"Okay. Love you too. Bye." Youngbae placed his phone back on the table.

"Was that Hyorin?" asked Jiyong from the couch.

"Yeah. She called in to wish me luck and I told her we're already halfway through the concert," he said with a chuckle.

"Is she working?"

He nodded. "She's at a photoshoot."

Jiyong sighed and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. He wasn't able to get a wink of sleep after spending the entire night stalking Park Seojun's instagram where he surprisingly found two more pictures of the punk getting cozy with his little tokki, one where they posed with CL and the other one taken with his Dami noona. Jiyong only came out of his room to retrieve two bottles of beer from the fridge before slamming his door again, leaving s gaping after him. By the time Taehee knocked to let him know they were leaving in an hour for Tokyo, it was already three in the morning and he was seventy percent sure he had gone over every possible fansite related to Seojun in an attempt dig some dirt on the actor. He even ended up watching five episodes of Hwarang and hated himself for liking it. Screw these annoyingly addictive period dramas.

"Let me guess," YB stood and plopped down beside him, flinging his arm over his bestfriend's shoulder. "Dara still hasn't returned your calls?"

"No," he glumly replied.

"Did you try calling Bom?"

"She's not answering either. I've sent Dara like a hundred messages since this morning and I haven't gotten a single reply," he grumbled and emptied half of the water bottle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You think she's okay? I mean, Dara's got low alcohol tolerance. What if someone forced her to drink?" He sat up and ran a hand over his face tiredly. "Aaaargh! I'm starting to lose my mind here." Across him, Seungri sniggered. Jiyong raised his brow in question.

"Oh it's nothing, hyung." He distractedly typed something on his phone. "My friend just texted me a joke. It's hilarious."

"Keurae?" Jiyong crossed his arms. "Let's hear it then."

"Eh? Um..." Seungri started to sweat under his glittery silver jacket. The timing has to be perfect, Bom's words rang clearly in his mind. Make sure you don't screw it up or else...she pointed her sharp nails at him then did a gutting gesture to her own neck. Riiight. Like that's not creepy. Schooling his features, he quickly thought of an excuse and was relieved when he saw Tabi's manager ambling his way to the dressing room. He jumped from his seat and called him over. "Hyung, is TOP done with his performance?"

The manager clicked his tongue at him, shaking his head. "Aigoo. You really should address him properly, Seungri-ah. He's still older than you, you know."

Of course everyone in the room heard him drop the honorifics, but he didn't want the minor slip up to reach the ears of the person involved especially since said person had already exposed how much of an 'ill-mannered' member he was in front of millions of viewers on live television. And so with that in mind, he made sure to avoid any repercussions by denying the allegation like a pro. "I did. I asked if TOP hyung was done."

"Seriously, dude. One day, your is gonna get beaten," YB chuckled from the couch.

The manager sighed. "Just go get ready. You guys are up next."

"Okay, great! Oi, you heard the man!" Seungri yelled out and snapped his fingers in the air. "Chop chop, everyone! Let's get this show on the road!"

Daesung rolled his eyes at his theatrics before standing up to retrieve his in-ear monitors from the dresser. "Don't know about you, but something's up with Seungri," muttered Jiyong under his breath, keeping his eyes on the maknae who started fiddling with his phone again. "I just can't put my finger on it."

YB's stylist circled around him to fasten the cuffs on his suit. "Aigoo. You think too much, Jiyong-ah. You know how he gets crazy on stage. I'm sure it's nothing." He clapped him on the back. "Come on. We still have a concert to finish."

~~~~••••~~~~

"You want some, Dara-chan?" offered Bajowoo as he extended the bag of candies toward her. She nodded and thanked him after getting two mints from the pack. He then turned around to share it with the others. Dara remembered how awkward she had been this morning when some of CL and Jiyong's Japanese friends fetched them from the airport. She was honestly intimidated at the measured looks they all gave her that when Bajowoo stepped forward with every intention of helping her with her luggage, she started backing away and profusely apologizing for no apparent reason. Thank the stars they all considered her moment of insanity as a simple case of the nerves and were cool enough to brush off her weirdness. After they all got in the van, the guy sitting on the passenger seat who introduced himself as Junsuke, whirled around and casually went, "So you're GD's girl, huh?"

It took her quite a while to reply, completely taken aback by the sudden inquisition. She turned her head to the side and flashed a distress look at CL who merely nodded in encouragement. "I, um..." Nervously tucking her hair behind her ear, Dara decided that she was amongst Jiyong's trusted friends. Telling them the truth wouldn't possibly implicate anything. "Y-yes," she finally breathed out. His reaction was not what she expected.

"Ha, I knew it! Thank you!" he cried in triumph before smugly holding out his palm to those seated at the back. "Pay up, losers." The rest of the group groaned in unison before retrieving their wallets.

CL slapped Junsuke's arm. "Ya, I can't believe you guys bet on this!"

"Correction, it's not a bet. It's an investment," he reasoned. "Besides, my hunches are never wrong. I knew you'd be bringing GD's gal to Japan when you told us we're in for a surprise. Though you forgot to tell us how pretty she was." He winked.

"A-aniyo," mumbled Dara, her cheeks getting flushed from the compliment. "I..I'm really not."

Ahreum shot her an amused look, "No need to be modest, Dara-ssi. You're among friends. In here, if you got the looks, you flaunt it."

"Damn right, you do," chimed Bom with a snap of her fingers and they all laughed.

~~~~••••~~~~

He's not Jiyong when he performs. He's G-dragon. Occasionally, he lets a part of his true self wiggle its way out of his alternate persona, but more often than not, it's always GD people see on stage. GD the perfectionist. The guy with all the swag. The stick-to-the-plan GD. Rules are made to be followed—except when someone a.k.a. Seungri decides to ditch 'em.

"Aiiish. What is it now, V.I.?" Daesung practically groaned into the mic.

"Relax, hyung. I just wanna say hello to some of my friends in the audience who flew all the way from Korea despite their busy schedules." His fellow members looked at him curiously, their hesitant smiles and the way they kept glancing at the staff proved how clueless they were as the rest of the people in the stadium. Seungri took great pleasure in one-upping his hyungs and seeing them this confused already felt like a huge accomplishment. Living up to his reputation as a person with a flair for the dramatic, he winked at the cameras before flourishing his hand toward the upper deck. The crowd went wild as soon as the spotlight was directed at CL who tried to hide behind Bom when they showed her face on screen, her platinum blonde hair glowing in the darkness. "Minasan, say hi to CL!!" The arena exploded into cheers and the baddest female kept shaking her head in embarrassment. She was surrounded by the +82 squad which also happens to be Jiyong's own circle of friends who always came to watch their shows. As the camera panned out however, Jiyong's eyes widened when he finally noticed the small figure sandwiched between Bajowoo and Junsuke.

"I also wanna greet my good friend who's celebrating her birthday today. Dara-chan!!"

The technical team seemed to be in on the secret since they softly played the birthday song in the background at Seungri's cue. YB, noticing how tense his bestfriend looked, decided to help him out by squeezing his shoulder. Jiyong's emotions were all over the place and after finally getting over his initial shock, he then tried to control the smile threatening to rip his face apart as he watched the little tokki shyly waving at the camera. On her head was a Krunk hat and she was wearing a red turtleneck while holding a small Bigbang lightstick on her hand.

"Aigoo. You're so cute!" Seungri teased. "Kawaii! Kawaii!"

Everyone joined in on the chant, even Jiyong. This went on for a few more rounds before the teleprompter reminded them to get back on track. The show continued and it was apparent not only to the members, but also to the staff and crew how Bigbang's leader drastically changed from swagger GD to pabo Kwon Ji Yong real quick. He kept messing up the choreo, forgot the lyrics to his own song, and even dropped to the floor in a fit of giggles after Seungri called him out for ruining the mood when he sang before YB could finish playing the intro. He resorted to facepalming himself and vowed to not screw it up again when they decided to repeat the whole song from the top. He wasn't one to make mistakes, but having the little tokki in the audience watch him perform live gave him butterflies in his stomach. He felt giddy and self-conscious and for some reason, he just couldn't stop smiling.

"Ya, GD-san, focus will you?" the maknae scolded him for the nth time, one hand on his hip. On any other day, Jiyong would happily kick him to the next century, but he was in high spirits as of the moment so he let it go.

"Gomen," he bowed down. Feeling a bit extra, he got on his knees and leaned forward, almost kissing the floor. "Gomen nasai."

"Yaaah. What's up with GD-san tonight?" TOP smirked despite knowing perfectly well why Jiyong was acting like a first grader in front of his crush. "Why are you being so cute, bro? Do you love Tokyo that much? Kekeke."

"Hai!" His wide gummy smile lit up the screen as he made a heart sign with his fingers. "Tokyo, aishteru!" Daesung could swear he saw girls faint in the crowd from their leader's overflowing cuteness. Trying to be subtle, Jiyong sent a flying kiss toward Dara's general direction and shouted, "I love you!" while making smooching sounds on the mic. This gesture didn't escape his friends who just shook their heads at his crazy antics. When the concert finally ended, the whole production crew decided to grab some dinner, but Jiyong excused himself, telling them he had somewhere else to be.

"So where's the party?" TOP appeared beside him as he made his way to the car.

"You're not coming."

"Aiiish of course we are! We're a team remember?" He playfully kept Jiyong in a chokehold. "Okay! Lezz go!!"

Powerless over s' insistence, he had no choice but to bring them with him. Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a contemporary building that served as the main headquarters for Ambush, owned by Ji's close designer friend, Yoon. Faint music traveled toward the threshold as soon as they entered and Jiyong ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, eager to see his little tokki. When he opened the door, his eyes quickly searched for Dara. He found her perched on top of the billiard table with Harin, CL's younger sister and they were laughing at something that Junsuke said.

"Oh. They're here!"

Just as Dara raised her head, Jiyong crossed the room in three strides and lifted her up from the table, whirling her around before putting her back on the ground without letting go of her waist. "Thank God you're okay," he whispered and nuzzled her neck, inhaling her scent.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You didn't answer my calls or reply to any of my texts. I thought something bad had happened." His brows furrowed. "You got me worried, ahjumma."

"Mianhe." she patted his head. "You did well tonight, Jiyongie. I'm so proud of you."

He leaned back and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I really missed you, you know."

She smiled. "I missed you too." Cradling his face, she stood on her toes and pecked the side of his mouth. Not satisfied enough, Jiyong pulled her closer and kissed her fully on the lips.

"Aaaaw!!"

They broke apart and found their friends gathered around them, wearing their party hats and grinning like a bunch of idiots. Daesung carried the strawberry shortcake they bought earlier while Harin busied herself adding extra candles on top. "Happy birthday!!" Seungri tackled Dara from behind and gave her a bear hug. She laughed and hugged him back.

"Yah! Get off of her, you punk!" he shoved him aside and quickly pulled Dara to his chest protectively. 

"Aiiish, stop fighting," Bom admonished them. "Can we all sit on the table and eat? I'm starving!"

"So am I," spoke CL beside her. 

"Then what are we all standing here for? Let's go!"

Jiyong held Dara's hand and led her to the table. All throughout the night, he behaved like a perfect gentleman—pulling the chair for her to sit, cutting the steak into little pieces and placing it on her plate, switching her glass of wine for a can of Coke because he knew how she preferred drinking it with almost everything and handing her the tissues when he was certain she had finished eating. His friends noticed these little gestures and were amazed at how different he acts when Dara's around. Gone was the bad boy persona, the cool and collected, strutting G-dragon. With her, he was just Kwon Ji Yong. 

And that's enough.