Story title: Cherish

Shipping: JiyongxChaerin (Skydragon)

Rating: G

Date posted: 18.8.2014 (Jiyong’s birthday)

There was this girl who was my everything.

I remembered one of the scenes where it was a spring evening on the YG building's rooftop. I wasn't alone. I brought her along. The sun was setting: it was reddish blue. She was in a blindfold whilst I was holding her hand tight and guide her through. She trusted me because we are friends, best friends.

When the blindfold was removed away from her eyes, it took a few seconds for her to adjust to the bright lighting. Then, she turned around and smiled at me.

"Jiyo- oppa, it's beautiful," She said.

That was the expected response what else can you say when there was candles around forming a heart shape. Behind was a candlelit dinner and there was me, standing in the heart shaped. I took out a bouquet of flowers and gave it to her. Her lips turned into a curve and she let out giggle.

"What's wrong with you today?" She questioned and raised an eyebrow up, questioning me with her quizzical stare.

"Remember the other time when I told you there was this girl whom I liked?" I questioned her.

"The girl who made you smiled foolishly to the extent that Seungri made fun of you, by telling the whole company that your foolish smile creeps him out?" She asked.

I nodded my head.

"She is my everything. I wanted her to be mine. You said that girls would like something romantic like a candlelit dinner. Now I would like to present the candlelit dinner to the girl whom I liked," I spoke with confidence.

"Who is she?" That girl in front of me asked.

Sometimes I wondered why she was so dense. Didn't she realise that I was always describing her? It wasn't once, it wasn't twice but I always talk about the same girl and it's her, Lee Chaerin; the lady who stood right before me.

“Will you date with me?” I asked.

“What? Didn’t you love the other girl?” She responded.

“You are the girl whom I loved,” I replied.

“What? This can’t be!” Her eyes were widened and it seemed like her eyes were welled with tears. Before we could even have our dinner, she ran out of the rooftop with her teary eyes, leaving me all alone with a hungry stomach. Later I realised she made the actions because she was surprised with my sudden confession. I didn’t mind because that was the first rejection.

I was always there when she needed help. I would help her. There were nights when she said she couldn’t sleep so I would be there with her, comforting her. Yet, that night, I wasn’t able to sleep. I was stress and all, things weren’t going my way.

“Chaerin, I am tired of my life…” I spoke through the phone while lying on my bed. It was three in the morning.

“Oppa, why?” She asked.

“My life is boring. I want to love someone and have someone to love me…” I said.

“But, I can’t,” She said, cutting my sentence.

“Why not?” I asked.

“You are an idol, I am an idol; idols in Korea can’t date. You are from YG entertainment, I am from YG entertainment; we are one family and we don’t date in family. I am the female version of you, you are the male version of I. I treated you as my brother, my best friend and nothing else. Jiyo oppa, I’m sorry…” She pierced those painful words into me and hung the phone of immediately; it was the second rejection. It hurts more but I was able to accept it.

“Hey Chaerin, it had been some time since we collaborated,” I began the conversation. She responded with a hug and smiled at me.

Gosh, she is cute!

“HunChae, you accepted to be my girl?” I asked her.

“I’m sorry but I am currently dating Youngdon,” She said those words.

Those words contained lots of meaning. It pierced in my heart deeper as it meant rejection. It also meant impossibility. It also meant I need to wait. But if I were to wait, would she accept me? My heart was aching and I felt that my heart was crushed. I felt warm fluids went to my orbs, with a sour smile; I walked away from her and let out buckets of tears.

It was the third time I got hurt by her words and actions. I was okay the first time, I thought it was just a simple rejection, one that would build my confidence and would make her heart waver. But I was wrong. When the second time went around, with another injection of reject, things didn’t go well. I was fine with it too as it sounded like a prank call in the middle of the night. The third was when I hatred my life. I used to adore the Kwon twins especially Youngdon but he backfired me. It was when I finally realised that Chaerin indeed treated me as a brother and nothing else as much as I used to doubt her feelings for me that were meant to be just friends. She was gone from being single but I loved that girl, Lee Chaerin.

It was two weeks afterwards when I realised I can move on and love somebody else. It was a day when I went to Tokyo, Japan. I met Kiko Mizuhara again, one of my close friend in Japan. After spending a few days together, we got imitated and were crazy with each other. It was like we were meant to be with each other and started dating almost immediately.

A week after I started dating Kiko, I noticed that Chaerin wasn’t hanging with Youngdon already. According to maknae Seunghyun, he told me that Chaerin broke up with Youngdon because of me. It was because she realised my importance. I smirked then because I got over with it. This time round, instead of me comforting Chaerin, it was Seungri who comforted her. He took over my role as her best friend.

Days later, I found a letter which was in my bedroom. It was Seungri who placed it. It read:

Dear Jiyo oppa,
I’m sorry that I claimed that I don’t love you when I do. I made a promise to Kiko Mizuhara years ago that I would not love you. That time was when I haven’t fallen in love with you. Now? I realised I was stupid. I was stupid to keep that promise and that was what happened. Since the first time you confessed your feelings to me, I was already loving you. I ran away because I didn’t know how to react. I am not sure whether to accept your confession or to keep to the promise I made to her. I was waiting for the day to come by but when it came, I rejected straight in your face again and again. That night, when you phoned me, the words that I spoke were also the words I used it for myself as to keep up to the promise. I’m sorry for being a retard for keeping promise to such a ridiculous thing but I love you.

Meet me at usual place tonight if you want to be my boyfriend.
Else meet me tomorrow at the same place if we still can be best friends.
Meet me the day after tomorrow at the place if we can be friends only.
If you want us to be strangers, don’t meet me at that place.
From: Chaerin.

There was a piece of audio attached to it and it was clearly Kiko voice telling Chaerin to back off. I couldn’t believe what I had done. I made the wrong decision.

I quickly ran to my car. It was 9pm.

When I arrived at YG building’s rooftop, 10pm. It was the usual place we would meet up. The cold autumn wind aren’t helping any further as it hugged me tightly.

At 11pm, she called me and said, “Jiyo oppa, I will be there soon. My schedule just ended as things are delayed here and there.” I smiled and heaved a sigh of relieved.

At 11.59pm, she dialled me again. “I’m sorry but I love you so goodbye, my Jiyo oppa,” Those words were said by her. I was curious so I dialled back and there weren’t any answers.

Minutes later, I heard my phone ring again. Without hesitation, I said, “Chaerin, what’s with those words?”

“I am sorry sir but Lee Chaerin had caught up with a road accident,” Those words stunned me and I felt numb. I rushed to hospital as soon as I realised there isn't time to waste.

But when I reached the hospital, all I heard was a beeping sound. She didn’t make through the emergency operation. She didn’t.

I used to cherish her. But since that girl promised and kept to her word because of the stupid promise gave her chance away to cherish me. When I realised it was just a promise that she wouldn’t benefit, I wanted to cherish her but by the time she was already gone.

That promise she made with me she broke it. The promise was 'Promise me that we would be forever lovers unless both parties agree'. We aren’t lovers, we aren’t besties, we aren’t friends but strangers because we never met at the rooftop… But strangers can love each other right? Because I love her a lot... And I think that she love me too...