“No! I said it a million times already, I won’t go with you to that furniture exposition, and no, neither do I want to see a movie about the history of chairs with you! DAMMIT! Under no circumstances will I spend my night doing anything else except going to this date that I already told you about! I specially mentioned that TODAY I am going out with Ji Seok and that’s when you decide you want to do all these stupid activities with me all of a sudden?! What has gotten into you?!” Bom complained as she scolded T.O.P for his childish insistence. The guy has been persistently trying to tempt her into doing other activities with him, instead of going to the date, ever since he found out about it this morning, but his proposed activities unfortunately had absolutely no appeal for our love-struck girl in question.

T.O.P, although he was keeping it concealed, was just as annoyed as his interlocutor. He just couldn’t let Bom meet with that guy again, and yet he was out of resources to try and convince her to do otherwise.

Little do you know that this is precisely the only day when I will ever ask you to do things together. I can’t believe she only told me this morning about this stupid date. I would’ve prepared better if I knew in advance and I would’ve made up a plan to stop it! Now I have to convince her with this bull. UGH

T.O.P thought to himself and proceeded with the pleadings:

“Come oooon, it will be fuuuuuuuunn! You can’t blame me for wanting to share my interests with you! I want to give you the wonderful gift of friendship! How can you refuse one’s friendship like that!?! All I wanna do is spend some quality time with you, I am giving you my heart and my soul here –”

“YOU CAN TAKE THE GIFT OF FRIENDSHIP AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR . I NEED TO GO AND GET READY FOR MY DATE OR ELSE I AM GOING TO BE LATE. SO LEAVE ME THE ALONE AND GET OUT OF MYY WAY!” Bom had had enough of Seunghyun’s whinings so she shoved him aside and rushed towards the exit of the building.

“WAIT WAIT WAIT!”

“WHAT!?”

T.O.P looked around in panic, trying to find another good reason to prolong the conversation. He couldn’t let her go. He didn’t even know the location of the date. He had to follow her somehow.

“I can give you a ride! YES! I mean my driver can give you a ride! You say you are running late, right?! We can share a car! I’ll drop you off so you don’t have to waste time trying to find another available chauffer!”

Bom took a second to ponder over the proposition. She was quite surprised to hear something useful come out of Seunghyun’s mouth so she thought ‘the heck with it’, why not accept and make use of the offer.

“Uhm, ok, sure, if you say it’s ok . . . I really am going to be late . . .”

“YES, YES, PERFECT! Come on, he is just outside, let’s go! So where are we going? Another restaurant or again at Uncle’s Kim?”

“What, no, just drop me off at my house, I need to go home and change first. By the way how the heck did you know that we were going to Uncle Kim’s that night?!”

“I told you, I am very good friends with ahjussi! We are BFFs!”

 

____________________________________________

 

“Ok, so thanks for the ride! Good-Bye!” Bom opened the car’s door and was about to step foot outside when T.O.P’s hand suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“WAIT!” T.O.P exclaimed, in a shrieking voice.

Much to Bommie’s delight, he was completely silent the whole trip, his mind desperately trying to come up with a plan to stop this date from happening. But unfortunately, he was running low on ideas today. However he had to figure out something somehow and most importantly he had to keep an eye on Bom at least. She was putting herself in a dangerous situation, meeting up with a very dangerous man, and even though T.O.P couldn’t tell her anything about it, even though he received countless threats not to intervene, his heart just couldn’t let him throw Bom to the wolves.

“Uhm, can I come inside with you?” he found himself asking, trying to buy himself some more time.

“WHAT?! WHY?!” Bommie was outraged just at the mere thought.

“Uhmmm, uhmm . . . I really need to go to the bathroom!” His mind came up with a lame excuse.

Bom raised one brow in suspicion, realizing that for some unknown, imbecile reason T.O.P was just lying to try and get his way inside her house with her.

“No, you can’t” she firmly refused.

“WHAT? WHY? I really need to go! You can’t be so mean to stop a man from fulfilling his biological needs!” Seunghyun was now mimicking some uncomfortable ‘holding the pee in’ gestures with his hands.

“You can’t come, uhm, because . . . because the toilet is broken!” Bom lied through her teeth just to get rid of her annoying buddy.

“Oh really?” T.O.P’s voice was filled with disappointed. However it took him no more than one second to come up with a solution: “NO PROBLEM THEN! I CAN COME IN AND REPAIR IT!”

“UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Bom screamed in frustration, got out of the car and closed the door with a bang.

“Just wait here, ok?” Seunghyun told the driver and got out too, quick to follow the girl.

Bom stomped her way to the entrance while violently rummaging through her bag for her keys.

After she opened the door and both of them entered, Bommie scoffed and asked Seunghyun with a sarcastic tone:

“You do realize there is no broken toilet right?”

“Oh really? Maan, just this morning I woke up and told myself !” he answered with an equally ironic voice.

“You are such a weirdo. I just don’t understand why you wanted to come inside so badly. It sure wasn’t for peeing.”

“I like spending time with you! That’s all. That’s what friends do, right?!”

“I swear to god if I hear the word friend or friendship one more time I am going to deport you to Sesame Street where you belong! So you are here now, ok? You got what you wanted. Just sit here quietly and don’t touch anything. I’ll go change and get ready.”

Seunghyun eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Change? Are you dressing up for the occasion? I can help you choose your outfit! This is going to be fun! Don’t you want a man’s opinion, since you have me here already?”

“I don’t have you here by my choice, but sure, whatever, I’ll show you some options and you can tell me which one you like better. I really have no idea what to wear this time anyway . . .”

 

____________________________________________

 

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! THIS IS HORRIBLE!”

.

.

.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This color looks AWFUL on you!”

.

.

.

“NO WAY! This one is shorter than the last one! And the last one was DANGEROUSLY short!”

.

.

.

“This one may be longer, but that cleavage is WAY too deep! You don’t want to come out as being ty, right?”

 

T.O.P had been non-stop rejecting every single dress that Bom has been showing to him. He was of course trying to make the girl be late for the date and he was determined to refuse every single piece of her wardrobe if this was what it took. The reasons he had were mostly made up, it’s not like he actually had much of an opinion about women clothes. Besides that, in his opinion, Bom looked great in anything, if he was being honest. However, he did truthfully feel very strong about one aspect of her choices: they were indeed very revealing. Short mini dresses, tight, body-hugging designs or deep cleavages, he was simply scandalized at the thought of Bom showing up in front of that bastard like that. He could see how his eyes would be burning every inch of her skin and he was simply disgusted.

She must be crazy if she thinks I’ll ever let her get out of this house like this! Man will be man! Does she has no idea what power her perfect body can have over us?!

Bom on the other hand was fuming with anger at this point. She had taken lightly the first couple of refusals, thinking that Seunghyun was surprisingly taking this very seriously, but after he had bluntly rejected three-quarters of her wardrobe, she had to draw the line.

“WHAT THE HELL?! You just flat out discarded all my clothes! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM?!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault all your dresses end only one inch bellow your , missy!”

“Hey it’s not my fault I have nice legs, ok?”

“You don’t only display the legs, though! Your cleavage is all out, and everything it’s just so tight on you! You can just as well go directly !”

Bom gasped in shock.

“So that’s the problem?! My clothes are too provocative? Am I ‘asking for it’?!?!”

“Yea that’s exactly my point, I can’t believe you only now realized it. I also can’t believe I only now realized it. You’ve been walking around in tight mini dressed ever since I’ve known you and I only now noticed how short they actually are. How do you even perform in these things without flashing everybody –“

Bom interrupted the clueless man and went ballistic:

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY SAYING WOMEN ARE TOO Y AND NEED TO COVER UP BECAUSE YOU, MEN, CAN’T KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS?! I am sorry to announce you that I CAN WEAR WHATEVER THE HECK I WANT and when I want to look and feel y I DO IT FOR MYSELF and not for any of you, deranged fiend jerks!”

Bommie ranted while pushing a stupefied Seunghyun out of her bedroom.

“NOW GET THE OUT AND LET ME GET DRESSED!”

 

____________________________________________

 

Seunghyun waited obediently in the living room, sitting still on the couch and staring into the void. He was actually sorry for coming out the wrong way in front of Bom. He didn’t mean it like that, but Bom was actually really too y for what he was trying to prevent. He didn’t want Ji Seok to have anything at all to do with her, yet he knew that if Ji Seok ever saw her like that he will be even more determined to date her and have her, even more than he already made it clear that he was. She was truly an eye-catching, mesmerising lady.

Lost in his thought, sitting silently on the couch, T.O.P was suddenly interrupted when Bom entered the room, dressed up and ready to leave for her date.

T.O.P lifted his gaze and was instantly awe-struck.

Bom was dressed in a black, close-fitting, shiny leather dress that was showing off every curve of her body. Her long legs were on full display, her white, silky, bare skin standing out in contrast to the black hem of the skirt. On her shoulders she bared a lush fur shawl.

Seunghyun remained speechless as he took a minute to admire her. His eyes wondered around her body, not being able to comprehend everything all at once.

Bommie snickered when he saw his dumbfounded reaction:

“What happened? Cat ate your tongue?”

“You – you look very good” T.O.P managed to babble incoherently.

“Thank you” She smiled superiorly. “Told you I can dress however I want and I can do it very well too, as you see.” Of course Bom deliberately chose the iest, most revealing dress she had in her wardrobe, after the little argument she had with Seunghyun, just so she can prove him wrong.

Bom grabbed her purse in a hurry and was ready to go.

“Now, If you’ll excuse me, I already talked with my driver so I’ve got a ride, you can go home now too.”

“Uhm, yea, sure. I’ll go. Uhm, have fun.”

“Thank you.” Bom stared at T.O.P, who was still staring at her. “NOW GO!”

 

____________________________________________

 

Seunghyun entered his chauffeur’s car and stared through the window at Bom, waiting for her to lock her door and get inside her car. She turned around and furiously gestured towards T.O.P that he must leave, to which T.O.P responded with a cheeky smile, a nod and an energetic wave.

When she eventually entered the car, Seunghyun finally spoke to his driver, who had been silently and patiently waiting for his wacky boss’ instructions.

“Follow that car.” Were the only words that came out of T.O.P’s mouth and the chauffer needed not to ask anything more.

 

____________________________________________

 

My stupid twin is out of his freaking mind! Where the is he?!?! How can he just disappear like this, for so long, without even giving me any updates, any news? Nothing! People will soon sense something is weird. I mean, for god’s sake, I can’t ‘presumably’ be sick forever. What if people start thinking I have a serious illness! Or the other way around, they’ll think that I am actually not sick at all and I just want to skip work! I mean, I am in fact not actually sick BUT I AM NOT THE ONE SKIPPING WORK. My brother will get me in so much trouble! WHERE IS HE?!

Needless to say, Young Deuk was a bundle of nerves. The time was passing by quickly and he hadn’t heard anything from his brother ever since he left for his fun-trip with Kurri. Deuk had of course been leaving him countless calls and text, to which he got no reply.

Before Don left however, he cunningly took care of all the details and, for example, he switched his phone with his brother. Like this, all the people who had business with Don would naturally reach Deuk instead. The personality transfer needed to be complete. It was fascinating how meticulous Don could be with the matters that interested him, for what a reckless prick he actually usually was.

So Deukkie was hopelessly holding Don’s phone in his hands and staring at it. He had to somehow reach his brother and make his stupid come back home, before he got in trouble.

“Oh, good, I see you already got your phone ready!” A cheery Minzy appeared from behind and greeted the grim-looking boy.

“Hi Minzy” he greeted back and started cussing at his brother in his mind again.

Of course the situation as it was already, but what truthfully bothered Deuk the most was the fact that he had to be in Minzy’s close proximity so often. Well, not really, he actually was thrilled to spend so much time with her. But what was horrendous was the fact that he had to spend time with her while pretending he chased another girl, pretending to need Minzy’s help in doing so. Really, all this pretending was in itself a burden, lying to Minzy was just completely wrong and Deuk knew it too.

So here he was again, lying, doing it right now.

They agreed, at Minzy’s suggestion of course, to meet again and further continue their ‘dating lessons’. This time around it was even more of a practical lesson, Minzy intended to actually show Deuk how to call Sora and ask her out. Hence, the use of the phone.

“So, are you excited? We are getting real in here, it’s so close to happening, right!”

“Oh, yea, I am thrilled!” Deukkie forcefully smiled.

“So come on, call me, I’ll answer and pretend I am Sora! I’ll be just in the next room so we can’t hear each other.” Minzy said as she plucked her phone out and walked towards the door.

“WHAT!? NOW!? CALL YOU?!”

Deukkie’s heart skipped a bit when he realized what he was supposed to do. First of all, he hated phone-calls. He always went out of his way to avoid answering or making any phone-calls, as he always had a stupid jittery feeling in his stomach whenever he had to do so. That was one of his many socially-awkward flaws that came with his introverted personality. And second of all, this wasn’t just your regular sort of call. This time around, it was Minzy that was going to answer. And he had to freakin ask her out, the one and only thing that stood at the top of his fear list. It also happened to be at the top of his wish-list, but the fear of rejection and failure was always stronger.

So the combination of a phone call + Minzy + asking on a date was just a really unfortunate one.

“Yea dummy, I told you, I’ll be Sora, just call me in one minute on my phone!” And just like that, Minzy skipped away in the other room.

With a shaking hand, Deuk started searching for Minzy’s number in his brother’s contacts-list. He involuntarily jumped when he found it, frowning in disapproval at the unusual sight of her name followed by a bunch of emoticons.

My brother has the audacity to just randomly put such childish emoticons next to her pretty name!? They aren’t even that close! Don didn’t even put anything next to MY contact! AND I AM HIS DAMN BROTHER!

Deukkie was particularly bothered with this because he remembered how many countless times he had stared at Minzy’s pristine contact name from his own phone, with the wish to dial it but without ever daring to do so. Meanwhile his brother was so comfortable with it that he even had fun and put freaking emoticons next to it.

It’s now or never Deuk! Come on, it’s not even the real deal! Let’s just dial the damn number!

And just like that, the boy finally dialed her number.

“Yeoboseyo?” Minzy answered after only one ringing tone, as she was clearly expecting the call, of course.

“…”

“Yeoboseyo? Sora here.” She tried again.

“…”

Yong Deuk couldn’t even crack a single word. It was just too much to hear Minzy’s beautiful voice resonate so intimately into his ear. He was petrified.

“You do know you actually have to say something, or else she will think you’re pranking her or something.”

Deukkie eventually snapped out of it:

“Oh, uhm, yes, yes, of course, sorry, let me try again.”

“Ok!”

Deuk hung up, waited a moment and called again.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Hello . . . Minzy? – I MEAN – Sora?! !” Deuk face palmed himself. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to curse either! . . . “

Minzy giggled. “It’s ok, try again!”

Yong Deuk hung up again. He took a deep breath.

Get your together! DAMMIT

He pressed the call button yet again.

“Yeobose – ”

“HELLO SORA. This is YONG DON!” he cut the girl off with a determined tone.

“Oh, hi Donnie! How are you?”

“Well I am actually great, just because I am talking to you right now.” Deuk just blurted this very sincere confession to Minzy, before he could actually think about what he just said.

Fortunately for him, his words had a very positive reaction, fitting perfectly with the mimicked situation:

“Oh my! You are so sweet!”

It was a good thing Minzy was in another room at this point, and this conversation wasn’t happening face to face, because right now Yong Deuk could swear he was blushing.

“So, what’s up Don? What can I do for you?”

Deuk gulped.

“Well, uhm . . . I wanted to – to ask you – to ask you out . . .”

Minzy started whispering some advice to him at this point:

“Where to? Be specific. You need to suggest a location, think about a fun activity!”

“Uhm, where would YOU like to go to a date then?” Deuk whispered back shyly.

“Me? Probably something a little unusual, hmmm. It may seem childish, but I think something simple, like a night picnic and stargazing would be lovely, for example.”

“I LOVE watching the sky at night! It’s so fascinating!” Deukkie gushed over Minzy’s great suggestion.

“I know, right! It’s amazing!” she cheerfully agreed. “I think Sora will like it too. It’s a good idea!”

Deukie’s face suddenly darkened when he heard the mentioning of Sora’s name. He completely forgot this was about her. He was just so happy to find out he and Minzy liked the same silly thing like that.

“Oh, right. Sora might like it, right?” he asked, trying to seem genuinely concerned.

“Yea. Maybe just suggest a night picnic and mention that at night the sky and surroundings are prettier. It’s pretty unusual, so just test the grounds at first, ok? Though I am sure she will say yes. I myself totally would!”

Deukie smiled to himself. Even if it was completely fake, the prospect of Minzy accepting a date with him was simply ecstatic.

“Great then. Thank you for your help, Minzy.”

Deukie didn’t get a reply though, because the girl apparently hung up. However, she immediately jumped through the doorway inside near him, to deliver the response in person:

“My pleasure!” she fondly smiled.

She then proceeded to go to Deukkie and grab his phone out of his hands.

“I wanna make sure you have Sora’s number correctly saved.” She started looking through the contacts. “You have to call and ask her out by the end of this week, ok? We have a deal.”

“Oh, uhm, yea, ok” Deukie agreed, but he was of course planning to never ever call. He would just find an excuse to delay it until his stupid twin returned and then he could deal with it instead.

Minzy then handed the phone back to Yong Deuk.

“Here you go. The number is correct. You have to call, ok? I’ll see you around, I have to go now. Bye bye!”

“Bye Minzy!” the boy waved back at girl.

Left in a mix of euphoria, anxiety and frustration, Deukie had only one thing on his mind. His brother needed to come back ASAP so he could end this awkward situation and maybe actually, for the first time ever, take action and do something about his feelings for Minzy.

He was finally gathering up some courage. Funnily enough, Minzy’s instructing sessions were in fact really helping Deukkie. It was just that Minzy was in reality actually unknowingly orchestrating her own dating future.

However Yong Deuk still had become himself again and get out of his twin’s skin before he could actually do something. And this problem was pushing him into despair.

He hastily tried to call his brother yet again, for the hundredth time, hoping that a miracle would happen this time and maybe he could get to him.

However it still came as a total shock when somebody actually did pick up the phone on the other side.

Without further hesitation, Yong Deuk started to rant and rave like never before:

“ARE YOU STUPID?! ARE YOU STUPID OR ARE YOU AN IMBECILE?! MAYBE YOU ARE JUST PLAINLY RETARDED. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? WHY DID GOD CURSE ME WITH SUCH A JERK OF A BROTHER? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO – “

“Excuse me . . . “ a shy female voice interrupted him.

Perplexed by the unexpected reply, Deukie immediately looked at the screen of his phone to check who he was talking to. To his utter horror, instead of dialing his brother, Deukkie managed to call Sora instead. He remembered that Minzy searched for her number before and realized he must have clumsily pressed her name as a result.

CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! What do I do know?! Just when I said I was never going to call her! KARMA IS A

Deuk was downright over panicking, not knowing what to do.

“Sora? Oh my god I didn’t know it was you! I am so sorry, I thought it was my brother! I must have called you by accident. . .”

“Donnie? Oh, no problem. I figured that out quite quickly . . . But, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so angry with your brother?” Sora asked, genuinely concerned.

“BECAUSE HE IS A DAMN JERK THAT’S WHY –“

“But wasn’t he sick?! I thought he must be feeling very bad since he has to stay at home for so long . . .” the girl was horrified by the seemingly inhumane brotherly relationship that was unfolding before her.

Deukie only then cooled off his anger and became sensible again, realizing that his brother in question was actually himself.

“Oh my god YES, no – I mean – he . . . HA, HA! It’s nothing actually, that’s just how we fool around and talk with each other! I always call him a jerk! OF COURSE he is sick! VERY SICK! I actually need to go and take care of him now – “

“Actually, Donnie, since you called me now anyway . . . I’ve been meaning to ask you something for quite some time . . .” Sora wavered, interrupting Deukie who was only wishing to end the conversation faster.

“Oh, ok. What is it then?”

“Well, Donnie, would you like to, uhm, would you go on a date with me? . . .”

WHAT?! YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME

Deuk’s jaw hit the floor. Within the amazingly short span of 5 minutes he managed to do the only thing he specifically told himself he would never let happen: he got a date with Sora. He didn’t even have to ask her, because he was instead the one who got asked out. Life was basically playing a practical joke on him.

The long silent break was making Sora very anxious. She asked with a shy, quivering voice:

“You don’t even have to answer if you don’t want to, I am sorry I asked you. Just forget about it – “

“Yes, I’d love to go out with you.” Deuk eventually spoke. Seeing how nervous and disappointed the girl suddenly became, he just couldn’t bring himself to let her down. After all, he knew very well the pain and turmoil of not knowing if the person you like even likes you back. She proved to be very courageous in asking her crush out, a thing he was himself to much of a chicken to do. He agreed impulsively, wanting to soothe her anxiety but knowing that he would however regret his decision later.

“Oh, really!!?? Great then!” Sora’s voice was instantly cheerful again.

“Yea, so, Sora, I actually really have to leave now. My, uhm, brother is waiting. But I’ll talk to you later. Good bye!”

“Ok! I hope Deuk gets well soon! Good bye!”

I hope Deuk gets well very soon too!

The boy told himself as he hung up.

I swear to god I am going to KILL my brother when he comes back

Deukkie then proceeded to write a long and angry message to his brother, taking special care to send it to the right person this time around.\

 

____________________________________________

 

Bom clenched her fancy fur shawl closer around her shoulders, in a useless attempt to try and get warmer. A freezing breeze was constantly hitting her body as it blew from one side, making her shiver in coldness.

She was standing in front of Myeongseong club, Ji Seok’s club of course, that contrary to her expectations, tonight was completely closed up, silent and in total darkness. When she arrived and got out of her chauffer’s car, she instantly thought to herself that this was a weird sight, knowing how on a week-end night like tonight the club would always be bustling with people. Things got even weirder when she tried to push the entrance door and instead realized that it was locked. At first she didn’t think much, she assumed that Ji Seok maybe just wanted to spend a private evening with her (which if she was being honest was always what she would have preferred, rather than a noisy, crowded evening in a busy club). And then maybe Ji Seok didn’t arrived yet, she should just be patient.

And so was she. She waited for 15 minutes and then decided to call Ji Seok. She called him 3 times already but to no avail, nobody picked up. Another 15 minutes passed by already and still no news.

He must be busy. Something must’ve come up. I am sure he will call me back soon and explain everything. Bom thought to herself, trying to stay hopeful.

Just that he didn’t call back. It was coming close to an hour of waiting for Bom. She had been waiting around alone, on the empty sidewalk, in front of the deserted building, in the depth of a very cold and dark night.

What happened?! He didn’t even give me a message to let me know something came up. There must be a problem, right? He couldn’t have just forgotten, right? Aiishhhh, why is it so cold tonight?! Bom shivered. And my feet are killing me in these heels. I can’t believe I didn’t take a warmer jacket. I’m going to freeze to death soon.

Bommie rubbed her cold hands together and checked her phone again, for the hundredth time that night. Nothing.

Suddenly, she felt a tiny droplet of cold liquid hit her face. Bom looked up toward the sky, only to see how millions of sparkling raindrops started falling down all around her.

OH GREAT!!! NOW IT STARTED RAINING! What a wonderful night! Why can’t I ever have things turn out the way I want them?! Am I asking for too much?! I don’t wish for a knight in shining armor! I just wanted to spend a nice evening in the company of a nice date! Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I just don’t deserve nice things . . .

Before she could try and comprehend her emotions, her eyes suddenly became watery and tears started running down her face. She didn’t react in any way, her body frozen on the spot while the rain only got heavier, pouring down and soaking every inch of her shivering body.

 

____________________________________________

 

What is this crazy woman doing?! What is she waiting for, alone, in the freezing night, at a late hour, in the middle of an empty street? Why isn’t she just going home?! That jerk must have stood her up. I just can’t believe this!

T.O.P whispered to himself as he watched over Bom’s dark figure, shivering on the asphalt. He had his driver follow her and then instructed him to park the car around a shady corner, where he could see Bom, but where they couldn’t be seen. T.O.P intended to find a way to interrupt the date and monitor it once again, just like he did last time, but this time around it seemed like he didn’t even had to go to such lengths.

Bom didn’t even enter the club, she just waited around in front. So Seunghyun had instead just been watching her from his car all this time.

He was starting to think it was a good idea to just leave, he figured Ji Seok wouldn’t even show up at all if he hadn’t done it up until now, and Bom was surely going to realize that and leave soon too.

But Seunghyun couldn’t just bring himself to leave Bom there alone, so he stuck around until now. And now it just started raining.

Oh come on, now she has to leave! Look at it pour! It’s raining buckets!

T.O.P casted one more look at Bom and he suddenly changed his expression into a serious look. He frowned, trying to determine whether he really was seeing tears tumbling down her cheeks, or whether there were just raindrops. He didn’t wait any longer to find out, he just immediately jumped out of the car and started running to Bom through the pouring rain.

 

____________________________________________

 

Bom lifted her gaze and came across Seunghyun’s figure, running towards her. He reached her in an instant.

“Seunghyun? What are you doing here?” she asked with a cracked voice.

“I am saving your freezing from getting pneumonia and hypothermia, that’s what I am doing.” T.O.P took off his jacket and wrapped it around Bom. “Why are you outside in this weather? Do you have a death-wish?! I told you not to go out so scantily dressed!”

“I – I . . . I was just waiting for –“ Bom mumbled.

“It’s ok, come on, let’s get you out of here. My driver will take you home, ok?”

“Th – thank you”

Seunghyun lead the freezing girl safely to the car.

 

____________________________________________

 

“Oh my god it’s raining cat and dogs outside, isn’t it?”

“Mhm”

“I didn’t bring an umbrella. I hope it will stop till the morning, when I leave.”

“Mhm”

“Are you even listening?” Dara snapped at Jiyong, who seemed to be lost in his work on the computer.

“Mhm” was the only answer she received, once again.

It was another night Dara and Jiyong were spending together, in his tiny recording studio. Well, ‘together’ might be an overstatement, they weren’t really interacting much, because Dara was most of the times just talking to herself, and finding other ways of amusing herself until she fell asleep on the couch in the corner, while Jiyong worked the night away.

“What are even doing? Are you still working on that same song? You’ve been stuck here for a couple of days already.” She peeked over his shoulders at the screen.

“Yea, thanks for reminding me that I am growing old and losing my talent.” Jiyong scoffed. “It’s the remake of lollipop. You know how YG suggested it would be a good idea to revive the song, right? Well I actually got really excited about it, but now it seems like I have no inspiration on what to do with it.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that, you can’t just lose something like this. Did you forget who you are? How many hundreds of songs did G-Dragon compose? And great songs if I may add! I can bet there are just as many more there where those came from!”

“Yea, sure . . . Sometimes I just think that it’s quite on the contrary, there’s only a limited number of things one can create and I am close to my limit . . .” GD bitterly remarked.

“No way!” to which Dara protested. “I know what I am saying! Creativity is limitless! Don’t worry, I know you’ll figure it out!”

Jiyong eventually cracked a smile. He had to admit it, in moments like this, it was nice to have somebody around, reminding him of how far he can go, instead of sitting alone in his studio and racking his brains for inspiration until he hated himself for not being good enough.

Dara fondly smiled back at him.

This warm, cozy moment was however abruptly interrupted: all the lights in the room had suddenly gone out, leaving the pair in a deep, complete and confusing darkness.

“Hey! What’s going on? Dammit, I hope my work autosaved! What is this? Another blackout?” Jiyong asked, while waiting for his eyes to adapt to the darkness.

“It seems so. It’s probably because of the rain.” A thunder hit outside just then, lighting up the room for a slit second.

“It’s raining?!” Jiyong asked, genuinely shocked and clueless.

“Are you kidding me? I just told you that two minutes ago! . . . Ugh, why do I even bother?” Dara sighed.

Jiyong stood up and started fumbling in the dark for his crutches.

“What are doing?” Dara asked. “Do you want your crutches?” she reached for them and handed them to him.

“Yea. Thanks.” he took them and started limping towards the emergency exit of the studio. “I don’t know whether it’s the rain’s fault or not, there’s definitely a fault in the system anyway, cause it seems like the blackouts just keep on coming back again and again. Anyway, there’s no point in sticking around here since I can’t work on the computer anymore. I’ll go to sleep in the next studio, you can use my couch here, like you already always do. Good nigh –” GD suddenly stopped talking when he reached the emergency door and failed to push it open. He tried once again, with more force this time, but the door didn’t move at all.

“What’s going on? Why the heck can’t I open this door? It’s an emergency open, it’s not wired electrically, the blackout can’t possibly affect it. How can it be locked?!”

Although nobody could notice it in the darkness, Dara was suddenly bearing a very guilt-full look on her face, upon hearing GD’s last remark. She started speaking with a whispered, remorseful voice:

“I might have something to do with that . . .”

“What? You locked this door? But emergency doors can’t even be looked!”

“I didn’t lock it. . . I broke it.”

Jiyong blinked in confusion for a few slow times.

“YOU WHAT?! You broke an emergency door?! HOW DOES ONE BREAK A DOOR?”

“Well . . .” the girl hesitated for a bit, before starting her explanation. “Remember the KTAA party? I was having, uhm, let’s say I was having loads of fun and feeling VERY good that night, so I was happily wondering around the building and partying with everybody, you know? And well, uhm, I was on the hallway, on the other side, right where this door opens, you know, and uhm . . . on that hallway, you know there’s this huge decorative vase. Well, I thought it was a good idea to just take that pretty, colorful vase and, uhm, WELL I STARTED DANCING AROUND WITH THAT VASE IN MY ARMS BUT IT WAS SO HEAVY THAT I BOUNCED OFF FROM WALL TO WALL TILL I EVENTUALLY SMASHED IT AGAINST THE ENERGENCY DOOR! That’s it there’s no other way to put it.”

Jiyong took one second of silence before he bursted into laughter.

“YOU DID WHAT? HAHAHAHAAHA! So let me put this straight: YOU DANCED WITH A VASE?! AND SHATTERED IT INTO A WALL?! HAHAHHAA . . . “

“I didn’t mean to, ok! Stop laughing! I felt bad about it afterwards so I hid everything by moving the bookshelf from the corner of the hallway in front of the door. It’s probably technically not broken, but the door is blocked and hidden away behind the shelves. So that’s why it won’t open . . .”

Jiyong’s laugh abruptly died off when he realized the extend of the trouble they were actually in.

“Wait?! So you freaking moved a whole massive piece of furniture in front of an emergency door?! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE THE AMOUNT OF STUPIDITY INVOLVED IN YOUR ACTIONS?! You can’t just block off an emergency exit, DON’T YOU READ ALL THE SIGNS?! WHAT IF WE WERE ON FIRE RIGHT NOW? WE WOULD'VE BEEN ASHES TILL NOW, DO YOU HEAR ME?! You didn’t even tell anyone about it so maybe they would fix the damn thing?!” Jiyong jumped angrily on his healthy leg to the other side of the room and stopped in front of the automatic sliding doors of his studio. He then started frantically swinging his crutches in the air to try and activate the motion sensor, but to no avail. It wasn’t long before he started cussing again. “DAMIIT OF COURSE THE AUTOMATIC DOORS CAN’T OPEN! Everything is electrical in this damn building! THE WONDERS OF THE 21^ST CENTURY! You know what the solution is in these types of situations?!? AN EMERGENCY EXIT! MADE FOR EMERGENCIES! LIKE THE ONE YOU BLOCKED OUT!”

“I’m sorry . . .” Dara looked down at the ground with guilt.

Jiyong however calmed down after a minute, going back to his aloof, chill self. He took a sit on the couch and stared into the darkness.

“So I guess we’re stuck here now. . .” he eventually accepted the situation.

“Yea . . . I am really sorry.” Dara replied softly to him.

“It’s ok. The power will come back on in the morning in the worst case scenario, after somebody comes and fixes it. It could be worse. At least we’re not outside in the rain or something.”

“Yea, you are right.”

Jiyong then cleared his voice and asked the next question with a more relaxed, amused tone:

“So. You like dancing with vases, huh? What even was that about? What other random, strange hobbies do you have, huh?” he chuckled.

“Oh, trust me, I don’t usually do that in my spare time, I swear. It was just for that night. You don’t even want to know all the stupid things I did that night. You know Doctor Kim, sajang-nim’s good friend and the company’s doctor? Well I somehow managed to spill champagne all over his pants and he had to go home and change, that’s how bad it looked.”

“What?! SERIOUSLY?! HA HA HA!” Jiyong shrieked with laughter.

“Oh, yea. He was so nice about it though, I myself would’ve been really pissed off. Oh, let me tell you about how I stole a whole crate of champagne from the kitchen.”

“You did what?!” GD cracked up, completely captivated by the engrossing stories.

“Oh well, ha, so: I went to the kitchen to get a . . .”

 

____________________________________________

 

“NOO WAY, I can’t believe you ACTUALLY BROKE IN SAJANGNIM’s OFFICE!” GD wondered with a wide smile on his face.

“Yea, I did it three times already. I am practically a pro.” Dara smugly declared.

The girl had been non-stop narrating stories about her adventures from the KTAA party, much to Jiyong’s entertainment, who keenly listened and laughed at every single one of them. She cunningly avoided mentioning the crucial detail of the fact that she was drunk as of course, but she told herself it wasn’t lying if it was for the purpose of better story-telling.

The power still didn’t come back on, but GD managed to find a scented candle that he had lying around the studio (random fan-gift) and he just lit it up with his lighter. So they weren’t in complete darkness after all. The time seemed to pass faster than expected, 2 hours had just flew by with them chatting and laughing away.

“Do you realize what a great thing you did?” GD continued, still amazed. “Breaking inside YG’s office is like every employees wildest dream, including mine! I always wanted to analyze his huge collection of toy figurines that he has religiously displayes there. A fully grown-man, with an empire of a company, that likes looking at children’s toys. What a sight.”

“Oh come on, they are rare collectables, not toys!” Dara however started giggling, fully aware of the fact that the situation was actually quite ironic.

“Do you think he talks to them when he is alone in there? Rumor has it he brushes their teeth with a special toothbrush, first thing in the morning, every time he comes to work.” Jiyong spilled the tea.

“What?! THIS IS RIDICULOUS, COME ON! HA HA HA” Dara bursted in laughter.

“I am only telling you what the employee’s talk about. No, but seriously. He treasures those figurines with all his heart. Sometimes I think that he founded this company only to make money and buy more figurines.”

“OH MY GOD IMAGINE IF HE HEARD YOU TALKING LIKE THIS! PWHA PWHA PWHA!” the girl was dying of laughter.

Jiyong went on:

“Come to think of it, each time BIGBANG has a comeback, another shelves of toys magically pops up on his wall. Hmmmm, I am telling you, this is where all the money of this company is going! I am practically ing myself and my talent to fuel up an old-man’s erted addiction!”

“HA HA! REALLY, STOP IT PWA PWA PWAAA!” Dara shrilled again, as she was holding on her stomach from so much pain.

Jiyong stared fondly at her with a wide smile, waiting for her to finish laughing.

“YOU ARE SO FUNNY!” her hysterical laughter eventually cooled down after a while and she now found herself staring at the person in front of her with an idiotic smile playing on her lips. As Dara was sitting absent-mindedly like that, she didn’t even realize how Jiyong started to lean forward, gradually inclining his head to the right. In a matter of seconds, her head instinctively tilted to the opposite direction, to match his. She could now sense his warm breaths getting closer and closer. It didn’t come as a surprise that right in the following moment, his lips touched and smoothed her owns. This sent chills down the girl's spine, while a lovely, warm feeling started flooding every part of her body. She shut her eyes and parted her lips, letting her partner fully in. Her blood instantly started rushing, but it felt like electricity travelled inside her veins instead. Her hands daringly reached out to him and embraced the back of his neck, driven by an urgent urge to push him as close as possible. She wanted it all, all of him, right in that moment. Jiyong tenderly wrapped his hands around her waist and glued their bodies together.

*WHOOSH*

The automatic doors of the studio suddenly opened and a ray of lights instantly flickered on and flooded the room. The power was back on.

“Jiyong-shi I managed to turn the power back on – JESUS CHRIST I AM SORRY!”

In a matter of seconds, Jong Oh, the janitor, walked inside through the sliding doors, only to be left in awe as he watched the couple immediately break off the heated kiss.

“DARA-SHI? I AM SORRY I THOUGHT JIYONG-SHI WAS ALONE IN HERE” Jong Oh nervously apologized, overwhelmed with shock and awkwardness, having flashbacks from his last curious encounter with the girl. This was already the second time when she busted in on her while she was doing something unexpected, although this time around Jong Oh was rather thankful that she was kissing a human and not his mop.

The three of them stared at each with wide-eyes for a few tense second, before Dara started screaming at the top of her lungs.

“YOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU” she pointed at Jiyong, while covering in shock with her other hand.

“I – I am sorry – I didn’t mean to –” Jiyong stuttered, trying to articulate a sentence.

She intently looked into Jiyong’s eyes for a brief moment. They didn’t even take notice of Jung Oh’s presence; it felt like they were the only ones in the room in that moment.

“I REALLY NEED TO GO” Dara then bluntly stood up and ran out of the room in a split of a second, hitting the confused Jong Oh on her way out.

“Oh my.” He got out of her way. Jung Oh then eyed Jiyong, who had a dreary look on his face, staring at the doors through which Dara just exited.

“Uhm . . . I am really sorry, Jiyong-shi, I just came – I just came to tell you that I found a way to fix the lights . . . I’ll just leave now – I didn’t mean to interrupt, really – Ok, I’ll really leave now. Bye . . .” Jong Oh figured out there was no point in hanging around anymore, so he quickly got out of the studio as well.

Jiyong racked one hand in his hair in frustration and let out a loud, grim cuss.

“.”