October 2011

“Rae? You have a phone call on line 2.” called Erin through the monitor.

“Thank you.” Luna saved the document she was working on and picked up the phone. “This is Rae Kirk speaking.”

“So*giggle*how were things*giggle*down under.” Luna recognized Stacy's voice and hung up on her mid cackle.

*****

Upon their return to Seoul, they fell into a new routine. YoungBae pretty much just stopped going home. He kept several changes of clothes in his trunk to avoid having to go home for anything other than picking up his mail. When he left the YG building at night, he would pass by his house to go to hers. Luna got into the habit of making dinner for two because he was there so often. He would shower and join her on the couch or in the office if she was awake. Or, if it was late and she was asleep, he would shower and curl up beside her in the bed. Some times she would wake up and talk to him, but usually, she would kiss him somewhere within reach and fall right back to sleep.

He would wake up with her in the morning after she showered and dressed to make her breakfast. They would share polite conversation, she would load the dishwasher, kiss him, wish him a great day and go to work. YoungBae would lay down for another hour or so, fix the bed and go to work as well. With a smile on his face for almost two weeks straight.

But one day, YoungBae was in the studio with his band members and Teddy putting the final touches on a song. He had been sitting on the couch texting back and forth with Luna when JiYong asked him to go in and do some ad libs. He set his phone down on the table as SeungHyun offered to bring back drinks for everyone from the cafeteria. YoungBae declined and went into the booth. He liked the song that was being worked on, so he put extra effort in to making it sound good.

Not long after he was in there, his phone vibrated loudly on the table. SeungRi grabbed it to quiet it, but glanced at the screen to see a text scrolling across the top.

Luna: Can you pick up milk on the way over?

“Ya, hyung! Look at this,” SeungRi said before handing the phone to JiYong. JiYong unlocked the phone and read the text message. JiYong his teeth and put the phone down. “Who's Luna?”

“No one.” JiYong said dismissively and told YoungBae to go again.

“Why is 'No One' asking hyung to pick up milk?”

“Mind your business, Maknae.” JiYong warned gently. Teddy grabbed the phone and started reading through the text messages aloud.

Luna:Have you seen my wallet?

Bae: I put it on the coffee table.

Luna: You're my hero! Thanx.

Bae: Did you sleep well?

Luna:No! I'm not sure who snores louder, you or your dog!

Luna:Are you coming over for dinner?

Bae:As long as you aren't making tofu...

YoungBae finished the take and waited a few seconds before asking if it sounded good. He got no response in the booth. “Hyung? Did that sound okay?”

SeungHyun walked in with bottles of water to hand out and heard Teddy reading. “Is that YoungBae's phone?,” Teddy nodded just as YoungBae walked out and everyone turned towards him.

“It wasn't me.” SeungHyun immediately said to exonerate himself.

“What wasn't you? What's wrong? Did I sound that bad?” YoungBae asked the room at large.

“Oh. Nothing. Luna wants to know if you can pick up milk on the way, though,” Teddy said with a grin on his face. “Now, who's Luna and why are you doing her grocery shopping?”

YoungBae was frozen. All of the guys looked at him and he sent a look of betrayal at SeungHyun. SeungHyun raised his hands in a sign of surrender before saying, “I didn't give him the phone. I wasn't even in here.”

“Who's Luna?” DaeSung asked this time.

“A friend,” Turning back to Teddy he asked, “May I have my phone back?”

“A friend who's wallet you put on the coffee table,wants you to buy milk and knows that you snore?”

YoungBae let out a hesitant, “ Yes.” before making a lunge for his phone. Teddy pulled back just in time.

“Whoa, there, Romeo. It's a simple question. Who is she? Your girlfriend?”

“No. She's not. Or, I don't think so. We don't talk about it. We just spend time together.”

“Hyung, why didn't you tell us about her?” DaeSung asked with a little hurt in his voice.

“I'm sorry, DaeSungie. It's complicated.”

“Can we meet her?” SeungRi asked him.

“You met her, actually. At the U.S. embassy last time.”

“The pretty noona who did my visa?! Wah, you worked on her fast.”

“He met her months ago. When we went to Jeju.” JiYong chimed in for the first time.

“You've had a girlfriend for months and you didn't even tell me?” The hurt in DaeSung's voice was evident this time.

“I knew.” SeungHyun said smugly from his spot by the door. YoungBae looked around at the faces in the room. Teddy looked curious, JiYong looked irritated, DaeSung looked hurt and SeungRi looked awed.

“Look, guys. If she and I were a couple, I would have told you by now, but we aren't. We're just friends. Close friends, but still just friends.” Right?, he asked himself. He and Luna had never placed labels on their...situation. And it wasn't that he was hiding her. He just liked having her all to himself. He did his best to keep a separation between TaeYang and YoungBae. At work, he was TaeYang. Dancing, singing, hardworking, smiling TaeYang. At home and with her, he was just YoungBae. Goofy, boring, shy and quiet YoungBae.

Luna ignored YoungBae when he would first walk in. At first, he assumed it was because he smelled from dancing, but she explained it to him this way; 'It's like you make a mental switch when you're in the shower. TaeYang may walk into the house, but YoungBae comes out of the bathroom to greet me.”

She would hug YoungBae when he came in or kiss him in a distracted fashion if she was busy. She would ask him if he ate and how his day was. She could sense when he wanted quiet and just gave him that. When he was exhausted after dance practice, she would rub his shoulders. Or just quietly rub his neck while they lay on couch. No, he was not hiding her due to shame. He simply liked having someone of his own.

Teddy finally handed the phone back to YoungBae, but not before asking the question that was on everyone's mind, except JiYong.

“When do we get to meet her?”

*****

“Are you busy this weekend?”

“Uh, I'll be on my way back from Busan on Saturday morning.”

“Oh” he played with his ring in the way that Luna recognized as a nervous gesture.

“Is there something that you needed or wanted to do that weekend?”

“Well, um...the guys...they...know.”

“Know what?”

“About...us.”

“Oh,” Luna said while slightly confused. “Is that a problem?”

“No. No. I just...they want to meet you now.”

It's like pulling teeth with this guy, she thought after a minute.“Do you want me to meet your friends?”

“I hadn't thought about it.” he admitted honestly.

“If you want me to meet them, I'm game. If you'd rather not publicize us than that's fine too. I can understand your resistance. Meeting your friends is a statement I'm not sure we're ready to make.”

“What kind of statement?”

“Like, that we're in a relationship.”

“Aren't we?”

“Not to my knowledge. We're friends.” she said simply. “If you want me to meet them, we can have dinner here next weekend. I'll cook and it'll be completely casual. No pressure and complete privacy.” YoungBae agreed that this was a good idea. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Whatever you want to make is fine with me.”

“How much money do you have?” YoungBae looked in his wallet and pulled out 350,000 won. She took it all.

“Wait, what happened to all of your righteous indignation about taking money from me?”

“You misunderstand. This isn't you giving me money. This is you paying for my talent and the use of my electricity and gas. Not to mention clean up afterwards. I'd call this a bargain.” She kissed him on the cheek and went to take a shower before bed. “Make sure you turn the lights off before you come to bed.”

*****

The day of the dinner, Luna was relieved that she had prepped the food as much as possible during the week. She had a school visit in Incheon that day and the traffic was murder coming back. She put on comfy clothes, pulled her hair into a messy bun and got to work chopping vegetables and such. She started setting the table and glanced at the clock. Oh no! She was running behind. She looked in the fridge and saw she had no drinks, so she called YoungBae.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Hey, Bae. Are you on the way?”

“Yeah, we should be there in 20.”

“Would you mind stopping to get drinks? I have milk, some apple juice and a bottle and a half of soju.”

“Not a problem. I'll send Maknae in to get some.”

“Thanks, baby. You're a life saver. See you soon.” Luna made a kissing noise over the phone which was sure to get him picked on by the other guys in the car.

Luna was nervous again. She kept checking and double checking the dishes she had prepared. First impressions were important. She glanced down at her legging and t-shirt and vowed to run and change as soon as she heard the door open. She made it seem to YoungBae that this dinner wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't lost on her that BigBang was coming. To her house. For dinner. To eat food. That she prepared. Okay, okay. They're just guys. Five super popular and attractive-GAH!

Luna ran to the front door and looked down the hall to make sure they weren't there. Then she went back into the kitchen and scrolled through her ipod to find the song that always made her feel better.

'Oh moributho balkuthkaji da SARANGSUROWO
Oh niga naui yojaranun ge jarangsurowo....'

As soon as the first notes played, Luna started to dance around the kitchen in a style of dance that is now lovingly refer to as 'chooming'. Kim Jong Kook wasn't her favorite singer, but this was her favorite song. Ever. In secret.

*****

“Thanks, baby. You're a life saver. See you soon.”

“Aww. She called you 'baby'. That's so sweet. And the kiss-y noises!” came DaeSung's voice from behind YoungBae in the car after the call ended.

“What are we having for dinner?” JiYong asked.

“I'm not sure. She's a good cook, though. Don't worry.”

“Didn't you say she was a vegetarian?” said SeungHyun from the back. There was a general groan from around the car.

“Yes, she is. But she's not strict and doesn't mind cooking meat. It'll be fine.” he defended. Pulling into a parking space outside of a convenience store, he told SeungRi to get out.

“Hey, why do I have to go in and get the drinks?” complained SeungRi. All of the guys looked at him with 'duh' expressions. He slouched down in the seat and spread his legs a bit, only to have to snap them shut when the older SeungHyun sent eye daggers at him. He got out quickly.

*****

“What's she like? Is she okay with all of us coming to her house like this?” DaeSung asked as they got off the elevator on her floor.