A few days after Seung Ri and Lia came back from their holiday, things got even more awkward. It got so bad to the point Ji Yong had to occasionally spend the night at Se7en’s place.

One day Tae Yang, Dae Sung and TOP sat around the coffee table to hold a meeting about how to save their group from the possibility of breaking apart. They needed to do something, not wait on a miracle. They needed to be the miracle.

“I vote we try to find out how they all feel about one another,” Dae Sung suggested.

His hyungs nodded, agreeing with him. That seemed like a good plan.

“Dae Sung, you talk to Maknae and Bae talks to Lia,” TOP decided. “I’ll talk to Ji.”

“Arraso.”

“Remember to keep it discreet,” he went on. “They must not know what we were doing. Okay?”

“Yes!”

Lia was in the living room, reading a book when Tae Yang sauntered over to her. “Hi,” he greeted her cheerfully.

She looked up and smiled back. “Hey back.” She closed the book.

“Interesting book?” He nodded toward the book in her hands.

“Yea. Maknae Oppa is in his room, trying to beat his last high score in L4D.” She shook her head in amusement.

He laughed, sitting down next to her. He studied her closely. “You like him a lot, don’t you?”

She nodded. “He is truly amazing,” she said, smiling.

“Who do you like the most?” he wanted to know. “Ji Yong or Seung Ri?”

She paused to think. “I can’t compare them to each other,” she finally replied. “Both of them are different from one another. I like the two of them for different reasons so I can’t exactly say who I like the best.” She frowned to think about it a little bit more. “While one is compassionate and understanding, the other is fun and full of vigor.”

“He’s also a lot more expressive,” Tae Yang added, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s just not afraid to show everyone he likes me,” she replied quietly, looking down. “The other one is just . . . well, he prefers to keep things a little private but that’s just the way he is. Not that I’m complaining about him. I liked him.”

“Liked?” He jumped on that, his only clue. It better be worth it or else this conversation was going to be an epic fail.

Lia shrugged. “Look, I won’t deny the fact that I still have strong feelings for him, all right. But Maknae Oppa is so sweet, so nice and he makes me laugh. He’s special too. And . . . honestly, sometimes I wish I fell in love with him first.” She had that faraway look.

“But I thought you had moments with Ji Yong?” he pressed.

She got an irritated look on her face. What was he playing at?

Tae Yang noticed her sudden changed face expression and decided not to push his luck any further. He stood up. “Mianhae. I didn’t mean to upset you or anything. I’ll leave you to your book.” He walked away the same time Seung Ri opened the door.

“Ah, Angel, could you make a cup of tea for me please?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Sure; I’ll be over in a jiffy. You just go back to your game.” She went to the kitchen.

He winked at her. “That is why I love you,” he said before returning to his game, closing the door behind him.

She laughed, shaking her head as she took a cup out from the cabinet. She boiled the water. While she was waiting for the water to boil, she realized she needed tea bags. They were kept in a box somewhere in the kitchen. She craned her neck and found it sitting on top of the highest shelf.

She bit her lips. How is she supposed to get it? She’s so short; she’ll have to use a chair. She sighed, deciding to jump, unaware that some-one was watching her. But she still couldn’t reach. Fine, fine; she’ll use the chair.

But before she could grab a chair, a hand reached up effortlessly and took the box down, hand-ling it to her. “Here you go.”

She turned and smiled at him. “Kamsa, Ji Yong-sshi,” she said.

He frowned. “Ji Yong-sshi? What happened to Ji Oppa?”

“Oh.” Lia didn’t know how to answer to that. “Well, I just thought . . . since we have broken up, it wouldn’t be very appropriate to call you . . .” She faltered.

He smiled sadly. “Am I not so close to you anymore?” he asked her gently.

“Anni,” she quickly said. “It’s just that —”

He shook his head. “I know,” he said softly. “Just call me Ji Yong Oppa, ara? No need to call me Ji Yong-sshi. It makes me feel old, like Dong Wook sunbae.”

She nodded and they lapsed into awkward silence. “Do you want a cup of tea?”

He nodded. “I’d like that,” he replied. He watched her as she reached for another cup. “Does he treat you right?” he wanted to know.

Lia struggled to find the correct answer. “Yes, he does. He’s really nice to me. He makes me laugh.”

“I made you laugh,” he muttered under his breath. When he looked up, he realized that he said it a little bit too loud. She had heard him. “Oh.” He blushed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

The water boiled. Lia took two tea bags out and put them in the cups before she poured hot water into one of them. She played with it, making it just right, before handling the cup to him. Their hand touched briefly.

Lia had forgotten how soft his touch could be. It had been so long. Will she ever get the chance again?

“Angel?”

She looked up to see Seung Ri looking expectantly at her. “I’ll be there in a minute. Ji Yong Oppa wanted a cup of tea as well.”

He shot him a look before returning to his room. Ji Yong looked at her. “He calls you Angel.” It was a statement, not a question.

She nodded. “It’s just like how you used to call me Bubbles.”

Ji Yong didn’t like the way she said ‘used to’ in past tense. He didn’t want it to be past tense. He wanted it to be present tense. He opened his mouth to say something when she poured the water in the other cup and took it to Seung Ri, leaving Ji Yong behind.

Later in the night, TOP cooked a whole lot of dishes. Everyone was practically drooling the moment he began cooking.

“Prawns!” Dae Sung exclaimed happily as they all sat down around the table to eat. “It’s just like heaven!” He scooped two prawns onto his plate.

Seung Ri scooped a prawn on Lia’s plate. She just stared at it. “What’s wrong?” he asked her. “You don’t like prawns?”

Ji Yong smirked, taking the prawn from her plate and put it on his own.

“That is Lia’s prawn,” Seung Ri glared at him angrily.

He, however, shrugged. “I know. This girl refuses to eat prawns if she has to peel the shell off and she’s too lazy to do it herself,” he explained as he peeled the shell off. “You’re going to have to peel for her to get her to eat.” He put the peeled prawn back on her plate.

Lia shot him a grateful look. “Thanks,” she said sheepishly.

“Shows how much you actually know about her,” he muttered and Seung Ri’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“It’s okay,” Lia said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it lightly.

TOP scooped a spoonful of vegetables and put it on her plate. She grimaced but ate them silently as he gave her a stern look.

“Bleh.” She made a face. “I don’t like to eat vegetables. They’re disgusting.”

“Just eat it.”

Seung Ri laughed. “You’re so cute,” he said and pinched her cheeks.

She pouted. “Owww, that actually hurts, oppa,” she said.

“Aww, I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He kissed her cheeks and fed her a spoonful of his rice.

Ji Yong had his head bent down. He didn’t want to see them smiling at each other like that. It hurt too much.

After dinner he went out to the rooftop in his room, looking at the starry night sky. Being here made him sad. It reminded him too much of Lia, of the times they had spent together just out there.

But he missed her too much to let her go.

He heard someone coming to sit next to him. It was TOP. But he didn’t say anything. He just lay on his back and looked up.

“Why didn’t you try fight for her before she was with maknae?” TOP asked him softly.

He groaned inwardly. He did not want to hear this. He really didn’t want to hear this. He knew TOP was waiting for an answer. He sighed. “Honestly? I think it’s because of my pride. I was waiting for her to come to me.”

“But that obviously didn’t happen.”

He frowned. “Obviously.” He sighed again. “I’m too late. She’s with maknae now. I can’t do anything to destroy her happiness. It’ll be really selfish of me if I try to fight for her. I have to let her go. It’s not fair to her if I tell her I want another chance. And it’s not fair to the maknae either.”

TOP nodded. “That is probably a smart thing to do,” he agreed.

Lia was out on the balcony in her rooftop talking on the phone with her friends from Melbourne so Dae Sung decided to seize this golden opportunity to talk to Seung Ri.

He knocked on the door. “Maknae? Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

He walked in and saw Seung Ri was on the computer. “What are you doing?” he asked him, walking over to him. He leaned down and saw that he was going through the pictures of him and Lia.

“Just remembering,” he replied softly.

“You care about her a lot, don’t you?” he said.

He nodded. “I’ve always had.”

“Didn’t it hurt when she was with Ji Yong Hyung, though?” Dae Sung asked. “I mean, it was clear everyone in the YG Family thought they were most likely going to end up getting married. But then . . .”

Seung Ri nodded, turning to face him. “It was definitely very hard,” he told him. “I had to keep telling myself that Lia was with Ji Yong Hyung and that I can’t have her. Yet, the more I talked to her, the more I see her . . . I just can’t seem to get her out of my head. She’s just so special to me.”

Dae Sung nodded. He could tell that the maknae really loves Lia. That was a good thing. It means he didn’t want her for but for her actual love.