Chaerin stared bleakly out of the blurry window. It was raining, the perfect complement to her gloomy mood.

She was supposed to be happy, ecstatic really, instead she was torn and in pain. She was finally setting her dreams in motion. The past 6 years were a dream come true, yes, but she yearned for more and finally she was on the brink of achieving it, of marking another milestone as the artist that she was.

So why wasn’t she as ecstatic as she ought to be?

Love, that slippery, sneaky and inexplicable condition of life that ruled all emotions and forged our actions. She had been bitten by the love bug. A tiny bite which had become an itch she had unknowingly nurtured until it festered into a wound, a scar marking itself upon her life, spreading its delicious poison through her lifeblood, so that she was consumed by it, every nerve ending she possessed awakened by its fire.

His name is Kwon Jiyong, her oppa, best friend and love of her life. They had fought their attraction to each other for years, passing it off as mutual affection between friends but lately they were unable to deny what they felt for each other and had been unable to stop themselves from acting on it.

It was partly why it hurt so much, that she had only just found him to lose him. That was devastating to her senses. They had wasted so much time trying to convince everyone including themselves that what they felt for each other was nothing more than the deepest of friendships when they could have been exploring the unwavering love they felt for each other. Now it was too late.

She was leaving Korea to pursue her US Debut and she was uncertain if she would still have her favorite oppa as a friend talk more of a lover when she got back. She had been surprised, angry and disappointed when of all people, he had been the one to strongly oppose the move.

She had expected resistance from fans particularly the fans who liked to think they knew everything and thus knew what was best for her, and her girls. Surprisingly even though they had expressed their anxiety and even skepticism, the bulk of them were supporting her so why couldn’t her own boyfriend, who knew just how much it meant to her.

Even her girls who were very much affected by the decision had rallied behind her. They had accepted the news with varying degrees of emotion ranging from, delight, excitement, pride, enthusiasm, sadness, envy, nonchalance, anxiety, wariness and resignation, and yet they’d accepted the decision and reasoned that this was a learning curve for all of them, a time to explore their individuality as artists and not as members of 2ne1.

It was unbearable that everyone who mattered supported her but the one who mattered the most. Her boyfriend was strongly in opposition of her venture into the US market for no plausible reason. He had not always shared this view. At the beginning, he was her number one supporter but then suddenly he made an about face on the situation.

Suddenly, he stood stubbornly against it, going so far as to force her to choose between their relationship and the venture.

She ought to despise him for that. For forcing her to put her career above him and making her choose one over the other when she could have easily had both. Instead she was just sad and somewhat empty, unable to understand how she could have misjudged him so badly and trying to come to terms with the situation because anyone who wasn’t in support of her dreams did not deserve to be in her life.

She would not beg him and she would not give in either. She had worked too hard for this opportunity and if losing him was the price she had to pay to succeed then so be it.

She would much rather have him by her side. She wasn’t one to sacrifice herself for her career but if he wasn’t willing to be there for her then good riddance to him.

She sighed loudly, her breath ghosting the windows. She wished it was that easy but she knew deep down that she couldn’t be so easily rid of him.

“Hey, if you sigh any louder, you might damage your lungs. It’s gonna be ok Chaerinnie.” Dara said beside her.

The older woman was accompanying her to the airport, sleeping soundly between them was her younger sister Harin, who would make the trip with her.

“I know that, its just-” Her voice broke.

“No sweetie, don’t cry. Think of your fans, what would they think if they see you with your face all blotchy and your eyes all red? They expect a glowing CL. It’s a happy occasion.”

“You’re right. I won’t cry. Not now, not in front of my babies.”

“That’s right. Plenty of time to do that later, you can indulge then. You’d need it but not now.”

“Yeah.” Chaerin agreed with a watery smile, and then she swept her hand beneath her eyes, cleaning up her tears. She retrieved a small mirror from her bag and checked the damage, satisfied that there was none, she dropped the mirror back into the bag and reached for Dara’s hand.

“Thanks for coming with me Unnie.”

“My pleasure.” Dara said squeezing back the hand that held her.

The rain had finally stopped. Chaerin leaned back in her seat, a poignant look on her face as she contemplated this beautiful city and the people in it that she loved.

Dara tapped away at her phone, pretending to be on some social networking site when in reality she was sending a text to Youngbae.

Dara: Have you talked some sense into that fool yet?

Youngbae: It’s not that easy Dara. You know how stubborn Jiyong can be.

Dara: Well get a move on, we will soon be at the airport!

Youngbae: I’ll do my best.

Dara: You’d better! If you guys allow Chaerin to leave Seoul with a broken heart, I’m gonna run my range rover over Jiyong’s massive forehead and your well-oiled abs.

Youngbae: What! But I didn’t do anything, why must my ribs get cracked?

Dara: Because fracturing Jiyong’s skull won’t be enough. When someone hurts my vitamin, I’ll do extra damage! We are almost at the airport; I’d get to it if I were you Bae.

She flung the phone back in her bag, satisfied that she had passed her message. She wasn’t interested in his reply; the longer he was on the phone with her the less time he had to talk some sense into Jiyong. She just hoped he would do it in time.

***

Taeyang sighed when he got no response from Dara. He looked over at Jiyong who was apparently determined to break every traffic law known to mankind. He clutched his door as they sped through yet another red light, narrowly missing a passing vehicle.

“I know I say this a lot but this time I actually mean it. You are a fool Ji! If you are gonna get us killed, at least get us killed going somewhere worthwhile, like the airport for instance, so you can say goodbye properly to Chaerin.”

Jiyong let out a harsh cry, swerved dangerously to the right, forcing other cars to spin quickly out of his way, before skidding to a sudden stop by the side of the road.

“Are you crazy man! Are you really trying to get us killed? Have the loose screws in your head finally fallen out?”

Jiyong said nothing, he rested his head against the steering, breathing heavily.

“Is this your way of copping out? By getting yourself killed? Yeah, Chaerin would love that!” Taeyang said caustically.

“Stop mentioning her!” Jiyong cried harshly.

“I won’t! Not until you come to your senses. I won’t let you make the biggest mistake of your life.” Taeyang said.

“How am I making a mistake, she wants to go, let her. That has nothing to do with me.”

“You know as well as I do, that isn’t true.”

“Maybe before, but not anymore.”

“And whose fault is that? Quit being such a coward and go get your girl.”

“I am not a coward.”

“In this instance you are and it’s sad because in most things you aren’t but you refuse to man the up for this!”

“She wanted to go. It was her choice.”

“And why should she have to choose? You put her in that position. You got scared of the potential you see in her, so you figure that it’s better to cut your losses short before she get bored and forgets ‘little old Jiyong’ in Korea and moves on to bigger fish when she becomes an international sensation. Plus your pride is slightly wounded that she got this opportunity instead of you. You think I don’t know you?” He added when Jiyong looked at him in surprise.

“You’re wrong Ji. You guys are in love, and love is turbulent at best so you never know where the tide will flow. Why not give yourselves the opportunity to swim the currents instead of speculating and doubting and cutting short what should be because you are scared of what could be.”

“I just-”

“And Chaerin isn’t like that. Deep down inside, you know this. She’s very grounded. She isn’t blinded by the shine of fame and she won’t get sidelined by it. If you think she’s gonna go there and turn into a whole new person then you don’t know your girlfriend very well.”

“I wanna believe that.” Jiyong said brokenly.

“Then why don’t you. Give you guys a chance Ji. If it doesn’t work out then at least you know you tried. Chaerin makes you happy; I’ve seen how you are around her. It’s sweet to see. People like us, we don’t get to be happy unless we let ourselves. Let yourself be happy Ji. Life’s short, whatever moments you can spare, spend it with those who matter, doing what you love.” Taeyang said.

“When did you get so deep?” Jiyong teased.

“Still waters.” Taeyang answered dryly. Jiyong leaned his head back against his seat, his hands over his face. He expelled a deep breath, sighed loudly then raked his hands through his hair.

“You’re right.” He said simply, turning to face Taeyang. “I’ve been a jerk and a fool but mostly a coward. Life is a risk right and so is love. You can’t win anything by sitting on the sidelines.”

“Damn straight!” Taeyang said nodding.

“I need to make this right. , what if I’m too late!” He said staring in panic at his friend.

“Then we’ll figure something out but we’d better get a move on, Dara said they were almost at the airport a while ago. If we hurry, you can catch her before she leaves.”

“You spoke to Dara?”

“Yes and she has promised us bodily damage if we let Chaerin leave Seoul with a broken heart.”

“Really, well we can’t have that.”

“No we can’t.” Taeyang said grinning.

“Hold on then.” Jiyong said igniting the engine and stepping on the accelerator.

“Woo hoo!” Taeyang shouted, not minding in the least the whiplash of the wind against his face, the blare of horns from disgruntled motorists as they whizzed by, or the neck breaking speed with which Jiyong raced to the airport. He loved a happy ending and his abs was safe as an added bonus. Life was good.

***

Chaerin hugged Dara once more. They had called for boarding at her gate and she needed to leave. Harin had already boarded together with her stylists, only one bodyguard and Jjangmae remained to accompany her in. Suddenly there was a commotion as fans started screaming excitedly, some pointing while others ran forward shouting “Oppa! Oppa!”

She broke free from her embrace with Dara to see Jiyong running towards them but when he neared them he faltered unsure of his welcome. She stepped away from Dara and walked slowly to meet him halfway. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest but her face remained stoic as she was unsure what his presence meant. When at last they stood before each other she jammed her hands in her jeans to prevent herself from reaching out to him.

“What are you doing here Ji?”

“I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.” Jiyong said quietly. From the corner of her eye, Chaerin spied Dara trying to entertain the fans while Jjangmae and the security personnel tried to ensure that they got as much privacy as they could.

“Oh, is that all. Well then goodbye.” Chaerin said flatly turning to leave.

“Wait!” He said grabbing her arm to stop her, quickly releasing her when she hesitated.

“I’m sorry Chaerin. I was a jerk, a coward and ten times a fool. I was scared that you’d go to LA and meet all these amazing people and forget about me. That somehow, I’d come up lacking against them.”

“What? That’s ridiculous.”

“Not so ridiculous. You’re set to meet so many cool people and you’re always talking about how awesome Diplo and Skrillex are and how cool it is to work with them, hell fans are already shipping you guys, so I thought-”

“Are you listening to yourself right now? Fans ship you and Dara for crying out loud. What do they know? And yes, I always talk about Diplo and Skrillex but only because I’m working with them. I love you Ji. I chose you. In a room full of people I see only you, that’s not gonna change just because I’m gonna be in the US for a couple of months.”

“I know that. I do. You're special and you’re gonna do great things. No one was more excited and proud when I learnt about your US debut but then I got scared and insecure. Forgive me?” He pleaded holding both her hands in spite of their audience. He could already here some fans whispering about the interaction but he didn’t care. "Forgive me, please Chae, I was wrong and petty and a little jealous and I hurt you, if I could take it all back I would."

"You did hurt me Ji, you made me choose."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. Your career means a lot to you, you've worked hard for it and you mean the world to me. I'd like to be by your side, to experience everything with you, if you'll let me. Will you let me Chaerin?"

She considered him for a moment, then a slow smile broke out on her face. "Yes, I'd really like that but you really hurt me Ji, don't do it again."

"I won't, never again."

"Good and don't think because you got off lightly that I won't make you pay for this, you are gonna grovel for months."

"Deal." Jiyong said happily. He wished he could kiss her, he could tell she wanted to.

"You should have done this sooner, we could’ve had some pretty amazing makeup ," she said with a wink and he groaned, "now you'll have to wait, or you could fly over for a quickie," she suggested with a grin. She was extraordinarily happy, her earlier gloom dissipating like powder.

"Last call to Los Angeles, all passengers please report to the gate immediately." Said a mechanical voice overhead.

Chaerin squeezed his hands tighter, she had to go but she did not want to. Following an impulse she had no desire to curb, she kissed him, full on the lips, her tongue delving past his surprised lips to taste and . They was an explosion of squeals and shouts from their audience and several flashes as the smattering of media scrambled to capture the unexpected moment, their tenacity finally paying off. Each was already calculating how to spin this story and how fast they could air it, some already pulling out their phones to post a sns preview.

"What have you done?" Jiyong asked as soon as his lips were free. "What are we gonna do?” He asked nervously staring out of the corner of his eyes at the audience that surrounded them.

“I don’t know. I have a flight to catch. Fix it Jiyong, that’s your punishment. By the time I land, I’m sure you’ll have everything settled. Love you.” She said cheerfully and walked briskly through her gate, guided by her bodyguard and a harried looking Jjangmae.

Jiyong watched her go, stunned as reporters pressed forward with their questions; too many to fully fend off. Just then he knew how a dear caught in a car’s headlights felt. Nowhere to hide. As punishments went, it was ingenious.

He struggled out of the airport with an amused Youngbae and as he sped home, he wondered how he would fix the situation and also a befitting payback for Chaerin. She might have gotten one up on him, it was the least he deserved for his foolishness, but he was going to even the score.

The end.