Oppa, we need to talk.

Jiyong blinked his eyes open. His head was hurting and he could barely think straight. It was already eight in the morning when he got the text. It was from Chae Rin. A feeling of dread gripped his heart but he shook it off. He already sent Ri to appease her. Everything should be fine, right?

Getting up, he went straight to the washroom and got ready for work. There was no point in replying when he was going to see her in a few hours. He brushed the thought of her away from his mind as he remembered last night’s party. That girl was pretty. And she had given him her number. He already had it saved. She said they should get dinner sometime and work on a song and he thought, sure, why not. Working with other people always gave him new ideas and taught him things working alone would never had.

He got out of the washroom and saw a sleepy Seung Ri scratch his eyes. “Oh, good. You’re up. How was last night?” he said as he dried his hair with the towel on his hand.

Seung Ri, who, at the mention of last night, opened his eyes widely, all sense of sleepiness escaping him. Though he felt bad for his hyung… he had to tell the truth. “Bad. But you should talk to her about it, not me.” He said before walking away from Jiyong. He didn’t want to get involved more than he already was. And getting in between the two leaders was bad business. Extremely bad business.

Jiyong merely frowned; but the truth was that panic was now arising in his heart. For the year and a half that him and Chae Rin were together (and for the year and a half that he had sent Seung Ri to make her laugh), this was the first time he seemed to have failed. It wasn’t that Jiyong was a bad boyfriend. It was just that usually, he was busy and couldn’t usually make it to her. He really tried every time he could manage to get away from work. Truly. But last night, he was so drunk from the after party he could barely walk. But that wasn’t the only problem. Through the years of knowing Chae Rin, he knew that facing her when she was mad was dangerous. Even he wasn’t exactly willing to face her wrath. Conveniently, he knew one person who was thick-skinned and courageous enough to talk to a grumpy lioness – Seung Ri. And hence, he became Jiyong and Chae Rin’s “messenger owl” in exchange for small favors from Jiyong. And unknowingly to Seung Ri, he came to look forward to making her smile.









Jiyong entered the building confidently, taking his sunglasses off as he reached the shade. He meant to talk to her right after his meeting with the president about Seung Ri’s album release date. He had produced three of the songs but still had two more to finish and he needed more time.

He got into the elevator and pressed the fourteenth button when someone stopped the elevator doors from closing. He saw Chae Rin go in.

“Hey. I got your text. Is it okay if we talk later? I have a meeting with the president.”

She looked at him coldly though she felt her heart clench in pain. He really didn’t care. She sensed it in his eyes, his expression and lack of interest. She bit down on her lower lip harshly to prevent herself from snapping at him.

“Did you hear me? I said-“

“I know what you said. You don’t have to repeat it!” Too late. But not that it mattered huh? He probably didn’t even detect the spite in her voice.

“What’s wrong with you these days? First, refusing my apology last night and then now? I guess we really had to talk, huh?” he said, scratching his head. He had no idea what was going through her mind. Today was one of the rare days that she didn’t say ‘hi’ to him first or smiled at him. Maybe it was really bad. Just how bad, he didn’t know.

Chae Rin merely kept her quiet. She didn’t want to talk to him anymore… or spend time with him inside the stupid elevator. During the few seconds they were inside, she felt his eyes on her, probably wondering about something that he should have known had he paid enough attention. But he didn’t. And that’s exactly the point.

When the elevator signaled her floor, she practically bolted out of the elevator without looking back.

“Lunch at twelve at the Jong Ro Café! We’ll talk then!” she heard him shout before the elevator closed on him. Now, he was truly panicking. She was cold… And he had no idea why.






Twelve o’clock. She stood outside of the café before going inside. One glanced at the place and she could already tell that she was the first one to arrive. Should she have expected more? She took a seat at a table near the corner and ordered herself a white tea and chicken Panini.

This was the last chance. After this, no more, Chae Rin. She kept telling herself those words. She had to believe that it would be the last chance because she fervently hoped that he would come. He had to. If not… she didn’t want to think about it.

Fifteen minutes passed,

Thirty…

Forty.

An hour. If she wasn’t back to practice in five, she’d get shouted at. With a sigh, she got up and left.





Jiyong hurried to the café. He was nearly an hour and a half late. He went inside and looked around. No Chae Rin. She probably went back to practice. He hit his head lightly with the palm of his hands before sitting down on an empty table. The server came to him with a tray already in his hands. The man laid down a plate of food and coffee.

“Excuse me, I haven’t ordered yet. How did you..?

“Ordered for already, sir. And paid. Ms. Lee did on your behalf.”

He was touched by her actions. He guessed it wasn’t as bad as he feared. But he knew he had to get back to her – personally this time. He hasn’t treated her like what she deserved. He often didn’t because he thought she didn’t like showy things or romantic stuff. He tried to avoid his ‘usual’ cajoling on girls – dozen red flowers, plushies, the likes. What he did give her were little things – poems, lyrics, small accessories that he knew she loved. But he didn’t give her enough attention.








He finished what he could before he headed towards 2NE1’s practice room. He went inside and sat on one of the many chairs, watching them practice their choreography to their newly finished single on their second full album. When practice came to an end, he clapped along with everyone else before grabbing a towel and a green apple flavoured Vitamin Water.  He walked towards Chae Rin and smiled.

“Here. You did great.” He said proudly. And she was great. One of the best performers he had ever seen. The way she oozed out charisma on stage so easily still amazed him up to this day. He expected her to smile at him and take the things but she merely nodded politely and said, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll get it myself,” before walking away from him.

His mouth dropped from disappointment as he felt something clench his heart. Had he done something wrong? He had always tried his best, or at least what he thought was best for her. But clearly, what he had been doing up until now was wrong.

“Chae…” he said to her, voice pleading.

“Rooftop. In five. Don’t be late this time.” She told him without looking back as she headed out with the girls.