Daesung stared blankly into the empty space that Seungri was just seconds ago, useless tears flowing endlessly against his will. Just then, a pair of bony arms wrapped over his shoulders comfortingly. Right now, Daesung would gratefully accept any form of comfort and reassurance.

“It’s okay Daesung ah. We are all in this together. Hyung is here. We have to be strong for maknae now. Maknae will be fine. He will get better. We will make sure of that ne? We will get our strong baby back.”

Daesung turned around and looked at the owner of the frail arms and broken voice. He was instantly enthralled by the deep black eyes that reflect his unwavering resolve and determination. At times like this, Daesung couldn’t help but admire how strong his leader was. Despite the haggard and tired look coupled with his hoarse voice, Jiyong still managed to inject a shot of hope and strength into them.

Jiyong gave him a tight smile that looked forced on his face and that unnerved Daesung. Because at that moment he realized Jiyong was more similar to Seungri than they had thought. The way he rarely show his weakness to even BigBang members who are closer than blood brothers. The way he locked himself in his own studio for days when inspiration evaded him and only showed up after he completed a piece that he was satisfied with only to repeat the cycle again because he knew it was not the best he can come up with. He carried the responsibility of BigBang’s fate since his teens till now without a word of complain. He took extra effort in bringing BigBang to its status today which is probably why he took it harder than anyone else that BigBang’s maknae was actually suffering silently for God knows how long.

Daesung shuddered at the possibility that his leader was not as strong as he portrayed. Could Jiyong hyung be hiding something from them as well? He simply could not stand it anymore. He had never thought that there will be a day when he would come to hate fake smiles this much given that he relied on them on a daily basis as an idol.

“Ji hyung. Stop it. Please, not you too.” A broken whimpered escaped from his mouth. Jiyong frowned at that confusedly.

“Stop faking your smile please. It scares me hyung. Why do I get the same vibe as Seungri from you? Why am I feeling so uneasy when you force yourself to be strong?”

Jiyong schooled his features and chuckled at Daseung’s outburst.

“Silly dongsaeng. You are being paranoid. We should focus on maknae now and not me. Don’t worry about me. I am strong. Come on, let’s go in. We have a few things to settle.”

Daesung scowled at the vague response but nodded mutely when he was pulled back into the kitchen. He swore to keep a close look on his leader just in case. Jiyong ignored the concerned looks from his best friend and hyung as he laughed lightly hoping to diffuse the awkwardness.

“Alright. Now call your manager if you have to cancel any schedule for this whole week. I will call YG to request for a break but I think we should keep Seungri’s condition to ourselves. What do you guys think?”

After receiving nods of agreement, he continued.

“Okay. Next, Daesung you will continue to safeguard those items you have collected from Seungri’s room. Oh remember to remove his shaver, scissors and ruler.”

“Ruler?” Daesung can understand shaver and scissors but why is there a need to remove a harmless ruler.

“Just do it.” Jiyong hyung answered tersely.  

He narrowed his already small eyes suspiciously but decided not to press into this matter.

“I will give a call to Seungri’s manager to check on his schedule today. We must not give maknae a chance to escape again. We have given him enough time to compose himself.” Jiyong continued.

“Don’t you think it’s too soon? Maknae wouldn’t like that.” Top questioned worriedly. Youngbae nodded in agreement. He too was worried that Seungri would react badly if they confront Seungri directly.

They were surprised when Jiyong shook his head firmly. “No, we have to confront him as soon as possible. Leaving him alone now will just lead to more room for his imagination to run wild. He will just misunderstand that we didn’t care at all. I understand that Seungri must be feeling terrified now to be busted like this. He must have felt shameful and would like nothing more than to disappear. However we have to brace ourselves and stay by his side no matter how much he push us away. We need to be patient but firm in our resolve. Because I know that there is nothing more frightening than to be lonely among company. And there is nothing more painful than to have your love ones give up on you.”

They were surprised at how sure Jiyong sounded and an alarm rang in their heads when they remembered Daesung’s outburst earlier.

“Ji--“ Youngbae wanted to ask but the words got stuck at the tip of his tongue.

Jiyong smiled bitterly as he understood his best friend’s question, Top’s tensed posture as well as the alarmed look in Daesung’s eyes.

“That’s a mistake in the past that I do not wish to dwell on. As you know, I am a prideful man to the extent of stupidity.” He laughed emptily.

“Anyways, let’s continue. We will wait in maknae’s van and drive him home. This way he won’t have the chance to escape. Ah Top hyung, can you prepare some alcohol to loosen his tongue. I think it will be easier if we all relax a bit.”

They all knew that their leader had dismissed them to do as per instructed but none of them were willing to leave first. This discussion just led to more worries and questions for Top Youngbae and Daesung.

What has been going on with BigBang’s Tom and Jerry?