Jiyong walked inside the studio where three of the 2ne1 girls and the remaining of his band members waited. He was briefed by YG about their current project and procrastination is not part of his daily planner.

“Lollipop?” Seungri read the title of the song before scoffing. “YG had a change of heart now?” Seunghyun added. Well let’s just say that Lollipop sounds like a title which cute, stereotyped artists sang nowadays. “Why don’t you guys read the lyrics first?” Jiyong proposed as he scanned the Mac for the raw background beats of the song.

“Isn’t Chae-unnie, coming?” Minzy whispered towards her other unnies who were busy reading their copy of Lollipop. “Huh? What did you say?” Bom asked while not tearing her eyes on her copy. Minzy just shook her head, being the maknae sometimes. The older members could ignore you and still get away with it. Even Dara wasn’t paying attention to her.

Minzy then looked at the blonde leader of her brother’s group and noticed the eerie aura around him. Then, being the smart maknae that she is, she chose to just shut up and wait for the bomb to drop. Sometimes, it’s not smart to hit the iron while it’s hot.

Gosh, no—you might get burned.

“Aliens.” Jiyong called at Top and Bom as he swing his chair in their direction, “You guys would be taking care of the chorus. Hyung, you’d do the first stanza, you’ll record first.” He mentioned to the older male to enter the recording booth so that they could start.

Ever since that quite morning after that scene in the club, the whole gang had been quiet about it. No word had been let out, of course young Seungri tried—he ended up getting strangled though.

Jiyong contemplated on what Teddy told him.

“Alright,” he said. “You said it yourself—so I’ll trust you to maintain that status between you two.”

“Don’t lead my cousin on if that’s what you think.”

So does that mean that ‘this’ relationship between himself and the girl who was named as his very equal was all up to him? It was all confusing for Jiyong. It was confusing that YG gave the two groups a collab song. It was confusing enough that Teddy sounded Greek to him and it was confusing that he could feel something in his…

“Yah! What are you doing?” He shouted towards his maknae who kept on poking him with a ruler. Seungri instantly backed away. “Hyung, Minki was asking you a question and Seunghyun-hyung and Bommie-noona already left since they were done. Youngbae-hyung finished the recording for you.”

“You were spacing out for two hours, hyung.” Daesung completed. He looked around and saw his best friend along with Dara, Minzy and the two maknaes of Big Bang looking down on him.

“Oppa—what about this part?” Minzy immediately asked him to avoid any awkward questions, especially with that look her unnie was giving on poor Jiyong. The petite girl looked like she was going to let her pet crocodiles swallow G-Dragon whole.

2ne1’s maknae pointed at three parts which Jiyong forgot to assign to anybody. “Oh that.” He said. “You’re going to sing additional, Minki. The noonas can’t sing these parts since it requirs swag the both of them lacked.”

Professionally speaking, he was right. Dara didn’t even look insulted. They trusted him and they know that his views towards music is a must.

“Eh? Won’t Chaerin-unnie sing those parts?” Of course, Minzy meant that in a professional way. No strings attached. “Yeah, Ji. She is a member of 2ne1.” Youngbae added. “She’s a temporary member. I don’t see a point why we should always include her in the joined projects.” He said while he gathered the scattered sheets in front of him.

“But hyung—if you’ll be singing these parts,” Daesung pointed out some stanzas, “won’t it be better if the other parts would be sang by CL? I mean your voices could totally balance each other.”

Jiyong clicked his tongue. Why does everybody kept on telling that they balance each other out? Now that adds up in his confusing questions.

**

Chaerin stretched her arms as she walked down the halls of YGSA. She just finished another round of non-stop practice from the Kwon twins since her original teacher, Sean had to go to a social convention. She moaned for a bit as she felt some of her shoulders muscles lock and release from the pressure of the stretch.

Her legs brought her towards the garden, or more specifically to the tree that stood near a vine-covered brick wall. She sat; leaning on its truck and immediately took out her lyric notebook and her phone where some of her raw recordings were in.

She sighed as she looked at the sky; wondered again towards her thoughts and realizations the night before. I love Kwon Jiyong. Even the mere mental admittance of that fact brought blushed on her face and her heart to accelerate its beating.

“But you can’t really say that you love him right?” She asked to practically nobody but herself. She continued scribbling random lyrics as she talked. “Of course I can’t say that I love him—I mean, I never even felt love before.

“With Jay though—that was a different kind of love, it was more like a friendly admiration.” She said to herself.

“But what will you do if you found out that you really LOVE him, Lee Chaerin? What would you do?” she asked as tore a page from her notebook and crumpled it. “Of course—that would be synonymous with New York right?”

CL gave out a labored sigh as she let her notebook fall out from her lap as she gathered her knees on her arms.

Yeah—that sounded New York to me.

What if she falls for the wrong guys again? What would come out of her? She failed in her first attempt so there is a possibility that she could be wrong in this one as well. However, Kwon Jiyong was far from being predictable. He could only be two things. Jingyo could either be the one or…or another heartbreaker.

No one could actually blame her for being that cautious when it comes to her heart. She wasn’t like those girls who are more than willing to accommodate any man’s heart and have the ability to skip from a  heartbreak to another, no. Her heart had been broken once, and Lee Chaerin isn’t stupid enough to actually let her heart suffer the same damage.

Or she could risk everything and gamble her heart. Who knows right? Kwon Jiyong might be feeling the same.

CL looked up as she felt something wet and cold on her forehead. She couldn’t see what was blocking her sight but somehow she knew that the wet and cold thing on her forehead was a can of beverage. “Figured you might need somebody today, Bu-ney.”

Jiho.

Taking the can from him, she asked, “What are you doing here, Jiho?” Surprise and frustration combined in just one question.

“I felt like you needed some confidante, especially after that victory of yours last night.” He said as he sat beside her and opening her drink for her. She mentioned a thanks as he proceeded on opening his drink next.

“News travelled that fast?” she asked.

“It has wings, you know.” He said before taking a gulp from his Coke. A moment of silence passed by them as the childhood friends continued on enjoying the view—or at least Jiho was, Chaerin was too occupied to do landscape criticism.  

“You do know that you shouldn’t be here now, right?” Chaerin asked Block B’s Zico. The boy only chuckled and said “I’m here for my best friend and not to cause trouble to your precious G-Dragon, Bu-ney.”

Her precious G-Dragon?

“He’s not mine.” She shot back as she moved to get her scrambled notes so that she could scribble again. “That’s not what I heard in the rumors.” He said—there was a tone in his voice which made Chaerin grimaced in annoyance. What’s with him anyway?

“And what exactly did you hear in the rumors?” she asked him. There was a pause before he said “I heard you kissed him.”

Were that sadness and jealousy in his voice?

Chaerin had no answer to that. She did kiss him, but “It’s none of your business, Jiho, so stepped out of it.” She snapped, and I did tell you to stop hoping because I will never…I’m sorry.

“Alright.” He defended with a small smile, “I’m out of it. I like you, Chaerin—I really do, but that won’t stop me from being the overly-protective best friend you lost for almost seven years or so.” Jiho told her before the boy finished his drink.

CL could only smile and look back at him. “Promise?” Jiho looked at her eyes and he couldn’t stop himself from gathering her lean body closer to him and kiss the side of her head, “I promise.”

Though they didn’t know that a pair of eyes were watching them from the very start.

**

CL entered the studio after Zico left. Bom and her alien lover told her that she was needed in some kind of joined project.

She was still weighing her chances in meeting the blonde leader—she hadn’t seen him for hours already. Well of course, she had to meet him now for she was the only one who hadn’t recorded. Bom and Top gave her a copy and pointed out her parts.

And it looked liked they needed her female G-Dragon edge again. How come everybody kept on wanting the female G-Dragon from her anyway? Was she just a mirror for them? A mirror that could change genders all of a sudden?

And so she went inside the studio where a beat was being played. She saw his golden head bobbing along the music and every now and then would shake in frustration—as if he missed a beat or something like that.

CL also noticed Big Bang’s maknae sleeping on the couch beside his leader, typical.

She greeted and closed the door behind her. Jiyong didn’t even look up. Despite her complicated feelings towards that male, she couldn’t help but glare at the back of his head. She despised being ignored.

And he had the very right to ignore me. She thought—remembering how she humiliated him with that kiss last night. She stomped her way towards the sofa where she dropped herself, making the other occupant of the couch to drop to the floor.

Well at least Seungri noticed her. However, instead of being the nosy boy he was, Chaerin was surprised that the lad glared at her. What did she do again?

“Did you know that it’s rude to do that towards a sleeping being?” he asked her. “Did you know that it was rude to lie down on public property? Especially if others could also use it.” She retorted. “Aish—but I was here first.” Seungri replied as he started noticing the pain on his .

Chaerin was about give out a smart reply when Jiyong spoke up.

“Oh—Hunchae, you’re here.” He said as he turned his chair in her direction. “I suppose noona and hyung gave you you’re copy and taught you the basics, so—” he pushed some buttons and continued, “Let’s get it down so we could finally call this a day and get some pizza. I’m starving.”

She was quite surprised on the turn of events—wasn’t he supposed to be mad at her? Or was he usually this nonchalant towards random kisses?

But it wasn’t a random kiss for her, right? Or was it?

Was she the only one being so over reacting with this?

Somehow, he being so casual hurt. Yes—it made a crack on her hearts’ surface.

She watched him turn his chair and get back on his work after he put his headphones back. Chaerin just sighed and stood up, however, before she could even move a step, Seungri held her wrist.

“What now, rat?” She asked him a little bit forcefully so that he could get the point that she was not in the mood for his games. Seungri’s face was hard with seriousness though.  “I saw that kiss with that CAI boy earlier, Lee.” CL glared at him.

“I like you, but I love my hyung like a brother so don’t play with him.” He said before gathering his stuff to leave. “If you don’t plan to stay around then don’t lead hearts on—get it?”

And for the first time ever since she met him, that was the first time she acknowledged Seungri as an older fellow.