Chapter 2 

March 24th 2006 

12:09am 

I stood by the entrance and watched him whisper something to Yong Pil Ahjussi. I had no idea what he was telling him but they exchanged knowing grins and the friendly security guard gave him a thumbs up. Ji Yong turned to me and winked as he made his way towards me. I wondered if he pulled this stunt often. 

“All settled, we are still at practice and will be at practice until the scheduled time.” He said and winked again.

I just nodded at him in reply. It was so quick, I hadn’t notice him swiftly taking my hand in his. I was slightly taken aback yet I couldn’t help but notice his heartbeats were faintly beating against my wrist. He started leading me out of the alley and occasionally warned me of the uneven path. I could feel his heartbeat beating faster than mine but I was not able to read his expression with his back facing me. We walked in silence, breathing the cool air in and him pulling me along gently to follow. I enjoyed the silence, it was the comfortable kind, the kind where we understood each other through the warmth of our hands. 

Neon lights and loud music surrounded us as we made our way onto a busy street of Hongdae. My eyes were tore away from the club opposite us when Ji Yong tugged on my hand and I turned around. We stood in front of an entry way with stairs leading down to a basement space. I turned to look at him, he gave me a small smile and urged me to follow him. I did. 

Carefully making our way down, I could feel my feet thumping against the tremors of heavy beats. At the end of the stairs, Ji Yong smiled widely at a muscular man in a puffer jacket, who was standing against metal double doors. They fist pumped and muscle man pushed the doors opened for us. In an instant, I could feel my whole body pulsing to Jay-Z and my eyes adjusted to the colours of the rainbow sweeping the walls and floors. 

“You know, I’ve never been to a club right?” I had to raise my voice for Ji Yong to hear me. 

“This isn’t any club, Noona. It’s an underground hip hop club.” The biggest grin plastered his face. 

“Oh, my god..”

“And, it’s the one I met Seung Hyun Hyung for the first time.” He added. 

I took in the atmosphere and hugged Ji Yong from the sides to let him know I really really like the idea of skipping practice to come here. I was so excited, “I love it here!” 

I pulled apart from him. He stood frozen and just gave me a blank stare. 

“Ji Yong..?” I looked at him quizzically. 

He blinked and stammered, “Uh.. L-let’s get some drinks to start off,”  

“Okay!” I spotted the bar and pulled him towards it, our hands were still woven together. He greeted a few people in the club as we wriggled our way through swaying bodies to the bar. Putting his weight against the counter, he signalled for the bartender. He turned to ask me what would I like, but I have absolutely no idea. Ha. And I didn’t want to let him know that. So I said coolly, “Whatever you’re having.” Hoping it sounded as cool as I intended it to. 

Ji Yong squinted at me for a second before nodding and told the bartender two beers. The bartender immediately took two bottles out from under the counter and popped the caps. Handing us the bottles, Ji Yong handed him a few notes. I reached out for one of the bottles but he moved them out of my way and leaned down to my ear, “Noona ah, I hope you can hold your liquor.. Or else, I’ll have to carry you home and you ain’t very light.” 

I lightly slapped his shoulder and retorted, “Hey! I have a perfectly balanced body and I’m dieting!” I laughed because I knew he was joking and he was just trying to take care of me. 

“Alright! Let’s party then!” Handing the bottle to me, we cheered. Taking a sip of my beer, my face scrunched up a little at the bitterness of it. His eyes met mine and I could tell he was observing my reaction. I acted nonchalant and he smirked. He smirked!? Well, at least it was a cute smirk. 

With that smirk still on him, he tugged me along to the dance floor. The disco ball above us indicated that we were right in the centre of the club. Holding his beer in one hand, he started moving to the music and breaking out in dance moves. I giggled as he attempted to dance around me whilst balancing his beer. You can’t deny a talented boy when the clubbers around us stepped back to watch him pop to the beat in wave-like motions. I became self-conscious. Ji Yong challenged me with his eyes and continued to move fluidly. Needing a little push of bravery, I brought the beer to my lips and downed half the bottle. Swiping my mouth with my sleeves, I breathed. It may have been the courage of alcohol, I began to move my hips to the beat and placed my free hand on his shoulder. Swinging my head left and right, I was totally feeling the music in my veins. Wanting to experience this unfamiliar sensation longer, I finished my beer. I danced like I was free, I danced like I was the only one and I danced like it was my birthday! 

Coming down from my high, I could feel Ji Yong’s hand on my waist, I lifted my head to glance at him and he looked somewhat proud of me? But, protective too? 

He pulled me closer and whispered into my ear, “Stay close, Noona.” 

I don’t know why but I blushed or maybe it’s the alcohol rush. Or maybe it was his low voice laced with a hidden meaning. 

I tried to ignore his words and swayed to the music, my body lightly brushing his. I saw him inhaled and was about to say something to me when — 

“WASSUP EVERYONE! It’s now time for live performances and tonight we actually have a familiar face in the crowd!” The DJ pointed at us and a spotlight was cast upon Ji Yong. 

Ji Yong shook his head in protest but everyone began chanting, 

“G-DRAGON! G-DRAGON! G-DRAGON!” 

At the sound of the