As soon as I finished working out, I headed back to the Mansion to shower and dress- the sun that came out after the storm lifted my spirits, and I put my hair back into a ponytail, put on form fitting jeans and a camisole with a dressy  half-top over it, knowing that the form figure would hide and hold the bandage in place. I strapped on my messenger back, and headed straight for the JYP Valentine’s Day Stage.

I walked in, and Minkyung bowed and waved to me, amidst the various people walking by, “Oh hi, Taren-unnie~ there’s a guy here to see you!!Came all the way from America, too!! He’s around here somewhere…” Immediately, a knot of tension came back into my stomach, but I pushed it to the side as I smiled and said, “Thank you, Min-ni!!” Taeyang was standing to the side of the stage, singing quietly to himself as he looked at some instructions for the fireworks, and I eased up behind him and pounced. “Hiiiiiii Taeyang-shi~!!” I said, clapping both of his shoulders at the same time, and he spun so gracefully that I laughed outright. “Oh~ it’s you, Taren-ni!!” he said, with relief washing all over his features as we embraced. “How are you feeling? Should you be out and about yet?” He looked at me with so much tenderness that I caught me off guard, Wow, he is such a good looking guy…wait?! I shook my thoughts clear as I hit a pose, “I’m feeling better just walking around, but thank you kindly for your love,” I said, giggling as his cheeks turned pink. “Ah, um, it’s not that- I, um…” the singer trailed off as Seung-ri and the other Big Bang members came around the corner.

“Oy~ it’s Taren!!” Dae cheered as he, Seung and Ji crowded around me in a quick group hug before backing off and beaming at me. I laughed, and looked around, “I’m glad to see you guys-but hey, where’s TOP?” Said rapper came around the corner, and I chuckled at his perfect timing, but I quickly sobered up as the look on his face was that of solid urgency-and TOP was not the kind of guy that ever got worried, and he nodded to me once, sharply as he said, “A man named Anthony is with 2PM in their dressing room, I don’t know how he got there-“I stepped forward, shaking my head. “No, not that bastard-lead me to the room, TOP-shi,” I said, and he nodded once as the others fell in behind my growing strides. 

As soon as we rounded the corner, I noticed something- half the lights were blown out, and there was heat in the air-literally. I strode to a door where I heard his wretched laughing, and threw open the door. There stood Anthony, in all of his annoying glory, arms stretched wide in front of my friends, who all had various reactions on their faces-fear, shock, anger, and…..pain?

“Anthony-what the are you doing here?” I folded my arms as Big Bang immediately came in  behind me and Seung quickly closed the door behind him. The CEO merely chuckled as he turned to me, still in the same pose, and said, “My dearest Taren-you don’t know how good it is to see you again!!” He reached out to touch me, but I was wiser and avoided his hands completely. “Answer my question-there’s no reason for you to be here, so why did you come?” He actually had the nerve to look offended as Dae quickly circled around us to talk quietly to Woo, as TOP did the same with a tired looking Junsu…

“But it should be obvious-it’s my vacation time, and I wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with the most wonderful woman in this world-you, my love!! Also, I was invited to watch the K-pop performance tomorrow by a Korean…..associate, if you will,” the bastard said with a wink in my face. “Will you kiss me for my troubles- your friends here have no manners!!” I had had enough, and I shoved his shoulders. “Anthony-you keep intruding where you are not wanted-just go!!” I opened the door and pulled him out, but before I could get him to the exit, he wrenched his shirt out of my grip and actually managed to look hurt, even as the others followed behind me.

“But I just wanted to see how you were doing- even as your friend I can’t do that? Besides, you really need to go to the hospital and get your groin looked at,” he said, pointing down, and I quickly looked down to see that his hand was on my groin and closer to a more private area.

Before I could think straight, I had flipped him up and over, so hard that he went flying into a stack of unpacked concert metal chairs, and the bang had two security officers running. “Get OUT!!” I raised my voice at him, and he only laughed as security quickly hoisted him underneath the armpits and began to carry him out, and Anthony said, “You’re busy yelling at me, hurting me and everything-but at least I’m not pretending to be your friend-and at the same time lying to you about myself!!” he said, raising a hand and pointing over my shoulders at my friends, even as a police cruiser pulled him away he rolled down the window and said, “See you tomorrow baby~~!!”

People looked at him for a moment, then shook their heads/shrugged and went back to work as Ji-Yong came up next to me and said nothing, only held my hand warmly and smiled at me as the others came around me. “…Well, I’m not sure about what he was yelling about, but did you see the way she flipped him?! That was downright y!!” Seung punched the air, and the others laughed as I flicked him on the nose. I turned to them all then, bowing low, “I’m sorry for what you had to see, I didn’t know that he would come and harass you-“ but Nick quickly shook his head and embraced me, saying, “No Taren, you are not responsible for him and his actions.”

  Taec said nothing, but he pulled me into his arms and held me like the warm anchor he was as Jay shook his head and said, “And that is what you deal with when you go home?” Chan was quiet, and I realized with a start that the way he shivered was not in cold, but in anger as the maknae said quietly, “ I only wish that he had laid a hand on our Taren-ni,” as he adjusted his outfit, and Woo nodded, an unusually serious moment for the group’s comedian. TOP looked me over once before nodding politely and turning away, and I felt my morning fear come back in my soul. No- I mustn’t think that way!!

Fortunately, Min came around the corner at the right time as she held up her clipboard in relief, “Oh- there you all are!!It’s time for the encore practice performance!!”  A hand tapped my shoulder, and I turned to see Taeyang looking at me shyly from the bend of his hat. “Please stay in the audience and watch us today- your gaze gives us confidence,” and Junho cut him off by landing on his back, “Of course she gives us confidence- who do you think you are to doubt her, Tae-hyung?!”

Minkyung shooed them onstage as we laughed, the memory of Anthony already being pushed out of my mind, and I walked into the cavernous room of the concert, being ushered gracefully by a fellow technician into the VIP section and I sat in anticipation as the lights dimmed down……