The set was on a beautiful abandoned beach southwest of Seoul which was now littered with chairs, trailers and light stands. A lot of the crew were hurrying about with props, costumes and cameras and right in the middle of it all was Young Bae oppa decked out casually in jeans and a checkered black and red shirt. We made our way towards sajangnim and Teddy oppa who were easily chatting away in the director’s area, there for moral support more than guidance.

“Hello, it’s been a long time,” I greeted them.

“Ya, it’s really Erika. You finally came. Ji Yong must be insanely happy right now,” sajangnim joked.

“I almost didn’t recognize you Erika. I was wondering who the beauty that walked in with Ji Yong was,” Teddy oppa commented. “So are you here to stay?”

“It looks like it.”

“Oh~ this is serious now?” Teddy asked.

“I think it always has been oppa.”

“Both of you just get married already. I don’t want another Se7en happening, that guy was frustrating me so much,” sajangnim said.

“Hyung, you took nine years,” Ji Yong reminded him.

“I never said it was a good thing.” The four of us had a little laugh and despite my worries, it didn’t seem sajangnim was bothered by Ji Yong’s scandal at all. If anything I think he was glad that we both had found a sense of stability in the midst of all this, and I could feel them welcoming me into their family with open arms.

“Erika!” An approaching shout caught our attention and I turned around to see Young Bae oppa walking towards us.

“Oppa, you look really good!” I exclaimed.

“You don’t look so bad yourself. Ah, I’m really jealous of Ji Yong-ie now.”

“Young Bae-ah don’t be jealous. They’re in their honeymoon period right now. Give it a few weeks and that smile will be wiped off the both of their faces,” sajangnim said.

“What honeymoon phase? It’s been three years already,” Ji Yong exclaimed.

“Don’t remind me. Sometimes when I’m with you it feels like we’re an old married couple,” I mumbled.

“What!?”

“It’s just, I know you so well now.”

“So you’re bored?”

“I still love you, don’t worry.”

“I am!”

“See, I told you,” sajangnim said. “They’re already getting sick of each other.”

“Oppa this place is amazing, I’ve never been to a filming before,” I commented after I saw Ji Yong’s slightly frustrated face. I was hoping for a change in subject.

“Young Bae, why don’t you put Erika in your video as a cameo or something,” sajangnim suddenly suggested.

“No way. I’m good being the observer, seriously.”

“Just come, might as well since you're here. Ji Yong-ie, I’m going to borrow your girlfriend for a minute,” Young Bae said. Before I could protest anymore I’m already halfway across the beach, dragged single-handedly towards the make-up trailer. After caking my face with foundation and lip gloss, along with a change of clothes which matched oppa’s, a middle-aged man told me that I was playing the girlfriend. Well of course I would be the girlfriend; it wasn’t like I would be his mom.

“I really just want to play the lonely girl strolling in the far off background by herself,” I told him, assuming that he was the director.

“Have a go at it, and if it doesn’t work out then you can play the lonely girl.” As I was being told what to do, which was basically play around in the water, I was pretty sure that I most probably just stole someone’s job by agreeing to take part in this. I took a few solo shot first before a scene with Young Bae oppa.

“Oppa, where’s the actress that’s supposed to do what I’m doing?” I finally asked him. We were thigh-high in the salty water, which was incredibly clear and also extremely cold. Right on the shore were the cameramen along with Ji Yong and a YG family crowd of ten other people that appeared to have just arrived. Now they were all standing, probably hoping to get a good laugh out of this little impromptu skit which was sajangnim’s brainchild.

“She said that she was coming late. Don’t worry too much this is all out of fun,” Young Bae said.

“We’re supposed to be in love right? Should we make our respective boyfriend and girlfriend jealous while we’re at it?”

“Show them how good life is without them.”

“They’re probably grinning like fools back there anyway.”

“All nice and warm.”

“Having a good laugh.”

“Let’s go,” Young Bae agreed. The both of us heard ‘Action!’ over the megaphone and something like a switched flicked within me. Splashing water, chasing after one another and at one point oppa’s shirt just disappeared and in that half state he carried me on his shoulders. I wasn’t stressed or worried anymore, I actually really was having fun, hopefully to Ji Yong’s dismay.

As soon as I came out of the water Ji Yong wrapped a huge towel around me and started to rub my arms down to make sure I was warm. My teeth had started chattering against my will.

“It came out really well, come and see,” the director told us. Over a short clip I started to cringe at the awkwardness of seeing myself on the screen but I had to say, the contrasting colors of the background and our clothes were really beautiful. Suddenly I had this sudden urge to photoshop Ji Yong's face over Young Bae oppa's. We never had picture perfect moments like these kept as photos or any similar sort of memorabilia, and here I was easily acting like a couple with someone I barely knew. It's childish, I know, but why wasn't Ji Yong the least bit jealous? I looked over at his figure casually chatting with the film crew and my brows couldn't help but furrow. Sometimes I feel like he's so indifferent with me, not demanding anything at all and it made me feel uneasy. 

“Unni, you’re so good. Have you done this before?” Minzy said from beside me.

“Not at all. I’m sorry I took off your boyfriend’s shirt by the way,” I told her.

“He always does it by himself, it’s about time a girl takes it off for him.”

“Whatever Minzy, I’m sure you do that plenty.”

“Unni! We’ve never…” She hit me in embarrassment before saying anything more and I just laughed at how adorable it was.

It’s not the grand gestures, it’s those small tiny details that make you feel truly loved. Ji Yong barked at me to stop talking and change out of my wet clothes before I got pneumonia or something even more exaggerated. Once I’m nice and dry he threw me a sweater, fully zipped it up, and then pulled the hoodie over my neck before he finally let me sit in peace with the others. Young Bae oppa was now shooting his dancing scenes on the beach along with his dancers.

“Well done Erika!” Teddy oppa said. Similar comments echoed from the Big Bang, 2NE1 members and Gummy.

“Hyung, here are the property brochures you wanted. Buy me food. I worked hard to find good and cheap ones you know!” Seung Ri oppa exclaimed.

“I know, I know. Thank you maknae-ah,” Ji Yong said, putting an arm around his shoulder in something like a chokehold.

“Where are you staying now?” Gummy unni asked me.

“Ji Yong’s place for the time being.”

“Oh, that must be so nice. The both of you are so good together!”

“I know right! I’ve never met someone who could put up with Ji Yong as much as her,” Bom added.

“I’ve never met someone who could put up with me so well either.”

“What’s this, you guys are totally infatuated with one another,” Bom groaned. “That’s so not fun.”

“Babe, are you cold? Do you want me to fetch a blanket for you? I don’t want you to be sick, because it hurts me to see you like that,” Ji Yong suddenly said. He must’ve seen the opportunity and decided to play a little game. I grabbed his arm and pulled myself closer to him.

“I’m a little cold, but I don’t want you to go anywhere, baby. I’m scared I’m going to miss you so much when you’re gone. You know I can’t live a single second without you,” I whimpered.

“Neither can I. But I’ll be the one missing you even more.”

“No, I’ll miss you the most.”

“No, I will.”

“No-”

“Ya, go die the both of you. Get out of our sight. You guys make me sick,” Gummy unni snapped. Our little group chat suddenly turned into a bonfire camp as the sun began to set. One of the crew members had kindly set up it up right in the middle of the circle, and with Ji Yong’s slightly lacking guitar skills Gummy and Daesung started a duet. I fell in love with him all over again when Ji Yong began singing an old song of his which was sweetly harmonized by Seung Ri. It was a love story about a boy who wants to warn the girl he loves that she’s dating the wrong man. I took each word that came out of his mouth slowly and relished in the perfection that it was.

Ji Yong didn’t sing often, I knew that; he wasn’t as confident about it as he was rapping. But this man believed in taking risks, in challenging himself and non-conformity, which resulted to an overwhelming response by the general public. I missed seeing him put himself out there and surprising people over and over again with his talents, but I knew that behind the scenes was where Ji Yong found comfort at the moment. He took pride in taking care of his own group of girls and letting them take centre stage, so whatever he wanted to do, I swore to myself that I would always be by his side supporting him. 

"Did you see the pictures?" I asked him on the drive back home. Ji Yong just yawned and nodded. "What do you think?"

"It looks good, I think the director is a genius."

"The setting was really beautiful."

"So were you." He's straight forwardness caught me off guard and I bit my lip all flustered. Honestly, that was all I really wanted to hear from him purely out of selfishness. "I asked for the photos and clips even if they might not use it."

"Why? We should make new photos you and I."

"We will."

AN: It's assignment season... I'm sorry if the chapters roll in a little slower. I just realized I'm close to 100 subscribers for both The Other Side and One More Life. If I reach that milestone maybe... expect a double or triple update? Thanks so much again guys!