If You

A Beautiful Gift

Jiyong sauntered down the hallway, still texting Sagowa about the day's shoot.

Youngbae looked tired. Is he sleeping well?

Jiyong worried his lip. Youngbae was a constant source of worry to him, disappearing for hours during the evening, or even the whole night occasionally. It took all four of the others to keep Sagowa from finding out, but none of them could figure out where Youngbae went - or what he was doing.

Girl trouble, I think. I'll talk to him.

Jiyong sent the text and slipped his phone into his pocket. The lies were becoming more regular and - to his dismay - easier to tell. But Jiyong would lie to a thousand managers to protect his friends, even if he didn't agree with their choices.

He walked into the kitchen and froze. A delicious meal was set out invitingly on the island, the aroma making his stomach rumble. The others were heaping their plates with food, Seungri holding a cookie in his mouth as he worked.

"Did Sagowa send dinner again?" Jiyong asked, grabbing a plate from the cabinet.

Seunghyun shook his head. "There's no caterer's card," he said, his mouth full of warm bread. "Plus this doesn't look like any meal from the usual places."

Jiyong peered into the dishes. No it does not, he thought, eyeing the roast and potatoes. The smell reminded him of home-cooked meals with his family as a young boy. He gave in and began piling food onto his plate with the others.

They were all ravenous from a long day and ate standing around the island. All five went back for seconds and soon most of the food was gone. As their appetites slowed they took the cookies and lemonade into the living room and sprawled on the couch.

"Where do you think the food came from?" Daesung asked, munching on a cookie.

Seunghyun shrugged. "The hotel, maybe?"

Seungri shook his head. "No way. This is a real, homemade cookie. I can taste the love," he said, shoving another cookie into his mouth and closing his eyes in ecstasy.

Youngbae looked into his cup. "Yeah, I don't think any restaurant in Seoul makes lemonade with mint," he said, tilting his cup to reveal the tiny green flecks.

Jiyong went to the kitchen for napkins and a piece of paper by the stove caught his eye. He picked it up and examined it closely. It was in English, and after some scrutiny Jiyong could make out the words "Cookie Recipe" in faded cursive at the top.

A cookie recipe? He wondered. He turned the paper over and there was a note scribbled at the bottom.

Emily -

Don't forget the caramel!

Love, Mom

Understanding crashed through Jiyong and he took the paper into the living room.

"It was Emily," he announced, disbelief coloring his voice.

Daesung laughed. "Yeah right."

Jiyong waved the paper. "This is a recipe for cookies. It has Emily's name on it."

"Whatever," Seungri insisted, taking the recipe. He read the note and his eyes widened. "He's right!" he yelled.

"So...Emily just came in, cooked a whole meal, then sneaked out without saying anything?" Seunghyun asked, eyebrows raised.

"Why would she do that?" Daesung asked.

The boys thought for a minute. "Maybe she feels guilty for ruining our lives," Youngbae suggested, giving Jiyong a snide look.

Seunghyun frowned at him. "Maybe she just wanted to do something nice for us. I can't remember the last time I had a meal like this."

Jiyong pulled his phone out. Why did Emily cook for us? He sent the text to Sagowa and the response quickly came.

How did you figure it was her?

Not important. Why did she do it?

It's a peace offering. She didn't say anything to me, but I know you're being harsh with her. Try giving her a chance.

Jiyong felt a small pang of remorse. He had been pretty mean to Emily at every opportunity, even quashing the others' warming up to her. Emily was only trying to do her job and had only shown them kindness in return.

Fine. But she betrays us and I'll destroy her.

*      *      *       *       *      *

The next day found Emily walking through the halls of YG Entertainment, desperately trying to find the band.

Are they purposely avoiding me now? She wondered, peeking into yet another empty conference room. She'd hoped the dinner would've made some sort of impact, but she didn't know anymore.

Her satchel, full of notebooks, was making her shoulder sore and she took it off tiredly. Maybe they were offended, she thought, sitting on the floor. She leaned against the wall and looked up at the big YG ENTERTAINMENT sign hanging from the ceiling. Maybe they're convincing Sagowa to fire me right now.

She closed her eyes and sighed with frustration. Maybe I should just go home. If they don't want me here, there's nothing for me to do.

She opened her eyes and Seunghyun was standing in front of her.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" he asked, peering down at her. Emily made to get up but he waved her back, deciding to join her. He crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. "You're here early," he commented, glancing at her.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Early? I thought the meeting was an hour ago."

Seunghyun shook his head. "No, we've got at least forty-five minutes. The others aren't even here yet."

Emily groaned with frustration. "So now you're all screwing with me?" she demanded. " 'Oh wouldn't it be hilarious if Emily showed up two hours early and went crazy trying to find us'?"

Seunghyun shook his head. "I had nothing to do with that," he insisted. "It must've been one of the others. They like to play jokes. They don't mean anything by it."

Emily felt angry tears prick her eyes and she willed them away. "I've only been here a week and this is already becoming unbearable. How am I supposed to spend the next couple of years living this way?"

Seunghyun looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "You don't deserve to be treated this way. Especially after you cooked us such a delicious dinner."

Emily felt her stomach drop. "What dinner?" she said evasively.

"We know it was you. You left your cookie recipe on the counter," Seunghyun said, smiling at her. "It was a beautiful gift. Thank you."

Emily wanted to kick herself for being so careless. "Did...the others like it?" she asked.

"If you mean Jiyong, he had three plates of food and was munching on a cookie when I left this morning," Seunghyun replied. He gave Emily a knowing glance. "I think he kind of likes you."

"No," she said immediately. "You're wrong."

"Am I? You've done nothing but surprise us since we met you, and Jiyong is intrigued in spite of himself. Everyone will come around soon. You just have to be patient."

He stood up and extended a hand to her. "Trust doesn't happen in a week, you know," he said, smiling again. Emily took his hand and he pulled her up smoothly.

"For future reference, we usually meet on the tenth floor, on the east side," he said, leading the way. "If you ever get here early again, just go wait there."

Emily chuckled and she felt her spirits rise slightly.

I've got a friend, she thought happily.