It had rained for the past three days straight, and the streetlights glittered off veritable rivers running in the gutters.

Inside the YG building, Eden Roth and Yang Hyunsuk sat in a conference room with the window blinds up to let in the cold watery gray light from outside. The table was spread with packets of papers, scripts, a large desk calendar about a yard square, and scatterings of pens of varying colors. Eden's brown calf-length boots lay discarded under her original chair, and the rain-spotted green and grey hoodie she had worn in was tossed across the same. In dark-wash skinny jeans and a black long-sleeved blouse, she padded back and forth down the length of the table, first consulting the calendar, then a pile of papers, then a dry-erase board on the wall. A slim blue marker was tucking behind her ear, and there was a smear of green between the first two fingers of her right hand.

"I think that covers Big Bang," she said finally, looking at her employer. "I have Seunghyun on Tuesdays and Fridays starting next week for tutorial. Seungri and Daesung are on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Jiyong is on Thursday. I won't have to work much with Youngbae because he's already fluent. Sound about right?" She brushed loose strands of long red hair out of her face and surveyed their work with tired green eyes.

Yang analyzed the presentation board and nodded once to himself. The members of Big Bang would have their English lessons at the end of the day when they would be done with the strenuous parts of their schedules. They would be sweaty and tired, but later in the evening always seemed to work better with them. The lessons were scheduled until five, which gave Eden time to pick-up her children without having to pay their babysitter additional. "It looks good to me," he told her when she sank into a high-backed leather office chair beside him. "When do you want to start working with the newer groups?"

"I'll see how much help they need first," she replied, "and then I'll decide if they get European and American tours. If there's no call for it, I can focus more on Big Bang. Which reminds me, actually. I watched fancams from B.A.P's shows in the United States." Eden picked up a tablet laying on top of Yang's own stack of work and unlocked the screen with deft fingers; the pattern was an inverted Y. Without instruction, she found YouTube in her employer's applications menu and tapped in a search. "Their English is accented and slow, but it's clear, and the fans loved it." She flicked out the kickstand and turned the screen so he could watch.

The fancam was a very good one, not shaky or grainy, and - he checked the uploader's screenname - theultimatedodo had a very good seat. Yang chuckled at the antics of the six boys and listened carefully to how they interacted with the audience. Eden was right; their English was clear, but their hesitancy showed in something Yongguk said toward the end of the video. He was relating the current - at the time of the concert - troubles between North and South Korea, asking for prayers and good wishes. He spoke slowly, and the only thing that made him hard to understand was the deepness of his voice.

"The fans eat it up," Eden said as a closing statement. "Being multilingual will open up huge opportunities for our idols, and that in turn will reflect well on us."

"After the storm SM's been through lately, we look golden anyway," he told her. "We can only look better. Do you think we should start teaching other languages besides Japanese, Mandarin, and English?" He closed the YouTube screen and let the tablet go dark.

She leaned on a closed fist, looking at him. "I think that might be a little much for now, but it may not be in a few years. We'll see how the markets trend and what the idols want. When do you want me to start with Big Bang?"

Yang checked his watch. "They'll be finished with their day in ten minutes, and then they have a meeting with me up here to discuss their language classes. If you'd like, you can stay and answer questions. It'll only be for half an hour.'

Eden shook her head. "I'll stay to say hello, but Minnie had a cold this morning, and I want to get her home soon. I don't know if Hyerin will have kept Jiji away from her, but… Well, they are twins after all. What one has, the other will get." She got up to retrieve her shoes and hoodie and gather her things. "I may have to take a few days off if that happens."

"Or I will and take care of them for you." Yang stood, picking up her appointment book. "I haven't seen them in a few weeks. I'd like to have a day with my nieces." He smiled.

Had things gone differently, he'd have been their father instead of their uncle. Eden had come to Korea to be an English teacher and was snapped up by YG when her contract with her school expired. At the time, she was engaged to Kang Kiyong, a driver with the trainees. They had been married a year when he abandoned her to run off with a secretary from one of the department offices. Yang had paid her lawyer and the divorce fees, as well as securing full custody of the then-two-year-old twins[1] they had adopted. When the legalities had been over with, he had proposed to Eden, explaining that he wanted to be sure she could support her family. Eden had turned him down, but they had become close friends while he provided the father figure her girls needed.

"You want to spend your days off wiping runny noses and watching Bubble Guppies?" Eden asked, but her lips had parted, displaying a thin strip of white. She leaned up and pecked his cheek. "They'll be glad to see Ahjusshi again. Thank you."

The door of the conference room opened, and the five members of Big Bang slouched in. They were all in various degrees of fatigue. Jiyong was still bright and looking vivacious, but when he sat down three seats from Eden's hoodie, he slumped like his body was folding in on itself. Youngbae pillowed his head on his arms and watched her and Yang cleaning up the table. Seungri and Daesung leaned on each other, stifling yawns. Only Seunghyun seemed to be completely awake. He stood behind Jiyong's chair, leaning on its back. His dark eyes moved from the white board to the red-haired Eden and stayed there until she picked up her hoodie and slid her arms into it.

"I know you're tired," Yang told the five men, "so I'll keep this short for now. Starting next month, four of you will be taking English lessons with this young lady here." He gestured. "Her name is Eden Roth. Your scheduled days with her are on the calendar behind you on the white board. Seunghyun, you'll start next week due to your role in IRIS."

She smiled and gave them a quick bow. "I can't wait to get started," she said. "T.O.P.-sshi, if you'd like, we can start an informal lesson soon."

"Just call me Seunghyun, noona," rumbled the rapper, and Jiyong tipped his head backward to look at his hyung.

"Just Eden will be fine," she replied. "I'd stay to talk now, but I need to go home before the weather gets too bad. Yang Goon-sshi will give you my cellphone number if you'd like it. Please get some rest, and if there's anything you'd like to ask or discuss with me, don't hesitate. Good night, everyone." And with a short bow, she scurried from the conference room, already dialing the number of her babysitter to relay that she was on her way to get the girls.