Breaking Rules

RULE # 45: ACCEPT WITHOUT QUESTION

"No!!! You're only doing this for Teddy! And he won't even be happy when he realizes what you have done!"

Mai nodded "I will admit... before I met Big Bang and 2NE1, I would have only done this because of Teddy but Papa, those girls and guys are some of the best talents I have ever seen. They're the kind of stars that pass us by once in our lifetimes. Their talents are so pure and raw and wonderful that I can't let them be caged by Song Yu Seuk's bullying. They have to share that with the rest of the world and you have the capability to make that possible!"

"Let Jay take them instead! They'll be better off with JYP!"

"Papa!" Mai said in shock "How could you even think that?!?"

"Mai... please... think through this carefully. We could find an alternative solution."

Mai kissed the President's hand and looked at him sadly. "You and I both know Papa that there is none. This is the only way. You are the only one who can give Yu Seuk something that he wants."

***

A Brother's Love

"How long have you guys known?" Ji asked his brothers as they reeled from the aftermath of Jin-ah's wrath. The woman had not gone without a fight. Shouting explicits to the sky, she made sure that Ji Yong would never forget her promise that he and Dara would never find happiness.

"We've had our doubts for some time now" YB was the first to answer "but we've never really confirmed anything until now."

Ji looked at each one of them "So Jin-ah has been doing a lot of things for a long time and you guys have been trying to contain it?"

"It was all that we could do" T.O.P. explained "She, as you said, have become such a different person and we were fearing that she might do real damage with her scheming. As it is, she has begun pushing Dara towards one of her fanboys and she's relentless at it."

"We also think that she's feeding Dara-noona false information like you and her hooking up again or something like that" Seung-ri added.

"But... how did she know about us?" Ji was perplexed. How could Jin-ah direct her ploys against Dara? Was he that crystal clear to everyone?

Daesung shuffled his feet uncomfortably "That's our fault hyung."

"WHAT?!?!?!"

Daesung immediately put his hands up his face, closing his eyes, expecting to be hit.

"Tell me what you mean" Ji said aloud, bewildered at D's reaction.

"Ow!" Dae exclaimed and put down his hands as fast as he had them up "I thought you were going to punch me."

"Will I need to do that before you tell me the whole story?"

"No hyung! Of course not" Dae answered and shook himself up "Jin-ah overheard us talking about you and noona."

"When did this happen?"

"Tha day she returned" YB responded "Remember you left us after eating and went back to the training room? T.O.P. asked her why she had returned and she answered that it was because of you."

"I told her that it wouldn't work" T.O.P. continued "Because you already have someone you care about. She left in anger to go to the rest room and YB asked me how I knew so we got to talking about you and Dara. We all didn't know that she had come back and so she heard everything."

Embarassment creeping up on him, Ji turned away from all of them and walked towards a wall to lay his head on cold stone. "Who else knows?"

"CL, Bom, and Minji" Seung-ri replied.

"So, you all know?!?" Ji faced them again "Why didn't any of you ask me or Dara?"

"I actually did ask Dara" YB confessed, bowing his head "but she denied it... so, I didn't think of asking you anymore."

"Besides, you took such pains to hide it hyung" Dae added in a whisper "We knew that if you didn't want us to know, it was important to you to keep it secret."

"Manager does not know of this?"

T.O.P. shook his head "We're the only ones who do."

Digesting all this information, Ji slid down to a slump. "But... was I that transparent to you? Could it be that other people know of this already other than you guys?"

"Well, we just know now of this because you've confirmed it to us... the fans do have doubts if you've been reading on-line but no one could really say they know a thing" YB told him, walking slowly to where he sat, he put a hand on Ji's shoulder "We know this bro because we know you."

Ji looked into YB's eyes "I believe you do."

***

Gravity

"Umma, drink your medicine ok?" Dara reminded her mother who was coughing again on the other line. For the second time this month, Mrs. Park was down with fever and Dara had been consistently calling her.

"I will dear. Don't worry. It's just its getting really really cold but I'll be ok soon. Durami looks after me really well and you and Sanghyun always come by so I will be ok very soon."

"I will call you again ok? I love you Umma."

"I love you too..." another coughing fit and Durami came on the phone.

"Unnie... don't worry about Umma. I'll be here" Durami told her.

"I know... but it's just hard not seeing her – or you either" Dara replied "I miss you guys."

"Sanghyun says the same and I told him to just get back" Durami replied, laughing "Maybe you should just go back too."

Dara smiled and joked back "When I'm so so rich that we can buy ten houses and choose where to sleep for the night, I'll always stay with you."

Durami laughed "You take care too ok? You might get sick and the you can't sing your "Hello" song with Ji Yong!"

"Oh my God!" Dara squealed "What are you saying?!? Umma will hear you!"

"Duh!" Durami teased "What makes you think Umma does not know? You obviously really like Ji Yong. Umma even told me that the first time you met him, you forgot all about Joseph."

Blushing furiously "Umma said that?!?"

Durami laughed "Even Appa said it. He's also been calling here a lot just to check whether you and Ji Yong are already dating."

Completely surprised and totally embarrassed to face her parents now, Dara was not able to answer at all and she heard Durami laughing more at the other line. "Hey! Don't laugh too much. Umma's sleeping!" she said instead.

However, Durami just laughed more "If Umma could laugh, she would have so she's just smiling right now but I'm surely not disturbing her and she tells me that you must be furiously blushing right now."

Dara let a groan "OK! That's it! Bye Bye! I love you both!" and she put down the phone.

Shewas indeed furiously blushing.