Stepping out the shower, Youngbae sighed as he wrapped a towel around his waist, staring at his reflection in the fogging bathroom mirror, admiring his abs. He should work out some more today. He’d slipped out the bedroom Seungri and himself were sharing to wash his body; it was an easy distraction and it allowed Youngbae to reflect.

He yawned softly, placing a hand on the doorknob. He opened it and stepped out. Seunghyun and Daesung were in their room doing who knows what, Seungri was sleeping, as far to Youngbae’s knowledge, anyway, and Jiyong was shopping. He’d left with Daesung, causing Youngbae to slightly question what had happened, but Jiyong probably hadn’t noticed. Or, was coming back. Either way, Jiyong wouldn’t mind much. Youngbae clicked his shoulders, about to make his way to the bedroom when he heard a click in the door.

He stopped and watched it, waiting for Jiyong.

Jiyong opened it, holding a lot of bags, an unreadable expression on his face. Youngbae guessed why. “Daesung’s in his bedroom with Seunghyun. Seungri’s sleeping so, uh.. Please don’t shout.” It hurt to speak of Daesung.

“Thank . That ing kid! I turned my back and he’d ing run off! I almost ing got run over trying to look for that ing stupid useless piece of-..”

He stopped abruptly when he saw Daesung standing in the hallway. Daesung didn’t say anything. He just looked at Jiyong. Staring right into his eyes.

Jiyong noticed that Seunghyun was behind Daesung, and looked up at him.

They were all silent.

Until Daesung sniffed suddenly and backed away, walking into his room. Seunghyun wanted to say something, but instead just shook his head softly, and followed after Daesung.

A click of the door sounded, and the room fell into a deathly silence again. Youngbae shifted in his spot, turning his head slightly to look at Jiyong, who was staring at the spot where Daesung and Seunghyun had stood, mouth wide open.

“ing hell. Could this day get any worse?” Jiyong groaned, turning to Youngbae. Without waiting for an answer to the rhetorical question he dropped the shopping on the counter, a pepper falling out; almost landing on the floor. Luckily, Jiyong caught it and put it back. “Whatever. Let’s just make dinner.” He commented, beckoning Youngbae over, taking foods out the shopping bags.

Youngbae didn’t know what to say. Did Daesung think Youngbae had talked about him? Did.. Did Jiyong actually hate Daesung? He ignored the thoughts and the rice cooker.

Jiyong sighed. “I guess those two won’t want to eat with us, so we can just leave theirs outside their room for them. Unless they do, of course,” He spoke, taking out a packet of steak and placing it placidly on the countertop, then taking a bowl to place marinade in. They were meant to be having his favourite meal. Maybe it’d make the day less crap.

“By the way..” Youngbae started nervously, wondering how much of an impact the news would be to Jiyong. “We have another interview booked.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Ah..” Jiyong sighed, nodding his head. “Who’s going?”

“Dunno yet. We should discuss it at dinner.”

Jiyong nodded, preparing the steak.

Seungri walked in, yawning, snaking his arms around Youngbae and resting the side of his head against Youngbae’s back. “Jiyong, no wonder why they heard you. You’re too loud...” Seungri grumbled, warmth radiating from Youngbae onto his cheek.

Jiyong bit his lip. Really? He nodded to show he understood.

Seungri then let go of Youngbae and walked over to Jiyong, wanting to demonstrate the way steak was meant to be done. “Look Jiyong, you need to add one tablespoon of Kosher salt into the ramekin, not half a tablespoon!”

Jiyong pouted. “You do it then.” He was tired, and just wanted to eat. He thought of conversation topics, realising he hadn’t really told anyone about Dara. Or seen her, like he’d said he would. He looked at Seungri preparing the steak. He didn’t want to leave, not when there was steak. Nothing was more important than steak.

“Is there something on your mind?” Seungri asked, noticing the way Jiyong stared off to  the side.

“Mm? Oh, Yeah.. I’m uh.. dating Dara...” He replied half-heartedly; patting his and thigh pockets for his phone.

Seungri and Youngbae looked at Jiyong, surprised. Jiyong was on his phone, texting her, as the two stared at him. “Wha-.. When?” Seungri stuttered out.

Jiyong shrugged. “I might invite her over. Is that okay?” He asked casually, hovering over the send button to his text request.

Seungri shrugged back. “If you want, Ji.” He stated, taking some oil out the cupboard.

Jiyong nodded and sent his text to Dara, asking her to come around. A reply came almost immediately. “She’ll be here at 7. Let’s try and clean things up with Daesung a little, at least. I don’t think she’d like the awkward atmosphere.” He said, placing his phone back in his pocket.

“So you’d do it for Dara, but not yourself? Not for Daesung?” He heard from behind him.

Turning around, he saw Seunghyun leaning against a wall, arms crossed, eyebrow slightly raised.

Jiyong looked to the side. “Seunghyun, stay out of this for the moment. No, in fact, tell Daesung to act like he normally does when Dara gets here. Shouldn’t you be watching over him?” He retorted, not meaning it to sound so spiteful, but he’d said things like that the whole day; It was one of those days were he got pissed off at anything, and everything.

Seunghyun scoffed. “I’ll pass the message. It’s glad to see how much you’re acting like the leader,” He mocked. “And yes, we’ll eat with you. Just at least try to be bearable.”

With that, he his heels and made his way back to his room, shutting the door.

Jiyong clicked his tongue and stood up. “I’ll make the table,” He declared, walking over the cutlery drawer, pulling out plates, bowls, chopsticks, cups, everything, and placing them on the table. He smiled to himself. “Table made.” Then stood up and continued what Youngbae had started, as he went to get changed.

Daesung sat in his room – on the floor, in Seunghyun’s lap, crying in his arms. He hated himself for making such a big deal over nothing, but... Had Jiyong lied about everything? He couldn’t stop crying over that thought and all thoughts related, and Seunghyun tightened his grip on Daesung, his back softly, and never complained, and Daesung couldn’t express how comforted he felt, which somehow added to the endless flow of tears.

Seunghyun just sat there, Daesung’s back, whispering comforting words into Daesung’s ear, drawing patterns with his fingertips,  and it all just..

It all just felt right.

Never in his whole life, ever, had Daesung been comforted like this.

Seunghyun stayed like that with him for the next ten minutes, until he heard the doorbell rang. “Hey, Daesung.. Did I tell you who’s going to be here tonight?” Seunghyun whispered softly, moving a hand to grab Daesung’s, his fingertips lightly. Daesung shook his head lightly, his head resting against Seunghyun’s chest.

“Dara. She’s Jiyong’s girlfriend.” Seunghyun whispered again, cautious about telling Daesung the “Jiyong’s girlfriend” part. Daesung nodded. “Ah...” He trailed off.

“Will she hate me? Like.. L-Like..” Seunghyun softly hushed Daesung.

“No. But it’s better to keep ‘us’ a secret, so..” Seunghyun sighed. That had been an inappropriate thing to say at that moment, but he quickly brushed it off. “Besides, if she finds out and doesn’t like us, it won’t matter, because, well.. What does she know? She doesn’t know anything about us. She’s just seen the outside of us. She doesn’t know who we really are inside. So she has no right to judge us, okay? But for now, we have to keep it a secret because of the band. Okay?” He murmured, squeezing Daesung’s hand gently, hoping what he’d said all made sense. But, it was something he’d been cautious of.

Daesung nodded again. “Let’s keep it a secret.”

“Okay.”

They hugged some more, before Seunghyun wiped the last few tears off of Daesung’s face, and smiled, brushing his cheek gingerly.

“Come on, Dae. We have to go now, Dara’s probably already wondering where we are," Seunghyun grabbed his hand to pull him up from the floor. Daesung nodded dazedly and followed Seunghyun to the door of their room. The thought of eating with everyone with the events that happened made him feel confused and scared. He let himself be dragged across the room by Seunghyun without being able to resist.

He almost tripped one time, grabbing Seunghyun’s clothes, startling Seunghyun, who seemed to ask him if he was alright. Daesung just nodded, still feeling like he was far, far away. He managed to smile, and continued walking, clutching Seunghyun’s hand tightly.

But he stopped and let go of Seunghyun's hand at the door.

Seunghyun smiled at Daesung, before taking a deep breath and opening it.

“DAESUNGIE!!” Dara yelled, shocking Jiyong, Seungri and Youngbae a little. They looked over at Daesung who had appeared in the hallway, accompanied by Seunghyun, not making any physical contact with him, just holding the door open.

Daesung pulled a wide smile and yelled “DARA!!!” Before the two ran up to each other, enveloping each other into a big hug. Seunghyun chuckled and walked past them, placing himself on the couch. Dara broke apart from the hug, and smiled. “By the way, I watched the thingy on the news.. I’m cool with you being gay, by the way!” She bursted out, making Daesung’s smile expand even brighter, as well as Seunghyun and the rest.

Before Daesung got a chance to say thank you, Dara continued speaking at her rapid pace. “So.. Is there anyone you like? Are they really cute?! I could help you out with it, if you want!” She rambled, making Daesung’s heart stop beating for a second, contemplating how to answer these array of questions. Luckily; and strangely, Jiyong saved him from those answers.

“Dara!! You’re being too nosy! You haven’t said hi to Seunghyun yet!” He stated, wrapping an arm around her, smiling apologetically at Daesung for a brief moment, before turning her around to face Seunghyun, who sat on the couch, legs crossed, yawning.

She sighed. “Sorry!! HI!!!” Running over to Seunghyun, she jumped onto his lap. Seunghyun laughed and returned the greeting, wrapping his arms around her. Daesung felt a pang of jealousy. Seunghyun’s arms easily wrapped around Dara’s waist, due to her having such a skinny body, and it almost wrapped around twice. Daesung smiled emotionlessly and got a cup out of the cupboard, filling it up with some water. He sipped slowly, feeling the vibrating of his phone in his pocket. He placed his cup down and read the message.

From: Unknown

Seungri accidently turned the oven on too high.

The steak will burn if you don’t turn down the heat.

To: Kang Daesung

Daesung raised his eyebrows. That was random..

He glanced at the recipe book that lay above the cooker. Then glanced at the cooker. The text was right... Daesung bent down and slowly turned the heat down a little. Then stood up. He glanced around him, trying to see any security cameras or anything, because that was just weird.

Half an hour or so later, Jiyong called everyone to the table. “This is my favourite meal everyone, so, please enjoy!” He announced, holding up a glass of Coca-Cola, gesturing everyone else to do the same. Raising their glasses, everyone toasted each other.

Daesung sat next to Seunghyun, Youngbae opposite him, Seungri next to Youngbae, and at the end of the table, Jiyong and Dara. Seunghyun put down his glass and entangled his leg under the table with Daesung, who secretly smiled back.

“Hey, can you not reach the rice? I’ll serve you Daesungie!” Seunghyun cooed like an older sister, causing a laugh from Dara. Daesung held up his plate and Seunghyun filled it with rice, steak, beans, and just about every side-dish on offer. “Hope it’s not too much,” Seunghyun winked, handing it over.

Dara hummed as she fed herself some rice. “So, are you guys writing new songs?” She asked after swallowing.

“Oh! That reminds me! I was working on a solo song I wrote! It’s still under construction, so no demos, I’m afraid,” Seunghyun answered. Dara nodded.

“Cool.. Can’t wait to hear it!” She looked at her steak. “How... How do I eat this?” She thought aloud. Seungri sighed. “Great, you’ve set Jiyong off on one of his rare lectures!!” He groaned, making everyone laugh, except Dara and Jiyong.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.. Well, I’ll summarize it then. Stick the fork into the steak, get a knife, and cut it.” He mused, looking at everyone’s relieved face. Dara understood and cut her steak into equal pieces. “This is good!” She concluded, making everyone clap and cheer.

“Western food is amazing!” Daesung emphasized, earning nods of approval from everyone. Seunghyun saw Daesung’s empty cup of water and grabbed the jug to fill it up for him. Daesung smiled his thanks, brushing fingers with Seunghyun as he prised the cup away from him. He put some steak into his mouth and began to chew.

“Wow.. You two.. Really.. You’d make a great couple!” Dara exclaimed in astonishment, making Daesung almost choke on his food and Seunghyun raise an eyebrow. “You’re still chewing,” He commented.

Youngbae laughed. “Dara, just because you’re okay with Daesung doesn’t mean you have to set him up with everyone, you know!” He stated, suddenly gulping when mysterious eyes landed on him. “Come to think of it, you and Daesung would look good together. Hmm. Hold hands or do an aegyo or something. I’m curious.” She said, swallowing her food.

Daesung hoped the people had heard Dara say that and not that he was doing this voluntarily. He sighed. He wanted to save Youngbae. That’s all he wanted to do.

He posed with Youngbae, pulling peace signs, sticking out tongues, doing aegyo..

“You guys are perfect!! Daesung, don’t get a boyfriend unless it’s Youngbae!” Dara ordered, making Daesung feel very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Youngbae simply laughed and put an arm around Daesung, attempting to kiss his cheek. Daesung couldn’t think of another way out, so let his knees buckle and fall to the ground.

He stood back up again, ignoring the concerned looks and questions, and bowed his head to Dara slightly. “Sorry. I don’t feel very well. I’ll see you later. Do well with Dara, Jiyong.” Daesung rushed, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Seunghyun stood up. “I’ll take him. It might not be good for him to be on his own,” and walked over, wrapping an arm around Daesung and leading him away.

“Was it.. Something I said?” Dara questioned.

Jiyong sighed. “No, he’s not been in the right state of mind lately.” Noticing Seunghyun’s glaring eyes, Jiyong changed his sentence. “I mean, he came down with an illness not too long ago so he’s quite weak.” That sounded no better, but it seemed to work. Dara pouted. “Well, tell Daesung I give him my wishes! I don’t want to visit him when he’s in such a state.” Jiyong rolled his eyes at the cockiness, but smiled anyway. They continued eating dinner, making jokes and conversation.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE – END

A/N: Omo.. 65 pages on Microsoft word so far hehehe. not even halfway, yet. I think I should make chapters longer to avoid 1million chapters. Featured every pairing! That poll has like 50+ votes ;^; thank you guys! So, keep voting because I'll keep checking on it!! And omg random texting. Btw, you’ll find out who JJS is soon!! (the other character in the description) He'll be a few chapters, though. ^^ 

Lastly, Sorry about the lateness. But I fiNALLY found a baedaebutnot picture! if that makes sense.. heh.