Zoey's P.O.V:
I was still in the dance studio with my back on the floor and my face facing the ceiling. I took a deep breath and let it out, trying to relax myself. But I couldn't. I wondered how I got to this point with everything crumbling down to pieces.
G-Dragon had left me alone to think after our talk. As much as it hurt talking to him, it wasn't as intense as the one he and Sam shared when they argued down the hall earlier. I knew GD was trying to go calm and easy on me, which he did. But I was still hurting as hell.
It was now over between us. I knew I had it coming because I wasn't going to stay here in Korea for long. But I never knew it was all because G-Dragon really liked Sam. That felt like a blow to my face.
I was hurting, I was pissed and angry. I should have known better that G-Dragon never had eyes for me in the first place, but for Sam. Who I bet felt guilty and tried to tell me the truth earlier on this morning, but I never took her seriously. Come to think of it, I never do take her seriously. But she couldn't come to tell me that G-Dragon liked her because she knew G-Dragon was supposed to tell me himself. No wonder she kept quiet. Looks like her conscious took the better of her and told her not to.
I was glad that all of this was bought to light, but now, all of our group members know. And as for Daesung, I always knew he had eyes for Sam but the two of them accepted that they could never be together. That was pretty brave of them if you ask me. I wish I could be a little more like Sam on learning how to let go.
I sighed. But I couldn't let go of G-Dragon. He had something that other guys I have dated or met in my life never had that drew me close to him. But looks like he wasn't mine to keep, nor Sam's.
I don't know what to think now that I know he had always liked Sam from the very beginning. I was angry at the both of them from keeping all of this from me, but I was also pretty mad at myself for playing the fool.
What hurt me the most was the kiss G-Dragon and I shared in Paris. Everything felt so real back then, but now, it was like a faded memory. When G-Dragon told me earlier that he had always liked Sam, I had asked him what our kiss in Paris meant to him. He told me he did all that just to distract himself because Sam had pissed him off earlier. I know the two had argued a couple of times before, but I never knew it was that serious to the extent that he had to use me as a distraction just to get his mind off her. For some reason, I felt so used.
He did say he was sorry and that he didn't want to hurt me. I couldn't stay mad at him. For some reason, I just couldn't. But I was mad at Sam though. She should have told me what was going on. We were best friends for crying out loud.
She had a lot of explaining to do. That's if I get to cool down first. I still had a lot of things pending in my mind and I had to be really careful with what I was going to say to her.
As I got up from the floor, the door to the studio flew open and Christine came in with what looked like a lunch takeout in a plastic bag. I could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to figure out what words to say to me so that I couldn't get mad any further.
"Hey, Zoey," said Christine as she closed the door behind her. "I brought you your lunch."
I managed to put up a smile. "Thanks, Christine."
She walked up to me. "So, did you guys talk?"
"Ya." I nodded my head. "We did."
"We saw G-Dragon earlier," said Christine. "The others are talking to him, so I came here to check up on you."
"Thanks. I'm okay, but I just realised that I'm pretty hungry."
"Here." Christine gave me my lunch and I sat down on the floor to eat. She sat also down, facing me.
"So, how are things?" Christine asked.
"I don't know whether to say things are good or bad," I said as I bit a slice of pizza.
"Looking at you, it's pretty bad. G-Dragon said it's over between the two of you."
"Ya, it is. I was so stupid to think that we would last."
"Come on, Zoey. I think it was pretty obvious. I mean, we weren't going to stay here for long. And you know what Collins told us last time."
"I know. But I never knew it would be because of Sam." I bit another piece of pizza in my mouth.
Christine winced. "Sorry to break it to you, Zoey, but it was quite clear from the day we got here that G-Dragon had eyes for her this whole time."
I stopped chewing on my pizza and looked up at Christine.
"What? You knew about this and you never told me?"
Christine shrugged her shoulders. "You're the one with the eyes for these things, not me. Sadly, you got too attached to G-Dragon that you couldn't even realise it yourself."
I chewed slowly as I thought of what she said. "I guess you're right. Is that the reason why you said G-Dragon and Sam would have made a perfect couple during that interview?"
"Well, ya. I thought by saying that, you would open your eyes for once. But that didn't work."
"Ya. And Daniel said the same thing too and I got mad at him for it. I still wish you could have told me though."
"So you could burst into an uproar and tear everyone's heads out? No way." She shook her head.
"Look at me, Christine. I might be hurt but I'm still composed."
"And what if Sam shows up? Wouldn't you be in an uproar then?"
I had no words. Maybe Christine was right. I don't know what I would do if Sam were to come into the room. As much as I was pissed at G-Dragon, I was pretty furious at Sam.
"No, I wouldn't," I said, ignoring Christine.
"Yes, you would. A lot of us know you too well, Zoey. And you're probably wondering what G-Dragon saw in Sam that he couldn't see in you."
I got irritated now, knowing that Christine was right. "So what? That's not going to put me into a fit of a tantrum when I see her."
"It would, Zoey. And as much as it's normal to think that way because you're hurt and pretty much jealous, you also have to look at things through Sam's point of view."
"Hey! I'm not jealous."
Christine rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever. But promise me you won't shout in Sam's face when you see her. I bet she feels really bad about this and I know she couldn't tell you because she didn't want you to get hurt."
"Why are you saying that? Did she tell you that she already knew that G-Dragon liked her?"
"No. But knowing her character, she would do exactly that. You're her best friend and I know she would do nothing to hurt you. It must be pretty bad for her too."
"I know, but, I can't believe that G-Dragon fell for her and not me."
"Here we go," said Christine, throwing her hands in the air. "You really think all this is about you? That all the nice guys are supposed to fall for you wherever you go?"
"No. It's just...."
"Don't say another word, Zoey. It's clear to see that you aren't concerned about Sam at all."
That hurt. And a lot too. "That's not true. Sam is my best friend. Yes, I'm mad because she didn't tell me what was going on."
"Then you as her best friend should understand why she did that. You heard her down that hall when she argued with G-Dragon about telling you the truth. It's because she didn't want to see you hurt. She never does and she never will."
I looked down on the floor feeling a little guilty. I know Sam and her character, and she was one who wouldn't like to hurt anyone. But I still couldn't help but feel mad.
"Okay, okay. It's just that, this has never really happened to me before."
"That's because you always think guys would fall for you all the time no matter what. It's been like that since high school. You were the one whom all the boys admired and Sam was one who you never thought could ever make any guy fall for her, especially G-Dragon."
"Mmmm. Maybe. It's not my fault that I attract so many guys."
"Well, I hope what's happened will help you realise that not everything is all about you."
I sighed. I had now lost my appetite after what she had said.
"I hope Sam is alright," said Christine. "Have you seen her?"
"No, I thought she was with you guys," I said.
"She never came downstairs with us."
"She must be around here somewhere. She will show up when it's time for practise."
"I hope so. Anyway we will be starting soon. Now remember. Don't get mad, okay?"
"I'll try. I'm not promising anything."
The door flew open all of the sudden and thinking it was Sam, the guys came in the room. I felt a little relieved. But I looked away when G-Dragon came in. I still wasn't ready to look at him yet.
"Ummm, has anyone seen Sam?" Daniel asked, after looking around the room.
"No, we haven't," said Christine getting up from the floor.
"She must be around here somewhere," said Taeyang.
"I bet she hasn't eaten lunch yet," said Mike. "I think I should go and look for her."
"Why not call her?" I asked. "I bet she carried her phone."
"Zoey," Christine looked at me with a frown on her face.
"What?" I looked up at her as I shrugged my shoulders.
"Arrgh!" she growled in frustration and looked away.
"Wow, girls, what's up?" Seungri asked with a surprised look on his face. "Don't tell me you two were arguing too?"
"No, just trying to convince some people around here about doing the right thing," said Christine as she looked down at me.
I could have stuck out my tongue at her, but I didn't. I kept my cool and I continued to eat my pizza.
"Guys, we have a problem," said TOP.
We all turned to look at him and he was holding his phone in his hand. Had he been trying to call Sam?
"What is it?" G-Dragon asked.
"Sam isn't picking my call," TOP answered. "It's ringing but she isn't picking up."
"Maybe she put her phone on silent," said Mike.
"Meaning we have to look for her then," said Taeyang.
"I'll look for her," said Daniel. "I bet she is at the recording studio."
"I'm coming with you," said Daesung.
"Count me in," said Mike.
Christine came beside me and gave me a nudge on my leg with her foot. I looked up at her and she jerked her head towards the door. I knew she wanted me to go with them to look for Sam. I didn't want to snap at her so I just had to comply.
"I'm also coming with you," I said as I stood up from the floor.
"Why don't we all go?" Christine asked.
"Okay," said G-Dragon. "Let's just hope that the choreographer doesn't come here and find us missing."
"Then someone should stay behind and explain what's going on," I said. "So, I'll stay."
"No, we are all going," said Christine as she held my arm. "If we're going to get in trouble together then we all will."
I sighed as I rolled my eyes. "Fine."
"Let's go up to the recording studio," said TOP. "I'll continue to call Sam and check if she is okay."
Daesung opened the door and went out of the room first and we all followed. I seriously wasn't in the mood to go and start looking for Sam. If anything, I should be given more time to think and try to calm down. But I couldn't help but worry about her whereabouts too.
We all went upstairs and checked every recording room. There was still no sign of her. And TOP had tried calling but she still wasn't picking up.
When we came to the second last studio room down the hall, we found Sam settled on the couch. She seemed to be busy because she was bended over a small table in front of her, with a pen in her hand and was scribbling something on a sheet of paper.
"Sam," Mike called out to her as he rushed into the room.
Sam quickly looked up. Telling on the look on her face, she was pretty preoccupied, as always. I wondered what she was writing. Hopefully not a run away letter saying that she will leave the group because of what she has done.
We all came in the room and to be honest, I didn't want to be here. I could tell that G-Dragon also felt the same. I looked at him and he seemed pretty uncomfortable.
"May I ask what you're doing here?" Daniel asked Sam.
"I...I was just...." Sam looked down at the paper she was scribbling on and then up at her brothers. "I just needed to be alone for a while. That's why I came here."
"But are you okay?" Taeyang asked. "You weren't picking up your phone."
"I put it on silent," said Sam, as she scratched her head. "Sorry if I worried you."
"Apologising isn't one of your best traits, Sam," I blurted out without thinking. "I'm surprised you're doing so now."
Everyone turned to look at me and I could tell they were shocked with what I said. But I didn't care. I had my hands on my hips to show how mad I was.
"Zoey," Sam stood up from the couch and I could tell she was sorry just by looking in her eyes. "We need to talk."
"There is nothing to talk about, Sam. G-Dragon told me everything and I don't need to listen to you."
"Zoey!" Christine interfered.
"Let me talk, Christine," I said, holding my hand up to Christine to stop her from talking.
"Zoey, I know you're mad at me. But I didn't want it to go down like this," said Sam.
"Well, it's a little too late for that, isn't it? Why didn't you tell me all this before? And don't try to say you were only doing it so that I wouldn't get hurt."
Sam opened her mouth but closed it again. I could see tears well up in her eyes. If she thought crying would make me forgive her, she was dead wrong. I was a little surprised when no tear fell down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Zoey," she said. "But what else could I tell you?"
"Why you stole G-Dragon from me!"
"I didn't steal him from you, Zoey."
"Now you're just talking nonsense," said Christine.
"Shut up, Christine!" I snapped at her.
"The drama queen must have hit her head or something," Daniel said, shaking his head.
"I didn't hit my head," I said as I turned to look at Daniel.
"You're acting like you have," said G-Dragon. "What's wrong with you?"
I turned to look at G-Dragon and I couldn't believe that he was also calling me crazy.
"This is unbelievable," I said as I rubbed my forehead. "Now I'm the crazy one."
"Zoey, please calm down," said Seungri. "This isn't good for you or for anyone else."
I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. Then I went back to looking at Sam.
"If you've a better explanation to all this, I'll be in the dance studio."
I turned around and went out of the room, banging the door loudly behind me.
***
Sam's P.O.V:
I winced when the door banged shut in front of me. I knew Zoey was going to be furious. And trying to cool her down was going to be difficult. I had to work on a different approach to get to her.
I looked at the others in front of me and they were silent. Looks like they were pretty much ready for Zoey's outburst than I was.
"We better get going, the choreographer will be back any moment," said TOP.
"Are you crazy?" Mike asked as he turned to look at TOP. "I'm not going in that room if Zoey is going to continue acting like a lunatic."
"Mike's right," said Daesung. "Maybe we should just cancel practise today, for things to settle down."
"As much as that is a good idea, you heard what the managers said," said Taeyang. "We've to work on the music video on Monday."
"We have to come up with something then," said Christine. "Because just as Mike said, dancing with Zoey is going to be dangerous. The next thing we know, we would all be landing on our faces in that studio."
"I agree," said Seungri. "Does anyone have any plans?"
"I can pretend I sprain my ankle," said Daniel. "That will give us enough time for things to settle."
"No, they will bring in a medical examiner and make things worse," said Taeyang.
"Okay, this is tough," said Christine, as she started to pace up and down.
"We wouldn't be going through all this if it wasn't for you, Sam," said G-Dragon.
Everyone, including me turned to look at G-Dragon who was standing further away from us at the door.
"What did I do?" I asked. "If you mean telling Zoey the truth, that's supposed to rest on your shoulders and not just mine alone."
"But I did tell you that I would handle it, didn't I?"
"Whether you told her the truth later on, the fact is she was still going to get mad. You guys talked a while ago, didn't you? How was that handling things? She is still furious and mostly at me."
"GD, I think Sam is right," said Seungri. "Zoey is one who gets pretty emotional and even if you told her the truth much later, she was still going to get pissed like she is now."
"And she would throw stuff at us," said Mike. "Trust me, right now, Zoey isn't as mad as you would expect her to be or else she would have done exactly that. The throwing stuff at us thing."
"Look GD, if you're finding a way to blame me for all this, I agree with you," I said. "But now isn't the time to start blaming each other. It isn't going to work."
"Then what will?" G-Dragon asked. "You know pretty well that we all can't calm Zoey down because of you."
"Here we go again with the blaming," I said as I raised my hands in the air in frustration. I turned away from him and tried to think of what to say next.
"Do you know what?" I said as I faced him again. "I give up."
The room was silent when everyone turned to look at the me.
"What?" G-Dragon asked.
"I give up," I repeated. "If I really wanted to, GD, I would have told Zoey a long time ago about this even before you went to Paris but I didn't because I wasn't too sure. The biggest mistake you made was leading her on and that gave her hope that your relationship would work. You and I should both be blamed for what's happened to Zoey. I didn't tell her the truth and that's also my biggest mistake."
The air in the room became stale and I bet everyone else noticed it too. No one said a word. This time it was G-Dragon and I holding the floor.
"I give up," I said as I continued to look at G-Dragon. "Blame me all you want. It isn't going to be the first time now, is it?"
The others looked at me then back at G-Dragon waiting for him to say something. But he didn't. He continued to look at me and I knew I hit the nail on the head this time. I could tell in his eyes that he was furious.
Without a word, he turned around and opened the door. Upon opening it, there stood Lee. She stepped aside for G-Dragon to pass and without a care in the world, he walked past her. Lee continued to look at him as he went done the hall, then she came in.
"Sorry for coming in at such an awkward time," said Lee. "But I have some news that I think will be helpful."
"What is it?" Daesung asked.
"The choreographer won't be able to come after lunch. He has some personal things to attend to, so, practise will resume on Monday."
"Phew! Thank goodness," said Christine.
"Well, given what's going on, you will need it," said Lee.
"You haven't told our managers, have you?" Taeyang asked.
"No, that will just make things worse."
"Well, I'm glad," I said. "Maybe we can work things out with Zoey and G-Dragon."
"I'll handle GD," said TOP. "You will handle Zoey."
"Christine and Sam will do it. Count me out," said Mike. "I would rather talk to G-Dragon than the drama queen."
"Hey, we might need you with, Zoey," said Christine. "Just like Collins, you also know how to put her down. You're quite good at it."
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm sticking to my word."
"Mike might make things worse," said Daniel. "Maybe it's best if he stays out of it."
"Hopefully, by Monday, everything is going to be okay," said Taeyang.
"Hopefully," I said. I sighed. "Look guys, I'm sorry."
"For what?" TOP asked.
"For this whole mess. I shouldn't have kept all this from you."
"Sam," Christine walked up to me and placed her arm around my shoulder. "I understand why you did it and if you ask me, it's not really your fault. You were just doing what you thought was right."
"I also agree with Christine," said Daniel. "You shouldn't beat yourself up because of this. We're in this together now."
"Yes, we all are in this with you," said Daesung, giving me an encouraging smile.
"Then its best we go back to the hotel then," said Mike.
"Let's go," said Lee.
"Then we will meet on Monday," said Taeyang.
"Tell me how everything goes with G-Dragon," I said.
"We will," said TOP as he walked up to me. "Now, stop sulking and smile for me, everything will be alright. You'll see."
I only managed to smile at him and nodded my head. "Yes, I'll."
As the others started to leave the room one by one, I got the sheet of paper I was writing on, folded it and put it away in my purse.
"What were you writing on that thing?" Christine asked, as her eyes were on the folded paper as I put it away.
"You'll know soon enough," I said, with a sad smile.
"Come, we better get going," said Lee after the BigBang members had left.
"Can you guys go ahead? I would like to talk to Zoey."
"Don't you want us to come with you?" Christine asked.
"No, I want to see if I can manage to talk to her on my own."
Christine nodded her head and I could tell she was worried about what was going to happen. "If you say so."
"We will be waiting for you downstairs," said Lee.
We came out of the studio and the others went to use the elevator to head downstairs while I used the stairs to head to the dance studio.
I thought of what I was going to say as I walked down the hall. I was pretty scared and I was afraid that if Zoey saw me, she would pounce on me and try to scratch my eyes out.
When I reached the room we had been using for practice earlier, I froze by the door. I was afraid of touching the door handle, thinking that I would get burnt.
Maybe this was a bad idea and going in there was like stepping into the lion's den. I wanted to turn around and bail, but my body and my conscious wasn't allowing me to. I felt caught in between two worlds.
My body and conscious won this time around. My hand was reaching for the handle and when I held it, I turned it and slowly pushed the door open.
"Are you kidding me right now?" came Zoey's voice in the room. "I can't do that. It's going to be risky."
I paused before I could fully open the door. Who was Zoey talking to? My eyes grew wide. Was it who I think it was? Derrick's brother?
"Look, calm down, okay? This is clearly not the time to talk right now."
I continued to listen. Maybe I can find out what was going on between the two of them.
"Just so you know, I'm also not in a good mood!"
I winced at the sound of her voice. She wasn't in a good mood indeed. I still had time to get out of here, but I was rooted at the door.
"Okay, fine. We will meet, soon. I'll tell you when. I can't meet you now. Things back here just got complicated and it will be strange if I disappear like I did last time."
I wanted to sigh in frustration. She didn't give out any clue as to what the two were up to. What a bummer.
"I'll see you soon. Don't worry, I have it safe and sound with me and I'll deliver it to you as promised."
Now that was one thing I considered a clue. She had something with her. Could it be in our room, hidden somewhere? I hope so.
I heard Zoey say bye and hang up on her phone. I heard her sigh in frustration and mutter something to herself.
This was my cue. I waited for a good thirty seconds till I fully opened the door. I stepped into the room and Zoey looked up at me from her phone.
"We won't be having practise," I said as I approached her.
"Why? Did you tell our managers what's really been going on?" Zoey asked as she folded her arms.
"No, it's not that," I said. "You know none of us could do that."
"Given what you've done so far, I wouldn't be surprised."
"What have I done so far?"
"Lied to me and everyone else."
"I know I lied to you and I should have told you about G-Dragon earlier. I had tried to tell this morning but I couldn't."
"You knew that G-Dragon liked you and you didn't even tell me about it."
"What did you want me to do? I knew you liked G-Dragon but I didn't know all this between you two was going to get serious. When you told me that you two had kissed, I wasn't too sure by then if G-Dragon even liked me."
"You didn't want to tell me because you wanted him to yourself."
I sighed. "Come on, Zoey. That makes no sense. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
"You just did."
"Won't you just listen to me? Please! Why would I want G-Dragon when I really like Daesung? You think about it."
"I don't have to, Sam. You can't make me to. I considered you my best friend and if you really didn't want to hurt me like you said, you would have told me all this before."
I looked down at my feet and I knew she was right. I had hurt her a lot and now she thought of as me as someone who just stole her boyfriend.
"Look, whether you like G-Dragon or G-Dragon likes me or I like Daesung, all this wasn't going to last and you know it. You remember Collins' golden rule. And as much as it's a little harsh on our part, it very much shows that creating a real love story wasn't going to be possible. I might be wrong, but you know that I'm right. Sooner or later, we will head back home and I for one don't really believe in long distance relationships."
"But it would have worked out for G-Dragon and I," said Zoey, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently.
"No, it wouldn't, Zoey. Not when he likes someone else."
"You, right?"
I didn't want to admit it, so I kept quiet.
Zoey nodded her head and I could see tears in her eyes. "I see you're right on that one, Sam. All this wasn't going to work out. And it's all thanks to you."
I was shaken by her last sentence. Great! Just when I thought I was finally getting to her, I was being blamed. Again! I sighed. This cannot be happening.
"That's not true, Zoey," I said.
"You made G-Dragon fall in love with you. So it's your fault, isn't it?"
"We don't choose who we fall in love with."
Zoey didn't say a word as she quickly walked past me and bumped into my shoulder as she passed and went out the door. That hurt and I was hugely disappointed that I couldn't get to Zoey to forgive me.
But now more than ever, she was in trouble and I had to help her out. I couldn't abandon her now. Dealing with Derrick's brother in a broken state she was in, might just lead to something fatal. And I couldn't let that happen.
As I came out of the studio, I pulled out my phone from my purse and called Derrick.
"I wasn't expecting a call from you," said Derrick when he picked up. He sounded calm and that soothed me a little.
"I called because I heard Zoey talk to your brother over the phone," I said.
"Really? Any idea what might be going on?"
"No, but I think Zoey is keeping something for him and is planning on giving it to him."
"When?"
"She didn't say. She told him she would meet with him when everything around here cools down."
"Why? What happened?"
I signed as I turned round the corner to use the stairs. "She and I had some argument. I'll tell you about it later. For now, I'll have to keep an eye on her."
"Ya, you do that," said Derrick. I knew he was trying to avoid asking further questions about the argument. "I'll see what I can dig up about my brother's recent activities and see what I can find."
"Okay. I'll keep in touch."
"Okay, all the best."
"Thanks. I'll need it."
I cut the line and I had reached the bottom of the stairs. I found myself in the lobby and I went out to the SUV waiting outside.
The others were already settled inside. As I sat next to Zoey and closed the door, she turned the other way to avoid my gaze. I didn't say anything as the car drove out of the YG premises. I felt like I had already done enough on my part.
And no one in the car said anything either till we got to the hotel.