A/N: Edited for the millionth time...

 

 

CHAPTER 5

 

 

“Why is it that I feel like I only see you guys at clubs or parties? I feel like we never really get to hangout anymore.” Sam asked.

“What are you talking about? We are hanging out right now.” said Minnie. The girls got drinks and a table in the back of the VIP area as soon as they walked into the club. They had gone around the club but they were not able to find Dongwook or Byul, so they just made themselves comfortable until they came around.

 

“Yeah maybe for the next five to ten minutes until Ms. Natalie over here runs into some famous model acquaintances; and you go and flirt with one of the three guys who are checking you out right now, Brianna goes to dance, finally leaving me with Grace for the rest of the night.  Which is leaving me with nobody because she is going to be texting/calling Tony more than talking to me. Leaving me open for creepy drunk men to hit on me.” Sam scoffed as she sipped her drink.

 

“Then Sam why don’t you go and take that time to meet new people.” Grace suggested. Sam immediately scrunched up her nose totally dismissing the whole idea. Sam didn't think that she was a mean person she just wasn’t as open as the other girls were. She wasn’t the type of person to just go up to somebody, introduce herself and strike up a conversation.

 

“You’re such a baby.” Minnie joked. They had all seen Samantha’s lack of socialness when she was outside of work.

 

“Then come and dance with me. You’re a great dancer, I’m a great dancer we could have so much fun." Brianna pleaded.

 

 

It was true Sam loved dancing, especially with Brianna. They had been on a dance team together in high school. They both loved it, Bri more than Sam hence her gig at YG. Dancing was what brought the two to become friends in the first place.

 

“To keep up with you Bri I need the energy of 3 Olympians and a lot of booze! And I can’t do all that, tomorrow I have a busy day.” Sam explained.

 

“You’re 24 Sam live a little.” Minnie exclaimed. Minnie was the group’s party girl surprisingly. Nobody would think with all the work she does managing the bookstore and her art. Sam was at awe at how Minnie was able to balance work and having a night life at the same time. Sam wouldn’t even dream of it, let alone live it. Sam actually preferred being home more than going out 8 times out of 10.

 

"Sam’s right. It feels like I haven't seen you guys in months, what happened to our monthly dinners." Grace asked.

 

"That’s true. We should have a bbq next. We haven’t done that in a long time. We can do it potluck style so Sam doesn’t have to do all the cooking.” NaNa said.

“Meaning everybody make food except for Bri. Girl please just take a trip to the supermarket or pick up take out. Please do not attempt to cook.” Minnie pleaded.

“Shut up I’m not that bad...I’m getting better.” Bri said as she swung at Minnie and missed.

“I’ll have to check my schedule, and see when I am free.” NaNa commented, and Grace, Minnie, and Brianna quickly chimed in with their excuses.

“In ten years when we have kids and husbands we are going to be wishing that we spent all the time together that we could. So make sometime.” Sam told them.

“Yes mom.” The rest replied.

“Oh shut up!” Sam laughed.

 

“Mom” was what they had been calling Samantha for years. She was the mom of the group, making sure that they were all taken care of. They knew that if anything happened to one of them that she would drop everything and be there in a heartbeat, and Sam knew that they would do the same for her.

 

“Natalie is that you?” someone eccentrically shouted behind Sam, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“And so it begins…” Sam said as she took a sip of her drink.

“Sorry, but if I don’t go she’s going to come over here and you're going to hate it.” NaNa said matter of fact as she got up and waved to the lady. “I promise I won’t be gone too long.”

“It's fine go do your thing, just make sure that you meet back here at like 12:00pm so we can decide who’s going home early and who’s staying.” Sam told all of them.

“Okay.”

“Oh and here take this you're going to need it more than I am.” Sam handed NaNa her own drink.

“Thank you.” Nana said giving Sam’s hand a squeeze. Sam turned back around to find Minnie was already gone and Bri was bobbing her head to the music as she watched the people on the dance floor.

“What are you waiting for? Go dance.” Sam said as gestured to the dance floor.  

“Are you sure? I can stay with you guys a little longer.” Brianna assured her.

“No it's okay, go have fun.”

“Sam you should really come with me, you dance better that half the people out there.” Brianna pleaded.

“You really should.” Grace chimed in taking a second to look up from her phone.

“Bri you know I have to have more than one drink in me to go out there and dance. Plus you know I can’t tomorrow I have to…” Bri cut off Sam before she could finish.

“Work! Yes I know.” Bri said exasperated.

“Okay, just go already then.”

“Fine but if you change your mind you know where to find me.” Bri said as she began to walk away.

“Yep.” Sam said as she shooed her away.

“See you later.” Bri waved as she made her way through the crowed.

“And then there were two...one…” Sam turned to see that Grace had slipped out sometime in the last minute leaving her completely alone. Just as she thought.

 

Sam didn’t completely hate clubs or parties but she didn’t necessarily enjoy them all the time, and today was one of those days. The only reason that she was here was to see Hanbyul and Se7en, but they were nowhere to be found. Sam had a long list of things she could be doing now that would be ten times better than sitting alone at a club, as she sent yet another text to Hanbyul and Se7en that they most likely won’t read. Sam thought it was a good a time as any to answer some work emails that she would have to do in the morning anyway. If she was stuck there, she might as well be productive.

 

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“I can’t believe that she actually pulled it off. It’s amazing that they lasted that long without them knowing about each other though.”

 

Natalie had been hanging out with some of her fellow model “friends”, chatting about this and that. It wasn’t a complete waste of her time. Natalie didn’t dislike them. In fact a handful of them were quite nice. She just didn’t trust these particular girls with any personal aspects of her life. She tried to keep the conversation mostly on work and the industry. Recently she had been too busy to talk to many of her colleagues. She was focusing on designing and expanding her collaborations into an actually line, plus she had to keep up with her modeling gigs. Not to mention her friends and her new very handsome photographer boyfriend. She knew it was good for her to know what was going on in the models, hearing the latest gossip was a bit necessary in Natalie’s case because of how little time she had been really spending in it. It helped her navigate the very choppy waters of the modeling world. The trick was to know what gossip was pure b***s*** and what as solid information. Having the right informant like her friend sitting next to her was the best method. She was perfect she had all the information and very little of the b***s***.

 

“I guess we should applauded her for not getting caught for so long. It doesn’t seem like an easy thing to juggle.” NaNa laughed.

“You should have seen the moment that they found out. It was crazy. They started yelling and then the two guys started fighting each other. The set was a mess by the time it was over, thankfully they started their fighting after we finished shooting.”

“Wow.”

“I guess it makes sense. I mean she’s not actually that dumb. She probably was going too ended with them anyway because it seemed like she had her eyes set on GD. She was far too calm during the whole thing.”

 

Nana froze.

 

It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about him ever. And it’s not like she didn’t hear about the girls he was involved with. It just didn’t affect her as much because they were never in the same country. But now it was getting harder and harder to ignore his existence. He was everywhere. Billboards, tv, radio, everyone was talking about infamous Kwon Jiyong. She was sick of it. She still hadn’t run into him yet so that was a plus. But it would probably happen sooner rather than later, but Nana was just praying that it wouldn’t.

 

“What do you mean she had her eyes set on GD?” Nana asked not trying to sound to interested. Very few people knew about Jiyong and Natalie’s past and she wanted to keep it like that.

“I mean she was hinting like a month ago about how much she had enjoyed drinks with him and a couple of his other friends. And two weeks ago she, him and couple other people all had dinner and went clubbing in Japan after BigBang’s concert, she was there for a shoot with Nylon Japan. It’s been all she has been talking about every time we run into each other…”

 

Nana had stopped listening after a while. She couldn’t believe that Jiyong was really seeing this girl. She wasn’t his type at all. Yes she was gorgeous but she was also loud and liked to be seen. There was no real elegance about her. Nana knew that if this relationship was real and heading anywhere it would be south and the scandal would be another blow to Jiyong’s already troubled public image. After all that trouble the group has been through to get back on track…

Nana stopped herself. It was no longer her place to worry about him anymore. It was a habit that should have kicked years ago. She wasn’t his girlfriend. They weren’t even really on speaking terms. Sam always said that Nana’s relationship with Jiyong never truly ended. They never really go the closure they needed to move on. And if Nana was telling the truth it had more of a hold on her than she would ever admit to anyone.

 

“So how was your shoot in Milan?” Nana changed the subject. She didn’t need to know any more about Kwon Jiyong’s newest bed warmer tonight…or ever.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Hello beautiful. I noticed that you don’t have a drink so I took the liberty of getting you one." Sam was not even halfway through the first email when she was startled by the man who had magically appeared by her side.

 

This was another thing about clubs that she hated, guys think that if you’re alone then you must be in need of their company.

 

"That’s really nice of you..." she paused waiting for the guy to identify himself.

"." He stated simply.

“...Are you serious?” she asked trying to figure out if she heard right or if the music was too loud.

“ Benson. It’s really Richard, but all my friends call me .” he explained proudly.

“And you let them? I’m surprised you would even in this generation…” Sam began confused, but then realized that it was most likely rude and best not to get into a conversation about why his parents wanted him to suffer through life with that name. Or why a grown man would let his friends call him .

“Never mind what I was going to say is that I don't accept drinks from men I don't know, plus I can buy my own drinks. So thanks but no thanks. Have a nice night." She said dismissing him as nicely as she possibly could. She hoping that maybe he would take the hint and leave her be.

"Wow it’s refreshing to meet such a beautiful, intelligent, and independent woman.” he didn’t take the hint.

“You got all that from three sentences?” she asked him. It was obvious the guy was just throwing lines out there.

“Yes I did, some say that i'm a very insightful person. So does this amazing woman have a name?" he asked as he slid closer to Sam.

 

For such an “insightful” guy it was clear that he couldn’t take a hint even if it came up and smacked him upside the head.

 

"Yes." she said curtly. She was trying to be nice but also get him to back off. The girls have been telling her for a long time that she need to be nicer when turning down guys. Apparently she was sometimes “too harsh and cold” whatever that meant.

“May I ask what it is?”

“You can. It’s a free country.” she replied simple.

“...” he looked at her expectantly.

“... ” Sam could tell that was getting annoyed, but he really had no right to be upset, he was the one who could not see that Sam clearly didn’t want to talk.

“You still haven’t told me your name.” he said in a low voice. He was sitting way too close for Sam’s comfort. He was making it hard to breathe and not in a good way, she was suffocating in his stupid expensive cologne he chose to drown himself in and all the alcohol on his breath.

“I said you can ask but I never said I would answer…” Sam told him bluntly as she finished her email. She was getting ready to make a run for it if he didn’t leave.

“Oh you're mysterious too, I bet you a lot of fun in bed.” he whispered as he ran his index finger on her exposed neck. Sam had had enough, it was one thing to buy her a drink and ask questions, but it was another to touch her and say ually suggestive things.

“Don’t ever touch me again.” she said harshly as she smacked his hand away. She could see a flash of anger on his face at her of him rejection, but then it was replaced by a sick sly smile. She picked up her phone and her clutch off the table, she knew that she better make her way out of the booth before he said something to make her punch him in the face.

“It was nice of you to buy me a drink but I don’t want it, so end of conversation.” she stated curtly.

“Oh but sweetheart we were just getting started.” he gave a slimy smile. Before she could even reply she heard her name.

“Sam!”

“Daesung!”

“Sam I’ve been looking all over for you!” he told her.

 

Sam was confused, she didn’t even know that he was going to be at the club tonight. She hadn’t seen him in a couple months, the only contact she had with him was the couple texts sent here and there checking in on each other. Daesung must have understood Sam’s confused look because he winked. Sam realized that he was helping her get away from this disastrous situation.

 

“Wha” started.

“Come on.” he told her as he held out his hand to her, she mouthed a silent thank you. “The everyone is waiting.” he gestured to the other side of the club, as he pulled her out of the booth, and draped his arm around her shoulder positively making it seem like she was already spoken for. Daesung then quickly guided Sam to the other side of the club, not giving a chance to speak. Sam turned a couple of times just to check and make sure that her new friend “” wasn’t following them as they went up the stairs passed the guards to where she was guessing was the V.V.I.P area. The place was not as packed as the VIP section but it wasn’t lacking either.

“Are you okay?” Daesung asked as he guided Sam to a cozy booth.

“I’m fine.” she said as she took a good look around the room and saw some pretty A list celebs.

“I hope you didn’t mind, I mean I know that you can handle yourself, it just that that guy looked like he was gonna take no for an answer and you didn’t look to happy.” Daesung said as he finally let go of Sam.

“No, thank you for the help, it was about to get really ugly for him over there.”

“He didn’t hurt you or anything right?”

“No I’m good. Thank you, it just that we live in a world where when a woman says no to a man they think it’s a joke unless there is a man to verify her rejecting him.” she told him, not holding back her anger at all.

“I am sorry that some men choose to act that way when the have absolutely no right too. They should know better. It’s a bunch of bull …excuse my language.” he sympathized.

“I wholeheartedly agree.”

“And I’m not just saying that to say that to say it…I hope you know that.” he quickly explained.

“I know that, I would never think that you would think otherwise.” Sam said smiling. Sam never quite understood why Grace never snatched Daesung up. He was one of the few most genuine people she had ever met. Whenever he talked she listened. Sam was usually very skeptical of the truth in what people said, trust did not come easy to her but she had never got the feeling that Kang Daesung was untrustworthy. She trusted him completely.

She had realized how much she had missed him and his company... well maybe not as much as Grace did. But since he began working on BigBang’s album and now with comeback schedule they were already on tour…he had no time to just have a cup of coffee and catch up with anyone.

“And really thank you for the save. If it weren't for you I might have spent the night in jail for punching that guy in the throat.” Sam laughed.

“Oh I think you could have handled it without my help, but it was my pleasure.” he gave her a big smile that made his eyes disappear.

“You sir deserve an award. A small plaque that states your awesomeness. Something that you can show off on your mantel.”

“I don’t know if I need a plaque. I already know how awesome I am, I don’t need a plaque to tell me.” Daesung joked.

“Wow Dae I think that this world tour has made you cocky!!! All those fan girls screaming your name has went to your head.” Sam joked back.

“I have no idea what you're talking about. However if you want to show your gratitude…” He continued. “I would settle for just some chocolate chip cookies you make. The ones where every bite has a chocolate chip in it...I still don’t get how you do it.” He said in awe. Daesung didn’t have a big sweet tooth. He tried to be as healthy as possible, however Sam had gotten him to eat one of the cookies she had made and the boy was hooked.   

“Just “some chocolate chip cookies”? Are you sure that you don’t also want some oatmeal raisin and some white chocolate macadamia with that order?” she added, making the deal sweeter, figuratively and literally speaking.

“...Could you do that?” He asked like an excited child.

“Dude I will make you so many cookies that you won't know what to do with yourself.” Sam promised.

Daesung just laughed “I’ve really missed you.” he told her as he her hugged again.

“Awww I’ve missed you too Daesung-ah.” she laughed squeezing him back.

“Excuse me are we interrupting something?” someone behind Sam asked.

She froze.

She knew that voice.

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