I poured myself a cup of orange juice as I looked at Christine who sat across from me at the table, having a bite of her toast. I looked at her and realised that she seemed more vibrant today. Was it because of the extra sleep we had yesterday?
I heard footsteps coming into the lounge and I turned to see Zoey approaching the table.
"Morning, girls," she said as she drew out a chair next to mine and sat down with a bright smile on her face.
"Morning," Christine and I answered at the same time.
"You ladies look very bright this morning," she said as she took a plate and placed it in front of her.
"So do you," said Christine as she took another bite out of her french toast.
"I guess the sleep we had really worked wonders," I said.
"Really?" Zoey asked as she looked at me and held her cheeks with her fingers as though she was massaging them. "Do I look like extra extra pretty?"
I smiled at her. "You've always looked pretty, Zoey."
"Morning, people," said Mike as both him and Daniel appeared and came straight for the table.
"Morning," we answered him. I gave Daniel, a bright smile. He smiled back.
"What's with Zoey feeling like she's all pretty?" Mike asked as he took a seat right next to Christine and Daniel sat right next to Zoey.
"Can't you see that I'm glowing?" Zoey asked as she beamed at Mike. "Sam says the extra sleep we had must have helped."
"Enough sleep is good for the body," said Daniel as he took the jug of orange juice.
"Are we going to meet with the others today and finish up on the song?" Mike asked as he looked at me.
"I haven't communicated with either of the two groups yet," I said.
"Mmm..., funny," said Zoey as she lifted her toast and looked at it like she was observing it. "I haven't been on my phone since last night."
"Really, that's all you can think about?" Christine asked.
"Well..., I guess we were all tired and needed a break. Besides, last night was quite fun."
"Tell me about it," said Daniel as he held a slice of toast and took a bite.
After we went to catch up on sleep yesterday afternoon, we woke up around 7PM and we all met in the lounge where we ended up playing board games with Lee. Before supper, Collins arrived and joined in on the fun and we told him about our progress on the new song. After supper, we all sat down to watch the Korean drama series, "Boys Over Flowers." We went to bed an hour early before our usual bedtime.
"We should have more sleeping hours, don't you think?" Mike asked.
"With what we are working on right now, I doubt it," I said. "Maybe after we finally head back home."
"This album is going to kill us," said Zoey as she leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling in frustration.
"You have to check up on these guys and ask if we're going to meet," said Christine as she looked at me.
"After breakfast," I said. I took a sip of my juice.
As we continued to have our breakfast and talked about the snakes and ladders game we had yesterday, Lee and Collins came into the lounge. Lee was taking down something on her tablet while Collins talked to her, almost like he was giving her instructions. I couldn't hear what he was saying because he talked in a low tone and Zoey at the same time was the one talking at the table.
"All I am saying is," she said, "if Daniel wasn't so lucky, I would have won that game."
"Too bad you got eaten by the snake towards the end," said Daniel as he smiled at Zoey.
"Sometimes I think you cheat."
"Cheating in snakes and ladders is almost impossible," said Christine as I saw her shrug her shoulders. "That's if you have the super power to row the dice to the number that's most suitable."
"Morning," said Collins as he and Lee came towards us. "I see Zoey still hasn't gotten over that snakes and ladders game."
Zoey looked down at her empty plate, not daring to look up at Collins. "Not really," she said.
"Will all of BTW be meeting today to continue working on the song?" Collins asked as he looked at me.
"I have to communicate with them and see if it's possible," I answered.
"Well, I sure hope so. I told Yang Hyun-suk that you already started. He wants to hear it tomorrow, so I really hope you do make progress."
"I better go give them a call, then."
I drew my chair back and left the table. I later found myself back in the room I shared with Zoey. I went straight for my phone that was beside the bed lamp. It felt like it had stayed there for a very long time because I barely touched it last night.
I checked my lock screen and found no messages whatsoever. Maybe its because I hadn't turned the wifi on on my phone. After I unlocked it and switched on the wifi, notifications came flooding in almost at the same time most of them from social networks like Instagram and Twitter. I ignored them all as I went on my WhatsApp to check if there were any messages on the BTW chat group. But nothing.
"Strange," I muttered to myself as I sat on my bed. I decided to leave a message, but that wasn't going to be enough.
I decided to make a call to one of the BlackPink members. Jennie was the first member on my contact list so I called her.
I put my phone to my ear. Her phone rang but she wasn't picking up. I waited until the voicemail came up and I cut the call right away. Maybe she was still asleep or she wasn't so close to the phone. I called again and still her phone went straight to voicemail.
I called Jisoo next, and just like Jennie's phone, it went straight to voicemail. Something didn't feel right. Why were they both not answering their phones?
I went on ahead to call Seunghoon and this time, I prayed that his phone wasn't going to act like the others. Upon the third ring, he answered.
"Hello?" Seunghoon answered. He sounded sleepy.
"Seunghoon? Hey, are you still asleep?" I asked.
"Sam?" he sounded surprised and more awake. "Oh, I didn't notice it was you."
"Are you guys coming to meet us here at the hotel? We have a song to work on, remember?"
"Oh, oh, ya, we do..., ummm, eish.....," I heard him mutter something in Korean. "You said we can meet either today or tomorrow, right?"
"Umm...," I raised an eyebrow. Something was definitely not right at the moment. "Yes, I did. That's why I called to see if you guys are up it."
"Oh, umm, let me ask if these guys are up for it." I heard movement, like someone was pushing away the sheets to try and get out of bed. "I'll call you right back."
"Ya, sure."
Seunghoon cut the call and I couldn't help but wonder. Maybe the others weren't up for meeting today. It was for the best to have it cancelled.
The door to the room flew open and Zoey came in.
"Anything?" Zoey asked.
"Couldn't reach Jennie or Jisoo," I answered. "But I did reach Seunghoon and he will get back to me as soon as he talks to the others."
"Okay, well, we can wait."
"Maybe we should cancel and meet tomorrow. Seunghoon was still asleep when I called."
"We could, but Yang Hyun-suk wants to hear the song tomorrow."
"We can tell Collins to tell him that he will have to wait a little longer."
"Geez, this is Yang Hyun-suk we're talking about. He wouldn't like taking orders from a missy like you."
I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just a suggestion, not an order."
"Ooh, you know what I mean," she said irritatingly.
"We can't work on the song without them."
"True, but you started to work on the song way before we all met yesterday. You're a good songwriter after all."
"I hope we won't have to write the songs of the entire album ourselves. We will need to bring out some songwriters. We don't really have much time."
"Huh, funny. Collins was talking about it with Lee just now. You two seem to think alike."
"Yay, we will be working on one song," I said with less enthusiasm.
"Then get your guitar and notebook."
"May you help me with my guitar?" I asked. "It's in the closet."
"Really? Why do I get to carry the heavy stuff for you?"
"I never let you carry any of my heavy stuff. And besides, the guitar isn't so heavy."
"Whatever," Zoey rolled her eyes at me as she went to the closet to get it. I stretched out over my bed to get my notebook in one of the drawers on the other side of the bed.
Zoey and I soon left the room, Zoey with my guitar and me, with my phone and notebook. I expected Seunghoon to have called back by now but he hadn't. Strange.
"Aah, it's good to see that you are much more serious than I thought about the song," said Collins as we entered the lounge.
"Of course we are," said Zoey as she smiled at Collins seated in the lounge. My brothers and Christine weren't by the dining table.
"And what about the others?" Lee asked. She was standing right in front of us with the tablet still in her hands. "Are they going to make it?"
"Am yet to receive a reply," I answered.
"I hope all goes to plan," said Collins as he stood up. "Yang Hyun-suk is really looking forward to hearing the song."
I gulped. Something told me it was best if the managers heard the song another day.
"I actually think we need a little more time," I said to Collins.
"Really?" he raised his eyebrow at me.
I felt Zoey look at me. She knew what I was doing. I had no other choice but to stall.
"Yes, really," I answered.
"Whatever reason you have, fine. But you will have to finish the song because tomorrow we will meet other songwriters and composers for the album. But we will still need that song from you."
I nodded my head. "It will be a great song, trust me."
Collins smiled at Zoey and I, then left the lounge heading for the elevator. It looked like he was going out as always.
"Well, that went well," said Zoey after we were sure that Collins had gone.
"What went well?" Lee asked.
"Nothing, nothing," said Zoey as she went ahead to put the guitar on the nearest couch and smiled at Lee.
I knew Lee was going to stare at me to get an answer, so, I avoided her gaze by looking at my phone. Still nothing from Seunghoon. I debated on whether to give him another call.
I heard one of the doors open and shut in the hall followed by Christine's voice singing to a song by Maroon 5: "She will be loved" until she entered the lounge.
"Any news from the others yet?" she asked as she stood beside me.
I shook my head. "I can't reach BlackPink and Seunghoon said he would inform me soon if he and the rest are going to make it."
"Bummer," she said as she went over to sit on the couch. Zoey soon joined her.
"Now I see why you don't want the managers hearing the song tomorrow," said Lee. "You're not sure if these guys are going to show."
"I thought we agreed that we were all going to rest and then meet up," said Christine.
"The sad part was I suggested we meet either today or tomorrow," I said.
"I think I was the one who suggested that," said Lee as she winced.
"Judging by Sam's phone that should have rang minutes ago, we're likely to meet tomorrow," said Zoey.
She was right. I looked at my phone and I felt like I should have just left it behind in my room. Seunghoon might call to tell me that they weren't going to make it. Jisoo or Jennie would find my missed calls and call me back to say the same thing.
"Ya, you're right," I said as I slumped my shoulders and lowered my phone. I sighed.
"If these guys are taking a day off, don't you think we should as well?" Zoey asked.
"No!" Christine, Lee and I said at the same time.
Zoey's face was one filled with disappointment. "I really wanted to go shopping."
"If they won't come, we will work on the song ourselves," I said. "I'll just text them-"
The phone beeps in my hand. I looked at it and I found a message from Seunghoon. I read the message saying that they won't be able to make it. I texted back and told him we would meet tomorrow.
After pressing the send button, Lee asked, "was that Seunghoon?"
"Yep, and he said they aren't going to make it."
"Well, you saw this coming," said Zoey.
"And you did well to stall the managers," said Lee. "That will give you some breathing space."
"We better start working on the song," I said as I went over to the couch where my guitar lay and lifted it to create space to sit. "Where are Mike and Daniel?"
"I can go call them, they are in their room," said Lee.
She didn't even have to leave the lounge as Mike and Daniel soon appeared.
"We're working on the song already?" Daniel asked. "Aren't we waiting for the others?"
"They won't make it today," said Zoey as I sat down.
"Mmm..., how come?" Mike asked, sounding puzzled.
"They wouldn't say, just that they can't make it, at least that's what Seunghoon told me on behalf of WINNER," I said. "I'm yet to hear from BlackPink."
"Bummer," said Daniel as he came to sit right beside me.
"Not to worry, we can still make progress without them. Shall we begin?"
Mike sat opposite Daniel and I. We first did a recap of the song and continued working on the first verse since that was where we left off. Without the others it was kind of difficult since Mino and Seungyoon came up with great lyrics for the first verse. We had to go with the flow though and it didn't seem so bad.
We were still on the first verse, checking out sentences and debating whether one word sounded better than the other when my phone rang. It laid on the armrest of the couch. I checked who was calling and rolled my eyes.
"Who's calling, Sam?" Daniel asked.
"I'll tell you," said Zoey, "it's G-Dragon. If it's not, then it's probably someone who's just as annoying as he is."
"It's him, alright," I said as I took the phone and picked up the call. "Hey, GD."
"Hi, I'm in the elevator right now coming to your floor. I'll be there in like 30 seconds."
"Wait, you're....," the line went dead. I stared at the phone.
"What is it?" Christine asked.
We heard the sound of the elevator doors on our floor announcing the arrival of our visitor.
"He's here," I said.
Lee who sat at the dining table, working, asked, "how come we were never informed at the reception of his arrival?"
"It's because I told them not to," came G-Dragon as he appeared in the lounge.
We turned to look at him. Somehow, I wasn't surprised that he was here.
"Hello, everyone," he greeted as he came to where the five of us, sat.
Four of us, including Lee, replied to his greeting except Zoey who said, "how come you're here?"
"What's wrong with me being here?" he asked as he shrugged his shoulders.
"For someone who went partying last night, you seem pretty sober."
"Oh.., how did the party go anyway?" Christine asked.
"It was great," he said with a happy grin.
"Zoey has a point, though," said Mike. "For someone who had a great time at the party, you seem pretty sober and...," he snapped his fingers as he tried to think of a word.
"Normal?" Daniel suggested. Though he was only joking.
"Wait, you think I'm not normal?" G-Dragon asked. He almost looked offended.
"Nah, that's not the word, Daniel," said Mike. "It doesn't matter anyway."
I looked over at Mike and he had a small smirk on his face that was almost unnoticeable to everyone else. I found Daniel also staring at his brother and then he looked at me. The two of us knew he meant what Daniel said.
"We had a blast yesterday," said G-Dragon as he went over to join Mike on the couch. "I thought you checked the photos on Instagram."
"Did you just say 'we?'" I asked as I raised my eyebrow at him.
"What?" he asked as if he hadn't heard my question. I felt like he did.
"You said 'we.' Who else were you with?"
"Oh.., just friends, very close..., very good friends," he answered as he nodded his head.
"Okay," I said as I slowly nodded back. "I'm glad you had fun."
"You guys should have come. It was amazing."
"Too late for that now, isn't it?" Christine asked.
"Yep, too late. But you could still see the pics of how much fun we had."
"I bet there was plenty of booze too," said Zoey.
"Plenty," said G-Dragon with a smile.
I couldn't help but feel something strange with what G-Dragon said a few sentences ago. Maybe I was just imagining things. Any who....
"We can check the pics later," I said. "We have a song to write."
"The others aren't here yet?" G-Dragon asked. "How can you work on the song without them?"
"Seunghoon called to tell me they weren't going to make it. I haven't heard anything from BlackPink but I doubt they will come, so I called off the meeting and we are working on it instead."
"Oh. I think that's fair considering that they must be tired from the party."
I looked at G-Dragon, and so did the rest of the Toxins.
"They were with you at the party?" Daniel asked.
"Huh....?" G-Dragon now looked like the confused one. "I thought you knew."
"How would we know when we were resting yesterday and we were completely off social media?" Christine asked.
G-Dragon shrugged his shoulders. He left our floor early yesterday, so he had no idea that we all agreed to rest and continue working on the song later. Can't blame him for that.
"You dragged them to the party, didn't you?" Zoey asked as she pointed a finger at him. "You're such a manipulator!"
"I didn't convince them, I swear," he said as he raised his hands in surrender. But then he looked at me and lowered them. "Okay..., maybe a little."
"I knew it!" Zoey said with a look on her face.
"But ninety percent of the whole convincing thing was on the other guy."
"The other guy?" Mike asked as he raised his eyebrows.
"Who's the other guy?" Christine asked.
I knew there was something fishy about G-Dragon's earlier statements. He didn't just go and party with "just" close friends.
"Tell us," Zoey demanded when G-Dragon didn't speak.
We looked at him as he also stared back at each one of us. The look in his eyes made me realise that he didn't want to talk for fear of what might happen next.
"Looks like you lost your tongue, GD," said Daniel. "Please tell us who you were with. I don't think it's that much of a big deal."
G-Dragon squeezed his eyes shut in fright. And just like that, we knew it was a big deal.
"Goodness, just tell us, GD," I said. "We have a song to work on and you're just wasting our time."
"It was a mistake coming here," said G-Dragon as he nervously stood up from the couch. "I better get going. Sorry for disturbing you."
All five of us stood up and surrounded him. It was five against one and he knew he couldn't stand a chance. We came closer, making it tight for him to leave.
"GD, sit down, please," I instructed him and he did.
"Now," said Zoey as she cracked her knuckles. "You're going to answer our questions. You don't want to receive these babies," she gestured to her fists, "on your face."
"Okay, okay," G-Dragon surrendered. "I'll tell you."
"First question," said Christine with her arms folded. "Who were you with downstairs when you left our floor yesterday?"
G-Dragon gulped as he looked at us. "You won't like the answer I am about to give you. You will kill me before I even leave this place."
"We will make sure to bury you in a lovely place, promise," said Mike. "Now, spill."
G-Dragon sat upright and cleared his throat. "When I came out of the elevator, I saw..., I saw this guy. He recognised me immediately and said he was a big fan..., and so....., we talked for a while. We got along well...., and then that's when the others came..."
"GD, we don't want to hear how you all met," I said, "we want a name. Who is the guy?"
"It's..., it's..., Johnny," said G-Dragon. He immediately looked down at the floor.
"Johnny Jerkins!" the five of us said at the same time.
"Yes," G-Dragon as he slowly nodded his head, still facing downwards.
Zoey fell onto the couch next to G-Dragon like she was about to pass out, her hand on her forehead.
"I can't believe it" she said.
"That explains everything," I said, as I looked at a certain part of the wall above the couch, my mind far off.
"No wonder they couldn't make it," said Daniel.
"They didn't just go to the party, they were hanging out with Johnny," said Mike.
"Ya...., you won't like what I am about to show you," said Lee behind us.
We all turned to look at Lee as she approached with a tablet in her hands. She went to sit on the couch I had been sitting on with Daniel. I went to sit next to her, Christine on her other side. Mike and Daniel went over to stand at the back of the couch so as to see more clearly on the tablet.
She was on Instagram and she had gone on one of G-Dragon's fan pages. One of the first photos we saw of last night was a picture of him and Johnny staring at the camera and smiling. They had hands over each other's shoulders like they were best buddies.
It was definitely Johnny Jerkins alright. His white blonde hair cropped to the sides and a strand of it falling above his right blue eye. He was almost G-Dragon's height and he had on a white shirt and brown khaki shorts. I noticed their surrounding and I couldn't help but ask:
"You guys had a party on a boat?" I looked at G-Dragon.
"What! A cruise party!" Zoey yelled as she sat up quickly. She looked like she had woken from her slumber as she went to stand alongside my two brothers.
Lee continued to scroll down the page and more pictures came up. This time, there were some of BlackPink and WINNER having a good time with Johnny and G-Dragon. There were other pictures with fans who wanted to take pics with the K-Pop superstars.
"You guys had such a good time," said Zoey. "I wish I came."
"You see, you guys should have tagged along," said G-Dragon.
"And hang out with Johnny? Heck no!" Zoey detested.
"He seems pretty cool."
"That's because you only just met him," said Daniel.
"You won't be hanging out with him more often, will you?" Christine asked.
"Nah," G-Dragon denied. "I guess all that was just a one time thing."
"That's what they all say," said Zoey. I imagined her rolling her eyes when she said that.
"And let's not forget, he's in this hotel," I said. "Avoiding him will be tricky."
"Don't you think maybe you guys are taking this thing a little too far?" G-Dragon asked.
"What thing?" Christine asked. Her eyes were still fixed on the tablet as Lee continued to scroll.
"This 'Johnny' thing?"
I looked up from the tablet at G-Dragon and I knew I wasn't the only one.
"Why would we?" I asked.
"You talk about him as if he's your worst enemy."
"Look, we don't hate people, well, maybe some," said Mike. "It's just that some people aren't worth hanging out with."
"Because of his actions back at school? Please, that was a long time ago."
"You're right," said Zoey. "It was a long time ago, but we would rather keep our distance. Some people are just toxic, you know?"
"How ironic," said G-Dragon as he stood up from the couch.
"Leaving already?" Lee asked.
"Ya, I really should. Just came to check up on the progress with the song."
G-Dragon didn't seem like himself. I looked at him and this time I didn't give him a criticising look like I always do. I could tell he was upset if not sad.
"I'll escort you to the elevator," I said as I stood up from the couch.
"Ok," he said and he turned to address the others, "I'll see you guys later."
"Bye, GD," the rest replied at the same time. Their tone sounded low almost as if they didn't want to upset him any further.
G-Dragon made his way out of the lounge and I was right behind him.
"Well, you seem upset," I said to him when we were in the hall.
"No, I'm not," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
I held his shoulder and he stopped walking, his back still facing me.
"I know when you're upset," I said as I dropped my hand. "I think the others know too."
He turned around to look at me. "I don't get you guys at all," he said.
"What do you mean?" I folded my arms.
"I mean, you guys are the nicest and coolest people I have ever met and I never thought you would be so spiteful about someone. You weren't all like this when you were dealing with Jehan...., well, maybe Zoey, but even she wasn't so extreme."
"We aren't perfect, you know? We have our emotions too, whether good or bad."
"But why hate on Johnny so much?"
I shook my head. "We don't hate him. We do hate what he did to us in the past, but we don't actually hate him."
"Really?"
"If we really did, we would have called him worse names than 'jerk' now, wouldn't we?"
G-Dragon bit his lip and he didn't have to admit I was right. "Then why can't you come to peace with him?" he asked. "You don't even want to cross paths with him, like ever."
I sighed as I dropped my arms. "Some people aren't worth mingling around with, Jiyong."
"Is there something you aren't telling me?" He raised his eyebrow at me and took a step closer.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Kind of," I answered. "You're yet to know everything in due time."
G-Dragon slowly nodded his head. I could tell that he understood and is willing to wait. But for how long is the million dollar question.
"Okay, I'll see you around, then," said G-Dragon as he managed to smile.
"Ya, you too," I answered as I smiled back.
He turned and walked to the elevator. I stood there and watched him leave.
"Sam, get in here quick!" Zoey called out to me. "You have to see this!"
I quickly went back into the lounge and took my seat next to Lee.
"This better be worth the call," I said as I looked at Lee's tablet.
"There was a dance video of Lisa and some girl," said Lee as she played the video for me.
I watched Lisa and the young lady danced to a popular K-Pop song. There were people around that watched and cheered.
"Well, that's cool," I said after the clip ended.
"These guys had a really good time," said Mike.
"Ya, but with someone you consider your enemy," said Lee.
"Whatever," said Christine. "We're way past that. We just don't want any drama with him."
"That will be impossible since he got to hang out with G-Dragon, BlackPink and WINNER who happen to be your friends."
"Ya, good point," said Daniel. "What do you think we should do?"
"Do we really have to do anything?" Christine asked.
"Don't tell me you want to think of something like a battle strategy?" Lee asked.
"Why should we?" I asked. "We have a song to work on, remember? Johnny should be the least of our problems."
"Something tells me we are going to meet him sooner than we anticipated," said Zoey.
"It seems so."
For a moment, we didn't say a thing as Lee stood up from the couch, taking the tablet with her back to the dining table. The others who stood went to take their seats. For a moment, some of us sat, slumped on the couch.
"Aren't you guys going to continue working on the song?" Lee asked at the dining area. We had been quiet for what felt like forever.
I tapped my fingers onto my lap and asked, "who wants doughnuts?"
"Me," said Zoey and Christine at the same time.
"I should do with a little sugar," said Mike.
"Same here," said Daniel.
The five of us all looked at each other. It was surprising we wanted something sweet to boost our spirits. We needed some fresh air too. We all turned to look at Lee who sighed. She needed a doughnut too.
"Fine, I'll get the car," she said as she stood up.