Bobby suddenly forgot how much his head hurt and stood up in disbelief while YG just looked at him with a tired look.

“Home?” Bobby exclaimed.  “What do you mean home?”

“Well, I’ll gladly tell you if you sit down because there is no where in hell I am going to have a conversation with you where I’m looking up at you and you’re looking down at me.”  Each word YG said to Bobby made his heart drop.  The tone was different than the usual lecture tones.  It was as if YG gave up on him.

“Ok,” Bobby said as he lowered himself down and sat in the chair across from YG.  “Sir, please don’t kick me out.  I’ve gotten so far.”  Bobby watched YG’s ice cold expression with fear.  “Please, this my life.”

“Well, you’re acting like an idiot in this life that you say is so important to you,” YG sighed.  “How do you expect to get even farther with this behavior, Bobby?  I can no longer tolerate this.  It’s getting out of hand.”  Bobby just shrunk further into his seat, the redness rushing towards his face; and it wasn’t because he was drunk a while ago.

“You’re lack of consideration for your team members and showed me that you completely forgot what it was to be a part of a team.  You were riding solo for Show Me The Money and I’m proud of you, but ever since then, you have been a complete pain in the .  You show a lack of regard for your members and you just don’t seem to care.  You are showing to me that you are so into yourself that doing whatever will get you to debut regardless of what happens.  Just because Mix and Match is over doesn’t mean that you’re going to debut tomorrow.”  Each word cut into Bobby like a knife.  Everything was true and there was no way to deny anything.  What the hell have you been doing? He thought angrily to himself.

“I’m not kicking you out of the company because that would just increase the stupidity of this situation and you are talented.  I’m not ruining your life because you’re making some dumb decisions,” Bobby sighed in relief as YG relayed his words.

“However,” Bobby’s eyes looked carefully as he waited for the next words, determining his fate.  “You need a serious reality check.  You’re going home this summer to remember where you come from and hopefully remember why you’re doing all this and how the decisions you are making now aren’t helping you at all.”

“Yes sir,” was all Bobby could say in this moment.  He was screwing up and he knew that.

“I need you to remember that this isn’t a vacation and if you come back the same thing as you are now, then we’ll have some more decisions to make.”  Bobby nodded slowly as YG told him the terms.  The entire time, YG was typing on the computer and sat back in his chair at his last word to give Bobby a soft look.

“Look, Bobby,” the change in his tone made Bobby listen with more interest.  YG clasped his hands together and placed them on top of his stomach.  “I have high hopes for you and I want to see you become successful but I will not debut someone who isn’t ready.  This is a chance for you to take a break.  Use it all wisely.”

“Yes sir.  I’m-” Bobby stopped himself before apologizing.  He didn’t want to apologize just yet.  He wanted to do it when he came back and really learned from it.  “Thank you sir.”

“No problem, Bobby.  Just start packing and come back here tonight because you’re leaving tonight.”  Bobby just nodded as he stood up and bowed before leaving the office.

Damn, I really screwed up, he thought.  I don’t think I’m that bad.  I would’ve been fine if I didn’t have that stupid alcohol.  Bobby walked to the practice to see nothing there except his bag.

“Guess they all went to the dorms,” he said to himself as he took his bag and swung it around his shoulder before leaving the room to head home himself.

“I’m just saying, I’m tired of his and--” Jinhwan stopped talking when he heard a loud thump behind him.  All the guys turned their head to see Bobby nonchalantly walk into the living room and sit down on the couch with them all.  Jinhwan just rolled his eyes, not liking how easy-going Bobby looked.

“What are you guys talking about?” Bobby asked, already knowing the answer.

“You.” Jinhwan replied without any emotions in his voice.  The aura of the room went back to being ice cold and none of the boys knew what to do.  “Nothing else to talk about except you and today.”

“That’s true.”

“Well,” Jinhwan said annoyed, “don’t you have anything to say to us?”  Bobby just sighed as he looked around the room to see everyone’s eyes just watching him.

“Well, yeah,” he started, “I’m leaving.”  

“Wait, what?” Yunhyeong said first.  After his words, the rest of the guys started chiming in confusion and concern.  “What’s going on?”  Before Bobby could explain, Donghyuk’s voice rose the most amongst them.

“You’re giving up?” Donghyuk’s glare caught Bobby off guard as the young one’s pent up frustrations were finally being released.  “After all the we’ve been through, you’re just going to leave and not own up to anything?”  The rest of the boys were just as surprised as Bobby, not expecting such anger to come from the calm and cool Donghyuk.

“I honestly can’t even look at you right now,” he said as he was rising from his spot on the floor to go to his room.

“Wait,” Bobby called out, “I’m not giving up.”

“Then what do you mean you’re leaving?”

“YG is sending me home for the summer to clear my head and kind of like rehab my attitude or something.  I’m not leaving the group, but I guess I’m leaving the idol life for a while.”  Bobby looked at his friends to see a mixture of expressions, none of which included relief or happiness.  They all looked stressed out, annoyed, and a little depressed.

“So while we work our asses off for years and even more now for our debut, you get to go home and take a break for being an ?  You get to see your family after doing absolutely nothing?” Hanbin spoke through gritted teeth, his hand in a tight fist.  “That’s absolute bull.”  Hanbin rose up and left the room, a dangerous feeling leaving with him.  His absence followed a loud slam on the door, making the youngest members jump in their place.

Slowly, one by one, each of the members left the room, shaking their head at Bobby.

What the hell is their problem?, he thought.  This isn’t a vacation.  Why are they all so pissed?  The last one to leave the room was Yunhyeong who decided to linger a little longer.

“Is that really what’s happening?” He said softly.  Bobby just groaned a little in frustration, annoyed that everyone left but also a little grateful that at least Yunhyeong was willing to stay a little.

“Yes, but it’s not like to reward me.  Like I’m not really sure what YG expects me to do for a summer at home when we should be preparing for debut, but I’m just rolling with it.  Sure, it’ll be good to see my family but my parents are going to kill me when YG tells them the real reason why I’m there.”  Yunhyeong just nodded slowly as Bobby spoke, unsure of what to say next.

“I guess that kind of makes sense, but you get why everyone is pissed off right?”

“I mean not really.  This is my punishment.”

“Yeah, but you get to go home regardless.  We have all worked so hard to debut for our families and then you screw up and get to see them so it’s all frustrating.”  Bobby just nodded his head, looking at the time.

“Well, Yunhyeong, thanks for staying here with me, but I really need to go and start packing.  YG wants me back soon so I can go to the airport.”  The two of them got up and went to their rooms, Yunhyeong giving Bobby one head nod to wish him luck since he shared a room with Hanbin.  When Bobby entered the room, Hanbin was at his computer playing with beats and making lyrics.  The usual.

Bobby tried not to pay too much attention to him and went to his closet to get his bag to start getting packed.  He didn’t want to get into something new with Hanbin before he left and decided silence was the best option.  Hanbin, on the other hand, knew Bobby was in the room and saw the shadow of Bobby moving around the room because of his lamp light.  The floor moved each step Bobby took, making Hanbin’s blood rush with anger with each step.

“Do you at least understand why we are all so done with you at this point?” Hanbin said, removing his headphones aggressively as he twisted his chair to face Bobby.  “You just seem to show no regard for us whatsoever and don’t seem to care if or when you screw up.”  Bobby sighed as he paused packing up his things and looked at Hanbin.

“Do you even care anymore?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Then what have you been doing these past few months?” Hanbin waited for a genuine answer from Bobby as he sat in confusion and sadness.  “It’s like my best friend disappeared.”

Bobby just looked at Hanbin, unsure of what to say.  How bad have I really been?  He knew these past few months he changed, but not to the extent where Hanbin might shed some tears.

“I don’t know,” Bobby muttered under his breath,” look, I don’t want to leave with everyone mad at me.  I know that I’ve been an , but something is just off and giving another apology doesn’t seem like it would cut with anyone of you.”  Bobby just stood in his place, he genuinely didn’t know why he had been acting that way or why he felt no remorse whatsoever.

“I guess I don’t care anymore,” he said slowly.

“Don’t you want to debut?  We got this far.  What are you doing?”  Hanbin asked.  “I know it hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine since Show Me The Money, but you’re not talking to us either.”

Bobby looked up at Hanbin.  For the first time in forever, he genuinely felt bad for his actions.  The sight of Hanbin’s pleading eyes was too much for Bobby.

“Dude, I’m sorry, I really am,” he started, “of course I want to debut still with all of you.  This is my dream and you’re my family.”  Hanbin’s expression softened a little.

“I really hope this trip helps me out or whatever.  i can use all the time I have to make some music and make some great songs for debut,” he said with a small smile, “I’ll come back better.”  He started to walk towards Hanbin, not sensing anymore hostility and stuck his hand hand to do their handshake.

“I promise.”  Hanbin just laughed softly under his breath.

“You better or else I’m going to beat your ,” Bobby half laughed because he knew he was serious.

“Want to help me pack?” Hanbin just nodded and soon an hour passed with Bobby at the door with his luggage and all the guys looking at him awkwardly.

“Well, I’ll see you guys in a few months.  I’ll call you guys all the time or you call me,” he began.  “Um...I’m sorry that I’m leaving this way but I will come back with my head in the game and ready to play.”  The boys just looked at him, unsure of what was ok to do.  Hanbin stepped out and grabbed one his suitcases.

“Well let’s walk him down guys.  He’s been a pain, but he’s still Bobby.” He paused and looked at Bobby up and down.  “For the most part.”  The boys all walked down the apartment to the front where a car was waiting to take Bobby to see YG.  They all said their goodbyes and wished each other safe trips and productive practices.  The rest of the boys watched the car leave into the night as it got smaller before they went back into the building, all wondering if the trip would be worthwhile for their brother.

~~~

Bobby was just watching the night life go on past him, taking in all the sights of Seoul before he left.  It wasn’t until the driver took a sharp turn causing Bobby to hit his head against the window to realize that they weren’t going to YG.

“Excuse me, I thought I was supposed to meet YG at the office.”

“He is going to meet you at the airport instead.  It was too much trouble and he wanted to see you off himself.”  Bobby just scoffed.

“He thought I would try to run didn’t he?”  The driver just smiled in the mirror, answering Bobby’s question.  They arrived at the airport where YG was waiting at the terminal.  They had a silent walk to the gate, making Bobby feel extremely awkward.  It wasn’t until Bobby’s flight was called that YG finally said something.

“Ok Bobby, your brother is going to pick you up when you land because lucky for you, I think, he was the one that picked up.  You’re going to have to explain to your parents what you’re doing there.”  Bobby just nodded in agreement while also cursing YG in his head since he left a difficult job to him.  “Also, I want you to really take this time to reflect.  If you came back the same egocentric and snotty brat, then we’re going to have to talk about your future.”  Bobby gulped in fear, knowing exactly what that meant.

“Do I make myself clear?”  Bobby just nodded his head and YG smiled and patted his back.

“Ok then, well, have a safe flight and see you in a while,” YG handed Bobby the ticket and he walked down the hall to get into the plane.  He found his seat, put his bags away, and plopped down.

“Well .”

After what felt like forever, Bobby’s flight finally landed in his home state of ia.  When he walked out of the gate, he saw a sight he hasn’t seen in a while.  Diversity.

It has been a while where Bobby felt singled out in public; it wasn’t a good feeling.  The sea of Koreans he arrived with dispersed into the large airport and he tried to find his brother.  Fortunately for him, he was able to locate him easily amongst all the people.  Bobby was able to walk through an airport without a wave of girls screaming for him.  It felt a little refreshing.

“Wow,” Bobby said when he saw the sight of his brother waiting, phone in ear, “hyung!”  Bobby waved and smiled ear to ear when he caught his brother’s attention and made him turn.  However, the look on his brother’s face was not one of welcome, but similar to the look on the faces of the guys back home.  His brother said another thing and ended his call to met Bobby with crossed arms.

“What the hell did you do?” Bobby sighed, forgetting how strict his brother was.

“Well hello to you too.”

“This isn’t funny, Bobby, why are you home?”

“It’s good to see you too.  It’s been what? 2 years?” Bobby said annoyingly.  He may have screwed up, but his brother didn’t have to be on him like this.

“You would’ve seen all of us the day of your debut, but you’re ruining that,” his brother started.  He sighed and picked up one of Bobby’s luggage.  “You’re lucky YG has so much faith in you.”  He turned and started walking away, making Bobby roll his eyes and follow in suit.

“Does mom or dad know yet?” Bobby asked after catching up with his furious brother.

“No, I decided it would be a nice surprise for you to come home and tell them yourself,” his brother replied.

“Thanks,” Bobby said as he groaned in frustration.

“You’re welcome,” he replied as he opened the trunk to car and put Bobby’s bags inside.  As he closed it, he looked at Bobby calculating in his head how much their mom would smack him.

“Kim Jiwon, you’re in for a ride of a summer.”