Chapter 4

9 March 2014
Incheon International Airport

Jiyong had been waiting for the past 30 minutes. Chaerin finally gave in and told him which day and what time she was arriving in Korea after her holiday with Soo Hyuk. So, he thought he would surprise her by picking her up at the airport.

What she had failed to tell him was that they were flying in on Soo Hyuk's private jet and transferring to a helicopter upon arrival and that would take them back to Soo Hyuk's company building. They had to attend to something urgent that came up.

Jiyong checked the arrival board and saw that the luggage for the flight that he thought Chaerin was on had already all been claimed. He picked up his phone and dialed Chaerin number. When she answered the phone, his tone was one of relief. He was afraid that she would still be on the plane.

"Chaerin ah, where are you? I'm waiting at the arrival hall but I don't see you at all."

"Jiyong-ssi, I don't think we are close enough to drop all the formalities yet."

"Yeobo, where are you?"

"What 'yeobo', I'm at Soo Hyuk oppa's company. We flew back on his private jet and transferred to a helicopter after. Why did you go to the airport? We are not filming WGM today. And outside the show, please do not call me any terms of endearment."

"I missed you. I just wanted to see you."

"Jiyong-ssi, don't get too attached to our relationship. It's a show. And really, save all these tactics for the girls who would fall for it."

"This is not a tactic, I just want to see you."

"Did you think I would leave with you?"

"I wanted to take you to dinner if you had allowed it."

"Let me make it very clear to you. We should not have any contact outside of filming the show. I do not want any rumors saying that we are an actual couple. We are not and nev..."

"Never say never. Look, I'm sincere about wanting to get to know you better."

"You will, when we meet to film WGM."

"Can't we be friends?"

"Trust me, it's easier being my work partner than my friend. The fact I'm picking up your call is mainly because we are together on the show. Don't think that it's because I want to know you better. I've got to go. Soo Hyuk oppa is done with his work."

"Where are you going?"

"Home. See you on Thursday for the recording."

With that, Chaerin ended the phone call. Jiyong stared at his phone in disbelief. No one has ever dared to hang up on him. But instead of being angry, he shook his head and smiled.

Kwon Jiyong, you are dead.

Jiyong unlocked his phone and was going to send a message to Chaerin when he heard a female voice call out his name. He turned and he saw the last person he wanted to see.

"Oppa! Did you come to pick me up?"

Ahn Sohee linked her arm through Jiyong's but he shrugged it off immediately. He looked around and sure enough there were reporters taking photos. Ahn Sohee's return to Korea had been a hot topic for the whole week. Everyone wanted to know what caused her to leave Korea 3 years ago. This was the worst possible scenario since Jiyong was in the limelight when she suddenly left as they were rumored to have dated. They didn’t but no one believed them, or him when he released an official statement. Without another word, Jiyong walked away from Sohee.

"OPPA!! JIYONG OPPA!! Where are you going?!!"

Jiyong continued walking but he picked up his phone to call his personal assistant.

"I ran into Ahn Sohee at the airport. There were reporters around. Please make sure I do not end up on the front page with some strange headlines."

He hung up and walked quickly to his car. The moment he got inside, he got a message from Chaerin. The grin on his face was wiped off when he saw the content of the message, and he let out a loud curse.

FROM: CHAERIN

Jiyong-ssi, I would appreciate it if you do not lie to me. Also, during the time that we are on the show, I hope that you would not be caught in a compromising position. You can go out and do what you want. Just do not get caught.

A press picture showing Sohee with her arm linked to his was attached to the message.

TO: CHAERIN

I wasn't lying about picking you up, neither was I lying about missing you. She just happened to be there. You have to believe me.

FROM: CHAERIN

It doesn't really matter to me if you were there to fetch her or not, all I'm asking is that you do not be caught. I will keep up appearance by not getting caught when I go out with any guys.

Reading the message and knowing that the underlying message meant that she was not going to stop going out with guys, Jiyong let out a frustrated roar. He pushed his hands through his hair then hit the steering wheel hard. He decided to call Chaerin. He dialed but she didn't pick up the call. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his car window. He looked up to see Sohee waving and smiling at him, hoping that he would open the car door for her. Since he regarded her as the root of his problem, he took a quick glance at her, put on his sunglasses, started the car and sped off. Everything was unfortunately photographed or videoed by the media.

Chaerin was in Soo Hyuk's car when she decided to check the news online. When she saw that the real-time search was "Kwon Jiyong-Ahn Sohee reunion at the airport", she couldn't help but tap on the news. When she saw the picture of Jiyong with Sohee, she was upset. But she pushed that aside, saved the picture and sent the message to Jiyong. Although Jiyong's replies made her feel slightly better, but she still didn't like seeing the news about them. She turned to Soo Hyuk and showed him the news.

"Oppa, get rid of the articles and news that has anything to do with these two and make sure nothing surfaced at all. Now."

"Ok."

Without a second word, Soo Hyuk called his personal assistant and left instructions with him to do what Chaerin requested. He reached over to hold Chaerin’s hand in his.

“You alright?”

“Yeah… Did I over-react? After all, I shouldn’t be affected since it’s just a show.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him that in the time that we are on the show together, I would appreciate it if he’s not caught with other girls.”

“And his reply?”

“He said he wasn’t at the airport to pick her up.”

“Why did he go to the airport then?”

“To fetch me.”

“Why?”

“According to him, it’s because he missed me.”

“And how did he know that we were coming back today? No one knew about it except my personal assistant.”

“I told him when he kept asking and threatened to wait for us at our door until we are back. Oppa! Can we go to our villa instead of the mansion? I have a feeling that he might turn up at our door just to explain this run-in with the girl.”

“I’d drop you off at the villa first. And if I see him, I would ask him not to wait for you. I might not go to the villa tonight, because he would probably follow me. You are alright alone? You want me to send anyone over to you?”

“No, it’s ok. I was going to meet Xin oppa after we got home anyway. I’d just call him to bring food and come over to the villa.”

“Alright then. Call me if you need anything, ok?”

“Don’t worry about me. If I need anything, I’d ask Xin oppa to get it for me.”

“When will you come back?”

“Probably after the shoot on Thursday. I’d ask Dony oppa to come pick me up.”

“Do you want me to go with you to the shoot?”

“Kwon Jiyong won’t eat me up, don’t worry. According to the PD, we would probably meet for a meal before moving into our house. Dony oppa would be with me.”

“He has to be with you. I do not trust anyone to drive you around.”

“Dony oppa won’t leave my side, don’t worry. He already told me that he’s going to be present for all the recordings.”

After sending Chaerin to their villa, Soo Hyuk sent a message to Xin, asking him to take care of Chaerin that night and to let him know if Jiyong turned up at the villa. When Xin tried to ask why, Soo Hyuk simply told him to ask Chaerin. Xin agreed. Soo Hyuk then got his personal assistant to make sure that there was security for the villa that night.

When Soo Hyuk turned into the driveway of their mansion, he spotted Jiyong's car. He shook his head and praised Chaerin for having the foresight to avoid seeing him. He didn't like how Chaerin was upset with the news of Ahn Sohee and Jiyong being seen together at the airport, so he intend to talk to Jiyong about it.

Jiyong looked up when he heard a car drive in. Since he arrived 15 minutes ago and seeing that there was no one at home, he was first anxious then he got upset because if there were no one at home, it meant that when Chaerin and Soo Hyuk would be alone in the house when they arrived. He could accept that they stay together in the same house, but he didn't like the idea of them alone in the house without any staff.

Jiyong got out of his car and walked towards the passenger side of Soo Hyuk's car, hoping to catch Chaerin before she could walk off. He didn't know why he felt the need to explain himself to her because he never did have to explain to anyone, especially girls, his behavior. But when he bent down to open the door, he saw that the passenger side was empty.

"She's not with me. She had to go somewhere but don't worry, she would meet you on Thursday for the WGM shoot."

"Soo Hyuk hyung, where is she? Don't lie and say you do not know because I know you won't let her go anywhere without telling you."

"Of course I know where she is and you are quite right when you say I don't let her go anywhere without me knowing. But I also know that she has no wish to see you until Thursday so I won't tell you where she is. If she wants to see you before then, she would let you know but I highly doubt so."

"Is she avoiding me because of the airport incident with Ahn Sohee? I already told her it's not what it seemed."

"Well, her plans were made before the incident happened so it doesn't have much to do with you. Come on, let's have a talk inside."

Soo Hyuk ushered Jiyong into their mansion. Although Jiyong grew up in luxury too but other than just luxurious, the mansion didn't feel cold. There was a warmth that he never quite experienced in his family mansion. He finds solace in his own house but he rarely spent any of his waking hours there.

"Hyung, I like your house. It feels homely and cozy."

"Chaerin does most of the interior design and decoration and we spend a lot of our time here. If we can avoid it, we don't even eat out."

A wave of envy caught Jiyong by surprise. He wanted someone who he could spend time like that too. In his family, he was the only one in his generation. That's why he was the recognized heir to the YG Empire. He didn't resent it but he wished he had someone to share his growing years with. A sibling or cousin would have been great. Thankfully, he got to know his friends. His band members kept each other company through their growing up years.

"It must be nice to have someone to come home to."

Soo Hyuk smiled at that statement and nodded.

"Chaerin and the boys can be a handful but we had fun growing up together. We have our usual fights but for Chaerin, we usually resolved it quickly."

"It feels like Chaerin is the center of her oppas' universe."

"She is. She gives us a reason for staying alive and doing our best, I guess."

"How did you meet her?"

"You will know sooner or later so I'm going to tell you. At the same time, I'm telling you our past so that you can understand the kind of relationship that Chaerin has with us. I grew up in an orphanage. Amongst us, I was the eldest and the one who stayed at the orphanage the longest. I guess I was lucky because I never knew what it’s like to be abandoned by my real parents. But it wasn't easy for the others. Each of us had gone through rejection and abandonment more than once when we were adopted but abandoned again when the couple have their own children. Suffice to say, we were very wary of the world and fought against authority all the time. We thought that we were insignificant and at a young age, we all thought of ending our lives more than once, or we want to try to get people to give up on us."

"It must be tough growing up like that. Don't take it the wrong way, but I am envious. Even though it was difficult, you had each other."

Soo Hyuk let out a laugh.

"There were time when we almost killed each other. And we might have succeeded a couple of times."

"How does Chaerin come into the picture?"

The smile was back on Soo Hyuk's face. He had a dreamy look, remembering the first time they saw Chaerin.

"The nun who was in-charge of the orphanage sent for all of us one day. We thought this was it. They were going to chase us out. Imagine our surprise when we were introduced to Chaerin. She was put in our care. We protested because she was a girl after all. I could still remember her looking at all of us with her shiny eyes. Then she walked up to me, put her hand in mine and called me 'oppa'. That was it. Since that moment, I knew that I would have to hold her hand even if it meant that I would die. Later, the nun told me that it was the first word she spoke after they found her outside the orphanage. That just sealed my fate with her even more. She chose me as her family, therefore I am."

Hearing Soo Hyuk talk about how Chaerin came to be in their lives, he found himself wishing that he was Soo Hyuk. At the same time, he realized the magnitude of the bond between Chaerin and Soo Hyuk, and knew that it was going to be difficult to break.

"Hyung, if you don't mind me asking, since the two of you are so close and maybe even destined to be with each other, why aren't you not in a relationship or married to each other?"

"Chaerin knows that she just needs to say the word and I'm willing to marry her. But to her, she wants me to experience the kind of love that I have for her because she knows that she can't love me in equal measure. I don't need her to but she deserves her happiness too. So, if she ever finds someone who loves her and she loves that person too, I'd give her my blessings."

"I have one more question, hyung. Did you arrange for her to go on WGM with me? Did she ask to be on the show with me?"

"Yup, I did."

"When did you do that? Because I called the PD after Valentines' Day with my request to be on the show when I heard the rumor that Chaerin was going to be on the show."

"I called on Valentines' Day. Now, my turn to ask. Why did you want to go on the show with Chaerin?"

Jiyong looked at Soo Hyuk and contemplated whether he should lie. But knowing Soo Hyuk, he would see through him too easily. He decided that the truth might work to his advantage.

"Hyung, I'd be honest with you but don't judge me yet. To be honest, I wanted to know what it was like to take down 'CL The Baddest Female'. She was always so elusive and so unattainable that I want to be the first one to get her."

"As in sleep with her?"

"Yes, that was the initial goal. But our meeting on her birthday, after we kissed, something changed. The kiss caused something in my heart to click open. I told my group members, who are as close to me as my siblings that she's the one. I can't explain the feeling of possessiveness I have when it comes to her, nor can I explain the feeling of protectiveness. I almost punched Jay when he said he cheated on her. Initially, I wanted to go on the show as G-Dragon taking down CL, but now I just want to be Kwon Jiyong winning Lee Chaerin's heart."

Soo Hyuk looked at Jiyong as he made his confession. While there was still a bit of suspicion that everything that Jiyong just said was done to please him, he could also believe that something changed when they kissed. That was why he was very apprehensive about Jiyong getting too close to Chaerin. He was truly afraid that he would lose her to Jiyong. He wasn't quite ready to let go yet.

"Jiyong, I don't trust you fully yet, just so you know. We are both well-known womanizers and while I do not judge you for that, the girl we are talking about right now is Chaerin. I do not want you anywhere near her. What happened this afternoon should never happened again. She was upset and I don’t like to see her upset. You mentioned Jay just now, you talked to him about Chaerin?”

“Actually, he came to us while we were talking about Chaerin and you. That was when we found out that he dated Chaerin for 6 months and your relationship with her. He gave me some insights about how Chaerin and her circle of oppas work.”

“Good, then you know that we are not to be trifled with. Chaerin’s happiness is non-negotiable. Any time I see that she is unhappy with you on the show, I would call a halt to it. I could have the entire show canned so WGM would become a distant memory. But right now, this is what she wants and as much as I do not like it, it’s what she wants. Just know your boundaries and we would be fine.”

“Hyung, what if I want to cross these boundaries? I’m not joking when I say she’s the one for me. It’s not something I can explain but I know that it’s right.”

“If Chaerin allows you in, then you are in. All of us might find it difficult to accept but if it’s what she wants, then we will learn to accept it.”

“I find it a tad amusing that she’s got all of you rallying around her.”

“Jiyong, like you said, you never grew up with anyone. These boys and Chaerin, I would die for them any day. And Chaerin stands at the center of our universe.”

“How are you guys going to be able to love anyone else if your focus is all about Chaerin?”

“I can’t speak for the rest, but I don’t need to love anyone else, nor do I need someone to love me as much as I love Chaerin.”

“Even if Chaerin betrays that love?”

“I didn’t ask for anything back, how can she betray it? Betrayal can only happen if there’s a certain expectations on the person’s behaviour. I just want her to be happy.”

“What if she makes you give up on her by telling you that she’s happy but she’s not?”

“You underestimate how in-tune we are with each other. We grew up together, went through ups and downs together, we saw each other’s successes and failures. We have been together for 20 years, some couples don’t even stay together that long.”

“How is anyone supposed to win?”

“Chaerin loves me a lot, but it’s more of a sibling love. It would just take the right man to come along at the right time.”

“And you wish that it won’t be me?”

“Honestly, I wish it wasn’t anyone. There’s only one girl who I want as the mother of my children and that’s Chaerin.”

“So you have also thought of bedding her before!”

“That’s how babies come about right? But, no, I don’t mind even if we have to adopt.”

“Why? Can’t Chaerin give birth to children?”

“She can, but we won’t mind adopting even if we have our own.”

“Have you talked to her about this before?”

“Not the part that I want her to be the mother of my children, but we have talked about adopting before. However, that would require us to be married and that made it difficult. We could adopt if we have some kind of legal relationship but that would take away the possibility of us getting married.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“No, it’s not. It’s what we want that’s complicated. If I’m satisfied with a legal brother-sister relationship, we could have the papers done within the week. But if we have that and then adopt a child, what happens when Chaerin finds someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with?”

“So you are hoping that one day, Chaerin would agree to marrying you?”

“That’s my wish.”

“What if you find someone that you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

“I already did.”

“What makes you so sure that it’s Chaerin?”

“Jiyong, you needed a kiss to tell you that it was Chaerin. A relationship isn’t about looking for signs that the other person is the one for you. It’s about wanting a relationship with the person, and doing whatever it is to make it work. If Chaerin agrees to marrying me, I would do anything to make the relationship and marriage work with her.”

“Does this mean that you will wait indefinitely for her?”

“At the moment, my answer is yes.”

“But that might change?”

“When she finds someone who can give her the happiness that she deserves, then it would change.”

“Hyung, your love for Chaerin is really admirable. Now, it just makes me want to give her the happiness that she deserves so that you can find your own too.”

Soo Hyuk laughed. It was really funny hearing that coming out of Jiyong’s mouth. But he could understand where he’s coming from.

“It’s true that when a player found the one he wants to settle down with, he would settle down. I wish you luck, Jiyong. Knowing that you are a player…”

“Were.”

“Ok, fine, knowing that you were a player and now that you are determined to win Chaerin’s heart and give her the happiness that she deserves makes me happy.”

“Would you help me then?”

“No. My loyalty still lies with Chaerin. But I won’t stop you from trying, unless you are causing her unnecessary distress. Go slow with her. All her oppas spoilt her. She gets away with too many things.”

“So will you tell me where she is now?”

“No, she doesn’t want to see you and I have to respect her decision. She had to work on something and definitely won’t appreciate being disturbed.”