God damn it, where could he be? Youngbae thought to himself as he searched all the closets and stairways that Jiyoung could possibly be hiding in. Jiyoung didn’t usually go too far when he knew he had a performance coming up but Youngbae couldn’t find him in any of his usual hang-outs. The search would have gone so much faster if two people were looking but Seunghyun held some grudge against his childhood friend for all the he had put them through. Youngbae understood it but what he didn’t understand was why Seunghyun couldn’t just help out every once in a while. He used to but after Jiyoung was released from rehab, Seunghyun had discontinued all his efforts to help Jiyoung in anything related to drugs.

When he could think of nowhere else, Youngbae headed to the door to the back alley behind the SBS building. Jiyoung had promised to stop risking citizens witnessing his less than legal dealings – there were more people in the industry that had dabbled in drugs at one point than people who hadn’t so celebrities mostly left it alone – but this wouldn’t be the first time Jiyoung had broken a promise to Youngbae.

Youngbae hit the metal door in front of him open with more force than necessary but they were running out of time to get Jiyoung to the stage. The metal frame hit the brick wall behind it while an ugly noise that quickly caught the attention of the hunched-over man against the opposite wall.

“Yah! Whater ya doin? Keepit in down,” Jiyoung cried, his words slurring in a way that told Youngbae his pulse had dramatically decreased. was relatively safe compared to what Jiyoung had done before but it was still dangerous in large doses. And Jiyoung had this dangerous habit of combining it with other drugs. He called it his “mystery mix.”

“How much have you done, Jiyoung?” Youngbae demanded as he yanked the joint out of Jiyoung’s hand, crushing the remnants underneath his boot. “And how many different drugs were in there?”

Jiyoung giggled, a light airy sound that sent anger, fear, and frustration through Youngbae’s veins. “I don’t know,” he confessed.

“For God’s sake, Jiyoung, what are we supposed to do with you?” Youngbae asked as he ran his hand through his hair in a nervous habit. He knew Jiyoung didn’t have the answer but he needed time to think. “You can’t perform like this.”

“Yesh, I can. Jus give me ma sunglassez, it’ll be fine,” Jiyoung replied, waving his hand around like Captain Jack Sparrow.

“That might work for our group performance in a couple hours, if you hydrate a lot and try to nap it off,” Youngbae answered. Big Bang would be fine but what about the Remember Sewol act? He couldn’t let Jiyoung do that; it’d be dangerous, unprofessional, and disrespectful. “First things first, we gotta get you back to the dressing room before anyone sees you.” Youngbae pushed open the door again as he debated his options. He could easily carry Jiyoung but it would look hella suspicious. That’s when he spotted Chaerin passing by and thought he had found his savior.

“Chaerin-ah! Can you come here for a moment?”