Caden stood waiting in the lobby of their apartment on Saturday afternoon, eying the outdoors apprehensively through the large window beside the entry way.  GD had called around 1 o’clock to cheerfully inform her that he was nearly finished and that he would be back to pick her up within 45 minutes.  Once they hung up, she quickly began getting ready.

Having made sure to shower earlier that morning and eat lunch (since her tour guide probably wouldn’t be hungry again for some time), she didn’t have much to do besides pick out an outfit.  She had cracked open a window, trying to judge how much clothing she could layer on before it would cause her to sweat to death.

Unfortunately, the lovely cool breeze that had permeated the city when she’d been out last Saturday was no longer present, making the bright summer day almost sweltering.  Caden begrudgingly dug through the drawers and drawers of light-weight sweatshirts that were perfect for wearing around her air conditioned apartment any time of the year, looking for something that would suit the weather outside.

She had settled on a plain, breathable cotton shirt in a pretty indigo color that made her usually greenish eyes appear a deeper blue, with sleeves that cut off at her elbows.  She unconsciously tugged at the sleeves while she waited, having gotten so used to wearing long sleeves all the time – especially around students.  She caught sight of her reflection in the window, turning her attention to straightening her loose-fit beige shorts that stopped nearly halfway down her thigh.  They were what she called her ‘professional shorts’ – she had bought them in Japan for the outdoor field trips and staff picnics she had been required to attend.

Usually she didn’t think twice about wearing a pair of tiny shorts around town (her two best friends often joked that she shared the Park Bom fashion uniform of covering her arms, but leaving her legs hanging out), but as she was getting ready for her excursion that day, it dawned on her that she would be going around the city with a famous person.

Despite being a fan, working with the group all this time had really given her an immunity to their fame.  Sure, consciously she knew that the meetings and schedules they were going to all had to do with movies and talk shows and music videos ( even during what was considered their “off time”, these boys were busier than Caden could even imagine), but it just didn’t make the connection for her that she watched in interviews and music videos were the same goofballs  that couldn’t get through one of her classes without a disruption.

Maybe it was because their idol activities were as yet removed from her, or maybe it was because they were so normal and silly in person.  Whatever the reason, it hadn’t hit her until halfway through getting dressed that day that she would be going around town with someone that strangers (particularly strangers with cameras) took notice of.

She gave herself a final once over in the window.  Her naturally pink-tinted blonde hair had gained more volume than usual, resembling a mane of mis-matched waves as a result of her allowing it to air dry that morning.  Although this was her hair’s natural inclination, she found it a bit too wild for professional situations, which forced her to spend copious amounts of time taming it each morning (the most time she would ever – very grudgingly – spend on her appearance), but considering that today was a casual occasion, and especially considering that even the slightest humidity, or even sweating from the heat, would immediately return it to its original state, she didn’t bother.  Even with the unruly hair, she decided that her outfit and overall appearance were presentable enough for the odd chance that she would be seen and/or photographed in the vicinity of G Dragon.

She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, carefully pulling away a single strand that had managed to get caught in her eyelashes, when something caught her attention.  She looked past her reflection to see GD marching up the front walkway, grinning at her widely through the window, his hand raised in a wave.  Seeing this, she waved back, only a little surprised when he burst out laughing.  He quickened his pace, hastily entering the code to the outer security door before making his way over to her.

“Good afternoon Caden ssi,” he proclaimed politely, but the smirk at the corner of his mouth immediately made her suspicious.  This feeling was instantly confirmed when he added, “Did I just catch you checking yourself out in the window?”

“That’s why you started laughing at me!” Caden accused, grinning despite herself. “Why do you have to say it like that?  I was not ‘checking myself out’.”  She was only familiar with this phrase because it had happened to come up in a previous conversation between the boys.  She tried not to laugh as she continued, “I was ‘making myself presentable’ – there’s nothing wrong with that, window or no.”

“Whatever you say, teacher,” GD replied innocently, impish smile still playing around his lips.  Caden rolled her eyes with a laugh.

“Don’t you ‘teacher’ me,” she declared playfully. “Calling me Teacher to get out of trouble doesn’t work when we aren’t in class.”

“Oh man… I knew I should have come up with a backup plan for getting out of trouble before I came to get you,” he joked, feigning frustration.  Caden grinned, looking him over quickly as he laughed.

She was happy to see that, while he was by no means dressed down, neither was he dressed up.  Caden had seen the boys in their various different clothing styles over the past several weeks.  It wasn’t unusual to see them turn up to class completely grubbing, or dressed to the nines.  They all had their preferred styles, but the fanciness of their style varied by occasion.

Today GD was in what she considered ‘idol casual’ – fitted designer jeans paired with a fitted white, v-neck T-shirt, and a light blue, sleeveless vest – plain on the front, but with an intricate, multicolored design on the back.  Personally, she had come to prefer this style compared to his more over the top high fashion (sometimes very girly looking) ensembles.  Although she was sure that his outfit cost at least five times as much as hers, she was happy that his ‘idol casual’ didn’t make her ‘professional casual’ seem out of place.

“Alright, alright.  Now that you’re done laughing at me, are you ready to get going Tour Guide nim?” Caden teased once GD recovered himself.

“Beyond ready,” he agreed, grinning. “I’ve got it all planned out – I even have a couple different routes based on what you like to do better.  I’ll let you decide our first stop, but for now follow me.”  She did so gladly, staying close behind him as he led them out of the building.  As she’d feared, they were hit by a wave of heat as soon as the door opened.

“Wow,” she choked, “summer really hit hard this weekend.”  She glanced at GD once more.

“Are you going to be alright in jeans?” she prompted teasingly.  He shot her a grin, waving his hand toward Mother Nature dismissively.

“Naw, it’ll be fine,” he assured her brightly. “All of our stops have air conditioning – I made sure of it.  I had to cut a few outdoor stops, but I can always take you there some other time.”  Caden smiled at this, still following as they walked around the side of the building.  She wondered if he, too, planned a walking tour.  She would be a little surprised if that were the case – he wasn’t exactly in stage gear, but he certainly wasn’t disguised.  Wouldn’t there be a worry of being recognized and mobbed by fans?

She realized that this was the first time she’d thought anything like this about one of the boys.  This was probably due to the fact that the apartment they all lived in was located in a rather high-end part of town.  Since everyone who lived around there – not just the YG company members – was rich and/or famous (or worked for someone rich and/or famous), they hardly looked twice at the idols who were their neighbors and it created a little bubble of fame resistance in the surrounding area.  All of the YG acts could walk around the area freely, without worrying about being bothered or approached, but she could imagine that the rest of the city did not hold the same promise.

 Her thoughts were interrupted when they turned the corner, heading for the small, relatively hidden entrance to the apartment’s parking garage.  The garage was mercifully cool and dark, and Caden’s curiosities about transportation were quickly answered as GD approached one of the enormous vehicles YG employed to transport their idols.

“I didn’t realize a tour bus would be involved,” she teased as she bowed in greeting to one of the Big Bang handlers who stood waiting in front of the car.  She had seen him working around the boys often enough to recognize his face, but she wasn’t sure of his name.  GD did likewise and the man returned their greetings politely.

“It wasn’t meant to originally,” GD grinned, turning his attention back to Caden. “I forgot that I left my car at the SBS broadcast station – I went to go support Se7en hyung who was filming a special, but then all of the members had to attend a meeting, so we were hustled off in a company car.  So now I’m asking our nice Handler nim a favor to drop us off their first.”

“How kind of him,” Caden joked, smiling over at the other man. “Out of the goodness of his heart, I’m sure.”  The man chuckled at this.

“I only live to serve,” he confirmed, opening the side door before climbing into the driver’s seat.

“After you,” GD offered with much arm movement, sinking into an over the top, stage-magician-style bow.  Caden couldn’t help but laugh.

“I thought ‘ladies first’ was a Western custom,” she teased, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, grinning at both the action and the memory.  GD’s grin widened as he waited for her to climb into the car before following behind.

“I try to keep in the habit,” he informed her mischievously, settling into his seat. “Western girls expect it and Korean girls are usually pleasantly surprised.  Either way, I win.”  Caden laughed in amusement, rolling her eyes as he slammed the door shut and the car began to reverse out of its parking spot.

“See, but now that I know about your devious reasons behind it, I’ll know not to be impressed anymore,” she teased.

“Luckily, everyone else hasn’t seemed to catch on yet,” he joked.  Then he shot her a cheeky grin, “But I guess that just means I’ll have to work harder to find ways to impress you.”

Up front, the handler made a noise that could have been either a laugh or a cough as they turned out of the garage and onto the street.  GD’s attention shifted over to him briefly.

“Ah, I never asked – have you two met?” he inquired, addressing Caden again.  She glanced over at the driver, who was eying her neutrally through the rear view mirror.

“Well, I’ve seen him with you guys at the studio, but I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced,” she responded mildly.

“I figured as much,” he announced. “Anyway, Hyun Woo hyung, this is Teacher Caden – she’s the new tutor who replaced Teacher Park, if you didn’t know.  Caden ssi, this is Go handler nim, or Hyun Woo ssi to you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Caden said brightly, waving at his reflection in the mirror. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m pretty sure you need both of them to control this monstrosity.”  She gestured around them, indicating the hugeness of the vehicle.  Hyun Woo glanced over at her in the mirror, eyes twinkling with amusement.

“She’s a beast, yes – unless you know how to handle her,” he responded seriously, patting the steering wheel for effect.  Caden giggled at this, while GD rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“When did you become so world weary and wise, Hyun Woo hyung?” he teased.  The older man looked his charge over with a hint of a smirk.

“It must be from spending so much time around globe-trotting idols such as yourself,” he said, laughter lilting his tone. “I’ve got to take something away from the experience, and it certainly isn’t going to be your fashion sense.”  Caden laughed out loud at this, while GD only shook his head.

Caden watched in silent amusement as the two bickered amiably back and forth.  It was easy to see how comfortable they were teasing one another.  That was one big thing that she had noticed (and appreciated) when she began working for Big Bang – all the members seemed to get along exceedingly well with all of their various staff.  To her, this was the surest way to prove that they were all friendly, down to earth guys, despite their fame.

Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the security gate at the tv studio.  There seemed to be quite a lot of fans milling around, taking up much of the surrounding area.  Many of them had tried to see who was inside their van as they passed.

They were stopped at the initial guard post and Hyun Woo flashed a YG staff access pass.  GD popped his head out when the guard asked who was being transported, then handed over two staff wrist bands once he’d inquired after whether anyone else was in the car.  Hyun Woo took one wrist band before handing the other one over his shoulder to Caden.  She shot an inquisitive look at GD, slipping it onto her wrist at his encouragement.

They drove across the lot, toward the largest of the many buildings, making several turns before they reached the entrance to one of the studio’s parking garages.  As soon as they had followed the sloping driveway underneath the building, they were stopped by an attendant who checked for two separate passes on the vehicle’s dash before she even approached the window.  Hyun Woo was forced to flash his badge once more.  In addition, he and Caden were made to show their wrist bands, and GD once again had to show his face.

“Wow,” Caden marveled to her companion once they were finally waved through. “I think they have tighter security in the White House…”  GD laughed at this.

“The process has become so routine to me, I hardly even notice,” he admitted, “but they have reason to be cautious.  You don’t know some of the things people have done after sneaking onto sets.  I love ours, but some fans are crazy.”

The van made its winding way through the garage before coming to a stop in a fairly isolated back part of the lot that seemed to lead directly into the building via elevator.  GD exited the vehicle – with Caden following closely behind – glancing around for his car.

“Ah, there it is,” he announced, pulling his keys out of his pocket.  The lights flashed on a large, white Bentley sports car.  Caden looked it over appreciatively – white was not a color she favored on cars, but she had to admit, this one made it look pretty good.

“I spent so much time researching this thing before I bought it, you have no idea,” he told her with a grin, watching her watch his car.

“Looks like it paid off,” she said pleasantly, happy (in this case) to offer a little ego boost.  GD grinned happily, looking his vehicle over once more before turning his attention back to her.

“Wait here for just a second while I go tell Hyun Woo hyung that he can leave,” he said, making his way back to the YG van.  The driver’s side window rolled down as he approached and the two men began to converse.

Caden couldn’t hear what was being said from where she was standing, but she noticed that Hyun Woo seemed to be a bit concerned, questioning GD a few times.  Eventually he seemed convinced that all was well, and the two offered their goodbyes before GD turned to make his way back to her.

“Thank you for the ride, Hyun Woo ssi,” she called, loud enough for the man to hear.  He glanced up with a wave and a smile before reversing expertly into a wider area, where he was able to turn the giant car around and finally make his way out of the garage.

“So now our tour can officially begin,” GD announced with a smile. “Where would you like to go first?”

“I don’t have any particular preference,” Caden replied brightly. “You decide, expert tour guide.”  He laughed.

“Well in that case…” he began with a grin, checking his watch before glancing around the area. “Shall I take you on a tour of the studio?  They’re filming Inkigayo today, so it might be worth our time…”

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A/N

Second lost chapter reposted!  Woot!  Now I'm caught up to where I was this time last week (before crash :P).

I've been writing in the meantime, so hopefully new stuff with be posted soon (like within the next few days).  After that, let's just hope that I can kept going with this flow. :D

Hahah, this chapter cuts off rather suddenly with an exciting proposition. :P  How excited would you guys be to tour Inkigayo?

Anyway, I hope you like the chapter - please comment and subscribe so I know what you think. :)