Chapter 55

~*Dara’s POV*~

What is he up to now…? I stared at my frown in the mirror as the stylist puts my hair up in a high bun. The image of his smirk and the fire I saw in his eyes keeps appearing in my head, taking up all of my attention. Focus, Dara! Now’s not the time to worry about him. I close my eyes as an attempt to erase him from my thoughts, but it was still not working. It didn’t help when I could hear his voice being played throughout the entire studio. This is the third time they went over this part of the rap. Maybe he can’t concentrate either? I am worried for a split second that what I did earlier was the cause of it but quickly dismiss the thought.

He was the one that started it. Being so rushed to get this whole thing over with… I cross my arm and nod in agreement with my inner thoughts. That’s right. So everyone else isn’t allowed to do their best, while he can redo scenes as many times as he wants? Not very professional of him.

“Okay, you’re all done.” The stylist pats me on the shoulders while observing me in the mirror.

“Thanks, unnie.” I smile at her before heading out of the dressing room. As I make my way closer to the set, I see two black couches facing away from each other with Youngbae and Jiyong on each. The recording was still going so I quietly made my way to the director’s side and kept my eyes on Jiyong.

Why does this man have to look so good in a suit… I curse my inner thoughts but don’t deny them. It doesn’t hurt to just look right? I bite my lower lip as I continue to watch him lip sync to the rap playing overhead. But once the director yells cut, the music stops and his eyes suddenly change from the camera to me. Quickly, I turn away and look towards Youngbae who was heading towards me with a smile.

“How are you feeling?” He asks me casually. I glance over to Jiyong who was still looking this way.

“Great. I’m enjoying the make-overs I’m getting.” I look down and smile at the white dress that was picked out for me.

“I’m sure you are. Well, you do look good in them.” He chuckles. I nudge him in his side to distract from my blushing.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Youngyang.” I laugh at the face he makes at my name-calling but I am cut off guard when he suddenly reaches for my face. I completely freeze when I feel his fingers graze the side of my cheek as he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear.

“T-Thanks.” I manage to say, still thrown off by Youngbae’s recent increase in skin ship. Suddenly, I became extremely aware of the heavy stare we were receiving just a few feet away. My eyes move towards the seething dragon and my heart jumps at the sight. He was casually leaning back into the couch with his legs and arms crossed, but his face was dark and his eyes looked at us full of rage. I gulped down the huge lump in my throat as fear immediately crashed over me. But in a blink of an eye, his expression was gone and was replaced with a smile… towards the two tall girls in what looks like fancy leotards, making their way towards him.

The crew pulls away the second couch that Youngbae was sitting on earlier while the girls sat on both sides of Jiyong, extending their long and exposed legs and leaning into him. That pinch in my chest made it’s appearance again as I watched one of the girls lean her head on his shoulder. My eyes move to Jiyong who was clearly observing my face with that same smirk.

“Director, I have an idea for the next scene.” He says smoothly. He suddenly stands up, starts to his white suit jacket and hands it over to one of the crew. He straightens his checkered button down shirt and then s the top button exposing just a bit more of his chest. His eyes meet mine for a split second, checking if I was watching the whole thing, before he slumps back into the couch putting his arms around the two girls.

“Okay, ready.” He says a little too enthusiastic. “Comfy?” He asks the two girls beside him, bringing them in closer as they giggle idiotically. I suddenly had an extreme urge to pull their poodle looking hair.

“That’s great, Jiyong. Play music!” The director calls out. I watch as Jiyong begins mouthing the words with the music while looking in the camera, giving flirty side glances at the girls, and running his finger up and down their arm. All the while, I am just watching the entire scene before me completely dumbfounded. W-what is he doing?! At some point I could’ve sworn I saw one of the girls nuzzle her head into his neck, but to be honest I was too blinded by fury. Soon, I found myself taking deep and long breathes because I heating up so quickly. Just calm down… this is all an act. It’s all part of the recording… I bite my lip again to suppress my feelings, feelings that I wasn’t even supposed to be having.

During the recording I see that his eyes flicker to mine again making me realize what his plan was. Is he’s doing all of this on purpose? I furrow my brows at the thought and can now see it all so clearly. His over-the-top flirting and touching… it was all working on me…

“Cut!” The director calls out and Jiyong takes his time to let go of the girls. My stomach curls at the sight of him laughing and joking with them. He finally moves away from the couch and focuses on the screen replaying the recording where we had to watch the whole damn thing again.

“What do you think?” The director seems pleased as he asks Jiyong.

“Hmm… I think we should rearrange a bit.” Jiyong says before moving to the couch again, returning to the giggling poodle twins. It takes him a few seconds to explain things to them while point at different areas of the couch but they finally move. Oh? What’s he doing now? I watch carefully as he sits down on the couch and the girls begin taking their place. The first girl goes from behind the couch and places herself on the edge of it, stretching her legs right behind Jiyong’s head so he could lean back on her lap. My face immediately turns into a scowl at the sight. The next blow was when the second girl lies down completely with her head resting on his lap.

“Let’s try it again,” He calls out to the director before glancing at me again. The music begins to play and I watch the torturous scene before me. He completely takes advantage of the position he’s in: leaning his head back onto the girls lap… Why…letting her his hair… Stop…tapping her thigh with his fingers… Stop it…and letting that girl just lie on him…. STOP IT!

The burning sensation inside of me was about to overflow and I knew I wouldn’t be able to contain myself. I quickly turn away from the painful sight and allow my feet to take me away anywhere, just somewhere far away. As I’m walking, I spot a water cooler and head straight for it, hoping some water will cool down my body and mind. After a few long sips of water, my body was no longer hot, but instead the stinging heat moved towards my eyes. Water was a bad idea. I take in deep breaths and look up at the ceiling to stop the tears but they kept building. Just as I think I am about to succeed, I feel a presence behind me.

“Is everything alright?”

“Oh.” I quickly turn around and flash a smile, “Director, everything is fine! I just needed a cup of water.”

He eyes me skeptically but continues, “We’ve finished Jiyong’s part now, so we will be needing you soon for the close up scenes.”

I nod two or three times enthusiastically, “Yes, I understand.” I take another long sip of water, hoping that it would signal him to leave but he doesn’t. Instead, he continues to look at me with concerning eyes.

“Director? Is something wrong?” I ask slightly proud that I was successfully able to appear normal. He continues to study my face before letting out a long sigh.

“You kids are always making things more difficult than necessary.” He rubs the back of his neck in frustration. My brows furrow uncertain of what he’s referring to.

“Eh?” I rack my brain for possible connections, “Do you mean about redoing the first part? If it’s causing trouble…” He shakes his head, stopping me from continuing.

“It’s not that.” He puts both hands on my shoulders and bends down to look me directly in the eye. “I don’t know the exact details of all of this, but please listen carefully to this, Dara: the longer you have to wait for something, the more you will appreciate it when it finally arrives… the harder you have to fight for something, the more priceless it will become once you achieve it… and the more pain you have to endure, the sweeter it will be when you survive.”

As the words flow into my head, there seemed to be a sudden calm throughout my body. My mind and heart weren’t fighting with each other anymore. The only problem was… I had no idea why.

“Do you understand?” The director looks at me expectantly, but my mind is unable to produce an answer.

“I-I understand what you’re saying… but… why are you saying this, director?” I answer honestly. He lets out an exasperated sigh before letting go of my shoulders.

“Never mind.” He shakes his head. “You will figure it out soon. I’m sure of it.” He places his hands on his hips and straightens his back, “Let’s continue filming. Come on.”

“Yes…” I trail off, still confused on what was the purpose of all of that. However, as I follow the director back to the set, I did notice one thing: the burning feeling was no longer consuming me and I felt lighter than ever.

“Okay! Great! That’s good.”

I immediately relax into the chair and breathe out. My close-up scenes weren’t hard to do, but I just became so conscious of how I looked that I didn’t realize how tensed up I was. I take my time in getting up but eventually make my way over to the director’s side to watch the playback.

“What do you think? Satisfied?” The director asks as I smile and nod my head.

“I think it’s good. I’m happy with it.” I say truthfully even though I felt silly the whole time when filming.

“Good, now go back and change so we can start filming the .” I bow before turning towards my dressing room. Upon opening the door, a sudden burst of high pitch squeals made me jump.

“Unnie!” Minzy is the first to rush towards me with a huge smile on her face, “You look so awesome! The MV is going to turn out great!” Bom and CL are standing behind her and nodding their heads.

I laugh and take a seat in front of the mirrors so the stylist can get working, “Thank you! I’m sorry I haven’t been able to talk to you guys much since we’ve started. How are you guys feelings?”

“This outfit is a pain, to be honest.” Bom says while observing herself in the mirror. “I feel like I’m wearing a one piece bathing suit!” I laugh as I watch her try to move the fabric for more coverage.

“Really?” CL says, now it’s her turn to check herself out, “I actually kind of like the outfit this time, very classic but y.”

“Sure, but how y can you feel when every move you feel like you’re flashing someone.” Bom pouts, “I’m going to die of embarrassment if TOP saw anything.”

“TOP is too awkward to say anything if he did.” CL says in an attempt to comfort Bom, “You should be thankful you weren’t partnered with Seungri. One wrong move and I’m sure Seungri would be thrilled to share it with everyone.”

“No way! Has it happened before?” I gasp.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” CL immediately dismisses my question causing me to laugh even more.

“Speaking of partners…” Bom begins giving me a mischievous grin, “Are you ready for what’s next?” I keep one eye open as the make up artist fixes my eye shadow.

“What’s next?” The girls exchange looks before coming in closer to me.

Simultaneously, they all whisper into my ear, “The kiss.”

Both of my eyes open wide, messing up the eyeliner that was just applied.

“K-K-Kiss?!?” I almost screech.

“How did you not know about this, unnie? The director must have mentioned it to you at some point right? That’s who we heard it from!” Minzy looks at me with disbelief.

“I-I-I didn’t hear anything! A kiss? Why a kiss?!” My stylist keeps me still as she tries to fix the damage that has been done to my eyelids.

“Relax, Dara.” CL pats me on the shoulder, “It’s just supposed to be a small kiss on the cheek!”

Relief immediately floods through me, “Oh god. Why didn’t you guys tell me that sooner?!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Bom smiles innocently and sticks her tongue out, “But my point is, isn’t this the best opportunity to make Jiyong jealous?”

My smile fades at the mention of his name. Make him jealous?

“Right? I’m sure he’d go crazy if he saw unnie kissing someone, especially his best friend.” Minzy says excitedly. I stare at my reflection and think back to earlier with those two girls and how that made me feel. Is that something I really want to do him? Maybe I did want to get back at him for that, for making me feel the true intensity of jealousy… but what would be the point? Just two people playing an endless game of who hurt who the most.

But I didn’t want to hurt him.

He is the first thing I see amongst the crowd around the set. He was still in the checkered button down with his white suit pants. But thankfully, he was too concentrated on watching the playbacks to notice me approaching.

“Ah, Dara.” The director makes his way towards me with a sheet of lyrics, “So, this part is what we will be filming next. There is a within the song after he moves your hands over his head. But instead of hugging Youngbae, I want you to give him a small kiss on the cheek.”

My eyes immediately glance to Jiyong who is still engrossed in work.

“Actually,” I start, knowing for sure that this is what is right, “I’m not very comfortable with actually giving a kiss. So, would it be okay for me to instead just look as if I did? Maybe film from a certain angle?” I study the director’s blank expression, hoping for the best and that I haven’t offended him.

Finally he gives me a reassuring smile, “Sure, of course. That is perfectly fine and easy to do.”

I breathe a sigh of relief before bowing and taking my place on set, meeting with Youngbae.

“Showtime again.” He says while taking both of my hands in his like choreographed. My eyes shift again towards where Jiyong was standing but he wasn’t in sight anymore. I give him a small smile and nod while wondering if Jiyong was watching us right now.

“Youngbae!” The director suddenly calls out and motions for him to come over.

“Be right back.” He winks at me before jogging over to the director. I watch as the director whispers something into his ear making Youngbae momentarily freeze but eventually nod. After a few moments, he is back in front of me and quickly takes my hands again.

“Something wrong?” I ask curiously looking at his more-than-usual flushed face. He shakes his head and gives me a nervous smile.

“Nope, nothing. We’re just going to run everything until the very end.” Youngbae says very quickly and I think I heard his voice crack.

“Okay…” I end up pushing it aside as soon as I hear the music start playing.

♪ You’re the person I want to give my heart to

Girl

I need a girl

Girl like you, gotta make you mine

Imma treat you right baby ♫

As choreographed, he maneuvers my hands above and over his head so that they are resting at the back of his neck. Here it comes. I lean my head to the left of his and pretend to kiss his cheek on cue before pulling away to face forward. When the chorus repeats, I perform the choreography like always but this time take the opportunity to scan the crew for any signs of the dragon. None. I feel relieved when I can’t seem to find him in the crowd, allowing me to concentrate completely on the choreography.

♪ Girl, I need a girl, yeah

Girl, I need a girl, yeah

Girl, are you listening to me?

Baby, I need you

Girl, you need me too ♫

For the ending, my arm trails around his waist, bringing me behind him to rest my cheek on his shoulder as planned. However, as my head leans onto his shoulder, his hand suddenly comes up to my face and his upper body turns to face me. I try to keep smiling despite the confusion racing through my mind. Youngbae, what are you doing?! His fingers clasp onto my chin, tilting my head up and allowing me to view the sight of him leaning in with his eyes closed.

What?

My breathing stops as I watch his face get closer and closer.

What’s happening? What do I do?!

I’m beginning to feel his breath brush my skin.

No. Wait. Stop.

His face was too close making me instinctively squeeze my eyes shut.

Jiyong!

It all happened so quickly that by the time I opened my eyes again, I found myself already in Jiyong’s arms.

While one arm was wrapped tightly around my shoulders, crushing me into his chest, the other was extended and clutching the neckline of Youngbae’s shirt in a tight fist.

Everything was silent, until the dragon growled.

“Don’t you ing dare.”

*BlueNote*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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