Siwon's POV
Everyone had arrived in different vehicles, but Nita had been dropped off, and one of the many managers had come to pick her up. Siwon didn't want to inconvenience anyone, so he hadn't asked her to come with him. Instead he had become a scoffer for the others. Taecyeon thought it a good idea to send the other cars back, and just ride with Siwon, because he knew where to go. Siwon didn't mind, he was sure the conversation would be interesting.
As everyone got into his car and began buckling up, the conversation started.
"Hyung how far is her place from here," Kai asked, looking out the window.
"About 30 to 45 minutes, not long," Siwon answered starting up the car.
"So you've known Nita since the Running Man incident," asked Guk Bang.
Siwon nodded his head.
"Hyung how could you not recognized her," Kai whined.
Siwon had been asking himself that question since the time he found out. How could he have not recognize her? He started wondering if G-Dragon and the others recongized her or not.
"Hey since we know she can dance, why don't we plan to take her to 'AllCell,'" Taecyeon asked.
"That sounds like a good idea, plus I can dance with her," Guk Bang added.
"Get in line buddy," Taecyeon countered, "The idea was mine, I get dibs on dancing with her."
"Then I call second," Kai interjected.
Siwon couldn't believe the conversation he was listening too. These guys were arguing on who was going to dance with her first. Siwon wanted to put in a word or two, mentioning that he had been in the business longer than any one of them. He ended up not saying anything, because he knew that would make him sound old. And sounding old was the last thing he wanted.
They were pulling up to the house now. The others looking out the windows now and the conversation about AllCell was done.
"Jamkkan," Siwon stopped the others as they were getting out, "if anyone else shows up, don't mention The Fan Girls. I want to see if they figure it out or not."
The others looked at him questioningly, "I have my reasons, please." He said bowing his head.
The others just nodded and got out of the car.
Walking into the house brought back bad memories. When he looked towards the kitchen, he could see Nita getting to work, moving around effortlessly. She turned around and smiled at everyone coming in. Siwon couldn't help thinking, he wouldn't mind seeing that every night after a long day's work.
"Come on in guys, make yourself at home," she yelled from the kitchen.
"Wow, she lives here by herself," Kai asked, looking around. Siwon wasn't sure if Kai was asking him or not.
"No, she has housemates," Siwon answered.
They all looked at him, he shrugged his shoulders, "She's assistant manager to BigBang too," he answered the unasked question.
"Bo?!?!" Guk Bang asked tripping over his own two feet.
"Hey guys, let's eat, everything's ready," Nita hollered from the kitchen as she placed plates on the bar surrounding the kitchen.
"Kaja, I'm hungry," Siwon said making his way to the table.
As they approached the table, the table was set with an array of sides for their tacos, from guacamole to minced onion and jalapeños. His mouth was watering as if a water pipe had busted open.
He looked at the others who were visibly swallowing. They didn't waste any time, they attacked the table. The food was delicious.
A number of tacos later, three of the four were leaning back in the bar stool chairs. Everyone in a temporary food coma. Siwon hadn't had a decent meal in a while, now he just wanted to go to sleep.
"That was delicious, thank you," Guk Bang said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Leave it to the younger guy to have table manners.
Siwon and Taecyeon were in a comatose state, Kai was still eating.
"This is really good, how did you learn to cook like this," Kai asked with a full mouth.
Nita smiled at him. Siwon was sure she was going to explain once again, how she fed her brothers and that's how she ended up learning how to cook. Siwon decided to save her the speech.
"She has brothers that eat like an army," Siwon stated. He got a look from all three again. You'd think they would just keep the look plastered to their face.
"Hyung, how do you know so much about her," Kai asked between mouthfuls of food again.
"That's a good question," Taecyeon added.
Guk Bang just nodded his head.
Siwon didn't get the chance to answer the question.
"Your hyung is the one who helped me out when I didn't have a place to stay," Nita answered.
"How's that," Taecyeon asked, now looking at Nita.
"After beating him with my purse, he found me passed out at a coffee shop. Realizing that I was looking for a place to rent, he offered his place that he wasn't using," Nita explained.
"You guys lived together," asked Guk Bang asked incredulously.
"She lived in the apartment I wasn't using. SuJu was staying on the floor above the old apartments. Since the building belongs to SM, we didn't have to completely move out of our old apartments," Siwon answered.
"So she lived in the same building and we didn't even know it," Kai asked sounding hurt at the aspect of being left out.
Siwon shrugged his shoulders, he was well fed and tried, all he really wanted to do now was sleep.
"Why don't you guys go chill in the living room and I'll finish cleaning up and join you guys," she said turning around to grab the dishes. Taking the thought right out of his mind.
"You sure you don't want any help, you worked all day too," Taecyeon asked, it was funny how the words he was going to say kept being taken away from him.
"I'm sure, it's just a couple of things, it shouldn't take me too long," she turning the water on.
As she started washing, they made their way to the living room. Without saying anything, they all decided to take a small nap while they waited for Nita.
Lying on the sofa he was almost asleep till he heard someone walk in. He heard the front door open, footsteps of multiple people, and then the door closing. Siwon didn't bother opening his eyes. He knew it was probably the others coming back from a job.
"What brings you guys here," G-Dragon asked them. Siwon didn't bother answering, he knew one the others would answer the question. He pretended to sleep.
"Dinner," Taecyeon replied.
"GD Hyung," Kai exclaimed, you'd think he was a fan. Maybe he was, Siwon thought.
"Anneyohasyeo," Guk Bang said.
Siwon still feigned sleep, not wanting to actually talk to anyone, other than Nita. It had been a long day and all he really wanted to do was relax.
"You guys hungry," he heard Nita ask. He was up in an instant. Looking at the others, he had been right. They had come from a job. They all looked tried.
G-Dragon's stomach rumbled. They all looked at him. He stood there being stared at.
"Well, that answers that, kaja, you guys can eat and talk in the kitchen," she made her way to the kitchen. It wasn't as if he didn't noticed she looked like she was about to pass out. He made his way to her quietly, no one was really paying attention. Some of them were still in a lite state of food coma, while the others were soon to become that way.
Seungri made his way to Nita asking, "What did you make," and placing his arm around her shoulder. Siwon didn't like that one bit. He didn't waste any time rectifying the situation. Siwon removed Seungri's arm and answered, "Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos."
"How long have you guys been here," Daesung chimed in, they were all taking seats at the bar surrounding the kitchen.
"They've been here for about two hours now. We decided to have dinner here, since it was so late and I already had dinner made, plus more the merrier," she answered, all the while pulling things back out the fridge one more time. As Siwon watched her work, he noticed her pace was slower than usual. She was tried. She just didn't say anything. That was just like her.
"You had to finish the shoot today, right?" G-Dragon asked.
"Yea, it took longer than I thought. I figured it would have ended a bit early since I had finished my individuals early, but these guys were running late," she said pointing first to Siwon. He hadn't been the only one that was late, he thought. That wasn't fair.
Siwon watched GD, wondering what the expression on his face meant. GD looked as if he was in deep thought while continuing his conversation with Nita.
"You had to finish the shoot today, right?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
While she was pulling everything together, GD kept observing her. The act kind of bothered Siwon, what was the point of staring at her while she worked. Did he like her? Or was it just a bad habit?
"You look tried," he worriedly stated. Anyone could hear the worry in his voice. Siwon wasn't the only one looking at GD at this point. GD kept is gazed focused on Nita, his expression contorting more with worry.
"I'm fine," she answered back, without missing a beat, "strong as an ox." Siwon was still watching GD, who now had a questioning expression on his face. Soon he got up from where he was sitting and went to Nita.
"Here, why don't you go to bed. We'll make sure to clean up after we get done eating, I promise," he said guiding her in the direction of the stair case.
Siwon was now looking at Nita. She didn't look fine at all. Her body was dragging, her eyes looked tired, and her smile didn't quite reach her eyes like it usually did. GD was right, she looked tried. Siwon wondered how long it had been since she had sat down and relaxed since this morning. Siwon was about to say the same thing when T.O.P spoke up.
"He's right, you look like you're about to fall over any minute," T.O.P stated, getting up and going to Nita. Now both GD and T.O.P were leading her to the stairs. She willingly made her way to the stairs and stopped halfway out of the kitchen.
When GD and T.O.P kept pushing she said, " Okay, okay, I'm going. I need to take care of something before I go to bed. Can I do that," she added sarcasm at the end. For a moment only silence rang out in the occupied area. No one saying anything.
"I need to talk to Siwon," she said, when no one did anything, with emphasis she stated, "alone." Still no one moved a muscle to leave. Siwon didn't expect her to talk to him today. The fact that she invited him to the house was one step in the right direction. He didn't think she wanted to be near him, so anything other than distance was good. She looked at the others and sighed heavily.
She looked at him and said, "Can I talk to you upstairs?" Siwon just nodded not wanting to make things awkward by saying something. After a couple of seconds he couldn't stand it any longer, "You sure you want me to come up there with you," he asked. He mentally hit himself in the head for that one. He made himself sound like a pervert.
"I'm sure, unless you don't want to alone with me," she said. That was definitely not it. He just didn't want to ruin things. He can still recall her expression and the look in her eyes from that night. His gaze never left her, though he was looking at her, his mind was replaying that dreadful night. Her body suddenly started to fall forward, Siwon immediately grabbed her by the waist. Steadying her again.
"Thank you," she said, "we need to talk." Yea, Siwon knew that. She'd said it enough times, but he still didn't want too.
"About," he vaguely asked, he knew what she wanted to talk about. He just didn't want to admit it. She guided him into her room. It hadn't changed much since the last time he saw it. Everything was still set up as the guys had done. Except some of her stuffed animals sat on the bookshelves with the books.
"I'm sorry for overreacting," she blurted all of the sudden. Siwon was off his train of thought quicker than a bullet. What he didn't understand was why she was saying sorry. She hadn't done anything wrong, he had.
"Why are you apologizing," he asked, wondering out loud.
"I'm apologizing because I need too. You were going to tell me that night, but I figured it out before you could say anything. That's why you were nervous that night too," she said, Siwon was taken aback, he didn't think she would have connected the dots like that. How long had she actually thought about? He wondered, she went on, "I noticed, but didn't connect the dots until much later. I would have apologized sooner, but I didn't get the chance. Anytime I called, you had a job and then I got busy with everything the guys were doing. I'm sorry I didn't let you explain and for overreacting. If you hadn't read it, then you never would have helped me."
Wait a minute! Had he heard that right? "So you really did call the guys asking about me," he asked her. He hadn't believed the guys when they had told him. So he never called her back, but she had called him.
Nita was giving him a questioning look now, apparently he'd confused her. "You didn't think I do that," she asked, her expression looked hurt.
Siwon quickly tried to remedy that, " That's not it. The guys would tell me that you called, I just figured they were messing around with me because I had told them that we had an argument. I thought they were joking," he answered, hoping that cleared any confusion. The last thing he wanted was to make her think she wasn't important to him. He smiled at her.
"So are we good," she yawned.
Siwon decided he needed to get it all out too. If she was being honest than he had too. It was only fair.
"No, we aren't, I'm sorry too. I should've told you that I read it for the start," He finished. It in no way was a long drawn out explanation. He hoped she understood.
"Okay, so now are we good," she asked again. Siwon figured they were more than good. In the spur of the moment, he pulled her in for a hug. He was content as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. "I missed spending time with you," he said pulling away.
Smiling she said, "Da du." She looked as if she had some energy again. Had she been worried about this conversation? He wondered. "Kaja, I'm not tried anymore. Let's go and hang out with the rest of them," she had a jump in her step now as she walked out of the room.
While going down the stairs, he kept his eyes on her. She had looked tired and ready to pass out on the way up, now she looked as if she'd just woke up and was full of energy. What had changed? Did she worry so much it was affecting her physically? The thought bothered Siwon, if she worried too much it could affect her work. He decided he'd keep a watchful eye on her. He didn't want her getting sick.
Their arrival in the living room attracted some attention. GD looked their way with a worried expression. "What's wrong?"
Nita just smiled at him, "Nothing, just don't feel like sleeping right now, figured I'd chill with you guys for a little bit."
Siwon didn't miss the look GD sent his way. The guy looked like he was ready to hurt someone. What was his problem? Siwon didn't think too much about it. Whatever was his deal, it was his problem.
"So what you guys talking about," Nita asked while slouching onto the couch.
"We were talking about first loves," Guk Bang answered with an all teeth smile. Nita smiled back, she always smiled. Siwon noticed she tended to smile more now, then she had when he'd first met her. Maybe that was good sign. She didn't look as sad anymore either. Maybe everything that was happening was good for her, for all of them.
"We were wondering if you had a first love," Kai asked. Siwon began wondering if there was someone out there who didn't have one. When he looked at Nita, her expression said what he was thinking. Siwon wondered if that was really the question his Hoobae wanted to ask her.
"Everyone has a first love, I have my mystery man," she answered. Mystery man? Who was that? And why was he called 'my mystery man?' She was smiling sweetly. Was he really that important?
"Mystery man?!" GD and Guk Bang said in unison. Apparently he hadn't been the only one thinking about the same thing.
"Mystery man. I met him in San Francisco, when my family and I had vacationed there," she said smiling again. Siwon smiled too, he couldn't help it, when he saw her smile.
"We want the story," Seungri stated, the others nodded their agreement.
"Ahhh, where do I start," she wondered out loud. Siwon was sure the question was more to herself then the others. But she got an array of responses.
"From the beginning?" Kai questioned.
"Wherever you want," Daesung said flashing an all teeth smile.
"Just tell us," Seungri added childishly.
"I'm curious, so where ever you want," GD stated. Siwon's ears perked at GD's voice. He was curious, huh? His curiosity was written on his face. Sometimes it really bothered him that Nita was staying with all these guys. Did that make him a hypocrite? What was so different from her living in his old apartment? She was one level under the apartment they all lived in. But they were all in the same building. Maybe it was the fact that she was sharing a bathroom with GD. The bastard could become a pervert in a matter of seconds.
". . . . . . Around my fourth time around I noticed this guy, looking at one of the creepy fortune tellers and digging through his pockets looking for change to use in the machine. I had already pulled a fortune for that machine and still had some change left over, so I tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the change. Smiling he had thanked me and I went back to looking at the other displays." Siwon's mind finally focused on the conversation in the room. His mind was playing games. He knew he was attracted to Nita, and his attraction was growing. Siwon looked at Nita again, she was so engrossed in her storytelling she didn't realize he was staring. Siwon smiled again, things were only going to get better now.
"Before I knew it, he'd come looking for me. We had instantly clicked, we started talking about the day, what we were doing in SF, without me realizing it we were talking about our personal lives. I remember asking him why I loved music so much, and he said, I quote, 'music is my life, I don't know what I'd do with it.' I couldn't help but envy him a bit. He knew exactly what he wanted out life, and there I was, someone who didn't even know what she was going to have for dinner," she finished. Leave it to Nita to form a connection with someone in a matter of hours. He shouldn't have been surprised, their story was somewhat similar. Difference being, he nearly had gotten murdered by a purse, while her mystery man went looking for her.
"So what's his name?" Taecyeon asked.
"I don't remember," she answered. There was no hesitation in her voice. Siwon was relieved to hear she didn't remember his name. If she had it meant he was important to her. Not remembering was better.
"What did he look like, you have a picture or something," Guk Bang asked. Siwon wasn't sure if he liked the guy any more. Why was he making it a point to find out who this person is? This brought on another worry. Did she have a picture of him? Or did she have him memorized in her mind, where only she could see him? Siwon was quietly praying that she didn't care. He didn't want competition from a memory.
"Nope, don't remember what he looks like and no picture either," she stated. Wait, what? She mentioned him like he was the most memorable character she'd ever met, but she didn't remember his face or his name. Part of Siwon was relieved about that, but there was another part of him that questioned the bond Nita and this guy had formed. He had left such an impression on her that even years later she still remembered him fondly.
"So your saying, you don't remember his name or what he looks like, then what's the point of thinking about him," Daesung asked. Siwon was afraid to hear the answer to that question. This stranger was someone who left his mark on Nita. He must have been something.
"It's not about remembering what a person looked like or what their name was. It's about remembering how they made us feel when we were with them," she answered. Siwon knew she would say something like that. Nita was the type of person to look at someone's character, instead of their physical appearance. It was one of the reasons why everyone in this room was so relaxed around her. She didn't overreact to the shiny appearances.
"So how did he make you feel," Kai interjected. The kid was acting like a kid. It was a rare occurrence. They were all trained to act professionally, but on rare occasions they would let loose. This was one of them.
"Seriously though, what's so special about him, that you still think of him," Taeyang asked. The guy looked curious and confused at the same time. He really didn't understand. Siwon wasn't sure if he understood either, but he did understand the feeling of feeling connected. Maybe that's what she was talking about.
"It's something I can't explain. We connected. Two complete strangers. . . .I really can't explain it," she answered. He hadn't been wrong. She was talking about connecting with someone. He wondered if she felt connected to him.
"Okay, subject change. Are you free on a weekend any time soon," Guk Bang suddenly asked Nita. Why did he want to know that? Siwon wondered.
"I can clear up my schedule, why," Nita asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Siwon wondered if she liked him. She had answered rather quickly.
"Maybe you'd like to come to 'AllCell' sometime," he asked. Ahh, that's right, they had talked about it on the way there. Siwon watched Nita's expression. Her face had a hint of red in it, then her expression changed into a questioning one.
"AllCell is an all celebs club, it's the one place we can go to hang out and have fun," Taeyang stated. The remark cleared the questioning expression.
"I'm not a celeb," she stated. Siwon wasn't surprised. She did think logically sometimes.
"You know your fair share of celebs. I was thinking about asking you to come with us. But the chance was taken for me. You could come with any of us," Siwon said matter-of-factly. During the time they hadn't spoken to each other, he'd thought about what he'd like to do with her if she accepted his apology. One of the thoughts had been to take her to AllCell. She would have gone crazy seeing all her favorite idols. Siwon had to hide his smile.
She pondered the thought for a couple of minutes, "Sure, why not. I could use a night out," she said. Siwon couldn't help wondering when was the last time she had a night off away from work. She practically lived where she worked.
"Who are you going to go with," Taecyeon piped up. Siwon was going to answer that question but was interrupted by Seungri.
"Ya, who else is she going to go with, she lives with us, so she'll come with us," he said aggressively.
Siwon thought about protesting till Nita said, "That would be the best bet, plus no one has to drive here to pick me up. I have a ride to and from the place." Well that was that. She didn't care one way or another who she went with.
"So it's set then. You'll come to AllCell this coming weekend," Siwon confirmed.
He wasn't going to miss this opportunity. He was going to have fun and he was getting a chance to know the fun side of her.
He couldn't wait to see it.

Notes