With U (1/1)

Chapter 1:  With U“You two are on soon.” The guy with the clipboard turned and walked away as SeungHyun said thank you. Thank God.  At least then I can wait behind the curtain and avoid the smoke. I looked around the dressing room of the tiny club.  It’s not like it was run-down or dingy or anything, but the fact that it was nearly filled to capacity outside on the main floor made me feel claustrophobic. I tuned back in just in time for Seung Hyun to come over and steer me towards the V.I.P section backstage. “If you can’t handle the smoke so much, why do you never stay in the non-smoking section?” “Because I can barely see over the giant speakers and obnoxiously drunk guys who try and hit on me.  I’d rather just try and hold my breathe for a little while and have a good view with no drama.” Seung Hyun tried not to laugh at me as we passed the curtain -- if front of which Nell, one of my favorite bands, was performing -- and stopped me next to the vending machine and a stool, where the curtain parted enough that anyone could have a clear view of the entire stage.  He let go of my shoulders and held my hands in his. “I just want to thank you for coming tonight. You didn’t have to, but you’ve been coming to every show this month.” I flashed him a big smile as his fingers started rubbing affectionately at my palms. “What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t support my boyfriend?  And, it’s not like I had to go out of my way all that much.  Taking the train every so often isn’t difficult.” “Well, it still made me happy.  You’re my lucky charm, you know that, right?” I blushed like I always did whenever he said stuff like that in public.  His face got closer, and I stood on my tip toes.  Just as our lips were about an inch from each other’s we heard footsteps heading our way.  Seung Hyun pulled away quickly, but still held on to my hands as the clipboard guy turned to corner. Let me tell you, in Korea people don’t play around with PDA, and it’s no fun at all. “Okay, you’re on in five more minutes.  Now, where’s the blonde one?” The stage manager hurried off again to the dressing room.  I rose my eyebrow at him.  I mean, I realize that stage managers have to hurry everyone up so they’re on time, but bothering people every thirty seconds only wastes time. I looked up to see Seung Hyun looking over my shoulder with his signature poker face, but I didn’t have enough time to react.  I felt something brush against my back before arms wrapped themselves around my waist.  Automatically, my body stiffened before I relaxed again, realizing who it was. “Hey, yeobo. You made it again.” I felt him smile against my neck and I jumped.  I caught Seung Hyun’s eye right before he pretend to glare at his partner. “Why are you always trying to flirt with my girlfriend?” I felt more than heard him laugh as he let go of me and went to playfully clap his hand down on Seung Hyun’s shoulder.  Jiyong smiled his usual wide smile and decided not to mess with my boyfriend anymore. “Hey relax.  We all know I’m kidding.  Adri’s just fun to mess with.  She’s an easy target.” He turned back to me and his smile got bigger, if that’s even possible.  He winked at me, as if we had some kind of secret between us.  I raised my eyebrow at him. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Jiyong pretended to pout, but grabbed Seung Hyun’s hand anyway and dragged him over towards the hallway where the stage manager disappeared to. “Fine.  But, I’m taking your boy with me.” I rolled my eyes as they left.  Seung Hyun looked back and pouted before making a ridiculously cute kissing face, the same one he makes whenever we don’t kiss.  I laughed and shooed him away.  He grinned, showing his huge dimples, before Jiyong pulled him out of view.  I could hear the stage manager yelling for the staff to get them microphones. “And, now that our weekly Battle of the Bands is over, we have a special guest for you.  Two of our former champions have come back to perform for the last time on the streets.  Give it up for GD&TOP!” A thunderous roar rose up from the crowd as the duo came back around the corner to go on stage.  Jiyong, seeing me distracted by the applause, pinched me in the side before dodging me and running onstage.  Seung Hyun quickly snuck a kiss on the cheek before running after him. The bass started pounding and I thanked God that I wasn’t next to the speakers this time.  The crowd was dancing and jumping in sync to the music while Jiyong started rapping.  I rolled my eyes at the girls in the front row, the same who came to every one of their shows to drool over their “G-Dragon.” When I heard a voice with more bass than the music, I turned back to the stage to watch my boyfriend.  My eyes stayed on him as I observed the charismatic stage presence that “T.O.P” just seemed to turn on out of nowhere.  There was one moment where Seung Hyun started bobbing his head and flailing his arms around with Jiyong, and I laughed at how hysterical they looked.  They looked like a pair of rag dolls being thrown around by a kid!  The last time I’d seen that was a couple months ago when we all visited my old dance studio.  Somehow, we’d developed a new silly move that had gotten him teased again by Jiyong, who’d officially nicknamed him “Bingu.” A few seconds later, the grin slipped off my face.  Had it really been that long?  What happened to us?  We used to hang out every day after school and I’d even hung around during all their impromptu recording sessions.  I’d purposely ruin their mixes by interrupting with my terrible rapping. Now, we’ve only seen each other during shows.  Seung Hyun hadn’t even picked me up from work in weeks.  I pondered that last one.  On second thought, it was probably better that he didn’t pick me up by himself.  I didn’t really trust him with driving. But, seriously, why hadn’t we seen each other in so long?  Seung Hyun had been busy closing their deal with YG Entertainment.  I’d heard him say so many times this past month that we’d be able to hang out after they signed their contracts.  He told me the first thing he’d do after they’d gotten the deal would be to take me to Jeju Island.  Now, the deal was made and they were all set to start recording next month, and yet we still hadn’t been out on a date yet. I was tired of being pushed to the side.  Don’t get me wrong; I was happy that GD&TOP was a success and that my boyfriend and his best friend were finally moving to a major label, like they’d always wanted to.  But, there was only so much a girl could take before she started to feel ignored. The only problem now was how I was going to bring it up.  I couldn’t wait too long, or I’d end up bottling it up until it all came spilling out at some random, undeserved moment and I’d seem like the evil girlfriend.  But, I didn’t want to rain on his parade tonight, especially since the three of us were going out to celebrate tonight after the show. Should I just wait until tomorrow?  How was I going to say it?  Why don’t you pay attention to me anymore?  Am I not interesting anymore?  Is your music career more important to me? No.  If I brought it up like that, than I’d be the whiny girlfriend instead of the evil girlfriend.  Either way, I’d be the buzz kill that would ruin their celebration.  I’d long since known about his ex, who made him choose between her or music before he’d met me.  There’s no way I’d put him through that again. But, I still didn’t understand what could possibly be keeping him from putting more effort into seeing his girlfriend every once in a while.  If I didn’t get it out soon, it would only get worse because they were only going to get busier. Okay, maybe I should just wait a couple of days, and then . . . My train of thought got broken.  I was blinking rapidly, my brain trying to process what just happened.  Did he really just do that? I started paying attention to the stage again.  Jiyong and Seung Hyun were into their song “Knock Out,” and Seung Hyun was up at the edge of the stage, entertaining the photographers and fans in the front row.  Since it wasn’t his part yet, Jiyong was goofing off on the side of the stage.  Apparently, he’d seen me staring off into space and decided to snap me back into focus.  If I hadn’t caught him in my peripheral vision at the last second I would’ve missed it. Here I was, trying to make a serious life decision, and Jiyong thought it was appropriate to practically get in my face, bite his lip and waggle his eyebrows.  If Seung Hyun had seen that one, Jiyong would’ve been going home with a few less teeth. I stuck my tongue out at the dork until he laughed and looked away.  I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment to get my mind back on track.  Just because Jiyong wanted to fool around with me onstage -- I’d already warned the both of them that I’d put up a fight if fan girls went after me -- didn’t mean that I had to give him the time of day.  Once I was focused again, I opened my eyes and found my boyfriend on the stage. Was work really getting in the way? A sudden thought brought the gears in my brain to a screeching halt.  Is he paying more attention to work because of me? Did I screw up? But, wait that didn’t even make sense. What could I have done to make him so upset that he couldn’t talk to me about it? I kept my gaze trained on him, but Jiyong -- that attention whore -- kept getting in the way, putting his face in my peripheral vision every time I kept trying to pay attention to my boyfriend. Each time he'd see me make a face at him, the blonde would smile as if he were a kid who'd successfully pulled off some prank. I swear, if he gets in my way one more time I'm gonna deck him. He needs to stop playing around.  I was not in the mood for joking; in my present state of mind I could easily have snapped at him for acting so childish. After he stole my attention for the umpteenth time, I gave him the fiercest glare I could, getting ready to give him a gesture that would warn him of what I'd do to him the second he got offstage. I started to crack my knuckles when a huge gasp came from the audience. The next thing I knew everyone had started laughing. Even Seung Hyun, who was trying to hold it back because it was his turn to rap, was given away by the huge dimples that had blossomed on his cheeks. Jiyong's face was red like a tomato, steadily getting redder as he tried to pull himself back together. As he straightened his jacket, he looked up to discover me finally keeping my eyes on him, sporting the biggest grin on my face. He grimaced and looked away again, settling back into his stage persona. Maybe now he'll focus more on not tripping instead of trying to distract me. I looked over at my boyfriend, and our gazes met. He raised his eyebrow as if to ask me if I knew what that was all about, and I just shrugged. He looked back at the audience as Jiyong started his verse. As he egged the fans on with his aegyo, I started thinking about the talk I was going to have with him later. But, I couldn't figure out what I'd wanted to say to him anymore. After Jiyong lost his balance, I'd completely lost my train of thought. Stupid Ji.