Ji Yong placed his hand over his growling stomach as he waited in line at the school cafe. He cursed himself for being too lazy to wake up earlier and eat whatever Bae made. He'd take a free homemade meal over the universities overpriced any day. He moved forward; scanning what they were serving carefully. He decided on a salad and an apple.

 He had barely grasped his apple when the placement of a hand on his shoulder startled him into dropping it. He looked up a bit irritated at whoever it was.

 "Sorry," Seungho said looking sheepishly from the apple on the floor to Ji Yong to the scowling cafeteria worker, "I was wondering if you wanted to, you know join us? I mean, if you want,” he added sounding a bit more enthusiastic.

 His enthusiasm made Ji Yong smile. He accepted; it wasn't as if he had anyone else to sit with since he rarely came to the cafeteria. He got a kick out of the few people staring as he walked with Seungho to their table. Seungho and his friends were a tight knit group, hard to get into and the People marveled at who the new person was and how he got in. Ji Yong himself wondered too; even he found it hard to believe he was going to sit next to people he considered trouble before. Even if he was part of their band now, wasn’t it a bit too soon for Seungho to be treating as if he was part of the family?

 Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought so; Soo Hyuk dropped his conversation with a tall guy and stared as Ji Yong sat next to them. He didn’t say anything just sat in silence as Seungho introduced Ji Yong as the new member of the group to the others around him. Whether Soo Hyuk was ok with the whole thing or not, he didn’t say anything against or for it.  Ji Yong waited until he was introduced to the guy Soo Hyuk was speaking to; he could only assume it was TOP since he was the last one to remain nameless. The man was the one to extend his hand. Ji Yong shook it while he was told to call him Kush his voice however gave away that he wasn't the bands leader and Of course the guy wouldn't use TOP if he was so determined to remain "faceless". He was still curious though; and he would ask Seungho later when Soo Hyuk wasn't around to stare at him with distrust.

  Ji Yong had a great time and he fit in perfectly minus the few times he felt awkward due to Soo Hyuk staring. He ended up leaving with a few more acquaintances and a few party invites. Seungho is right behind him as he leaves and offered him a ride. Ji Yong contemplates before he decides why not?, he is a part of this band for the time being, there is no Young Bae the cricket to be his conscious or judgment and he likes the feeling of belonging.  If everything with Jae had worked out maybe they could have been like this. Maybe they could have been one big family of friends but it's too late for that. That possibility is long gone, and he was the one to end it.

One speedy ride on a motorbike and Ji Yong is in front of the library with a few minutes to kill before his shift starts. Minutes Ji Yong is glad Seungho is willing to kill with him. He gets a few questions out of the way like what the band’s name is to which he says there isn’t one. He explains that they just don’t have one. It’s odd even to Seungho who admits that he never gave it much thought. Ji Yong decides not to ask about Daesung since the subject is a touchy one.

“So who was “TOP” in the cafeteria?” Ji Yong asks even though he knows none of them were.

Seungho stares at him a few seconds with humor dancing in his eyes before he lets out a small laugh. “TOP doesn’t go to school.”

And Ji Yong is confused all this time he assumed that TOP would be in college with them living life as a normal student. How did he get in the band then and why did he hide his face.  There was so much he didn’t know about this band he was now a part of.

Seungho senses his confusion, “TOP stopped going to school when high school ended. He had to work is all I know. It takes some time before he can trust people. Believe me, you’ll meet the real him sooner or later, after all, you are a part of the band now. Don’t worry too much about it; it took a while for him to finally let me see his face.”

“If it makes you feel better he isn’t ugly but, isn’t as good looking as me either” Seungho added with a smirk as he walked to his motor bike and waved.

The next few hours Ji Yong spent at the front desk spacing out and thinking about this whole band thing. This library wasn’t the busiest in the city and he was thankful. He didn’t want to deal with the huge crowds of college and high school students so he made sure he applied at the least popular. To be exact it wasn’t the library that was unpopular but the head librarian, his boss. She was ok once you started to become immune to her rude remarks and bitterness.  She would walk around demanding students to keep it down and whisper. That suggestion was probably impossible for students after hours schooling and study.

Few days later….

He was going to be late to practice with the band he was never good at being on time. He carried his electric guitar with him; trying to be as careful as possible.  It’s a bit windy out and he’s out of breath as he arrives. He swings the door open as soon as he reaches the bottom step to the basement.

“ S-sorry I’m late.” He knows he’s a mess. His hair is tousled by the wind and his face flushed and sweaty. He takes a good look around him and it shocks him at first when he sees the masked man there in a hoody and blue jeans.

”good, you’re here” he says snapping Ji Yong out of his shock, “we can start now.”

“y-yeah,” Ji Yong replies because his heart hasn’t completely caught up with him after the rush here and the shock he got.

He moves to set his guitar up but he can still feel eyes on him. He feels less awkward when Seungho jokingly tells him to be on time next practice.

He watches their leader as he moves toward his guitar right next to where Ji Yong left his. He pauses as he reaches for it and if he notices someone has touched his guitar he doesn’t say anything. So Ji Yong relaxes a little and looks to Seungho who is grinning at Soo Hyuk with a victorious smile, probably from TOP not noticing.

They sing a few songs. And last times practice is no comparison to this practice. Yes, Soo Hyuk and Ji Yong did well last time but these are TOP's songs and it is evident when he sings them; when he knows just where to put in emotion; when his voice goes perfectly with them. These songs are his; this band is his. They aren’t complete without him he can feel it. He wonders if it would feel the same if Soo Hyuk or Seungho weren’t there a day. They are connected and Ji Yong is just an outsider. He knows because he used to have the same relationship as they do but with his old band. Except he never was a part of his old band, he left before they could even perform once. This isn’t something he likes, he doesn’t like to feel left out but he made a deal. This is his band for the time being so he better get used to it.

They spend the rest of the day drinking and talking because apparently TOP isn’t there as often so they want to savor the moment. They discuss the band to which Seung ho jokingly brings up the fact that they don’t have a name. Seungho and Seungri spend a few minutes trying to come up with a decent one before giving up when their most decent one is “The Basement Rats”. And somehow Ji Yong is glad that he can witness this and be a part of it, even if he’s just listening in.

“Did you hear about The Dark Angels?”

Ji Yong tenses at this.

“No, what about them?” Soo Hyuk's quiet voice asks.

“Heard that they let their drummer and backup vocals go. What do you think?”

“I don’t know, how about you Ji Yong?” Soo Hyuk asks. And he can feel all their eyes on him. He knows he has to act calm even if his stomach just dropped.

He puts his can down to answer but Seungri beats him. “Why ask him?”

“I just thought he might know something since he fought with their drummer that one night he first performed with us.” Soo Hyuk added still looking straight at Ji Yong.

“Whoa wait up why didn’t I know about this.” Seungri answers.

“Probably because all hell broke loose. I knew, heck, I was there. The other guy insulted us and Ji Yong defended the band.” Seungho adds.

At this point Ji Yong has had enough time for his heart rate to slow and to be able to give a buyable answer, “I think that whatever the hell reason it was doesn’t matter. Our competition is weakened at this time if their looking for replacements. That means we get us a few more gigs.”

“Seungri wobbled to him and put his hand around him, he’d obviously had too much to drink, “I like you, you know that. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“Yeah sure, that’s what you were thinking even after all those questions right?” Seungho added as he pulled Seungri off Ji Yong.  He took a seat between Ji Yong and Seungri and Ji Yong appreciated it. He still wasn’t over the fact the kid tricked him into paying at the café last time.

Ji Yong’s starting to get a bit tipsy, he can feel it. The only ones sober at this point are Soo Hyuk, TOP, and Seungho. A few minutes later Seungri is asleep and Ji Yong isn’t far from it.

“See you guys” the leader says as he opens the basements door. He pauses for a moment and without looking back adds, “Don’t touch my guitar.”

A/N: Sorry I hadn't updated guys I've been busy. love you all <3