He probably wouldn’t pick up. Most people would be in bed at 1am, but for Jiyong it was equally likely that he would be working, partying, sleeping, flirting with some tall skinny model type – you name it. There was never any “best” time to call. Which also meant there was never a “worst” time to call. Worth a shot. The third ring faded into the air. Just as she expected, he probably wouldn’t answer. She felt the disappointment welling up inside.

All of the sudden the camera went live. No hello, no smile. Just silence and a dark screen, with a few shadows that formed a vague suggestion of Jiyong’s face.

“Oppa, you’re up!” she nearly shouted in happiness.

“Yes, Chaerinnie, I’m up.” His deep voice reverberating through the speakers, despondence dripping from every word. She smiled to herself, glad she’d called. Sitting in the dark at this late hour, all alone with his feelings…yep, he was definitely in need of a good cheering up.

So of course, the first thing she did was . She was one of the few people in his life that could be so informal and irreverent with him. As a leader, a sunbae, a celebrity and international fashion icon, he spent most of his days being treated him with extreme deference and the utmost respect. She often felt it was her personal mission to remind him that, in addition to all of those things, he was also a total dork-dramaqueen-goofball…and one of the people she loved most in the world.

“Yah, dongsaeng don’t you sass me. Aish, this cheeky brat...”

She chuckled. Success! She could feel his mood lightening. “How are you? It’s been so long, oppa. Weeks! I miss you! Instagram tells me you’ve been busy with your album, working so hard you don’t even have time to shave that ridiculous scruff off your face. How’s it going?”

She listened as he wandered through his most recent worries with her. All the hardships he recounted, she felt them deeply. Yes, he could be dramatic sometimes, but that didn’t mean that the difficulties he faced weren’t real, and big. They were also entirely unique to their line of work and weren’t the type of thing most people could understand. Not really. She knew how lonely this type of suffering could be. With every nod and understanding murmur, she hoped to remind him that he wasn’t alone in this.

He had drifted off into his own thoughts, and after a moment he pulled himself out of it. Watching the worries play across his face, all Chaerin wanted in that moment was to reach through the phone and wrap him in the bigge