Ah, I’m so happy noona stayed. I mentally smile, finally feeling comfortable again. I’m ecstatic that YoungBae hyung and Charlotte noona are finally together. Believe it or not, seeing them kiss brought tears to my eyes. They look so happy now; I hope they stay that way for a long time.

“So, what happened, boys?” YG-shi asks, anxiety in his eyes.

I see Seungri shake his head slowly.

“What does that mean?” YG-shi asks, staring at us in horror.

“We didn’t reach her in time, YG-shi.” I whisper.

Silence unfolds in the room as YG-shi stares at us. I see Jiyong hyung go behind Seungri and wrap his arms around his neck. Jiyong hyung bows his head down on Seungri’s shoulder, hiding his face from YG-shi. I can clearly see the amused smile on his face, but YG-shi can’t see it. I suppress a laugh coming up.

“So, where’s YoungBae?” YG-shi asks. He fell for it. Seungri bows his head down, trying to hide his grin. Seungri and I make eye contact, making me loose it. I look away from YG-shi’s direction and try to suppress my smile forming.

“He stayed out. Went for a walk.” Seunghyun hyung says, his voice a bit deeper than usual. Hyung sounds more convincing than any of us. A little too convincing…

Before I could take a look at hyung, the door burst open. Perfect timing. This time, I let my smile show.

“YG-shi! You would not believe how the flight went.” Charlotte noona rushes into the room, her eyes wide. Her hair is all messy, YoungBae hyung’s doing I bet. Charlotte steps in front of a very dumbfounded YG and starts telling him about how her flight sent her to some other place in Korea and back here, slipping into her role. I’ve got to hand noona some credit, I can see a bit of variety material in her “acting”.

Charlotte noona finishes her rant. She smiles widely. YoungBae hyung comes in at this time. He and noona share a loving look before hyung stands by me. He slings his arm around my shoulders and smiles. Finally I see you smiling, I thought.

YG-shi looks between all of us. A smile creeps onto his face. He stands up and goes around his desk to hug Charlotte.

“It’s nice to see you smiling again.” YG-shi says as he pulls away from her.

“It’s nice to see you upbeat again.” Noona replies.

YG-shi laughs. He looks at YoungBae hyung. He raises his eyebrow. YoungBae hyung stands next to Charlotte and holds her hand. It’s nice to see hyung be so at ease. He didn’t even hesitate. I see YG’s lips turn upwards as he eyes their entwined hands. But then he turns serious.

YG-shi clears his throat and looks at all of us. His gaze lasts longer on Seunghyun hyung.

“I have something to tell you guys.” YG-shi announces.

He meets my eyes and Seunghyun hyung’s. And that’s when I know what he’s about to announce.

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

[SPOV]

I guess it’s time to come clean.

“You guys better take a seat.” I say, my voice sounding hoarse. God, I need to get out of here soon. I don’t think I can bear it anymore. Seungri, Jiyong, and Daesung sit down on the couch while Charlotte takes the one seat and YoungBae sits on the armrest. I feel a slight stab as I watch the two share another emotion-filled glance. I sigh and look away. YG comes and stands next to me. I don’t even meet his eyes.

“There’s something I need to apologize about.” I say, looking down. I stuff my hands into my pockets. I look up and meet Charlotte and YoungBae’s curious looks. “I’m sorry if I’ve been acting…weird lately. I’m sorry that I caused all those problems between you two.”

“I’m sorry, too.” YG-shi quietly adds.

I see everyone’s eyes snap to him.

“You saw how Seunghyun has been acting these past few days, right?” Everyone nods except for Daesung and Charlotte who just stares. I forgot Daesung knows. Well, not really. YG only gave him the main plan; he didn’t give him the details.

“Well, Seunghyun only acted that way because I told him to.” YG says, his voice steady.

“What?” Jiyong says after a long silence.

“I made a plan with Seunghyun.” YG confesses. He smiles softly at YoungBae. “I saw how much YoungBae liked Charlotte.” Charlotte smiles widely at a shy YoungBae. “And I saw how interested Charlotte was in YoungBae.” Another shared smile between the two.

“I instantly approved of you two, but I then remembered YoungBae’s contract. And I can’t go against those rules; plus, YoungBae himself signed it. Being YoungBae, he would’ve probably went along with the contract despite his feelings for Charlotte.” YG smiles at YoungBae. “But, I wanted to see how much YoungBae liked her… So, I tested him.”

“He asked me to try and ‘steal’ Charlotte away from YoungBae.” I say, not looking at the two. “I guess it worked… for a while. YG saw how much YoungBae was hurting. And I swear we never wanted everything to go that far.” I finally look up and meet YoungBae’s eyes. “We just wanted to see how strong his feeling were and when we did, then YG-shi would’ve let you two date.”            

I reach up and rub the back of my neck. “I guess things got out of hand…”

Silence.

YoungBae stares into my eyes, as if searching for something else. I keep my guard up and return his stare. I can’t let YoungBae know. He’s not supposed to. Hell, no one is supposed to. I feel my sting. I really need to get out of here.

Jiyong jumps up from his seat.

“You got us, hyung.” Jiyong says quietly. I stare at him, alarmed. He isn’t mad, is he? Jiyong gives me a small smile, reassuring me. “YG-shi, I think you need to explain some things.”

Jiyong, Seungri, and Daesung crowd YG as he explains. I move out of the way and watch the other two. YoungBae was looking towards the wall, his eyes distant. Charlotte slips her hand through his and looks worriedly at him. I silently and painfully look at her face, how concerned she looks, how all the love is swimming in her eyes… how I wish that she looked at me like that.

I make my way towards them. YoungBae snaps back instantly and meets my gaze, a tired expression. He smiles weakly at me. He stands up and lets go of Charlotte’s hand. He extends his hand.

“I’m sorry, hyung. For hitting you, for making your life a living hell for the past few days.” He says quietly.

I smile. I take his hand and pull him in for a hug. I pat his back. As we pull away I say, “I apologize for everything I put you guys through. I did this for you two, YG’s plan I mean.” With a more faltering smile I add, “You two needed to be with each other.”

YoungBae smiles at Charlotte, hurting my heart yet making it race out of happiness for the two. Daesung calls Charlotte over. Once Charlotte was well out of hearing distance, YoungBae asks, “So, you really don’t like Charlotte in that way?”

I look at his hopeful figure.

“No,” I lie. “I don’t. I see her more as a friend or sister. Just like how the others see her. She’s really meant for you.”

I swear I hear my heart screaming at me for lying.

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

“Hyung! Where are you going?” Seungri shouts, smiling at me.

I return his smile, thankful that everybody has forgiven me. Charlotte has even forgiven me.

“I think I left my phone in our dorm. I’m going to get it.” I say as I step out of YG’s office. They called Teddy hyung in YG’s office to officially meet YoungBae’s first girlfriend. I chuckle. First girlfriend. YoungBae is practically glowing.

I’m happy for YoungBae and Charlotte. I really am. I happy to see both of them smiling and laughing along with the others again. I really hated seeing them unhappy.

But, it just hurts.

It hurts my heart to see Charlotte giving YoungBae those loving looks. Call me greedy or whatever, but I want that. I want her. I want that small tingle I get whenever she touches me. I didn’t even notice that until the airport, though. I really was too late. Seeing them kiss… It made me smile, but it also broke me in two. That’s the thing. I can’t understand anymore.

I fell in love with Charlotte.

I finally admit that, and it’s the damn truth. I love her. And seeing her with someone else isn’t easy. But I guess as long as she’s happy with YoungBae, then I think I can live. I know for a fact that YoungBae will treat her right. Just the way he looks at her gives off that devoted vibe. YoungBae loves her and Charlotte loves him. Even if they haven’t said it yet, it’s pretty obvious already. I guess you don’t need word with these two. I chuckle under my breath.

I’m trying to let her go, but it’s not easy. I really am in too deep. I think it’ll take awhile…

It’ll take years maybe.

But then I smile as I hear the cheerful laughter from the office.