Later in the evening Big Bang came in the apartment and was surprised to see that all the lights were gone. Lia should’ve been home by now.

“Maybe she’s working overtime,” Ji Yong suggested and the others nodded, thinking it was that. They all went to their rooms to bathe and freshen themselves up.

Seung Ri pushed the stroller in Lia’s room and cleaned the diapers first. He felt strange in the room. He shrugged it off, thinking Lia was still at work, that’s why.

He set the triplets down on the crib before going to shower. When he came out a few minutes later, he strolled to the cupboard.

Attached on the knob of the cupboard was a note with Lia’s handwriting:

I’m sorry.

TOP went inside his room, switching the lights on and froze when he saw his drawer opened. He saw the passports on the table. He hurried to his drawer but stopped when he saw a piece of familiar looking paper lying on his bed.

He crept slowly to his bed, all sorts of fears and thoughts running through his mind. With a shaky hand, he reached out to it and gasped when he saw what it was.

A piece of paper fell out. TOP recognized his sister’s handwriting.

Don’t try to look for me.

He trembled and sat down on his bed. He hid his face, closing his hands. “No,” he said in a hush voice.

“Hyung!” Seung Ri cried.

He shot out of his room and ran to Lia’s room where Seung Ri was calling from. Ji Yong and Tae Yang came from the living room. Dae Sung was in the bathroom bathing so he did not hear Seung Ri calling. All of them looked from the doorway at where Seung Ri was standing. The cupboard doors were wide opened and half of Lia’s clothes were gone.

“She’s gone,” he said hoarsely. He fell to the floor and everyone rushed to his side. “We didn’t fight . . . so why did she leave?”

Guilt began to creep up to TOP.

Ji Yong was patting Seung Ri on the back. “Lia can’t have just left without any reason,” he said. “Not when the wedding is in a week.”

, the wedding, TOP moaned in his head, groaning inwardly. Of all time to find out, why must it be now?

Seung Ri handed him a note. “That’s all she wrote,” he told him as he read the note. “I’m sorry. What the hell is that suppose to mean? Why did she leave me with our kids?”

Tae Yang took his phone out and dialed her number. “, she switched her phone off,” he muttered.

“Great,” TOP cursed.

He shook his head. “This is not right,” he said. “Why did she leave? Does anyone know why she left?”

“Oh? What happened here?”

Everyone looked up to see Dae Sung at the doorway, looking confused. His hair was still wet from the bath. He walked over to them. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

“Lia’s gone,” Ji Yong choked.

His eyes grew wide. “Bwoh? Wae?” He looked the cupboard and at Seung Ri who was now crying. “Maknae, did you and Lia have a fight?”

“A — anni,” he stuttered, shaking his head.

“No one knows why she suddenly took off,” Ji Yong explained to Dae Sung. “We don’t know where she’d gone and when she’d be back.”

“But the wedding is in a week! And she left her babies here!” he protested.

“We know,” Tae Yang replied softly. “We know.”

“Lia . . .” Seung Ri sobbed. What did he do? Why did she leave without any explanations? Why is she sorry? What happened? Everything was going so perfect. . . .

Mir was playing with his PSP in the living room of the MBLAQ dorm when he heard the doorbell rang. Knowing that he was the only one home, he hesitated in getting up. He was feeling lazy and was comfortable in where he was lying down on the couch. Maybe it was housekeeping. He’ll ignore it.

The doorbell rang again. And again. And again.

Sighing, he got up. “I’m coming!” he called out. He pulled open the door and blinked in surprised. “Lia, what are you doing here?” He thought she looked like a mess.

“Can I stay here for a couple of days?” she asked him hesitantly. “Is anyone else here?”

Mir immediately knew something bad has happened with Big Bang. He nodded. “Sure, I guess.” He figured his hyungs wouldn’t mind her here. They liked her too.

Knowing that she needed to let it all out, he pulled her in his bedroom, locking the door. It’s least likely for anyone else to come and he knew they have their own key into the dorm. They sat down on his bed and he let her cry. “What happened?” he asked gently once she’d calmed down, brushing a few tendrils of hair away from her face.

She shook her head and just sobbed in his arms. She looked up to him and spilled out all that she knew. He was shocked. He could not believe this.

“Chincha?”

She nodded and began to cry all over again. “I don’t know what to do,” she wailed.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He stood, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go,” he said to her. “I’m going to take you somewhere.” Standing up, they went out to the stairs. He led her up to the rooftop. “Come see the view,” he said, taking her hand. He led her to the railings. When they looked down, they could see other buildings, and far in the west, they could see the ocean with the sun setting.The sky was a mixture of blue, purple and red. It was very beautiful. The sky lit a light pink, as the burning sun sank to the other side.

“Whoa,” she gasped through her tears. “It’s beautiful.”

He smiled, wiping her tears away. “When I’m not feeling too great, I come up here to clear my head. You know, to think,” he explained.

She smiled, leaning against the railing, her eyes red from crying. She looked down to the city. The cars looked like tiny ants from all the way up there. “I bet you bring a lot of girls here to impress them,” she teased as she looked up to him.

Mir shook his head. “Nope, I never brought anyone up here before. You’re the first,” he admitted.

Steffi was touched. “Really? How come you never brought anyone?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I guess I just wanted to be the only one who knows this special place. I’m not sure, but this place seems magical. But I do not mind sharing with you,” he quickly said.

She smiled, taking his hands in hers. “Mir Oppa, thanks for everything,” she said softly. “I’m sorry if I’ll be burdening you by staying here. But it’s only until the wedding.”

He didn’t say anything. “Is your phone turned off?” he asked suddenly.

She nodded.

“Switch it on,” he advised her. “Call your brother. Demand an explanation. He at least owe that much to you.”

She hesitated. Then she turned her phone on and saw that she had about twenty missed calls and five messages from each member.

Dae Sung: Where are you? Why did you leave? Maknae is heartbroken. Please come back soon.

Tae Yang: Lia, I don’t know why you left but please at least explain to Maknae why you left. He is crying right now. How could you just leave him without any explanations?

Ji Yong: Yah, Lia Choi Jun Mei, the wedding is in a week! How dare you take off like that? Maknae is heartbroken! Why the hell did you leave without any explanations? You better call me or else I will come looking for you. DO NOT MOVE FROM WHERVER YOU ARE. I WILL SEARCH THE WHOLE OF SEOUL UNTIL I HAVE FOUND YOU! I am warning you, stay put. I’m coming. CALL ME YOU IDIOT!

Seung Ri: Lia, did I do something wrong? If I did, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me for whatever I have wronged you. Why did you leave me here with our kids? Why? Lia, I love you. I don’t want to lose you. Please call me.

TOP: Mei, I can explain. Please call me.

She shook her head. “Mir Oppa, I can’t go back,” she said and he took her phone from her hands to read the messages.

“Call him,” he urged. “Call your brother.”

“I — I can’t.”

But Mir had already dialed TOP’s number. He waited for the ringing tone, waiting for him to pick up. He held the phone out to Lia, who sighed as she took it from him.

TOP was pacing in his room when his phone went off. He snatched his phone from where it laid on the bed eagerly, hoping it was news from Lia, as he looked at the ID caller. He frowned. “It’s not a number I know,” he said to no one in particular as he answered the call. “Yeobasaeyo?”

“Oppa.”

“LIA!” he exclaimed.

“Why, Oppa?” Lia’s voice came out from the phone. “Were you planning to ever tell me? Why did you lie?”

TOP gulped. “Look, I can explain it all,” he started.

“I trusted you!” she went on. “All this time, you’ve been lying to me. And yet I can’t seem to go behind your back because then you’ll start acting as if you’re a girl whose period is about to come and I have to be the one who has to apologize. That’s hypocritical, don’t you think so?”

He winced. “Please just listen to me, Mei,” he pleaded. “But why were you even in my room?”

“I was looking for the triplets’ passport so I know where it is before we go to LA for the wedding,” she snapped. “Oppa, WHY? Do you have any idea how messed up this is now?”

“I . . . I know,” he said, his voice barely just a whisper.

“Oppa,” Lia said slowly, “why did you lie? Why didn’t you tell us the truth?”

“I . . .”