I have my head phones on while bopping my head to the beat when a hand clamps on my shoulders and startles me.

“Hey Dean, my man! What’s good?!” Andy greets me warmly.

“It’s been a long time, man. How have you been?” I greet back. We do our handshake and hug a little, like we normally do.

Andy, or Anderson Paak is one hell of an artist. I’m also proud to call him one of my closest friends. He’s one of the reasons why my stay in the US went by like a blur.

“Same old, same old. You know, doing little gigs here and there while finishing up on an album.” Andy shares.

“That’s cool, man. Don’t forget to hit me up when you’re releasing it. The hype is real. You know I’m a fan, brother.” I remind him.

“LMAO stop with that. You’re my friend, not my fan.” he chuckles, while taking a seat at the stool in my studio. “How’s South Korea treating you?” he asks.

I forgot to mention I’m in LA right now. I needed to get some contracts settled and these things are sensitive and unfortunately can’t be handled over a video call.

“All is doing great so far. I’m about to release my singles next week. My company has a lot set for my promotions and stuff, you know, to gain attention and what not.” I shrug.

“Oh, cool. So your company does everything for you there, huh?” he asks.

“Yeah, basically. But you know we don’t roll that way. I’m so used to hustling on my own, so it’s now kinda suffocating to be honest. Like everything I want to do need their permission.” I heave a sigh, but then purse my lips when I remembered my girl. “On second thought, I still have it better than them idols anyway, so I shouldn’t complain.”

“Who’s that pretty little thing on your phone?” he suddenly asks. I look to find him peeking at my phone so he must've seen my wallpaper.

I immediately break into a smile. “This, my friend is the future Mrs. Kwon.” I said, as I put an arm on his shoulders, the other holding up my phone to show him my girl.

“Uhuh. Sure.” he answers in doubt. “She looks young. A little too young for you, don’t you think?”

I can’t help but chuckle at that. “Don’t let her beautiful face fool you. Believe it or not, she’s in her thirties.”

He double takes at the information I gave him. “What?! No way! Let me see.” He grabs my phone and looks closer. "Dang. I know you Asians have some type of gene that keeps you from aging, but she has it times two.”

His comment cracked me up. I mean, yeah, I know my girl looks young for her age, but I didn't expect that kind of reaction.

My phone rings. Andy scoffs at it. “Speaking of which, Mrs. Kwon seems to want to check on you.” He shakes his head and heads on out, giving me privacy to take the call.

“Hello, Hyuk. How are you? Have you had your meal yet?”, Dara’s sweet voice greets me.

“Hey, hun. No, not yet. I was mixing some music and just talking to Andy a while ago. I was waiting for your call.” I look at my watch and saw that it was already past 11PM. She must have had a long day.

She gasps. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Hyuk