If You

Jiyong sighed. “Yes Mom, I have a girlfriend.”

Emily looked up at him and he shook his head at her, pointing at his phone. “No, it’s not a publicity stunt.” He started pacing across the room. “Yes. Twenty-three. No. Mom!”

Emily looked up again, her eyebrows raised. Jiyong shrugged helplessly. “Yeah, I was hoping to tell you in a few weeks. Because we wanted to wait until… yes ma’am. Yes ma’am. Soon, I promise. Yes ma’am. Love you too.” He hung up and tossed his phone onto the bed. “I take it your mom saw the tabloid?” Emily said.

“Who didn’t?” he replied, flopping down on the bed.

“She sounded upset,” Emily commented.

“She’s not upset, just surprised,” Jiyong assured her. “I promised I’d take you to meet her soon.”

“Okay,” Emily agreed, closing her notebook. “But that means you have to go meet my family too, you know.”

Jiyong sat up. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. Emily nodded. “I’m fine,” she said for the thousandth time. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with tabloids. Not to brag or anything, but I’m pretty well-known back home.”

Jiyong smiled ruefully. “You’re right,” he said, standing up. He checked his watch. “I've got soundcheck in half an hour. Wanna ride with me to the arena?”

“Yeah, just a second,” she said, writing furiously. She got up and grabbed her jacket off her chair. “By the way, I've booked you for an interview tomorrow,” she said over her shoulder.

“Who with?”

“Me, duh,” she said, opening the door.

“For the book?” Jiyong asked, following her out to the hallway.

“This one's for my fan blog. I've got a big following.”

It took Jiyong a moment to realize she was kidding. “Very funny,” he said, putting his arm around her. “I'll try not to disappoint.”

“As long as you don't punch any walls we'll be fine,” she teased.

“I'd forgotten about that!” Jiyong exclaimed. “Is the hole-”

“Still there,” Emily confirmed, “or at least it was when we left Seoul. The superintendent wasn't very happy.”

They walked outside and crossed the street to the parking lot. Jiyong's car was parked near the end, a black Lamborghini with shining rims. “And here I thought I was the only woman in your life,” Emily commented. “I can't believe I'm finally getting to ride in your fancy Lamborghini!”

“What are you talking about?” Jiyong asked, opening the door for her. “You've ridden in my car lots of times.”

“Mmm, nope,” Emily said definitively. “When you hated me I rode in taxis or with the staff, then Seunghyun started giving me rides back and forth.” She slid into the seat carefully. “Though I could get used to this,” she said, running a hand over the expensive upholstery.

Jiyong went around and got in the driver's seat. “That doesn't sound right,” he insisted, starting the car. “And I didn't hate you.”

“There's a hole in the wall of my apartment building that says different,” Emily said, putting on her sunglasses. She reached over, covered his hand with hers and smiled sweetly. “To be fair, I didn't like you either.”

Jiyong laughed and they pulled out into the street smoothly. “We've come a long way in… what's it been, seven months?” He shrugged. “Anyway, I like this a lot better.”

They arrived at the arena where a small crowd of hopeful fans was waiting outside the entrance. Jiyong checked his hair in the rearview mirror, then got out smoothly. The fans screamed, waving their signs furiously. He walked around and opened Emily's door, taking her hand as she climbed out. She looked down at her jeans and cardigan. “I really need to dress up more,” she said, putting her satchel on.

“You look perfect,” Jiyong said, twining his fingers with hers. “The key isn't wearing fancy clothes, it's wearing whatever you want with confidence.”

They walked up the steps and Jiyong paused to take a few selfies. Emily stepped away to give him room. He loved his fans, and watching him interact with them always made Emily's day.

“Foreign witch!” someone hissed, almost in her ear. Emily whipped around, but she couldn't identify who said it. That was in English, she realized. Before she could say anything Jiyong bounded up the steps and into the building. Emily followed mechanically, glancing back at the excited crowd.

“Are you okay?” Jiyong asked, taking her hand again. Emily nodded. “Yeah, just thinking,” she murmured, giving him a half-smile. Maybe you imagined it, she reasoned silently. Maybe it was nothing.

They found the other members already onstage, mics in hand. “There you are!” Youngbae called. “We were about to send a search party!”

“Sorry, I was signing autographs,” Jiyong said, leaping onto the stage effortlessly. A stagehand gave him a mic and a set of monitors and a track started playing. Emily paced up and down the aisle, trying to reread her notes but unable to forget the voice she heard. Just don't think about it, Emily, she told herself, trying to focus on the music instead. It was one of their party tracks and Emily started bobbing along to it, humming as she shuffled through papers. She heard laughing and she looked up quickly. “What?” she called.

“You were doing our choreography!” Daesung said, pointing at her. “You even did the turns!”

“No I didn't,” Emily said firmly. “I couldn't dance if my life depended on it.”

“Now that's not true,” Jiyong reminded her. Emily blushed. “You know what I mean,” she insisted, going back to her notes. Seungri climbed down and ran up to her. “Come on,” he said, taking her arm. Emily felt a jolt of alarm. “What, up there? I don't think so,” she said, pulling back.

“Just for a minute. It'll be fun,” he promised. Emily grimaced. “I'm not much of a performer,” she persisted. Seungri looked around. “There's no one here but us and the sound guys,” he said, pulling her toward the stage. Emily groaned, but followed him up the steps. “This is stupid,” she said decidedly. “I don't even know your dance routines!”

“Yes you do, you just don't realize it,” Seungri insisted, waving at the sound booth. The track started again and he came over to her. “Now don't think about it, just… do it,” he said encouragingly. “I'll do it with you.”

Emily gave the others a pleading look. Seunghyun shrugged. “I kind of want to see this,” he admitted. Emily glared at him, then closed her eyes. She imagined she was still in the aisle, letting her mind drift. She started to sway, her feet moving almost of their own accord. The others exclaimed and her eyes flew open. “You're doing it!” Youngbae exclaimed. “You were right, Daesung!”

I'm… dancing? Emily thought incredulously. She kept pretty good time, though Seungri was much more graceful. The guys applauded and she bowed, secretly pleased with herself. “Maybe someday I'll learn to rap too,” she teased.


******


After the concert Emily rejoined the guys in their dressing room. “Great show,” she said, sitting down on the couch. “Though I don't remember you tearing your shirt off in rehearsal, Seungri.”

Seungri grinned. “The shirt ripped halfway down my chest. I was just rolling with it.”

“I think you mean body rolling,” Emily replied. The others laughed uproariously and Seungri shrugged. “Hey, I work hard for this,” he said, shedding his jacket to reveal his bare torso. “I deserve the chance to show it off.” He did a few dance moves, flexing his muscles slowly. Jiyong sat beside Emily on the floor. “So we've got a surprise for you,” he said, excitement coloring his voice. Seunghyun leaned down and set a cake in Emily's lap, covered with lit candles. “Happy birthday Emily!” they all chorused. Emily laughed. “This is beautiful!”

They all sang “Happy Birthday” to her in English and she blew out her candles. “I can't believe you remembered,” she said, pulling the candles out carefully.

“Are you kidding? Birthdays are very important,” Daesung said, bringing over plates. “We weren't sure what you'd like, this being your first birthday in South Korea.”

“This is perfect, thank you,” she said, licking icing off her fingers. “Vanilla?”

“With sprinkles,” Youngbae added, winking at her. Emily cut pieces for all of them and grabbed a plastic fork. “This isn't that much different from home,” she said, digging into her cake. “My brothers used to try and blow my candles out before I could, but when my sister came along she would smack them whenever they tried. My mom thought it was adorable.” Emily smiled. “I'm glad I get to be with you all tonight,” she said, looking around fondly. Jiyong kissed her hand and Daesung made a gagging noise. Emily set her plate down. “Okay guys, hurry and get dressed. I'm taking you all out to dinner.”

“All of us?” Seunghyun echoed.

“It's my birthday, isn't it?” Emily laughed. “Come on, I know you're all starving.” Seungri whooped and sprang out of his seat. Emily left them to change and stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall. Her phone buzzed and she answered it. “Hey Dad,” she said.

“Happy birthday kiddo!” he sang out. “I can't believe you're already twenty-three. I'm positive I was changing your diapers only yesterday.”

Emily chuckled. “Thanks, Dad. To be honest, it doesn't feel that much different.”

“That just means you're an adult, honey. Have you had a good day?”

“Yeah, the guys surprised me with a cake and we're going out to dinner. Nothing too wild, just a nice meal with friends.”

“Friends?” She could almost hear his knowing smile. “All of them are just friends?”

“Well…” Emily glanced up and down the hallway. “I wasn't going to say anything yet, but Jiyong and I started dating a few weeks ago.

“That's wonderful, honey!” her dad exclaimed. “Though I did have a suspicion while you were… visiting home. You left your phone open on the counter and I noticed you were getting a lot of texts.”

“They were just checking on me,” Emily replied. “They’ve been an incredible support for me.”

“I'm grateful for that. Which one is Jong again?”

Emily smiled. “It's Jiyong, Dad, and he's the leader. You know, G DRAGON? Never mind, I'll send you a picture.”

“Wait, the one that kept yelling at you? I told your mother I thought he liked you. It was classic-”

“I know, you can read anybody from a mile away,” Emily interjected. “Or in this case five thousand miles away.”

“Just make sure he's respectful and treats you like a lady.”

“Yes sir. Thanks for calling, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too. Happy birthday!”

Emily hung up just as the guys were coming out. “Ready?” Seungri asked. Emily smiled. “Ready.”

Notes