My watch said 10:31 and I hissed in frustration. I was getting really impatient and I felt like I was about to blow a fuse.
I had never been this late in my entire life. Not even when I had my own personal appointments. The others would be wondering why I was so late. And trying to explain the reason why, would have them blown away.
"Sam, are you still there?" Zoey called out to me from our room.
I didn't want to answer. I was quite irritated. But if I didn't, she would start to freak out.
"Sam!"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm still here, Zoey," I answered.
Zoey came out of the room and came to the lounge where I was seated waiting for her. I was on the couch and I looked at her, then back at my watch.
"Did you find what you're looking for?" I asked.
"No, I haven't," said Zoey.
"You've been searching for it all morning," I said as I stood up. "Can we please just go to the studio? We're already late."
"No, let me go and check again," Zoey turned around to head back to the room and I groaned so loudly to grab her attention.
"Zoey, it's just a stud and you have plenty of those like it in your jewellery box."
"But those are my favourite studs," said Zoey. "You know they are diamond, right?"
"I know because I bought you those studs for your birthday a year ago."
"Oh. Ya, I know." Zoey had a look on her face that told me she forgot about that.
I ignored her and said, "just get another pair of studs or don't put on any at all. For my sake. And Collins' too. We were supposed to be at the studio at 10."
"What time is it?"
"10:35."
"Wow, time really passes by."
"When it comes to you, it does. Come on, let's go."
"Let me go get my phone."
Zoey rushed back to the room and I hoped she wasn't going to get back to looking for her missing stud. She sometimes did the opposite of what she had to do. But anyway, that was Zoey.
I soon received a message from Collins threatening me to get to the studio as soon as possible. In no less than five minutes. I moaned. He knew we couldn't get there in five minutes. That's if we were superheros.
"Zoey, come on, we better go!"
"I'm coming."
I started heading towards the elevator and my phone beeped again. Another message. Hopefully it wasn't Collins again telling us he would hang us to death if we didn't make it in time. But I was surprised to see an unknown number. A number coming from another country.
"Oh, who is this?"
Before I could open the message icon, Zoey came rushing from behind and bumped into my back. That almost made me drop my phone.
"My goodness, Zoey!" I said as I looked at her. "You should look where you're going. I almost dropped my phone."
"Sorry," said Zoey as she also looked at me.
"Come on, we're already late."
We went into the elevator and I put my phone away in my jeans jacket pocket. A black Chevrolet SUV was waiting for us outside. The others had already left for the studio and I had stayed behind because of Zoey's missing stud.
When we got to YG, Collins stood there by the entrance, obviously waiting for us. He looked like an angry father ready to scold at his kids for coming home late.
"Don't tell me all this is your doing, Zoey," said Collins as we approached him.
"No, no, it's not," said Zoey as she shook her head.
"Says the person who isn't wearing her studs today."
Zoey held her earlobes and looked at me with a surprised look on her face. I shrugged. I had to tell Collins why we delayed over the phone. At least he believed me, knowing that he already knew what was Zoey was like.
"Come on, the others are waiting and they didn't want to start without you," said Collins.
"They had to wait," said Zoey, flipping her hair. "I'm singing the first verse alongside G-Dragon."
"Remind me whenever you're deciding who sings which part of a song to let me be there," said Collins as he turned to look at me.
"I'll try." I smiled. Zoey stuck out her tongue at Collins.
We got to the studio and we found everyone else waiting for us, lazing around on the couch.
"Hey, you're finally here," said Seungri.
"Sorry, we had an issue back at the hotel," said Zoey.
"Ya. A 'serious' one." I said as I rolled my eyes.
"I can't wait to get started," said Daniel excitedly as he stood up from the couch.
"Then let's do so," said Collins as he joined the music producer by the console. "Zoey, Taeyang, Christine, Sam and G-Dragon, we will start with you guys."
I had completely forgot that G-Dragon was even in the room. I hadn't noticed him at all when he stood up from the couch and came towards Zoey and I.
"Hi, Zoey," G-Dragon greeted Zoey.
"Hi," said Zoey with a wide smile on her face.
"Ahem," Christine came from behind as she cleared her throat. "Let's go. You two can talk later."
I rolled my eyes and together with Taeyang and Christine, we went into the live room together, followed by the two love birds.
In the live room, there stood five microphones and with each mic had a pair of headphones around it. We each stood in front of a microphone and put on the headphones.
Ahead of us was a window where we could see the others from the other side.
"Are you guys ready?" Collins asked as his voice was heard through the speaker in the live room.
I looked at the others to see if they were settled and gave Collins a thumbs up and the music producer started to play the tune for the song.
G-Dragon started to sing and then afterwards, Zoey followed. Their voices blended so well with the music, they made a perfect harmony. Looked like I did a good thing to let them sing the first verse together.
Collins, the music producer and the others outside the live room had smiles on their faces. They were loving it alright. Collins gave them a thumbs up.
Christine then sang the bridge and as she came came closer to the chorus, I joined in. Then Taeyang and I sang the chorus together.
When we were done, the music producer stopped playing the track.
"That was awesome, guys," said Collins as his voice came out through the speaker. "The song is so incredible."
"Ya, thank Sam," said Taeyang. "She is the one who came out with all of this."
I smiled at Taeyang who stood beside me and I nudged him on the shoulder. "Stop it, Tae," I said. "Don't make me blush."
"Okay, Sam and Taeyang, I want you two to go through the chorus again, this time with a little more high tempo and see how it sounds," said the music producer.
"Okay," Taeyang and I said at the same time.
"Shall GD and I leave then?" Zoey asked.
"You may," said Collins, looking a little irritated on his face. "But don't leave the studio. You have to work on the backup vocals."
"Alright, we will be here," said Zoey, with a grin on her face.
If I hadn't known better, something told me Zoey and G-Dragon were up to something. They looked like little mischievous children as they smiled at each other and they walked out of the live room. I couldn't help but feel a little hollow inside.
"So, we will start from Christine's part," said the music producer.
We continued recording the song and later on, TOP, Mike, Daesung, Seungri and Daniel also came into the live room. It took us a while to record the whole song, trying to make our vocals blend in with the song but we were done.
"Great job guys," said Collins. "Let's break up for lunch and then we can come back and work on the backup vocals."
"Alright," said Mike as he took out his headphones. "I'm pretty hungry now."
"The song is amazing," said Christine. "And it's catchy that you can sing it the whole day."
"Ya," said TOP. "Why don't we all go somewhere special for lunch?"
"Like where?" I asked as I put the headphones on the mic.
"Some restaurant I think we will like," said TOP as he looked at me with a killer smile.
"That sounds great." I turned to the window to look at Collins who obviously heard everything. "Can we go, Collins?"
"Ya, you can go," said Collins waving his hand irritatingly in the air.
"Yes!" Daniel punched the air with his fist.
"But be back within an hour."
I raised an eyebrow at Collins who then rolled his eyes at me and groaned.
"Fine, an hour and a half."
I did a little victory dance in my heart and I smiled in triumph. Collins and the music producer soon left the studio room.
"How did you do that?" Daesung asked as we all walked out of the live room.
"Do what?" I asked with a smile on my face as Daesung was right behind me.
"How did you convince Collins to give us an hour and thirty minutes?"
"That, my friend," said Mike behind me, "is the way my sister does her thing. Just by a look in her eyes and you will have to do whatever she wants."
"That's not true," I said as I turned around to look at Mike who had his hand on Daesung's shoulder.
"Really? I beg to differ," said TOP as he winked at me.
"No one does what I want them to do just by looking at them in the eye," I said, looking away from TOP, blushing.
"Well, it does work, most of the time," said Christine nodding her head.
"Oh, ya? Like when?" I folded my arms.
"Whenever you want us to tell you the truth about something and we refuse, you always give us this eye that makes us give in," said Daniel.
"For real?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Ya, your eyes burn and we just can't take it," said Christine.
"Huh," I thought of all the times when either of my brothers or the girls ever did whatever I wanted them to do just by me giving them the eye.
"But that doesn't explain with Collins though," said Taeyang.
"Thank you, Tae," I said feeling relieved.
"Come on, Sam," said Daniel. "You might not know it, but Collins listens to you because you also give him the eye. And also probably because you're his favourite."
"That makes no sense." I shook my head.
"I believe him," said Seungri. "Looks like you have a way of getting to Collins to make him agree with you."
"But he doesn't agree to me all the time," I slowly shook my head.
"On some ocassions like this one, he does," said Christine with a smile.
"Can we please just go for lunch?" I asked.
Seungri came over to open the door for me, but just as I was about to step out of the room, I stopped.
"Guys?" I turned around to look at the others. "Where are Zoey and GD?"
We all turned towards the couch and noticed that there was no one there. I went back in the room and looked around.
"They aren't here," I said.
"These guys don't stop surprising us with their disappearing acts," said Daesung.
"I'm surprised Collins didn't notice," said Seungri.
"Hopefully, they will be back before we start on the backup vocals," I said.
"Then let's go then," said TOP. "Wherever those two are, they are fine."
I nodded my head and we all left the room. As we headed down to the ground floor, I reminded myself to leave a text message for Zoey.
We were in the lobby and I stopped to remove my phone. I went over to messages and realised that I had one unread message. It was the message I had received this morning.
I first sent Zoey a text message then I decided to read the unknown message from this unknown person. Then TOP appeared right in front of me.
"Hey, what are you looking at?"
I was startled by his sudden appearance that my thumb pressed the exit button and I had gone out of my messages.
"I was just sending Zoey a message," I said.
"Okay, shall we go?"
"Ya, sure." I put the phone back in my pocket and I wrapped my arm around his elbow and we walked out of the building.
"Oh, you guys look like you're going out," said Christine with a smile.
"We're all going out for lunch aren't we?" I asked with a smirk.
"Ya, we are," said Daesung, looking the other way and scratching the back of his head.
"We better go or else our one and half hours will elapse in no time," said Daniel.
Instead of using any one of the BigBang members personal cars, we used the two black SUVs. We were driven to a fancy restaurant and as usual, we grabbed a lot of attention, especially from the customers.
I had to admit, the restaurant was nice and classy, suitable for the famous and the rich. As I walked into the restaurant with the others, a fancy glass chandelier caught my eye. The polished wooden floor shone almost like glass under the lights the chandelier reflected all over the room.
A smartly dressed waiter, who by the way, was super cute, came over. He gave us a friendly smile and I felt Christine nudge me by the shoulder and when I turned to her, she was smiling. Looked like she also noticed the waiter's good looks too. Damn! Why were Korean men so good looking?
We were escorted to a round table big enough to cater a whole lot of people. Even ten. But sadly, Zoey and G-Dragon weren't here.
TOP pulled a chair for me and I sat down, thanking him as he took his seat beside me. Seungri pulled a chair for Christine who sat on my other side and Seungri sat beside her.
"This place is so lovely," I said as I looked around.
"Tell me about it," said Christine.
"I knew you would like it," said TOP.
"Ya, it's exquisite, but I'm only here for the food," said Mike who sat opposite me.
"So, let's order," said Daesung.
I took the fancy looking menu with the colour of velvet and the letters written in gold. Classy.
After our delicious meals had been served, we ate. I enjoyed it as I savoured every little food in my mouth.
As we were having our dessert, we were chatting and there was a lot of laughter all around our table. It was fun to be like this, all together as good friends and laughing about. I kind of wished Zoey and GD were here. I bet they were having fun wherever they were.
While I was having my strawberry cake, I felt the vibration of my phone in my pocket. Must be a message. I took out my phone and I was shocked to see that the same unknown number had sent me a message again.
I tapped on the message icon and the first message the unknown number had sent to me was a photo. I had to download it first before I could even see it. And then the next message was more surprising.
"Aren't you going to do anything about this?"
Anything about what was the question. Had this had to do with the photo? Must be or else the unknown person wouldn't have texted me this message.
I decided to turn my data on and download the photo. Just as I was about to, my phone went off.
"Dang it!" I muttered to myself.
"Hey, what's wrong?" TOP asked.
"Nothing, my phone went dead. I hadn't charged it last night."
"Was there something important you wanted to do?" Taeyang asked.
"Not really, it's not important." I shook my head but my thoughts still lingered on the unknown photo.
"Did Zoey text you back?" Christine asked.
"No, why?" I asked as I picked up a piece of strawberry cake with my fork.
"Well, your phone vibrated so I thought you had received a message from her."
"It was nothing. Wherever Zoey is, she is having a lot of fun."
"Hey, what's up with GD and Zoey anyway?" Taeyang asked.
"Isn't it freaking obvious?" said Daesung. "Those two seem like a couple now."
I almost choked on my cake but instead, I cleared my throat. Christine rolled her eyes.
"Well, that wasn't going to go on unnoticed forever," she said.
"Wait, for real?" Taeyang asked, with a look of surprise.
"And you already knew, didn't you?" Mike asked looking at Christine.
"Oh, please," said Christine rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed how close those two are nowadays."
"They have always been close," said Seungri. "But this time, they are just way too close."
"For them to disappear like that together, it counts for something, right?" TOP suggested.
"Can we please stop talking about it?" I asked. "There are people around and if they hear all this, some of us would be hanged when this spreads like wild fire."
"Why do you say that?" Daesung asked.
"Oh, oooh, oh," said Daniel waving his hand from across the table. "May I say it?"
"No, let me," said Christine, as she put her hand on mine and looking at me convincingly to allow her to say what she wanted to say.
I shook my head at Christine and she leaned back on her seat with a groan. Daniel smiled when I nodded my head to let him go on.
"Because, Collins gave these girls a golden rule when we were coming here," said Daniel. "And that is, none of them should date any one of you BigBang members. Never."
There was silence on the table and I couldn't help but feel a little downcast. Christine continued to eat her dessert like nothing serious had been said. I looked over at my brothers who seem to be enjoying our humiliation.
"Is that true?" Seungri asked, looking over at me.
"Ya, it's true," I said as I slowly chewed the cake in my mouth.
"Oh." Daesung looked a little disappointed as he stared down at his plate.
"Who cares? It's not like it's that serious," said TOP as he shrugged.
"It's serious to Collins," I said as I turned to look at TOP. "We're only here to collaborate with you and that's all. Not date, get married and have babies."
That was odd coming out of my own mouth and the others knew it too. Everyone's eyes were on me, with looks on their faces that I couldn't describe. This was embarrassing. My hands were now curled into fists as they rested on my laps.
"Sorry, that came out wrong," I said.
"Well, you did catch us by surprise by saying that," said Taeyang.
I really did. Something had gone totally wrong with me and I could feel it. My thoughts were spinning in my head and I felt like I had no control over how I felt.
"Excuse me, I'll need to use the rest room," I said as I drew back my chair, stood up and headed straight for the ladies' room.
I quickly closed the door immediately I stepped in the ladies' room, leaning my back against the door. My hands flew to my hair and I took a deep breath. I walked over to the sink and stared at myself in the mirror.
"What's wrong with you today?" I asked my reflection.
I shook my head and I knew I wasn't alright. Something was definitely wrong. Was it the fact that Zoey and G-Dragon were together? As far as I know, I wasn't really supposed to care. But I did.
I looked at myself and I could see the sadness in my eyes. Were they for G-Dragon? I shook my head at the thought. No. They weren't. He and I were still at war with each other and that made no sense. I had to stop thinking about these things and focus on what's really important.
I quickly took a deep breath to try and pull myself together. I rinsed my hands, left the room and went back to our table.
"Are you okay, Sam?" Mike asked as I sat back down.
"Ya, I am. I just feel horrible that I said that."
"We think we know why you did," said Christine.
I gulped. What had these guys thought of now? If it was what I thought it was, I would rather not hear it. There was a moment of silence at the table.
"Zoey has you so worked up that you're irritated," said TOP.
That was not what I was expecting. I was wide eyed and in my heart, feeling a little relieved.
"Ya, I remember when we were coming here in the plane and Collins told you to watch over Christine and Zoey," said Mike.
"And I have been a good girl on my part," said Christine making an invisible drawing of a halo above her head with her finger.
While Christine was one who at least had her hormones in check, Zoey and I were pretty much guilty. I couldn't tell who was worse between either of us. I bet I was worse.
"Well, I guess I'm also guilty myself like Zoey," I said, admitting to everyone.
"If you mean TOP flirting around with you, then trust me, you're not," said Daniel.
"Hey!" TOP looked a little annoyed but rather amused. He ended up laughing.
"And me calling you my panda," said Seungri, with a smirk.
"You see, Sam, people just like you," said Mike. "And these guys shouldn't dare make a move of kissing you."
I blushed. "Mike!"
"Don't worry, he is just being protective over his sister," said Daesung, laughing.
"I've tried kissing her," TOP challenged as he looked over at my brothers. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do about that?"
"Uhh, if I were you, I wouldn't challenge them, TOP," I said as put my hand on his shoulder, looking over at my brothers who looked set on tearing TOP apart. And I caught a glimpse of Daesung rolling his eyes at TOP. "You would end up regretting it."
"True," said Christine, nodding her head at TOP. "These boys are like monsters you can't beat. Only Sam can handle them."
I looked over at Christine with a look that said 'that's not true.' Christine shrugged.
"Fine, I'll listen to you ladies," said TOP as he looked at Christine and I. "Most especially because Sam says so." He gave me that killer bad boy smile of his and I blushed.
"Well, we better go," said Taeyang.
He was right. We only had a few minutes to get to YG. And Collins was one person who's strict when it comes to time.
After TOP paid the bill, we left the restaurant with the paparazzi taking pictures as we walked out.
We got to YG just in time. I just hoped that Zoey and G-Dragon were back here. I didn't want Collins on my throat and giving him the eye, wasn't going to help.
When we got to the studio, we found G-Dragon.
"Hey, where did you two disappear to?" Christine asked.
"We just went out," said G-Dragon as he looked around the room.
I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, just by the look on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked him with my eyebrow raised.
"Huh?" He appeared to be absent minded. Was he looking for something?
"I was asking what's wrong with you? And where is Zoey?" I asked as I also looked around.
"That's the thing," said G-Dragon. "I can't find her."
I felt something inside me break and my eyes bulged out of their sockets ready to fall out. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Are you for real?" Taeyang asked.
"I'm serious," said G-Dragon.
"Wait, do you mean you 'lost' her?" Mike asked.
"I didn't lose her, I just can't find her."
"That sounds more like losing her to me," said Daniel.
"You guys aren't helping!" G-Dragon exclaimed throwing his hands in the air in frustration.
"Where were you guys first of all?" Seungri asked.
"We first went to have lunch then the two of us went to the park."
"Then?" TOP asked.
"I don't know, I went over to get some ice cream for the both of us, and the next thing I know she was gone."
"Are you sure?" Daesung asked. "Did you look everywhere for her?"
"I did. I even asked people around and they hadn't seen her. I thought she would be back here."
"That would be unusual, given that Zoey doesn't really know the city so well," said Taeyang.
"But where could she be?" Christine asked looking as worried as I was.
"Try calling her," said Seungri, turning to Christine.
"I just hope she is okay," I said as I rubbed my neck.
"What are we going to do with Collins?" Mike asked looking at me.
"I don't know," I said. "Hey, do me a favour and try to call the hotel and see if Zoey is there."
"Sure thing," said Mike as he pulled out his phone.
"Her phone is off," said Christine her phone in her hand.
"Oh, no, this isn't good," said TOP.
"Again, Zoey is putting us into more problems."
I couldn't help but wonder why she went off like that. Something wasn't right. Was G-Dragon not telling us what was really going on?
"No one has seen Zoey go into the hotel," Mike announced.
"We're goners," said Seungri as he dropped himself on the couch.
"We've to look for her," said TOP.
"But where can we start looking?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know, but we have to go and find her," I said.
"And we have to do something with Collins," said Taeyang.
"Did someone say my name?"
I cringed. He was one person I wasn't ready to face right now. Everyone else wasn't ready to either. We slowly turned to look behind us and Collins stood there with the music producer.
"Why are you all looking worried like someone has gone missing?" Collins asked.
I sighed. If only he knew. But if he does find out, he wasn't going to forgive us that easily.
Collins looked on at us, waiting to answer him. What to do now! We were going to be in such big trouble.
"Looks like you aren't going to answer me, so let's get back to work," said Collins turning away from us and heading towards the console.
"We will work on the backup vocals," said Collins. "Zoey, Sam and Christine, you're up."
I looked at the others who hadn't said a word. We all looked at each other. Someone had to do something or else we would be toast.
"Are we going to start?" Collins asked looking behind him as he turned on his chair. "Where is Zoey?"
It was about time he noticed. It looks like we ourselves weren't ready to tell him that Zoey is missing.
"What's wrong with you, guys? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Zoey isn't here," said Mike.
"Ya, I can see that. Where is she?"
"She wasn't feeling too well," I said. "So she went back to the hotel."
"What? Did she eat something bad for lunch?"
"Ya. She did," said G-Dragon.
"So, do you think we should continue or do this tomorrow when Zoey is around?" I asked.
"We should just do this tomorrow," the music producer suggested, turning to Collins.
Please say yes. I was praying in my heart that Collins would agree. This time I wasn't relying on my eye to do anything.
"Fine," said Collins. "We really need Zoey, so we should just do it tomorrow."
Mike and Daniel almost jumped with relief but they managed to control themselves. Christine turned around so that Collins and the music producer wouldn't notice her sighing in relief. The rest of us just stood there, pocker faced.
"That's fine," said Taeyang.
"I really wanted us to be done with this today," said Collins.
"Looks like it wasn't meant to be," said TOP.
Ya. It wasn't meant to be. Looks like we were lucky. That meant we could look around for Zoey.
"You guys can go back to the hotel and make sure Zoey is okay," said Collins.
"I'll go," said Christine. "The others can stay here if they want to."
Christine was doing the right thing. If she went to the hotel, Collins wouldn't be so suspicious of what's going on and just in case he decides to go back there at anytime, Christine might cover up for Zoey.
"Okay and what will the rest of you all be doing?" Collins asked.
"Chilling," G-Dragon and I replied at the same time. We both looked at each other afterwards.
"Fine, I have some other things to attend to. I might just go and check up on Lee and Yang Hyun-suk."
I wanted to ask where, but I knew it was none of my business. I realised that I hadn't seen Lee the whole day. Must be she was busy with Yang Hyun-suk. Collins and the music producer soon left.
I walked over to the door and checked if Collins and the music producer were in the hall. But they were gone.
"Looks like we have to split up and look for Zoey," said Taeyang.
"Ya, we should," I nodded my head. "G-Dragon and I will take Christine to the hotel just in case Zoey shows up and if Collins decides to go there."
"I'll go with Taeyang," said Daniel.
"And I go with Seungri," said Mike.
"That leaves Daesung and I," said TOP.
"Great, let's go," I said and we all walked out of the room.
As soon as we left the YG building, we split up in the parking lot. Luckily, Collins had already left. Christine and I went with G-Dragon in his car. It was important that I had to talk to G-Dragon concerning Zoey.
We soon arrived at the hotel and Christine got out of the car. I gave her my phone for it to be charged.
"Call us if anything good happens," I said I looked at Christine through the window.
"And what if something bad happens?" Christine asked.
"Like Collins? You can handle it," I said as I gave her a smile. Christine winked and wished us luck.
G-Dragon drove away and we first went to the park where he came with Zoey after lunch. I just hope she didn't go that far and that she was okay.
"Did you two have some sort of argument?" I asked when we both got out of the car and I went round it to face him.
"What?"
"Did you two argue?"
"No, we didn't," said G-Dragon as he went around me and started walking towards the park.
I quickly turned and followed him. When I caught up with him, I stood in front of him to stop him.
"Are you telling me the truth?" I asked.
"Do you think I am lying?" G-Dragon asked.
"I think so." I said with my arms folded.
"You're crazy," said G-Dragon as he walked around me again.
I huffed. He wasn't going to budge. I had to try something to get the truth out of him.
With quick strides, I caught up with him again. This time I started to walk backwards so that I could look at him directly in his face.
"What are you doing?" G-Dragon asked as he looked at me, puzzled.
"I want you to tell me the truth."
"You're stressing yourself out by walking backwards."
"Do I care?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "I know you're hiding something from me."
G-Dragon chuckled and that almost made me smile. "Stop playing detective, my little kitty. As much as it suits you, you're going to trip over and fall."
"Then you have to stop me from walking backwards by answering my question."
"This is one silly method of interrogation if you ask me."
"I can tell you're not telling me something. Zoey can't just leave like that without someone upsetting her."
"And how do you know?"
"I'm her best friend. And plus, whenever someone gets her really upset, she runs off without telling anyone. She always wants be alone to think."
"I hope she doesn't think of committing suicide."
"Zoey can't end her life. Well, she hasn't tried to anyway. She's leaving the dream right now and ending her life this early, isn't going to sound right. Unless you did something."
"Me?"
"Da! Yes, you!"
"What could I possibly have done for Zoey to try and commit suicide?"
"Don't talk about suicide like that." I hit him on the arm.
"Ouch!" G-Dragon stopped and held his arm. "That hurts!"
"Well, you deserve it. Now tell me the truth." I put my hands on my hips.
"I'm telling you, Zoey and I didn't argue."
G-Dragon looked me in the eye and he seemed really convincing.
"Okay. I believe you," I said. "But you must have said something that upset her."
"I can't really remember what I had said to her. Maybe she just left on her own."
"And with her phone off, that's a bit strange, don't you think?"
"When we find her we will ask why she ran off."
"Ya. Sure."
"Now, will you please stop walking backwards? I don't want you to trip and save you from falling. That will spark rumours again like it did during the interview."
I didn't say anything, so I just nodded my head and faced forward. We went further into the park and as we looked around for Zoey, we sparked some attention from our darling fans. We signed a few autographs and took a few pictures and went on with our search. We even asked some fans if they had seen Zoey, but nothing.
We were already half way into the park and still no sign of Zoey. We were by the lake and I sat down on the grass by the banks.
"Are you tired already?" G-Dragon asked as he looked down on me.
"I'm not," I said as I removed my slippers and felt comfortable with my bare feet on the grass. "I'm trying to figure out where Zoey could be."
G-Dragon sat down beside me and the two of us were silent, looking at the pond. Laughter filled my ears as I saw a group of kids playing from across the pond. Some couples also sat on the grass close to the pond. It was such a beautiful day and sitting by the pond felt so relieving.
"Have you figured something yet?" G-Dragon asked.
I frowned and looked at him. "No, why do you ask?"
"You seem to be smiling to yourself," said G-Dragon as he looked at me.
"No, I'm actually enjoying what I'm experiencing right now."
"You love nature, don't you?"
I closed my eyes, still smiling. "Ya. I really do."
At that moment, I was so caught in the little world inside my head. For a moment, I forgot about everything. About looking for Zoey, being famous, and the whole world with everyone and everything in it. It's like they never existed because even the noise around me seemed non existent.
Then I felt something brush against my hand like a soft feather. The touch brought me back to reality and I quickly opened my eyes. I looked beside me and G-Dragon was staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"
I blushed all of the sudden and I looked down. His hand covered mine and for a moment I wanted to pull away. But then again, I couldn't explain how I felt with his hand on mine. I felt this weird comfort.
I would have said yes to his question, but no words came out. This wasn't right. As much as I wanted him close to me, I knew I would end up getting hurt because we were never meant to be.
"Umm," I pulled my hand away and put it closer to my body. "Please don't say that GD."
"Why?" He asked softly.
"Because this isn't right at all and you know it."
"What do you mean?"
"You know that I ready know about Zoey and you. You guys are more like a couple."
"So?"
"I want you to stay far away from me as possible. The further we are apart, the better it is for the both of us."
"Looks like you figured out that I don't really like Zoey as such as I like you."
I didn't say anything as I continued to figure out what to say next.
"Then why are you leading Zoey on? She doesn't deserve this, you know?" I asked.
"I know."
"Then why are you doing this?"
G-Dragon looked at me like he never had before. He soon looked away and sighed.
"I'm doing this because of you, Sam. But even if I do so, I still can't get you out of my head."
I also looked the other way, trying to act like those words hadn't affected me. But they did and they did so badly.
"You should find another way to do so, GD." I turned to look back at him and he faced me. "But not with Zoey. I don't want her getting hurt because of the both of us. I will never forgive myself."
G-Dragon nodded his head. "I'll do so."
I wanted to smile but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I hoped he kept his word and maybe with this little talk we've had, we would be friends again and stop acting like we had beef with each other.
Just as I was about to ask him why he had been giving me the attitude lately and if it had anything to do with his jealousy, his phone rang. He quickly removed it from his pocket and answered it.
"Hello? Christine?"
I was now attentive. Had she found Zoey? I wished I could have talked to her myself.
"Okay, we will be right there. Inform the others as well."
"What happened?" I asked after he cut the call.
"Christine called to tell me that she knows where Zoey is."
"Where is she?"
"She is at a famous café. I know where it is."
"But how did Christine know where Zoey is?"
"Zoey's phone went back on and she texted where she was. And she is not alone."
"Who is she with?"
"We're about to find out. Let's go."
G-Dragon got up from the ground and he held out his hand to me. I took it and he pulled me up from the ground. We left the park together, heading towards his car.
When we got in his car, we drove through the city and we arrived at this small fancy café. We parked across the street and before we could get out of the car, I looked across towards the café.
"Can you see, Zoey?" G-Dragon asked.
Through the huge window, I could see what was going on inside. Looked like a lot of people enjoyed coming over to the café. The place was parked for an ordinary day in the afternoon.
I searched for Zoey, but I couldn't see her. It was then that I saw Zoey at the far corner of the café. She was facing the window side and I saw her with someone. Sitting opposite her was a man in a fancy looking black suit. From afar, I could tell his suit was expensive and I couldn't see his face.
"I see her," I said. "And she is definitely with someone."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know. By the look of his suit, he seems like a business man or one rich tycoon."
"Seriously?"
"You think I'm kidding?" I turned to look at him. "Or are you now jealous that Zoey is hanging out with someone who isn't you?"
G-Dragon looked towards the windshield, avoiding my gaze. "No, I'm not. I'm just wondering who it was, that's all."
I rolled my eyes and said nothing more. I went back to looking at the café and focused on Zoey. I decided to read her body language and see if she was okay. She looked like she was enjoying herself, chatting with this stranger.
She was sipping her cup of coffee and she went back to smiling at the stranger. Something was a bit off and I shifted on my seat to see if I was seeing right.
"Hey, is something wrong?" G-Dragon asked, noticing my tension.
"Ya."
G-Dragon also turned on his seat and looked through the window.
Zoey's smile made me wonder what was going on. She was smiling and chatting but she looked a little nervous. Usually when she is with a guy, she was always the one who was never scared of leading the conversation and became pretty
comfortable with the person. Unless the guy was creepy enough to be a serial killer.
I felt a threat coming up. Was this guy dangerous? Zoey had a nervous smile on her face and if I was not mistaken, I think I noticed her fingers tap frantically on the table. She did that whenever she was nervous. I had to know what was going on in there.
"Let's go," I said as I turned to look at G-Dragon. "I'm not liking this."
"Thank you," said G-Dragon, looking relieved. "I had a bad feeling about this guy."
"Ya, right," I said as I grabbed the handle of the door, opened it and stepped out.
Just as G-Dragon came out of the car, three cars appeared off the main road and came to park in the parking space behind G-Dragon's car. The others had arrived.
"Christine told us to meet you here," said Taeyang as he and Mike came out of his car.
"Zoey's in the café," I said as I pointed across the road.
"Alright, let's go," said Seungri.
When I looked back at the café window, I noticed that Zoey was all alone on her table. That was odd. Where was he?
"Oh, no, no, no," I said staring wide eyed inside the café.
"What is it, Sam?" Daesung asked.
I didn't answer him as I quickly dashed across the road without even checking for any cars. I could hear the others behind call out to me to be careful. I luckily managed to reach the café without getting hit.
When I got to the café, a few people came out through the door. None of them matched the person who was in the café with Zoey. I quickly went in and I found Zoey still sitting in the corner. I rushed over to her that my presence scared her.
"Sam! You scared me to death!" Zoey held her chest as she breathed in and out so heavily, trying to calm down.
"Where did you go?" I asked, taking the seat the stranger had been sitting on earlier.
"Oh, I...um.." Zoey played with her fingers.
"Don't you dare try to lie to me, Zoey," I threatened. "You went with GD for lunch and the two of you went to the park. When GD went to get ice cream, you had disappeared. And the next thing we know, you're here."
"Christine told you where I was?"
"Of course she had to. We were worried sick."
I heard the bell of the café ring and I knew the others had arrived. They soon came over by the table. Only Taeyang, G-Dragon and Daniel were the ones who came in.
"Zoey where have you been?" Daniel asked.
"And who was that guy you were with, huh?" G-Dragon asked, looking down at Zoey with a frown on his face.
"Awww, are you jealous, my G-Dragon?" Zoey smiled at him.
"Stop taking all this like a joke, Zoey. I saw the way you were behaving with him. You weren't yourself when I saw you from across the street," I said.
The smile on Zoey's face disappeared in an instant. Good. Maybe now she would take us seriously. Her safety was way more important than she could ever imagine. If anything had happened to her, a lot of us here would never forgive ourselves.
"Can we please get out of here?" Taeyang suggested. "This isn't the place to discuss this."
"You're right," I said as I looked around the café and many heads were turning our way. I hated attracting so much attention sometimes.
The others had started to leave and Zoey and I both stood up from the table. I noticed the teacup the stranger had used and my mind still couldn't stop thinking about who he was.
After we left the café, we went back across the road where the vehicles were parked. Daesung, TOP, Mike and Daesung stood waiting for us.
"Thank goodness, you're alright, Zoey," said Daesung.
"Ya, thank goodness you weren't lost," said Mike. "We wondered if we would find you in a ditch or something."
Zoey frowned at Mike and all he could do was smile back at her mischievously.
"Let's all go back to the hotel, shall we?" I suggested. "Zoey can tell us everything from there."
Zoey and I went in G-Dragon's car making sure I sat in the backseat. The others got in the other cars and we drove off, G-Dragon's car leading the way.
We were all back in the hotel on our floor. Luckily, Collins wasn't around. I was relieved. Now I could vent out all my anger on Zoey.
We gathered ourselves in the lounge. The others sat on the couch and made themselves comfortable. Zoey and I were left standing and I looked at her, with my hands on my hips.
"Okay, let's start with why you disappeared?" I asked.
"No, don't ask that," said G-Dragon. "Ask who she was with first."
"I'm the one asking the questions." I turned to face G-Dragon. "I want to know what made her go like that."
"Fine, I tell you," said Zoey raising her hand to calm me down. "G-Dragon went over to get some ice cream when a person came up to me. Said he was my biggest fan."
"Don't tell me you fell for the person's good looks like always," said Christine shaking her head.
"You know handsome men are my weakness," said Zoey. "Sorry G-Dragon."
"No, I don't mind," said G-Dragon, shaking his head. I looked at him again and I was surprised with the look on his face that he really didn't mind at all.
"So, he said he is your biggest fan and then what?" Taeyang asked.
"He offered that the two of us go out for some coffee," said Zoey. "That's how I left."
"Now that makes no sense or maybe you have no sense, Zoey," said Seungri.
"Huh?" Zoey looked at Seungri, looking embarrassed.
"As much as that sounds totally embarrassing, Seungri is right," said Christine. "What you said doesn't make sense at all. How could you go out for coffee with someone you claims to be your fan without taking G-Dragon along with you?"
I started to tap my foot and looked at Zoey, ready to breathe out fire if necessary. Christine was right and surprisingly, Seungri too. She wasn't telling us the truth.
"Come on, Zoey, tell us what really happened," I said. "You couldn't leave without GD. And you had your phone turned off. All I know about the person you were with is that he was wearing an expensive black suit."
"Okay, do you really want to know the truth?" Zoey asked.
"Yes!" everyone replied at the same time, that almost made Zoey jump in fright.
"Okay, okay, eish," said Zoey. "You scared the hell out of me. The truth is, I went with my fan because he insisted that I go with him and not tell anyone about it."
"Huh?" TOP looked confused.
"What fan lays out that kind of condition?" Mike asked.
"Someone who was ready to take advantage of Zoey," I answered.
"If he did, you guys still wouldn't have found me," said Zoey.
"If he did, you wouldn't have been looking so nervous in the café."
Zoey was quiet and I still felt that she wasn't telling us the whole truth. I decided to play along and not say a word.
"Then what were you two talking about?" I asked.
"Just stuff," said Zoey, avoiding my eyes. "About me and my celebrity life."
"You're sure?" I asked. "Didn't he talk about himself?"
"Ya, totally." Zoey nodded her head. He never said anything about himself. Not even his name."
"Then why did you look so nervous in the café?"
"He was asking some personal questions I didn't like."
"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. "When someone asks you a personal question, you either snap back at them or walk away. Whether it's an annoying reporter, any of your haters or even us."
Daniel was right. Zoey would have stood and walked away from the stranger but she didn't. I wondered what question he might have asked her. That's if Zoey was telling the truth.
"I didn't want to look so mean in front of him," said Zoey. "He seemed like a very nice guy."
"A very nice guy that made you run off with him, made you switch off your phone and made you so uncomfortable," said G-Dragon, looking really irritated.
"Come on," said Zoey. "He wasn't that bad, seriously."
I didn't want to pressurise Zoey with more questions. Right now, she was getting away with it. If she was hiding something, I would find out sooner or later.
"Okay," I said. "We're just glad you're fine."
"And not dead," said Mike with a smirk. Seungri and Christine who sat on either side of him, both gave him the elbow in the side and he howled in pain.
"I'll pretend I never heard that," said Zoey.
"And you better get ready for Collins," I said giving Zoey a smirk of my own. "We told him you had a bad tummy ache and that's why you weren't at the studio."
"Seriously?" Zoey gave me an angry stare. "Couldn't you have told him a better lie?"
"That you were missing? Fat chance. You've already put some of us into enough trouble for one day."
"Alright. Sorry. I won't do that again."
I rolled my eyes, while shaking my head and went over to the dining table. Something told me it wouldn't be the last.
"Well, now that you're found," said Daesung, as he stood up. "Some of us better get going."
"Sorry for putting you guys into so much trouble," said Zoey.
"As long as you're fine and Collins isn't going to kill us, it's okay," said Taeyang with a smile.
"I'll be leaving too," said Seungri and he gave Zoey a hug and he walked over to hug me as well.
"Alright, see you tomorrow," I said.
One by one the BigBang members started to leave, saying bye to each other. G-Dragon stayed behind with Zoey so that they could talk a little. Giving them privacy, Christine, my brothers and I left for our rooms.
When I went in my room, I went for my phone that was still charging on my bed. The phone was still off and I decided to switch it on. It was almost full.
There was a knock on the door and I called out to the person to come in. Christine entered.
"Hey, can we talk?" Christine asked as she closed the door behind her.
"About what?" I turned to look at her.
"Do you really believe what Zoey told us?"
"No, I don't." I sat on the bed.
"Looks like I'm not the only one," said Christine as she came to sit on Zoey's bed, facing me.
"I wonder why she isn't telling us the truth."
"Did you see the man's face?"
"No. All I could say is that he wore a fancy and expensive suit."
"I wonder who he is. Maybe he is some rich tycoon or something."
"That's what I thought too." I gave Christine a smile.
"I bet he is good looking too. I still wonder why Zoey left like that without telling anyone. Do you think she really did all that just because the stranger told her to?"
"Well, I believe her on that part. I'm just wondering how he managed to convince her to come with him. Maybe he threatened her?"
Christine's jaw dropped. "Don't say that. I know there is no any other logical explanation, but I think that's way too far."
"You said so yourself, Christine. There is no other explanation. He might have blackmailed her or something."
"Okay, but blackmailed her with what?"
"That we have to find out."
I was just about to grab my phone and check out if I had any messages when Zoey came in the room.
"Oh. Has GD left already?" Christine asked.
"Ya. He left," Zoey replied. I heard a bit of sadness in her voice.
"Are you okay? You don't look alright," I said.
"I'm fine. G-Dragon and I talked about something serious."
Oh my. Had he told her about what we had discussed earlier at the park? As much as I knew it was going to hurt Zoey, it was for the best. Besides, she was going to find someone way better than G-Dragon. Hopefully, even me.
"What did you talk about?" I asked.
"He was just pissed that I left like that," Zoey answered. "He thought maybe he said something that might have upset me or something."
"Oh." That wasn't what I was expecting. "Well, I had asked him earlier if he had said something that might have upset you."
"But he didn't."
"I see why Sam asked," said Christine. "When someone gets you so upset, you run away. You've done that many times before back home during our school days, you know?"
"Ya I know. Forget about it." Zoey waved her hand in annoyance. "What's happened has happened."
And I hope it will never happen again, but this guy in the suit still worried me. Until I know who he is, I wasn't going to pretend that the worst has passed when it was yet to come at any moment.
The next thing I knew, the door to our room flew open and Lee walked in.
"Lee!" the three of us exclaimed in excitement.
"Wow! Did you guys miss me?" Lee asked with a smile on her face.
"Ya, we did," said Zoey, putting her arm over Lee's shoulders.
"Well, I missed you too," said Lee. "So, what happened today? I heard you never finished up on the song."
Christine, Zoey and I shook our heads and talked randomly at the same time, saying nothing really happened. Lee knew something was up and even if it could clearly show on her face, she didn't push us. She just smiled.
"Well, you'll tell me later," said Lee. "Collins and I were just....."
"Collins is here!" Zoey's face went white like a sheet.
"Yes, he is," said Lee with a wicked smile. "Now if you don't want to get into trouble, I suggest you go on your bed and cry out that you still aren't feeling well."
Christine and I almost burst out laughing. Zoey frowned.
"Ha, ha, very funny," said Zoey as she went over to her bed and sat down.
"As I was saying," said Lee. "We were in the lobby when we received a package from the receptionist. Said it was for you guys."
"Us?" I asked.
"Ya, the letter on the package was directed to The Toxins. It's with Collins in the lounge."
Christine and I rushed out of the room leaving Zoey with Lee. She had to pretend she was still not feeling well. We found Collins in the lounge with the package in his hand.
"Hey, Collins," I said. "What's that?"
"This came in for you guys," said Collins. "And with a letter too."
"Did I hear there is something for us?" Daniel asked as he and Mike came in the lounge.
"Ya. Here you go." Collins gave me the package.
The package was wrapped in a brown wrapper and on top of it was a white envelope. It was directed to us just as Lee said.
I took the letter and gave the package for Christine to hold and opened the envelope to remove a letter. I unfolded the letter and I read it out loud:
"Hope you're all okay. Just wanted to say I'm your biggest fan. With lots of love."
"That's it?" Mike asked.
"Ya, that's pretty much it," I said, looking behind the letter but there was nothing. "No name at all."
"Did you see anyone who sent this?" Daniel asked Collins.
"All that the receptionist told us was that some young man in a suit gave it to her and she should give either you guys or us when we came by the lobby."
My eyes went wide and my heart pace quickened. Did Collins just say a young man in a suit? Maybe I heard wrong and needed some clarification.
"A young man in a suit?" Mike asked.
"Ya. Do you perhaps know him?" Collins asked.
"Huh, no," said Christine, shaking her head.
"Oh. For a moment there, you guys looked a little frightened," said Collins. "I thought you might know him."
We did know him all right. The man who had been with Zoey. But who really was this guy? And this package? What could be in it?
"Open it, Christine," said Daniel.
Christine threw Daniel an angry glance. She obviously didn't want to open it and I knew what she was thinking. What if there was a bomb inside? Or maybe something to threaten or blackmail us? You could only think of the worst from a person you barely even knew.
"Let me," I said as I took the package from Christine and I sat down on the couch with the package on my lap.
Collins was watching us for a second and then left the lounge. I sighed in relief and so did the others.
"I thought he would never leave," Mike whispered after we heard the door to Collins' room open and close.
"Can you check if he is really in his room?" I asked.
Mike went in the hall and came back seconds later. "He is in the room."
"I'm really nervous," said Christine. "What is in there?"
"I don't know," said Daniel. "I hope it is nothing that could kill us."
Mike hit Daniel at the back of his head and Daniel whined in pain.
"Don't say that," said Mike. "I don't want to die soon."
"Guys, calm down," I said. "Let's just open this thing and see what's in it."
"Okay, but take your time," said Christine. "If there is a bomb in there, I want to say my last prayers before I leave this earth."
I rolled my eyes but I was as scared as the rest of them. If we were to make out of this alive, I was going to kill Zoey myself for dragging us into this mess.
I started to unwrap the package. It was a white box.
The other three couldn't stop staring at the box and I needed to end this paranoia once and for all. I quickly removed the lid without thinking that there might be something dangerous in the box. The others even covered their faces. But nothing happened.
"What the....?" I looked in the box and what I saw, shocked me completely.
"What is it?" Christine asked.
I looked up at the others and they bended over to see what was in the box. Their jaws dropped almost at the same time and we looked at each other.
"This is just ridiculous," I said as I shook my head.
Christine, Mike and Daniel suddenly burst out laughing.
Zoey and Lee came rushing into the lounge.
"Hey? What's going on?" Zoey asked.
No one answered. I was too speechless to say anything and the rest were still laughing.
"What is in the package, Sam?" Lee asked.
I soon removed a little cute brown teddy bear and held it up for Zoey and Lee to see.
"Huh? You're laughing all because of a teddy bear?" Zoey looked at the others, wondering if they were okay in the head.
"Oh, my goodness, Zoey," said Christine trying to catch her breath with tears in her eyes. "Can't you see it?"
"See what?" Zoey and Lee asked the same time.
"The...the...suit!" Mike laughed even more, pointing at the teddy bear.
It was then that Zoey looked at the bear in my hand and recognised that the tiny teddy bear wore a tiny black suit with a tiny black tie. Zoey looked like she was about to get sick. Looked like she already figured out it was the
stranger who she was with today that sent it.
"Guys, what am I missing here?" Lee asked.
"Zoey will tell you all about it," I said. "I believe this is yours." I gave the teddy bear to Zoey who held it in her hand.
The other three continued to laugh when they saw Zoey take the bear. Lee looked as confused as ever.
"And here I thought it was a bomb," said Daniel, wiping away the tears in his eyes.
"Ya. But it just turned out to be a bear in a suit," said Christine. "A harmless bear!"
This time, they laughed even louder and I couldn't help but start laughing too. A minute ago, we had feared for our lives and it was for no good reason. I saw the reason to laugh along as well. Who knows what the future might hold? You could die at any given day. We were just glad to be alive and laughing.
"Stop it, guys," said Zoey with a frown. "This isn't funny." Lee just shook her head in disbelief.
"You brought this on yourself, not us," said Mike.
"What's with all the laughing?" Collins asked as he came into the lounge.
Zoey held up the bear for Collins to see. It was such a funny site given that Zoey looked like she was about to cry and she held the bear's little arm in between her fingers that it was dangling in midair. That sent us into another wave of laughter. This time, Mike and Christine were on the floor and Daniel fell right beside me on the couch. I laughed so hard my stomach ached.
And surprisingly, Collins laughed too.