**D1, Be the ONE! We are ZEROBASEONE!***
After debut, idol life is just getting started, and it's our time to bloom.
And so are the challenges...living in a dorm with eighteen people could never go wrong, right? Especially not with some love triang...
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The weeks after Gio's departure were a blur of emotion. Gio had almost gotten me and Billie fired from the group and I wasn't sure how easy it would be to forgive her for this. For my own outcome, I could. But I didn't know how I could forgive her for almost costing Billie her future.
I spend a lot of time these days by the princess' side. Seeing a side of her I had never expected to see. I actually craved being near her these days, more than anyone. Making me feel things and think about things, I shouldn't be focused on.
One morning, after another continuous bout of support we had been given to Dom Chow's, she came into my room, looking a little sad and defeated.
"What's wrong, princess?" I asked as I rose from the bed and approached her. I dragged her into a familiar hug.
"Just a little sad about, Gio," she replied. "I miss her, Hao."
"I know," I sighed, because in reality, I missed her too. Despite all she did. I saw the defeated faces of our members daily. Losing one of us, was as devastating as it could be. Especially for her best friends Briar and Ara, who I haven't seen smile since. And then there was Gunwook, the happy puppy was an angry, sad one these days and he wasn't fun to live with anymore. My heart ached for him. Gio wouldn't tell him where she was and wouldn't see him.
We had an upcoming comeback to prepare for and all of us were unfocused.
"Want to go and see Dongsun?" I said, because the man adored the land she walked on, and it always made her smile. I wanted to see that smile again.
She glanced up at me. I placed a stray hair back behind her ear and squeezed her cheeks. A sudden urge overcame me. I wanted to kiss her. Yet, I snapped it back. I took a giant step back, toward my bed, and stumbled.
Nice work, dork.
Billie let out a loud, cackling laugh, always the little brat. "What the fuck was that, dude?"
"Nothing!" I gasped as I rose, my cheeks heating. "Just a little out of balance. I must eat something. Let's go."
In the restaurant, we chatted with our friends who worked there and were served the most delicious food again. Billie was stirring in her fish soup when she told me she wanted to ask her father for help. They would need half a billion won for the restaurant to fully thrive and be able to survive. It was a lot of money, but her father wouldn't even feel it missing. It was pocket change for him.
Billie flew back to Japan for the weekend to ask him, and I missed her every minute of that weekend.
When she returned, I was watching a K-drama on the couch. She sat down next to me, her head down. I put my hand in hers, and we sat silently for a while. I knew it didn't go as planned because she had texted me about that yesterday. Her father wouldn't invest in something like that.
We remained silent, watching the show, holding hands. If she wanted to talk to me about it, she would.
The next day, I decided to stop by Dom Chows on my way back from work. Billie was still in the studio, when a beaming Dongsun ran outside to hug me. The entire staff was cheering and dancing inside, and I could see champagne bottles being popped.
"It's happened!" He yelled. "It's happened! We received a billion won from an anonymous donor, Hao! My boy, we did it!"
I jumped around in joy with him and the staff. My heart was overwhelmed with emotion.
I needed to tell Billie first. As I dialed her number, I hesitated for a second. Her father wouldn't have done this.
That meant...
No, she wouldn't? Would she?
But then I looked at Dongsun and knew. Yes, the princess would. She definitely would.
She had gifted Dom Chow's her entire pre-inheritance. Upon turning twenty-one, she would be getting more of that, she wasn't poor by any means. But that was still a few years away from now. In the meantime, she would have to make do with our allowance from Zerobaseone.
The girl never stopped to amaze me, and right there, as I glanced at Dongsun's beaming eyes and saw what a selfless, kind act Billie had been capable of. I fell head over heels with a little brat I couldn't imagine spending a life without.
We were opposites in every way.
She still annoyed me. Daily. Hourly sometimes.
Our age difference was a thing, and in this industry, we will never have an easy time. It would, in fact, be darn difficult.
But she made me feel alive, vibrant, and seen. Everything was one giant adventure with that one, and that's what I wanted for the rest of my days.
Let me live a life filled with crazy dreams because, as this thing just proved, the two of us would be able to achieve anything together.
Now, I would need to find the perfect way to tell her about my feelings, and hope she feels the same.
