I watch the sun rise up from the sky. Everything looks so peaceful, so calm. Something I haven’t been for days now. I check my watch. It’s 7:23 a.m. already. I think I should go back to the dorm. The others would be waking up by now. I stand up from the bench, my legs aching from sitting down for so long. I bring my arms up over my head and stretch. I make my way towards the YG building.

After a few minutes of running, I reach our floor. I pass by her place and knock on her door three times, still no answer. I sigh and scratch my head. This is driving me crazy…

I walk towards our dorm and open the door. I’m faced with all the guys in the living room. Seunghyun hyung and Jiyong are pacing while Seungri and Daesung are on the couch. All of their heads snap up and look in my direction.

“Good morning, guys.” I greet. “You’re all up early.”

Seunghyun hyung grunts, the only response I get from them. Silence fills the room. I take a few steps towards the hall. “Well, I’m just gonna go and take a—“

“Just a minute, YoungBae-ah,” Jiyong interrupts me. He waves me over. “We want to talk to you.”

----------------------------------

“What!” I shout as I shoot up from the couch. “That’s not possible! She can’t leave!”

“She can.” Jiyong murmurs, looking at me. “YG-shi let her go.”

I shake my head furiously. Charlotte can’t leave. She… can’t. She can’t leave me. I feel my heart starting to speed up. YG just lets her go.

“When is she…” I choke, feeling my throat constrict. “When is she leaving?” I ask, feeling my heart finally slowing down as if it’s dying.

Seunghyun hyung and Daesung share a glance. “Today is Wednesday, hyung.” Daesung whispers. Hyung sighs and meets my eyes.

“Tomorrow.” He murmurs, his voice low. “She’s gone by tomorrow.”

I feel the walls crashing down on me, suffocating me. She’s gone by tomorrow… I gasp, suddenly needing air; needing to breathe. She’s leaving; she’s leaving me. No!

I take a quick sharp intake of breath and dash out of our dorm. I distinctly hear the others calling after me, but the voices soon fade away as I get lost in my thoughts.

“She’s gone by tomorrow.” My mind whispers to me.

"YG let her go.”

“Tomorrow…”

I grip my head as I start sprinting towards her place. I grab the doorknob and turn it aggressively. I growl in frustration and start pounding on her door, wishing more than ever that I could break it down. I continue to pound on her door, not caring if I wake the whole damn world up. All I care about right now is Charlotte. And how she’s leaving me…

A hand on my shoulder stops me momentarily. I look over my shoulder and see Daesung dangling a set of keys between our faces. He gently pushes me aside and sticks the key into the doorknob. I impatiently wait while Daesung struggles with unlocking the door. Jiyong stands beside me and slings his arm around my shoulders. He gives me a weak smile.

Daesung finally opens the door and he quickly goes inside. I run inside and stop short once I see her luggage in the living room.

“Noona!” Daesung shouts, his voice echoing throughout the whole place. I wince. Does it really have to echo? It makes the room have an empty feel.

Jiyong and Seungri look through every room. I continue to stare silently at the suitcases in the middle of the living room floor. There’s only one suitcase there. I’m sure she had other stuff because we were the ones who brought all her stuff here. That must mean YG had someone ship her stuff back to the states. My heart stops beating a few seconds. Seeing that one suitcase all ready makes it more official. I mentally shake my head. I can’t think like that.

“YoungBae-ah.”

I turn my head and look at Jiyong. “I think we should all talk to YG-shi about Charlotte’s leaving.”

I slightly nod and look down the hall. At the corner of my eyes, I see Seunghyun hyung and Daesung share a glance. I turn my head and watch them. Seunghyun hyung stares at Daesung. Daesung shakes his head and sighs. Then he meets my eyes; I quickly look away and back down the hall.

“You guys go ahead. I want to check everything.” I mumble as I eye her bedroom door.

Seunghyun hyung leads Jiyong and Seungri out before they could protest. Daesung chooses to stay with me. He slaps me on my back and goes to sit on her couch, just looking out the window. I watch Daesung for a few more seconds before I turn and walk down the hall. I eye her bedroom door, but check the other rooms first. I’m scared of what I might find in her room. An empty place, another suitcase, folded clothes…

After a few moments, I’m faced with her bedroom door. I shakily grab the doorknob and turn it slowly. I open the door swiftly and look inside. I look left and right and take a step in. I quickly walk back out, not bothering to shut any of the doors. I can’t. I just can’t.

I jog back into the living room and see Daesung looking at his phone while muttering something.

“Daesung-ah.” I say. Daesung jumps in his seat. “Come on. I bet the others are waiting for us.” Daesung nods and rises up from the couch. I take one last glance at the lone luggage before we leave her place.

“Come on, hyung. Jiyong hyung says they’re already in YG-shi’s office.” Daesung pulls on my arm.

I silently close the door behind me while Daesung pulls me away.  

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[CPOV]           

“Noona, I can’t believe you would do something like this.”

I hold on to his arm. “Daesung, please.” I plead. “You don’t understand.”

He swiftly pulls his arm away and takes a few steps back. “Maybe I really don’t understand. So, why don’t you explain and make me understand?”

I open my mouth to reply, already knowing what to say. But my throat clogs up. I close my mouth, trying to breathe. Daesung narrows his eyes, misinterpreting my actions.

“I knew it.” He snaps. He takes more steps backwards until he finally turns around and runs away. I freeze in place, watching his retreating figure go. That’s all. That’s all of them. Even Daesung hates me.

My throat suddenly constricts, making me feel as if someone was strangling me. All the sounds fade away and my sight goes blurry. My senses die on me. I reach up and hold onto my throat, trying to breathe. I gasp for air until I collapse, my breathing going away completely…

“Stop!” I scream.

I sit up and my hands go straight for my neck. I softly hold my neck as I breathe heavily. I look around me, dazed and scared. I let go of my neck and place my hand over my heart, relieved to find that I’m still in the meadow. I look to the right and see the small stream leading to the waterfall. I fall back and lay on the grass. I look up at the sky. It’s bright and there’s not a cloud in sight.

I glance at my watch. It’s 9 a.m., my arm weakly falls back on the grass. I fell asleep. I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep. Hell, I wasn’t even supposed to close my eyes longer than three seconds. Because of that, I got another nightmare. This time, it’s about Daesung. Even if I fell asleep a little, I would dream about the boys. It started with YoungBae for hating me and it ends with Daesung getting mad. From YoungBae to Daesung, all the boys were mad, all of them hated me, all of them walked away…

I glance at my watch once more and sigh. I don’t want to go back to my place yet. I’ll stay in this meadow a little longer.

------------------------------

“Aishh!” I growl as I glance at my watch. I stand up from the grass. I almost fell asleep again. I angrily kick the grass, feeling really stupid. I rub my eyes and brush off the dirt from my jeans. I follow the small stream and push away the bushes. I look down at my feet, not wanting to fall. Between the trees, I finally see the small waterfall. I feel my lips curl up.

I walk over and kneel down. I bend down a little lower until I’m face to face with the water. I cup my hands in the water. I then splash it on my face. Ah, that feels good. I wash my face for a little while. I move away and straighten up.  I cross my legs and look down at the water, seeing my reflection. Man, I feel like hell, but I look fine. Well, except for the bags under my eyes and my hallow cheeks.

Nevertheless, I look okay. How is that?

I shake my head and stand up. I glance at my watch. It’s already 11 a.m. This is the longest I’ve ever stayed here. I think I should go back now. I need a shower. Cold water, yes. After feeling the nice cold water here, I think I need to relax. I’ve been tense all week.

I wave at the meadow before I go back. Yes, I wave the meadow goodbye. No, I’m not stupid, but maybe a little insane… I shake my head and go back down. I start running back to the YG building. I think it’s necessary to wave to the meadow. It could be the last time I’ll be there.

I get back in the YG building at exactly 12 in the afternoon. I took my time coming here this time. I leave tomorrow in the morning. I quickly go back to my place, not seeing anybody. I stop in my tracks as I eye my door. I look behind me and look down the hall. Their door is closed. I sigh. I pull out my keys. As I look for the right key in one hand, I place the other on the doorknob. That’s when I get a strange feeling. I turn the doorknob. It’s already unlocked… I swear I locked it on my way out. Nobody else has a spare key except…

I gasp as I drop my keys, the jingling sound echoing loudly in my ears. I push the door open and walk in the living room. Everything looks fine here, but I never opened the curtains. I nervously walk towards the window, looking left and right, expecting for someone to jump out. I quickly close the blinds and turn around. I press my back against the window. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to control my breathing.

I slowly open my eyes and shakily walk towards the hallway. I soon stumble back as I take it in. All the doors are open, even the rooms I don’t go into.

They were here.

I run back into the living room and shut the door, making a loud bang. I quickly lock the door. Then I remember that I dropped my keys outside. I bang my fist on the door. They were here; they went looking for me. I slide down until I fell the floor beneath me. Daesung is the only who has the spare key. That means he came here, that means the others came here. That means YoungBae came in here. If I came back a few hours ago, I would’ve seen them.

If they came here, that means they know I’m leaving.

I curl up in a ball, finally breaking down.