watching her give the room a once over.  Suddenly, it was as if she was realizing for the first time just who she was talking to.  She glanced pointedly at his hand, which was still resting casually on her shoulder, before quickly wiggling out of his grip.

"Hey! Who said that you could come over here and act all friendly with me?" she demanded accusingly, eyebrow raised as she glared at him hautily. "How do I know that your evil side isn't going to pop out at any moment, huh?"

Top, who had inititally looked surprised by her sudden outburst, couldn't hold back a smirk.  She was a brief flicker of that evil look in his eyes, but almost as quickly, his expression turned apologetic.

"No, no, there aren't any such lingering feelings around - I promise," he said with a cheerful grin. Then his tone turned slightly more solemn as he add, "Besides, even if I was feeling evil, there's no place for that kind of behavior here.  Today is Jiyong's day."

Top glanced over at his friend, watching as GD made his way from group to group, happiness apparent on his face. Caden studied Top's face closely as he did this. She had originally planned to give him a much harder time regarding his behavior the other night, but she could tell that - if only for the sake of his friend - he was being completely sincere.  She found this fairly intriguing, considering that there was rarely a time that an earnest word came out of this boy's mouth in her presence. Right on cue, he turned back with a teasing grin.

"So why have you been standing here, staring over at that table for the past five minutes, anyway?" he inquired jokingly. "Couldn't figure out where to sit?"

"Ah, no- Jiyong told me where to go," she assured him immediately, but quickly regretted doing so when she realized that she would now have to admit to the actual reason she'd be hesitant to sit.

Just as she'd guessed, Top was eying her expectantly, waiting patiently for her further explaination.  She grasped around in her mind for other possible, less embarrassing, reasons, but - coming up with nothing - she quickly gave up trying.

"Well... You see... The only thing is..." she tried, blathering out several false starts, trying desperately to resist glancing over at the girls in question.

"Yes?" he pressed, 'trying-hard-not-to-laugh-in-crazy-girl's-face' expression firmly in place.

"It's just..." Caden started again. Finally, she took a deep breath, turning her gaze directly at the spot in question. "The seating arrangement has me sitting next to 2NE1!"  This she whispered dramatically, hands clutched together nervously, as if she were revealing some sort of dark secret. Try as he might, Top couldn't help laughing at this.

"The way you create problems for yourself," he teased cheerfully, with a shake of his head. Caden shot him a sharp look.

"I didn't create the problem," she pointed out hautily, revealing just how deeply she truely believed that her reaction was a perfectly reasonable one. "​I​ didn't make the seating chart."  Top opened his mouth to clarify his point, but she was already off - the flow of word vomit slowly gaining momentum as she wrung her hands nervously, still staring over in her favorite band's direction.

"How could anyone expect me to sit beside four of the most perfect beings known to existance without feeling nervous? And even if I go over there, what am I going to do? Sit there like a lump, staring down at my hands, trying desperately to think of something fun and witty to say so that I can start a conversation, earn their favor, and eventually become the best of friends with all of them forever and ever so that I may die happy and fulfilled? Who can handle that kind of pressure?? AND what do you even say to people like that? They have these wonderful, interesting lives that they lead and what do I do? Sit cooped up in my apartment all day, then teach a foreign language to five unruly boys with better things to do!"

Momentarily stunned into silence by his exposure to the sheer insanity that were Caden's inner thoughts, Top was about to point out that she didn't have any problems talking to them​ despite their 'wonderful, interesting lives', but he never got the chance.

"Oy, teacher! How come you never have any of these concerns about talking to us, huh?" came a sudden voice from behind them, causing them both to jump.  Turning toward the sound, they were faced with a rather pouty Seungri, who was looking over at the table in question with something like contempt.  Caden only sighed, shaking her head at the sheer naivete of his question.

"Because they're 2NE1," she pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But we're Big Bang!"

The response rang out in unison - even Top hadn't been able to hold back his perplexed response.  The two Seunghyuns glanced at each other reproachfully, while Caden scanned the room embarrassedly to see if anyone had noticed their sudden outburst. Fortunately for her, the overall chatter of the room seemed to have drowned them out.  She let out another sigh, as if to express just how sorry she felt for their lack of common knowledge.  The two boys eyed her wearily, but waited for her to continue.

"Look," she began kindly, in a tone one might use to explain simple math to a child. "You guys are great and impressive, and make fantastic music that I enjoy-" she paused to shoot each of them an understanding smile, before continuing more briskly, "-but frankly there's just something about them that reserves a special place in my heart."  She glanced over at the quartet again, letting out a breath of satisfaction. The she immediately turned fearful once more. "And they have me next to CL of all people! CL!"

They both stared down at her briefly in disbelief, before Top finally shook his head, giving up.  Suddenly Caden turned back to face them, eying Seungri suspiciously, apparently having returned to her usual - relatively sane - state.

"When did you get here, anyway?" she demanded of the maknae.

"Just now," he answered casually, happy to let the subject of their hoobae's superiority over them drop. Also, as always, he seemed happy to have the attention to him - positive or negative. "I spotted you guys as soon as I walked in, and I was coming over to greet you when I overheard your ridiculous dilema."

Top gaped at him, taken aback by his impolite word choice.  Caden, for her part, let it pass, as she wasn't currently on tutor duty.  She was more focused on another example of his inconsiderate behavior at the moment.

"You got here just now?" she repeated disapprovingly.  She looked at the time on her phone pointedly before turning it around, displaying the numbers clearly in his face. "This party began at 8pm! And what time is it now?"  Seungri squinted at her phone, pretending to comprehend them with great difficulty.

"8:52pm," he responded, doing his best impression of someone who felt appropriately chastised.

"That makes you 52 minutes late for your hyung's celebration," she nagged pointedly. "That's no longer fashionably late - it's just late! All the rest of the band members who are equally as busy as you managed to arrive even before I did!"

"Does that mean Teacher made Jiyong hyung wait as well?" Seungri inquired innocently, all evidence of remorse instantly fading.

"Not as long as you," she shot back immediately, totally unphased by the accusation. "Besides- unlike his fellow members, I'm an unimportant guest.  The celebration could easily go on without me."

"So that's what you think, is it?" he responded cheerfully with a mischievous grin.  Caden and (unbeknownst to her) Top both gave the maknae a look, although both for quite different reasons.  She quickly shook the comment off, continuing with her lecture,

"Anyway, what are you waiting for? Go greet the Jiyong and apologize for your thoughtlessness. He shouldn't have worry about you on his birthday."

"Yes teacher, very well. You're quite right," Seungri allowed graciously, bowing his head toward her to demonstrate his obedience. Then he righted himself, adding, "On that note, I take my leave. You should do the same, teacher.  There's no reason to be nervous of those four girls.  Especially Chaerin - what's so special about her anyway?"

It was too loud for CL to hear this comment from halfway across the room, but if she had, she certainly wouldn't have let Seungri get away with it.  As it was, Caden and Top watched as the maknae walked off, both stunned to silence for a moment before she finally broke it.

"Punk," she muttered cheerily, watching good-naturedly as he approached GD who, along with the other members, began to give him a hard time.

"There are so many times that I feel that he needs to be hit, compared to the relatively few times I actually get to hit him," Top mused thoughtfully, causing Caden to giggle.  He smiled approvingly before nudging her playfully with his shoulder.

"Although I rarely find myself saying this, but Seungri's partially right," he said with a cheeky grin. "There's no reason to be nervous about sitting next to the 2NE1 hoobaes - even if they are your 'all-time-perfect-idols'."  Caden swatted at him for this, which he (to her surprise) skillfully evaded.

"Anyway, most of the guests have arrived now, and food will probably be served soon," he added with a laugh. "If you don't sit soon, you'll be holding up the whole show."  Caden didn't respond, looking slightly put out at being unable to argue.  Top cluckled again, patting her head a bit condescendingly.

"You'll be fine," he informed her. "I'd better get back to my seat as well."  For a moment, as he started turning to leave, there was a look of real fear in her eyes, and for a second it looked like she might ask him to stay.  Surprised (not realizing until then that Teacher Caden was capable of such an expression), he hesitated, but her expression instantly changed to one of determination.

"Alright," she replied, sounding quite sure of herself. "I'll see you later then."  Top tried not to grin at her sudden intensity, simply nodding his head before making his way back to his seat.

Caden watched him go with a bit of a sigh. Despite their assurances and her forced determination, she still had to work up the courage to finally take the plunge.  She stared over at her seat longingly, deciding to ignore the perfect being who would be seated directly to her left, instead focusing on the nice stylist unnie and how enjoyable it might be conversing with her.  She nodded to herself, determined now to make her way over.

She had a couple false starts - lifting her foot to step, only to set it right back down in the same place - like a swimmer trying to commit to jumping into a cold pool.  Finally she worked up the nerve, taking her first brave step when the sound of her name being hissed across the room caught her attention.

"Caden ssi!" She paused, turning toward the voice to find Seungri gesturing at her impatiently.

"What are you waiting for, huh? Go, go!" she saw him mouth from his place beside his friends. "Go sit!"  Caden's eyes widened in alarm, then quickly narrowed in annoyance.

"Quit it!" she mouthed back, gesturing subtly for him to stop.  Her message was completely ignored and the maknae continued gesticulating wildly.  She glanced quickly at the other members, who all seemed to be deep in conversation, (thankfully) not noticing anything as of yet.  She saw that Top had gotten caught up talking to one of the YG producers, while GD was still happily chatting with each of his guests in turn.  Turning her attention back to Seungri (how could she ignore him?), she made a few threatening gestures before giving up and hurriedly making her way over to her seat before his over-the-top motions caught the attention of his fellow band members (or the rest of the guests for that matter).

She turned now to face the task at hand, chewing her lip nervously.  She was so focused, in fact, that she completely missed the satisfied smirk that Seungri shot her way before finally shifting his attention back to his own conversation.

For Caden, the short walk across the room to her seat seemed to happen in slow motion.  When she finally reached her spot, she pulled her chair out slowly and cautiously sat down.  Everyone around her was already chatting pleasantly with their neighbors, which was something of a relief to her.  It gave her a chance to calm down and observe the goings on at her table without having to interact quite yet.

As it turned out, 'observe the goings on' almost instantly regressed into 'try not to stare too obviously at the four lovely goddesses to her left' for Caden, despite her best efforts to the contrary.  Particularly attention stealing was the unearthly being directly next to her - try as she might, Caden could do little more than sit perfectly still, gazing at this divine creature out of the corner of her eye.  And who could blame her, honestly?  After all, who in their right mind would be able to hold it together next to the Baddest Female?  The sweetest female?  The lovliest, most wonderful, most gorgeous, amazing female Seoul city ever had?  Whose mere inclusion turned music into gold? (Again, not that she was biased or anything...)

She watched for a few minutes more as the girls of 2NE1 chatted happily amongst themselves, every so often turning to include the stylist unnies on the other side of the table.  Caden sat there quietly, perfectly content to be ignored as she observed the various conversations going on around her.  After a few minutes, however, the talking to her right tapered off and Hara unnie (her seat mate, Big Bang's stylist noona, whose name she finally remembered) spotted her.

"Ah, it's the boys' new tutor," the woman proclaimed brightly, as much for the benefit of the women around her as for herself. "Caden ssi, isn't it?  I haven't seen you in a while.  How are you doing?"

"I'm doing very well, thank you for asking," Caden replied politely, with a cheerful smile. "It's nice to see you again.  How have you been?"

"Well!" the woman replied, returning her smile. "Much less busy now that their promotions are over for the season."

"Although you just had the big CF to worry about," Caden pointed out with a grin - the term 'busy' was relative when it came to YG staff and stars alike.

"Still, compared to promotion time, that feels like nothing," another younger woman with short curly hair quipped laughingly.  All of Big Bang's staff chuckled quietly before Hara looked over at Caden quizzically.

"I don't think you've had a chance to meet everyone yet, have you?  Should I introduce you?"

"That's be  great," Caden pronounced happily.  With that, the older woman rattled off the names of each of the surrounding six women, all of whom were either stylists, hair-dressers, or makeup artists, with the exception of one of the YG dancers on the end.

"Don't worry if it takes some time to remember all of our names," one of the makeup artists announced brightly.

"Yes," Hara agreed with a grin. "You're going to be meeting so many staff members over the next few months that you won't know what to do.  Anyway, it's safe to assume we're all unnies to you - you're quite young.  Let's just comfortably leave it at that." 

Caden smiled gratefully.  Although her age was a secret from the members (and only because she knew they would try to take advantage of her being younger, even though as the teacher, she should rightfully command the most respect - just as they would be expected to speak respectfully to a sunbae who was younger than them), Korean language and society were far to age and position based to try to keep it from anyone else.  Caden had always answered with her birth year when she was asked her age (which was generally one of the first questions she was asked), she just took care to do so out of earshot of her students.  Thus far, they had not proved smart enough to cheat on their bet by asking other staffers. As it happened, she was among the youngest in the company excluding (of course) trainees and a handful of group members and other performers.

As the women continued to chat around her - about her job, how the boys were fairing, and how they were treating her - a small army of waiters appeared, loading the tables with platter after platter of delicious looking (and smelling) food.  As she was spending more time with Daeho and his friends on her off time, Caden was becoming quite accustomed to the Korean style of service, which generally involved some kind of bell or indicator to call the server, and everything except the main dish and initial banchan were self serve.  This restaurant was very much Western style service where everything was brought to you.

"All of the guests must have arrived," Hara said cheerfully as she began to dig in.  The others at the table followed her lead, which Caden took as indication that Hara was either the oldest or most senior member at their table.  She happily did the same, watching in amusement as the woman flagged down one of the busy waiters to inquire after refills of champagne, as well as requesting a glass for Caden.  Soon - sipping on their drinks and digging into their food - the lively chatter quieted significantly as everyone preceeded to enjoy their meal.

Eventually, everyone seemed to eat their fill and the buzz of conversation picked back up throughout the room.  People began to stand and work the room once more - GD in particular - going around to talk to those they hadn't been seated near.  Hara politely excused herself to make her way over to the other end of the table where some staff she hadn't yet greeted were sitting.

While she still continued to chat intermitantly with the women around her, Caden mostly took the opportunity to observe the interactions of the various guests.  There were several more who she recognized, such as Lydia Paek and Mina Kwon - both of whom were conversing in a lively manner with Teddy, GD, and some fellow producers - all of whom must have arrived after she'd been seated.  She saw Top and Daesung chatting with a few of GD's friends, while Seungri and Young bae talked casually with a choreographer and several members of both the male and female dance teams.  She couldn't help but smile at the omnipresent grin plastered on Jiyong's face all evening - he was clearly happy with the turnout.

As she was contemplating this, a shadow fell over her and a male voice began speaking politely in fair English,

"Hello there. I don't think we've met yet. I'm Choi Dong-wook.  And you must be Jiyong's new girlfriend?"  That last question caught her attention.  Caden snapped her head around at the speaker in question so fast, she nearly gave herself whiplash, making sure the question wasn't being directed at her.

"What makes you say that?" she blurted out in English when she realized that she was, in fact, GD's presumed date, so flustered by this sudden assumption that she almost didn't realize who she was talking to.  A slightly confused Se7en stood before her, probably trying to figure out just what he'd said to cause such an alarmed reaction.  He incorrectly assumed that it was his use of the word 'new'.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "Have you been dating for a while?  I thought that might not be the case since Jiyong hasn't told me about you yet, that rascal!  He probably wanted to keep the fact that he was dating a foreigner quiet, but after all I've done for him, he keeps it a secret from me??"

"Actually, you're mistaken," she corrected weakly in Korean after managing to regain her composure somewhat. "I'm Big Bang's new English tutor."  Unbeknownst to Caden, this statement caught the attention of the  four girls sitting beside her.

"Really??" Se7en demanded, in Korean now. "Are you sure?"

"Yes... quite sure," she replied, calm enough now to chuckle slightly at his disbelief.  Se7en grinned back to acknowlege the silliness of his last question, but continued in thoughtful seriousness. 

"Of course you're sure.  It's just... well, a cute and young, unfamiliar foreigner at Jiyong's birthday - I figured you must be some talent he'd worked with on one of his overseas projects.  In fact, I'm very surprised that the President would hire someone like you as a staffer - are you sure you're not actually training to debut?"

"Still sure," Caden replied sunnily.  She couldn't be sure whether this man was totally joking or not, but she decided to assume he was and just roll with it.

"Plus, I saw Top and Seungri with their hands on your shoulder when I first came in" Se7en continued, undeterred by her skepticism, "and I figured that must mean that you were close with the members - well Top at least, he doesn't do skinship so easily as the maknae - so I just thought that I had been left out of the loop on the new girl Jiyong was dating."

"Well, I have been together with them almost daily for the past two months, so we've certainly grown close," she joked mildly. "But I don't think I've been a very good girlfriend during that time - unless you want a girlfriend that lectures all the time, then assigns you homework."

Se7en looked like he was considering responding to that comment, but decided against it with a sly enough grin that Caden couldn't help but be relieved by this choice.

"Anyway, although I'm not who you thought I was - it's true that we haven't yet been introduced, despite me working for the company for a few months," she told him amicabley, attempting to fill the silence as he regained his composure, "though, you're far from being the 'last to know'.  I still haven't met half the staff.  I'm Caden."  She bowed her head in greeting.  He perked up at this, familiar greeting protocal seeming to be the perfect way to refocus the conversation.

"It's nice to meet you," he chirped politely, looking her over for another moment before shaking his head in exaggerated disbelief. "You know, I honestly am surprised you were hired to be their tutor - don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're great - but, seriously, you look like you could be there age.  Younger even."

"That's probably because I am," Caden admitted somewhat bashfully. "Their same age, that is, not younger!  That would be too much..."

"Wow," he said thoughfully, a breath of air through his teeth, "that's seriously so surprising.  You must be really good for the President to be comfortable hiring someone so young."

"I do my best," Caden replied somewhat modestly, with a smile.  She had heard many such comments from her fellow staffers.  Although Korea had a relative influx of post-college age foreigners teaching English throughout the country, she'd come to find that the level of trust and responsibility between this type of position and the one she held were quite different.  She was so busy considering all of this, that she almost didn't notice Se7en's thoughtful expression change back to that of the dangerous smirk he had forced himself to resist using on her earlier.

"Smart, talented, young, and pretty foreigner," he listed leisurely, flashing her his best 'lady-killer' smile with zero reserve this time. "Your students must enjoy your class immensely.  I can't decide if having a teacher like you would help me pay more attention in class, or less... perhaps I need to brush up on my English to find out?"

"The English you used earlier sounded good already," she countered smoothly with a grin.  She had far too much practice to fall for his flirting that easily. "You must be nearly fluent."

"Then perhaps we can find a subject that I can teach you," he replied without hesitation.  This one managed to trip her up enough that she didn't immediately have a comeback.  She didn't know whether to laugh or roll her eyes at this - in the end she settled for a little of both.  It was always the same with popular boys - famous or no - and she went back and forth between finding it amusing and completely infuriating, usually depending on the person she was talking to.  In this case she settled for somewhere in the middle, and her face must have relayed that much - Se7en seemed to realize that he'd been caught, having the decency to pretend to look somewhat sheepish in the face of her exasperation.  She was about to attempt to change the subject before the interaction became too awkward when a female voice behind her captured her attention.

"Ah, our Minji has to watch her ideal man flirting with other girls right in front of her again.  Do you think he does this on purpose?"  Se7en laughed heartily at this, while Caden froze for a moment before slowly turning toward the source of the statement.

She found that all  four members of 2NE1 were gazing over her head at Se7en - CL and Bom wearing matching smirks, Dara trying her best not to laugh, and Minji attempting to suppress a grin.  She sighed, pretending to be disapproving.

"I don't know, unnie," she replied, addressing CL's question while her eyes remained trained on her sunbae, "but if you think I'm annoyed, imagine how Han-byul unnie (Se7en's girlfriend*) must feel."  She shook her head in feigned disappointment, causing the other girls to giggle.

"She would be too busy talking with her friends to take any notice of me," Se7en shot back teasingly.  Caden turned her attention back to him as he made his way casually around the table to stand beside Minji, who was still pretending to be disapproving.  She attempted to give him the cold shoulder as he rested his hands on the back of her chair. 

"Especially when she has great spies like you four to keep track of me for her," he continued, as Minji tried valiantly to ignore him.  He grinned wickedly.  "It's no use trying to act cute by pretending to be mad - I know your game."

"Hul!" Minji cried, finally breaking.  "Oppa, why do you always accuse me of doing things like that?"

"I know you too well," he teased good-naturedly.  As they continued to bicker back and forth this way, Caden slowly realized that the attention of the other girls had slipped away from their fellow member and fell instead upon her.  She looked up to see three pairs of beautifully made-up eyes resting on her before finally landing on CL, who was sitting directly beside her.

"So you're really the new English tutor?" the gorgeous blonde inquired politely.  Caden became suddenly shy, working hard not to gulp as she attempted  to answer.

"Yeah... erm, yes," she managed before taking a deep breath and adding more confidently. "I also teach Japanese."

"Really?" CL asked, somewhat disbelievingly. "That's pretty impressive."

"It's not much, really," Caden argued mildly. "Anyway, you're pretty much the same - Korean, English, Japanese, even a little French!"  She looked around and noticed that the three of them were eying her with some amusement and she realized that she had been gushing.

"I'm sorry!  Telling you things about yourself when we first meet...  To be honest, I'm your fan," she explained, slightly embarrassed.  The girls all laughed at her awkward confession.

"Uh oh!  Do I have competition as CL-roo's number one fangirl?" Dara burst out in amusement.

"Number one??" Bom demanded in pretend annoyance. "You're already second behind me!"  They began to argue cutely about whose love for their leader was stronger when Caden piped up,

"Well, actually - while I'm definitely CL's fan - I meant all of you..."

"Oh!" Bom declared excitedly, immediately forgetting her 'anger' - leaving Dara to stick her tongue out at her friend jokingly. "In that case, why don't you tell me something about me now?"  Dara burst out laughing at this and CL rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Um..." Caden began shyly, trying to think of something interesting. "You have an older sister who plays an instrument.  You speak English and went to school in America.  You tried out a handful of times before finally being accepted as a trainee."

"Ooooh!" Bom and Dara cooed in unison, impressed that she was able to answer on the spot, applauding her quietly.

"Do Dara now," Bom requested excitedly.

"Unnie, stop making her perform!  She's a party guest, not an entertainer," CL chided, laughing.

"But it's fun!" Bom complained.  When CL only shook her head, Bom pouted.

"Oh all right," she conceeded finally.  Caden grinned at this exchange.  She was secretly super happy at being able to make her idols excited so easily.

"So you teach two languages," CL prompted kindly, bringing the conversation back to their seat mate. "You must have started very young - you don't seem that much older than me."

"I'm not very much older than you, actually," Caden revealed, before quickly adding, "I'm sorry for already knowing your age!"  CL grinned at this.  Caden told them her birth year.

"But actually, if you don't mind - could you keep it a secret from the Big Bang members," she added in a hushed tone. "We've having a contest where if they guess my birthday, I'll tell them my age.  They have to treat me as their teacher no matter what, so I didn't want to tell them, but they begged."  The girls chuckled at this, then Park Bom became somewhat distraught.

"I can't believe you're so much younger than the two of us," she huffed, indicating Dara. "Only older than the two maknaes... How can we be older than the teacher?"

"Don't worry, unnie.  You're still younger than many of the other staff members," CL assured her with a laugh.

"But still," Bom complained.

"What does age matter when you've got eternal baby faces like ours?" Dara asked, tracing the outline of her face to demonstrate, like the make-up spokesmodel that she was. "I will forever claim to be the group's true maknae!"

"Hey unnie!  Stop trying to steal my rightful spot," Minji accused jokingly, having just rejoined the conversation as Se7en wandered off to visit with the other guests. "You can't be the mascot and the maknae!"

"Ah, that's true - I work hard to be the face of this group," Dara replied, pretending to sound put-upon.

"Yah!  Who here is the face of this group?" Bom demanded.

Caden watched in fangirly bliss as her four favorite idols continued their silly, teasing chatter which she had grown accustomed to viewing from afar on 2NE1TV.  She found that witnessing it first hand gave her all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings to know that they truely were just as close in person.

What surprised her the most about them was the way they actively continued to include her in their conversation.  Amidst their usual chitchat, they would periodically attempt to explain some of their inside jokes, or ask her about herself (she found herself giving a brief summary of her life's story to a surprisingly captive audience) and a little about her experience teaching the boys.  The 2NE1 members made a few teasing remarks (one might describe them as 'educated guesses') about their fellow YG family members' probable classtime behaviors, which had Caden rolling - at times because of their accuracy, and other times at the low expectations of their sunbaes' behavior.

Other guests came and went as their conversation continued, seeming to flow in and out of the discussion fluidly.  Over an hour had gone by, and Caden was in heaven - still in disbelief that four of the most fun and interesting girls in the room had allowed her to be included in their circle.  She took notice of the way that Bom and Dara were often easily distracted as soon as someone new called for their attention.  She saw that Minji chatted comfortably with anyone who came along, tending to unconciously use more aegyo toward some of the older male dancers or performers.  And Caden took particular notice of CL, who was by far the most actively engaging of the group.  She was generally the one to seamlessly broach new topics when one had been exhausted, and seemed genuinely interested in hearing out other people's stories.  While she didn't walk from group to group throughout the room (seeming to avoid stealing the limelight from the birthday boy), she often scanned the area nearby, looking for anyone who may have been sitting alone or in a pair that she might call over to join in, making sure everyone felt included.

Caden admired this habit - she herself rarely made a point to go out of her way at a party that she wasn't even hosting.  This left fewer wayward guests for GD to look after as he went around, enjoying himself.  CL was making his job as host easier and he didn't even know it.

By then, quite some time had passed since the dinner plates had been cleared away, and the lively chatter throughout the room was only periodically interrupted by waiters appearing to refill drinks.  During this time, GD had only had only wandered over a time or two to check that everyone on their side of the room was enjoying themselves.  During each of those times, Caden had been so engrossed in her conversations that she'd barely responded.  He had instead chatted cheerfully with the other girls for a few moments before moving on once more. 

Currently, GD was involved in a conversation with several close friends - including a few Big Bang members, which had held his attention for quite some time.  When there was a lull in her conversation, Caden saw CL check her watch discreetly before turning to one of the older staff members - the woman Caden recognized from her first encounter with YG (in fact, she was actually the one who had mistaken her for the intended tutor applicant.  She silently thanked the woman for everything that had happened since them, vowing to find out her name as soon as possible).  CL carefully leaned over Minji to ask the woman a question.  They conversed quietly for a minute before the older woman nodded toward GD, then beckoning toward CL with an encouraging gesture, egging her on.  CL nodded knowingly.

"Jiyong oppa," she called out casually, clear enough to be heard over the racket.  GD, whose group had just exploded with laughter, turned his attention to her almost immediately.

"Chaerin-ah," he called back teasingly, still chuckling. "What do you need?"

"Come here for a minute," she requested brightly.

"What is it?" he called casually, still half listening to his friends' conversation.

"You'll find out when you get here," she insisted with a hint of teasing.

"Okay, I'm coming," he said with a grin, turning back to his friends.  He said something that set them all laughing hysterically once again.  Once they began to calm down slightly, he leaned in to excuse himself before standing and making his way over to their group.

"What can I do when Chaerin needs my attention - it's such a rare occurance.  Were you feeling ignored over here?" he joked, causing CL to roll her eyes good-naturedly.  He nodded in greeting to the manager noona, as well as Minji, who seemed to be keen to hear what her unnie needed with him.  Before CL had a chance to answer his teasing, GD turned his attention to Caden.

"Ah, Caden ssi, are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.  Standing between her and CL's chairs, he casually placed an arm over each of their shoulders, lighthearted smile trained on Caden. "Are they treating you well over here?"

"I'm having a great time," Caden informed him with a grin. "And yes - I'm being treated very well."

"Good, good," he responded jokingly. "But you don't just have to say that because they're listening.  You can tell me if they're mistreating you.  I'll make sure everyone is rightfully punished."
​"Hul!" CL and Minji cried in unison, while the manager noona only rolled her eyes at her charge's silliness.  Caden wasn't even given the chance to defend her table mates before his attention was back on CL, who was still tsking at his teasing.

"So what did you need, Distracting Girl?" he asked brightly. "Besides my much sought after attention."  It was Caden's turn to roll her eyes at his cheesiness.  She expected CL to argue, but the girl chose to totally ignore the statement in favor of getting to the point.

"I was just thinking, it's nearly time to bring out the cake and presents, don't you think?" she pointed out brightly, looking up at him with a sweet smile as he stood towering over their seats. "It's getting kinda late - some of the staff may want to leave after this, but they want to wait until the party's over."

"Well..." GD started, looking over his shoulder at all of his friends, who still seemed quite engrossed in their various discussions.

"You'll still have 2 of 3 more rounds of celebrating with the kids after you finish up here, right?" CL pointed out reasonably, skillfully avoiding seeming pushy or bossy toward her sunbae, but still managing to get her point across. "Once you finish up here you'll get to hit the club and the norebang, plus the people with other plans can leave without concerns."

"That's true," he agreed, checking his watch briefly. "I was planning on doing it soon anyway.  Might as well get it over with now."

"Good idea," CL replied sunnily, while Caden caught Minji and the manager noona exchanging knowing smiles from behind his back.

With that, GD disappeared to retrieve his champagne glass, clinking it lightly with a fork which he made his way to the front of the room.

"Excuse me, everyone.  Your attention please," he announced cheerfully as the room slowly quieted down.  The last thing Caden heard was Top's deep voiced, unintelligable murmur and a chuckle before all eyes turned to the birthday boy as he prepared to make a quick speech on his own behalf.

"I just quickly wanted to thank everyone for being here tonight," he began, smiling broadly. "It's not often that most of us have time in our schedules to come together like this, but I'm pleased to see that nearly everyone that had been invited was able to make an appearance.  It's nice to be reminded once in a while that there are so many friends who are willing to dedicate an entire evening to celebrating with me."

"What are you on about?  I came for the free food," Kush called out jovially, causing a smattering of chuckles throughout the room.  GD ignore the interruption, but the grin never left his face.

"Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know how happy seeing you all come together on behalf of my birthday makes me and - since I can only get away with saying this on days like today - cheers to me!" he finished, holding up his glass.

"Cheers!" the room responded, chuckling as they all raised their own drinks in response, clinking them with the people around them.  GD moved to do the same, clinking glasses with the people nearest to him with a broad smile, occasionally responding to those who questioned or congratulated him. "Oh!  And we'll be cutting the cake and opening presents in just a moment."

The buzz of conversation resumed throughout the room as GD went around, saying a few words to each table.  The waiters were already in motion - clearing any remaining dinner plates, refilling drinks, and setting up for the cake - as if called by some intangible force.

Before long the cake was wheeled out on its own cart and two of the waiters immediately went to work placing and lighting the candles.  GD made his way to them to oversee the whole process.  When they were finished, they bowed themselves out of the room while someone dimmed the lights and once again everyone's focus turned to GD.  There was a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday' (in Korean of course), followed by a moment of careful consideration from the birthday boy as he chose his wish, then the candle were finally blown out.

This, of course, was met with an outburst of enthusiastic applause, which he jokingly acknowledged before several waiters mysteriously reappeared and instantly began cutting and distributing the cake to each of the guests.  GD wandered back over to where Caden and the 2NE1 members were sitting.

"So," he pronounced, making his presence know as he rested both hands on the back of CL's chair, forcing her to crane her neck to see him.

"I don't think I heard enough singing from this side of the room," he accused teasingly. "I thought you were professionals."

"Oh, we are," Bom shot back immediately. "That's why we know better than to strain our vocals in situations like this."  The other girls cracked up at her answer, as did GD.

"I'd say that it should be thought of more as vocal practice," he countered, grinning. "That being said, I'd like a little more enthusiasm from the four of you next time."

"If that's the case, we'll be sure to remember as soon as you have another birthday," CL commented with a sly grin.  GD only rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

"So how's the cake?" he asked, scanning their table, which had already been fully stoked with the sought after dessert.  He turned his attention to Caden, apparently awaiting her answer in particular.

"It's great!" she answered earnestly.  She had already become nearly stuffed with all of the delicious food from dinner, but that hadn't stopped her from inhaling half of her slice within moments of it being placed in front of her.  GD seemed to notice this and giggled at her slightly, seeming satisfied.  He then glanced around at the rest of the room, where some guests were only now receiving their slice.

"I'll give everyone a few minutes to finish, then I'll start opening my presents," he announced, turning his attention back to the group before him. "That way we can get going to the bar for round 2 (ee-cha), and someone won't feel the need to lecture me about it anymore."  He stared down pointedly at the top of CL's head.  She looked around after a moment, feigning cluelessness, before finally tilting her head all the way back to look up at him in mock surprise.

"Me?" she asked, pointing to her own face as if she couldn't believe her ears. "I have no idea what you're talking about!  I never lecture..."  The other members began laughing at this a little too hard for CL's liking.

"What?" she demanded, still feigning seriousness. "It wasn't that funny!"  This only caused the members to giggle even harder.  CL sighed, shooting each of them an adorable death glare.

"Uh oh - looks like you have some descension amongst the ranks there, leader," GD teased, tilting his head down closer to eye level so that she wouldn't have to crane her neck so far to see him this time. "I'll let you work that out amongst yourselves.  I should check in with my other guests, and after that be prepared to watch me open gifts!"  All of the table's occupants murmured theri agreement as he turned to leave.  He only made it a few steps before he paused, turning back to pose a query,

"Ah, Chaerin-ah, I never checked with you - are you coming out with us afterward?"

"Mmm, I don't know..." she responded thoughtfully. "I was thinking of maybe going home after this..."

"What, no!  Come on," GD urged. "You have to come!  I know for a fact you don't have any schedules tomorrow... At least come for round 2 - we'll probably just norebang afterwards."  CL hesitated, considering.  GD quickly became impatient waiting for a response,

"If you don't come, I'll refuse to open my gifts and then it will be your fault that the guests are stuck here all night!" 

"Such a bully!" Dara cried, causing GD to grin somewhat evily.  CL rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the small grin that appeared.  She glanced over at the other members.  Dara shrugged good-naturedly, while Bom and Minji nodded.

"Alright, we'll come," CL finally agreed with a smile.

"Great!" he cried, seeming satisfied. "I'll go take care of the rest of the guests then."  With that, he turned and walked off.

Everyone returned to chatting and eating their cake, Caden included - although every so often she noticed some of the older staff members checking their watches.  It wasn't more than 15 mintues later that GD called the attention of the room once more to announce that he would be opening his gifts after which time the guests would be free to go.  This earned a hearty chuckle from the room (especially - Caden noticed - from those who had been impatient just moments before).

Before he had even completed this statement, a couple of Big Bang's coordi-noonas were up and in action - sorting the gifts, taking note of which present was from whom, etc.  They quickly sat him down in between the two long tables on either side of the room which his guests currently occupied, surrounded by two large piles of gifts.  As they began to hand him the first one, GD put his hands out, addressing the crowd.

"Alright, since this is tonight's grand finale, I'd like you all to turn and face me," he ordered cheerfully.  "That's right, turn you chairs... All eyes on me!"  Some of his friends grumbled loudly, complaining that he was 'needy' and 'full of himself', but GD only grinned widely, waiting for his wish to be fulfilled.

Once everyone was set up to his liking, he proceeded.  One of the coordi-noonas would the person the gift was from and hand it over, while the other sorted trash and gifts that had already been opened.  Some of the guests would walk over and stand beside GD while their gift was being opened, while others simply watched from their seats.  The majority of the gifts from his fellow entertainers were comprised of brand name clothes, shoes, or trinkets that GD had previously expressed interest in, and he seemed quite excited to receive them.  This made Caden a little doubtful about her present, but since there was nothing she could do about it now, she decided just to wait and see how it would be received.  Some of the guests only waited until the moment their gifts were opened before politely excusing themselves, wishing GD a happy birthday and bidding farewell.  The majority, however, remained until the end.  

About halfway through the pile, Top was called.  He stood, straightening his shirt in the prim manner of the actor he was, before moseying over to stand beside Jiyong.  He watched as his friend excitedly ripped the package open to reveal a pair of brightly colored specialty shoes.

"Ah, yeah!  Thanks hyung," GD cried, standing to hug his friend. "I've had my eye on these.  I almost bought them when I was out shopping last weekend, but I resisted.  I decided to wait and see if anyone got them for me first."

"I'm glad you like them," Top replied happily, but Caden - who was sitting on the other side of the room - clearly noticed the smallest of evil grins sneaking across his lips as he added, "I actually bought them last weekend too. I'm lucky that even thought you went on a shopping spree only a week before your birthday, you restrained yourself... Although wouldn't have been so funny if I had run into you while buying your present?"  That got a few laughs, and no one else seemed to notice when he glanced around, catching Caden's eye and winking cheekily.  GD only chuckled at his friend's statement, too wrapped up in the spotlight to notice the brief exchange that went on across the room.  

Top clapped GD on the shoulder in a friendly manner, congratulating him once more before meandering back to his seat.  Caden sighed to herself - what happened to no evil side? - catching herself checking out of the corner of her eye to see if he would look over again, but Top's attention seemed to have fallen back on the birthday boy for good.  Caden wasn't immediately sure whether she was annoyed or relieved by this, but quickly decided that it didn't matter, focus also returning firmly to the present opening.

Several more names were called and their gifts were opened, oohed and aahed over, and then quickly and systematically to the side by the coordi-noonas, after which, a new gift would instantly appear.  Just a few minutes later, Caden recognized her gift - a rather large, multicolored gift bag (she had been forced to used the last of her decorative tissue paper stash that she'd brought with her when she moved - that stuff is impossible to find in Korea for some reason) - as it was set before the birthday boy.  When her name was called, she remained in her seat, waving over at GD with a wide smile when he looked around to acknowledge her.

"After seeing all the nice gifts you got from everyone else, I'm starting to get more and more embarrassed of mine..." She paused as most of the guests chuckled at her statement before adding, "but it's the only thing I was sure that you'd like."

"Now I'm even more curious to see what it is," GD joked, causing more laughter.  He quickly removed the tissue paper, discarding it unceremoniously over his shoulder (only to be instantly retrieved and properly discarded by the nearest coordi-noona).  He reached inside the large bag and removed a Costco-sized container, filled to the brim with individual snack cookies.

"What's this?" he burst out in surprise.

"What?" Caden replied, alarmed. "Is it the wrong one?  I was sure that this was the one you liked..."

"Yes," he responded immediately. "I mean, no - it's not like that .  These are my favorites.  It's because I've never seen a package with so many before!"  Several people laughed at this, including Caden.

"Oh that," she said, grinning. "That's because, when I was looking at the store, they only sell the tiny individual size ones - no family pack or anything.  Since it was for a present, I couldn't give you just one small pack.  I actually had special order that size online, directly from the company that makes them."

"Ah, I see," GD replied cheerfully. "At least I know that you put a lot of effort into my gift.  And that I'll never need to buy snacks again..."

"Good thing Hwangssabu isn't here," Young bae called out playfully. "I don't think he would approve of this gift."

"Naw, even your trainor knows that our Jiyong could benefit from putting on some weight," Kush responded immediately.

"Hul!" Caden and GD called out in unison.

"I told you my present wasn't very good," Caden added good-naturedly, crossing her arms over the back of her chair.  GD opened his mouth to reassure her, but Seungri beat him to it.

"No, actually your gift is perfect," he called out matter-of-factly. "Jiyong hyung has been craving for these snacks since the last time he got them a month ago, but instead of going out and buying more, he just holds on to the empty container like some kind of sad trophy.  He refuses to throw it out..."

"All right, that's enough," GD snapped, suddenly ill-tempered. "You talk too much."

"Now we all know that's true," Young bae agreed, leaning over to clap Seungri on the shoulder just a little harder than necessary in an attempt to lighten the mood.  All the guys surrounding the two laughed as the maknae winced theatrically.  GD grinned at the show before turning back to nod across the room at Caden.

"Anyway, I am happy to have them, so thank you very much," he told her with a smile. "Compared to Teacher Park, who always gave me English related presents no matter what, I'm kind of excited about the change."

"English related?" Caden repeated, sounding surprised. "Omo, why didn't I think of that?? I spent so long trying to think of something you would like!"

"You mean, you didn't purposely avoid giving him something class related?" Seungri burst out.

"Well now that I know that you guys don't want it, I won't," she shot back defensively, getting a laugh from the crowd.

"Aish, teacher," Top pronouced, shaking his head with a chuckle, as the rest of the boys all laughed.

By that time, the coordi-noonas were already removing her gift from GD's hands, and placing the next one before him - and with that, they all moved on.  It took about another 20 minutes to get through the remaining presents, often due to interruptions similar to Caden's.  By the time he'd finally finished, about half of the remaining guests were ready to leave.  GD stood, quickly making his way around to say goodbyes and thank yous as the restaurant staff swarmed in one last time to do a final clean up.

Caden remained in her seat, chatting with the 2NE1 members and fellow YG staff as she waited for the crowd to thin out.  After a few minutes, they were shooed out of their seats to give the busers room to clean - so they stood milling around the room, waiting for an official signal that the party was fully complete.  After the number of guests began to wane, and enough time had passed that she'd felt compelled to stay out of politeness, Caden began to look around for GD, planning to say her goodbyes.

By this time, most of the guests who were planning to leave had already departed, so he now stood chatting comfortably with a group of close friends.  Luckily for her, he was interrupted by one of the coodri-noonas, who called him over to help deal with his gifts.  She caught GD's attention as he made to follow the woman.  He nodded at her with a smile, gesturing that he would be over in a minute.  Caden watched as he gathered several of the unwrapped presents into his arms, including her giant tub.  With that, he turned and made his way over to where she stood, leaving the remainder of the cleanup to the staff members.

"It looks like the party was a great success," Caden observed brightly as he approached. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Very much!" GD replied with a smile. "I love having all my friends around me, but we're all so busy that I can only seem to get everyone together in one room like this a few times a year."

"And every time you manage to do it, everyone has such a good time that they can't stop asking why they don't get together more often," she offered with a grin. "And everyone makes all these plans that they never get around to keeping."

"That's right!" he exclaimed, laughing. "I have a couple friends who get drunk and talk big about all these events they're going to plan, then suddenly a few weeks later, they won't answer my messages again."

"Exactly!" she cried, laughing heartily as she pictured a few of her college friends.  GD's smile softened as he watched her amusement, turning rather thoughtful as she sobered herself.

"Surprisingly, it seems like even my fellow members become somewhat distant and unreachable during non-promotion time," he told her with a small smile. "This time around, it seems like you're the one anchoring us all together."

"That's a very nice way to describe a boring lesson a few times a week that cuts into your interesting lives, but I appreciated the sentiment, so thank you," Caden said teasingly, still laughing from his previous comment.  She looked up to catch him studying her closely with a look that was equal parts sentimental and intrigued.  They both blinked a few times in surprise, and GD quickly cleared his throat, laughing somewhat awkwardly before skillfully changing the subject.

"Thanks again for the gift," he offered, lifting it slightly in his arms. "Everyone was joking around about it earlier, but I actually do like them a lot, so I just wanted to reassure you that I do appreciate it..."

"Oh, none of that stuff bothered me at all," Caden replied with some amusement and a dismissive wave. "I wasn't confident enough to pick out any clothes or shoes since I'm not sure what you'd want to wear - I had to go with something that I was already sure you liked."

"I'm surprised that you remembered the right brand and everything," he joked cheerfully.

"That's because I've been buying them regularly since the first night that I tried them.  It's definitely a snack that I enjoy."

"Ah!  So these turned out to be your favorite too?" he asked, only half joking - he remembered her promise to let him know when she'd decided which snack she prefered as those weeks back when they'd first bonded over her grocery shopping mishap.

"Yes, I'd say so," she confirmed with a smile, which inexplicably gave GD a small (probably undeserved) sense of satisfaction.  Before he could respond, she continued,

"Actually, if I'm totally honest, there's a tie between my two favorites - the cookie snack that you like, and the dried hot pepper squid.  I can't get enough of that stuff!"

"Hot pepper squid?" came a voice from behind them.  They both turned to witness Top suddenly materialize at their side. "That's my favorite snack. Why are you talking about dried squid?"

"Because it's my favorite too," Caden replied cheerfully.

"Ah hyung, I thought you loved ice cream the most," GD piped up, with just a hint of poutiness in his tone. "Don't you like the melon one?"

"Melona Bar?" Caden asked curiously. "That one is good too."  Top smiled and nodded toward her in agreement before turning to answer his friend.

"I do love ice cream, but as an occasional treat - I definitely can't eat it all the time.  I eat dried squid almost every day."

"Oh, same with me," Caden joined in casually. "I'm really a salt lover at heart - I usually don't favor sweet things as much.  There's just something about those cookies though..." She pointed to the giant tub, still in GD's arms,

"Ever since I tried them, I've had a strange addiction for them.  I don't know why, but I have to restrain myself from eating them everyday."

"I have the same problem," GD interjected, sounding pleased. "That's why I try not to buy them all the time, but now that someone's given me a lifetime supply, I'll have to monitor my consumption."

"Well if you would just tell me which non-food products you like, then maybe you'll end up with a better present the next time around," she teased.  GD and Top both chuckled at this.  Then Top glanced down at his watch before turning to address his friend.

"We'd better get going," he suggested mildly. "Do you still have to talk to the restaurant manager?"

"Quickly, yeah," GD responded. "And I need to run these to the van real fast, as well."  He gestured to the gifts in his arms before continuing,

"As soon as I'm done, we can go."

"Alright sounds good," Top replied, reaching for the gifts in his friend's hand. "I can take these for you, just talk to the manager.  I'll let the others know."  GD protested briefly, but his hyung waved them away, quickly relieving him of his burden.  With a bow and a small wave at Caden, Top turned and made his way back over to the cluster of band members and other industry people on the far side of the room.  Caden and GD both got a good laugh as he instantly dumped the gifts onto Seungri's lap, gesturing for him to take them out to the company van.

"I guess I'd better get moving," GD announced with a grin. "Are you going to be joining us for the after party, Caden ssi?  We've got at least two more rounds to go."

"Ah, I don't think so," Caden replied apologetically. "Actually, that's why I called you over - I wanted to say goodbye properly before I left."

"Oh, come on." GD prodded with a grin. "Even if you don't want to go to the club, at least join us for drinks and norebang - you'll get to see Top hyung running around like a crazy person.  I don't think you've had a chance to witness this yet in its full force..."  Caden laughed, but shook her head.

"As entertaining as that sounds, I'm afraid I'll have to pass," she informed him with a smile. "I actually have a date to chat with my friends online tonight.  Besides, I just can't bring myself to attend norebang with idols.  My fragile ego can't take the shocking comparison in skill."

"It's not like that," he insisted, laughing at her word choice. "But since you have plans, I guess I'll let it go this once.  Anyway, thank you for coming to my party, and thanks again for the gift.  It was nice having you come."

"Thank you for inviting me," Caden responded cheerfully. "It was a lot of fun."

"I'm glad," he replied. "Goodbye Caden ssi.  See you Monday."  He turned away, but paused before quickly turning back once more.

"By the way," he said, looking down at her with an expression that she found someone hard to describe. "I kept meaning to tell you - you look very nice tonight."  Surprised, Caden glanced down at herself.  She had ended up wearing a red, long sleeved body con dress that stopped just above her knees, and spent slightly more time than usual attempting to style her wavey hair.

"Ah, this?  Thanks... It's a bit different than my classroom outfits, isn't it?" she responded jokingly.

"It suits you," he informed her brightly. "I'm glad you were able to find something in time."  She suddenly remembered the brief conversation about her getting a party outfit on their way home from their mall trip the previous weekend.

"Oh that.  Yeah, I ended up picking this up at one of the shops by one of the subway exits in Hongdae," she revealed.

"That works just as well," he said with a grin.  He paused, looking over his shoulder almost comically to make sure no one was listening in.  Then he leaned his head in close to hers so that their cheeks were nearly touching.

"Honestly, I'm sure you wouldn't have found anything that looked better on our tour together," he whispered conspiratorially, leaning back enough to shoot her a dazzling smile.  Caden couldn't immediately come up with a response, suddenly strongly reminded that he had, in fact, consumed his fair share of champagne over the course of the evening.

"It worked out in the end," she managed after a moment, returning his smile weakly.

"Well, I guess I'll be off then," he told her pleasantly, bowing dramatically before turning away for real this time.  Caden watched as he made his way over to join CL, who was currently speaking with the restaurant's manager by the door - presumably about whatever GD was meant to be talking to him about.  He snuck over, managing to rest his head on her shoulder affectionately without drawing her attention.  CL continued as if he wasn't even there, and the happy and mellow birthday boy allowed her to handle whatever final arrangements he was meant to take care of.  Caden tsked to herself.

"And he was commenting on Top's drunk behavior," she murmured to herself in amusment.  Shaking her head good-naturedly, she turned to gather the rest of her things that had remained near her seat at the table.  By the time she turned around and began to make her way toward the exit, the manager had disappeared, apparently all outstanding issues having been cleared away.  She as she approached the door, GD and CL were now discussing the evenings plans, as the rest of the 2NE1 members listened in amiably.

"We're all going to stop back at the apartment and switch out our cars before we head over to the bar.  Do you know where to go?" GD was saying as she got within earshot.

"No, but I'll get the name of the place from Seungri or someone," CL responded. "The four of us will probably do the same thing, then meet you there."  She turned to Dara. "Do you want to drive?"  The older girl shrugged compliantly before nodding.

"Alright, perfect.  See you all there."  With that, he turned and made a bee-line for the door, waving goodbye to Caden once more and the girls all called out their goodbyes before he disappeared from sight.

"I guess I'll be going as well," Caden informed them rather shyly, making to inch her way past them to the door. "It was really nice talking to you all."

"You're going home?" CL asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yeah," Caden responded sheepishly. "I won't be joining you this time."

"That's a shame," CL replied, sounding sincere (something Caden found a bit unbelievable). "It was nice meeting you, Teacher.  Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet again soon."  The rest of the group all nodded, making noises of agreement, and Caden had to force herself not to sound too pleased as she replied,

"Yes!  I hope so too.  Goodbye everyone!  Have fun!"  They all gave their farewells before returning to their conversation.  Caden finally made to leave, nodding to the rest of the guests still milling around on her way.

She walked briskly through the obviously closed restaurant, nodding to the waiters who were hanging around to finish cleaning up after the party, and lastly through the still brightly lit lobby before she found herself outside again on the streets.  Despite the late hour, it was still quite warm and muggy - her long sleeves had no place outside the restaurant's air conditioning.  Eager to get home and out of the humidity, she quickly hailed a cab and began the short trek back home.

​*     *     *

 

 

 

*at the time

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Author's Notes

Surprise, mutha effers!

Just kidding - you're not mother effers.  I'm just excited, that's all ^^  I'll bet none of my subscribers (if you guys even visit this website anymore, haha) expected an update after.. when was the last time I posted?  2012? Four years.  That's crazy guys.  And I've had this chapter written for most of them, I won't lie.  But now - NOW - I've actually gotten further in the later chapters, where I actually left off.

I'm returning to you with the intention of actually completing the story this time.  Who knows if I'll actually achieve that, but dang it, I'm gunna try!  I still have most of my main story ideas in my head from all those years ago.  Let's see if we can make it happen.

Honestly, I'm not even sure if my subscribers would be interested in continuing this since it's been so long - you probably forget everything that's happened in the whole thing >_<  And I'm not sure that new readers will be too interested because the Big Bang I'm writting about is a four years ago Big Bang - a lot has happened to the group and their fans since then ^^

But oh well.  I honestly enjoy writing this story, and that's all that matters, right?  Although it is nice when people enjoy reading it.

Let's all get back into the mindset of a younger and more innocent(ish? haha) Big Bang - one with far fewer scandals.  One that were together more than they were apart.  Even if you're not currently into Big Bang, I hope that this story can hold your interest on the merits of it's silly, k drama style plot.  I aim to amuse!

I'm sorry for the over the top 2NE1 love (sort of) ^^ They still are my favorite group (I miss Minji already T_T In my world, they never part ^^), but at the time I wrote this, I was still super crazy into their fansites and everything.

Actually, as it tends to, my writing style has evolved somewhat over the years, as well as my knowledge of Korean culture (I'm not claiming to be an expert, and I still haven't been there - boo), so I'm fighting the urge to go back and heavily edit all my previous chapters.  I'm just going to leave them how they were for now - that's a project for another time.  For now I focus on adding new material that I hope is to your liking.

I'd love to hear your opinions!  To the poor commenter in 2014 who asked if I would be completing my story (if you're still here) - I'm sorry I never answered!  I wasn't on the site very often at that time, and tbh, I didn't have an answer for you at the time.  But there's a new chapter now! ^^

Thank you to everyone who is still interested, and hello to anyone whose interest was recently sparked.  I hope you continue to enjoy!

**I promise all of my author's notes won't be this lengthy - it's been a long time, and I felt there was some explaing to do** ^^