"Bunny! Will you come here a minute, Baby?"

 

I looked up from my computer screen, 6 chapters in to my new book when Seung Hyun called for me from the front of the house.

 

Accepting the break from racking my brain trying to follow my own story line, I stood up from the desk in the bedroom, stretched and went down the hall.

 

Entering the living room, I saw that our daughter Mi-Na had gotten marker ink all over her three-year-old face.

 

 Seung Hyun was sitting beside her quickly putting caps on the markers and putting them back in the box.

 

"Oh whoa. What happened here?" I asked approaching them.

 

Mi-Na looked up at me and giggled, blue and green markings on her cheek.

 

Seung Hyun, on the other hand, looked guiltily up at me from the floor.

 

"I swear. I was gone for two seconds to get more drawing paper and when I came back, she'd covered herself in ink."

 

"Oh, I believe you, Dear. She's just like you; a little mischievous, but very playful," I said running my hands through his thick, dyed light-brown hair.

 

"She needs a bath now, before her Uncles get here," Seung Hyun mentioned, rubbing his daughter's hair as she stood up and waddled toward him to sit on his lap.

 

"Yah! After your bath, Girl," he exclaimed and picked her up, standing up to his 6ft 1 height and then kissing her cheek.

 

"You want to bathe her or should I do it?" I asked grabbing onto her ankle gently and Mi-Na grinned happily.

 

"Please? I have to make a phone call and double-check on our reservations tonight," Seung Hyun asked handing our daughter to me.

 

"Okay then," I complied. I reached up to his collar, pulled his face down and kissed his lips before turning and back tracking through the house.

 

Our room is at the very end, hers is closest to the living room, the bathroom is in between them. I went to her room to get clean clothes, deciding on little white sequined jeans, a white short-sleeve shirt with a pink heart and crown, socks and undies, and went to the bath tub.

 

I was nearly done washing off the coloring, asking her how she got it on her stomach when I heard the front door open and the distinct sound of Kwon Ji Yong's voice calling for Mi-Na and being greeted by Seung Hyun.

 

"Samchon!" Mi-Na squealed, recognizing the sound of her uncle's voice too.

 

She stood up in the water and proceeded to help herself out of the tub.

 

"Where in the world do you think your going, Mi-Na Choi? Did your daddy cause this much trouble as a child?" I asked setting her back down to rinse out her hair.

 

A few minutes later, I lifted her out of the tub and grabbed the towel off the counter to dry her with, but as I did, I knocked her shirt onto the floor, I let go of her to pick up the clothes, but when I looked back, that necked three-year-old had run out the door, towel and all, still dripping.

 

I heard Ji Yong shout and what sounded like Seungri speak and sighed, running my hand through my long bangs.

 

"They get to keep her tonight," I said to myself, smiling anyway.

 

I put the towel and her dirty clothes into the laundry basket and carried her clean outfit into the front room.

 

Ji Yong had her cocooned in the towel and making her laugh and squeal in his arms. When he saw me he gasped and whispered dramatically, "Oh no. We've been discovered. What to do?" and began swinging her around like an airplane.

 

"You look a little tired, Beth." Seungri said, grinning.

 

"She's a handful. She was sick a couple of days ago. I guess now, she's making up for it?"

 

"You excited about tonight?" Ji Yong asked handing Mi-Na to Seungri who took her and the clothes and dressed her on the couch.

 

He hugged me and stepped back as I replied, "Yep. We're going out to eat, then a movie, then Namson Tower. It's still warm enough for the tower."

 

"Laid back. Relaxing..." Ji Yong said.

 

"Inexpensive," Seung Hyun added coming up behind me fixing his collar and kissing my hair.

 

"Oh, right," I said and made a face.

 

"What are your plans?" he asked nodding toward Seungri and Mi-Na who were in a tickle war on the couch.

 

"We going to a kids' museum and playground place in Gangnam tomorrow. We'll probably just sleep tonight."

 

Seung Hyun and I looked at each other like, "good luck with that" and I went to grab my wallet and cell phone from the bedroom, remembering to save my story, and hurry back to the front.

 

Seungri and Mi-Na were standing near the door and Ji Yong asked Seung Hyun if she'd need a jacket. He said no, that it should be really warm the next day.

 

I kissed Mi-Na goodbye and touched her nose, "Be good, Missy. Okay?"

 

"Neh, Omma. Salanghe." she said and blew a kiss on her palm to me.

 

"Have fun, Princess." Seung Hyun kissed her and gave her a high-five.

 

Ji Yong and Seungri both said good night and wished us well, pulling out of the driveway soon after.

 

Waving to the tail lights of Ji Yong's car, I sighed and leaned up against Seung Hyun. Happy to have a break, but still as worried as any mother would be about her little baby being away. I couldn't help but double-check my contacts list for Seungri and Ji Yong's phone numbers, just in case.

 

"Ready to go, Bunny?" Seung Hyun asked gently squeezing my shoulder behind me.

 

"Neh."

 

We left the house soon after, setting the alarms on the house and the gate and surrounding fence-line to our property. Pulling out in his black Rolls Royce, one of his less show-offish cars, I finally relaxed and listened to the hum of the engine on our way into the city limits of Seoul.

 

"It feels pretty strange to not have that little trouble-maker in the car with us," Seung Hyun said suddenly, trying to break the silence with a little conversation.

 

"Oh yeah. But I'm not used to it. Not sure what to do withe peace and quiet."

 

He took my hand in his, keeping his other on the wheel, "Spend all your time with me."

 

I smiled and kissed the scar on Seung Hyun's hand. He'd sliced the back of his hand open during a fighting scene in one of his first movies, the Commitment. He can't make a fist properly anymore with that hand.

 

"I'll spend all my life with you," I said bluntly.

 

He squeezed my hand, "I really did well when I fell in love with you, Bunny."

 

"Oh yeah? What is it about me that you like so much?"

 

"You're independent. You're happy all the time. You work hard. You don't buy expensive thing s all the time. You're naturally very pretty. You have y feeet too."

 

"I have y feet?

 

He just nodded to me. I raised an eyebrow at him from across the car and he just grinned.

 

"You have an unusual sense of taste when it comes to pretty body-parts, Seung Hyun."

 

"That's okay. You've survived five years with me. I must be doing something right."

 

"I like your voice. When you wake up in the morning, you're all gruff and deep bass sounding. After you wake up, though, your voice changes and doesn't sound sleepy but still deep sounding. I think bass voices are y," I replied bluntly.

 

"I like feet and you like voices. Top and bottom," he looked at me and said laughing, "TOP...and Bunny...." and I playfully hit his shoulder.

 

"You're silly."

 

He squeezed my hand again and smiled.

 

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At a reserved, seccluded section of a rather nice restaurant with low lighting and soft music in the background, we sat involved in a lengthy conversation about future plans.

 

"I could only clear this weekend  for our date, but next month, after Big Bang's 12-Year Anneversary Concert opening showcase, I'll try to get at least a day off for you, Bunny."

 

"That sounds like a plan then."

 

"I don't see why you can't just go with us, I mean- the VIPs love you."

 

"Now they do. They didn't at first. I still remember the hate mail and death threats I got from the time we announced we were publicly dating until two years after we were married. Your VIPs are very dedicated to their kings. All five of you."

 

"That's true. But you and Kasie made it," he replied, speaking of Dong Young Bae's new wife.

 

They'd been married a month at this point and Seung Hyun and I pitied them. Jealous fans had succeeded in poisoning her, threatening to put a bomb in her car, breaking in and destroying all and only her things, sending hate letters and boxes of animal guts wrapped as presents. Still, Kasie stayed with him. As I had with my husband who sat across from me now, barely touching his food.

 

"But now, it's just us. Without our trouble-maker. Peace and quiet." I said propping my chin on my hand and leaning forward.

 

He looked at me with those famous black, shiny eyes and smiled, "Absolutely. And you look beautiful too, Bunny."

 

He winked at me and like a high school crush, I blushed and hid my smile behind my hand.

 

Midway through the meal, the head waitor came to our table and spoke softly to Seung Hyun before he and the waiter excused themselves and Seung Hyun went for a phone call.

 

I sat alone for the next few minutes admiring the designs and paintings on the walls not really interested in the over-priced foreign food and trying to make up my mind whether to see a Comedy movie or a Horror one when Seung Hyun returned in a hurry. Just by looking at him, I could tell something was very seriously wrong. His face was drawn and he looked like he couldn't decide whether to cry or throw something.

 

"Baby, what's wrong?"

 

He swallowed hard, trying not to cause a scene.

 

Reaching to grab my hand, he simply whispered, "We need to leave quickly. I'm sorry."

 

I nodded and stood, letting him hold my hand as we made our way out of the restaurant past all the curious onlookers.

 

Outside, while our valet got our car, I looked at him again.

 

"Baby, tell me what's wrong."

 

He faced me straight on and I knew almost the same second he inhaled before he said bluntly and with obvious difficulty, "Mi-Na's been kidnapped, Bethani."

 

His voice echoed in my mind and I stared at him half expecting to have misheard him. He stared at me, grief etched into his young face.

 

"What?" was all I could say. I'd heard him right though. Oh God how I wished, hoped he was wrong.

 

The trip to the police station where we would be meeting up with Kwon Ji Yong and Seungri as they explained the situation to the police was a blur. My head was blank and all I could think about was this wasn't really happening. Mi-Na was safe in Ji Yong's penthouse in Gangnam probably with Taeyang to make it look like Seungri and Ji Yong were here in Seoul  "looking" for her.

 

We ran into the police station, leaving the engine on and a door open, and asked for Ji Yong and Seungri. We all met in a conference room along with a policeman.

 

I stopped in the doorway, my eyes tearing up at the sight of Ji Yong and Seungri looking completely emotionally destroyed.

 

"Ji Yong."

 

He slowly raised his head and my own silent tears fell seeing that he was crying.

 

"Tell me you're wrong. Tell me it's not true."