I watched the water ripple on the lake's surface as I threw a stone and it sank to the bottom. I threw another one and the stone sent another set of ripples on the surface. I sighed deeply as I stared at my own sad reflection on, deeply troubled.

I came to the park alone just after I had my little encounter with G-Dragon at the studio. I told the driver to take me to the park I had gone to with Daesung the other day. I wanted to be alone for a while just to think. I didn't want to be bothered by anyone. Besides, I left the others at the studio still talking about the "Scorpion and Subzero Battle" aka "G-Dragon vs Black Kitty." Even though that was something to laugh about, I still felt sad and very much alone.

I didn't want things to turn out like this. Not with G-Dragon. I expected our collabo with BigBang to go on smoothly without any trouble. Turns out I was wrong. And this sad feeling I had made me miss home so bad.

Speaking of home, I remembered Collins telling me earlier this morning that I could call my mum in the evening. I looked at my phone and it was two in the afternoon. If my knowledge of time zones were correct, it's probably Wednesday in the U.S. It might be in the evening or probably midnight back home.

I dialled down my mum's phone number and pressed the call button. Calling from another country was expensive nowadays, but right now, I didn't care. All I needed right now was to hear the sound of my mum's voice.

I put the phone to my ear and I waited. Her phone was ringing on the other end and she wasn't picking up. I closed my eyes and prayed that she would pick up in time, but it seemed like forever.

I sighed. Maybe I was calling at a bad time and she was probably asleep. Before I moved the phone away from my ear, I heard a click on the phone and then came her voice.

"Hello? Sam?"

"Mum!"

Just hearing her voice made me want to break into tears and cry. I missed her so much. I tried to hold back my tears and sound normal, but I could feel my throat burn and I knew I was going to break down at any moment. I already felt a tear running down my cheek.

"Sam, my baby girl," came my mum's voice again. "Thank goodness you called. I thought you forgot about me now that you are surrounded by handsome Korean men out there."

I managed to laugh even with tears in my eyes. Oh, how it felt good to hear her voice again. I wish I could hug her and tell how much I missed her. But we were miles apart. And the thought of that made me hurt even more.

"Are you crying, sweetie?" she asked. I could hear that she was getting emotional too. How I wished I wasn't crying right now.

"I just missed you, that's all," I replied, wiping away my tears and sniffing.

"We missed you too, baby girl. Now stop crying because you will also make me want to cry too."

"I'm trying, mum," I said with a smile. "I'm just glad I get to hear your voice. I thought you might be asleep."

"We just had our supper a few minutes ago. You called at the right time."

"Ya, looks like I did."

"So, how is Korea, so far? I've seen the photos of you guys when you first got there and now there is this thing about a video released on YouTube of you and uh.... what's that guy's name again?"

"G-Dragon," I replied with a smile, not even caring that I mentioned his name. "For a mum you're really up to date, aren't you?"

"I've to know what's going on with my babies, don't I? Now that you're famous, I've no other choice but to check up on you even if it's online. Besides, Collins has been up to date with me every day, telling me that you're alright."

"That's good. We really miss you. Korea is such a beautiful place, but we really miss home."

"I know you do, sweetie. Tell me. You sound happy to talk to me, but I can tell that something is bothering you. What's wrong?"

This is what I've always loved about mum. Even from miles away, she could tell I was hurting inside. This made my eyes swell up with tears again.

"I don't know where to start and I probably don't have enough time either," I said. "It's just that, being a leader is so hard."

"But you've been leader for a long time, Sam, and as far as I know, you're a great leader. You always have."

"Well, I know. But this time, I wish I could turn back time and undo the things I've done."

"What did you do, Sam?"

"I made the worst mistake ever and if I don't do anything about it, it will affect not only my group members, but also BigBang as well."

I quickly told a brief summary of what had happened, how everything had all begun at Caribbean Bay till now. She didn't say a word as I spoke and I knew she was listening.

"And right now I feel awful," I said as I finished telling her the story. "If things don't go back to the way they were, I might as well be doomed."

"Sam, I know you regret everything that you did," said mum, "but now is not the time to start beating yourself up. You should be working on a solution to this like always. You're stronger than this, Sam, and you know it."

"I know, mum. But this is going to be hard. G-Dragon is already upset with me and the last thing I want is to make the whole world hate me in the process."

"Then if that's the case, then let the world hate you. As long as you know you tried your best to set things right, I don't see the harm in it. And besides, the whole world can't hate you. You're Black Kitty for crying out loud."

I laughed at what my mum said and she was right. I had to stop beating myself up with all this nonsense and find a way so that G-Dragon and I can work on the song in peace. It was just like I told myself earlier on. I had to clean up the mess I've made, whether or not I get burnt.

"You're right, mum. I'll try to find a way no matter what."

"That's my girl! You may be a kitten, but you're as tough as a tiger."

"Thanks mum. You're simply the best," I said with a smile.

"Give my hugs and kisses to everyone else, okay, especially to my two little boys."

"I will. It was nice talking to you, mum."

"Same here, my darling. Take care, okay? And tell me how everything turns out."

"Okay. Bye, mum. Say hi to dad and everyone else for me."

"Bye, my little kitty." And the line went dead.

After the line cut, I stared off into the distance, looking beyond the trees of the park. I took in a deep breath of fresh air and I felt myself starting anew.

I smiled to myself as I felt myself gather my confidence. Yes, there was going to be a bumpy ride ahead and I was going to set this right no matter what.

As I turned to leave, I saw TOP in front of me, standing at a reasonable distance. I paused when I saw him and he was staring right back at me. I wondered for how long he had stood there. I hoped that it wasn't too long.

He slowly walked over to me and I just stood there like a statue, waiting.

"So this is where you are," he said as he came closer. "People back at YG were really worried when you disappeared, especially Zoey."

"Pffft," I rolled my eyes. "That's Zoey. But as you can see, I'm fine. I just needed time to be alone."

"And who was that you were speaking to on the phone who made you cry so much?" TOP asked with a simple smile on his face.

I gulped as I felt my cheeks blush in embarrassment. He had been standing there the whole time! Yikes! He was probably going to make fun of me now if I told him I was speaking to my mum. He would call me a cry baby.

"I hope it's not your boyfriend whom you left back home in the U.S," TOP had a mocking smile on his face as he said that. "He's probably dumped you because of all the rumours flying around that you and G-Dragon are dating."

"I don't have a boyfriend, TOP. And second of all, I was talking to my mum."

Ya, I said it. He could laugh at me if he wanted to. It didn't matter.

"Oh, I see," said TOP, this time, with a genuine smile. For a moment, I thought he was going to burst out laughing but he didn't. "It's good you talked to her. Looks like it really helped."

"Helped in what?" I asked shrugging my shoulders.

He took a step closer to me and that almost made me want to take a step back. But I realised that if I did, I might as well just fall into the lake. I didn't want to take a dive into the waters a second time. What happened at Caribbean Bay was more than enough.

He was so close and I stared around to see if anyone was watching. The last thing I wanted was to make another love scandal that I was dating TOP. That would just make Collins and Yang Hyun-suk furious.

"I say that because you seem to have some sparkle of fire in your eyes, despite them looking all red and puffing from all the crying," said TOP, as he continued to look me in the eyes.

"Ummm, you're really making this weird for me right now," I said. "I don't know whether to say thanks or keep my mouth shut."

"Don't say anything," said TOP, the corner of lip went up making that bad boy look that almost made me melt. "Seems like to me you just gained your confidence back, am I right?"

"Well, kind of. Talking to my mum really helped."

TOP didn't say a word as he continued to look at me in a way I couldn't describe. I looked down at my feet so that he wouldn't notice me blushing. I wish he could take a few steps away from me though. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with him standing so close.

"Would you like to go out for some ice cream?" TOP asked.

That came out so sudden. I thought he would suggest we go back to YG or at least say something about my crying. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him and feel that all of this was just weird.

"Aren't you here to take me back to YG?" I asked.

"Well, I was," said TOP, looking at the sky with his eyebrow raised and still with his cute bad boy look. "But I decided to have you all to myself for a change. Besides, the others don't need to worry. I told them where you were the moment I found you and that you would be here for a while."

I was cornered this time. There was simply no way I was going to avoid TOP now and I couldn't come up with a good excuse. He was stuck to me like a leech. But come to think of it, going out for ice cream didn't sound like a bad idea. I needed something cold to cool me off and something sweet to cheer me up.

"Looks like you win, TOP," I said accepting defeat. "Let's go for ice cream."

"I'm glad you accepted the offer," said TOP as he bowed to me in a respectful gesture and I couldn't help but blush. "Let's go."

He offered me his elbow and I wrapped my hand around it. The two of us walked away from the lake heading for the end of the park where the car I had driven in was parked and in front of it parked TOP's expensive red Audi sports car. Looks like we were going in TOP's sweet ride instead; because the driver soon drove off after TOP had ordered him to leave.

As TOP opened the door of his car for me, I had a sudden feeling that someone was watching me. I looked behind me among the trees and I didn't see anyone. The people walking around the park didn't seem to look suspicious in any way.

"Hey, are you okay?" TOP asked, when he noticed that I was preoccupied.

"Um, ya, I thought I felt someone watching me or something," I replied.

"Must be the paparazzi. You know how they like snooping around just to take pictures."

"Ya, maybe."

I took a quick look one last time and I was sure that someone was still out there watching. And something told me it wasn't the paparazzi. Maybe I was just being delusional. Besides, I had quite a rough day.

I quickly went into the car and TOP closed the door and went round to the driver's seat and got in. Just as TOP the engine, I looked out of the car window at the park and I noticed a shadow move amongst the trees. I was right. Someone was definitely watching me.

As the car drove off along the street, I couldn't help but wonder who it was. Could it be G-Dragon? I hardly doubt it. Why would he want to spy on me if he could easily have come upfront?

It couldn't be him, that's for sure. And I wasn't liking this at all.

***

It was 10:30 AM and I was seated in the recording studio alone, waiting for G-Dragon. He was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago since we agreed to meet soon after I was done with dance practice. I groaned in frustration as I stared at the clock hang on the wall. He's so late! Anyway, it was best I tried to keep myself busy just in case he took another thirty minutes to get here.

I was seated on one of the comfortable leather chairs with my notebook and pen in hand. I thought to myself: "Can I just try to come up with a few lyrics for the song on my own?" I would go through them with G-Dragon and see if he finds them okay. But something told me he might still be upset and he might just make my life difficult and reject them. I shrugged my shoulders. Did it even matter anymore? I was bored to death and I was so not in the mood to go on social media on my phone and see what everyone's talking about.

I got to work on the lyrics by coming up with the first two lines. I stared off into the distance, deep in thought, trying to come up with more lyrics. The song was supposed to be based on fun just like we had agreed last time. Sometimes coming up with lyrics was just as tough.

I was busy in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that someone had entered the studio. The next thing I knew, someone snapped their fingers close to my ears bringing me back to the real world. I almost jumped and when I quickly turned my head, there stood Taeyang beside me.

"Oh, it's you," I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"I see you were expecting G-Dragon," said Taeyang, as he sat next to me. "How are you by the way?"

"I'm fine and how about you?" I asked, smiling at him.

"I'm great," he replied as he gave me a huge grin.

I suddenly positioned myself so quick and stared at him straight in the eye.

"That smile on your face. Tell me you resolved things with Hyo-rin?" I asked.

"How did you figure that out?" Taeyang asked, looking surprised.

"I could easily tell, Tae," I replied giving him a smile. "I noticed that twinkle in your eye and your bright smile."

"Well, you guessed right. We talked last night and everything's alright between us."

"Wow, I'm so glad! I'm happy for you, Tae."

"Thanks. I couldn't be more happier."

"Lucky you. I wish I could find someone too."

Taeyang looked at me with his eyebrow raised. I bet he was surprised that those words came out of my mouth because I didn't look like the type who would say such things, especially in front of him. Well, news flash, I also had such desires. I'm human too, you know.

"Is this Sam I'm talking to right now?" Taeyang asked.

"You bet it is," I replied. "Don't mind me, Tae. But just so you know, I also have such in mind."

"Then why have you never dated?" Taeyang asked as he folded his arms.

"Well, I just haven't found the right person yet. That's why. People say you never get to find the right one without dating some and breaking up with them. But I want to find that someone who I'll stay with for the rest of my life. He has to be my first and last."

"Mmm, that's too much to ask, don't you think?"

"Ya, I know," I groaned, shaking my head. "But I don't know why I want it that way. Only a few people are lucky enough to find their perfect soul mate and they get married and live happily ever after."

"Don't worry, that guy will surly come around. Who knows, it might just be G-Dragon."

I knew Taeyang was just joking with me and I playfully hit him on the arm as he burst out laughing.

"G-Dragon belongs to Zoey," I said. "Those two are just meant for each other."

"Ya? And you think Collins is going to allow that to happen?"

"He might as well be the one to object to their marriage too, that's if they were ever to do so."

Taeyang and I laughed. I had to admit, Collins would do exactly that. And I wouldn't be surprised.

"Okay, enough of that," said Taeyang as he tried to calm down from all the laughter. "How is the song coming along?"

"As you can see, G-Dragon isn't here yet," I said as I looked around the studio. "So, there is pretty much nothing going on right now."

"Really? I had a glimpse of your notebook and I saw you wrote something," said Taeyang as he stared at the notebook on my lap.

I hid the notebook to my side away from plain site and folded my arms.

"I didn't write anything," I said, sounding serious and facing somewhere else.

"Why are you lying to me? I know you're a good song writer. Let me see what you wrote."

"I didn't write anything, Tae. I've to wait for your so called leader who is very late."

"Sam," Taeyang held out his hand, giving me a serious look. "Give me the notebook."

"No," I turned to look at him square in the eye.

The two of us stared at each other in silence. Then all of the sudden, Taeyang came at me trying to get my notebook. I did all I could to prevent him from getting it as I gave him my back, trying to protect the notebook as though it was the one thing that mattered to me.

"We don't have to act like children, Sam! Give me the book!" Taeyang tried to reach out with his arm to get the book, but my arm and the way I placed my back as a shield prevented him from doing so.

"No, Tae!" I said, trying my best to shield the book even though Taeyang was stronger and I felt he was going to crash me from behind.

"I just want to see what you wrote."

"There is nothing on it!"

"If there wasn't, you would give me the book despite the blank pages. But there is something you wrote and you are not letting me see."

The two of us continued to struggle with each other and this reminded me of the times when Daniel, Mike and I used to fight over the TV remote when we were younger. Those were the good times. At the end of it all, we would all be piled up on top of each other until either mum or dad got the remote and told us go to our rooms.

"Okay, that does it," said Taeyang. "You leave me no choice, Sam."

"What are you-?"

Before I could ask what he was about to do, I felt him wrap his arms around my waist. I felt him carry me from the couch and we were both falling backwards. I yelped in surprise and the next thing I know, I found myself staring upwards at the ceiling leaning on Taeyang with my back against his chest. With his hand still wrapped around my waist, he took me to the side and I found myself on the floor. Luckily, I didn't land on my face but on my knees.

It was already too late though. Taeyang managed to get the notebook with his other hand and he got away from me just in time before I got up from the floor.

"So not fair, Tae," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, you weren't giving me the book so I had to take some drastic measures," said Taeyang, "now, let me see what you wrote."

Before Taeyang could turn the notebook to the side where I wrote the lyrics, I quickly came at him, trying to grab it. But surprisingly, it looked like he knew I was coming and he gave me his back trying to shield the book the same way I did earlier on. This time it was pointless. I wasn't going to overpower him with my tiny frame of a body.

"Tae, just give it me!" I protested, trying my best to grab the book from behind.

It was way too late now. Taeyang managed to see the lyrics that I wrote and I gave up on trying to get the notebook. I hated such battles where the guy always wins. I couldn't help but huff in frustration.

I folded my arms as I stared at Taeyang who was still looking down at my lyrics. I wondered why he wasn't saying anything. I just wrote two lines and it looked like he was reading more than that. Was he analysing what I wrote? Maybe he didn't like it and was trying to find some fault. That's something I was expecting G-Dragon to do, not him.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked. "You seem to be taking forever."

"They are not bad. I like it actually," said Taeyang as he looked at me.

"Oh, thanks." I couldn't help but blush.

"I noticed that the lyrics describe the day we went to Caribbean Bay."

"Well, ya," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I took into consideration what Collins said yesterday in the interview. So, I thought the first lines should describe how the day and the fun begun. Some other parts of the song will come later on."

"Wow, no wonder Collins says you're so smart."

"Thanks," I said with a huge grin on my face. "I get that compliment a lot."

"Ya, well, your hair seems out of order and you look way more smarter than Einstein," said Taeyang as he smiled.

Ah, oh. I hadn't even realised how ridiculous I looked after my little fight with Taeyang. It was all his fault that my hair was in such a disarray. I tried to put my hair properly since I had curled it after I took a shower and I made it drop to my shoulders.

"Mmm, now you look even more prettier when I first walked in," said Taeyang.

"Just shut up, Tae," I said as I got the book from him, trying my best not to smile. But I ended up doing it anyway.

Then the door behind me flew open and G-Dragon stepped in with Zoey behind him. The two had entered the studio laughing, obviously at some joke or something. I turned towards them without saying a word as they approached Taeyang and I.

"What's up, guys?" G-Dragon greeted us as he came closer with a smile on his face.

At that moment, I wanted someone to slap me on the cheek. Was I dreaming or was G-Dragon not upset anymore? Something was fishy and I was hoping my guts would tell me what I was missing here. But right now, I had nothing.

"Hey, you're late," I said, trying to play along and trying not to sound mad.

"Ya, you're never this late unless something came up," said Taeyang.

"Well, ya, I woke up a little late," said G-Dragon. "Had a little bit of a hangover."

Seriously? A hangover? Oh my goodness, me, I forgot that G-Dragon drinks. I wanted to shake my head in disappointment, but I didn't. I also wanted to ask why he ended up drinking so much last night, but something told me to shut up and that it was best not to know.

"Well, since you're here," I said, "we can start now."

"Okay, sure," said G-Dragon as he looked at me.

"I'm so glad that you two aren't attacking each other like you did yesterday," said Zoey. "I was a good thing that you two had time to chill out."

I didn't know whether to object to what Zoey said or keep my mouth shut. I didn't want to disappoint Zoey or Taeyang,