Seoul, 2 June 2008

I sit quietly on the couch in the living room sipping on the can of coffee in one hand, while my other hand is holding my mobile phone. I'm waiting for Taeyang and TOP so we can go to YG building together to finish up with some recording. Seungri and Daesung won't be able to make it today; Seungri has a rehearsal for his musical, Sonagi, while Daesung has a meeting with the crew of Family Outing. Daesung finally gets to go on a variety show, which is a good medium for him to channel all that extra energy. 

It's still pretty early in the morning, but today I woke up with a big smile on my face. I went out with Ga-In noona last night. Even though it wasn't a date, I finally got to see her after a long time. She looked pretty last night; well, she always looks pretty, anyway. I love that we had a chance to talk about a lot of things yesterday at Namsan Park. Slowly but surely, I've gotten to know her better, and hopefully, I can get to know her even more. 

I type a message to Ga-In noona. I sent her 2 texts last night, but I think she was already sleeping so she didn't respond. I'll bet she's still asleep now. I got a bit confused last night when she became silent all of a sudden, but maybe she was just exhausted.

To: Ga-In noona

[Good morning, noona! R u awake yet? Wakey-wakey! Even tho' it's Monday, u should enjoy it! ^^]

I sigh happily as the message is sent. I hope she will reply me later.

"Oh? You're ready... That's new," TOP says as he walks into the living room. "Good morning," I welcome him with a huge smile, "do you want to have breakfast first, or shall we go now?" TOP's face forms a frown and his mouth is ajar. "Huh? Yah, neo wae irae?" he asks, confused by my happy mood this morning. "What? I can't be nice to my friend?" I ask. With a confused look still plastered on his face, he goes into the kitchen and takes a small carton of milk out of the fridge.

"Oh? Ji-Yong ah, you're ready? I was just going to check on you in your bedroom," Taeyang, who is now standing in the living room, looks at me with his eyebrows creased. "It's weird, right? He even asked me sweetly if I wanted to eat breakfast first!" TOP exclaims and turns to look at me, "yah, what did you eat last night that made you become so strange?" I just smile widely at him. "Look, look at him! He definitely ate something weird last night!" TOP says to Taeyang while pointing at me. Taeyang chuckles, "well, whatever he ate last night, we should buy him more so he can stay this way."

"You guys ready? Let's go now," I get up and grab my car keys. The two guys follow me to my car. "I call shotgun!" TOP shouts as soon as we get to the basement. What a kid; I laugh inwardly. Soon, we're on our way to Hapjeong-dong. There are some traffic on the way but we finally make it to YG building a little after 9 a.m. We hang around a little bit, have an early lunch, and start recording. There's a lot to do, and today we have to record individual parts of a few songs. 

It's almost 3 p.m. and TOP is recording his part now. Taeyang, who's sitting on the couch behind me, pokes my back. I turn around, "wae?" "How was your date last night?" he asks with a teasing smile on his face. "I told you it wasn't a date," I sigh and turn around again so my back is facing him. He pauses for a minute then says, "well, whatever it was, it must've been so amazing, no?" With my back still facing him, I ask, "what are you yapping about, Young-Bae ya?" He snickers, "hmm... how should I say this? Your FRIEND has made your mood go up and down. You woke up so early and cheerfully this morning, something you haven't done voluntarily in a long time. You've been checking your phone a lot of times since this morning, and now you're cranky. Your little friend hasn't replied your text, huh?"

Well, the guy is right. Ga-In noona hasn't replied to the text I sent her this morning. She can't still be sleeping at this time, right? What is she doing right now? "Tsk... Don't be a smartass," I curtly answer him. I can't see his face from my position but I can hear him sigh and smash his back against the couch. Aish, this is bugging me. Why the hell is she not replying? I decide to send her another text saying good afternoon and asking if she has work. 

Two hours have passed since I sent her the last message. There's still no reply from her. Maybe she's working and hasn't checked her phone all day. "Yah, Dong Young-Bae! Do it again! This time do it right, will ya?!" I yell at Taeyang who's inside the recording room. He turns his head and squints his eyes at me through the glass window. Was I a bit too harsh? "Ji-Yong ah, why are you so grumpy today? He did ok just now," Teddy hyung utters from beside me. "He could've done better," I remark. "I'll do it again," Taeyang says through the microphone. I only nod at him. I send another text to Ga-In noona and ask if she's at work.

An hour has passed and she still doesn't reply. Gah... I'm going out of my mind! "Hyung! What the hell was that? Do it again!" I shout at TOP who's now taking another turn at recording. "Ji-Yong ah, I think it's best if you go outside and get some fresh air for a little while," Teddy hyung tells me. "I'm fine." He sighs and talks again, "clearly, you're not. You're probably stressed out, but don't take it out on innocent people. Go out there and come back later when you feel calm." 

Reluctantly, I walk out of the recording studio and go out to the terrace and have a smoke. With a cigarette in my hand, I send another text to Ga-In noona. 

To: Ga-In noona

[Noona, why haven't u been replying? R u busy?]

I know it may sound desperate, but I don't care. I am close to a desperation right now. Five minutes pass and no reply. Son Ga-In, you're driving me insane! After the last breath of cigarette, I muster up a courage to give her a call. No answer. I pull my hair with frustration. What are you doing to me, Ga-In noona?

"Feeling better?" Taeyang asks me as soon as I walk back into the studio. I just nod, not saying anything. I clutch my mobile phone and sit myself down on the couch. Taeyang quietly hands me a bottle of cold water and I gladly take it. He's my best friend, after all, and he knows when to and when not to say something if I'm feeling upset. I stay silent as we proceed with the recording.

"I bring some dinner from Yang sajangnim," one of the office secretaries walks in after knocking on the door. I look into the plastic bag and see kimbaps in there. Ah... kimbap, two days in a row. While we eat dinner, all I can think of is Ga-In noona. The kimbap doesn't taste as good as the one she made last night. I sigh again, something I've been doing a lot today, and send her another message. I tell her that I'm having dinner and remind her to also have dinner. Has she read any of my messages? If yes, why hasn't she replied? Is she that busy?

The dinner is finished, and we start editing the sound files we got from today's session. This is how I work with my music. I'm involved with everything from scratch. Yang sajangnim always tells me to leave the editing to Teddy hyung or other producers, but I won't have it that way. Taeyang and TOP still hang around in the studio since they need a ride home from me. I send another text to Ga-In noona asking if she had dinner and telling her that I'm still at work. She must be thinking how desperate I am when she reads the messages, but I don't care anymore. I just need to know how she's doing.

Before I go back home, I send her another text because I'm starting to worry. Is she sick or something? And this time, I just blurt out what's on my mind in the message.

To: Ga-In noona

[Ga-In noona, r u ok? Sorry I've been bombarding u with texts :( Pls reply so I know u're ok...]

Gosh, how desperate am I? Very, that's how. I've never done this before, you know. Usually when I'm courting a girl, only one of two things would happen. One, I would approach the girl, and if she doesn't react, I would leave her alone. Two, and I don't mean to brag, girls would just throw themselves at me. 

"Seung-Hyun hyung, can you be the driver tonight? I'm tired," I ask as we walk to the carpark. TOP and Taeyang look at me confusedly, since I'm not one who easily lets someone else drive my car. "Eh? Are you sure?" TOP asks me. I nod and toss him the car keys. The drive back is filled mostly with silence; TOP and Taeyang occasionally joke around but they do it in a murmur, probably not wanting to disturb me. 

We get to the dorm and I take a long cold shower to wash away the stress. I lie on my bed and shuffle around because there's still no reply from Ga-In noona. I must seem so pathetic right about now. It's almost midnight and I send her yet another text.

To: Ga-In noona

[Ga-In noona, this is the 10th text I've sent u since last night. I'm beginning to think that u're sick. U're not sick, r u? Pls reply and tell me u're ok...]

Please, don't be sick, noona; I pray in my head. In a few minutes, I hear a beep. Oh God, please let it be her...

From: Ga-In noona

[No, not sick. I'm ok.]

What, that's it? I've been texting her like an aggressive stalker for the whole day and all I get in response are 5 words? What the is going on? Is she angry at me or something?

Then, it sinks in on me. The way her attitude changed last night. I must've said or done something that made her angry. But I don't know what it was. What did I do? Was it because I wiped the bits of food on ? She turned quiet right after that... Was she embarrassed by that? Or did she think I was crossing a line? My heart starts to ache. Is she avoiding me because of that? Why didn't she just tell me? So, what, are we not friends anymore now? I groan, chuck the phone onto the floor, and try to sleep.

Little did I know that she was feeling something else about me...

___________

Author's Note:

Hey hey hey ^^ 

Just a little heads-up, the next chapter will include adult scenes, so if any of you reader is underage, please skip it. Or not, whatever, you need to learn some stuff sooner or later, kekeke~ *evil* Don't say I haven't warned you... ^^