EPISODE 6

27 February 2014

Incheon International Airport, 3pm KST

Chaerin and Jonghyun were scheduled to fly in at 3.45pm KST. Jiyong and Youngbae had convinced their manager to go and fetch Chaerin and Xin. Their manager, however, did not allow them to go into the main arrival hall to meet her. So, they were sitting in the van, feeling antsy. They kept checking their phones to see if she replied to any of their messages. Once every 5 minutes, they would take turns to call her to see if she had switched on her phone.

“Why is she taking so long? Her flight had already landed!”

“Well, we do not come out immediately after the plane landed. Give her 30 minutes.”

Youngbae was still the voice of reason. But inside, he was also anxious to see Chaerin again. To the both of them, each minute that passed was a minute that Chaerin was with Jonghyun and they didn’t like that. When they finally managed to get through to her phone, they called numerous times but she didn’t pick up their calls. That only made them even more anxious. They almost went out of the van a couple of times but only stopped because they saw the media. Since they had no business being at the airport, they had to curb their impatience.

During the flight, Chaerin and Jonghyun had decided that they would leave the airport separately. Jonghyun said he would go first to divert the media while Chaerin would leave by a different gate. While they had no qualms about being seen together since they had a legitimate reason to be, both of them were tired and wanted to get some rest. They had exchanged contact numbers and Jonghyun said jokingly that he was going to check on her every now and then. Chaerin shrugged and said she would be looking forward to his messages and phone calls.

“They are out of the immigration gate and should be out in the next 15 minutes.”

The boys’ manager relayed the message after he talked to Chaerin’s manager. He was a little nervous about Jiyong and Youngbae’s actions after they found out that Chaerin was on WGM. Their possessiveness over Chaerin had gone up by at least 10 times.

Upon hearing the latest information, the two of them moved to the side where they could see through the tinted windows. When they saw Jonghyun walking out, they tensed up, because they didn’t know what to expect. They were anxious to see Chaerin but not that anxious to see her together with Jonghyun. When their manager drove the van away, they protested.

“Hyung!! Where are we going?”

“Jonghyun just diverted the media so that Chaerin can come out in peace. She’s coming out from the other gate.”

Looking behind them, they saw Jonghyun flash his beautiful smile one last time before getting into his own manager’s car. After another 5 minutes, they drove off. But they could see that he was on the phone with someone when his manager’s car passed him.

“Here she comes.”

They turned their attention back to the doors. And the moment they saw Chaerin, the smiles automatically appeared on their faces. But when they saw that she was on the phone with someone, their smiles dropped a notch. Especially when they could see that whoever she was talking to was making her smile widely.

“It’s been a while since I last saw her smile. She looks so happy.”

“Right…”

Jiyong was totally distracted by the mere sight of Chaerin. He couldn’t take his eyes off her and literally watched her come all the way to the nanny van. His heart was beating faster as she slowly approached the nanny van. The moment the door opened, both Jiyong and Youngbae waited silently to see if she would be surprised.

“... Oppa, thank you again. I’d see you soon?”

When Jiyong and Youngbae heard ‘oppa’ and ‘thank you’, they had a smile on their faces, thinking that Chaerin was talking to them. The moment she said ‘I’d see you soon’, their smiles fell.

“... so I’d see you on the day of my concert? Are you planning a surprise for me?”

Chaerin had settled in her seat and she continued talking on the phone. Xin just got on the van and saw Jiyong and Youngbae at the back. He smirked when he saw the expressions on their faces. He waved his greeting and then sat beside Chaerin.

“... Alright then, I’d call you later. Oppa, you take care and I hope to meet Herongie soon~”

After she ended her phone conversation, she didn’t look away from the phone. However, a few minutes later, there was a notification from Instagram on Jiyong and Youngbae’s phones. They took their phone out and saw that it was because Chaerin updated her Instagram. They opened the app and when they saw the picture and the caption, they had to close their eyes and look away.

#MAGICAL

They looked at each other, as if asking if they should alert her to their presence. They were about to call her name when she looked down at her phone and a smile broke out on her face again. She began typing on her phone and once she was done, she didn’t put away her phone like she usually would.

When Jiyong and Youngbae refreshed their Instagram timeline, they saw that Jonghyun and Chaerin had both commented on the photo.

hjonghyun: @chaelin_cl Did you have a magical time?

chaelin_cl: @hjonghyun I did because I found a great magician~ ^^

Jiyong couldn’t hold himself back anymore.

“Lee Chaerin…”

Upon hearing her name being called, Chaerin turned to the back of the van and when she saw her 2 oppas, she grinned and moved to give them a quick hug. That made Jiyong and Youngbae feel better. However, after she sat down at her own seat, it was replaced by a puzzled frown.

“Jiyong oppa, Bae oppa, what are you guys doing here? Shouldn’t you be busy with your album or YG Family Concert? Have you guys had the meeting for the YG Family concert yet?”

“Why can’t we be here simply because we want to see you?”

“I’d see you guys around at the company anyway. Why do you need to make a trip to Incheon? Oh, did you guys just returned from somewhere? Can’t be since you were in Korea last night, right? Or were you here to send someone off, Jiyong oppa? I heard Kiko unnie was in Korea recently? Smart move to bring Bae oppa along~!”

“None of the above. We came because we missed you.”

“Oh?”

“You sound like you do not want us here so you can talk to your Jonghyun oppa.”

Jiyong said with a tinge of jealousy that went undetected by Chaerin.

“Not really, we chatted for a long time last night, making up plans for WGM recordings, and I’m going to see him again soon, so it’s alright that I don’t talk to him now. I am just surprised that you guys are here instead of at the company I guess.”

Seeing that Jiyong was about to burst from frustration, Youngbae quickly said something before Jiyong said something rash.

“Are you going to the company right now?”

“I have to go back and check on the progress of the rehearsals. The unnies and Minzy should have practiced for their solo stages. But we need to practice for the group songs.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

Chaerin smiled a mysterious smile, but all the oppas present could see that she was really happy.

“I am, but I won’t have given up the trip for rest. It was really magical.”

Before Youngbae could stop Jiyong, he said almost sarcastically, the jealousy was definitely more notable though Chaerin was still oblivious to it.

“You sound like you can’t wait to go for your WGM recordings.”

“Well, although I only had one for reference, but since I’m paired up with Jonghyun oppa, I believe that I would definitely enjoy my WGM recordings.”

“More than any collaborations with either of us?”

This time, even Youngbae couldn’t stop himself from asking what came to his mind immediately. Chaerin took a moment to think but the answer came quick enough.

“I don’t think it’s fair to compare. A collaboration with either you or Jiyong oppa would be mainly for the stage and we are trained to do well in that. But when it comes to WGM, it’s different.”

“Why is it different?”

“For one, it’s got nothing to do with music. Secondly, I do not feel pressured when I’m working with Jonghyun oppa. Oppa, you guys know how I didn’t like having the cameras on me when we were doing 2NE1TV but when we were filming WGM, it didn’t even feel like the cameras were on us.”

“So you are saying that Jonghyun puts you at ease?”

“He makes me feel like I can rely on him.”

“And we don’t?”

“Like I told Jonghyun oppa, with you guys, I feel like one of the boys. With him, I don’t feel the need to be strong and independent all the time.”

Thinking about the conversation she had with Jonghyun about warning her if she ever become whiny made her break out in a grin. Jiyong and Youngbae looked at her suspiciously.

“Why are you grinning like a cat who got her cream and ate it?”

“Because I am a cat who got her cream and ate it~ I just had the best birthday ever, I can grin like a satisfied cat if I want to~~ I told Jonghyun oppa that if I ever get too whiny, he has to tell me. I don’t think I like whiny me.”

Xin could sense the tension rising higher from the two Big Bang members and he decided to interrupt before they could say anything.

“But you do that all the time with me when you want something to be done for you.”

“Seungho oppa, admit it, sometimes you just do things on purpose so that I would do that. Is it some kind of game, to see me being whiny?”

“Oh yes, you don’t know how cute you look and sound when you do that. Not.”

Chaerin scrunched up her nose at Xin, who simply just pinched her nose to her annoyance. Jiyong and Youngbae were beyond pissed with what they had heard. The insecurity was fueling the annoyance and Jiyong was about to blow when Chaerin turned suddenly to look at him and gave him a smile.

“Jiyong oppa~ Let’s go for food now?! I’m hungry~ Buy me food~!!”

Jiyong was happy that she finally addressed him directly and that she was showing a bit of her aegyo but he decided not to show it. He sat back in his seat and looked at her.

“Now you want me to buy you food? Why don’t you ask your Jonghyun oppa to buy you food instead?”

“Because he has to go film his drama in an hour’s time. If not, I would have left with him just now.”

“YA! LEE CHAERIN!! YOU ARE COURTING TROUBLE RIGHT?!! IF YOU WERE TO BE SEEN WITH HIM, YOU WOULD PROBABLY APPEAR IN THE NEWS TONIGHT OR TOMORROW!!”

“Why are you shouting at me for?!! Fine, don’t buy me food. That meal I promised you for my birthday, say bye to it as well!”

Chaerin stuck out her tongue at Jiyong and turned away from them. Youngbae looked at Jiyong and lifted up his hands, asking him why did he do that. Jiyong just looked away, hating himself for saying what he did. But he was too prideful now to apologize. Youngbae looked at him and knew that if he didn’t step in, the two leaders would just continue their cold war till someone apologize.

“Chaerin ah, I’d buy you food, hmm?”

“It’s ok, Bae oppa, I’m not hungry anymore. I’m going to rest a bit before we arrive at the company. Thanks for taking the time to come fetch me but next time, don’t do it.”

“There won’t…”

Jiyong was stopped by Youngbae from finishing his sentence. Xin looked at Youngbae, then at Jiyong. He shook his head, thinking to himself this would probably be the first of many clashes that Jiyong and Chaerin were going to have. He didn’t know whether to look forward to it or not.

“Chaerin ah, don’t be angry. Your Jiyong oppa was just joking. What do you want to eat?”

Chaerin spared a quick glare in Jiyong’s way and stuck out her tongue at him. Then she turned to Youngbae and gave him her best smile.

“Bae oppa, you are the best, unlike Jiyong oppa! I want fried chicken! Can I have that? You know the fried chicken restaurant near our company? I want that.”

“Alright, I’d buy that for you. Do you want to eat at the restaurant or back at the company?”

“Hmmm… I think let’s do take-out and eat at the company. I need to check with Teddy oppa about the backup tracks for our concert. Then I have to practice my parts before the unnies and Minzy come for rehearsal.”

“Can we sit in for your practice?”

“Sure… But don’t you guys have something to busy yourself with?”

“Nope~ TOP hyung is still resting from his trip to Paris so we decided to push the recording to tomorrow. Seungri is off doing God-knows-what and Daesung is recording for his solo album. So, we are free.”

“Oh! Who is supervising Dae oppa’s recording? Teddy oppa? Maybe I’d pop by the recording studio and cheer him on~ Oh yes! Have you seen WINNER babies around in the company? I should check on them too.”

“What time is your practice with your members?”

“I told them to come at 9pm.”

“Isn’t that a little late? What time does practice usually end?”

“The unnies have something on before that. Since it’s a rehearsal, we are going to run real-time. Then we have to practice the bits that we didn’t get right. Hopefully it would end before 3am.”

“Aren’t you going to be tired?”

“I slept on the plane. I’m quite used to this timing by now. We start practice late tomorrow anyway so I would have time to catch up on some sleep.”

“No, Chae, you have the Maybelline shoot tomorrow.”

“Oh!! Thanks Seungho oppa, I almost forgot about that. There’s going to be media present too. So I have to be in my best condition.”

“Then why don’t you go back and rest now?”

“Bae oppa, I can’t do that. I left Korea without telling anyone and they continued practicing. So I should make up for lost time. It’s ok, I’d be fine. I’m still young, at least younger than all of you~”

“Lee Chaerin, you are such a brat sometimes!”

“I don’t usually show my bratty side to strangers. So, Jiyong oppa, since Bae oppa is buying me chicken, would you buy me some fizzy drinks?”

“Ya, Lee Chaerin, your concert is in 2 days and you have a photoshoot tomorrow and you are asking for fried chicken and fizzy drinks? Aren’t you afraid of looking fat in front of the cameras?”

At Xin’s reprimand, Chaerin pouted and frowned.

“But that’s the only meal I’m going to be eating.”

“You can’t skip meals!”

“So says the man who skips every other meal~ I’d snack when I get hungry. Ji oppa, you shouldn’t skip meals so often. You are skinnier than I am. I shouldn’t stand next to you in photos anymore.”

“I’m not skinnier than you!! You are just making excuses because you do not want to take photos with me anymore! Because now you have your Jonghyun oppa right?”

“Jonghyun oppa and I do look good in photos~ Do you want to see them?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Chaerin was already searching for the photo that was taken by the person in-charge of the hot-air balloon and when she found it, she showed it to Jiyong and Youngbae. Though they pretended to not pay any attention to the photo, they did see it. Jiyong’s first impulse was to take the phone from Chaerin and delete the photo. Just to distract himself, he decided to pay attention to something else instead.

“Chaerin ah, is the coat new? It looks amazing on you!”

Xin shook his head the moment the question was out. He looked out of the window to check how long more before they arrived at YGE. Unfortunately, they were still a good 30 minutes away.

“It’s gorgeous right? Jonghyun oppa bought it for me~ It’s my birthday present. I told him he shouldn’t have since everything that happened in Paris would be a difficult feat to match but he insisted I kept it. I love it so so so much!!”

The air froze. The glare from Jiyong and Youngbae’s eyes was sharp enough to cut diamonds and if anyone had been on the receiving end, they would have been dead. But Chaerin didn’t know that what she said had caused the two oppas to jump over the edge and continued to the coat with a broad smile on her face.

“Lee Chaerin, I’m warning you. Never wear that coat in front of me again or I would cut it all up.”

Chaerin knew that tone meant that he was pissed off but she couldn’t figure out why he was pissed off. So, instead of backing off, she stared at him straight in the eye. She was probably the only person who dared to stare at him when he was in this mood.

“Why? The coat has done no wrong and it looks amazing on me. If you dare touch it, I would cut up your Saint Laurent coat.”

Xin looked at Jiyong who looked like he was going to explode with his red face and knew he had to step in. He didn’t want to do it but he knew that if it continued, Jiyong would say things he would regret later.

“Jiyong ah, maybe your presents for Chaerin would be better than the coat. I have seen what you picked out at Chanel. She’s going to like all of it.”

“Oh~ Jiyong oppa, you got me gifts? How sweet~ Thanks! It’s really the thought that counts~”

Chaerin gave Jiyong her best smile and that softened the look in his eyes. The coat was still an eyesore to him but he was being honest when he said that the coat looked amazing on her.

I just have to give her a better gift.

The thought barely ran through his head when he heard Youngbae ask Chaerin a question.

“Chaerin, what do you want for your birthday?”

Jiyong turned to look at Youngbae and frowned because he knew that Youngbae had already prepared his gifts for Chaerin as well. Between the two of them, they pretty much bought her the entire F/W collection from Chanel.

“Bae oppa, I already said, I want fried chicken. Jiyong oppa can buy me the fizzy drinks.”

“But that’s barely a gift.”

“I have the two of you coming all the way to fetch me from the airport and going to buy me a meal, that is enough. I do appreciate the effort but I would rather you guys take the time to rest or recharge since your schedule is no better than mine. So, don’t do it again, otherwise I’d be angry. You put manager oppa in a difficult position too.”

"Then why did you pretend that you do not care if we are there or not?"

"Jiyong oppa, admit it, if I had even showed that I like this, you would do this again. And how are you going to explain if anyone asked? I do not want to be on the receiving end of unnecessary insults from your fans for taking up your time."

"It's my time and I would do whatever I want with it. Coming out here and getting to spend time with you like this is not a waste of time. So I don't care what other people say."

"Then do you care about my feelings? I would be worried if you do not get enough rest. So, really, don't do this again. I don't know what you did to convince manager oppa to bring you out here but never again ok? Promise me! You too, Bae oppa."

Chaerin looked at the two men and waited for them to say something. When they refused to say anything, she frowned but continued alternating her glare between the two of them.

“Jiyong oppa, Bae oppa…”

“Chaerin ah…”

“Not going to work, oppa, promise me now.”

“Ok, fine, we won’t go and fetch you from the airport ever again.”

“Good.”

“When is your next WGM recording?”

Chaerin shrugged, signalling that she really didn’t know but the thought that she would see Jonghyun soon enough put a smile on her face.

“I don’t know. Jonghyun oppa said that he’s coming for the concert but I don’t know if the WGM crew would come.”

“So he’s just coming for WGM’s sake and not really to see you?”

“Didn’t I just say that I do not know if WGM crew is coming with him?”

Chaerin was annoyed that Jiyong would say such a thing. She wanted to believe that Jonghyun was going to be at the concert because he wanted to see her. Suddenly, she sat up real straight in her seat and a frown appeared on her face but only to be replaced by a smirk. The 3 men saw the smirk and knew that something was up. They looked at each other and signaled each other to ask her. Finally, they did a quick, silent round of ‘Scissor, Paper, Stone’ and Xin had the unfortunate task of asking Chaerin.

“Lee Chaerin, I don’t like that smirk on your face. What do you have up your sleeves now?”

“Nothing~”

Chaerin said in a sing-song voice and just then her phone beeped. The moment she saw who it was, a soft smile appeared on her face. That got the 3 men looking at each other again. Jiyong nodded his head towards Xin and moved it towards Chaerin. He was asking Xin to check who was the one who sent the message to Chaerin.

“Was that your dad?”

“Hmmm, no…”

Chaerin wasn’t paying attention because another message just came in and this one got her laughing out loud.

“Is it Harin?”

“No…”

“Bommie noona?”

Chaerin turned towards the 3 guys and just shook her head, her attention once again taken away by the phone. She was tapping furiously on her phone, all the while with a broad smile on her face.

“Is it Jonghyun?”

She looked up, then just gave them an eye-smile. The 3 guys finally got their answer but it was definitely not what they wanted to hear.

“What does he want now?”

“Nothing, he just wanted to let me know that he has arrived at the filming location.”

“Then shouldn’t he go and prepare for his shoot instead of messaging you?”

“It’s not his turn yet. And he just arrived so he needs to get his make-up done.”

“Then why were you grinning like an idiot just now?”

Chaerin turned towards Jiyong and pouted.

“Ji oppa, why are you being mean and calling me an idiot? He was sending me his lines and I was replying because we practiced his lines on the plane.”

“You two sure were busy.”

“We were. We have so many things to talk about. I’m glad that my ‘hubby’ is Jonghyun oppa and not some random guy.”

Without knowing, Chaerin set off another landmine. When she said ‘hubby’, Jiyong and Youngbae’s minds were blown. They didn’t like how she was so comfortable with acknowledging their relationship, even if it was make-believe at this point. They know that when she’s comfortable with a guy, her skinship with the person would be very natural. They didn’t want to think about it but knowing that she was at a similar comfort level with Jonghyun as she was with them made them uneasy.

Very uneasy.

“Chaerin ah, can we go for any of your WGM recordings? I know they would always have the housewarming right? Would you invite us? And have you gotten your ‘home’ yet?”

“I told the PD that they could use my house if they want to. As for inviting you guys, I’m considering. Right now, no. I told Jonghyun oppa to invite his model friends.”

“Why? You would get high viewership if we go. Isn’t the whole purpose to get publicity?”

“Well, Woobin oppa is equally popular right now. I requested for Woobin oppa, maybe Soo Hyuk oppa too. And I wanted to meet more people from other areas too. Inviting you guys would be too predictable.”

When Xin heard Soo Hyuk was one of the people Chaerin wanted to invite, he unknowingly flinched. He really didn’t know how Soo Hyuk would react if he had to be at close quarters watching Jonghyun and Chaerin.

“But I might invite you guys to the wedding ceremony since you are considered my ‘family’ here in Seoul. Whether your schedules will allow for it or not, we are not sure yet.”

“A wedding ceremony? Is that necessary?”

“Bae oppa, it’s every girl’s romance to have a wedding ceremony. Even though Jonghyun oppa and I are already ‘married’ but I still want the wedding ceremony. Plus, it would be fun to do the wedding photo shoot and to look for a wedding dress together with Jonghyun oppa. I’m sure Bommie unnie, Dara unnie and Minzy would have fun too.”

“Are you going to kiss Jonghyun during the photoshoot?”

All turned towards Jiyong when they heard the question. Youngbae and Xin looked shell-shocked since they never thought of that. Chaerin frowned, giving serious consideration to the question.

“Chaerin, you are supposed to say ‘no’ in this situation.”

Jiyong’s tone was tense, like he was trying to hold himself back from shouting at her.

“But I can’t say for sure. We would probably have to since it’s a wedding photoshoot after all.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you have not been in a relationship before and this is just a show. There is no need to go all out. What if people say that you are an easy girl?”

“Oppa, you already said it’s a show. People would expect the kiss. After all, Jonghyun oppa already kissed me at the special stage in Paris. Now that you brought it up, I’d probably have to talk to Jonghyun oppa about it. If it’s just a kiss on the cheek, that should be fine but if we have to kiss on the lips…”

“You obviously didn’t hear me saying ‘no you can’t’ right?”

“I did but if it’s something that is required, I will do it. Ji oppa, why are you being all controlling? This is unlike you. You are usually quite cool about such things. Anyway, you probably won’t have time to watch the show. Just don’t watch it if you are not comfortable with it.”

“So you are going to do it?”

“If it’s required.”

Jiyong took a deep breath to calm himself down because he knew if he were to get into another clash with Chaerin, she’s going to ignore him and prevent him from going for her practices. That was not something he wanted. Right now, he just wanted to keep her in sight. But he knew her stint on WGM would drive him nuts.

“We’re here. Youngbae, you want me to go and get the chicken while you guys wait inside?”

“Manager oppa, I’m coming with you~ I want to go to the convenience store. Bae oppa, you want to come along with me?”

“Sure, I have to pay for the food right since it’s your birthday gift. Come, I’d buy you that fizzy drink too.”

“Bae oppa, YOU ARE THE BEST!!! Let’s go!”

Chaerin stretched her hand towards Youngbae and he clasped it tightly. Once he got up from his seat, Chaerin let go of his hand. After they got out of the nanny van, Chaerin hooked her arm with Youngbae and walked to the chicken restaurant, talking animatedly on their way. Jiyong looked at them through the window and sighed out loud.

“You’ve got to calm down, Ji. You know she doesn’t take it well when you tell her what to do, especially when it comes to work.”

“Seungho, she’s actually thinking about kissing Jonghyun and not just on the cheeks. How am I supposed to be able to calm down? I’m going to talk to YG about taking her out of the show.”

“Using what reason?

That caught Jiyong’s tongue. He wanted to say so many things but none of it could really be used as a real reason. Xin looked at Jiyong and he knew that this was going to be a difficult period as well as a test for all the oppas who are watching over Chaerin like a younger sister.

“It might be good for her to come into contact with other guys from outside of YGE. She needs the exposure that the show can give her and Jonghyun is a good guy. He won’t hurt her.”

“That’s the problem, Jonghyun is perfect. I don’t know, if someone were to ask me to introduce a guy I know to a girl, Jonghyun would be the one I would pick. But when it comes to Chaerin, I would rather not have to pick a guy for her. It’s just not something I have ever thought I would do.”

“Maybe you are just caught off-guard by the sudden news of her being in WGM. After a while, it might get better.”

“I don’t think so. She sounds like she might fall in love with Jonghyun and I don’t know why that notion scares the hell out of me.”

“You have to get used to it. One day, she is going to go into a relationship and there’s nothing you can do about it. All you oppas crowd around her, telling her she can’t do this and that. Let her go already.”

“Can you?”

“I…”

Xin was about to answer when Chaerin opened the door and got into the nanny van with Youngbae right behind her. She was holding an ice-cream cone in her hand and was it with a delightful smile on her face.

“Look at what Bae oppa bought for me!! I haven’t had ice-cream in a while!! Hwang-ssabu is going to KILL me but I LOVE ICE-CREAM!!”

“Chaerin kiddo, please sit down properly so we can go back now.”

Youngbae patted Chaerin’s head while calling her a kiddo. Chaerin did her blowfish face and Youngbae cupped her face and tried to push it back. She tried to move her face out from his hands.

“Stop calling me a ‘kiddo’, I’m already married!”

The smile dropped from Youngbae’s face. He let go of her face and then sat down in his seat. Jiyong took a look at Chaerin then at Youngbae and before he could stop himself, he said in a cold enough voice that was enough to chill everyone in the nanny van.

“Lee Chaerin, if you say you are married one more time, I’m going to hit Jonghyun. Believe me, I would do it.”

Chaerin was about to raise a protest when Xin caught hold of her hand and squeezed it. She bit her lower lip to prevent her from saying something she would regret. Luckily, they arrived at YGE then. Chaerin just got out of the nanny van and walked ahead without a backward glance. Xin followed after her but not before he told Jiyong and Youngbae to stay in the van. It would not do to have fans spotting them coming in with Chaerin. Xin caught up with Chaerin and got into the elevator with her. He could see that she was pissed off. Xin realized that she needed to know why Jiyong and Youngbae behaved the way they did.

“Chae ah, Jiyong…”

“Don’t mention his name.”

“Alright, I won’t mention their names but you really shouldn’t get into the habit of mentioning that you are ‘married’.”

“It was a joke! Goodness! Where did their sense of humor go?”

“Chae, you know how possessive these oppas of yours are. You went away without telling anyone and sneakily got ‘married’, of course they will behave in this manner. Not to mention, you behaving like you are really close to Jonghyun isn’t helping at all.”

“They do realize that one day, I am going to go into a relationship and get married for real right? And I am really quite close to Jonghyun oppa and we will become closer because I’m going to be spending a lot of time with him.”

“That’s exactly why they are behaving this way. They don’t even get to spend any time with you when you are in the same company. Instead, someone else is not only going to spend time with you, but actually has a legitimate reason to be seen with you on the streets, etc.”

“Whatever, these oppas are so frustrating!! ARGH!”

The elevator door opened to reveal Teddy standing outside. The moment Chaerin saw him, a wide grin was immediately on her face. But instead of returning the smile, Teddy stepped aside and crossed his arms. Looking at his stance, Chaerin couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

“Teddy oppa, please, not you too…”

“Lee Chaerin, as your producer, I have a right to know before you decide to take off without a word.”

“Oppa, I was on official schedule. If you’ve called Boss, he would have told you where I am. He gave his approval for appearing on the show and to go for this schedule. If you have a problem, take it up with him. I’m going to the studio now. Are all the background tracks recorded? Do I need to re-record anything?”

“Why did you agree to go on the show? It’s going to get crazy with the concerts and the comeback promotions.”

“Oppa, I can handle it. Don’t worry so much about me. Where are you off to?”

“I’m going to go grab a bite, do you want to come with me?”

“I…”

Chaerin was about to say she had food but she realized that her food was in the nanny van. She looked at Xin, as if asking him for help. He nodded his head and she gave him a broad grin in return.

“I changed my mind, Seungho oppa is the best!!”

“You brat! Changing your favourite every second.”

“Teddy oppa, I have food. Bae oppa bought me chicken and Xin oppa will now go get it for me.”

“Why didn’t you have it with you?”

“Jiyong oppa was being irritating and threatened to beat up Jonghyun oppa if I said I’m married in front of him. So I got out of the nanny van when we arrived. Let’s go and wait in the studio while Xin oppa go and get the food from the van.”

Without a second word, Chaerin turned and walked towards Teddy’s studio. When she was out of earshot, Teddy turned to Xin with a questioning look on his face.

“How come Jiyong and Bae were with her?”

“They went to the airport to pick her up. I was expecting something like that to happen since I have talked to Jiyong a couple of times while we were in Paris. They do not like it one bit that she’s on WGM, and having Jonghyun as the partner just made it worse.”

“Why? Jonghyun is a very nice guy from what I know.”

“He is, and that is the problem.”

The elevator dinged, signaling its arrival. Xin was going to say goodbye to Teddy and go get the food from the nanny van when Jiyong and Youngbae walked out of it with the food in hand.  

“Where is she?”

“She went to Teddy hyung’s studio.”

“Teddy hyung, is it ok if we go to your studio and eat?”

“Sure, I was heading out for a bite but Chaerin did say she has food.”

“Yup, we have got it covered. Even went to the cafeteria to get her favourite bean paste soup. Hopefully, she’s not mad anymore.”

“You know how she is, she doesn’t really hold a grudge. But you have definitely pissed her off.”

“I know.”

“Promise you are not going to mention anything to do with WGM, or Jonghyun.”

“Yes, I promise. I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Alright, let’s go then.”

The four guys walked towards Teddy’s studio. Both Jiyong and Youngbae told themselves to remain calm and not bring up WGM or Jonghyun in Chaerin’s presence again. They didn’t want to lose any of the time they could spend with her. Just as they were about to enter the studio, they turned to each other and patted each other’s back as a sign of support.

The moment they entered the studio, they could hear Chaerin laughing. The 4 guys looked at each other, with Xin having a sense of foreboding. He closed his eyes and shook his head when he heard Chaerin say “Jonghyun oppa”.

Jiyong and Youngbae stopped in their tracks. They took a minute to calm themselves down and remind themselves the more important thing was to be with Chaerin. When the guys walked into the studio and Chaerin caught sight of them, she first smiled at Xin and Teddy but showed a slight frown when she saw Jiyong and Youngbae. But she turned her attention back to her phone call.

“Jonghyun oppa, I’d call you later. Remember to eat!! Bye~~”

But just before Chaerin ended the call, she could hear a woman’s voice calling for Jonghyun. She recognized it as Seungyeon’s voice. While she knew that Jonghyun was acting with her, she didn’t realize that she wasn’t quite ready to hear another girl’s voice saying his name. The call ended and she stared at her phone for a second before Teddy called her.

“Chaerin ah, the food is here.”

“Yup, let’s eat then.”

Without another word, they started eating. Jiyong and Youngbae kept stealing glances at Chaerin but she was trying her best to ignore them. In fact, she was ignoring everyone and was in a world of her own. Jiyong nudged Xin and asked him to start a conversation with Chaerin. Xin gave him a frown but turned to Chaerin since the silence was getting unnerving for him as well.

“Chae ah, do you need me to pick you up tomorrow for the shoot with Maybelline?”

Chaerin didn’t hear the question or she wasn’t paying attention. She would eat a mouthful of chicken, then her mind will wander off. Xin reached over and touched her on her arm to get her attention. When Chaerin turned to him, Xin asked her without words if everything was alright. She gave him a quick smile and nodded.

“So, do you need me to pick you up tomorrow for the Maybelline shoot?”

Chaerin shook her head while biting into a piece of chicken.

“Then who’s bringing you to the shoot?”

“I’m probably going to stay at the company today, then go to the shoot from here. Manager oppa will send me. Do we need to pick you up from your place or are you going to meet us here?”

“Do you need company tonight? I can stay with you.”

“But you are equally tired. It’s ok. I would just stay here and get some songs written and all.”

“You want me to stay with you then? I can help you with the song writing?”

Jiyong chipped in, hoping that she would say yes.

“No, oppa, you probably have things to do and places to go. Don’t worry about me. It’s not the first time I have stayed over in the company, I’d be fine. Teddy oppa, can I listen to the album?”

“Chae ah, just focus on eating right now. It’s perfect already. There isn’t anything more we can do.”

“I’m full already. Let’s just listen to the album.”

“You barely ate anything. Eat more.”

“I’m ok, Bae oppa. I just needed to satisfy the craving for fried chicken. Thanks anyway.”

“Do you want to eat anything else?”

Chaerin shook her head and got up from her seat. She couldn’t quite explain the feeling that was suffocating her, but decided a walk might just clear her head. She needed to go see YG just to let him know that she was back.

“Teddy oppa, I’d be right back. I’m going to go see Boss. Jiyong oppa, Bae oppa, thanks for the meal and for picking me up. I’d see you soon.”

“We are sitting in for your practice and rehearsal later, did you forget about that?”

“Oh, right, then I’d see you in a bit.”

Chaerin left the studio, leaving the 4 oppas staring at her.

“Something is not quite right. She’s not usually this distracted. She totally forgot that she wanted to listen to the album and she didn’t even eat anything.”

Teddy voiced out his concern. It was quite obvious that Chaerin was distracted by something and he suspected it had something to do with the phone call with Jonghyun. But since he knew that just mentioning his name would be like setting off landmines, he steered his thoughts away from it and made a note to talk to Chaerin when they were alone.

Actually, all of them guessed that it had something to do with Jonghyun but no one was going to openly talk about it. They didn’t like how it was affecting Chaerin.

:)