3 Years later

Rrrrriiiinnnnnggg! Rrrrrrrrrriiiinnnnggg! Rrrrrrrriiiinnnnggg!

Where is that damn phone? Kwon Ji Yong thought as he groggily rolled out of his bed. He barely slept for 2 hours and now his phone is ringing again.

“Yeah?” he answered groggily.

“Just a reminder, Ji, you have to be at the airport in 2 hours,” his personal manager reminded him. “You cannot be late as you and the boys are to have a magazine interview as soon as you land.”

“I know, I know…” he said as he stood up to prepare his things.

A couple of hours later, an annoyed G-Dragon walked towards the departure area of Incheon International Airport, looking for s. It would have been an easy feat if not for the screaming and crying fan girls following him wherever he went.

Thank God for airport security, he thought as he quickly scanned the area.

“Hyung! Over here!” a familiar voice called out to him.

“Thought you weren’t gonna show,” his best friend, Young Bae said as he walked towards them.

“Ani,” Ji Yong said as he lowered his shades and handed his passport to their group manager. “Would have made it here earlier if not for the crazy fan girls blocking my path. You would think it’s the end of the world or something.”

“Well you can’t blame them,” Youngbae remarked, “we are gonna be gone for a long time.”

“Yeah, but hyung! This is huge!” their group’s resident clown, Daesung said excitedly, “I mean, it’s the U.S. man! Come on, don’t tell me you’re not at least a bit excited for this!”

He does have a point, Ji Yong thought. Six years after their debut, President Yang announced recently that Big Bang was ready to debut in the United States. Finally. So here they were, at the departure area waiting for their L.A. flight. He should be excited, since this is what he’s been working for since he was 13 years old. Instead, he can’t shake off the dread he was feeling, and he knew why. Because leaving Korea meant leaving everything…including his past. Their past. He excused himself from his group members as he dialed a number he’s been calling almost everyday for the past 3 years.

“Hyung,” the young man answered.

“I’m leaving in an hour,” Ji Yong said in a flat tone.

“I know, your manager called me earlier. Warned me that you might be calling me before you left, and pleaded to give you what you want.”

“But you’re still not giving it to me,” Ji Yong said in a grave tone--an effort to control his emotions.

“No. I’m sorry, hyung. You know I respect you a lot, but we’ve been going around in circles for 3 years. You know very well as to why I can’t and won’t give it to you.”

“Knew it was a long shot. Thanks anyway. And I’m sorry for bothering you. This will be the last time, I promise,” Ji Yong said.

“It’s alright, hyung,” the younger man answered. “You sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah. Thanks again, Sang Hyun,” he said as he hung up the phone.

“Don’t tell me you’re still bothering the poor kid,” their eldest and most observant member, Seung-hyun remarked.

“Wait… don’t tell me you just called up Sang Hyun again, hyung?” Youngbae asked.

“So?” he said cockily.

“You know that’s wrong, right?” his best friend said, “Sang Hyun already said Dara-noona wants to be left alone. And President YG ordered you not to bother Sang Hyun before you force Rain-hyung to request a restraining order for you to stop bothering the poor kid, not to mention…”

“Aish! I get it, I get it, FINE, I get it!” he said irritably. For a best friend, Youngbae can sometimes be really annoying, he thought. “You know why I bother. I just want answers. Closure. I already moved on,” he explained.

“We know that, G,” Seung-hyun said as he put his arm around their leader, “but we also know that Dara doesn’t want to give you that closure you’ve been looking for for the past 3 years. Don’t you think it’s time to give up? Besides, there’s no point in trying to find her anymore. We’re leaving in an hour and we won’t come back till next year, so why don’t we just concentrate on our U.S. debut, hmm?”

Ji Yong exhaled in frustration, “I know hyung, and you’re right. Ok fine. I won’t bother Sang Hyun and I will forget all about that closure cr*p.”

“That’s more I like it,” Youngbae said with a smile as he patted his best friend on the back. The boys then proceeded to the boarding area and as they were about to board the plane, Ji Yong couldn’t help but look back towards the gate.

I guess this is really goodbye, Dara, he sadly thought.