I’m waiting for my Dara in the JTBC studios. It’s been a week since that whole debacle with G-Dragon and it’s been silent so far. We’ve both been on our toes, waiting for the next he’s gonna pull. Surprisingly, things have been calm; a little too calm in my opinion. After what Jiho told me, I can’t help but be wary. It kinda feels like the calm before the storm, you know what I’m mean?

Dara told me all about what she and that guy talked about, and let me tell you that I don’t trust him one bit to keep his word. It’s hard to take precautions though, since I’m kinda aware of what we’re up against but this is all new to me. Never have I imagined I would fall in love with someone as awesome as my girl, but I also never imagined I would have to fight tooth and nail to keep her. Good thing I have solid resolve, or else I’d be cowering somewhere now. G-Dragon, no matter how ‘great’ they dub him to be, is still human at the end of the day. That goes without saying that I won’t be underestimating him since he liked playing dirty. We’ll see how it goes, I guess.

We’re finally shooting for Sugarman. Me and the iKON boys in one waiting room. My Dara just has to get her make-up done.

I’m not one to be waiting for hours to be on broadcast. Heck, I don’t do broadcasts but my girl said typically, the call time is 4 hours before the shoot since they have to do rehearsals and all that jazz. She even shared that when she was in promotion with her group and they need to do a pre-recorded performance, they’d be at the studio for at least 8 hours, dancing and singing to the same song for more than ten times. Thank god, I’m no idol. It takes the fun out of performing, in my opinion. I’d rather perform in small venues where people truly appreciate my music. Screw fame. I just want to get my music out there.

I guess this is where Dara made me understand the complexity of being an idol. I find it cool that YG in particular encourages their idols to make their own songs. It’s already a given that some groups don’t make their own songs. Nothing wrong with that, but I feel like the artistry is lost when you just perform a song made for you. The way I see it, it’s kind of impersonal. But then again, if it’s a group of good looking guys who will perform the song, it doesn’t matter much who wrote the song, right? This is why I don’t close my doors to producing songs for idol groups.  EXO, VIXX, MADTOWN to name a few who have had a song from me. I’m sure they won’t be the last to knock on my door.

Being an idol doesn’t stop there though. Aside from working your off with music, you have to have a clean, perfect image. Netizens can be too harsh sometimes. The problem nowadays is people feel so empowered by the internet that they think they can say whatever they want about a person, as if they know them personally. My Dara said she used to get stressed a lot whenever any negative comment comes up about her or her group. She told me about Bom, the made up stories and all the ty names netizens called her. The poor girl can’t even be seen outside with anyone. Sometimes, I just want to tell people to go themselves and get a life.

She then goes to remind me why we have to keep our relationship on the down low. She keeps assuring me that it’s not because she’s not proud to be my girlfriend, but since she has everything literally out in the public eye, she wants to keep something for herself. She wants to keep me for herself. Sweet, huh?

For me, I don’t really care if the people know about us or not. They’re not the one I’m in a relationship with anyway, so I’ll just follow whatever the boss lady says. Whatever she’s happy with, that’s what’s important. Besides, I don’t want to have to hear about opinions about my relationship from people who don’t really have a right anyway. I guess the fewer the people that know about us, the less unwanted side comments. It’s a win-win.

“Hyung, it’s now your turn.” Jiwon (Bobby) calls my attention. I guess I’ve been spacing out this whole time.

I look at the boys and see that they’re all dressed up and got their make-up done. When they told me I’d need to have some make-up too, I refused profusely but Dara told me I have to have some, or else I’d look pale on camera so I relented.

I place myself on the chair Bobby occupied just seconds ago, wearing the clothes my girl picked out for me. Never did I imagine I would let my girlfriend dress me up, but here I am, looking dapper in black and white. She has good fashion sense and I’m not regretting the decision to wear what she picked one bit.

A knock on the door makes us all turn around, then enters my girl looking cute in a white dress that’s a little too short for my liking.

I try to act normal as she approaches me. She checks on the boys first, then turns her full attention on me. “Hey, Hyukkie.” she greets me with a small smile, squeezing my shoulder in the process while looking at my reflection in the mirror.

I couldn’t help myself from commenting. “Hey, hun. Ahm. Isn’t that dress a little too short?”

Dara looks taken aback. “What? This? No!” she replies, while turning herself sideways. She knows what I mean.

“Hun, what do you mean it’s not short? Look at the sides. If it looks that short right now, what more when you sit down? That’s gonna ride up for sure.” I scowl at her.

She snorts at my words. “I didn’t peg you as a conservative, Hyuk. Don’t worry, I’m a pro at wearing short skirts. It comes with the job hazards.”

I raise a brow at that. “What if the camera captures your thighs by mistake? Are they gonna edit that out?”

She just smiles again. “I’m gonna be covering my legs with a blanket, so don’t worry much. Besides, they aren’t allowed to focus on my legs, or any woman on the show for that ma