“Daesung was there for Seungri, when Seungri needed someone by himself.”

In the five years that passed, Daesung never thought that he’d meet the love of his life.

Well, that wasn’t a hundred percent accurate.

It wasn’t that he didn’t think he’d meet someone. He wanted that, someone to love and to hold – marriage, kids, the works. Nor was the person he fell in love with a new face. In fact, he met her during one unfortunately luckless day back when he released his third Japanese solo album, close to six or seven years ago.

It was just that falling in love wasn’t in the plans for him. Sure, he flirted here and there, but work was still keeping him too occupied, especially during their hiatus when they were always at least one member off.

Riku, he fondly thought. She was still a chubby gal. Her eyes were still the color of whisky. Yet her short auburn hair had grown and out of its dye and reverted back to black.

She was beautiful.

He was on his way home to her, to the apartment they shared in Seoul, of all places. Though bought under her name and a bit more modest than the previous one he kept, it was still his as much as his previous one was hers.

He eased his car to the basement parking lot, winking at the morning guard who was kind enough to keep his identity unknown. He hadn’t learned nothing from Seungri, it seemed. The more people he befriended, it turned out, the easier it was to keep his privacy.

He took the stairs, mask and shades on, head down. He hadn’t met anyone after the three flights of stairs he had to take and casually fixed his hair. If it was cheesy that the code to their place was the day she agreed to move to Korea with him, he didn’t care. It got him to come home to a home-cooked meal almost every night, so it really didn’t matter.

He was reminded of that fact when he entered their dining.

“Hime?” he called in Japanese, lifting a cover up off a plate to reveal teriyaki. “I’m home.”

Daesung grabbed two plates from their rack and two sets of utensils to set the table. Riku walked in, long hair done up in a messy bun, face covered in a black face-mask.

Daesung was careful to kiss her.

“Oh, no, jagi,” she said in Korean, patting him lightly on the arm. “I’ve eaten.” On their electric stove, which the woman took the time to turn on, was a pot Daesung failed to look into, but considering that his girlfriend’s tastes were loyally Japanese, he was willing to bet it was miso soup.

Daesung pouted. Riku saw. “Hey, now,” she admonished. “It’s 10:30PM, for goodness’ sake. You couldn’t have expected me to stay hungry.”

He really couldn’t though, so he took a seat as he waited for her as she catered to his needs. Rice was placed in front of him, so were a glass and a pitcher of water. The soup was ladled and served to him lastly. He could have done it himself, he had no problem with that. Yet there were times when she liked to cater and he liked to be catered to.

He took a gulp of water before starting on his meal. “So what did you do today?” he asked, savoring the heat the soup elicited.

Her eyes were on her phone, scrolling aimlessly through her Instagram. “Fanfiction.”

He almost choked.

“None about you,” she was quick to amend. “Don’t worry.”

Daesung was skeptical. He knew how she was, who she liked and really liked. “Even so!” he wheezed. “He’s been gone for two years. Don’t tell me those are still prolific.”

“Not much in Korean or Japanese,” she shrugged. Her eyes flitted to him, sparkling, mischievous, and naughty. “But let’s just say I’m so glad I learned English.”

Daesung, four years ago, thought it would be difficult to convince Riku to move to Korea with him, especially since she knew a of his native language and that he was destined for the military only a year after. She had agreed like it was the most natural thing in the world, though.

“I work as a stylist and make-up artist,” she had reasoned. “Moving to Korea is an arguably good career move!”

It was. With the rest of BigBang putting in a good word in for her, she started working with idols and up and coming stars. Thankfully, she was the one who was able to talk Jiyong out of the ahjumma fashion. When Seunghyun was discharged and met her, he was able to introduce her to big-shot actors and actresses, which just catapulted her career.

Then Daesung found out that it was Seungri who planted that particular idea into her head, like how it was also him who enabled them to meet again when he was scheduled for an interview for Good Morning, Japan! It was all rather delightfully peculiar how his dongsaeng had the ability to somehow just make things happen.

Daesung is thankful, of course.

“You called in sick,” he laughed. “Just to read fanfiction?”

“I went on Instagram, too!” she cried, popping a piece of chicken into . The blackness on her face looked tight and ready to peel off.

Daesung shook his head indulgently as he stuffed his own face. It was hard keeping in shape, after getting a girlfriend. Four years ago, when he went on dates and hadn’t really committed to anyone, the women would always order a salad, or something dainty to appear lady-like. Then Seungri set him up with Riku just because he happened to mention he liked her but didn’t have enough courage to ask her out back then, and the two apparently just clicked, being the same age and all. Plus, Seungri had always been the nicest to the fans who had him as a bias.

Apparently, Seungri was nicer to the fans who had him as a bias-wrecker because that sounded better and earned more bragging rights. Whatever that meant.

“You’re so weird,” he commented. “All you use Instagram for is to keep track with Nyongtory. You personally know Jiyong and Seungri, why do you still do that?”

Riku rolled her eyes. “Seungri is personally Seungri and he keeps track of Nyongtory!”

Daesung almost dropped his chopsticks. “What?”

She bit her lips and looked away. Daesung nudged her with his foot. “I was just kidding?” she tried. “How could he, you know?”

“Riku.”

“Look,” she sighed, and Daesung was secretly pleased that Riku, unlike him, was unable to keep secrets and spilled them all out in the slightest of persuasions. “All I know is, the last time I saw him, I caught him looking at the Nyongtory tags on his Insta feed. I didn’t mean to. I just saw. And about it.”

Daesung fidgeted in his seat. “Did he tell you anything about it?”

“Not really,” she sighed. “Oh my Nyongtorian heart. I wish they’d just get back together, you know?”

Daesung dipped his finger in his cup of water and sprayed her face. She spluttered.

“You’ve been reading too much of that , seriously,” he said. “That’s far from reality.”

She hummed in contemplation as she tapped her phone on the table, sitting back comfortably. “I don’t know, sometimes they seem true enough to believe, and they’re surprisingly close to the facts too. Sometimes, fanfiction is basically just how fans piece together a series of seemingly unconnected of pieces of moments together, right? In a way, you’ve probably wrote fanfiction, too, in your head.”

“I have not!” Daesung denied resolutely.

Her face shone with mirth. “Oh yes you have; I just heard you the other day talking to Seunghyun-oppa.” She clasped her hands together, fluttering her eyelids and failing to impersonate he boyfriend’s voice. “‘Oh, Seunghyun-hyung. She’s amazing. She’s taking me to meet her family soon later this month, finally after all these years. Then I’ll have them so impressed with me. And we can get married and have the biggest family with fourteen kids–’”

“,” the man interrupted. “You heard that?”

She laughed as she stood up to walk out the room. “Sure did! It was hilarious.”

Daesung stared down at his food in embarrassment. He hadn’t meant for her to hear that. He had just been so excited that he was finally getting introduced, after four years at that. Riku had her reservations which he totally understood and accepted, but taking their relationship deeper was something he was always interested in. At least then, he would be a step closer to asking her father for her daughter’s hand, when that time came.

Daesung kept on eating until her voice sounded from somewhere beyond the dining. “Hurry up, Daesungie! We better get started if you want fourteen kids.”

Daesung choked.

But that didn’t stop him from shoveling the whole bowl of rice into his pie-hole and running.

Daesung knew how much Riku liked Seungri, that while she liked him for his voice and talent and stage-decorum, Seungri was liked because of his overall cuteness and attitude. Not that their youngest was a real gentleman. No, that was Youngbae, who was always considerate to all the ladies, making Hyorin the envy of the town. Seungri was a real friend, who was unafraid to treat all his male friends the same way as his female friends – and everyone else in between.

Seungri was the type who liked to join in on the fun, whether it was a game of billiards, or a twerking battle where he was the only male. For all the time he spent with Riku looking at Seungri posts and fangirling about his maknae, what he didn’t get is how it almost went unnoticed to the rest of their VIPs that Seungri could go from admitting to have let go of dancing, and then twerk and dance to Beyoncé in a tight sleeveless shirt that showed off his flat stomach and tighter jeans that just screamed suspicious, like he was saying that ‘Hey! I did let go of dancing in a boy group, but I still dance enough off-stage to suddenly dance Single Ladies almost perfectly on-stage just because Youngbae-hyung is an who liked to make me do .’ It was all baffling to Daesung, really, after finding out that that particular private video of Seungri had spread all those years ago.

To be fair, Seungri never actually dwelled on his uality, nor gave much importance to his label, unlike Jiyong who had deemed it important. Seungri just knew what he wanted (which was males) and what he never felt any sort of ual attraction to (females). It just so happened that since the distinction was important to Jiyong, he felt the need to defend it for him.

He probably should stop his girlfriend. Seungri was getting discharged, he was going to walk out of those doors and into their arms. BigBang would be whole again, and Riku was catching it all on video. All of Jiyong’s reactions, at least, considering that’s where her camera was pointed at.

They were behind a make-shift stage. The biggest celebrity out of all of them, trust Seungri to turn his discharge into a concert. The stage was small, relative to all the stages they’ve performed in. Their first performance after the hiatus was going to happen to raise soldier morale, on the day of Seungri’s discharge. Or night, considering it was already 7PM.

Since the rest of the group decided to show up, a lot of their fans decided too as well. Although they couldn’t enter the field, so much people flocked outside just to get a glimpse of them.There were more of them than when Daesung and Jiyong was discharged – as they enlisted on the same day as they enlisted together as well. There were more reporters too, and Daesung felt somewhat apologetic toward the maknae’s family. It looked like they had to share their son for a little bit more.

What surprised him was the amount of Nyongtory signs that littered the fans. Honestly, the support was overwhelming, and he knew how much Jiyong was still in love. It must be hard for him, living in the version of his life where he could see that there was nothing to worry about after all, but losing the real thing.

Daesung sighed. It’s been a long time since he’d thought those thoughts. Maybe he was too observant. Maybe he still hoped like the rest of them did. Even Youngbae softened over the years, feeling for his best friend and forever understanding his predicament of stasis.

Daesung went over and nudged Jiyong on the shoulder with his own.

“Daesungie,” Jiyong smiled, not looking a day older than twenty-eight. “What’s up?”

Impressive, but not as much as Daesung. He still looked twenty-three.

“Nothing, really. Just really excited to see the maknae. Haven’t seen him all year long.”

Halfway into his service with Jiyong, Seungri went into the military. During that year, sixty percent of BigBang was serving and their country couldn’t pass up the chance of making them perform. They were as busy inside as they were outside, but that all changed when he and Jiyong left. Daesung heard Seungri wanted to be treated like a regular citizen, not like an idol. Daesung heard Seungri didn’t perform much, maybe just in the shower or in the barracks or in their few down times, from the little stories Hanna has told him.

It wasn’t that Seungri wasn’t allowed his few days off. But he did spend those in the comfort of his family or otherwise, Daesung was too busy and unfortunate to miss him every time.

“Same,” Jiyong sighed, and to Daesung that was surprising. He knew how much the leader missed the maknae, how very Seungri-devoted his time was. Jiyong shrugged. “He never told me when he was around.”

Ah, Daesung realized, that explained it.

“You’re excited, then?” Daesung asked, lips quirked up in a teasing smirk.

Their leader was in a state of not speaking when not spoken to. They all, in a manner, still had that charismatic flare they used to have, if not more. Daesung had the benefit of having a stylist for a girlfriend. Albeit she thought it was funny to dress him in a tight pair of jeans that resembled the ones he had to borrow from Seungri all those years ago, he still looked damn fine, if he had to say so himself. His legs looked long and the camouflage jacket he was wearing made his shoulders look wide. The beret she placed on top of his head felt awkward at first, yet the response it got was positive enough.

Seunghyun aged so gracefully, skin as clear as day and body as healthy as a salad. His eyes grew deeper with something only fair for actors, beautiful and alluring. All he was in was a thin lavender long-sleeved shirt, sinfully tight and tucked into a pair of loose dark jeans, and in combat boots of all things. The old pair of Ray Bans perched on his nose was mocking all of them with his attractiveness. Seunghyun was an art standing still (he still moved like a crazy person).

Youngbae was the most shocking. He dyed his hair back to white, reminiscent of his Ringa Linga era, but cut in a sophisticated sort of Mohawk. His shirt was snug around his neck and perfectly lined the length of his torso, cut short in the front and long at the back, covering him from just below his pelvis to the back of his knees. He was in thigh-hugging ripped jean shorts that barely reached his knees, his belt buckle imposing and golden. Heavy Doc Martens on his feet like they belonged there, a sliver of woolen grey socks peeking fashionably out. Dressed in all black and arms unsurprisingly exposed, Youngbae was a sight to see that day, channeling the bad boy image extremely well. However, the single earring, Daesung knew, was worn more for sentimentality’s sake than anything.

But Jiyong – Kwon Jiyong, their oh-so-precious leader – looked like a prince. His hair was a bubblegum blue, high at the center, cut on the side. He was in a military cut white jacket, made shiny with golden and silver chains and buttons. His high-waist pants were the same pristine white, but lined at the sides with a dark shade of blue, the cut of it straight and making his legs look longer than they actually were, leading to an obviously expensive pair of dress shoes only the likes of G-Dragon could pull off. Tucked into his pants was a loose black shirt, slashed and ripped methodically low and showing off the perfect amount of his toned chest and abs. His body looked best when he got out of military. Despite the amount of biased treatment they actually got, there was still a good amount of push-ups and sit-ups they couldn’t run away from, no matter how many laps they did on the field.

People screamed his name, louder than they ever had, as if him doing the dirty with men as well as women made him hotter than he already was. Jiyong had no reason to drop his head. Seungri had been right, in the end. They did end up as the group who trailed another blaze. Whatever Seungri did when he whisked Jiyong to America for three days and made the leader brave enough to come out after so many years of choosing to stay between rumors was a miracle in disguise. Maybe it all worked out because it was the right person: the Kwon Jiyong who was internationally loved by his talent and everything else. Maybe it all worked out because it was the right timing: BigBang, ending it with a big bang (they were scheduled for the hiatus anyway).

Maybe.

But Seunghyun had gotten to Daesung.

Daesung’s money was on Seungri and his Divine ability to miraculously make things happen. It was Daesung who the fandom called an Angel. But Seungri was something else by himself.

So the announcement gave Jiyong more positive publicity than what was anticipated (which wasn’t much), and he should have been proud and overflowing with confidence, not wringing his wrists behind his back like he was then.

“Nervous,” Jiyong answered finally.

They were told that they were to start soon, that they were to start without Seungri, that he was going to join them from the audience. They were only performing for an hour and a half, shorter than they’re used to, but none less extravagant than the others. The fireworks might be limited, and they might make mistakes here and there, but it just seemed so appropriate to signal the comeback with a performance for the military since they had a group hiatus for it. In the name of patriotism, and all that.

They took their places.

The thing about being part of BigBang was, they almost had as much male fans as they had female. The iconic first beats of Bang Bang Bang coursed through the speakers and the curtains dropped. The audience cheered as they danced what little choreography they had, and Daesung went through the motions even though it’s been a while since he performed in a group. But they weren’t really a group about dancing in synchronization anymore, not for a long time. The secret to their staying together hadn’t been the ability to dance like they had one mind, nor was it about blending their voices together beautifully like other groups do. They had those moments, sure, but individuality was their group dynamic. So much so that even Daesung was aware of how easy it would have been for them to fall apart, to drift away, right from the start, if it weren’t for the glue that kept them together.

Seungri’s voice came in and he emerged from the crowd in true Seungri-fashion, apparently able to convince the soldiers around him to dance with him, like he did in their music video. Daesung didn’t know how he missed Seungri because the maknae looked exactly like he did back then: skin hauntingly white and hair glowing purity. There was black war paint on his face and though he was wearing the regulatory uniform he still stood out, probably even among them.

Seungri urged the audience to stand, the people where he came from already dancing to their beat. The men behind stood easily, those in front were more reluctant. But Seungri encouraged them, waving his hands about, jumping, and forcefully pulling them up.

Soon, everyone was dancing along, and even though he wasn’t expecting anything, it was turning out to be more fun than how Riku insisted.

He saw Youngbae run to Seungri, lock his arm around his neck and pull him down. Seungri’s laugh was loud and infectious, making Daesung want to do the same thing, because , he missed his maknae.

Immmediately after their first song ended, Seungri caught his eye and gave him a slow once over, eyes lingering from his hips to the length of his legs. Then, a smile and a very suggestive wink.

Maknae looked good. Now that Daesung could see him in something other than his camo’s, Seungri really looked good. Just for fun, Hanna found him the shiniest pair of black pants striped vertically with white sequins. His white dress shoes shone with its newness. He had a black long-sleeved v-neck tucked into his pants and under a white baseball jersey, the name Lee and the number 12 printed on his back. A simple silver chain Daesung knew was Jiyong’s adorned his neck.

They were in a club, Seungri’s, because what use was it if BigBang couldn’t exploit it? They’d invited many of Seungri’s friends, and Jiyong promised to pitch in for the expenses, after paying for the dinner the five had with Seungri’s family before the party. So did Yang Hyunsuk, whose fondness for the maknae just grew over the years.

Youngbae’s arm wouldn’t leave its place around Seungri’s neck, a claim of missing him for four years always on his lips. Seungri was comfortable in the hold, obviously feeling the same way. To Seungri’s left was Jonghoon who got discharged a few months back. Seungri’s hand was on his thigh fraternally, which is endearing to Daesung because, at thirty, Seungri was still affectionate. That, and the maknae was a quarter of a glass away from being drunk, which was probably going to be in a few seconds considering that he was grabbing Jonghoon’s drink for himself.

At their round table, Seunghyun was at the head, quiet at most but bursted with his strangeness from time to time, mostly just to tease Seungri. Beside him was a woman who he has apparently been with for a year. They harped on him for keeping it a secret. Nevertheless, they were glad that he was at least dating, finally. Mostly, the woman kept to herself, polite and sophisticated.

Between her and Daesung was Jiyong, who had his chin propped on his hand and eyes trained on the person directly in front of him. In a way, Daesung knew how much Jiyong wanted to be in Jonghoon or Youngbae’s place. Daesung felt it whenever Jiyong would twitch slightly because Seungri’s hand would trail too high on Jonghoon’s thigh, or Jonghoon would lean too close to whisper something into Seungri’s ear.

Daesung nudged him with his knee. "Hyung, stop twitching, will you?" he scolded. "I feel like you’re heart’s going to stop soon."

Jiyong sighed as he leaned back. "I can’t help it," he said, loud enough for only Daesung to hear in the sea of voices and the boom of the club music, "not when my last memory of him was his blessed-out, ed-up face."

And, okay, Jiyong must already be drunk to drop that bomb.

"Say that again?"

"A year ago," Jiyong explained, words slurred and cheeks red. "We had a little... uhm, fun..."

". How?!"

"In General Song’s quarters."

Daesung slapped his leader on the stomach hard.

"Ow! What the ?!"

"What the , hyung?!" Daesung bellowed. "What the were you thinking?! General Song’s, really?!"

Jiyong’s hands shot up to Daesung’s mouth, the elder’s eyes wide and fast to catch another’s. Daesung followed his line of sight directly to Seungri. They had the same look on each other’s face: wide-eyed, face flushed, definitely shell-shocked. Then Daesung realized his outburst garnered the attention of everyone in the table, especially noticed the dangerously curious glint in Seunghyun’s eyes.

Seungri was quick to stand, and quick to stumble. Jonghoon grabbed him by the waist and Jiyong flinched. "Easy there," the guitarist said. "Where are you going?"

Seungri bat his hands away. "Just going to get a drink." He awkwardly tried to get past Youngbae, who grabbed him by the wrist.

"I’ll come with you," the dancer offered, standing up. "I need one too."

Seungri pushed him back down. "No, I don’t want you," brutally honest, he told the clingy man. He turned to Daesung. "I want Daesung-hyung."

But Seungri didn’t wait for him and just walked away. Daesung gave a quick look back before he followed the maknae. Jiyong had his head hung low, hands hooded over his eyes.

In the dark light of the bar, Seungri’s white hair glowed with an enchanting shade of violet and blue, casting his features in a pleasing aesthetic as he leaned on the counter, a glass in his hand. The people around him was as drawn in as Daesung was, momentarily stunned at the picturesque beauty that was Seungri. Daesung knew that someone was bound to make a move on him, whether they knew him or not, a fan or not, because that was just how enticing the man was at the moment.

Daesung squeezed himself in the tight space available and staked his claim. Seungri leaned into him.

"You and Jiyong-hyung," Daesung began, because that was where it always led to. "What’s up with that?"

Clearly, Seungri was beginning to get drunk, as he had not only leaned into Daesung’s embrace, but completely turned to him and s his arms around and rested his face on the elder’s slender neck. Seungri breathed, causing a shiver to run up Daesung’s spine. "Jiyong," he whined, "is the biggest goddamn ing thorn on my side because I still want him so much my palms burn to touch him!"

There was a sob or hiccup there somewhere, but it was all lost in the revelation.

Daesung held him at an arms length. "Seungri," he commanded attention, "are you two... are you getting back together?"

Seungri shrugged helplessly. "I don’t know," he cried, waving his arms about, splashing the rest of his drink on the floor (and at the woman just beside them. Daesung apologized and offered to buy her a drink.) Seungri suddenly looked at him in urgency. "Are we? Did he tell you anything?"

"I think that’s all up to you, Seungri-ah," Daesung explained. "He’s still waiting for you to come back to him."

Seungri pouted and harrumphed like a child, falling back into Daesung’s arms. "But I don’t want to go back," he whined into the other’s neck.

"Then don’t," Daesung answered simply. "You’re not obligated to him in any way, Riri."

Seungri’s whine was high and long. "You don’t understand," he accused, pushing away and stomping back to their table. "Jonghoon understands!"

Daesung sighed. He decided to get a drink before going back. Thing was, Jiyong and Seungri... well, he didn’t know what they were. Not that he looked into it or anything, but Jiyong had always been extremely sensitive about the topic, and whenever he’d ask Seungri - which was rare and few in between - he’d always say that they were friends.

"You’re so not just friends," he’d comment.

"Then we are what we are," Seungri’d say, sometimes with a shrug, sometimes with a smile, always with a little glint of secret in his eyes.

Daesung downed his shot. Seungri was right. He didn’t understand, especially with how much push and pull the two of them liked to play. For one thing, Jiyong was convinced that Seungri was the one. For another, Seungri was as conflicted as he should be.

Admittedly, he spent too much tine at the bar, getting his bearings back and putting things into perspective. He decided to get the others their drinks while he was at it. It bought him time, in the least.

When he got back, the first thing he noticed was the palpable tension. To an outsider, it looked like a typical club scene. Jiyong was relaxed into his seat, Youngbae’s hand on his thigh. The older was saying words not of importance. Seunghyun and his girlfriend were conversing with Jonghoon, who was rather distracted, but otherwise engaged. However, Daesung was no outsider. He knew what was really happening amidst it all.

Jiyong was burning up, terribly itching to launch over the table and maybe pummel Jonghoon into oblivion. His relaxed form was betrayed by his intense eyes, and all Youngbae was doing was trying to restrain and placate him. Meanwhile, Seunghyun was distracting Jonghoon, because they all had an idea on how protective he was of his best friend when it came to Jiyong. He’s provoked him before, taunted the leader, just to get whatever little pleasurable revenge he could from the misery of the other. This, all because Seungri felt like Jonghoon understood him most, in a way none of the members could. He was, after all, the person Seungri ran to when he had problems he couldn’t tell BigBang, as well as problems that he could also tell BigBang. Jonghoon had the all-access, whether they liked it or not, and the F.T. Island member liked to rub that fact in Jiyong’s face.

This time, though, he didn’t need to. Seungri was doing it all himself by placing himself on Jonghoon’s lap, visibly whispering things in his ear, and playing with the guitarist’s collar flirtatiously.

, Seungri, . . They shouldn’t have gotten him drunk.

Awkwardly, Daesung put the tray of drinks on the table and sat on the other side of Jonghoon. Jiyong lunged forward for a glass; Youngbae was unable to stop him.

Seungri squirmed. It didn’t matter that he was in his thirties, not when their eldest didn’t look a day beyond it. The maknae had shed the jersey and untucked his shirt, leaving him in a homier look. His hair was disheveled, color high on his cheeks, lips still lightly painted with red, and the make-up around his eyes smudged ally.

This was how he got Jiyong worked up. This was how Seungri got men to fight for him.

Daesung made the mistake of trying to diffuse the situation, by trying to get Seungri to him instead of Jonghoon. At least then, Jiyong wouldn’t look like bloody murder. He placed a hand low on Seungri waist, gently urging him, voice low, to come to him, and Seungri hissed.

Hissed.

“No,” he said, irritated. His grab on Jonghoon’s collar tightened, ultimately getting the man’s attention. “I want Jonghoonie!”

It should have occurred to Daesung that this was the first thing the other members would have tried to do, and if Jiyong couldn’t convince the drunk maknae to come to him, then Daesung shouldn’t have hoped he could.

“Only you understand, Hoonie!” Seungri began to whine and beg. “Stay with me, please. Please.”

There was a thud from the other side of the table as Jonghoon wrapped Seungri in his arms, one hand on his head, the other on his waist, shielding their maknae’s face away from the rest of them. His fingers slid to Seungri’s ear, massaging it as he spoke to him in low tones of assurance. It worked, effectively so, and within minutes, Seungri was asleep in his arms, stunning the rest of them into admiration.

“What?” Seunghyun went, voicing the question they all wanted to ask. “How’d you do that?”

Jonghoon shrugged, careful not to wake Seungri. “When he’s drunk, he falls asleep when you play with his ear. Didn’t you know?”

No, they didn’t. And when Daesung looked to Jiyong, he was so upset – so frighteningly upset that it made Daesung pray.

Please, at least, whatever happens, don’t let it be as messy as it was five years ago.

 “Seunghyun really appreciates Seungri so much more. They have some chemistry.”

Seunghyun was so goddamn ready to say goodbye.

He sighed. Today officially marked the day he stepped down from Seungri’s position and left it all to him again. He couldn’t say he had fun. Hell, no. The only thing the position brought him was the worst headaches and heartaches. For two years, he had to endure and experience what it was like to be in his maknae’s shoes. Well, a portion of his life, at least. He was just so glad he was so over the boy that a pout could no longer make him say yes to everything.

God, that boy had him wrapped around his chubby little finger, but thank the kid was too kind to abuse his power.

His lawyer entered the office and told him that Seungri had just arrived, that he was downstairs and just changed his mind. He wanted to have a lunch meeting instead of a plain old one.

Seunghyun looked at his wrist watch. It told him it was 3PM, and he cursed. Seungri never changed. He still neglected to eat properly. The elder had no choice but to agree to the proposition. Otherwise, he’d risk Seungri eating nothing but cup ramen, or maybe downing a supplement as he’d learned to do, if he did deem it all right to eat anything at all. It has only been a week since he got back from the military and the boy was back to his old habits.

Maybe Seungri still had him wrapped around his little finger.

Fortunately, he’s outgrown his feelings and moved on. Fortunately, it didn’t hurt anymore, not for a very very long time.

Either that or a maknae was still a maknae, and a hyung was still a hyung, even though it felt like the other way around sometimes.

Seunghyun wondered how Seungri could change so much yet look the same despite the years that has passed. The boy looked healthy – and the boy would forever remain a boy in his mind, because that was just how their dynamic worked, like a fact of the universe, set in stone, forever remained. The elder had to admit that the years had been kind to both of them, albeit in different ways.

Seunghyun aged gracefully, like George Clooney, some would say, and he’d be flattered because Clooney was an actor worth looking up to.

On the other hand, Seungri remained youthful. In fact, he looked like he aged backwards. Their MADE era lasted from 2015 to 2017. And in 2022, when Seunghyun looked at Seungri, his mind would go back to when they first recorded their first set of songs, when they were all shocked with the sudden white of Seungri’s hair.

He had came in smug, cheeky that he was. He knew he looked good, and though the surprise and accompanying praise only lasted for a few minutes, because none of them could really stomach an obnoxious Seungri, he was nevertheless worth all of it.

The military had done him good. The lines of his muscles made that terribly obvious.

Seungri acted differently now. He had matured so much in five years that he didn’t cling so much anymore, when he was sober, that is. He made decisions so wise that Seunghyun missed scolding the boy.  Nevertheless, Seungri and his bad eating habit had been no petty thing.

Seunghyun took a dumpling from the steamer and dipped it in soysauce. Seungri came up from slurping his noodles and chewing them diligently. When Seunghyun took the dumpling to his maknae’s mouth, Seungri took it without thinking.

Maybe not much has changed after all.

“Eat properly, Seungri-ah,” Seunghyun reminded, repeating the same concern they’ve had for him for years. “It’d be a shame if you lose your military muscles. You finally look like an idol, after fifteen years.”

Seungri’s eyes widened, cheeks filled comically. His following swallow looked painful. “Rude.”

“Also true.” The older shrugged.

Seungri pursed his lips and leaned back in his seat. His expression changed into something more seductive. “Still managed to make the two most attractive men of the most popular K-Pop group fall for me, though.”

Seunghyun waved his hand in dismissal. “That was just a phase. We’ve both moved on, clearly.”

Seungri snorted, but didn’t say anything else. It must have been the wrong thing to say, because if Seungri was eating moderately a while ago, he had totally lost his appetite then.

Seunghyun rolled his eyes. It’s been five years. If he could move on, then Seungri clearly could.

But Jiyong hasn’t either, not really.

Frankly, it was tiring, for all of them. Happiness was a fragile thing, especially in their world. When his sister found her happiness before she even reached thirty, he had to face the harsh reality that he couldn’t do the same. When his dating rumours back then got out, he was bombarded with so much hate that he couldn’t help but wonder why he couldn’t just be with someone, like everybody else. It was all rather unfair, to be honest.

Seungri cleared his throat. “How was it,” he asked, “spending two years cultivating talent?”

“Enlightening,” Seunghyun simply answered. He regretfully watched Seungri push his plate away and pull his glass of soda closer. The elder was half convinced that the maknae got half of his energy from sugar rush, and the other half from magic because Seungri sure wasn’t getting it from enough sleep, if his eye bags were anything to go by.

“Really?” Seungri squealed excitedly.

“No,” Seunghyun shot down. “It was the worst experience of my life. You’re lucky I care enough for you and all the artists in YG that I didn’t give up during the first month. You ing knew I wouldn’t ing like it, you er.”

Seungri chuckled. “I’m sorry?” he tried. “I had no choice, hyung. Youngbae-hyung was in the military at the time, and Jiyong-hyung and Daesung-hyung was heading in as well. I couldn’t have left it to them.”

“So it was all a matter of timing, is what you’re saying?” Seunghyun couldn’t keep the hurt from his voice. It wasn’t that he felt betrayed by Seungri. Rather, it was more like Seungri shackled him into doing something he didn’t want to do, but needed to be done.

“Hyung,” Seungri went, pitch higher with exertion. “It wasn’t like I made you handle all the business stuff. I had my lawyers take care of that. All you had to do was work with them so that all the YG came through you, artist-wise.”

Seunghyun scratched his head in frustration. “You think that was easy?” he challenged. “You weren’t the one who had to watch their faces when we told the trainees they couldn’t debut yet. I had to tell IKon the postponement of their comeback, Seungri, and they’ve worked so goddamn hard.”

Seungri smiled at him, all too kind, and the elder was taken by surprise. “Exactly,” he said, sounding like an older brother trying his best to make his younger sibling understand. “I asked you because you understand the importance of hardwork in our industry. That’s something I don’t trust my lawyers with, Seunghyun-hyung. Only with you.”

In the five years that passed, it was no secret to any YG artist or producer, or to almost every employee, really, even the ahjummas relied on to keep offices neat and tidy, that Seungri worked harder than any of them. Being the owner of the larder portion of shares was a responsibility more than anything else. It didn’t really hit any of them how much G-Dragon meant to the company until a single ill-perceived rumour confirmed had them all hanging dangerously by a noose. It was all a sick game of corporate politics, that Seunghyun understood, and it was quite heartbreakingly clear how Jiyong’s uality was the final straw. Seunghyun wondered if it wouldn’t have to lead to such extents if only Go Minzy’s departure hadn’t angered so many fans, followed and brought to the edge by the announcement of Nam Taehyun and 2NE1’s disbandment. The company tried to save face by bringing back Sechskies in the midst of it all, but nostalgia can only do so much in the face of the harsh Korean audience.

Jiyong was king of staying in the middle of rumours; there was little doubt about that. But the rumour was as good as confirmed and admitting to it would have little to no effect.

No, that wasn’t right. Admitting it would either have had the effect of making things worse, or catapulting Jiyong once more into possible worldwide uproar and international applause. It was a risk not many would have taken. Heck, Seunghyun was sure Jiyong wouldn’t have taken it if Seungri hadn’t showed up in YG’s office, promising salvation.

, Seunghyun knew Seungri was so nerve-wrecked back then, the boy honestly had no idea what to do. The maknae had confessed to him how he just said what felt natural, and how he almost regretted being as bare and vulnerable as Jiyong was. The maknae only had an inkling and a business proposal at his hands when he had pitched the idea to Hyunsuk. Nothing more, nothing less.

Miraculously, it all worked out.

To some extent, that is.

The incident had brought the company to some debt, a considerable one but fortunately not enough to bring about the company’s collapse. They could breathe a little easier knowing that in the last year, they were able to pay it all off cleanly, with the hard work of all the artists.

The hardest decision, Seunghyun would have to say, was to announce to all the trainees that there will be no new debuts in the following three to four years. It was Seungri who had done the announcing at first, but during his service, Seunghyun took on the job.

It almost broke them both to take away and crush dreams like that. Some of the trainees had already been training for four years or more. Adding three more to that was honestly just overkill, but it was the company’s main priority to lessen bad reviews and gain back the population’s good graces. Limiting debuts lessened chances of new scandals; focusing on their artists brought positive attention.

Finally, YG did something right, the comments would often say.

AKMU was getting the recognition they deserved. IKon topped all the 2020 charts. Sechskies just finished their tour. Blackpink had a movie in the works. Tablo just headed an album project that partnered YG artists like Psy and Se7en with artists from other labels for a collaborative set of songs (it was surprisingly successful; the mutual increase in fans were nothing but beneficial).

It had all worked out, with Winner’s comeback the most emotional one as Nam Taehyun rejoined after two and a half years of silence.

But it wasn’t all positive, with 2NE1 failing to come back together, not with Minzy already signed with a new label, not with Bom who had gotten an offer better than what YG could give her considering their situation (she deserved it, though).

They had their ups and downs, and in the three years Seungri spent as a CEO, and a Partner, and an idol, Seungri took the brunt of it all. His health deteriorated considerably during the first months, alarmingly so. Seunghyun had not been there, considering the start of his military service, when Seungri turned from eating healthier to having supplements as his best friend.

It upset all the other members terribly. Their youngest had just recovered from the effects of his horrible eating habit, and then it turned worse when Seungri barely found time for himself.

It wasn’t like he could do anything about it. He had to be there for most of YG meetings. He had to attend to his responsibilities in China and Japan. He had to immerse himself in variety shows and whatnot in Korea so that BigBang doesn’t die and remain as a household name. He had other businesses to run. The first months were the worst, all because the contracts had already been signed. He had obligations to follow through.

He had his manager almost quit on him due to the immense responsibility. Luckily, Jiyong was too worried and concerned that he hired Seungri a personal assistant and got him to trust his lawyers again (the youngest had been too stubborn until he almost collapsed from intense headaches).

The firm gave him younger lawyers, those that were more his age and could jive and understand his wants better, as a consolation. He had two, a man and a woman, and together they helped managed Seungri’s businesses between them. Truth be told, he didn’t actually need them quite often, just on the occasion when he needed a contract drawn up or renewed or reviewed. Mostly, he needed them to finish up all the unfinished ones he failed to conclude when he suddenly bought his company share. As his workload let up in the months that followed, so did his need for them.

Seunghyun met them both. He had to, considering that he became Seungri’s attorney-in-fact, while they remained his attorneys-at-law.

He liked the female on better.

Midway through his own service, Youngbae went in to serve his. When he was discharged, Daesung and Jiyong was about to serve theirs. He spent the following year following Seungri. Seunghyun hadn’t actually known how the younger had done it, how he was able to convince Seunghyun that it wasn’t that hard, that Seunghyun had nothing to worry his handsome head about.

Seunghyun fell for it. Never again, he vowed.

Seungri could play the businessman and the CEO all he wanted by himself.

It would never be Seunghyun’s cup of tea.

When all the papers had been signed and Seunghyun was his own man again, Seungri gave him his sincerest gratitude by inviting him over to hang out, as it was one of those rare days when they were both free. Seunghyun took the darkness around Seungri’s eyes and figured he wanted none of it. So the younger offered to drive him home instead, to which the eldest agreed.

He missed Seungri. He wasn’t about to d