After Ji Yong and Lia had bathed, they headed out for lunch at the nearest restaurant. They ordered their food and chat about their schedule for the next day.

“Wow, sounds like you guys are going to have a busy day,” Lia remarked.

“We got used to it,” Ji Yong replied. “But it does get tiring at times.” He sighed.

“There, there,” Dae Sung said, patting him on the back.

“We’re free in the night,” Seung Ri said.

“We are?” he perked up.

Tae Yang nodded. He looked at him and knew that his friend was thinking of asking Lia out on a date the next night. He grinned, looking away so no one would catch him smiling. He knew his friend too well.

After lunch they went to the park to hang out. They had to be careful of the paparazzi. They didn’t want Lia to be exposed on the news because they didn’t think she would like the attention. Lia was really touched by their thoughtful gesture.

The members of Big Bang plus Lia spent the afternoon just walked here and there, taking pictures with TOP’s camera. They posed here and there. Some of the pictures they took were crazy, the others were of them trying to act cool and the rest were just plain simple.

They stopped to rest by the lake. Lia bought a loaf of bread and went off to feed the ducks. Ji Yong joined her and they chatted casually as the ducks came for food. Their backs were turned to the others, who were lying on the grass.

TOP, who was holding the camera, looked up and took a picture of them.

“Wow, you really captured the moment at the right time,” Seung Ri remarked.

“I like how they’re looking at each other with that kind of smile,” Tae Yang added.

“It’ll be really nice if they actually end up together,” Dae Sung said. He glanced over to look at them, who were now just sitting on the soft grass, watching the ducks.

Seung Ri had to admit that they look good together. They are already looking like a cute couple. His heart ached a bit at that thought. He decided to push it away.

TOP took a couple of more pictures. He looked at them and back to the other two. “Wow,” he said. “It’s sunset. The pictures of them are even better with it as the background.”

“Let me see.” Seung Ri took the camera from his hands and his heart dropped when he realized that TOP was right.

Suddenly Ji Yong and Lia came up to them, grinning at each other. Lia was laughing at something Ji Yong said.

Ji Yong turned to his friends. “What are you guys looking at?” he asked.

“Pictures,” Tae Yang replied. “How was feeding the ducks?”

“Oooh, they’re so cute!” Lia gushed. “I want one as a pet.”

TOP shoved Ji Yong close to her. “Here’s your pet,” he said, patting him on the head. “You can have him.”

Ji Yong scowled. “Ah, shut up,” was all he could say.

“Let’s go home,” Dae Sung said, checking the time.

“Hungry again?” Tae Yang guessed.

“I’m a growing boy,” he said defensively.

“You’re not growing anymore, Dae Sung,” Ji Yong said. “Like some people.” He looked down at Lia.

“Hey, don’t make fun of short people,” she spoke up.

They all laughed.

“How short are you, Lia?” Seung Ri asked, emphasizing on the word short.

She whacked him lightly on the stomach. “I’m, um, 147cm tall,” she said, blushing a bit. “Oh, don’t laugh!” she pleaded as the five of them roared with laughter.

“You’re not even five feet, right?” TOP said.

“I’m one inch away from five feet,” she grumbled. “Where’s the justice?”

“It’s okay,” Dae Sung said, patting her on the head. “When it rains, you’ll be the last person to know.”

She whacked him.

“Owww.”

“You sort of deserve that,” Ji Yong said, chortling.

“Lesson learnt: never tease Lia about her height,” Tae Yang said with a smile.

Lia just shrugged. “I may be small, but don’t underestimate me.”

“Oooh, she’s scary,” Seung Ri teased.

She just gave him a withering look. But she didn’t really mind. She was used to the teasing of her height.

“I’m hungry,” Tae Yang said sheepishly.

TOP sighed. “Ah. Fine,” he said. “Lia, are you staying for dinner?”

She shook her head regretfully. “I wish I could, but my teacher said we have dinner so I actually have to go back now.”

“I’ll take you home,” Ji Yong said.

She turned to the rest of Big Bang and smiled. “It was really nice to hang out with you guys,” she said sincerely before bowing.

“Did you have fun?” Tae Yang asked.

“Oh, definitely.” She nodded. “Especially when Seunghyun Oppa dared Dae Sung Oppa to stuff as many jellybeans he could into his mouth. He looked like a chipmunk!”

Dae Sung covered his head in shame and everyone laughed at the memory.

“Hopefully this isn’t going to be the last time you hang out with us,” Seung Ri said genuinely.

She grinned. “Oh, you are going to regret that one day, Maknae Oppa.”

He winced. “I think I already am,” he joked and she punched him.

“You have to try my steam fish before you go back to Australia,” TOP told her. “Ji Yong told me you like steam fish, right?”

Lia’s eyes lit up. “Oh yes! Kamsahamnida!” She hugged him. She went to hug Dae Sung, Tae Yang and Seung Ri as well.

“We’ll see you soon, Lia,” Tae Yang bid farewell to her.

She nodded and she and Ji Yong walked toward his car.

“Did you really have fun today?” he asked as they drove back to Metro Hotel.

She nodded. “It was probably the best day of my life,” she told him. “It’s nice to know how celebrities enjoy their day off.”

He smiled, stopping outside the hotel. He watched as Lia started to get out of the car. Now is the chance. “Are you free tomorrow night?” he blurted out.

She stopped in her tracks, one leg out of the car. “Uh . . . I guess so. Why?”

“Do you want to go on a date with me?” His heart raced faster as he waited for an answer. Please let it be a yes.

“Oh!” She blushed a deep shade of red. “Er, sure. I don’t mind.” She smiled.

He smiled back. “Great! So, how about seven o’clock?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He leaned forward and kissed her cheeks, on the edge of . “See you then.” His lips left a tingling feeling at the corner of . It left her wanting more. Inside, her stomach twisted into knots.

“See you,” she barely breathed. She had no idea how she got back to her room. She knocked on the door because she had no key. No answer. She rang the bell.

After awhile, Paige opened the door. Her eyes lit up when she saw who is was. “Lia, you’re back!”

Lia stepped inside, closing the door behind her just as Shervonne came up to her.

“Hey,” she said. “So how was your date?”

“It wasn’t a date if I hang out with all of them. But it was a fun day.”

“What happened?” Rylee wanted to know as the three of them walked back to where she was on the bed.

Lia sat down on her bed, smiling dreamily. She began to tell her friends the adventure she had with Big Bang.

As they listened and watch her talk about Big Bang, they couldn’t help but see that the way she talks about them sound as though she’s known them forever. She seemed so comfortable calling them oppa, like she belonged with them.

The three of them couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy at this.

“You know,” Rylee spoke up casually, “NMD was looking for you the whole day.”

“Oh. Didn’t you tell them?”

Shervonne and Rylee exchanged glances. Lia didn’t care.

“I can’t believe you get to hang out with them,” Paige said, oblivious to what was going on. “It sounds so nice.”

Lia grinned. “It was. I wish it never ended. Anyway, before I forget —”

Finally she remembers them, Rylee thought.

“How was shopping?” She looked at all the shopping bags at the foot of Shervonne’s bed. “Please tell me you didn’t buy all of that there,” she said.

“Some are mine,” Paige replied. “One is for Rylee. Guess what it is.”

“Gee, a sports T-shirt?”

“Good guess,” she said, nodding. “It’s just like Rylee, isn’t it?”

Rylee shrugged. “Well, I don’t care,” she said indifferently. “This way Sher can’t say I didn’t buy anything. Plus, it’s a shirt!”

Shervonne rolled her eyes. “Oh, please,” she muttered under her breath.

“Lia, will you be seeing them again?” Paige asked curiously.

Lia began to blush. She’d left out the part of Ji Yong asking her out on a date. “Well, now that you mention it,” she said slowly. “Ji Yong Oppa did ask me out on a date tomorrow night.”

Shervonne and Paige squealed.

“I told you he likes you!” Shervonne said, smiling smugly.

Rylee threw a pillow in her face. “No one cares,” she replied and Shervonne poked her tongue out.

“So are you going? Did you say yes?” Paige asked, ignoring the other two.

Lia nodded. “Yeah, I did,” she said. “But what should I wear?”

“How about a dress?” Paige suggested.

“You should wear a cute shirt and skirt,” Shervonne said firmly.

“Uh . . .”

“Just be yourself and wear whatever you want to wear,” Rylee said impatiently.

Lia jumped off the bed and walked over to her luggage. She took out a printed rose tee. “How about this?” she asked, looking over her shoulders.

Shervonne approved. “Yes. It’s casual. You can wear it with your knee-cut jeans. If you’re going out to a restaurant, you can easily slip on your blue faded jacket with clincher.”

“Now all you need is jewelries,” Paige said. “Your outfit is never complete without any accessories.”

Lia shrugged. “I’ll just wear my blue beaded necklace.”

“No, no, your necklace must be really nice,” Shervonne insisted. “What do you have?”

She took out all her necklaces but they were all rejected.

“Don’t you have any special necklace?”

Suddenly Lia’s face lit up. “Oh! I’ve got it!” she cried out.