Ah. The cute maknae. You can tell how much Seungri values you as a friend or loved one by the gifts that he buys you. The more expensive it is, the more he values you. That’s just how he is. It’s not about putting a price tag to a relationship, but more about how he feels. He wants only the good things for the people he loves. He thinks they deserve nothing but the best. This year, I got a full drum set for my birthday. An actual drum set. It’s made in Japan and he didn’t tell me, but a friend saw it and told me how much it cost. Let’s just say I need to really think carefully of what I should buy him for his birthday this year. But that aside, I think I’m pretty special to him, right? The feeling is mutual.

2008

Everything is cold in December.

If you’re Kang Daesung, it’s the perfect weather to just stay in (okay, so he likes to stay in regardless of the season, but winter gave him a bullet-proof excuse, no one would raise an eyebrow questioningly at him and that means not ending up feeling like a weirdo and just generally apologetic for his odd answer – which, to be fair, is not an odd answer if he has any say about it, but life is never fair, so – and it’s just so much simpler) preferably in your bed, with a hot cup of chocolate drink, watching your favourite show (that would be a Doraemon marathon hell yeah), and probably (most definitely) out of human reach for the entire period of hibernation.

If you’re Kang Daesung, you know that sort of dream for December would be dumped in the trash with no regards to your feelings whatsoever.

December still means work. No rest for the wicked, they say. He wondered if that means he’s wicked. Everyone said he was nice.

December, like any other month, still means that you are sharing a room with one Lee Seunghyun. So really, any plans remotely familiar to the following:

1. being in bed
2. drinking a cup of hot chocolate
3. watching a Doraemon marathon
4. out of human reach for the entire period of hibernation;

and all other anti-social related behaviour was not going to happen for him.

-

Seungri thinks that Daesung doesn’t appreciate him. And in some ways, Daesung could understand why he thought that. He wasn’t exactly the most forthcoming guy to be around. He barely said anything about anything. Sure, Daesung could be as noisy as the next person (the next person being Seungri, because have you been around that kid? He’s loud and boisterous and all things Daesung is not, which is, invisible), but just like Seunghyun hyung would say, Daesung’s loudness is empty, void of content that actually matters.

Sometimes Daesung couldn’t understand Seunghyun hyung. Why can’t that guy talk like a normal person?

So. Daesung hardly said anything about anything, so how could Seungri (and everyone else for that matter) knows that Daesung appreciate him? Seungri was not a mind reader, he couldn’t exactly hear what was going on in his head (to be fair, sometimes even Daesung had a difficult time understanding his own thoughts).

But Daesung does appreciate the maknae.

For someone who is loud and always in your face and doesn’t seem to understand when to just stop, he was considerate in all things Kang Daesung. Perhaps even Seungri might not realized it, but that didn’t matter, because Daesung does.

They were small things. Like, he knows how much Daesung loves leeks in his soup (and almost everything else), so when there were a few left in the bowl, he’d loudly declared, ‘Daesung hyung can finish those’, and the other hyungs would continue their dinner, the leeks left untouched.

Seungri also knows he likes to read the papers, current issues, for some reason, interests him, so when the maknae went out (he might have been anointed the task by the hyungs) for an emergency grocery run, he’d bring back the newspaper (all rolled up and pinned under his arm but Daesung has smelled worst things in this dorm) and throw it across their bed and said something stupid like, ‘don’t read what your sign has in store for you this week, it’s all lies’ (one time, it did say that he would have the most relaxed week ahead of him, and Daesung didn’t even bother to read the rest of it, so it wasn’t exactly stupid).

So Daesung appreciates Seungri and once a year, he gets the opportunity to express that appreciation without being awkward about it.

Today was that once a year.

Yep, it’s December 12^th, and they were stuck in a hotel room in Japan and he was expected to hand in his gift to Manager hyung in an hour.

The problem was, Daesung had not found that gift yet.

And the unexpected heavy snowstorm had made them prisoners in their hotel rooms.

And Daesung couldn’t exactly talk about it openly to the other members, because they were supposed to pretend that they forgot it was the maknae’s birthday (Daesung is all for pranks – when he isn’t the receiving end of it – but to wake him up in the middle of the night ninja style by one Kwon Jiyong while his two accomplices stood by his door to keep a lookout for Seungri like as if the maknae had any reason whatsoever to visit him that late at night just to tell him of their plan was a bit too much), so now he was reduced to pacing across his hotel room, wondering if the hotel people would notice if their coffee machine would go missing (it was a really fancy looking coffee machine, which Seungri could appreciate).

That was when his phone started buzzing.

Jiyong: Yah, come to my room, you have to watch this yourself. Maknae is going crazy.

YB: Did he ask you?

Jiyong: He asked if I’ve forgotten something today. Give me an effing trophy, I totally nailed this acting thing.

Choi: Sure you did. I’m going over, prepare for the greatness that is my poker face!

YB: I’m all for screwing with the maknae.

Jiyong: Daesungie, please tell me you’re not asleep already.

DS: I don’t know what to give the maknae.

YB: You’ve not gotten him a present yet?! Yah, rush down to the hotel’s gift store, it’s still open, just get something!

Jiyong: Yes! My present can’t be the worst one this year then! Daesung ah, you should’ve gotten him something weeks ago.

DS: I know…I’m sorry…I just don’t know what to give him.

YB: You barely talk to the kid of course you don’t know.

Choi: Get him the one thing he really wants from you. That’s what I’m doing.

Jiyong: Hyung, does that mean you’re giving him your face?

Choi Seunghyun always talks in riddles. But when you figured it out, they actually made sense.

Daesung saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

The answer to his prayers.

No time to chat, he has a present to make.

-

It took Daesung all of 10 minutes to make the present. And another ten to wrap it up. It was handed over to Manager hyung (who raised his eyebrow disapprovingly – Daesung couldn’t even fault the guy, it was hastily wrapped) on time and all that was left was to join the other three idiots and put on his best non-existing acting skills to test.

-

The plan was to have the maknae in Jiyong’s room, which was accomplished easily since Seungri was practically Jiyong’s shadow.

While he was busy sulking and silently getting offended at how everyone has forgotten his birthday, Manager hyung would sneak into Seungri’s room and leave the birthday presents on his bed.

At 10pm, they would kick him out and back to his room, where the presents would be waiting for him.

Seungri would also receive five variations of Happy Birthday wishes through his phone by his hyungs and an instruction that read like this:

You have one hour to enjoy your presents. After that, please bring your up to the rooftop bar, where your birthday party will be held at exactly 11pm, hosted by your awesome hyungs.

-

The rooftop bar was actually a floor below the actual rooftop. On other days, Daesung would have been disappointed, but since there was a snowstorm happening out there, he was glad they were somewhere warm and safe.

All the YG staff that was with them for the promotional tour came to celebrate. There was a cake (a Japanese cheesecake that tasted heavenly), Japanese barbeque (you always need barbeque), some balloons, tons of confetti and one very happy Lee Seunghyun.

It was almost two in the morning when everyone else had left and all that remained were the five of them (and a bowl of edamame beans).

“Well, what’s the verdict?” Jiyong asked nonchalantly.

He was anything but nonchalant. Daesung almost wanted to burst out laughing, but he couldn’t possibly make fun of their leader in front of the maknae.

“I should probably make you wait until tomorrow, just to pay back for what you did to me today.”

TOP calmly popped a bean in his mouth and said, “I believe we make up for it with this surprise party for you though.”

Youngbae started stretching his hands outwards, a yawn about to escape from his mouth.

“Just tell us already, I need to go to bed.”

This was the part that Daesung couldn’t care less. Because he knew he was coming in last.

Seungri rolled his eyes and folded his arms to his chest. “I love all the presents, I wanted all of them. I see you’ve been listening. And for that, I am thankful.”

“Aish! If we want a diplomatic answer, we’d go run a campaign or something!” TOP whined. “Ppalli, just tell us.”

“Fine. I’ll just say who comes in first. That’s it.”

Daesung stood up abruptly at the mention of that. “In that case, I’ll just make my move first? I am definitely not first.”

“Aye! Sit your down. The person who comes in first will need an audience to brag to,” Jiyong half joked.

Daesung did as told, sighing as he did so. “Fine, let me put on my humbly defeated face.”

“I don’t know why you think you’d be last, hyung,” Seungri said all of a sudden.

That got Daesung’s attention.

“Don’t play with my emotions maknae,” Daesung replied lightly. “I’m pretty sure my present deserves last place just by the wrapping alone.”

Seungri laughed. “Well, the wrapping definitely placed last in my ranking. But present wise, yours comes in first.”

Woah.

“Unbelievable!” Jiyong grumbled.

“I don’t understand,” TOP mumbled.

“Am I dreaming?” Youngbae muttered.

Daesung shook his head. “That can’t be right.”

Seungri smirked. “Oh but it totally is. I really, really cannot wait to use it. “

While everyone else was hounding Seungri about what it was that he had given him, Daesung was left to drown in his regrets.

He shouldn’t have given him that.

Kang Daesung was so screwed.

---

tbc...

that covered 2006 to 2010. back to Seungri's POV for 2011 & 2012 next :D