Mr Teddy in a suit was treated like a celebrity and became a trending topic on social media. Last night, we had posted pics of it and sent them on Instagram to our darling fans who loved the stuffed bear instantly. I had to admit, it was so much fun taking cute selfies and videos with the little teddy. Even Lee joined in the fun after we told her the whole story. The only person who wasn't enjoying all this, was Zoey.
Back at the studio the next day, the BigBang members couldn't help but ask us what had gone on with the teddy bear. With the looks on their faces, it's like they already knew who sent it.
"Don't tell me the guy in the suit sent it?" Daesung asked.
"Yep. He's the one," I replied, nodding my head.
"I can't believe it," said Seungri. "When I saw that teddy bear in the suit, I knew it had to do with that guy. I thought I was being paranoid."
"Well, whoever it is, really sent us laughing yesterday," said Christine, giggling a little. "We all thought he sent us a bomb or some threatening letter."
"Ya, we could see you guys were having fun on Instagram," said Taeyang.
"And Zoey is still pissed," said Mike. "This is the longest I've ever seen her upset in my life."
"Until all of this cools down, we have to keep a cool head around her from now on and not say anything stupid," said G-Dragon.
"Where is she anyway?" TOP asked.
"She went to use the ladies' room," said Christine. "Must be she doesn't want to hear us talking about the teddy bear."
A moment later, Zoey came in the room and we all turned to look at her. She seemed a little absent minded and hadn't noticed the silence that fell amongst us as soon as she walked in.
As she came further into the room towards us on the couch, I got a little worried. Somebody had to snap her out of her mind.
"Zoey?" G-Dragon stood up and walked over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Zoey blinked for a moment as though she had woken up from a dream. "What did you say?"
"You seem so preoccupied."
"I'm fine," said Zoey. "I just didn't sleep well last night."
"Why? Did you dream about the teddy bear haunting you?" Mike asked with a grin. Taeyang and TOP who sat on either side of him hit him on the shoulders.
"Very funny, Mike," said Zoey, giving him a frown. "I didn't have any nightmares."
"Then why didn't you get enough sleep?" I asked. "Was it about the guy in the suit?"
Zoey looked at me and nodded. Looks like she wasn't the only one who was worried about him. The others might think he was nothing but an ordinary fan who meant no harm. But to me, he was someone I had to look out for.
"Come on, Zoey," said Christine. "I doubt if he would show up again. I bet after sending us that teddy, he is pretty harmless."
"Ya, you don't have to worry about him anymore," I said as I played along to see Zoey's reaction. "I mean, you did say he is a very nice guy. We just got carried away yesterday thinking he was bad. But when he sent the teddy, he doesn't seem that way anymore."
"I don't trust him though," said Zoey.
"Why?" G-Dragon asked.
"What if he shows up again?"
"Then we will take him out for lunch and get to know him, right?" Seungri suggested.
A lot of us nodded our heads in agreement saying it was a good idea. I took a glance at Zoey and I saw her shaking her head a little. She looked even more nervous than before. Her reaction confirmed everything. Something did happen between Zoey and the stranger that she wasn't telling us about. And I was determined to find out no matter what.
"Anyway, enough of that," said TOP. "Aren't we supposed to finish up on the song?"
"I wonder where the music producer is," said Daniel.
"He must be around," I said. "Someone should go and check on him."
"I'll go," said G-Dragon.
"Let me go with you," said Zoey.
G-Dragon nodded and the two left the room. Looked like Zoey still didn't want to hang around us, thinking we might go back to talking about the teddy bear and the mysterious stranger again.
"I wonder what's up with Zoey," said Taeyang.
"She's just being paranoid," said Mike. "She shouldn't worry too much."
"That's the thing, Mike," said Daniel. "Zoey never worries too much. She's one who doesn't stress herself out."
"It will pass in no time," I said. "We ourselves shouldn't be too worried."
Lee soon came in the studio and surprisingly, she had Mr Teddy with her.
"Mr Teddy!" Christine and I exclaimed happily at the same time.
"Hey, guys. Weren't you supposed to be finishing up with the song?" Lee asked.
"We're waiting for the music producer to show up," said Daesung.
"And why did you bring Mr Teddy along?" I asked as I went over to Lee and took the little teddy. "You know Zoey doesn't even want to look at it. Like, never ever."
"Come on, it's harmless and I carried it around for personal reasons. By the way, where is Zoey?"
"Went looking for the music producer with G-Dragon," said Mike.
"Aren't you supposed to be with Collins and Yang Hyun-suk? You seemed very busy yesterday," I said.
"Oh, no," said Lee, backing away and shaking her index finger at me. "I see what you're getting at."
"What?" I asked, shrugging.
"You want me to tell you what's going on, don't you?"
I raised an eyebrow at Lee and the others also found all of this odd.
"I wasn't going to ask," I said innocently. "Seriously."
"Is there something coming up we should know about?" Christine asked.
"I'm not the one whose supposed to tell you. Your managers are," said Lee.
"It's fine by me," I said. "We will find out from them."
"Good," said Lee, straightening herself and grabbing Mr Teddy from me. "I think I'll leave now or else you, Sam, might make me tell you everything. Given that eye of yours."
The others snickered behind me and I sighed. Looks like the others weren't joking yesterday about the eye.
Just as Lee was about to leave the room, the door flew open and the music producer came in.
"Sorry, I'm late," said the music producer. "Let's get started."
"Ummm, Zoey and G-Dragon just went out looking for you," said Taeyang.
"Well, call them," said the music producer.
"Looks like G-Dragon left his phone behind." Taeyang held up G-Dragon's phone.
"And Zoey gave me hers to hold on to for a while," said Christine.
"Well, someone better go and look for them," said the music producer.
"I'll go," I volunteered.
"I'll come with you," said Daesung.
"Find them quick, will you?" Daniel asked.
"We'll try," said Daesung.
Daesung and I both left the studio with Lee who went upstairs. Daesung and I first went around the other studio rooms to check, but no luck. We decided to go and check the dance studios.
"Do you think they might have gone out again?" Daesung asked.
"I doubt it," I said as I opened the door to one of the studio rooms and found it completely empty. "They know they can't leave until we are done with the song."
"Ya," said Daesung as he also checked another empty studio room. "Those two really are something."
"Tell me about it." I smiled as I rolled my eyes.
"Won't Collins freak out if he ever found out that they have a thing going on?"
"You already know Collins. He won't just freak out, he will be furious. I know we are just here to collaborate with you guys, but if those two like each other, I would rather let them be."
"Too bad," said Daesung behind me as I checked another studio room. "I wish it wasn't that way."
As I backed away from the door, I bumped into Daesung who stood right behind me. I paused. I didn't want to turn around and look at him. I was leaning on his chest and immediately we had contact with each other, I felt a certain warmth spread throughout my body.
"Huh," I stepped to the side feeling a little uncomfortable and I was blushing. I was staring at the floor to avoid him noticing. I cleared my throat as I asked, "why do you say that?"
"Well, I..." I noticed Daesung scratch the back of his head as he hesitated.
Was he trying to bring out what happened between us at the park last week? It looked that way. I myself wasn't ready to talk about it. To be honest, I was terrified.
I looked up at Daesung and he looked back at me. I couldn't stop blushing for some reason and I looked away again. I was afraid to look at him because if I did, I might just bring my guard down and start talking about our little incident at the park.
"We better get going and find those two lovebirds," I said, still not looking at Daesung.
Daesung said nothing and just nodded. I smiled at him and soon turned away walking down the hall and checking the other dance studios for any sign of Zoey and G-Dragon.
We were looking in one the last rooms down the hall when the door to the last studio room flew open and a group of trainees were coming out of the room.
They were happily chattering amongst themselves. They were seven of them and I recognised.two of the trainees I had met earlier on when we first came here to YG, Soo Mi and Young Jin.
The trainees soon noticed Daesung and I in the hall and they stopped with each of their jaws dropping. Uh-oh. I knew that look. That was "oh my gosh my favourite idols is standing right in front of me" kind of look.
I was ready for the screams and excitement coming my way. And when they did, I closed my eyes and I knew any second now, they would have Daesung and I surrounded. Which they did.
"BK, what are you doing here?" Soo Mi asked as she looked excitedly at me.
"Daesung and I came here looking for Zoey and G-Dragon," I said. "Have you seen them anywhere by any chance?"
"We saw them here a while ago," said Young Min. "They must have gone upstairs."
"Oh, BK! Can we please take a selfie with you and Daesung?" one of the trainees asked as he gave me a pleading look willing for me to give in. Which I always did.
"Ummm, okay, sure," I said with a smile. "We don't mind, do we?" I looked over at Daesung.
He gave me the brightest smile and said, "no. With you, I don't mind anything."
The trainees around us started to snicker and if it came to the three girls, they giggled. They obviously noticed how I blushed so quickly after what Daesung said. Sometimes I wished cute guys would stop making me blush like a fool.
We all huddled up together to take a selfie. One of the trainees held up her phone to take it and we smiled at the camera. I felt Daesung's hand on my back, down to my waist. That sent shivers down my spine. As though making me blush earlier wasn't enough. I tried to keep my smile intact as we took a few pics with the trainees.
"Thank you so much," one of the male trainees said to me afterwards.
"You're welcome," I said, returning the smile and feeling a little relieved after Daesung removed his hand around my waist.
"We better get going now," said Daesung.
The trainees said their goodbyes and ran down the hall like excited little kids. I couldn't help but smile as I watched them go.
"Awww! So cute," I said when they disappeared round a corner.
"I know," said Daesung. "As though I was never like them once."
"I know that feeling. Reminds you of the old days, doesn't it?"
"It does."
I looked at Daesung and I could see in his eyes that he was lost in thought. He soon turned to look at me and I quickly looked away.
"Let's go upstairs, shall we?" I suggested.
I turned and before I could take a step further, I felt a grip on my hand. I turned to look at Daesung and he stood so close to me.
"Wait, Sam," said Daesung. "We need to talk."
This time he sounded serious and there was no way I was going to get away from him. Maybe it was time to talk about things. Who knows? Maybe it would do me some good and help clear things up.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's about us, Sam."
I knew it. This was bound to happen. I tried to keep myself calm and in control.
"Are you trying to talk about what happened at the park last week?"
"Well, ya," Daesung nodded his head as he looked me in the eye.
"Okay." I looked down to avoid his gaze. Looking him in the eye made me uncomfortable. I didn't want to get lost in them. I leaned my back against the wall.
"To be honest, I never stopped thinking about what happened to us that day."
"Or what almost happened." I corrected him. "I haven't been able to forget about it either."
We didn't say anything after that. The silence between us became so long and the empty hall added on to the effect dramatically.
A strand of my hair fell on my face and just before I could tuck it behind my ear, Daesung's hand reached out and put it behind my ear. His fingers brushed across my skin as he did so.
I gasped as I closed my eyes. His touch sent shock waves through my body and for a moment, I felt a little light headed. His hand was warm against my skin and he cupped my cheek with his hand.
I felt him drawing closer to me. I wasn't ready to open my eyes yet. I felt him lean his forehead against mine and I slowly opened my eyes. I was looking directly in his eyes and again, I was so drawn to him like I had before.
I continued to look at him and I got lost. With him so close, I had never felt so alive and so safe. I had never felt like this before. With G-Dragon, I felt comfort, with Daesung, it was something else all together.
But this had to stop. I wasn't doing anyone any good. Not even for myself. As much as I wanted Daesung, I had an ultimatum. Well, it felt more like it. We weren't meant to be together. And even though it felt right, I had to let it go.
I knew what I was about to do will make me regret later on. Call me bad, but I couldn't keep up with this charade any longer.
I continued to look at him and I held his hand that held my cheek. Daesung looked at me with a questioning look in his eyes. It looked like he knew something was wrong.
"Hey? What's wrong?" he asked, gently.
"I..." I paused before I could think of what to say next. "I can't do this, Daesung."
Daesung backed away a little but his hand never left my cheek.
"What are you saying?"
"I don't want to keep hurting you anymore," I continued. "You know you and I can't be together."
"But don't you like me?"
"I do." I really meant what I said and saying those words made my heart break. "I really like you, Daesung."
"Then why are you saying all of this to me?"
"I don't want to raise your hopes in a relationship that isn't going to last. I'm not going to stay here for long and as much as this is going to sound silly, I don't think all of this is going to work out."
"I know all that. But if G-Dragon and Zoey could be in a relationship, then why not us?"
I shook my head. "They are different. Maybe it will work out for them. But you just agreed with me just now that this might not work out for you and I."
Daesung sighed and with his hand still on my cheek, I couldn't help but regret all of this. Here I was, with a chance of being happy with such a wonderful guy like him but I couldn't due to so many things. Sometimes I wished I was never in this awful situation.
"I understand, Sam," said Daesung. "And if that's what you want, then I'll respect your wishes."
I smiled at Daesung and out of the blue, Daesung came so close and quickly planted his lips on mine. That was so unexpected and he quickly pulled away.
I was shocked for a moment and I couldn't think straight. Stars and sparks flew in front of my eyes like I had just got knocked out. That kiss was a total knockout all right. For a moment, I felt like I was dancing in the stars and I didn't want to come crushing back down.
I looked at Daesung again and I realised that he had been looking at me the whole time. My lips were still fuming hot and I wanted him to plant more kisses onto my lips.
"Hey, guys," came Zoey's voice.
Daesung stepped further away from me and I straightened myself from the wall. Down the hall stood Zoey and G-Dragon looking at Daesung and I.
"Were we interrupting something?" Zoey asked as she raised her eyebrow at me and smiled mischievously.
I blushed. This was so not happening. Had they seen us kiss? I hope not. I crossed my fingers hoping for the best.
"We came here looking for you," I said.
"Oh, really?" G-Dragon asked. He had a look on his face that I couldn't even describe.
"The music producer showed up and is waiting for us in the studio," said Daesung.
"I figured he was back," said Zoey as she came over to us with G-Dragon.
"We better get going then," I said as I looked down towards the floor.
"Mmmm," said Zoey. "Are you sure we didn't interrupt you two? Something was going on here before we came, right?"
"No," I said turning to Zoey with a frown. "We were just talking."
"Talking or looking for us?" G-Dragon asked.
"Does that even matter?" Daesung asked. "Can we please just go back and finish the song?"
I turned around and started to walk down the hall and the others followed. Zoey caught up with me and nudged me on the shoulder.
"You'll tell me later what happened, right?" Zoey whispered.
I hissed at her and rolled my eyes. She giggled and didn't say anything else. Looks like she and G-Dragon hadn't seen Daesung and I kiss. But they had seen us close together.
We found ourselves back at the studio and soon, we got to work on the back up vocals. I did my best to avoid Zoey and G-Dragon's gaze towards me. And I also made sure not to stay so close to Daesung.
As soon as we were done with the song and added a few modifications, we listened to the track and it was so good.
"Wow, amazing!" I said, after the track was done.
Zoey was still humming to the tune, even after the track was done playing and she was snapping her fingers.
"You're right, this tune is catchy," said Zoey.
"I can't wait for the managers to hear this," said Taeyang. "They would be mind blown."
"I'll take it up to them in the office and make them listen to it," said the music producer as he stood up with his laptop and USB in hand.
"We will be right here then," said Mike. "Unless we have better things to do."
I knew that was more of a suggestion and I couldn't blame him. We were done with the song and the least we could do is have fun before we could make plans for a music video.
"Like chilling and having fun?" Christine asked.
"Well, ya," said Mike giving Christine a wink.
"Not so fast, guys," said Taeyang. "We can't just leave before the managers get here."
"He's right," I said. "Remember what happened when we left without them knowing last time?"
"I'll talk to them," said the music producer. "Who knows? They might just make plans for a music video."
"Ahh. So soon?" Zoey whined.
"I think it will be great," said TOP. "Won't our fans be expecting a music video?"
"I also agree," said Daniel. "It's a single and the fans are expecting a lot coming out from this collaboration."
The music producer soon left as we continued discussing over the music video.
"So, where do you think we should shoot it from?" Seungri asked.
"This is difficult," said Zoey as she scratched her head.
"Why do you say that?" G-Dragon asked.
"Because it's a music video and it's always so hard to figure out what to portray for the viewers out there."
"Ya, Zoey is right," I said. "I don't hate making music videos, but it's tougher than it looks."
"And not only that, we have to work on the choreography too," said Mike.
"You and I were supposed to work on that, you know?" said Taeyang, addressing Mike.
"We can start working on it right now, if you so like. I already have some ideas running in my head right now."
"Nooo!" Zoey exclaimed as she sat upright on the chair.
We all turned to look at her. I wondered if she had hit her head or something today.
"What's wrong now?" Daesung asked rolling his eyes at her.
"Look guys, I know it's a good thing to talk about the music video and all, but can we do all that later and just go out and have fun?" Zoey suggested.
"We all want to go and have fun, Zoey," said Taeyang. "But I see no harm in talking about this first."
"You and Mike were just talking about working on the choreography just now."
"So?" Taeyang, Mike and I asked at the same time.
"Can we just do all of that later? Like tomorrow?"
I rolled my eyes. "You can be so annoying sometimes, Zoey."
"So, I see you guys are already planning on your music video," came Lee's voice as she came into the room.
"Is that a good thing?" TOP asked.
"Pretty much, yes," said Lee, nodding her head. "Because your managers are also planning on it."
"That's 'not' a good thing," said Zoey as her hand held her cheek.
Every one turned to Zoey. I wondered why she was acting so negative today. Oh, wait. Now I remember.
"You're so cranky today," said Christine. "That teddy still has you worked up."
"You mean, this Mr Teddy?" Lee as she held up the little teddy in her hand.
"Ah!" Zoey covered her eyes and she jumped up from her seat. "Take that thing out of my sight!"
"Oh my goodness, the drama queen is at it again," said Mike.
"All I need is a day off," said Zoey as she rubbed her temples. "That is all I'm asking."
"Ya, you're right," I said. "You really need to go and relax yourself and get this teddy bear shenanigans out of your head."
"Teddy bear shenanigans," said G-Dragon as he chuckled. Zoey gave him an angry stare and G-Dragon stopped and pulled himself together.
"Does that mean we have to get rid of the teddy bear then?" Lee asked as she looked at Mr Teddy.
"No, it's fine, we can keep him," I said.
"I don't want that teddy bear," said Zoey.
"All in favour of keeping the teddy?" Daniel asked.
Everyone in the room raised their hands, except Zoey.
"You guys are doing this just to taunt me," Zoey folded her arms and frowned.
"Let me see if I can talk to the managers so that you can go out or else you would blow up this place," said Lee.
"Please do," Zoey pleaded as she put her hands together.
"That won't be necessary, Lee," said Collins as she came in the room with Yang Hyun-suk.
"Can we please go?" Zoey asked, looking at Collins with hopeful eyes.
"You can go," said Yang Hyun-suk. "You guys deserve it."
Zoey sighed happily in relief and hugged G-Dragon who sat next to her. A lot of us were excited about it. Even me.
"So, are there any plans of making a music video?" I asked as I turned to look at the managers.
"Well, yes," said Collins. "We will make a music video."
"The single is too good for there not to be one," said Yang Hyun-suk.
"You're right," said G-Dragon.
"We were even talking about it just now," said Seungri.
"Good, so tomorrow, we would start looking at it and see what ideas you all have," said Yang Hyun-suk. "So, you can go out, have fun and get inspired."
"Oh, we will alright," I said.
Collins and Yang Hyun-suk bid us farewell and left. We now started to think about where we should go out today.
"I know where we should go," said Seungri.
"Where?" Zoey and Mike asked at the same time.
"Why don't we all go bowling?"
"Bowling?" Christine, TOP and I now asked at the same time. That came out as a surprise.
"Ya, it will be so much fun, just think about it."
"Well, I don't think it's a bad idea," said Lee.
"Ya, I think I haven't done anything competitive for a while," I said as I nodded my head.
"Apart from those little bets we used to do, you're right," said Daniel. "I'm ready for an 'in it to win it' situation."
"It's settled then," said Seungri. "We will go bowling."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go," said Zoey excitedly.
"I'll come along too," said Lee.
"That will be great," I said. "We might need you around."
In an instant, all of us stood and started to walk out of the studio. Just as everyone had cleared out of the room and I was sure that I was the only one left, I was by the door when I quickly remembered that I had left my phone on the couch.
When I turned around to head back into the room, I stopped dead on my tracks when I saw G-Dragon standing there with my phone in his hand.
"Coming back for this?" G-Dragon asked as he waved my phone in his hand.
"Uh, yes," I said as I approached him.
Just as I got close to him, I made a hand for my phone but he drew his hand back. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"May I have my phone back, please?" I asked, my palm wide.
"You're such a hypocrite, Sam," said G-Dragon.
I could feel my heart shatter when he said those words. Where did they come from all of the sudden?
I shook my head, confused. "What do you mean by that?"
G-Dragon almost laughed but a simple and mocking "ha!" came out of his mouth. "Don't start pretending now, Sam. You know exactly what I'm talking about. What were you and Daesung up to when Zoey and I found you two down in the hall? Apart from looking for us, of course."
I blinked. What was I going to say now? I felt cornered when I knew I did nothing wrong. I knew how G-Dragon must be feeling right now. Not after what he and I talked about yesterday at the park.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" G-Dragon asked.
Still, no words came out of my mouth. Even if I tried to defend myself, he wasn't going to believe me. He was hurt and I could see it in his eyes.
"Why are you quiet, Sam?" He took a step closer towards me. "Answer me."
I closed my eyes, took a breath and opened my eyes. I looked directly in his eyes.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," was all I could say.
G-Dragon looked at me with disgust and pulled himself back away from me. He shook his head and seeing him look at me like that almost made me want to cry in torment. I could feel the tears in my eyes, ready to drop.
"Hey, what's keeping you two so long?" Lee appeared at the door.
"Nothing. Sam, left her phone and I was just about to bring it to her," said G-Dragon. He didn't look angry like he had earlier on.
"Okay, we are waiting for you," said Lee.
G-Dragon gave Lee a smile and gave my phone back without even saying a word. I took it without looking at him. I was too afraid to say anything and I didn't want him to notice my tears if they ever fell.
G-Dragon left the room and I was left alone with Lee, whom I hadn't even turned around to look at.
"Hey, are you okay?" Lee asked as I heard her coming closer behind me.
"Nothing, Lee," I said as I turned around to face her.
I could see her facial expression change as soon as she saw my face.
"Did you two argue, again?" Lee asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." Surprisingly, no tear fell. I had to put up a show for everyone, but I was worried that I wasn't going to put up with it for much longer.
Lee didn't say anything. That was one thing I really loved about her. She was not one to push you to say things you don't want to say. She so understood.
We went out of the studio together and met the others downstairs. They were all settled in the two black SUVs. I just made sure not to go in the vehicle where G-Dragon was.
We went to a bowling alley in Gangnam. As soon as we all stepped out of the cars, a few faces turned our way. A few phones perked out of people's pockets and bags and a few photos were taken.
As we went in the bowling alley at the counter to change our shoes to bowling shoes, we had already attracted so much attention to those who were already having fun in the bowling alley.
"Sam?" Lee called out to me as soon as I got the right bowling shoes for myself. I turned to look at her.
"What is it, Lee?" I asked.
Lee took me by the arm and dragged me further away from the others who were quickly changing their shoes.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Lee whispered so as not to catch the attention of the fans who were happily looking at us.
"With what?" I asked.
"You being here. You can always leave. You don't have to stay, not after what happened with you and G-Dragon."
"Are you scared things might get a little out of control?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, ya!" Lee nodded her head frantically. "Who knows, he might just throw a bowling ball over your head if not drop it on your toes."
"Thanks for looking out for me, Lee. But I can't keep stalling these guys. I haven't really gone out with them for a while just to have fun. And when I leave, they will get suspicious."
Lee looked at me sadly but managed to put up a smile. "I know you're doing all this for the others, but you have to look out for yourself too."
"That's why I've you and the other Toxins, don't I, especially my brothers. I'll also try my best not to punch GD in the face."
"Fine. Let's go change into our bowling shoes."
I smiled. Talking to Lee gave me a lot of comfort. We went back to the shoe counter and changed into our bowling shoes. I also got myself some bowling gloves too.
We joined the others at one of the bowling lanes and they were all getting ready for the game.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Taeyang asked.
"Should we make it more like a competition?" Christine asked.
"If it is a competition, the more fun it will be," said Seungri.
"So, why don't we say BigBang verses The Toxins?" Lee suggested. "That already sounds fun."
"Cool," I said with a smile and my arms folded. "BigBang verses The Toxins."
"You guys are going down!" Mike said with a mocking sneer.
"We will see about that," said TOP.
"We have the best bowler in the house right here," said Daniel as he pointed at me.
"Really?" Daesung asked.
"Well, ya, I had practised bowling during my years in high school," I said. "It's been a while."
"We will see if your bowling skills are as good as your singing," said G-Dragon with a smirk on his face.
"Ya, we will see," I said trying my best not to frown at him.
"There has to be a prize for whoever wins," said Zoey.
"But what's the prize going to be?" Lee asked.
"I've an idea," said G-Dragon. "How about whichever team loses, does whatever the other team tells them to?"
I have always hated that kind of condition in a game. I wondered if he had set that up just because of me.
"Deal," Zoey, Mike and Daniel said at the same time.
Christine, Lee and I turned to look at them. "No!"
"Why not?" Zoey shrugged. "It sounds okay to us."
"But not to some of us," I said.
"Guys, come on, it's just a game," said TOP. "I mean, we don't really have to take it seriously."
"I'm taking it seriously," said G-Dragon.
"Ya, me too," said Seungri.
"Me three," Mike said. "Please, Sam. Let's just do this. If we win, we can make the kings of k-pop do whatever we want."
"That's it then," I said as I snapped my fingers.
"What?" the others asked as they looked at me.
'"If The Toxins win, we get to be the kings and queens of k-pop until we leave Korea. If we lose, we get to do whatever they want, considering that they are the kings of k-pop after all."
"Now you're talking," said Daniel rubbing his hands together.
"Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind being the queen of k-pop for a while," said Christine as she smiled to herself and seem to be in her own thoughts.
"Do you guys accept?" I asked as I looked over at the BigBang members.
"Ya, I agree," said Taeyang.
"Game on," said G-Dragon.
"May the best team win," I said.
I hadn't realised this sooner but when I turned around, there was a crowd of fans holding up their phones taking pictures and videos of the whole thing. Oops. Looked like they already knew the condition of the game and they were happily chattering about the whole thing.
"Jeez, I never noticed that there were so many people," said Lee.
"And they must have heard everything," said Christine. "Will they be mad if we win and become kings and queens of k-pop?" she asked as she lowered her voice.
"It's only temporary and besides, it's just a joke, no biggie," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.
"Okay, you guys get ready," said Lee. "I'll be recording your scores on the monitor."
"These guys are in for a lovely treat," said Daesung as he turned to look at the fans.
"Ya, because we're going to tear you apart," said Mike.
Seungri waved a finger at him. "Not on our home turf."
"Just wait and see," said Christine. "In these kinds of situations, the underdogs always win."
"We will see about that," said G-Dragon.
"Okay, guys," Lee called out to us from the game monitor and even the fans paid attention. "I have set your team names in and you could see through the TV monitor above you. The monitor is automatic, so it will be recording your scores. So, let the game begin."
There was soon a round of applause coming from the fans. It looked like they were enjoying this as though it was an international bowling game. When I thought we were going to have fun, I wasn't expecting a huge crowd. I made a mental note not to make Seungri choose which place to go to next time.
"BigBang, since it's your territory we're playing on, you will go first," said Lee.
"I'll go first," said G-Dragon. "Let me show you how a true leader does it."
I rolled my eyes at him while the rest of my team stuck out their tongues at him like little kids as we all took our seats on the bench.
G-Dragon got a red bowling ball from the ball rack and the crowd cheered for him and so did the rest of his team. He inserted his forefinger, middle finger and thumb into the inserts, the small holes on the bowling ball to grip it properly.
He stood upright as he faced the bowling lane, ready to run the ball down and strike the pins. I could see the concentration in his eyes as he looked towards the pins. I just hoped he wasn't going to have a clear strike.
With the ball held up on his hands, he took a few steps forward with enough momentum to drive the ball. As he bent downwards to release the ball, it rolled its way down the lane with so much momentum that when it hit the ten pins, they all fell.
"Stttt-rike!" Lee yelled behind the gaming board.
Everyone cheered all around us and G-Dragon smiled at the crowd and bowed as though he just gave a show of his life. His team also cheered and they went round to hug him.
"That was a stunning strike from BigBang's one and only, G-Dragon," Lee announced from a microphone in front of her. I wonder where that came from.
"Yikes, that was good," said Mike, scratching his head. "Who's going to start for us?"
"I'll do it," I said, but Zoey held my shoulder before I could stand up from the bench.
"I'll do it," said Zoey.
"Are you sure?" Christine asked. "I think Sam should start. She is good at this after all."
"And she is the leader," said Daniel.
"No, I said I'll do it," said Zoey and she stood up and went to get a pink bowling ball from the ball rack.
She stood in the middle of the running lane and held the ball up to her chin. She took a deep breath and she stood upright. She took a few quick steps forward and released the ball.
The ball rolled and I had my fingers crossed and so did Christine. Mike and Daniel had their fingers in their mouths that I was afraid they would bite them off at any moment.
Unfortunately, when Zoey's ball hit the pins, only six were knocked down. Bummer. Zoey shook her head.
An "oooh" came from the crowd but they managed to clap and cheer for Zoey. She still had a second ball and maybe we could get away with a spare.
Lee hissed in the microphone. "Ooh, that was unexpected. Will Zoey manage to get away with it with a spare?"
"Come on, Zoey, you can do this!" Daniel cheered as he clapped his hands.
The rest of us on the bench cheered as Zoey rubbed her hands together and went back to the ball rack to retrieve the pink bowling ball.
She positioned herself on the running lane. She quickly took a few steps forwards and released the ball as she swung her arm downwards. And this time she knocked out the remaining four balls.
"YES!" Zoey jumped up like she could just fly in the air. The rest of us on the bench also jumped up celebrating and ran to hug Zoey. The rest of the crowd behind us also cheered.
"Whoaaa! That was a close call and The Toxins have managed to get away with a spare!" Lee exclaimed excitedly in the microphone.
"I'm so glad you knocked out all the pins," said Daniel.
"Let's just pray that they don't," said Christine looking over at BigBang.
This time, it was Taeyang taking the second frame. We took our seats back on the bench and we all held each other's hand, hoping Taeyang might miss some pins.
But he didn't, and he got a clear good strike knocking down all the pins. There was a loud cheer from the fans while some of us groaned in frustration. The BigBang members ran over to Taeyang to hug him.
"Another stunning strike from BigBang's Taeyang," said Lee. "I wonder if The Toxins have something up their sleeves to turn this game around."
"I'm going next," I said.
"Please have a strike," said Zoey.
I nodded my head assuring my team that I would, but I wasn't too sure of myself if I could. After what happened with G-Dragon back at the studio, I could still had that negative effect in me. But I had to push those feelings aside for the sake of my team.
I stood up from the bench and the crowd cheered and there were others screaming my name. That gave me a little morale and I smiled as turned to look behind me.
I went to the ball rack and and got a black ball with streaks of the colour purple. Somehow, the ball looked to be covered with purple vapour around it.
With the ball in hand, I inserted my fingers in the inserts. I went over to positon myself on the lane and I held the ball up close.
For a moment, time stopped and I could feel myself shaking. What was wrong with me? I was scared. But why? Was it that there were so many people watching and I was afraid I would mess up?
Oh, maybe it's because of G-Dragon?
I tried my best to shake off the feeling and focus. I couldn't let this affect me. Maybe Lee was right. I wasn't supposed to be here. I was angry and frustrated with myself. I was too frustrated that I had no idea how I was going to make G-Dragon understand what happened between Daesung and me.
Don't let it get to you, Sam. There will be a time for that later. For now, just do what you do best.
I don't know how or where that voice came from, but it was like someone had whispered into my ear, but I was definitely sure it was in my head.
I took a deep breath and I took quick steps forward as though I was sprinting and bent forward as I let the the ball loose from my grip and watched it roll.
I watched the ball roll and for a moment, I couldn't tell if the ball was going at full momentum. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.
The next thing I knew, the ball hit the pins. All of them fell instantly. I couldn't believe my eyes.
The next thing I knew, my whole team surrounded me and I was caught up in their hug. It was then that the noise around me filled my ears. I hadn't noticed all the noise. It felt like my ears were unblocked just there and then.
"AAAHHH!!!!" Zoey and Christine exclaimed, deafening me.
"You did it, Sam!" Mike exclaimed.
"I knew you still had it in you," said Daniel.
I was too speechless to even say anything. I was completely overwhelmed. And the crowd were cheering like crazy.
"I didn't know I still had it in me," I said as I tried to keep myself together and not let the emotions get the better of me.
"Let's not get too excited, guys," said Zoey. "Let's go and settle down."
"That was a stunning strike from the one and only BK. Let's see if BigBang can try to surpass them," said Lee.
I looked up at the score board. We were ahead of them with a lot more points than I expected. If we could get another strike and maybe even a couple of spares, we may win this for sure.
Seungri came up for the third frame. He took a white and black bowling ball and got himself ready.
This time Seungri managed to hit only four pins. That was a relief. But he still had a spare and if he managed to bring the other six down, he might get away with it.
Seungri went over to the ball rack and got his ball. This time, I was praying he wouldn't knock down all the pins.
"I hope he doesn't knock them all down," Zoey whispered in my ear.
"Me too," I whispered back.
Seungri relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath before he could release the ball. When he did, he ended up hitting them all.
I groaned as I buried my head in my hands while the crowd and the rest of the fans cheered behind us. The BigBang members also cheered.
"Whoa, looks like BigBang are banging on the door now," said Lee. "How will The Toxins respond to that?"
"Okay, I'm going next," said Christine. "I'll show them."
"Ya, you go, girl!" Zoey cheered for Christine as she stood up from the bench and went over to get a yellow bowling ball.
After relaxing herself and twisting her neck to release the knots, Christine took a deep breath and sprinted forward. She released the ball just in time before the foul line because if she did, the throw would have been a foul and it wouldn't count. But that wasn't the best part.
"A double for The Toxins! These guys are now on fire," said Lee as cheers filled the bowling alley and we went over to hug Christine.
"That was awesome! A double strike," said Zoey.
"We might just win this all the way," said Mike as he looked up at the score board.
"Hopefully, we would," I said.
TOP came up for the fourth frame and this time, my team and I had our arms outstretched and wiggling our fingers, as though we were a group of witches and wizards trying to jinx TOP to miss a few pins. We were all muttering shambolic words as though we were casting spells. A few fans behind us laughed at the incident.
"Stop doing that," G-Dragon snapped at us.
"Why?" Zoey asked. "I bet you were also praying for us to miss too."
"You're making it too obvious," said Taeyang.
"Maybe if we do, things might go in our favour," I said.
"We'll see about that," said G-Dragon as he frowned at us. But I was pretty sure that that frown was meant for me.
TOP only laughed as he looked at us and turned to look ahead of him again, towards the bowling pins. He held the white bowling ball in his hand and sprinted forward and let the ball roll. Unfortunately for us, he got a strike.
"BigBang with a strike!" Lee announced as there were cheers around us. "These guys are banging for victory and they look like they aren't giving in."
"For a second there, I thought he was going to miss," said Daniel.
"Well, you thought wrong," said TOP as he stood in front of us with a huge smile on his face. "We're so winning this."
"Don't be too confident," I said as I looked up at TOP. "Someone might chip off your wings and you will come crushing down."
"If it means crushing down for you, I would, my lovely jagiya," said TOP as he bended over me that he was so close.
There was a playful "whooo!" coming from the ladies behind us. I couldn't help but blush and I looked away. Mike and Daniel growled as though they were about to tear TOP apart like wolves.
"Awww! It's getting hot in here," said Lee as she raised her eyebrows towards TOP and I. "So cute. You're making some of us jealous."
At the corner of my eye, I noticed G-Dragon's angry stare towards us. I pretended not to notice.
"Come on, guys," said Mike. "Let's keep our head in the game. I'm going next."
"All the best," said TOP as he went over to sit with his team.
Mike mimicked him as he got up from the bench and took a sky blue bowling ball. He went over to stand in the middle of the lane and after preparing himself, he sprinted forward and let the ball roll. When the ball hit the pins, three pins remained standing. One on the left, the other two on the right.
"OMG, a split," I said as I looked onwards at the pins.
"Dang it!" Mike muttered as he stomped his foot on the floor.
For a moment, there was murmuring in the crowd and I knew what they were thinking. Was Mike going to be able to do it? It was a split after all and not everyone who played bowling ever got away with it. That's if you weren't a professional bowler.
"Wow, a split. This is going to be interesting," said Lee.
My team and I turned to look at Lee with frowns on our faces. Lee shrugged. She was clearly not helping.
"I would love to see you guys get away with this one," said G-Dragon.
"Oh, shut up," said Zoey waving her hand at him.
I turned to Mike, completely ignoring G-Dragon and his team.
"Listen, Mike, don't panic, okay?" I said to him.
Mike stood still as he looked at me, took a deep breath and said, "okay, not to panic. Got it."
"Go for the ones to the left first," I said. "With the ball going at full momentum it might just let one of the pins go to the other side and knock the remaining pin down."
"You're sure?"
"I wouldn't trust her if I were you," G-Dragon said to Mike with a smirk on his face.
I looked at G-Dragon and I could clearly see that he was really going at me right now. Other people might think all of this as playful trash talk, but only he, Lee and I knew it was something completely out of the ordinary.
"Trust me, Mike," I said as I turned to look at my brother.
With full confidence, he nodded his head and went over to the ball rack and got the blue bowling ball he had used before.
He went to the middle of the lane and had the ball held up in both hands. He sprinted forward, and with his right hand, let the ball roll. This time, it wasn't rolling down the middle but to the left side at full speed. In the end, the ball hit the two pins on the left and one of the pins flew to the right side knocking the other down.
There was a loud cheer like never before in the bowling alley. And the next thing I knew, I had fallen off the bench with my back on the floor because Mike quickly ran straight to hug me and we both fell over. The other Toxins followed and the next thing we knew, we were all piled up on top of each other.
"We did it!" Mike exclaimed.
"Get off me, guys! You're all so heavy!" I exclaimed. I couldn't take the weight of the others and they were crashing me like a bug.
One by one, they all stood up and Mike and Daniel slowly pulled me up. There were still cheers coming from the crowd. Mike had done me so proud by finishing off that split and had also impressed everyone else too. I doubt if I could have done better than he did.
"What a way to complete a spare from The Toxins!" said Lee through the mic. "That got everyone wild. What a stunner!"
"You did it, Mike!" I said as I hugged him. "I'm so proud of you. Mum and dad would too."
"It's because I listened to you," said Mike with a smile. "You're the best!"
"How did you know how to finish off a split?" Zoey asked me.
"I was taught from the best," I said. "Though I was never successful during my practise days to finish it off. Sometimes it takes a little bit of luck to do that."
"What do you think about that now?" Christine asked as she addressed the BigBang members.
"I'll admit, that was pretty good," said Daesung.
"Yep, that was just incredible," said Seungri.
"Stunning," said TOP.
"Let's just move on, shall we?" G-Dragon asked as he rolled his eyes at us.
We all went back on our bench and tried to keep it cool, but the excitement couldn't leave our faces.
Daesung came up next and took a black bowling ball from the bowling rack. He got himself ready to bowl and when he did he knocked out all the pins except for one.
"Ah, shoot!" Daesung muttered to himself.
"Don't worry, Daesung you can do it!" Seungri cheered for him.
No one on our side said anything. The worst thing you could possibly do is cast an evil eye on the ball and make it go the other way. Though I was praying that Daesung should miss the last pin.
After Daesung got his ball, and let it roll, I closed my eyes, hoping that if I did, I might just get the surprise of my life. But I didn't. He hit the last pin and there was a loud cheer from the crowd.
"Okay, my turn," said Daniel. "I hope I get a strike."
"You can do this bro!" Mike cheered for his brother.
Daniel got a green bowling ball and got himself ready to roll the ball. When he did, the ball rolled down the middle and even though it wasn't going as fast as I had expected it to, all the pins got knocked down.
"Strike!" Lee exclaimed. "That was brillant from The Toxins!"
My team and I ran to hug Daniel and praised him saying that he had done a good job. As for Daniel, he still couldn't believe that he got away with a strike.
We were in the sixth frame now and G-Dragon came up again, following the same sequence as before.
This time, when G-Dragon rolled the ball, he got another strike. Good for him.
Zoey came up and this time, she got away with a strike. She was on top of the world and couldn't stop cheering and dancing around, that Christine and I had to drag her back to the bench.
It was Taeyang's turn and apparently he got away with a strike too. He was really good. Hats off to that one.
It was now my turn, but then, Daniel stopped me by grabbing my hand as I stood up.
"What is it Daniel?" I asked.
"May I take this one?" he asked.
"But why? It's my turn."
"I know. I just don't want to take the last frame, if you know what I mean."
I knew exactly what he meant. The person who takes the last frame takes three balls. The last frame was the most crucial part in the game.
"You want us to swap?" I asked.
"Ya. Let me take this one, please?" Daniel asked.
"Okay, fine," I said as I went back down on the bench and he got up.
Daniel knocked down seven pins with his first ball but managed to go away with a spare with his second.
It was TOP's turn and this time, he only managed to hit five pins with his first ball and the other five with his second.
Mike however managed to get away with a strike. He was on top of the world today.
Seungri came up for the ninth frame and this time he managed to knock down seven pins with his first ball and the three with his second.
Christine came up and and knocked out six pins. With her second ball she just knocked out one pin. That was a bummer.
"Oh gosh!" Zoey and I muttered at the same time.
"Ah, oh," said Lee. "That's going to affect the scores."
I hope not because we were now heading to the last frame and that meant three balls had to be played. Yikes, I was shaking this time. How I wished I never decided to take up the tenth frame.
Daesung stood up from the bench and I could tell he was nervous as I was.
He took the black bowling ball and soon rolled the ball. He had a strike and the crowd behind us cheered.
With his second ball, he only got to knock out eight pins. With his third ball he knocked out the remaining two pins.
There was a loud cheer from the crowd and I looked up at the score board. Because Christine only knocked out seven pins, the only way to win this was if I could get away with three strikes. Which was difficult. And pretty terrifying.
I stood up from the bench and Daesung looked over at me.
"All the best, Sam," he said.
"Th-thanks," I said as looked to the floor and tucked a strand of my hair and went over to get the black bowling ball with streaks of purple on it.
I took a deep breath when I positioned myself on the lane. When I got to sprint forward and let the ball roll, I closed my eyes, not hoping to see if I would knock down the pins or not.
There was a loud thundering cheering behind me that for a moment, I thought the ground was shaking. I opened my eyes and in front of me, down the bowling lane, the pins had been knocked down.
I got ready for the second ball and using the same ball, I let it roll. Again, another strike.
My team and the rest of the crowd cheered.
I shook my hands and tried to relax myself for the last ball. If I had another strike we might just win the game.
I got the ball again and this time, everyone was silent. This felt like the finale, which it was, and I was kind of terrified. What if I missed it?
I shook that negative thought out of my head, took a deep breath and focused ahead of me towards the pins.
I sprinted forward and just as I released the ball, things went in slow motion. The ball went down to the left side. That made my heart skip a beat. This was it. It was already over for me and my team.
When the ball hit the pins on the left side, the pins dropped and one by one, they fell like dominoes. When all the pins had dropped,the last one that remained was toppling from side to side. I prayed that it will fall over.
It did.
And I screamed like crazy.
"They have done it! The Toxins win! The score, The Toxins, 208, and BigBang, 206!" Lee exclaimed so loudly in the microphone through the noisy cheers coming from the crowd.
Confetti rained down on me from no where and for a moment I felt like I was caught in my own fairytale. Then my whole team surrounded me and we found ourselves in a circle hugging each other and jumping up and down.
"You did it, Sam!" Mike exclaimed loud enough to hear him.
"I know, right!" I exclaimed so happily.
"Do you know what this means? We're the kings and queens of k-pop!" Christine exclaimed so loudly.
"WHOOOHOOO!" Zoey exclaimed loudly, raising her arm in the air.
"Congrats, Sam!" Taeyang came to break us up to hug me.
"Thanks," I said with a smile.
TOP, Daesung and Seungri also came to congratulate us and we ended up celebrating together. It didn't matter who won the game, as long as we had a hell lot of fun.
G-Dragon and Lee had came up to us and Lee pulled me into a hug. G-Dragon had gone over to congratulate Zoey and the others.
"You were awesome out there," said Lee as she looked at me. "You guys did it!"
"To be honest, I was pretty scared," I said.
"But despite all that was going on with you and GD, you kept your head in the game and kept your team going. On that, you really impressed me."
Lee hugged me again and the place was full of flashing cameras. Not just from the fans, the paparazzi were here as well. I had barely even noticed them.
"Congrats, Sam," came G-Dragon.
Lee pulled herself away from me and went over to the others to celebrate with them. I turned to look at G-Dragon with a smile on my face.
"Thanks," I managed to say. "You guys also played well."
"Well, we were just having fun."
"Ya, we were."
We stood silent looking good at each other and still happy cheers filled the place and the cameras were flashing like crazy.
"About what happened with Daesung and I back at YG, it's not what you think."
"Save it, Sam," said G-Dragon. "Now isn't the time to talk about it. It's time to celebrate."
I could tell that he was clearly trying to avoid the topic and he still had that hate for me in his eyes. It was going to be completely hard to convince him now. And things weren't going to be the same between us after this.
"You know, you really are full of surprises, Sam," he continued. "You ended up winning the game with three strikes in a roll. And also you're one big hypocrite."
I felt my face turn pale by those words and I looked down on the floor feeling bad for myself.
"You guys!" Zoey called as she came over to us. "The owners of this bowling alley would like to take a few pictures with us."
"Okay, sure," said G-Dragon as he walked away and joined the others. As for me, I hadn't said a word.
"Hey, are you okay?" Zoey asked.
"I'm fine," I said, hoping that Zoey wouldn't notice my sad face.
"You don't have to lie to me. Something is going on between the two of you and I want to know what."
"It's no big deal, Zoey."
"Well, it is to me. The person I love the most is sad and you're not telling get me what's up. You and I have a lot of talking to do when we get back to the hotel. For now, smile, because we had so much fun and we won. We also have to get our pictures taken."
Zoey could be so melodramatic sometimes. But that's one of the reasons why she is my best friend. But telling her what's going on, means telling her the truth as well. And that would crush her.
I don't know if there was any way I could fix what was broken between G-Dragon and I. Because it now felt like things had come to a point where he could no longer trust me anymore.
As G-Dragon and I stood next to each other to have a group picture taken with the owners of the bowling alley, I felt there was something odd between us.
Like the atmosphere in the place had suddenly gone cold.