News of the viewing party spread amongst the idols and everyone was very excited. Dara kept rolling her eyes whenever someone mentioned that it was a Tabisan episode viewing party.   "Oh, just let them be unnie." CL commented after Dara once again wanted to explain that technically it wasn't their episode, when Chanwoo shyly told them that he and s are so excited for the Tabisan party that they even moved some practices around just so they could be there. "They just want an excuse to party and hang out. We all do."
  "I just want don't want the actual leads to hear that we're calling it the Tabisan episode." Dara grumbled as they entered their practice room after saying goodbye to Chanwoo. 
  "Ooooh.. So this is about ahjussi Kang Dong Won?" Bom asked, her eyes crinkling with glee.
  "Excuse you, you ahjumma." Dara's eyes narrowed at Bom. "Who are you calling an ahjussi?"
  "Ho ho ho. Why so defensive my dear?" Bom leaned towards Dara. "And why are you so bothered? Didn't you choose some other guy over him during your Ideal Man World Cup with Hyoni and Seyoung?"
  Dara blushed a very deep red. "I.. uh.. I.. It wasn't like that!"
  "Then explain yourself!" Bom demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
  "I just feel weird if I still choose him over everyone else now that I've met him." Dara mumbled, looking down on the floor.
  "I see." Bom nodded seriously. "Now that you've met him, you discovered that he isn't really Ideal Man worthy and now you've moved on. Totally understandable, santoki."
  "Park Bom!" Dara protested. "It's not like that! I.. ugh.. Waaaaah.. Do you think he'll think like that? Should I explain? But oh my God! Won't it be too presumptuous of me to think that he'd care? But I don't want him to think I don't like him anymore! Aaaargh.. Park Bom, I hate you!!"
  CL and Minzy were just looking at the two older girls in amusement. They have long since sat down on the floor. Minzy offered Chaerin the can of Pringles that she brought out when the older girls started their banter. CL took a chip and munched happily as they continued to watch Dara practically hyperventilate and Bom cackle with glee.
  Suddenly, an arm reached for the can of Pringles. CL and Minzy looked in surprise and found Seungri eating the chips as he watched Dara and Bom.
  "You rat!" CL hit his arm and grabbed the Pringles back from him.
  "Oppa.. When did you get here?" Minzy asked.
  "A few seconds ago. " He placed a chip in his mouth and gestured towards Dara and Bom. "What's happening?"
  "The usual." CL replied with a shrug as her attention returned to Bom and Dara. Dara was still babbling and Bom kept baiting her.
  "What am I going to do?" Dara turned and upon seeing Jiyong enter the room, she grasped his arm and asked him pitifully. "Jiyongie.. What should I do?"
  "What's wrong?" Jiyong asked urgently. "Are you okay? What hurts? Did someone say something to you? Do something to you? Who is that bastard? Tell me his name and I will make sure he pays."
  "Give me some of that." Bom ordered as she sat down next to Seungri.
  "Unnie, seriously?" CL asked, looking at th eolder girl in disbelief.
  "What? My part is over. It's Jiyong's turn." Bom replied matter-of-factly. "Those two are just so easy to rile up."
  "Tell me, Sandara." Jiyong demanded.
  "It's just.. Do I apologize to him and tell him I still like him? But what if he doesn't really care?" Dara asked.
  At her words, Jiyong's eyes widened. "Tell who? Like who? You? Who?"
  And just like that, this time it was Dara's eyes that widened. "Ah.. Uh... I love you, Kwon Jiyong!"
  Jiyong crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh huh. I love you, too. So who do you still like?"
  "Uhmmm.." Dara looked helplessly at her friends who were sitting in a row on the floor. She focused on Bom who was happily munching and failed to see the smile of amusement blossoming on Jiyong's face. "Park Bom!"
  "Sandara Park!" Bom replied.
  "Lee Seunghyun!" Seungri piped in. At the looks he received, he shrugged. "I thought this was a roll call."
  "Well?" Jiyong prodded again.
 

"I wanted to know if I should apologize to Kang Dong Won for not choosing him in the ideal man world cup we did for HyoniTV." Dara mumbled.

"Oh, yeah. I saw that." Jiyong answered as he pulled a chair closer to where their friends were sitting and sat down himself.

"He's such a prince." Seungri whispered to CL. "The floor isn't good enough for YG's treasure."

Jiyong didn't even bother responding to him, his eyes focused on Dara. "Let me get this straight, you're asking your boyfriend," he pointed to himself, "if you should confess to your ideal man? And this ideal man is not him. Him meaning me, your boyfriend."

"Guess, I shouldn't huh?" Dara answered as she walked closed to Jiyong and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. 

"Yeah, probably not a good idea. You're probably making a bigger issue out of it that it actually is. If he asks you, then by all means reassure him of your everlasting like." Jiyong replied casually.

"Everlasting like?" Dara scoffed.

"Of course." Jiyong answered as he pulled her closer so that she could sit on his lap. "He can have the like since I know that your everlasting love belongs to me and mine belongs to you. Only to you." He smiled at her tenderly before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"So much cheese!" Seungri exclaimed as the girls burst into giggles. "Kill me now!"

"Yah! Park Bom! What are you giggling about? This is all your fault!" Dara told her Park sister.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, santoki." Bom flipped her over her shoulder. "I was merely making conversation."

"Admit it, unnie, you're an instigator." CL pointed to Bom. Then pointing to Dara, "and you, my wifey, are just too easy sometimes. Meanwhile, we have you, Mr. G-Dragon, who is always one step away from caveman."

"Huh. Has he evolved already?" Seungri commented. "I must have missed it."   "And we have here, a soon-to-be dead rat." Jiyong answered.
  "Dead rat walking." Dara agreed simply.
  There was a second of silence before they all burst into laughter.
  "Nooooonaaa!" Seungri protested.     ____________________________________________

  "Hold still." Jiyong told Dara as he fixed the hood of her jacket so it covered her face more securely. The couple decided to sneak away from their friends for some quality time. In the cover of the dark, they managed to move somewhat freely amongst the throngs of people. Dara was so focused on eating her tteokbokki, she just let Jiyong fuss over her. "You're lucky you're so cute."   Hearing Jiyong mumble, Dara gave him a questioning glance. He reached towards her face and wiped the sauce on her cheek with his hand. "Such a messy eater."  He looked at the sauce, now on his hand and shook his head. "That wasn't one of my most well thought ideas, eh?"
  "You're lucky you're so cute." Dara teased, throwing his earlier words right back at him. "Here hold this." She handed him her food and rummaged in her bag for some wet wipes. She took one out of the pack and took Jiyong's hand. She cradled his hand in hers as she thoroughly wiped it clean. Jiyong was watching her with a soft smile which she caught when she looked up at him. "What?"
  "Nothing. You're just adorable." He replied, still smiling. Handing her food back to her, he reached for the packet of wet wipes, took one out and proceeded to wipe her cheek. "There. Now we're both clean and sanitized."
  "Sanitized?" Dara wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That's like one step away from being quarantined."
  "So? There's no one else in the world I'd want to be quarantined with than you. As long as we're quarantined together." Dara laughed at his words. "What? There's no sense in being quarantined with you if we're quarantined separately."
  "But won't that love story be so epic?" Dara asked as she finished her tteokbokki and along with the wet wipes they used earlier, disposed of it in one of the garbage cans around the area. Jiyong was following her closely, not wanting to chance losing her in the crowd but mainly just wanting to be close to her. "Two star-crossed lovers who have overcome antis and haters and all sorts of obstacles only to be separated due to medical circumstances." She laughed as she faced him, walking backwards as she spoke. Jiyong was still smiling indulgently at her, carefully watching her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself. "Imagine this: you and me stuck in one room but separated by those plastic curtains or maybe glass? Always in each others sights but never within reach. And if the walls separating us are glass, we'd also not be able to speak with each other."
  "That sounds like the iest love story ever." Jiyong commented. "I'd probably break the glass or tear down your plastic curtains just to get to you."
  "But that would be bad! Like for all human kind!" Dara answered dramatically.
  "Why? We're already quarantined, so that would suggest that we're both infected. Why bother separating us?" He asked her seriously. "If we're a danger to mankind, and we're dying anyway, we should definitely die together."
  "That's.. so morbidly sweet." Dara commented as she stopped walking. By now, they reached a small park square in the middle of the bustling city. The perfect place to relax and enjoy the cool air after a night battling through the crowd of people. She reached out a hand towards Jiyong, which he eagerly accepted allowing her to pull him closer. "And so you. Breaking down walls. You'd probably throw in a diss rap at the doctors while you're at it."
  "Hey, if they plan to keep us separated they should be ready to feel the burn. You know my words, like my charm, are deadly." He joked.
  "Just like your ego." Dara also joked. She looked down at their entwined hands, then looked up at the night sky. "You know what else would make this night perfect?"
  "Nothing." Jiyong answered honestly.
  "Such a sweetheart." Dara smiled at him dreamily. "Rain. Isn't that what happens in the movies? Then we'd run for cover and wind up taking shelter somewhere, then spend the night talking and kissing as we wait for the rain to stop."
  "Haven't we done that already?" Jiyong asked, remembering how beautiful she was in his jacket, laughing in the rain. "Well minus the kissing. We were so young back then."
  "An you were afraid to kiss me." Dara teased.
  "I was not." Jiyong defended. "You were, are, not like other girls. As much as I wanted to kiss you, I didn't want to push you away by rushing."
  "But I wanted you to kiss me." And she did. She really did. Back then he was all passion and determination and she was still unsure of herself and her place in Korea. He gave her a sense of belonging and his continued encouragement and support helped give her the drive to withstand everything. She remembered telling Bom that sometimes, when Jiyong was close by she felt like he was sharing his confidence with her. Powering her up when her own was lagging. There was just something that Kwon Jiyong exudes that makes people aware of him and of who he could be. Years later, he has more than passed her expectations. She always knew he could do it. That Big Bang could make it. All the boys were so talented. But she couldn't have imagined back then just how big they were going to get.
  "Well, I know that now." Jiyong grumbled. "But back then, you equal parts scared me and excited me. The usual tricks to get girls won't work with you since you are different. And I wanted something real with you." He laughed. "Man, I was a chicken when it came to you."
  "Little bit. And should you really be talking about other girls in front of your girlfriend?" Dara looked at him through hooded eyes. Jiyong saw the girl he fell in love with as much as the woman he is still in love with. That girl exuded sweetness and kindness and innocence, the woman in front of him is still all those things but there was an assurance about her, a confidence in herself, in her place in the world and in his life and heart, that he found incredibly y.
  "Why don't I make up for it?" He asked her as he leaned closer, dismissing her comment about other girls since they both knew that there have been no other girls for a long time and it's bound to stay that way, and kissed her. The memories of a thousand kisses that never happened, that he wished would happen on the night they were talking about, infused with the thousands more kisses that they have shared, along with hope of the thousands that will continue share, encompassed that kiss. The rational part of Jiyong wondered how they haven't imploded with all the emotions and memories in that kiss.
  Suddenly, they felt water touch their skins. They broke the kiss and looked around in confusion. Jiyong burst into laughter as he pointed at what seems to be a broken pipe on the ground, probably a part of the sprinkler system, hidden among plants. He laughed at Dara's shocked face and watched her break into a smile. "You got your wish, baby girl."
  Dara shook her head. "No, you were right. This night has been perfect. No frills and special effects needed. Just you and me."
  "Forever and Always." Jiyong agreed.

  ____________________________________________

  Finally the night of the Tabisan viewing party came and all the idols are present. YG allowed them the use of the largest training room in the building. 

The idols who didn't have any schedules for the day came early to help set up. Only Big Bang, Dara, Seungyoon and Hayi were currently absent as they are still finishing up various commitments. Big Bang was just coming in from a fan meet in Beijing. Their plane landed almost an hour ago and they'll be coming directly to YGE for the viewing party. Dara and Seungyoon were filming VTRs to thank their fans since their web drama, We Broke Up, wa