And so they waited. Longer than Jiyong wanted, but not as long as most people thought.

After the tour ended, the members of Big Bang took a much needed and deserved break. They took separate vacations, spent time with their significant others and disappeared from the public eye for a month.

YG's plan was for them to enlist separately over the course of four years, but during a late night chat, they all agreed it was too much time away. Not that any of them took service to their country lightly, but they wanted to get it over with and resume their lives. So after talking with their families and preparing their fans, they suspended their contracts, shaved each others' heads live on Instagram and all went in together.

A few months into his service, Jiyong showed up at Jodi’s house in the dark hours of the night.

“What are you doing here?” she asked while hugging him tightly. She blinked several times to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. Though the separation hadn’t been long, she had missed him terribly. "Wait. How are you even here? You aren’t supposed to have leave for another month.”

“Special circumstance,” he mumbled.

Jodi pulled away to touch him and look him over. “Were you hurt? Are you alright?” Jodi asked in a rush.

"I'm fine," he replied soothingly. He gripped her searching hands and held them in his lap. “I need you to marry me. Today,” he stated simply.

“What?” Jodi took a moment to observe him, noticed his tense posture and finally recognized the look in his eyes; he looked scared. “What happened?”

“I can’t talk about it,” Jiyong said. When it looked like she was going to press for answers, he shook his head. He pulled her hands to his chest, where Jodi could feel his rapidly beating heart. Playing with the ring on her finger, Jiyong forced himself to slow his breathing, to calm himself. “Jodi, I need to know that if anything happens to me, that you and the boys will be taken care of.”

‘If anything happens to me . . .’ Those words knocked the breath from Jodi’s lungs. She started to pull away but Jiyong shook her gently and made her look at him. “You don’t need to be afraid; I’m fine. Really. But it will give me peace of mind to know that legally what I have is yours.”

“I don’t need your money, Ji.”

“I  know that but I want to make sure you have it, and access to everything that is mine,” he pressed. When Jodi continued to look at him skeptically, he sighed. “We were gonna do this anyway, right?” Jodi nodded. “Then marry me. Please. God, I worry all the time. I feel like I’ll be able to rest better once we’re official. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

It was early in the morning, it was a lot to process, she couldn’t think clearly, but Jiyong’s emotions reached her. So after a few seconds, without all the details, despite her misgivings, and ignoring all potential consequences, Jodi said, “Yes. I’ll marry you. Today.”

Kwon Jiyong and Oh Jodi married very quietly in his lawyer's office before the sun came up. His manager and the secretary were the only witnesses. After the signing of the papers, MinJun whisked them off to a hotel, smuggled them in and disappeared until it was time to get Jiyong back to the base. They told no one; not their families, not the members of Big Bang.

While Jiyong was busy with his enlistment, Jodi kept herself busy as well. She took on a select few endorsements and continued to gain recognition for her photography. At one point she was a guest on a daytime show formatted like The View. She was so well liked that they offered her a full-time spot. She became recognized and respected for her honest, practical, no bull commentary about day to day news stories, politics, feminism, cultural appropriation, body positivity, blackface, whitewashing, ual harassment, gender, ual orientation and a myriad of other ‘taboo’ topics. She was even given a segment on Fridays where she would take the worst cook in whatever Kpop group was guesting, and teach them how to make a simple dish.

As her star rose, trouble brewed between Big Bang and YG. Not happy with them enlisting simultaneously and cutting short revenue, YG released a compilation DVD of ‘behind the scenes’ footage of the members that none of them authorized. Also against their wishes, he gave songs that they were going to release upon their return to Ikon. What started as a contract suspension and renegotiation turned into an all-out dispute, and eventual nullification. Big Bang was no longer a part of YG Entertainment.

YG did not let them go quietly. While still serving, they got word that YG planned to release a final album of unreleased music. They managed to get a judge to stop that and declare that any song that the members had a writing credit on was theirs, and they could promote and release, free and clear, with no royalties to YGE. To counter this YG took their name, but offered to sell it back to them for 5 billion won per letter.

They said that.

When their service was over, the five men went home to their families with the understanding that they would meet up in a month to discuss their collective future. They made it three days before they were all at Seunghyun’s villa with their ideas. They stayed in the house for nearly a week hammering out details, shooting down theories and making contact with people who would be willing to work with them. There weren’t many; the power and influence of their previous company reached far. But there were plenty of smaller companies more than willing to pick them up and give them a home. The break from YG and what it would mean was all the public could talk about. Not wanting to lose momentum or the buzz surrounding them, the guys moved quickly to capitalize. They cut a one album deal with AOMG and jumped into the studio. They wrote, composed and produced it exclusively. They had complete creative freedom for once and it paid off.

Resurfacing as The Kings, their ‘debut’ album consisted of five solos, and five group tracks. The album was insanely popular and well received. Facing threats of boycotts and demonstrations from the fans, networks allowed The Kings to promote on TV and tell their side of the story despite YG trying to silence them. They were mature about it. They never badmouthed YG, just thanked him for all that he taught them.

After the promotion cycle was over, they set up VIP Entertainment as a nod and thank you to the fans that stuck with them; the only reason why they had continued success.

While Jiyong was the titular head as CEO and Executive Producer, Seungri was, for obvious reasons, the CFO. Youngbae got to spread his wings as a choreographer and as an artist when he made an album with JYP as the main producer. Seunghyun focussed mainly on acting but did make sure to drop a single or two every year to remind people of his first love. Daesung finally! released a full Korean album that stayed at the top of the charts for months. The ahjummas loved his ballads. As the profits rolled in, they began to take in trainees in preparation to debut a group. Some of those trainees came from the YG dungeon.

Deciding that it would be a great time to close a chapter in his life, Jiyong and Jodi met up with Ahjong to pitch a show. ‘We’re Getting Married’ followed the two as they balanced being business owners, parents, and celebrities, all while planning a wedding and trying to find a house over the span of six months. Not surprisingly, it was a tremendous success. There was some initial outrage when the couple revealed that they were actually already married, but that didn’t stop people from watching. The ratings were in double digits every week to catch a glimpse of the favored family.

They spent their honeymoon in Brazil, far away from prying eyes. Not surprisingly, a month or so after returning to Korea, Jodi told Jiyong she was pregnant. His elation knew no bounds. He was so happy. He was gonna be a dad! And he wanted the whole world to know it. Jodi insisted that this time, they should tell family first. They sat down together to inform the twins.

“So. We wanted to talk to you guys about something,” Jodi said as an opener. They wall gathered around in the living room for a family meeting.

“Are we in trouble, omma?” Jinshil asked cautiously.

“Not at all, baby.” Jodi smiled at him as she shook her head. “We wanted to talk to you about a change that’ll be coming to the family soon.”

“Are we getting another dog?” Jeongui asked excitedly. Jodi paused before she shook her head. Her wonderful Ebah had passed away right before the honeymoon of cancer and she wasn’t ready to move on yet.

Jiyong touched her hand, sensing that she needed a moment. “We want to tell you both first that we love you with all of our hearts. We are so proud to have you in our lives to raise and see you grow. That will never, ever change,” he told them sincerely. The twins nodded along even as they looked confused. “So keep that in mind when I say that . . . your mom and I are going to have a baby.”

Jinshil jumped in joy, “Really, omma?!”

“Really, hyu--” Jeongui cut himself off and looked at his brother. They shared one of their ‘twin moments’ before running to their bedrooms. Jiyong looked at Jodi, but she just shrugged and leaned back on the couch to wait. They didn’t wait long. The boys came back out with serious and nervous expressions on their faces minutes later.

“We’re happy about having a little brother or sister soon,” Jinshil explained to the adults in a thoughtful tone. “My brother and I have called you,” he gestured to Jodi “omma for years now. But we still call you,” he gestured to Jiyong next “hyung. We don’t want to confuse the baby so if it’s alright, we’d like to call you appa like he or she will.”

Jiyong gripped Jodi’s hand tightly and bit hard on his lip. He looked up, and off to the side for a moment before looking at the boys. “Yes. That’s alright with me,” he replied graciously. Jeongui and Jinshil nodded and broke out into happy giggles as they hugged their parents. Jiyong held them both tightly before Jodi told them to get dressed. She stated that it was an occasion that could only be celebrated with ice cream. The boys cheered again and ran out of the room. Once their bedroom door closed, Jiyong broke down in tears.

Jodi held him and rubbed his back while he cried. “You’ve been waiting for that, haven’t you?”

Jiyong nodded his head as he wiped his cheeks. “I always wondered why they called me hyung still. I didn’t want to tell them that they had to call me appa or pressure them about it. I only wanted them to say it if it felt right to them.”  

Kissing him sweetly Jodi asked, “And how does it make you feel to hear it?”

“Like the king of the world.”

He cried tears of joy for nearly a week after that.

Jodi left her hosting gig before the baby was born to focus on the impending arrival. After a rather uneventful pregnancy, Jodi gave birth to a strong healthy son that they named YeSeul. Jiyong was in love at first sight. He carried his son around in one of those chest harnesses all the time, he set up a nursery in his office so that he could take him to work. He even traded in his latest Lamborghini for an SUV. Anything for his son.

Despite house hunting during We’re Getting Married, they ended up never moving out of Jodi’s warehouse. She and Jiyong couldn’t agree on styles and location. Drawing plans to get one built almost broke them up. After a few discussions with contractors, they decided to renovate and add on if necessary. She relocated her studio and offices to a building in Goyang, then moved the kitchen and living area to the first floor.  She loved the changes and that it still felt like home.

Once YeSeul was able to walk, Jodi finally went back to school at Jiyong’s and SooYoung’s insistence. She was so out of practice with studying that she tried to drop out after two semesters. No way would Jiyong allow that. For every excuse that she came up with for why it was too hard or inconvenient, he had a solution. Jodi felt like she was neglecting her family? He hired a housekeeper. She was worried about her business? He hired a business manager. She didn’t understand certain concepts? Jiyong called Seunghyun in to be her tutor. She even offered to have another baby to distract him; he threatened to get a vasectomy. It was all worth it in the end. At her graduation, Jodi grabbed the mic and gave Jiyong a Kanye worthy shout out.

She directed a few music videos and a 16 episode drama before tackling a script SooYoung wrote. The story followed Seunghyun and Jun Jihyun in a raw and toxic May/December romance. The audience reactions to it were visceral and critics loved it. So much so that Jodi went home with four Grand Bell Awards, including Best New Director.

All the success the couple attained in their professional lives caused strain on their marriage though. Being so busy, they communicated mainly via text message before falling into bed at strange hours. They were seldom home at the same time or ate at the same table. They engaged in whispered fights about nothing and often left the house without hugging or kissing the other. The twins noticed and sat them down for an intervention. Recognizing that yes, there was a problem, they went to counseling. The therapist listened to them for five minutes before rolling her eyes and going to the closet. She pulled out a 500 piece puzzle, put it on the table in front of them and told them to talk. It wasn’t an immediate fix, but it pointed them in the right direction.

As the twins entered their teenage years, Jodi became even more grateful for the man she married. There were just some things a boy doesn’t feel comfortable talking to his mom about, so they instituted what Jodi referred to as their evening ‘Man Walks’. One of them would catch Jiyong’s eye after dinner, there would be a discreet nod, and then they would go for a walk along The Han River to say whatever couldn’t be said in front of Jodi. Sometimes Jiyong told her what was said, but only if he really thought she should know and the child said it was okay.

When the twins became old enough to drive, Youngbae had to teach them. It was too stressful on poor Jiyong’s nerves. After passing their tests, they sat their parents down and asked for luxury automobiles. Jodi laughed in their faces. She told them they could buy her three-year-old SUV at a greatly discounted price, but she wasn’t paying for petrol, maintenance, or insurance; they would have to.

“How are we supposed to pay for that?” Jeongui asked with a hint of attitude.

“Get a job,” Jodi responded simply.

The twins were scandalized. Jinshil asked, “Why do we have to get jobs? Aren’t we rich?”

“Your father is rich, I do okay, you have no income.” Jodi countered. Jiyong had to bite his lip to not laugh at their expressions of disbelief. “I’m sure you can pick up some hours at the restaurant if you ask.”

“But I don’t want to work there,” Jinshil whined.

Jodi shrugged her shoulder and looked at him with a bored expression. “Then find something else.”

Both boys looked at their dad pitifully, sure that he would overrule their mother who certainly couldn’t be serious. Jiyong shook his head. “Both your mother and I have worked hard for