Chapter 7: A Guy That Used to Follow Me Around



'What you call me? I'm T.O.P.
I make all the girls go crazy
my stance, mah hair, mah every stare
is it too much to handle? i don't care!'


'yeah you think you can get it on with a man like me
i'm the one kwon leadah, gd baby!
i make the club go! like what, woah oh!
it's time to move on, yo, sol! let's start this show'!



Jiyong nodded his head to the beat, closing his eyes, making mental notes on each and every line that the other members sang. He frowned when it was Seungri's turn.


"STOP!" He ordered the music to be stopped. They were inside the studio recording BIGBANG's new single, "Comeback". Seungri looked at his hyung, nervously anticipating his next words. Whenever his hyung uttered that word inside a studio, it only means one thing: something's wrong.


"Seungri-ah, repeat your lines this time without the music." Jiyong ordered the maknae, giving him a serious look. Seungri advanced to the mic, avoiding Jiyong's piercing stare. Hayssst! Who said Bing Goo TOP-hyung owns the most intimidating eyes in BIGBANG? He heaved a sigh.



'It's been awhile
Let's get it wild
Big Bang is back
Let's go oh oh oh
Everyone just woah oh oh
Come back!'



The maknae looked at their leader expectantly, half wanting to see his smile of approval and the other half wanting to be swallowed by the ground he was standing on. Jiyong opened his eyes and frowned in dissatisfaction.


"You know the problem is with that?" He said meaningfully to Seungri who bowed his head. "You didn't prolong the syllables that were needed to be prolonged." Jiyong added, pointing to the paper he gave Seungri awhile ago that had his markings on the syllables of each line.


"It should be 'it's been a-wa-a-ayl." He prolonged the last syllable of the word "awhile". "Let's get it wa-a-ayld." He demonstrated. Seungri looked disheartened. "Did you even review the notes I gave you?" Jiyong added, obviously annoyed.


Seungri bit his lips, still with his head bowed. "Mianhe, hyung. I was~~" Youngbae decided it was time to step in.


"Come on, Ji. We all know Seungri's been busy promoting his solo album. He probably didn't have enough time to review and practice his notes." Youngbae offered, tousling Seungri's hair. The maknae silently thanked him.


Seunghyun stepped forward as well, knowing full well that when Jiyong got into one of his fits, it would take a long and grueling time of cooing to make him cool down.


"Ya! What are all of you blabbering about?" He asked with his baritone voice. The group looked at him out of curiosity. "As far as I know, my stomach is already grumbling." Seunghyun, also known as T.O.P., massaged his oh-so y tummy. Seungri suddenly chuckled.


"I wonder if the sound of his stomach is similar to his baritone voice... kkkk." Seungri giggled to himself, not knowing that Seunghyun was just a few inches away from him, ready to pounce. Upon seeing his fuming hyung, Seungri ran to Youngbae and hid himself. Seunghyun let out a triumphant laugh at the maknae's choice of refuge.


"You do know that Youngbae's much smaller than me, right? I can easily snatch you in a second!" He cockily informed Seungri who was still hiding behind Youngbae. Youngbae frowned at the insult thrown at him.


"Ya! What did you say, monom babo?!" Youngbae yelled and the three ran around the studio like eight graders during recess time. Jiyong shook his head but at the same time, laughed at the childishness s were showing. If it were five months ago, he would have joined in that ridiculous stunt.


He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder while the three were still goofing around. Daesung's bright smile welcomed him.


"What do you say, Kwon Leadah. Shall we take a beak?" He smiled sweetly. Jiyong couldn't help but smile as well. He was motioning for the others to stop their nonsense and head for lunch when his phone rang.


"Jiyong, bring the guys to my office." It was the President, Yang Hyun Suk. "I have something to show you."









When BIGBANG came to YG's office, there was already a crowd gathered in the small visitor's lounge. Teddy, Kush, Se7en, Sean, Gummy, Psy, Jinu, Sean and the rest of the YG artists were all busy talking to each other to notice them.


It was Teddy who greeted them as they settled on an available couch.


"Wassup, BIGBANG!" He yelled as he high-fived each member. The boys took turns giving their hyung a high-five.


When YG came into the office, all looked at him, confused at the sudden gathering that they were called for. Kush broke the silence of the group.


"Did Jiyong get into a scandal again?" Kush smirked and teased his junior, getting a pillow thrown smack at his face. Jiyong laughed triumphantly. YG laughed as well as he looked on at his family.


"No, thankfully, no scandal as of the moment." He said, giving Jiyong a meaningful stare. "But as you all know, it's been five months since our girls debuted in Japan and as I can see," YG paused and looked at his artists all talking excitedly upon hearing YG talking about 2NE1. "all of you are eager to know how 2NE1's doing." He added, smiling a little bit as he noted that all were now excited with what he was saying. Even the dazed looking Seunghyun sat up when the name 2NE1 came up.


"I know all of you miss them already and I must say the feeling's mutual." He eyed Jiyong who was looking at him intently, sending a subliminal message. Jiyong diverted his eyes uncomfortably.


"So the girls decided to send us their greetings straight from Japan!" YG happily exclaimed. All at once, the crowd that was gathered in his office cheered excitedly. Jiyong couldn't help but smile. Yeah, I really do miss those girls. He thought to himself. 


Especially her. A small voice in his heart escaped. 


YG played the tape that was sent from Japan and at once, four beaming girls greeted them from the screen.


"Wassup, we’re 2NE1!” The four girls greeted in unison, showcasing their famous greeting topped with their infectious smiles and energy. The group inside YG's office couldn’t help but smile as well.


“We’re in the middle of promotions right now.” Leadah Undeniable, CL, spoke, obviously excited about what she would be revealing. The four girls walked at what seemed like a wide hallway while the cameraman followed them. Fresh Vocal, Dara, giggled as she pretended to run away from the cameraman.


“Kyaaa! This is like 2NE1TV all over again!” She exclaimed cheerfully. The group watching laughed at her adorable antics.


“Noona! Noona!” Seungri’s eyes lit up when he saw his favorite noona. Youngbae chuckled, watching Dara pretend the cameraman was a paparazzi, covering her face and acting all cute. Such a dork! He thought to himself. He stole a glance at his best friend and was surprised to see him actually smiling, watching Dara.What’s on your mind? Youngbae silently asked, not taking his eyes off Jiyong.


Jiyong, feeling that someone was watching him, turned his attention towards Youngbae who was busy watching him. Like a boy caught stealing coins to buy an ice cream, Jiyong changed his expression, as if he was not amused at all just a while ago. 


Youngbae couldn’t help but to chuckle at his best friend’s act. He knew deep down Jiyong’s missing her too. He may have everyone fooled by his cold facade but he knew his best friend all too well. Working with him for more than ten years, he knows when something's bothering him.


Jiyoung stole a glance at Youngbae and noticed that he was in a deep frown, as if assessing the situation in front of him. He felt that Youngbae’s already getting suspicious with his sudden change of heart. He had known me since we were teens. He saw me grew up to be the man I am now. I wonder if he sees through the real reason I broke up with her?


Both Jiyong’s and Youngbae’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud baritone voice.


“YA! Is that Junsu talking to Bom noona?!” Seunghyun exclaimed as the camera panned to the beautiful brunette speaking with the panda guy. CL was still sharing to the camera that 2NE1 had been invited to perform in one of Japan’s biggest music shows, much like Inkigayo and Music Bank. She was jumping in excitement as she pointed to different top Avex, JE and other record label artists all waiting for their turn to go onstage. 


Just then, BIGBANG’s maknae shrieked in total panic.


“Ya! That’s 2PM with them!” 


It was not a big secret that Seungri is a bit possessive when it came to sharing his noonas and dongsaengs and 2PM had a reputation for being 2NE1 fanboys.


Jiyong turned his attention to his favorite subject, Dara. He found her being stopped by two members of 2PM. He knew them of course. One of the members acted all cute and shy towards her, trying to impress her with some sort of joke that Dara laughed at. This got the 2PM member smiling like a foolish ten year old.That's Jang Wooyoung, Dara’s devoted fanboy. He hissed, shaking his head. 


He was not really that bothered with fanboys. Ok, maybe a little bit. But this particular fanboy, this Jang Wooyoung, just couldn’t seem to stay away from her and at the moment, Dara seemed entertained by his antics. Jiyong stopped himself. What are you thinking? You already broke up with her remember? You have no right to stop her from flirting with whoever she wants to. He told himself, bitterly. 


To calm himself, he turned his attention towards the other guy walking alongside them.


Unlike Wooyoung, Nichkhun was walking silently, looking at Dara and Wooyoung a few times and letting out an amused laughter every now and then. Jiyong watched him intently, not letting even a brief moment between the two go unnoticed as he found something peculiar at how that guy was looking at the two. 


Just as the three were making a left turn, Dara and Nichkhun accidentally bumped into each other. After recovering from the little incident, both gave an apology and shared an awkward laugh. Nichkhun gave a tender shy smile which Dara failed to notice since she was already walking ahead of him.


It was a smile, though, that Jiyong did not fail to notice.