Every Rose Has it's Thorn:
Just Friends:
She couldn't believe it. Was this seriously her luck? To have a drunk one night stand with someone you think is some random guy, but ends up being one of Korea's most desired idols? How could she have been so dumb?
"It's nice to meet you." The group, except Jiyong, greeted her happily and politely. Seunghyun nudged Jiyong's side to get his attention. Jiyong's "hi" had to be the most uncomfortable and awkward hi ever.
"Victoria, G Dragon has a schedule in Hongdae, so we need you to assist the other stylists that will be backstage. Understood?" Yang Hyun-Suk informed her.
Just as long I'm not alone with him again then great. Victoria knew her face was as red as her hair at that moment, she could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. From a quick glance at Jiyong, she saw that his face was just as red, which confused everyone else in the room. She had zero doubt that he didn't remember her. He remembered for sure. Missy let out a laugh. She covered her mouth shyly with her hand, making Victoria glare at her.
"Sorry, I'll just go." Missy bowed politely and quickly left the room. Victoria knew that she was laughing it up out in the hall to wherever she was going next.
"Well let's not stand around. Get going." Yang Hyun-Suk shooed them off.
Victoria stopped chewing on her lip (which she didn't even notice she was doing), and made sure she was the first of them to run out of the room. Once she was alone in the bathroom, she felt like she could finally breathe a little better. All she could do was hope that he won't bring it up with her, or anyone else. It had to be like it never happened. The boys left the uncomfortable office, immediately attacking Jiyong with questions.
"Ji, are you okay?" Daesung had to be the most confused out of all of them. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Would you mind explaining what that was?" Seunghyun hit Jiyong's arm slightly in annoyance.
"Do you know her or something?" Seungri added.
"Please, guys. Stop asking me so many questions." Jiyong managed to choke out while he tried pulling himself together.
"Ji, when you came home at four in the morning last night, you somewhat mentioned you were with someone." Taeyang seemed to catch on first, which was expected. "When you said 'with someone', does that mean what I think it means?"
"Oh, I get it now." Daesung gasped.
"It was with her, wasn't it?" Seunghyun was obviously talking about Victoria.
"Nice!" Seungri slapped Jiyong on the back.
"No, not nice!" Jiyong retorted. "It was a mistake, and I've already ruined everything."
"You didn't ruin everything." Taeyang put his arm around his shoulders. "Are things really uncomfortable and awkward now? Hell yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't fix it. Or at least make it less awkward."
"That's true. On your schedule today, why don't you talk everything out?" Daesung offered.
"Yeah, because that will go well." Seunghyun mumbled sarcastically.
"Why am I the one who has to fix it?"
"Because this is all your fault." Taeyang nearly laughed at Jiyong. "So fix it."
This should be interesting. "Okay, I'll think of something."
"I was known as a good girl back in Phoenix." Victoria thought out loud while pacing around in the bathroom. She could feel a stressful migraine coming through her temples. "How am I supposed to handle this? Do I just quit now? Do I act like nothing happened? I'm just one person here."
"I thought I saw you run in here." Missy giggled, leaning in the doorway. "You talk to yourself now?"
"I really don't need this right now." Victoria glared at her. "Now, you're either going to tell me what you saw last night or you're going to leave and let me talk to myself in peace. Which is it?"
Missy just laughed as she stepped all the way into the bathroom. "You're always mean to me when you're stressed out. And do you really, really want me to tell you? Are you sure?"
"Missy." Victoria said in a warning tone.
"Okay fine. I came home around three, and I was all pissed because you left me, which wasn't cool by the way." Victoria wanted to snap back with that it wasn't cool that Missy left her to go get with some rich guy in a back alley, but she held her tongue. "I saw you in bed sleeping, and I saw him with you. So I thought I should, how you say, document the moment."
"You what?"
"I saw your phone by your bed, so I documented the moment. It should still be there if I'm not mistaken."
Victoria pulled her phone from her pocket and immediately went to her pictures. She couldn't believe it. Missy actually took a picture of them sleeping in bed together!
"Why? Why would you do this?" Victoria looked at the picture in shock. "You didn't post this anywhere, did you?"
"No, of course not. I thought you would want to do that. It's not everyday you find yourself in bed with your idol G Dragon, right?" Missy smirked.
"Wipe that smirk off your face, this isn't funny." Victoria quickly deleted the picture from her phone. "You swear you didn't post it anywhere?"
"I swear. Again, I thought you would want to do that, because that's not my job. Besides, if I have, everyone would know by now, you would be fired, and that wouldn't feel good on my conscience."
"Missy, you don't have a conscience."
"Either way, I haven't done anything wrong. So you can either get over it, or get on him if you know what I mean."
"Shut up about it. This never happened between me and him, got it?" Victoria pointed her finger at her.
"Yes, I got it. Now come on. You have a schedule to attend." Missy grabbed Victoria's wrist, pulling her out of the bathroom.
"I really don't feel like going now." Victoria tried getting out of her grasp, but Missy wasn't having it. "I'll say I'm dying from a terminal illness or something."
"Quit being so dramatic." Missy pulled her down the hall. "Believe me. This whole thing isn't a big deal, but if you want to pretend like whatever you shared with him didn't happen then be my guest."
"Okay, I'll think of something." Victoria heard another voice closeby. It was him. How was she going to act like nothing ever happened? Now everytime she was near him, she felt nothing but awkward and afraid.
"Oh look who it is!" Missy grinned, which made Victoria want to rip her hair out. "I have a present for you!"
"Missy, please don't-" Victoria tried to turn and run away, but Missy tossed her into the boys, making her land in Taeyang's strong arms, catching her.
"Have fun!" She could swear Missy winked before she walked off. "Happy birthday, Victoria!" She now felt like making yet another list of why she was friends with her and whether or not she should set her on fire. Awkward silence filled the air, you could actually feel it.
"It's your birthday?" Daesung broke the silence from behind her and Taeyang.
"It-It was yesterday." Victoria choked out, her heart racing a mile a minute because she knew Ji Yong was staring daggers at her. Taeyang let her go, and she backed up while she composed herself. "I should get going then."
"You're coming right?" Ji Yong finally said actual words to her. "You, you're coming with me for my schedules, right?"
She swallowed hard before straining a smile and politely replying with, "Yeah, that's what I meant. I'm coming."
This really should be interesting.
__
The entire schedule in Hongdae was beyond awkward. They didn't say a word to each other, and she couldn't bear being alone in the same room as him, so she actually made an assistant go instead. And when the schedule was over, he just disappeared and no one knew where he had gone. Negative scenarios formed in her mind. Did he have enough of her and take off? Was he mad that she was avoiding him? And just where did he wander off to? To make things worse, his manager got a phone call saying a variety appearance for next week was being pushed to that very evening.
"If he's not back right now then we're gonna be late. Where is he?" His manager said. "Victoria, can you go find him?"
"What did you say?" Victoria asked. He wasn't asking her to find him, was he?
"Go find him." He repeated.
"Why do I have to?" She couldn't think of the right word to use. "Can't you look as well? You look somewhere, and I look somewhere else?"
"Are you trying to say we should split up?" He laughed a little at her Korean. She hated that she wasn't fluent yet. "It's, split up. Got it?"
"Split up, yes!" Victoria repeated. "We can split up."
She just hoped that she wouldn't be the one to find him. She and G Dragon's manager left the van and split up to look. She didn't want to be the one to find him, but that didn't mean she shouldn't try. They had someplace to be, and he couldn't just wander off like this.
She thought about where he would go during the day. The sad thing was, she didn't know him. She didn't know at all where he could be or where he would go. She didn't know his likes or dislikes, or anything else about him. All she knew where what he said in interviews. She didn't know where to start. Did he like coffee? Could he be casually hanging out by himself in a coffee shop? Where would he go?
"Victoria? It's Victoria, right?" She felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned to see Kwon Jiyong. He found her. And why was he in such a good mood all of a sudden?
"Yes." Victoria replied. "Where were you?"
"Well, I feel bad about last night. I made everything a big mess. The guys told me that I should try fixing it, and it's your birthday, so." His voice trailed off as he lifted a small bag. "I thought I should give you something."
"What is it?"
Jiyong pulled a small but long box from the small plastic bag, and opened it to reveal a gorgeous tennis bracelet that was encrusted with sparkling diamonds and sapphires.
"Do you like it?" He smiled at the look of surprise on her face. He was still shaking on the inside because he was nervous. "I don't know if you like sapphires, but I thought it looked nice and I thought you would like it. So, do you like it?"
"I do like it, but isn't it expensive?" Victoria couldn't take her eyes off of it though. It was so pretty.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is, is that we are on good terms. I know being around me is very uncomfortable for you, and it's all my fault. So, accept this as a token of friendship."
How could she say no to that? He was really putting in an effort to making everything okay between them. The least she could do was accept it. And the bracelet was gorgeous without a doubt. "Okay."
He grew extremely happy at her answer. He took the bracelet out of the box, and gestured for her to lift her hand to him. She did so, and he put the bracelet around her wrist.
"It looks good on you." He smiled nervously, gesturing to it. "I mean, it looked nice when in a glass case with lights on it, but it looks way better you know, on your wrist."
"I'm very sorry, but what did you say?" Victoria got confused trying to put his words together in her head. And his frequent pausing was actually not helping.
His eyes widened a little at the realization. "Oh! Oh, you don't, you're not fluent, sorry. You don't speak Korean?"
"Yeah, sorry."
"So, I can say whatever I want and you won't understand me?" He joked. "How about if I say, pancakes feel good on my feet!"
"I, understood that."
"Oh you can't understand when I compliment you but you can understand me when I say I like putting pancakes on my feet?"
"You're about to get really annoying in a few seconds." Victoria crossed her arms over her chest, which made him laugh.
"I'm just teasing you." He playfully patted her shoulder.
"There you are!" Jiyong's manager approached them. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Thanks for finding him Victoria, now let's go or we'll be late!"
They both said sorry and rushed back to the van. This guy, was definitely something else.
__
"Hi Victoria." Sungah smiled into the web-cam. "I'm keeping my promise. I'm on my way to buy you something right now."
"Speaking of which, you'll never believe what happened. Jiyong found out about my birthday, and he actually bought me something." Victoria lifted her wrist to show Sungah the new bracelet dangling from her wrist like shining stars.
"Whoa, that's beautiful. Didn't you just meet him?" Sungah gasped.
"Yeah, I know right? Don't even get me started on working with him. It's hectic. He can be such a pain in the butt."
"How so?"
For starters, on the way back from Hongdae, he started blabbing about how he aspires to be Korea's number one fashion icon and doesn't wear what other people designed for him. After explaining that all she has to do is pick what would work best and do his hair and makeup, he went on about how he could just do it himself. He knew it made her annoyed, but that's why it was so fun.
"He does things to make me mad, a lot." Victoria ran her fingers through her bright, cherry-red hair. "But he's fun too. If you want my opinion, he's a good guy."
"You like him, don't you." Sungah smirked, poking her phone screen. Victoria laughed, embarrassed. Sungah could read her like an open book.
"Yeah, a little bit." Victoria played with her hair. "He's so cute, I can't help it."
Victoria's door suddenly swung open, making her jump.
"I'm ready! Style me up!" Jiyong burst into the dressing room with a big grin on his face.
"I have to go." Victoria smiled awkwardly at Sungah, through her laptop screen. "I'll talk to you later."
Victoria shut her laptop and turned to Jiyong. He was all dressed in the clothes that they picked out together (because he refused everything unless he had a say). Now had to fix up his hair and do his makeup.
"You can take a seat in that chair over there." She gestured to the chair across the room from her.
"Who were you talking to?" He asked as he sat.
"Oh just my friend. I consider her a best friend." She answered, standing up so she could go get the needed supplies out.
"I thought that other girl was your best friend. The blonde one?"
"They're, both blonde." She struggled to say, but he got it.
"You know who I mean. The one who you share the apartment with."
Victoria's eyes got wide with surprise at what he said. How did he know Missy was her roommate?
"How do you know that?" There was one thing she hated, and that was Missy opening her mouth about everything.
"Oh, well, I saw her when I left your place. You know, yesterday morning." The atmosphere got suddenly awkward again. "She was in the kitchen taking some pain killers for a hangover I guess, and she said hi."
Victoria was very sure that "hi" wasn't all she said, but she decided to not get too into it. She decided to leave his hair the way it was, all she did was brush it out a little (and oh boy was it soft!). Next was his makeup. He didn't really need it in her eyes. He spoke up again as she patted the foundation on his face.
"I have another question." His cheeks turned red a little. "Do you remember everything that happened? Like, everything we did and stuff?"
Now she was the one with the red cheeks. She didn't remember everything, just bits and pieces. But she definitely felt the aftermath in the morning.
"Not really." She exchanged the foundation for the black eyeliner, quickly applying it to his top lid to emphasize the natural and beautiful shape. "Why? Do you, remember everything?"
It was a subject she wanted to forget about, not talk about. He answered her question regardless. "Yeah, I remember. I remember everything. You were wearing this dress, too."
She could suddenly feel his hand lightly touching her bare thigh. She swallowed hard and backed away from him, brushing it off by putting her stuff away.
"I'm sorry if you're still uncomfortable around me." He muttered, frowning a little.
"It's not that." She felt her hands shaking so bad that she couldn't zip the bag closed. She wasn't uncomfortable in a way that was bad, it was just that she was really growing to kind of like him. Now here he was bringing up their one night stand from the night before.
"Then what is it? Do you just not like me?" His tone was so calm and sincere, damn him just damn him.
He stood and actually hugged her from behind, resting his head on hers. Was he saying he liked her?
"No, it's just that, I want us to be friends. I don't want anything to be awkward between us since we work together. And talking about that, makes everything awkward." She hoped he couldn't feel her tremble beneath him. She couldn't like him like that. For who he was, an icon, she couldn't. He could have anyone he wanted. Why would he want her?
"Fair enough." He replied, ducking his head down so his face was next to hers. "Just friends then?"
"Yes." She tried calming her breathing. That didn't work out when he kissed her neck then her cheek, and smiled like an idiot.
"I like it." He said, releasing her from his hug. As he walked out of the room, he turned his head and looked her up and down, making her lick her lips nervously. As soon as he was gone, she felt like she could finally breathe. It wasn't going to end that easy. This was far from over.
"What was that?" She thought out loud.
She definitely didn't remember everything they did, so she would have to gladly place her trust in Jiyong to help refresh her memory.