Siwon's POV
As Siwon wiped the sweat off his face and took a drink from his water bottle, he watched Nita. She was still dancing, only now with her eyes closed. She looked like a mess, sweat creating a shine on her face and body. But even with that she looked beautiful. The effort she put forth in her work was awe worthy, she worked hard. She always wanted to better herself. She worked him like a slave during their workout sessions. As she turned around, she opened her eyes looking at him. He pretended to find his water bottle extremely interesting. He knew his face was reddening, from being caught staring at her. He was hoping she'd think it was from the workout.
"I wanted to try something new," she said to him, as she started stretching out.
"What's that," he asked, curious because of her expression. She looked hesitant.
"I want us to try doing the routine blindfolded," she announced. He almost dropped his water bottle.
"You think we can do the routine blindfolded," he asked, both for clarification and reiteration.
"It'll give them an edge if they did it that way," she said. By 'they' she meant her friends.
"Let's go for it," he said, not sure how this was going to turn out. He was rewarded with her smile. He smiled back at her.
She went to her duffle and pulled out a video cam and a tripod. She looked around the room and set a chair in the middle against the wall with no mirrors. While she moved the chair, she tossed him a mask.
"You need to put that on. They don't know about all this," she said, motioning to the wall with YG's logo and him. She still hadn't told them about the hows and whats of her situation. They'd been talking more since their time together. Siwon couldn't help wondering if G-Dragon knew as much about her as he did. He shook his head to clear the thoughts forming in his head. Now was not the time.
"Let's do this," she excitedly announced. He followed suit, meeting her halfway. She handed him a blindfold and he tied it over his eyes. Instinctively he reached out to make sure she was still there. She was. He took her hand as his other hand went around her waist.
"You did set it for recording right," he asked. Hoping she hadn't forgotten the most obvious thing to do.
"Yea, we'll start on the next play of the song," she said. As the song ended and started replaying again. Siwon was very aware of Nita in his arms. The way she felt, flush against him. The softness of her skin against his fingertips. The rough sound of her body brushing against his. The smell that was unique to her, with a hint of saltiness. His mind compensating for his lack of sight.
He wasn't sure how long they'd been dancing blindfolded, but he didn't really care, and he wasn't tired either. The song ended once again and she pulled away from him.
"I think that should be enough footage to check out," she said pulling off her blindfold as he tugged on his. It took a minute for Siwon's eyes to adjust to the light once again. As he turned around to grab his towel, keys, and water bottle, he was surprised at the number of eyes staring back at him. And not just him, but Nita too. No one uttered a word, they all just stared. Soon an applause was coursing throughout the room. Siwon looked at Nita, who was still wearing a shocked expression on her face. Mechanically she made her way back to the video cam and turned it off. She didn't turn around, even though everyone was still clapping. Was she embarrassed?
He quickly went to her. She was putting it all away. "What's wrong," he asked, getting worried when she didn't look at him.
"They saw," she answered. Yea, Siwon thought. They had seen them, he didn't see anything wrong with that.
"Yea, I think that's why they're clapping," he answered.
"They probably saw every mistake we made," she says with a quickened breath.
"I don't think they're clapping because we made mistakes," Siwon answered, hoping what he said was helpful.
"You guys were great," came Sandara's voice as she made her way to them.
"Thanks," Siwon said. Nita smiled. This was a different side of her. She'd never acted like this before. This was new.
"What's the matter," Bom asked, looking at Nita.
"Nothing," Nita answered smiling at Bom. Bom wasn't convinced.
"It's not nothing, you're expression hasn't changed since you turned around," Bom said her voice filling with concern.
"I just didn't expect anyone to be watching us," Nita answered honestly. Siwon wondered if the girls ever saw her practice before. Had she always showed their routines via video?
"Well, we were. It seems like you practiced it enough to do it blindfolded. I'm impressed," CL said joining the conversation.
"Well, we've been practicing enough," Siwon added smiling.
"Is the routine for something important," asked Daesung. Everyone had gathered around them. He didn't mind, but as he looked at Nita he wasn't so sure she felt the same. She was usually so confident, today wasn't the case. In fact when they worked together, she oozed confidence, with everyone here, that wasn't the case right now.
"It's for the girls, they're going into the competition again. When I called them they asked if I could choreograph for them. So I did," she answered.
"How long did it take you to come up with it," Taeyang asked. Siwon figured she took a week coming up with the steps. And the last week they spent practicing said routine.
"I had the base of the choreography done in a day. It took me a week to iron out the choreography," she answered Taeyang's question. Taeyang was now wearing a surprised expression. He wasn't the only one. Siwon was sure he was sporting a similar one.
"You're saying the day I came in was the day you started working on this," Siwon asked for clarification. Nita nodded her head yes.
"Daebak, then it was the same day I saw you guys practicing," Taeyang replied.
"You saw them practicing," G-Dragon chimed in. Up until that moment he hadn't said a word.
Taeyang nodded.
"Nita, I'd like to see you in my office," Yang Sangnim announced above the chatter and made his way out the door.
"Neh, Sangnim," came Nita's rushed response. She quickly bowed to everyone and grabbed her things, just as quickly making her exit.
As soon as she left, the crowd started dispersing as well. So much for enjoying the spot light.
"How long have you been practicing with her," G-Dragon asked. Clearly, she hadn't said anything to anyone.
"I exchanged my rewards for a different kind of reward," Siwon riddled out.
"You want to get close to her," GD stated.
"What better way then to practice with her. Plus there's the added bonus of holding her close; watching that gorgeous body of hers sway with mine; and then I get to see her in her cute workout outfits too, there's nothing but pluses for me," Siwon was hoping he painted a nice picture of the benefits that laid with working out with Nita.
"To bad hyung doesn't like waking up early," Seungri's raised voice reached them. Siwon had to hide his smile. Clearly that was insult to injury. Poor Seungri, he's going to have to hear about it later.
"Well I've gotta get going, still have things to do, people to see," Siwon said. Grabbing his water bottle, towel and duffle, while making his way out.
G-Dragon's POV
As Jiyong made his way into YG with the others, he noticed a trail of people making their way towards the practice rooms.
"What's going on," Youngbae asked, stretching his neck to see past the wall that was blocking his view.
"I don't know, let's find out," T.O.P answered.
As they made their way down the hallway, they could see everyone was quietly going into the last room at the end of the hall.
"That's the room Nita practices in," Youngbae announced. How did he know that?
When they got to the door, Yang Sangnim put a single figure over his lips, signaling them to be quiet. Music was playing loudly as he watching Nita and Siwon dancing blindfolded. She didn't miss a step, and neither did he. As Siwon pulled Nita in, his lip hovered ever so close to her neck. Jiyong was tempted to rip his hands off her body. But he couldn't. Even though she was dancing with Siwon, she showed such poise, grace, and elegance. Every step she took spoke volumes to femininity.
He watched her dance at AllCell, but this was completely different. The way they preformed said this took weeks of practice. The fact that they were doing it blindfolded was proof of that. They were coordinated, neither one missing a step or touch. It was beautiful. Jiyong's jealousy was growing with every touch and step as well. Why hadn't she asked him for help?
Maybe, she didn't ask him, maybe he offered, said the little voice in his head.
As the song ended, they pulled apart and she removed her blindfold. Her face said it all. She was surprised and shocked. Her eyes going wide as she took in the people sitting down. Her mouth forming a 'O', as the blindfold slipped out of her hand. Siwon just smiled at everyone. Clearly, he didn't see her discomfort. She immediately turned around going to her duffle and putting away the video cam and tripod. Jiyong wasn't sure, if she knew she was facing the mirror, so they could all see the array of expressions flitting across her face. Siwon wasn't paying attention to the mirror but Jiyong was. She looked embarrassed, probably hoping she didn't mess up as bad as she thought she did. Jiyong wanted to comfort her, tell her she did a wonderful job, that she didn't make any mistakes, that his feelings for her were getting stronger every time he saw a new side to her. The last thought was something he'd thought about for quite some time, even more so, since the night he'd spent with her after AllCell.
As everyone went to her, Jiyong held back. Just standing there watching the going-ons.
As the ladies complimented her, she shied away. He wasn't wrong in thinking she was embarrassed. She usually lite up when she was complimented by anyone. Jiyong found it cute.
"Is the routine for something important," Daesung asked. Frankly, none of them should be surprised after the show at AllCell.
"It's for the girls, they're going into competition again. When I called them they asked if I could choreograph for them. So I did," she replied. It wasn't a surprise. Clearly she'd done this in her fan made videos.
"How long did it take you to come up with it," Youngbae questioned. He was, after all, the dancer in the group. Jiyong figured a month, tops.
"I had the base of the choreography done in a day. It took me a week to iron out the choreography," she replied. Jiyong chocked on his own saliva. There's no way she did something like that within a week. No way!
"You're saying the day I came in was the day you started working on this," Siwon chimed in his question. Nita merely nodded.
"Daebak, then it was the same day, I saw you guys practicing," Youngbae replied. When had he seen them dance? And why hadn't Youngbae said anything to Jiyong?
Why would he, the little voice in his head chimed in again, what reason does he have of letting you know about everything Nita does? Are you her guardian?
"You saw them practicing," he asked. Okay, no. Youngbae didn't have to tell him anything when it came to what Nita was doing. But he still could have done a friendly mention.
Why hadn't he? Youngbae nodded, answering his question.
Sangnim chose that moment to speak up. Jiyong looked at him, making eye contact. The look said it was important.
"Nita, I'd like to see you in my office," his raised voice announced.
"Neh, Sangnim," came Nita's quick response. She just as quickly made her exit. As she left, so did everyone else.
Jiyong decided he needed to talk to Siwon. "How long have you been practicing with her," he asked. The green monster rearing it's head over and over again.
"I exchanged my rewards for a different kind of reward," Siwon answered. What the hell was he talking about? There was only one kind of reward in Jiyong's book, and Siwon currently had it. He seemed to be able to spend more time with Nita then Jiyong did. And Jiyong lived with her. More time, meant more knowledge.
It dawned on him why Siwon was taking the time out. "You want to get close to her," he said. It was a statement, more than a question. And it made sense. Jiyong needed to do the same.
"What better way then to practice with her. Plus there's the added bonus of holding her close; watching that gorgeous body of hers sway with mine; and then I get to see her in her cute workout outfits too, there's nothing but pluses for me," Siwon boasted. Damn him, but he was painting a vivid picture for Jiyong, and he was doing it on purpose. Jiyong knew that his mind would be occupied with those pictures Siwon had painted in his head. To add salt to the wound, he was being talked about too among the others too.
"Too bad hyung doesn't like waking up early," Seungri yelled. Damn that little maknae, he wasn’t helping the situation right now.
Jiyong glanced at Siwon, "Well, I've gotta get going, still have things to do, people to see," Siwon said, smirking at him. Siwon knew what Jiyong was feeling and he was relishing the idea of having an effect on him.
As Jiyong made his way to the other members, he couldn't help thinking, things needed to change.
"What's the big idea, announcing that," Jiyong bluntly asked. He was annoyed with Seungri.
"What's the big idea at yelling, he was just stating a fact," Youngbae replied, giving Jiyong a look. The look said 'stop being an ass.'
T.O.P looked around the room, making sure everyone had left. "Look Jiyong-ah, we all know you're into Nita. If you have a problem with Siwon spending so much time with her, then maybe you should try doing the same thing. Take the time out to spend time with her." Jiyong appreicated the advice T.O.P was giving him. He was trying to figure out how to do exactly that.
"Yea, I know. I just have to figure out how," he answered, voicing his thoughts.
"Don't worry hyung! Where there's a will, there's a way," Seungri announced. The kid was always so optimistic.
Jiyong's annoyance faded as he talked to his band mates. They really helped in situations like these, they always provided an objective look. Now all Jiyong had to do was, figure out how to pull the time out, and he was going to pull the time out, come hell or high waters.
Nita's POV
As Nita made her way out of the practice room with her duffle, she risked a smell at herself. She stunk. She'd been practicing all morning. But she hadn't expected an audience when her blindfold came off. She wasn't the type to get nervous with an audience, but she became self-conscious when she was working with an unfinished product. And the routine she'd been working still wasn't quite finished. She still had to watch the footage and see what improvement needed to be made, before she called the girls up again to tell them about it.
She still wasn't sure what everyone else watched, while she was oblivious to the situation. She began picking apart the movements as she replayed them in her head. She had hesitated a bit during the practice, so had Siwon, but had it been noticeable. She wasn't sure.
"Nita, you can go on in, Sangnim's already in there," said Go Na Min, his assistant.
Nita didn't realize she was pacing back and forth, since she's arrived at Yang Sangnim's office door. She tried to calm herself down as she opened the door and walked in.
“Come in, I want to discuss some things with you,” Sangnim said, walking around his desk to the sofa and coffee table to grab a stack of files.
“Have a seat at the desk,” he motioned to his desk.
She did as she was told, taking the chair directly in front of his big YG embroidered desk chair. She began fiddling with her thumps, what did he want to talk to her about?
“When did the boys take you to AllCell,” he asked making his way back to his chair, with the files in hand. Why was that important? She wondered.
“Last weekend,” she replied. Not sure where this was going.
“Did you have fun,” he asked, looking at her, while he interlaced his fingers on his desk.
“Neh, Yang Sangnim, I did. It was quite something seeing all the idols, I’ve enjoyed watching on TV in real life,” Nita answered, smiling at the memory of dancing with her favorite idols.
“What do you know about AllCell,” he asked. She was beginning to get the feeling of being interrogated.
“It’s a club for celebs only,” she answered.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush, so I’ll explain,” he said, not moving the files he’d gathered from the table under his interlaced hands.
“AllCell has a special floor, where other Sangnims can also enjoy themselves. It’s a place of relaxation in the business for everyone. Last weekend, you seemed to attract some attention. I’ve been busy these last couple of days taking calls in reference to you,” he said, still looking her in the eyes. “These are some contracts that have been sent for you,” he lifted the small stack and handed it to her, “look them over, carefully, and if there are any you want to go ahead with, just let me know.”
As Nita listened to Yang Sangnim, she went through the first file. It had the YG logo on it, so her automatic assumption was that the contract was another model job. But if that was the case, why would he call her into his office. As she looked closely at the contract details, she immediately looked at Yang Sangnim.
“Sangnim, this a choreography contract with 2NE1,” she stated. Not sure he’d given her the right files. Yang Sangnim nodded his head, signaling her to look at the rest of them.
She set the one she was looking at under the stack. She opened the second one, her breath caught in her throat.
“Breath, Nita,” she heard Yang Sangnim say. She was trying to breath, but her lungs didn’t want to take any air in, “BREATH,” his voice reprimanded. Her body complied, sucking in air as if she had been saved from drowning.
“This is from JYP Entertainment, with a similar idea,” she said, getting her bearings a bit.
“There’s one more from SM Entertainment saying the same thing,” he answered, nodding towards the remaining file she had yet to look at. “When you take a closer look, you’ll see it’s outlined for more than one group for both of those companies. I had hoped you’d make your debut working with one of our own groups. Which was one of the reasons why I added a contract from YG as well, I want you to look them over and decide if you want to do it or not. I want you to start work with the contracts after T.O.P’s premiere. I’ll need to know which contracts you want to work with about a week before the premiere, so I can have the legal department look things over and make sure everything is okay.”
Nita wasn’t sure how to take all of this in. She was honored to receive recognition, but this was going to be a huge work load. Could she manage it all, with the three different companies, came six to seven different work schedules, could she create new routines one after the other? She wasn’t entirely sure she could. As she looked over the contracts again, she noticed that YG’s only had 2NE1 in it, why not Big Bang, iKon, or Winner? Maybe Sangnim thought she wasn’t ready for that much work.
“There’s one more thing, I want you to think about,” Sangnim said, grabbing her attention again, “there’s an audition for a drama, I want you and T.O.P to try out for. I think both of you would do well in it. I’ve talked to T.O.P about it already, so you two need to figure out how you want to work things out. All of this will happen after his premiere though, but you do have some things to think about between now and then. That’s everything I wanted to talk to you about, do you have any questions for me,” Sangnim asked.
Nita decided she might as well ask the question that was bugging her. “Was 2NE1 the only one who wanted to work with me,” she asked. When Sangnim looked at her, he looked guilty. But why would he look guilty?
“Like I said earlier, I had initially hoped to get you started with the groups of YG, but I couldn’t force the others to do what I wanted them to do. Sandara and the girls came to me, with this request. I’m still waiting on the others for an answer,” he answered. Nita just nodded her head. She understood that the others couldn’t be forced, they weren’t sure if she could keep up with their pace. It was understandable.
“Thank you, Yang Sangnim. I’ll let you know my decision as soon as possible,” Nita replied, politely.
“Seriously, take your time and think about this. This is a major step in make a foothold for a career,” he said smiling.
Nita nodded her head, bowing, she made her way to the door. He was right about that. She had a lot of thinking to do.
“Oh, and Nita,” he called at her, “Happy Early Birthday.”
A smiled formed on her lips, “Kamsamnida, Sangnim,” she’d kind of forgotten her birthday was in two days. A nice quite day at home will give her the time she needed to think about the decisions she still had to make.

Notes