They are standing on the stage, the five of them, waiting for their turn to perform.   On the large screen above them the videos that were recorded earlier in the day of “Last Dance” and “FXXK IT” play.  Jiyong listens and watches them, as do the others, but he can’t help but let his mind wander. 

“All that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost;”

                Jiyong preps himself to be G-Dragon, the leader of the music group BigBang, as he sees the others mentally preparing for the stage as well.  He watches Seunghyun, the eldest of the group first, who looks almost lost.  Seunghyun is nothing at all like the charismatic outgoing personality that is T.O.P when he performs.  And while T.O.P is a part of his hyung, as a performer he knows that it is only a small part of him. Seungri does his thing spacing out and preparing to be the super hyped up energizer bunny maknae that the VIPs expect him to be.   Meanwhile Youngbae is cute and sweet as he dances along to the music, not much difference between the real him and Taeyang, just an extra dose of self-confidence.   Daesung is, as usual, off in his own head waving to the fans and occasionally breaking out in air drums to the music as he is quietly getting ready to be the smiling angel that everyone expects of him.

The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

            It’s been just over a decade since they debuted as BigBang.  Ten short years since they have been in the public eye, working their way up to the top; but the time before that was a struggle as well.  All of them worked hard to even get to that pre-debut stage, each facing their own struggles.

                Jiyong has performed for the longest, having been at it since he was six. That didn’t mean he had an easy time though, his song writing talent earning him the extra assignment of having to write new songs every day, just to hone his skills.  Luckily he eventually met Youngbae during the grueling trainee process as young teens.  The two hit it off right away, becoming the family and support system that the other needed to make it through.

                Youngbae did a brief stint as a child actor before deciding that music was where his passions stood.  He overcame his awkward and shy personality enough to ensure that HyunSuk took notice of him. 

                It was still a struggle though even well into their careers.  Youngbae’s dancing and singing skills more than adequately made up for any social blunders he might make, and Jiyong was always there to help temper him as well.

                It was just the two of them for several years, training to be a duo, until it was announced that they would be an idol group instead.  Jiyong was not exactly thrilled with the idea, downright angry actually.  That didn’t stop him from reaching out to Seunghyun, his childhood friend, a