And once again, a good meal helped save the day. Sure, it started out awkward, with the tension still there. I could tell the boys didn’t know exactly what to talk about, and at first it was just Seungri and myself doing all of the talking, but as we ate and talked the tension slowly disappeared until it was almost completely gone by the end of the meal. And by almost completely gone I mean Taeyang was still having a hard time talking to me, but all of the others just seemed happy to be together. I didn’t know what to say to him thought. “Thank you for rescuing me. It’s okay that you say me in my undies”? Or how about “Thanks a bunch! Hope you enjoyed the view ;p”? Ew. No. Gross. So instead I pulled my phone out and sent him a text.

Me: You okay?

                          Yeah:Taeyang

Me: Are you sure?

      I feel awkward now: Taeyang

Me: Taeyang, all I can say is

       thank you. For everything. I

       wouldn’t have  been able to

       get through last night 

       without you.

Me: I know what is making you

      feel awkward, but forget

      about that, okay? ^_^

I glanced up at him after that last text and smiled. It took a few moments before he looked up and smiled back. Seungri suddenly elbowed me playfully.

“Noona, why are you smiling?”

“What? Oh, just a text I got from a friend,” I replied with a grin. He made some mumbled comment about how he was my friend too and I didn’t text him, which resulted in Jiyong beginning to and Daesung sticking up for the maknae and… The boys acting like normal, even Taeyang finally. Acting normally and like nothing had happened, which was just perfect. Like I had said, the only thing to do is to forget about it and move on. And what better way to do that then with a meal with friends? Although, speaking of friends…

“Hey Jiyong?” He glanced at me with a mouth full of food, looking very much like a cute chipmunk, and I couldn’t help but laugh a tiny bit. “Where is Seunghyun-ssi this morning?”

He quickly gulped down his food before talking, thank the good lord. “He was not feeling well, so he wanted to rest today.” He took another much smaller bite and looked away.

“Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling a little guilty that we were out enjoying ourselves when he was sick in bed. “Should we go back for him?” I paused for a second before speaking up again. “Or maybe we could pick him up some medicine and take it back to him?” I smiled at my idea, but the look and the head shake I got not only from Jiyong but Taeyang as well told me I was wrong.

“I think it would be best if we let him rest,” Taeyang said. I glanced at the two youngest and realized from their expressions that there was something off.

“He…” Jiyong trailed off, looking out the window absentmindedly before continuing. “Sometimes when he is in a bad mood, he will tell us he wants to rest. In order to have time.”

“Oh,” was all I could come up with before Seungri spoke up.

“This is that time,” he said, his face falling a little. “He was not happy this morning.” He sighed and shrugged as he ate part of his meal. “Hyung try to hide it, but we could see.”

“Well, should we try and cheer him up?”

“No,” Taeyang spoke up again. “It really is best to let him rest. He will come out when he is better.” The others all nodded and started talking about what could be fixed or worked on from the concert last night, yet I just couldn’t join in. Sure, I had things to input, and yes, they were trying to draw me in whenever they could, but concentrating on the conversation was difficult. Even when I was surrounded by these four amazing guys who all seemed to genuinely care about me, all I could think about was the person who wasn’t at the table with us.

---

Even though there was very little time till sound check, the day seemed to pass by slower than possible. After breakfast we spent some time hanging out at the hotel, just the five of us in Jiyong and Taeyang’s room. I kept glancing at the wall, on the other side of which was a guy who was so down in the dumps he was secluding himself, but I wasn’t allowed to try and help or comfort.

I tried bringing it up once or twice in passing, but the others quickly changed the subject. I thought about going over and knocking on his door, calling his phone, but in the end I just tried sending a text asking if he was alright. As expected, there was no answer. By the time we had to leaveI was actually starting to get really worried about him. I wondered if maybe he was upset that I had left without saying goodbye last night? Or maybe it was the fact that I was leaving for good tomorrow? No, he wouldn’t be that upset about something like that, would he? Maybe it was just the fact that they would be leaving New York and still not going back to Korea? I knew he was very close to his family, so there was a possibility he was just missing them. But hadn’t they just finished visiting for a few days before coming to the US?

I was jerked out of my contemplations by Jiyong shaking my arm. The time to leave for the concert venue had come and I still had not seen hide nor hair of him. It wasn’t until we were actually downstairs and getting into the vans that I finally saw Top with his manager. They exited the hotel just as the rest of us were getting into the van. I left the door open, expecting him to head in our direction, but he quickly got into the other van with the managers. As the doors to both vans closed, I couldn’t help but wonder: was he going to continue purposefully avoiding us?

I had less than 24 hours left. All of the others wanted to spend time with me, and I wanted to spend time with them, except him. I was quiet the entire way to the venue as my thoughts raced. What had happened to make him so frustrated? What could I do to help? Was there anything I could do to help? Would it be best if I just left him alone, or if I tried to talk with him? It helped with some people if they were able to talk and vent to someone, almost like cleaning out a wound, but if you keep the anger and hurt inside, it can eat you alive. Maybe I should just try and talk with him. My mind was a whirlwind of these thoughts as we traveled to the venue.

When we finally got there, the boys and I hurried out of the vans and into the venue. Well, they hurried and I just followed. We were there for about two minutes before Top showed up as well. And all I could think was ‘Alright, surely there is no way he can avoid me now, right?’ I smiled and waved a little as he approached where I was with the boys. He glanced towards me and we made brief eye contact before he veered away and went to talk to the other two noonas and the choreographer. I turned to the others who were discussing something in Korean, throwing glances in Top’s direction but avoiding my gaze, when I finally had enough. I grabbed Daesung’s arm and pulled him slightly away from the others. “Dae, what is wrong with Top?”

He glanced towards the others nervously before answering. “Nothing, noona.” I gave him a look as I crossed my arms and just waited. “Noona.” I waited a few more beats as he trailed off. “He is sad now, but it is okay.” He smiled at me, gave my arm a pat, and turned away. What I wanted to do was scream, but instead I finally just gave up. Obviously the boys were used to him being moody like this and had figured out that it was best if they just let it go. But I remember that night after karaoke, when I found out why he had been so angry and finally realized how to deal with it. He might be moody, but it was because something was bothering him. And if something was bothering him, he obviously needed to talk about it otherwise it would continue to bother him. Since I really only had tonight and part of tomorrow left with the boys, I would rather he got over whatever it was sooner rather than later. So if that meant I had to corner him and make him talk and rant and vent or whatever until he was no longer upset, so be it. Nikky the punching bag was ready for action.

---

The boys finished their sound check, but decided against practicing any of the dances in lieu of resting and relaxing, meaning I still hadn’t gotten close enough to Top to talk to him. I figured now would be my only chance before the concert, but finding him was proving to be a problem. He had disappeared somewhere as soon as the sound check was done, and I was starting to wonder if he had fallen down a rabbit hole or something. I had already checked the stage, both the female and the male dancer’s dressing rooms, the boy’s dressing room, the green room, and even the bathrooms, with no luck. I popped my head in the manager’s green room and was about to leave since I didn’t see him in there either when a voice stopped me. “Nikky?”

I turned and realized that both unnies were at a round table with the five managers and Jiyong. “Oh, hi!” I said with a small wave. “Sorry, I was looking for- I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I was about to leave again when I heard the chairs move behind me and Hae Jung’s voice call out to me.

“Actually, we wanted to talk to you for a minute.” I slowly walked back over to the table as Cho Hee and the managers left, one or two of them giving me what seemed to be understanding smiles as they passed. I sat down and couldn’t keep the worried expression off my face. Both of them looked so serious, that it seemed only natural to be concerned. Hae Jung took a folder out of the stack of papers in front of her and pushed it towards me. “Your airline ticket for tomorrow. The flight is at noon, is that okay?”

“Oh,” I looked down at the folder and wanted to burn it. I knew that my time with the boys was up, I really did. But this? This made it real. Even though I thought I had prepared myself, it was still hard. “Yeah, sure, that’s- that’s fine,” I said, still not opening the folder but just staring at it, hoping that it would disappear if I wished hard enough. It was then that another folder was pushed towards me from Jiyong.

“YG sent this for you to sign. It is the form for when you were hired and a few other things.” I glanced up at him as he gave me a smile which I tried to return. I gave myself a mental slap and took a deep breath. I should be putting on a brave face, even if I am unhappy. It wouldn’t do any good for them to see me this upset, now would it?

I opened the folder from Jiyong and flipped through the first few pages then stopped and backtracked. My brow furrowed as I flipped between the pages again, and I finally had to look up at the three grinning faces in front of me. “What is this?” I pulled out the first page and one a little farther back. The second one was identical to the first, almost. The first one said “Part Time Wardrobe Coordinator” as my title, heh, didn’t know that that was my title did you? Well neither did I. Anyways, the first one had that title and the dates that I had been with them. But the second one? The title said “Style/Wardrobe Consultant”. And the dates? They were blank. I shook the paper at the two who were still just grinning at me stupidly, waiting for one of them to speak.

“Well,” Hae Jung spoke up after what seemed like an eternity. “YG said that you were a good influence on the boys. He knew you were such a large help to both Cho Hee and me, and he wants to have more English speaking staff member, so…” She trailed off and looked to Jiyong.

“If you want to, he is wanting to hire you if you want. Part time or full time.” My jaw dropped as did the paper. I felt frozen and I couldn’t do or say anything as he continued. “He knows you have a job and family, but he said it doesn’t have to be now. If you want to think about it for a some weeks, or wait until you find a place…” He trailed off as I remained silent. “He also said it could be in Korea or Japan. Since we will continue promoting in Japan and some people have run into… problems, he is thinking it is good to have staff members there. If you want?” He finally stopped talking and I couldn’t keep the grin off of my face anymore.

“Is this… is this real? Like, I’m not dreaming, right?” I tried to keep my word speed down, since I tended to talk way too fast when I was excited, but I’m pretty sure I failed at that since they both started laughing.

“Yes, it is real,” Hae Jung answered. “We just finished the paperwork this morning and had them faxed here. We had to check with the managers, to make sure they were okay with it as well, and they are.”

I don’t know how, but I managed to not knock over the table as I jumped up and ran around it to hug first Hae Jung and then Jiyong. I basically clung to him as I said thank you over and over again, unable to keep the happy tears from falling as he just laughed and patted my back.

Finally I calmed down enough to sit down again. “So, is that a yes?”

I started to nod before I stopped myself. I couldn’t just up and leave suddenly. I had a job, an apartment, family, and friends. How would  they feel if I just suddenly left without any explanation? And I had to give two-week notice at my job. Plus if I was going to move, I would need to find a place over… well wherever, and I would have to figure out what to do with all of my furniture since I couldn’t take it with me. There was just so much that would need to be done. “Well, I probably should think about it,” I finally answered, somewhat hesitantly. When I saw Jiyong’s face start to fall I quickly continued. “I mean, just so I can talk it over with my family, figured out what I would do about my job and my apartment and such. So, it’s sort of a yes?” I grinned. Yeah, I was giving all of these reasons to not say yes in my head, but I knew deep down that this was perfect. This was what I wanted to do. Travel with them, get more experience helping Hae Jung with their schedule, learn about their styles and how to create them, improve them, and change them with Cho Hee, and just getting to know them more. “But don’t tell the others yet, I want to surprise them.” I couldn't wait to see the expressions on their faces. Taeyang probably already guessed, but Daesung and Seungri would be so excited. And Top... I just couldn't wait to tell them all.

“Fine, but make sure to tell them soon,” Hae Jung spoke up with a matching grin and a laugh. “I don’t think I can stand seeing them mope behind your back any longer.”

---

A/N: So, I originally wasn't going to give you all of this in one chapter. I was going to break it into two but... I just couldn't do that to you guys! So, instead of a long drawn out note, let me just ask: Whatcha think? ^_^