The next day...


"Kang Daesung-sshi is on the line, Youngbae-sshi."

"Thank you, Sanghee-sshi." Youngbae said pressing the button on his phone.

"Hyung!"

"Ne, Daesung-ah. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You left the club early last night. That stupid Seungri didn't tell me."

"I was really tired so I told him that I'll go first." Youngbae explained. "I was going to say goodbye to you but I think you were busy talking to some girl. I didn't want to interrupt your 'you know', intimate conversation."

"Oh, that." He heard Daesung laughed. "I just met her when I was ordering my drink."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Hyung, I was thinking." Daesung suddenly changed the subject. "Why don't we go hiking this weekend?"

"Hmmm..." Youngbae said, thinking. "I don't know."

"C'mon hyung," Daesung urged his friend. "It's a great way to relax. It's been a long time since we went hiking."

"Mmmm. Okay."

"Great! I'll call Seungri now. Catch you later."

Youngbae shook his head and smiled. He knows that his friends are trying everything to cheer him up.
They want him to forget his problem that's why they're thinking of ways to entertain him.
Leaning against his chair, he closed his eyes.
He didn't get much sleep last night.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake what Dara told him.

"Please understand that I want to save whatever feelings that I still have for you."

"Because I don't know what I would do if I ever lose you again."

They kept repeating inside his head.

He opened his eyes and glanced at his cellphone that is on top of his desk.
With hesitancy, he picks it up and stares at the screen for a long time
Shaking his head, he puts it back on the table and sighs.

'Maybe it's a good time to take a break." He thought.


**********

At a cafe...

"That's wonderful Chaerin-ah."

Dara was talking to Chaerin on her cellphone.
Her friend just told her that she'll be working with a well-known Japanese fashion designer soon.

"Anyway, I'm coming back tomorrow." Chaerin said. "Can you put me on speaker, unnie?"

"Done." Dara said.

"Girls, tomorrow let's meet at my boutique." Chaerin announced. "Got tons of gifts for you."

"Yaay!" The three ladies cheered.

"Hurry back, girl." Bom said. "Remember your promise, arasseo?"

They heard Chaerin laughed. "Arasseo, unnie. I got to hung up now, girls."

"Bye!"

"It's so amazing how Chaerin unnie never gets affected with this scandal." Minji said with awe, putting the newspaper down the table.

"That's because she trusts Jiyong." Dara said. "And besides, we all know Jiyong is a one-woman man. He would never cheat on her."

"I agree." Bom said.

"Even though he has this very weird fashion sense that sometimes make him look like a gay, I still admire him for taking good care of our Chaerin."

"Bommie." "Unnie" Dara and Minji said at the same time.

"But unnie, I got to commend you for pairing them up." Minji said to Dara. "If not for you they won't even realize that they're meant for each other."

Bom scoffed.

"If not for Dara's quick thinking of pairing her up with Jiyong, Chaerin might have ended up with that maniac Seungri." She pointed out.

Dara gave out a laugh. "Girls, if they're meant to be then they're meant to be."

"Hey, maybe you know someone who is compatible with me." Bom joked. "You could save my life."

They all laughed.

"Are aunt and uncle still looking for a husband for you?" Dara asked.

"They will not stop until they see me dating." Bom sighed.

"Don't worry unnie," Minji comforted her. "When Chaerin unnie comes back. We'll be doing a massive search for Mr. Right."

Bom forced a smile while she played with her spoon.

'Beep beep...'

Minji received a message.

She frowned while reading.

"Wae?" Dara asked curiously. "Anything wrong?"

Minji puts her cellphone on the table and sighed.

"It's just a guy from our dance club." She mumbled.

Bom and Dara's eyes widened.

"Is there someone pursuing you now?" Bom asked raising an eyebrow.

Minji didn't reply, she just crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the chair.

"Is he bothering you?" Dara asked with concern.

"No. He's not." Minji quickly answered.

"Then why look so gloomy?"

"I'm not sure if he is pursuing me or anything."

"What do you mean?" Bom's questioning made her feel nervous.

"Tell us, Minji." Dara said.

Minji gave them an embarrassed smile.

"I actually like him for very along time now but the thing is," She paused and glanced at Bom. "He already has a girlfriend. But-"

"What?!!!" Bom exclaimed. "Who's this guy? Give me his name."

"Bommie!" Dara glared. "Let her finish."

Minji started to sweat seeing Bom's eyes turning into slits.

"Don't mind her, Minji-ah." Dara noticed her nervousness.

"H-he already has a girlfriend, but rumor has it that he and his girlfriend already broke up a month ago. The problem is... the girl is still clinging to him."

Bom rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee.

"What's up with these clingy ex-girlfriends?!"
 

**********

Lawyer Ko and Lawyer Han were in Jiyong's office reporting what they have found out about the scandal that broke out.

It was confirmed that it came from Hyuna herself and that she was the one who started the whole thing.

Lawyer Ko was able to trace the first writer to whom Hyuna gave her statement.

"The writer happens to be close to Hyuna-sshi." Lawyer Ko explained. "There was no money involve in this. As stated by the writer, it was just a friendly exchange of story."

"But why did he release the story if he said they are close friends?" Jiyong asked curiously.

"I did ask that, Sajangnim." The lawyer replied as he adjusted his eyeglasses.

"He said that whenever Hyuna-sshi calls her to meet up, it only means that she wants to publicize something. All her write ups about Hyuna-sshi since she started being a singer came directly from Hyuna-sshi herself."

Jiyong nods his head.

"Have you found out her motive for doing this?" He asked.

Lawyer Ko and Lawyer Han exchanged glances.

The expression on his two lawyers made Jiyong more curious.

"What?" He asked impatiently.

"Uhm," Lawyer Ko uttered glancing at Lawyer Han.

"Lawyer Ko?" Jiyong spoke in a low voice.

The lawyer cleared his throat.

"The writer said that Hyuna-sshi likes you a lot. That's the main reason why she wanted to join GD-Fam Entertainment." He stopped to look at Jiyong's reaction.

"When you turned her down, she was offended. She wanted revenge." He added.

"Hmmm...” Jiyong bit his lips. "Is that so? Tsk! How immature of her."

He turned to his gaze to the other lawyer. "So what's the update?"

"Ever since we released the statement yesterday, neither TV stations nor newspapers have reported anything about the scandal." Lawyer Han said.

"Very good." Jiyong smirked.

"I want to file a slander lawsuit against Kim Hyuna-sshi. Please work on that." He informed the two.

"What about the writer, Sajangnim?" Lawyer Ko asked.

"For now, I haven't thought of any punishment for him." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But I would like to arrange a meeting with him soon."


**********

Dara and the other girls just came out of the cafe.

"Sorry to cut our bonding short, unnie-deul." Minji apologized to her friends. "I really need to get back; I still have one class to attend to."

"Me too," Bom said while looking for her ringing cellphone inside her purse.

"I understand." Dara gave Minji a hug. "Thanks for spending your free time with me."

"Oh, shut up!" Bom snapped when she found her cellphone.

"Who's that anyway," Dara asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"Just one of the girls in my biochem class." Bom said turning off her cellphone. "She's been bugging me for concert tickets."

"Concert tickets?" Minji asked.

"You know, Jiyong's boy group." Bom said rolling her eyes.

Dara and Minji burst out laughing.

"Have you asked Jiyong for the tickets?" Dara asked.

Bom smiled. "I haven't."

Dara rolled her eyes. "I'll call him later."

"Thanks, girl." She hugged Dara and Minji.

"Gotta go."


When Dara started her engine, her cellphone beeped.

She checked her message.

"Hi Sandy! Today, the sun is shining brightly. It reminds me of your dazzling smile. Kekeke... Have a wonderful day! Eat well. " From Tabi.

Dara shook her head and chuckled.

She dialed a number and put the cellphone against her ear.

"Jiyong-ah."


**********

In a private room of a restaurant...

Hyuna sat on the chair and removed his sunglasses.

The person across the table was controlling his anger...

"Are you out of your mind, huh, Hyuna?" Suk Chul, the 4 Minute manger said. "What were you thinking?"

Hyuna glared at him. "I just want to change company. Is that too much to ask?"

The manger breathes deeply.

"Hyuna, have you forgotten that you are a part of a group?" He reminded her.

"You can't just leave the girls like that. And besides, your contract with Cube entertainment hasn't expired yet."

"I don't care! Just do something about it, oppa."

Suk Chul's eyes widened.

"Are you even listening? Did you hear what I just said? Your-contract-hasn't-expired." He explained slowly.

"You're going to face a lawsuit if you leave and sign up with another agency."

He slapped his palm against his forehead. "Oh yeah, which reminds me, YOU ARE NOW FACING A LAWSUIT!!!"

"Dammit Hyuna! Because of your childish act, we are now put into this mess." His manager gritted his teeth.

"You're my manager, solve it." She said tossing her hair to one side.

Suk Chul drank a whole glass of water in one breath. He took a deep breath and faced her.

"It's not that easy, Hyuna. Do you know who you're dealing with?" He asked her.

"It's just Kwon Jiyong." She simply replied.

"Just Kwon Jiyong," Suk Chul imitated her. "You're really stupid, aren't you?"

Her eyes turned into slits.

"He's the CEO of GD Fam Entertainment and the only son of a business tycoon here in Seoul."

Hyuna was surprised hearing Kwon Jiyong is a son of a business tycoon.

"I-I-I know that." She said gulping.

"Do you know what that means?"

She stared at his manager with a worried expression in her face.

"You're dealing with an influential person. He can put you behind bars in a blink of an eye."

Hyuna bit her lips. "W-will I go to prison because of this."

Suk Chul rubbed his neck. "His lawyer already sent a subpoena; you need to appear in court."

Hyuna started to panic.

She just realized what she got herself into.

"Oppa, I don't want to go to prison. It will ruin my reputation." She started tearing. "Can Sajangnim do something about this?"

Her manager gave out a heavy sigh.

"Sajangnim is really frustrated and disappointed with what you did." He said.

"You know that our company is not really doing well. What you've done is something that can affect us all."

Hyuna bit her lips.

"I heard that Sajangnim already arranged a meeting with Kwon Jiyong-sshi." Suk Chul added.

"What about me? What am I going to do?" Hyuna cried.

"As far as I know, you'll be joining that meeting." He said. "It would be better for you to prepare your apology."

"What? No!" She protested.

"Yes! You NEED to or else say goodbye to your dreams. No agency, no career, no money, and bad reputation. You have no choice, Hyuna. You made this mess, you SHOULD clean it up."

"It's Kwon Jiyong-sshi's fault!"

"Why the hell are you so eager to join his agency?" Suk Chul asked curiously.
 
Hyuna wiped her tears and crossed her arms over her chest. "None of your business."

"Wrong answer! I'm your manager and it IS my business."

She just remained silent.

Suk Chul snorted. "Don't tell me you have a thing for Kwon Jiyong-sshi."

Hyuna just stared at him not saying anything.

His eyes grew wider realizing the truth. "Dammit Hyuna! You're crazy! How stupid can you get! "

Tears flowed from her eyes.

"I can't help it! The first time I saw him at Lee Cherin's party, I already fell for him. But he rejected me! I'm 4 Minute's Kim Hyuna! Nobody rejects me!"

Suk Chul slammed his fist on the table making Hyuna flinch.

"Oh don't go into that, Hyuna. You're far from being a big star right now. You and the girls are just starting. What you gained right now are not fans Hyuna, but ANTIS. Your career is bound to go down the drain. I feel sorry for the other girls for having you in their group."

Hearing those words cut her like a knife. She couldn't help but cry in front of her angry manager.

**********

Seunghyun was busy reading some business proposals when his office phone rang.

He walked towards his desk and answered.

"There is someone here to meet you, Seunghyun-sshi." Heran said.

"Who?"

"She doesn't want to give her name." Her secretary replied.

"Her?" He wondered. "Okay Heran-sshi, let her in."
 

Seunghyun sat on his chair waiting for the person to come in.

He heard a knock then the door opened.

What he saw made him stand up.

**********

"Surprise!"

A huge smile crept into Seunghyun's face.

'Am I dreaming?' He thought.

"Yah! Speak up!"

"D-Dara?" He stammered. "What brings you here?"

Dara waved the brown paper bag that she's holding.

"Lunch." She said smiling widely.

Still staring at her with mouth slightly open, he blinked.

"Yah!"

Seunghyun closed his mouth and gave out a nervous laugh.

"I just couldn't believe you're here in my office." He said.

"Well believe it now." Dara winked.

She looks around Seunghyun's office.

His office was simple and spacious.

Walls were painted in black with a touch of white.

Books and magazines are neatly stacked and organized on a huge shelf.

There were pictures of the Choi Family and him with his friends sitting on top of his desk.

She smiled when she noticed one of the pictures was him and Jiyong when they were just kids.

"Have a seat." She heard him said.

Seunghyun led her to the black leather sofa.

"You want something to drink?" He asked.

Dara waved her hand before sitting down.

"I have us each a sandwich and apple juice." She said while food on the coffee table.

"Sounds delicious." Smiling, Seunghyun sat beside her.

Dara frowned. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to prepare a really good meal."

Seunghyun looked at her. "Hey, it's fine. This is enough. I appreciate this very much...”

"It's nothing compared to all the things you've done for me."

It now his turn to frown.

"Are we going to gauge who did what here?" He said in a serious tone.

She glanced at him and shook her head.

"Good!" He broke into a warm smile. "I'm starving, let's eat."

Dara chuckled as she handed him his sandwich.

She opened a bottle of apple juice for him to drink.

While eating, they talked about Seunghyun's visit to their club branches.

After chewing the last of his sandwich, he continued talking.

"It's tiring since some of them are far from here." He said.

Dara noticed a small smudge of ketchup beside his lip.

She grabbed a napkin and leaned closer to wipe the side of his lips.

Seunghyun caught her hand making them both stare at each other.

Not letting go, he slowly put down her hands.

"Thank you, Dara." He said. "Thank you for the nice meal."

Dara didn't know why but she suddenly felt her cheeks burning while staring in his eyes.

She quickly looked away and nervously laughed.

"That was nothing, Seunghyun-ah." She said. "Next time, I'll bring you a real meal. Name it and I'll cook it."

Seunghyun raised his eyebrows. "Does this mean you’ll be visiting me more often now?"

"Why?" Dara asked with a teasing tone. "You don't want me to?"

He scoffed making her smirk.

"Fine, if you don't-"

"I'd love that." Seunghyun cuts her off.

They both laughed.

"Seunghyun-ah," Dara's voice suddenly turned serious.

"Ne?"

"I'm going to tell you something but promise me that you won't interrupt me nor will you say anything."

"Okay."

"I know I haven't been myself." She started. "It's been months now, yet I'm still the problematic Dara."

Seunghyun was going to open his mouth but she gave him a warning look.

"It's embarrassing, but you saw me break down lots of times." She said lowering her gaze. "You did a lot of things to put a smile back in my face."

"I really don't know how to repay you. But I want you to know that if you need me, I'm also here for you." She looks up at him and smiles.

"I'll try my best not to worry you anymore. I'm going to start anew. I'll bring back the cheerful Dara that you first met.”

She reached for Seunghyun's hands and squeezed them.

"So what do you want me to bring you next time?"