I winced after hearing Seungri’s uncharacteristic advice, begrudgingly admitting to myself that he was right. He actually sounded pretty cool but I’ll never admit this to anyone. What was I thinking saying those things, even if I didn’t mean for her to hear them? Norah is far from being someone giving her seniors attitude. Seungri was right in saying that she may not be the best but she’s certainly not the worst trainee YG has either. I shouldn’t have jumped into conclusions so quickly and just let Norah explain the situation to me. I was still mulling these thoughts over when I received a text from Seungri. Apparently chastising me over the telephone isn’t enough for him. Tsk. He’s pushing his luck. He’s still in trouble for making Norah miss an entire day of training even if it’s for my sake. Nonetheless I still read his message to me.

FROM: Maknae (Lee Seunghyun)

Received at 18:45

Please apologize to Norah Hyung. I know it’s my fault that she skipped her training in the first place but she doesn’t deserve to be put down like that. I know you didn’t mean to, you just got caught in the moment but Hyung, she deserves better than to be told that she’s not good enough especially when she herself feels she isn’t good enough.

I bit my lip and nodded to no one in my apartment bracing myself to apologize sincerely to Norah but not before giving Seungri a quick reply to remind him that he’s not off the hook just yet with me. Glancing back to the numerous grocery bags lined up at the kitchen floor that she left, I decided to put away the grocery Norah bought for me first before I approach her. This way I’ll be able to carefully think about what I will say to her as I apologize and not ruin any chances on reconciling by rambling non – sense to her. And besides the OCD in me can’t stand to see the bags just littered on the floor like that. I grabbed two bags from the floor and started segregating what was hers from mine before I stored away the latter to their rightful place in either my pantry or fridge. By the time when I was done, my pantry and fridge were filled with the things she bought for me which were mostly food. The ill feeling in my gut made me feel uncomfortable as I stared at all the things that Norah took time to buy for me and with Seungri’s words echoing through my head, I finally mustered enough courage to step out of my place to talk to her. “Norah?” I called out to her closed door and knocked tentatively, trying to listen to any noise on the opposite side of the door. When no answer came, I tried my hand at knocking once more as well as calling out her name a few times but like the first time, the noise I was making fell on deaf ears. Well at least to the owner of the door I was knocking on. “Norah! Can you please open the door? Norah!” I called out to her in a pleading tone as I nearly tried everything to get inside or to get Norah to open the door. When knocking and insistently buzzing her doorbell failed, I finally gave in and started punching in random number combinations on her doors lock but like this morning it wouldn’t budge. The flash of red from the doors lock and the constant silence on the other side of the door caused me to take drastic measures already. “Norah I’m not going to give up. We need to talk. I will get that door open whether you like it or not.” I told her even if I’m facing her door rather than her which is pretty lame to tell you the truth. I took out my phone and searched through my contacts to look for the one person I am positive Norah didn’t forget to inform her lock combination to her door. Supposedly I was one of them, but during the night when she changed her password, we all got caught up in the excitement of free food care of maknae that Norah forgot to mention it to me and I forgot to remind her about it as well. My thumb halted for a bit from pressing the call option under this certain person’s name because I wasn’t too eager to let this other person find out that I unintentionally hurt her baby’s feelings. “Ah, it.” I murmured to myself as I finally called Bom Noona. However before I can open my mouth to ask Noona about Norah’s lock combination, Bom has already started talking, “No Jiyong – ah I won’t tell the lock combination to you.” My eyebrows furrowed at this. How did she…? I glanced up and narrowed my eyes at the firmly shut door. So that’s who she was texting awhile ago. “Noona, I really need to talk to her. Can you please just tell me the number combination? I promise I won’t do anything.” I replied to her, trying my luck but then again this is Bom Noona we’re talking about, so her cheerful reply of, “Nope!” didn’t really surprise me. “I promised Norah baby although I don’t know why.” I expelled my breath in relief at this news. “Anyway I have to go. Good luck Jiyong – ah!”

“Norah!” I cried again, my knuckles rapping at her door insistently. I sighed when she still didn’t respond to my call and I walked back to my apartment to think once more on how I’ll approach her. I can’t stand in the hallway forever making such a ruckus in our floor, the other tenants might end up pummeling me at disturbing them especially when dinner is nearing. I took out my phone and texted Norah but decided against it. Apologizing through text won’t cut it, no matter how I write it. I might be crap at apologizing but I do know that apologizing through text is not enough to show how sincere I am. This needs to be done face to face. I went inside my room to settle myself in my bed to think about the words I said to Norah. Jolie and Gaho looked up from my bed where they were both dozing off and Gaho jumped down to the floor to offer his place to me. Jolie snuggled next to my warmth when I lied down and Gaho obediently laid down next to the bed where I let my hand hang limply over the edge, his head nudging it slightly before it in affection.

I know what I said wasn’t the worst thing I could tell her but it doesn’t mean that it won’t hurt any less. Especially after Seunghyun Hyung told me about the conversation he had with her regarding her insecurities. I noticed that Norah’s been struggling with her training from the very start but now she seems to get more and more affected by it compared to when she started out at YG. Is she bothered because she’s still training to work out her problem of being tone deaf? Does she think that she’s not making any progress in her training? I frowned to myself at this thought. Why does she keep on comparing herself to others? Each of the trainees has their respective weaknesses and strengths and if I’m being totally frank, Norah’s been improving immensely with the help of Bom Noona and her other trainers. I covered my eyes with my arm and sighed. That’s the point of training. It’s to help her improve and become one of the best artists the world has seen debut under YG Entertainment.

“With your attitude right now, you’re definitely not going to debut anytime soon.”

I winced as I recalled what I told Norah indirectly at my sudden lack of tact. That’s definitely not something you want to tell a trainee with insecurities about her supposed lack of progress in her training. So what should I do now? As much as I want to apologize to Norah, she’s stuck inside her apartment and I refuse to say my apology through text or call. It’s as if she’s hiding in her apartment like some sort of self – defense tactic from me, something that is making me feel uneasy. I snorted when an ostrich stuffing its face into the ground came to mind as a perfect analogy to Norah right now. Hang on… just because she’s stuck her head in the ground doesn’t mean she couldn’t hear me. I slowly sat up in my bed, Jolie making an indistinct noise due to the sudden movement however she was still sleeping when I glanced down to check on her if I upset her slumber. I looked at my Mac when an idea popped into my head on how I can show Norah how sincere I am in my apology and that I understand how she feels. A grin spread across my face when I turned my Mac on and started surfing through the net to get what I need before I go back to Norah’s apartment to apologize. If Norah decides to stick her head in the ground to hide from me, I can always dig to reach her when she does. And I’m doing just that.

I grasped the few sheets of paper in my hand and ignored the harsh words printed in black all over the page. I knocked once on Norah’s door but instead of waiting for her to open the door or even acknowledge my presence I sent her a text to answer the call that I would be making to her, adding that she doesn’t need to talk to me if she doesn’t want to. All I need is a chance for her to hear me out. That’s all.

I released a sigh of relief when she picked up my call after the third ring and I started talking without waiting for her to even do the customary greeting over the phone. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for saying that you won’t debut anytime soon with the attitude that you have. To be honest, your attitude right now should be practiced by some of the most known artists nowadays. You really shouldn’t take to heart the things I’ve said especially when I also have a lot of things to improve on. I –”

My words were halted when the door in front of me flew open to reveal Norah looking at me with a weirded out expression on her face. “Why are you apologizing?” She asked me in a tone of disbelief. “Well… I er –” My words came out stilted when she asked me this. Why do girls like to ask WHY we apologize? Isn’t it enough that we’re sorry? “… because I upset you? With the comment I said awhile ago in front of those guys from EXO?” I added when she still looked unsure as to why I’m apologizing. Her face dawned in comprehension and Norah blushed crimson red. Not her usual ears turning pink but her entire face flushed red in some unknown emotion which a traitorous part of me found quite adorable. “Jiyong…” She began but I cut her off when I added. “Oppa. Jiyong Oppa. I don’t like it when you address me formally. We’re friends aren’t we?” Her hands twisted together as she nodded to me, her face still flushed for some reason. “I’m not mad at you.” She mumbled to me. I opened my mouth to argue otherwise but she cut me off when she held up a hand to me. “Yes, I was upset but not at you Oppa.” She smiled bashfully when she addressed me once more in the manner that she usually does. “I was upset with myself.”

“But you stopped talking to me. You even hid in your apartment like an ostrich.” I pointed out defensively. She gave me a look of amusement when I let slip my analogy for her a while ago. “Did you just compare me to an ostrich?” Norah shook her head with a smile gracing her lips but she continued on. “Well, alright I was a bit hurt with what you told me awhile ago but I had it coming didn’t I? I know you’d get mad at me for missing a day of training especially when my trainers are so busy nowadays and are just making time to help me out. I shouldn’t have skipped training in the first place so I didn’t really find what you told me to be unfair at all.” Norah pursed her lips in thought as if deliberating something before she stepped aside as if to invite me inside her apartment. “I’m really not comfortable talking with you about this with you standing outside my apartment. People might you know overhear it and you’ve already caused such a ruckus awhile ago.” She explained to me with a smirk, which I only scowled at. “Whose fault was that?” I told her indignantly. Her expression turned to that of pure (false) innocence as if saying, “Who me?” I rolled my eyes at her and sauntered to her couch to make myself comfortable while she closed her door before settling beside me. I noticed that her coffee table were covered by scratch papers, with her iPhone and laptop resting on top of it while the television was , playing her favorite show, Sherlock with the sounds on mute. “I was trying my hand at composing. Teddy Oppa suggested I start writing lyrics when I last saw him.” Norah explained to me when she noticed my observation of her living room. I raised an eyebrow at this, which she only shrugged at. Norah raised her legs and wrapped her arms around them as silence descended us when we were already sitting side by side in her couch, her desire for this conversation to be kept in private granted. “I didn’t want to face you because I knew you were mad.” Norah said, her voice shaking me from my spacing out. “It was a cowardly thing to do but I’ve always been like this even with my parents. Whenever I up which was not a rare thing for me to do, I keep to myself more and just avoid any form of communication with anyone whose upset with me. I know it’s rude and a ty thing to do but I want to talk to you when you’ve cooled down. I thought that it would be better that way. It’s just that…” At this Norah stared at her hands, intentionally not looking at me as she confessed her reasons behind her sudden silence. “I don’t like seeing you disappointed. Actually I don’t like people becoming disappointed in me. Period.” She sighed. “I promised you that I’ll work hard in my training but what did I do? I skipped an ENTIRE day of training and ignored all your calls. Who wouldn’t get mad at that? I guess I am an ostrich.” Norah chuckled to herself as she fiddled with a loose thread in her sweats. “I’m the one whose supposed to apologize.” Norah finally looked up to me and her expression awhile ago when her entire face was blushing finally made sense to me. She felt ashamed and disappointed in herself. “I’m sorry Oppa, about skipping my training today and disobeying the rules. I’m also sorry for giving you the silent treatment.”

“It’s not entirely your fault. I knew Seungri put you up to this. He called awhile ago at my place to check up on you. I guess he thought that I would still be out and you would be there since he asked you to restock our pantry.” I explained to her when she threw me a surprised look. “You know, you should’ve just told me what he asked you to do. I could’ve helped out or done it myself instead of you missing your training. I’m not mad, I never was actually. Not even disappointed even. I was just worried.” I frowned when I recalled the panic I was in as I drove back to our apartment building, calling people to see if they knew where she was. “You’re not exactly the smartest person when it comes to directions and no one knew where you are or who you’re with. You just left the office without telling any of us where you’re going. The last we heard from you is that you’re not going to make it to dance rehearsals and that’s it. I guess my panic just got to me and it made me say those things to you but I was never mad.” Norah bit her lip and nodded to me in understanding but her eyes were still riveted to her sweats. Which was a good thing because I can’t look her in the eyes either when my heart started pounding as I confessed my worry over her. I guess this is not just a passing thing after all. I shook my head. No, it wasn’t the right time to think about this. “So are we good Jiyong Oppa?” Norah asked me tentatively, her eyes finally meeting mine when I shook myself from unwanted thoughts. “Of course we are. BUT!” I pointed a finger in Norah’s direction, which she swatted at good naturedly. “The next time Seungri asks you to do our grocery shopping, don’t do it. And tell me about it instantly. It’s his problem if he failed to pull through his end of our bargain.” Norah looked at me skeptically and shook her head. “Oppa, please. I know what you would’ve done if I DID tell you about Seungri Oppa’s request. You would’ve called him and reprimanded him even if he was miles away and then you’ll be stubborn about not buying food for yourself cause it was ‘HIS’ part of your chores.” She made air quotations as she emphasized on the term ‘his’ and continued on ticking in her fingers how I would’ve reacted to the situation. “Then you’ll forget about it as soon as work comes up and live off of take away, water and cigarettes until your stomach hurts from lack of food.”  I scoffed at everything she pointed out even if most of it was true. She forgot that I nick food from her place sometimes when she decides to cook once in awhile for dinner. Apparently she caught onto that too judging by the scowl on her face and her firm voice telling me that, “I will certainly NOT cook for you. I am not your cook.” I bit my lip in amusement when she threw in additional huff at this. “You’re just my ostrich of a neighbor.” I retorted with a grin and Norah simply replied by mock glaring at me. Her eyes landed on the sheets of paper I was still holding and she plucked it from my hands curiously. “What’s this Oppa? Some cheesy apology letter?” She asked me, her voice filled with mirth but her smile dropped from her face when she read the words printed out in black and white in front of her. “It’s nothing.” I told her off handedly trying to tear the pieces of paper in her grasp but Norah stood up to move away from my reach. Her eyes flitted through the paper with practiced ease, most likely due to her hobby of reading. Norah looked up to me and I swear, in all the months I’ve known Norah I have never seen her this pissed before. “Where did you get this?” She asked me and I unwillingly answered her. “Just some random site. It’s nothing. I thought I could show you that I wasn’t perfect by showing you this as a way of an apolo…. Norah what are you doing?” I straightened up from my seat when I noticed Norah unceremoniously sat herself down in front of her laptop and began typing like crazy on her keyboard.

“I know you’re not perfect but the things these people are saying are just downright rude and utter lies. Are they for ing real? I could get the criticisms about your work but to tell you to drop dead and die?” Norah’s fingers flew across her keyboard like lightning and she continued to rant under her breath about the comments made to me by my haters. I stood up from my seat to see what she was planning on doing and wasn’t surprised to see that she actually spotted the site where I got the hateful comments I printed out to show her as proof of my flaws. But what did surprise me was the lengthy comment she was writing to defend me on the site’s page. What surprised me even more was the lack of curse words that her usual vocabulary is accompanied with. Instead her comment was straight to the point, cutting to the chase to show these people, especially those who expressed their desire for me to drop out of the face of the planet, how wrong they are to make quick assumptions about a person they only know through what the media wants to portray them to be. I stared at her profile as she did this, the warm feeling I felt this morning when I woke up next to her enveloping me once more. Norah glanced at me distractedly, staring at my face but not really seeing or even registering in her head our close proximity. “This might take awhile, a loser replied to me already. Not that surprising considering some of these people might not have anything productive to do if all they can do is point out people’s flaws. PSH. As if they’re god sent. I bet one of them is a bitter old maid whose just pining after you.” Her lips tilted in a smirk and my urge to kiss her again came back with a vengeance however her words cleared my head as if I was doused with cold water. “You look hungry Oppa, I’ve got food in the fridge if you want to eat. I’ll just be here for a bit.” She grinned at me before directing her attention once more to her laptop.

Right.

Hungry.

I think my hunger wouldn’t be something pasta would sate. Something that I thought to myself as I popped open her fridge to do as she suggested.

I'm back with another update :) it's still in Jiyong's POV. I wonder if Norah caught on to Jiyong's thoughts? HMMMMMM.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and subscribing. You don't know how much it means to me. I'm seriously enjoying writing this because it's my only stress reliever from school (apart from BB of course, mainly GD). I would really like to hear what you think about the story so if you can, can you please comment? THANK YOU AGAIN! YOU GUYS ARE GOLDEN. WITH DIAMONDS.

Also! Have you checked out the fancams for the after party of MAMA? O.O DAE I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT IN YOU MAN HAHAHAHAHAHA AND BB WAS SO DRUNK IT WAS TOO FUNNY. GD as always was a troll by slyly capturing everything the others were doing in his iPhone. Maybe for blackmail material? HAHAHA

WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Since you are all so awesome, here's GD being adorable that I just want to gobble him up and saki;fhnsdglfjvnsdgluibesgtr

- Rexiefauliks

PS. I'll be editing this story this week I think. I'll try updating too but school's been keeping me busy -______- (not that I update consistently). Hopefully it won't take me too long. :D