“I’m going, stay safe Ri Ah.” Ji Yong’s soft voice interrupted my dreams, and I felt his hand caress my cheek before he kissed my forehead. His weight comes off the mattress and with heavy steps I heard him walk across the apartment and tightly shut the door behind him. Then everything was deathly quiet. I moved myself to his side of the bed, curled up into a ball and tried to continue my sleep with the blanket wrapped tightly around me. Slowly a single tear falls from my eye, and I let it. This always happened; every single time. And then I get over it.

“How long did he stay for this time?” Jeff asked me. It was a Monday once again and the cyclical work week had just begun. While I had chosen to pursue the path of practical psychology, Jeff was immersed in its research, but for old time’s sake I would visit his lab every week to chat. In a long, white lab coat with glasses perched on his nose he looked every bit the handsome nerd. He was still an introvert, Jess wasn’t able to fix that part, but that awkwardness became his charm. Let’s just say that some of his female students were now his biggest fans.

“How did you know he came by?”

“Because you just end up acting weird.”

“I don’t mope.”

“It’s the opposite actually, you get unnaturally happy.” Oh.

“That’s still good right?”

“For me. You end up bringing over a mass of food, the whole lab gets excited and I get treated well.” He munched on the triple deck sandwich I got him hungrily. “You know some guys I know are asking for your name and number.”

“And?”

“I told them you were with somebody except they don’t believe me. You know, since he’s never around.”

“I’m not dating him.”

“Of course you’re not.”

“You don’t see Jess much either though.”

“But I went home during the holidays to see my girlfriend. You see him whenever he feels like it for 72 hours at most.” I knew Ji Yong wasn’t Jeff’s most favourite person in the world, mostly because Jess didn’t like him. She threw me a huge ‘WTF’ rant as soon as I told her what was happening between us, even going as far as to call me some sort of hidden mistress. I understood where she was coming from, this wasn’t a clear cut exclusive relationship, but to me that was alright. To prove a point Jess would shoot me an email every time Ji Yong was in a scandal but although there might be some petty jealousy, I could quite happily read it for amusement. This might be an abnormal relationship, but strangely we could never falter from each other. My heart just wouldn’t let me.

“How’s your packing going? You want me to drop by and help?” I asked him. Jeff was moving to New York next week for a job, which conveniently was where Jess recently found an opening as an assistant. Yes, despite my prior concerns, they did manage to stick together for the past two years. People may talk about the whole ‘opposites attract’ notion, but I just commend Jeff on his patience and the pluses that come with a long distance relationship. That’s all anyone needs to stick by such a big personality that is my best friend.

“I’m done. Two suitcases, can you believe it?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know if you’re complimenting or mocking me.”

“Guess. Hey, I’ve got to run. Let’s have dinner before you leave,” I said as I picked up my handbag. Jeff agreed and I went on my way towards the clinic for the weekly meeting. Earning a name in this field took time and experience, so as a relatively new psychologist I still carried the unwelcome brunt of the work. Filing, typing up reports and administering tests took up a large portion of my day, but the work I was doing at schools earned me a petite little office on the third floor of the building. In synchrony with the old irregular stone exterior, my own space had an early 20^th century classic twinge to it which I adored, mostly attributed to the antique wooden desk centred in the room. With great effort I dumped my bag and all my files onto it, and filtered through the relevant papers to bring to my supervisor’s office downstairs.

Dr Helena was a middle-aged dark, brown haired woman whose specialty was counselling for young adults usually in their teens but going as far as late twenty-year-olds. This meant focusing on areas such as school, family and just maturation in general which I found to also be the area I felt the most invested in. She’s tough in the exterior and has a strict high school principal type of demeanour but that’s really just a façade. In other words, we get along very well considering she’s my boss.

“We’re starting the program next week, but I’m thinking intimacy is pivotal here so maybe start with four or five people?” I wondered. We were introducing a new ‘think smart’ campaign for the students of a troubled high school just on the outskirts of London.

“That sounds fine, have you chosen the mentors?” I placed the profiles of a few students in front of her and explained the dynamics of each group. With a clear green light, I left her office within the hour. See, we get along.

Jess must be in the middle of one of her nervous break downs I posited when I returned to my desk and checked my phone. There were about twenty missed calls, international ones at that, within that small time frame where I left it up here. The timing just wasn’t right for a three hour long chat so I sent her a text then went on with my work; there was more than I had expected. I took off the ring and set it aside to start writing. One morning I had woken up with it on. Ji Yong had taken it off his little finger and returned it to me while he still kept the bronze one. He said that this was where it had always belonged, and since then this was where it stayed. I don’t know how, but I had a feeling of security from it, as if it closed the distance between us just that little bit more.

The day quickly grew to evening, that’s what working in front of a desk does to you, and I finally felt the mental exhaustion catch up to me. I might start needing reading glasses at this rate. The buzz of the work phone suddenly caught my attention, and it became a welcome distraction from the mess of papers that lay in front of me.

“Erika you have a guest at the front desk, a Mr. Yoo,” the receptionist said. Come again? I never had walk-in guests; my job simply didn’t entail them.

“Uh, I’ll be right down,” I said, then put on my heels and made way to the elevator. Mr. Yoo was Korean, that I was certain. He was young but his hair was showing some strands of white, and as he approached me I noticed his overbearing smile.

“Lee Ri Ah-ssi,” he said, still grinning like a fool. When those three syllables came out of his mouth, I was filled with an unknowing sense of disgust. That was an intimate name shared between Ji Young and I which made me feel loved and adored, but here it sounded tainted, dirty even. I shuddered.

“I’m sorry, who-”

“You’re Lee Ri Ah or Erika Lee, right? I’m Yoo Kyung Pil from SBA News, I’d like to ask you a few questions about Kwon Ji Yong or G-Dragon.” I could’ve sworn the earth stood still at that moment. In an attempt to stop myself from shaking I clasped my hands together and bit hard on my lip.

“You must have the wrong person,” I quickly stated then turned around and walked back, hurrying my footsteps through the hallway.

“You can’t keep running away Lee Ri Ah-ssi. It’s better to just explain everything now!” he shouted after me. Stop it! Stop saying that name! His voice echoed through the corridor like a bad nightmare and resounded in my head, leaving me shivering against the elevator walls in cold sweat. It’s actually happening. The world had finally found out about us.

AN: I got too excited over GD's MV and I had the sudden urge to post the next chapter. So much rapping, and I understand nothing so I'm a little sad. Enjoy everyone, and thanks again!