"It's time to leave." Boram announced, poking his head inside the recording studio.

"Arasseo," Youngbae replied, standing up from the couch.

He turned to the two guys who were still engaged in their serious conversation.

"He's all yours hyung." He told Teddy.

"Don't worry; I'll try to talk some sense into him." Teddy replied.

++++++++++

Jiyong had a long talk with Teddy.

As always, he was scolded, given advice, and was asked about his plans.

He was really getting tired of the same old scenario.

"I just want to talk to her." He said sighing.

Teddy, who was standing in front of him, smirked.

"Good luck on that."

Jiyong shrugged his shoulders and stood up.

"I'm going now, hyung." He said. "Just tell Seunghyun hyung that I'll start recording my part once he's done.

He started walking towards the door.

"Hey, Ji."

Jiyong turned around.

"Don't forget the party."

He squinted his eyes.  "Party? What par- ohhhhh...”

Teddy frowned. "Dammit Ji, how could you forget?! That's the day after tomorrow. Wait till Jaewook hears about this."

"Sorry, hyung." Jiyong sincerely apologized. "Please don't tell him."

"Jaewook and the others worked hard to prepare for your party. Try ditching them and I swear you will never see the light of day again."

"Hyung, chill. I'll be there." He assured him. "What time are you gonna be there?"

Teddy sat on his chair. "It depends on the outcome of the girls' recording tomorrow. If we can finish the last two songs without any problems, then I'll go with you."

"Are they coming too?" He asked hopefully.

Teddy shrugged his shoulder. "Why the hell are you asking me? Ask them. It's your party man."

He turned his chair to face his computer.

"If you ask me, I think the three girls might, but Dara... I doubt it, Ji." He added without looking at him.

Jiyong remained quiet.

His birthday celebration will be meaningless without her.

It's so obvious that because of the scandal, having Dara by his side on his special day is next to impossible.

If not for the people around him who put a lot of effort in preparing for his advance birthday party, he would have just cancelled it.

He stared at Teddy's back for a long time.

Still feeling his presence, Teddy turned his head to the side. "If you have something to say to me, just spit it out."

Jiyong bit his lip.

"Hyung," He softly said. "If you could talk her into coming, that will mean a lot."

 ++++++++++

Youngbae was quietly standing at the side of the stage waiting for his turn to perform.

His dancers were scattered around and some of them were standing behind him.

"I already talked to him." He heard Jihye saying. "He said he's not coming."

"Ottoke, unnie?! I went through all the preparations for nothing." Another voice said.

"What are you fussing about? Dony will be there anyway." Jihye said.

"But unnie,"

Jihye sighed. "Heeyun-ah, give it up already. You know Deukie already likes someone."

Youngbae couldn't help but glance at them.

He caught Heeyun frowning at Jihye's remark.

"I know that he likes Dara unnie, but-" She stopped and winced when Jihye nudged her hard. "Yah!"

Jihye discreetly motioned her eyes towards Youngbae.

Heeyun turned bright red when she saw him looking at them.

She bowed her head in embarrassment.

Youngbae looked away, pretending that he didn't hear anything.

But his eyes roamed around searching for the culprit.

At the other side of the stage, he saw Youngdeuk fooling around with the other dancers.

He pulled the collar of his shirt and slightly twisted his neck sideways.

Whatever he heard now and earlier from Bom, it's definitely making him uneasy.

++++++++++

Bom headed to kitchen with a gloomy face.

She sat on the chair beside Minji and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let me guess." Chaerin said while setting up the table.

"Unnie is crying again, isn't she?" She asked, putting a bowl of rice in front of her.

Bom sadly nods her head.

"I don't understand why she's avoiding oppa when it's obvious that she wants to see him." Minji said, wondering.

"Minji-ah," Chaerin gently said. "There are things about relationship that you don't understand."

"There are times when love is not enough to make the relationship work."

Minji looked at her confused, then she turned to Bom.

"Tell me, is unnie breaking up with Jiyong oppa?" She asked in a panic tone.

Bom sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know," She quietly said. "I'm not sure what's on her mind right now."

"She's really affected with this whole Kiko-Gdragon scandal."

"Well, I can't blame her." Minji said. "I would too, if that happens to me."

Chaerin sat on a chair across from Bom.

"So the chance of her and oppa making up before his birthday is zero percent I assume."

"Most probably." Bom replied without batting an eyelash.

++++++++++

When the girls finished their dinner, Bom decided to check on her best friend.

Carrying a tray of food, she went inside Dara's room.

"Aigoo, you should have eaten first before going to bed." She mumbled when she saw her sleeping.

Carefully, she put the tray down on the desk.

She walks to Dara's bedside and put the blanket over her.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

++++++++++

Lying in her bed, Bom sighed as she closed her eyes.

"How can this happen to them?" She whispered.

==FLASHBACK==

"Jiyong! Youngbae!" Bom barged inside the practice room.

Jiyong was at the corner of the room talking to someone on his cellphone while Youngbae was practicing his dance move.

They both turned to look when they heard her.

Panting, she rushed over to Jiyong with a wide smile.

"She's coming back, Jiyong-ah!" She excitedly said, grabbing him by the arms and shaking him. "She's coming back to Korea!"

"Cha-chakaman," He said to the person on the other line while he tried to escape from Bom's grip.

He pressed the cell phone back against his ear. "I'll call you back, okay?"

Youngbae approached them.

"Who's coming back, nuna?" He asked curiously.

Jiyong frowned at Bom while rubbing his arms. "Yeah, nuna. Who's coming back?"

She grinned widely.

"Dara!" She said, shrieking. "She's coming back for good."

Hearing the news, a smile slowly crept on the boys' faces.

"Jincha, nuna?" Jiyong asked.

She nodded her head to confirm.

"But what about her work?" Youngbae suddenly said.

"Her contract there is finish." Bom explained. "Sajangnim finally made her sign with YG Family."

They high-fived and cheered.

But Jiyong's smile suddenly faded when he remembered something.

"Uhm, nuna," He quietly said making them look at him.

"What about... you know... Him?" He asked.

"Oh, him?" She gave out a heavy sigh. "They broke up."

"What?!" The two boys said at the same time.

"H-how?" Jiyong asked curiously. "I mean, how did that happen? As far as I can remember, she loves him so much."

Bom shrugged her shoulders.

"Dara said when she returned after her short vacation here, they just decided to break up."

"She was crying really hard on the phone when I spoke to her weeks ago."

Jiyong narrowed his eyes in surprised. "What?! And we didn't know anything about this?"

Youngbae frowned. "Why didn't she tell us?"

"Duh!!! " Bom rolled her eyes. "As if you two can do something about it?"

The two boys looked at each other.

"C'mon guys," She said. "Let's just help her forget all the bad things so that she can start anew here."

Silence.

"You're right." Jiyong suddenly said.

He started pacing around in circles while thinking.

"I'm going to plan a welcome party for her. After that I'll bring her to a happy place." He stopped and glanced at the two who were staring at him.

"How does amusement park sound? But no, people might recognize me."

He thought for a while then he snapped his fingers. "I know! I'll wear a mask. Yes! That's right, a mask."

Jiyong grinned while walking around.

"Then we'll eat at a fancy restaurant. Yes, yes, that's a good idea." He mumbled to himself. "Or should I rent a cafe instead."

Bom leaned closer to Youngbae.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," She whispered. "But is he planning a date with Dara?"

Youngbae just raised an eyebrow in reply.

==END of FLASHBACK==

++++++++++

After Seungri finished his late night dinner, he decided to watch television in the living room.

"Seungri-ah," Namguk called walking out of his room.

"Ye, hyung?" His eyes were fixed to what was on TV

"Jung Geum and I will be going to Seunghyun's." He said. "If you and Jiyong need anything, we're just upstairs."

"Ye," Seungri answered as he took a sip of water.

When he was about to put the glass down on the coffee table, he heard something buzzing.

On top of a magazine that was lying on the table was Jiyong's cellphone.

Seungri picked it up and check who the caller was.

"Kiko-sshi?" He thought.

Without hesitating, he took the call.

"Oppa?"

"Kiko-sshi?"

"Who's this?"

"It's Seungri."

"Oh, Seungri-ah? How are you?" Kiko cheerfully greeted.

He let out a fake chuckle. "I'm doing great. And you?"

"I'm fine." She answered with a giggle. "Listen, is Jiyong oppa there?"

"He's taking a bath." He answered. "If you want you can just leave a message."

"Ani," She replied. "I just want to know when you guys are coming back to Japan."

Seungri paused.

Even though he knew exactly when, he doesn't feel like telling her.

"Uh-, I-I don't know Kiko-sshi." He stuttered. "W-we were n-not informed yet."

There was a short silence on the other line.

"Really?" She said quietly. "I just want to confirm because the news said you'll be here next week."

"Uh-, m-maybe."

"Seungri-ah, are you okay?" Kiko asked. "You sound... different."

He let out a fake cough. "I'm just not feeling well, Kiko-sshi."

"Kiko-sshi?" She repeated. "You always call me nuna. Why all of a sudden you're calling me Kiko-sshi?"

Seungri didn't answer.

"Seungri-ah, is this about what happened in the ho--"

"Kiko-sshi, I'm sorry but I need to go. My manager's calling me." With that he released the call.

Jiyong suddenly came out of his room rubbing his wet hair with towel.

In panic Seungri hid the cellphone behind his back.

"Oh Seungri-ah, why are you still up?" He asked walking towards the kitchen.

"I-I'm not yet sleepy, hyung." He replied watching him disappear from his sight.

He quickly returned the cellphone to its originally place.

Jiyong came back holding a bowl of popcorn and a can of soda.

"What are you watching?" He asked sitting beside him.

"Japan." Seungri blurted unknowingly.

Jiyong turned to him with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Japan?" He repeated.

Seungri snapped back to reality. "Oh, I was just watching some news about Japan."

"Oh," Jiyong simply said as he grabbed the remote control from him.

Seungri just stared at him.

"What?" Jiyong asked without looking.

He didn't answer.

"Do I have to force the words out of your mouth?" He asked while changing channels.

Seungri blinked and cleared his throat.

"K-kiko-sshi called." He said, waiting for the leader's reaction.

"Really?" Jiyong said as he shoved a handful of popcorn inside his mouth.

"What does she wants?" He mumbled while chewing.

Before Seungri could answer Jiyong was already reaching for his cellphone.

"Never mind," He said. "I'll just call her."

Without thinking Seungri grabbed the cellphone from his hand. "NO!"

With a surprised look, Jiyong stared at the maknae.

"You are not calling her, hyung." Seungri bravely said.

"She's the reason why you and Dara nuna are having problems now. I won't let you make things worst."

He stood up and stormed to his room leaving Jiyong dumbfounded.

++++++++++

"Seungri-ah," Kiko called on the other line but there was no reply.

"Dammit!" She muttered while getting up from her bed.

It's been days after the scandal and she's amazed how the issue died down so quickly.

Jiyong had told her that everything is fine now but somehow she feels like there's something wrong.

She went to her desk and opened her laptop to read some updated comments about their scandal.

"There it is again." She whispered staring at the laptop screen.

Her cellphone suddenly rang.

"Moshimoshi?" She answered.