The following week seemed to go by quickly, even for Top who attended classes everyday.  The main reason for this was probably because all five members were taking part in a CF for the first few days of the week.  It kept all the members busy throughout most of the day, ending late enough to push back the start time for classes by about an hour.  After such a full schedule, coming back to study languages wasn't number one on the list of things he'd prefer to be doing, so Top was forced to find ways to keep himself entertained.

Regarding this matter, he felt it should be noted that on Monday, when he - in a pure attempt to appear both friendly and engaging - inquired after everyone's various weekend activities, Daesung was the only one who answered in a pleasantly straight-forward and detailed manner.  On the contrary, both Jiyong and Caden remained very vague and minimal in their descriptions.  When he innocently tried to question further, both tended to quickly change the subject.

Other than those anomalies, everything seemed to be perfectly normal.  As promised, Top and Daesung were forced to turn their handphone numbers over to Caden.  They surrendered their digits without much of a fight, but she still insisted on explaining the reason for her demand - the shocking discovery from the previous Friday, that the President had given out her number without her knowledge.

On Tuesday, Seungri was -perhaps unsurprisingly - the first to skip out on his homework and be sent to the 'punishment studyroom', as Caden had worded it.  This was a relief to Top in a way - he was usually the first to fall behind in the schoolwork, both because he tended to be the busiest during non-promotion times, and because he had to most difficulty mastering  the lessons.  However, attending class daily gave him an extra reminder, plus Caden made it apparent that she was willing to give him as much aid and attention as he needed to start getting it down.

Seungri had been sentenced to spend the last half of class in the studyroom, located in Teacher Park's recently vacated bedroom, in solitude until the lesson ended.  When he was released, Top asked him what it was like, earning Seungri a vicious glare from Caden.

"Teacher said we're not allowed to tell anyone what's in the punishment room - you can only find out if you're sent in there," the maknae had replied.  He'd then proceeded to shoot a nervous glance over at Caden before adding, "I'll just say this: it was scary, hyung!  I feel like I never want to skip homework again!"  Since it was coming from Seungri, Top couldn't tell if he was being serious, or just completely overdramatic.

Other than that, classes had been fairly uneventful.  They finished up the CF on Wednesday evening, so class returned to it's normal time slot on Thursday.  They would not be required to gather on Friday, the following day, since it was their week off.  That being the case, GD had casually asked Top - on their ride up the elevator after Japanese lessons on Wednesday night - to remind everyone in the English class about his party details, since he wouldn't be seeing them until Saturday.

Top agreed, making sure to do just that immediately upon spotting Seungri and Young bae on their way to Caden's on Thursday.  As soon as they entered her apartment, lessons began - she seemed to be doing her best to make everything brief and concise, wrapping things up as quickly as possible to release them on their way.  This was nice, not only for the hope of being let out on time, but also because it made the lesson much less intense that usual.  Their time consisted mostly of going over homework, and review, only initiating one set of new material.  She even went so far as to finish early.

"I think that's enough for today," Caden said quite suddenly, setting her lesson plan down on the table with a thud. "I'm going to release you guys to enjoy your weekends."  Top looked over at her in surprise, noting that both the other members were doing the same.

"But teacher... there's still 20 minutes left," Young bae pointed out.  The other two nodded in agreement.  For as long as she had been teaching them - even before Teacher Park had left - Caden had been known to squeeze every possible minute out of their time slot.  It was far more common for her to go over the allotted time than to release them even five minutes early.  This being the case, the three of them automatically assumed that she has misinterpreted the clock, or something.  She grinned at this comment.

"Oh, I know," she responded nonchalantly, gathering up her papers. "I realize that I'm not generally in the habit of letting you out early, as I'm sure you've noticed-" They each shot her a sheepish look at this. "-but that's mostly because I've been trying to take advantage of all the time that I'm given with you guys before your schedules start to get really busy and I have to scrounge for every spare moment.  But, as it is, you guys had your CF earlier in the week, while I was piling on the work at the same time, so I figured I'd take it a little easy tonight.  Besides, I've been cooped up inside all day - I just can't seem to keep my focus anymore.  I need to get out."  Top and the other two glance at each other briefly.

"I know that even during your 'off' season, twenty minutes of pure unscheduled free time is foreign.  Even though it's not a lot, hopefully you'll still be able to enjoy it well.  So go on and take advantage-"

"Thanks for your consideration, teacher," Seungri burst out, standing with a grin. "You don't have to tell me twice."  He proceeded to bow deeply, taking his phone from his pocket at the same time.  In the next moment, he straightened up, phone already pressed to his ear.  He nodded to his hyungs almost as an afterthought before making his way over to the door.

"Ah, yeah, it's me," he projected into the phone once the other line picked up. "Yeah, my schedule seems to have finished a little early, so I'm able to join for dinner after all...  Yes...  Are you already there?"

Top and Young bae - who had been watching the maknae with something like disbelief - returned their gaze to Caden to see her reaction, but she was just watching with a grin and a bit of an eyeroll as Seungri continued to blab away on his phone.

"Erm... I feel the need to apologize for him somehow..." Top murmured, shaking his head with a grin.

"Did you need us to punish him for you, by any chance?" Young bae offered with an innocent smile.  Caden laughed as Seungri continued with his phone call, totally unaware of the potential danger.

"Thank you, but no," she answered laughingly. "Actually, he's got the right idea - you guys are too cautious.  Go and enjoy your night!"

"Are you sure?" Young bae asked.

"Yes!  Go on, get out of here," she insisted, standing and shooing them out of their seats.  "Whether you all leave or not, I'm getting out of here.  I'm tired of this room, so I'm going to find something to do that takes place away from it."  With that, she skipped over to her white board, gathering up all of her markers and pencils back into their container.  She picked it up and proceeded to wheel her giant white board back toward the hallway.

"I'm going to put everything away," she announced matter-of-factly. "Please don't wait for me - I'll just say a quick goodbye right now, instead.  Goodnight everyone!  We'll get together for class again after the weekend."  Seungri paused  in his conversation and bowed his head toward her once again as she wheeled past him.  Top and Young bae quickly stood, making to do the same, but she had already disappeared down the hall.

"I guess we should go, then," Young bae pronounced, heading toward the maknae where he proceeded to change back to his outdoor shoes.  Top made to follow him, only making it a few steps before he remembered Jiyong's request - he had reminded the members about the party, but hadn't yet mentioned it to Caden.  Based on what she'd said, it sounded like she wasn't expecting to see them again until their next class.  He decided to hang back and ask her about it before he left.

By then, both of the other two had changed shoes and were ready to go.

"So you already sat down?" Seungri inquired into his phone, fiddling around in his back pocket - checking that he had his wallet and all of his necessities.  "Have they brought the meat out yet?  ...Good - and when they do bring it, make sure to tell everyone to eat slowly so that you're not full by the time I get there. Hey, hang on a second... Yes, just hold on a minute."  Seungri was already halfway out the door when he saw that Top no longer seemed to be following.  He turned the phone's receiver away from his mouth, addressing his bandmate,

"Hey hyung, what's up?  Are you not planning on leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm going to wait a while and remind Caden ssi about Jiyong's party," Top replied, leaning casually against the back of the arm chair.  Seungri gave him a skeptical look, clearly suspicious of his motives.  He hesitated halfway out the door, poised to question him further, when something on the other end of the line caught his attention, and he returned the phone's speaker to his mouth.

"What's that?  Yes, I'm still here..." Seungri resumed, turing his attention away from his hyung. "What?  Yes, yes, you can start cooking - I'm on my way.  Yes, I'm leaving now.  What?  No!  No, absolutely not!  You'd better not start drinking without me!  I'll be there in less than 20 minutes.  Yes, I'm on my way as we speak!"  With that, he was off down the hall without so much as a backward glance.  Young bae caught the door before it closed, glancing back at Top, who only shook his head.

"Anyway, are you sure you're not coming, hyung?" Young bae asked.

"I'll just be a minute," Top responded with a wave. "See you later."  Young bae nodded, turning to glance down the hall.

"We'll be leaving first," he called loudly. "Goodbye Caden ssi."

"Goodbye boys," came a muffled voice in return. "Have a good night!"  Young bae bowed his head in the direction of her voice, then toward Top, waving as he left the apartment and the door clicked shut behind him.

Top waited for a moment, hearing quite a bit of rustling and shuffling from down the hall.  Left with nothing better to do, he wandered over to the coffee table, popping one of the cookies into his mouth, before picking up the snack tray and carrying it into the kitchen.  He set it down on the counter for the moment, looking around for the food containers that the snacks may have come from.  Not finding any, he briefly paused in his search, instead opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water.

Unbeknownst to him, just as he took a sip, Caden reappeared, making a bee-line fo the rest of her supplies.  Halfway across the room, she noticed that the coffee table had been cleared, and glanced up to find Top standing in the kitchen.  She unintentionally let out a little yelp, one hand flying to her chest in surprise.  Top turned toward the sound with the bottle still pressed to his lips, raising an inquiring eyebrow at her.

"Mwo..?" he asked in amused confusion.

"Oh sorry," she replied, taking a deep breath before dropping her hand back to her side, having recovered. "I thought that all of you had left already - you surprised me..."

"Well I guess I should apologize, then," he said, setting his drink down with a grin. "I wasn't trying to scare you."

"Don't worry, I'm just overly jumpy," Caden assured him laughingly, making her way over to where he stood in the kitchen. "I'm strange - you probably couldn't have scared me that much even if you had actually tried."

"I won't argue with that," he replied teasingly.  She rolled her eyes at this, picking out a drink of her own.

"So why didn't you leave with the others?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Shouldn't you, of all people, be the most tired of being in class?"  Top chose to ignore this little jab, but that didn't stop Caden from giggling at her own hilarity.

"I just needed to double check with you about something," he explained, watching as her attention shifted from him to the snack tray he had set on the counter.

"Omo!  Was it you who was cleaning up after me?" she burst out suddenly. "You don't have to do that!  I'll clean up - you go take a seat on the couch.  I'll come talk to you as soon as I get some of this put away."  Top tried to protest, but she wouldn't hear it, shooing him fervently until he finally retreated, taking a seat on the arm chair.  From there he watched as she rummaged around in the cupboard for a moment before reappearing with an armful of bags, into which she proceeded to replace the snacks.  Finishing quickly she returned the bags to the cupboard before finally turning to make her way over to Top.

"Sorry about that," she apologized cheerfully, sitting down on the couch closest to him. "So - what did you want to talk to me about?  Did you need help with something?"

"Oh, no it's nothing like that... for once," he responded brightly. "Actually, I just wanted to make sure-"  He was interrupted when Caden's phone began ringing loudly from where it sat between them on the coffee table.

"Oh man..." she said in surprise. "I forgot to turn it on silent?  How unprofessional.  I'm lucky it didn't ring during class."  She quickly snatched it up, glancing at the screen to see who was calling.  Top watched curiously as her expression changed to a cross between amusement and mild scorn.

"Now why is this boy calling me?" she mumbled - apparently unable to contain herself.  Then she remembered that she wasn't alone, shooting Top an apologetic glance.

"Ah, it's just my friend," she explained sheepishly, gesturing toward the phone. "I'll call him back later.  What were you saying?"

"No, no," Top insisted politely. "I'm taking up your time - please feel free to answer."  She gave him a skeptical look, but when he nodded again firmly, she gave in.

"Daeho-yah," she answered, tone immediately changing to become a bit more light-hearted and teasing. "Shouldn't you be working now?"

"You're right," came the joking reply from the other line.  It was muffled, but just loud enough for Top to hear from where he was sitting directly beside her. "And technically I am working."

"Hmm, talking to me on phone is working?  I'm not sure Ahjussi would agree," she joked, smiling despite herself.

"Yeah...  That's why I cleverly chose to make this call from the bathroom," Daeho replied cheerfully. "What that old coot doesn't know won't hurt him.  Although, I am getting strange looks from a few of the customers... but I felt that I needed to take advantage of this lull in the dinner rush to call you."  Beside Caden, Top made a show of taking a deep swig of his water bottle.  He had been listening casually, but he couldn't help being amused by this exchange.  Once he was sure that he wasn't going to laugh, he set his drink back down, resetting his expression to one of casual apathy.

"You told me there were never lulls in the dinner rush," Caden accused.  There was a pause on the other end that lasted just long enough for Top to strain to hear if he was missing something (forcing him to admit to himself that he was far more nosey than he'd previously believed) before the response finally came,

"Alright, you caught me - it's crazy busy, yet I still snuck off to call you.  I think my only saving grace right now is that it's too busy for him to leave the kitchen and look for me, otherwise I'd be in serious danger.  That just goes to show you how important this call is to me - that I'd take this risk!"

"Mmm, yes. 'Important.'  I'll bet," she replied sarcastically. "Just get back to work before you get in trouble, and call me back to finish your very important discussion later."  She shot a quick glance at Top, who returned it with a blank smile.  "Anyway, I have a student here who stayed after class to talk to me.  He was kind enough to wait while I answered you, but I should really..." she continued, pausing when she saw Top gesturing 'no'.  She raised her eyebrow at him, looking more than a little skeptical now.  Top insisted, mouthing 'Finish, finish' at the same time he heard her friend on the other line say,

"No, wait, wait!  I really did have something to ask you!"  Caden hesistated, glancing over at Top once again.  He nodded reassuringly, mouthing 'Go ahead,' as he gestured toward the phone.  She smiled with a roll of her eyes, whispering "Thank you.  Sorry..." in return before turning back to her conversation.

"Alright," she agreed finally. "You're lucky my students are so good to me - he's going to wait until I'm done, so make it fast!"

"Aw, what a patient and mature student - putting the needs of his teacher before his own," Daeho crooned.  She rolled her eyes at this.

"Yes, thank you for that lovely insight," she quipped sarcastically. "Now what do you want?"  Top didn't bother holding in a chuckle this time, causing Caden to shoot him a sheepish look before returning her attention to her friend.

"Fine, fine.  Straight to the point, I see how it is," Daeho responded cheerfully. "Are you busy tonight?  I mean after you finish up with your student?"

"Not really," Caden replied casually. "I was thinking of taking a walk so that I have a chance to get out of this house, but other than that...  Why do you ask?"

"Ah, you're bored at home?" Daeho asked, sounding excited. "Come over to the shop!  The rush usually ends a good hour before my shift does, so I'm either going to be bored out of my mind, or driven insane by our beloved Manager.  Your presence will probably be enough to distract him from killing me once the customers are gone - and in return, I'll feed you delicious food!"

"Uhn, so you called because you wanted company?" she inquired with a smile.

"Well yes, but not at work - that was just an added bonus," he informed her, grin evident in his voice. "I actually called to make plans for afterwards.  See, there's a movie out that I really want to watch, but every time I try to find someone to go with me, they're all busy;  Soonbok is busy preparing for a gallery opening - that's why you still haven't met her, Jung Su claims that he's busy with school work, but I think he's just too lazy to leave the house, and you're already aware of Mi Kyoung's crazy schedule - even back since she was supposed to take you on the tour with me, you still haven't been able to meet her.  I didn't even bother asking her...  Plus, none of the other guys that you met from my English club can go either."

"Oh, I get it - so you're saying that you invited me to join you as your last choice," Caden teased, feigining offense.

"How can you say something like that?" Daeho demanded, sounding almost genuinely affronted, except for a hint of amusement she caught in his tone. "There's still a good 1/4 of the English club that I haven't asked yet!  Clearly you are far from last!"

"Oh great, that makes me feel so much better," she quipped with a roll of her eyes.  Top, who was still listening with casual interest, had to choke back a snort, reaching for his water bottle to cover himself once again.

"Don't be like that," Daeho coaxed, having returned to his usual teasing tone. "I still don't know what kind of movies you like - how do I know which ones I should invite you to?"

"Alright, fair enough," she allowed with a grin. "Since I'm free anyway, I'll come with you this time, but if it turns out to be bad, you owe me for a movie of my choice."

"It's a deal," he agreed happily. "Then I'd better get back before the boss really does come looking for me.  Come over here as soon as you're done and you'll be fed."

"Sounds good," she pronounced brightly. "I'll see you later, then.  Yes... alright.  Bye bye."  She finally hung up the phone, turning to Top with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry for making you wait so long," she told him, voice noticeably returning to a less casual - but still entirely friendly - tone.  Top only smiled, shaking his head.

"You don't need to apologize, Caden ssi," he assured her genially. "I'm the one who told you to take the call."

"But even still..." she mumbled thoughtfully.  Then she immediatly snapped back to her cheerful tutor mode. "Anyway, what was it that you needed help with?"

"Actually, it wasn't anything important," Top explained with a small grin. "I just wanted to double check that you remembered about Jiyong's party on Saturday.  He asked me to remind everyone, since he wasn't going to be here."  Caden blinked at him a few times, flashing him first a look of understanding, followed quickly by an expression of dismay.

"Wait!  You're not telling me that you waited through all that just to remind me about Saturday?" she demanded, eyes widening in surprise.  Top frowned down at her momentarily, unsure of whether this was some sort of trick question.

"Well, yeah..." he responded finally, eying her almost wearily.  Then he shook his head, raising an eyebrow at her, "Why?  Did you remember on your own?"  He realized that this last had come out a bit defensive, but he just wasn't sure what she was getting at.  Caden, who had opened in preparation to shoot back with a witty reply, paused to consider this question.

"Well... not exactly...  I mean, I did already know about it - I just wasn't thinking about it much until you brought it up.  I let it float to the back of my mind," she answered slowly. "But I'm sure I would have remembered eventually!  Jiyong sent me a text with the details earlier in the week!  Look, here, I'll show you-"  She grabbed for her phone once more, almost losing grip on it in her haste, scrolling as fast as she could through her recent contacts to try to find the message in question.  Top - slightly alarmed by her fervor - set his hand gently on top  of one she was using to scroll with.

"Caden ssi," he said weakly, "what are you trying to prove to me, here?"  She looked up at him at this, slightly startled, before managing to shake herself out of this sudden daze.

"Oh, well I was-" she started, trailing off as she realized how peculiarly she had reacted. "I was just going to show that...  Ugh, I don't know!  I just felt bad for making you wait this whole time for no reason," she finished glumly, setting her phone back on the table with a thud.  He couldn't hide a grin at her strange logic.

"Teacher - I don't find myself saying this to many people, but I think that you're a little too worried about politeness toward us.  I'm not so easy to offend."  Caden, who had been fiddling absent-mindedly with her phone from where it sat on the table, looked up in surprise at this statement.  Top offered her a kind smile, leaning forward in his chair receptively.  All of a sudden, her eyes narrowed and she reached out with lightening speed, pushing his head to the side wtih a light shove.

"Who are you to be acting all cool like that?" she demanded mildly. "In what world should a student be making these kinds of pronouncements to his teacher?  Are you trying to make me look bad?"  Now it was Top's turn to look surprised, hand unintentionally flying to the side of his face where she'd pushed him.  Seeing his startled reaction, Caden's expression immediately cleared and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't look at me like I just kicked your puppy," she teased, a wide grin breaking across her face. "That's what you get for acting cool all the time and always having a comeback for everything I say."

"So I'm punished because you don't approve of my personality?" he shot back, finally allowing his hand to drop, seeming almost pouty - a first for him as far as Caden had seen, even since the first time they met. "That hardly seems fair..."

"I'm the teacher - I don't have to be fair," she shot back snottily.  He raised an eyebrow at her, cool-guy smirk firmly back in place now.

"Maybe I was wrong about what I said," he returned smoothly, with a pitying sigh. "It seems you don't have to worry about being overly polite at all."

"Oh shush," she replied laughingly, with a roll of her eyes.  Then her grin turned friendly once again.

"Since you waited all this time already, we might as well double check that the information I have about the party is all up to date," she suggested cheerfully, reaching for her phone once more, scrolling leisurely now for Jiyong's text.

"Ah, here," she began, skimming it over. "It says that it's being held at the Ninth Gate Grille in the Westin hotel on Saturday, at 8:00pm.  Is that right?"

"It is," he confirmed, smiling. "I guess I didn't need to worry about you after all."

"I guess not," she agreed brightly.  Then her tone turned teasing, "You're just too considerate for your own good."  Top gave her a look, but allowed himself a chuckle.

"Ah!  There is something I want to ask you about though, now that I think about it," she continued. "Are we supposed to bring our gifts to the restaurant, or should we just give them seperately?"

"We usually bring the presents along," he answered. "Most likely Jiyong will take the time to open them there."  Then his expression turned curious.

"Have you already gotten something picked out?" he asked conversationally.

"I do, actually," she replied with a smile, "although I'm not sure that it's very good...  I don't know your guys' tastes well enough yet to be confident shopping for you."  She chuckled to herself, and Top grinned.

"Yeah, we've all gotten pretty good at knowing what type of presents each of the members like, but Jiyong is still pretty difficult - he's the type that buys the things he wants right away, then there's not much left that he wants," he mused.  Suddenly his smile turned mischievous, 

"Actually, I had bought him a pair of shoes that I know he would like, but I heard that he went shopping on Saturday and bought himself a whole bunch of stuff...  I wonder if I'll have to return them?"  He carefully watched Caden's face out of the corner of his eye, pressing his lips together to keep from grinning when he saw her expression change from curiosity, to realization, and finally to dismay.

"Oh, is that so?" she prompted weakly, trying equally as hard to seem casual as Top was trying not to laugh.

"That's what Seungri told me," he affirmed. "I mean, what kind of person buys himself things the week before his birthday?  It's like he's trying to make it difficult for us."  He paused, pretending to consider his next statement thoughtfully before continuing,

"You know, it's funny actually - you and I both happened to be shopping last Saturday, and come to find out Jiyong was too.  I wonder... what are the odds that we all ended up at the same mall seperately from each other?"

"Pretty low, I'd say," Caden mumbled quietly, looking down as she unconsciously fiddled with her phone again.

"What was that?" Top prompted cheerfully, seeming to relish her discomfort.  She was quiet for a moment before looking up at him, eyes narrowed in thought, as if trying to decide whether he was purposefully torturing her, or actually clueless.  Eventually she sighed, shooting him a look of remorse.

"Top-ah..." she began slowly, seeming reluctant to start.  He raised his eyebrows, a bit taken aback by the sudden change in tone, but he didn't say anything, waiting for her to finish.

"Actually... I lied to you," she announced finally, looking apologetic. "I'm pretty sure you already realized - you're smart and I know I'm not very sly - but just in case, I'll confess my sin now."  Top was more than taken aback now by her sudden honesty - he had just been trying to ...  Had he gone too far?

"When I met you last weekend, actually, I was out with Jiyong," she continued solemnly.  Then she immediately turned overzealous in her explanation. "The reason I didn't tell you wasn't because we were doing something weird!  It wasn't anything like that!  It was just... well, Jiyong had offered to be my tour guide and...  Well, since I felt bad for turning down all of his previous offers, I thought it would be better for it to be one-on-one.  I didn't want to tell you and have it be awkward by not inviting you to join.  Not that I would mind others' presence!  In fact, I think we should all go on a group excursion some time soon!  It was just... it's just that-"  Top held up his hand with a smile.  She finally tapered off, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"I understand, teacher," he informed her with a chuckle.  "Even at the time I really didn't mind.  I understand why you lied strangely-"  He paused and Caden had to good grace to look embarrassed,

"-but actually, at the time I just thought it was funny, and later I was happy to have something to hold against you two.  It's less fun now that you've come clean.  Now what is there to tease you about?"

"Hul!" she cried indignantly, forgetting her awkwardness. "What's that??  I can't believe you said something like that right to my face!  What kind of person are you??"

"Why?  Would you rather I not reveal what's on my mind?" he replied innocently. "Just because I don't admit to it, doesn't mean it's gone from my thoughts.  Doesn't that indicate my very open and honest personality?  Those are very reputable traits."

"Wow," Caden scoffed, looking him over in disbelief. "Reveling in others' pain and even admitting it wholeheartedly?  You act all cool and quiet, or all strange and funny, but in fact your actual personality is that of an evil mastermind!"  Top didn't respond to this, only smirking.

"Aish, really," she continued, shaking her head at him disbelievingly. "I don't know how I didn't see it before - as a fan, I would have suspected this kind of behavior from our sometimes cold, always calculating leader, and as your teacher I'd expect it coming from our tricky, boorish maknae, but really the evil mastermind is you all along."  He couldn't hold in a laugh this time,

"Actually, that would be true about Seungri, except he's just evil and not a mastermind."  Caden burst out laughing at this, judgemental brow unfurrowed and accusatory manner forgotten.

"I shouldn't be laughing so much, but he just makes it so easy to ," she said, still grinning.

"It's alright - it isn't as if he doesn't know what we say about him.  He'll probably admit to it, even," Top replied smuggly.  Caden chuckled again, shaking her head good-naturedly.

"Oh, speaking of 'as a fan'," he began curiously, "what's your favorite Big Bang project - you hardly mention any of your feelings as a fan, so I'm interested."

"Oh... hmm, what should I say?" she mused carefully. "Do you mean favorite Big Bang era, or..?"

"Sure, that's be fine," he affirmed with a small smile.

"Hmm, actually I became a fan a little late in the game - not until the beginning of 2009, right when you guys took a break from Korean activities in favor of Japan and solos, so everything before then sort of blends together for me.  Of course I love the old stuff, but since your 2011 comeback, my favorite era, music-wise, was Alive.  I love that album!  As far as side projects, the best was GD&TOP, since it has both my favorites."  She finished with a bright smile.

"Ah... so you do have favorites," he pointed out casually, fighting back a grin.

"What?" she asked, confused.  Then her smile immediately fell. "Oh!  No, no - that's not what I meant!  I mean, it is... but not the way you think!"

"Ah hah, you're talking very fast again.  It seems I've made you flustered," he teased.  Caden all but blushed, shaking her head roughly.

"No, I'm fine," she said in a forced calm. "I just meant... since the rapping is my favorite part, GD&TOP had my two favorite musical aspects - both rappers.  Although, of course I love the singing too."

"Oh, is that so?" Top asked, humoring her.  He pretended to allow the subject to drop. "So which song did you like best from our album, then?"

"Oh, they were all good," she replied, clearly relieved. "Knockout is my favorite to blast in the car, and Don't Go Home has such a cool sound."

"Is that right?" he prompted. "And so, is GD your favorite in the duo?"  He was hoping to surprise an honest answer out of her.

"Oh no, he's my second-" she began cheerfully, before stopping abruptly when she realized what she was saying.

"I wonder who number one could be, then," Top said, smug little smirk spreading across his lips as she froze, seeming to debate between whether she should try to cover her tracks, or simply deny the fact that she'd ever said it.  After a moment of indecision, she surprised him by letting out a cry of frustration.

"Evil mastermind!  This is what I'm talking about!" she cried in annoyance, to the point of actually pouting. "Why did I have to be introduced to this side of you that I've been blissfully unaware of until now?"  

This was probably the least professional Top had ever seen her - although Caden was nice, easy-going, and even playful with them as a teacher, she still kept up a certain professionalism to her behavior.  No matter how much fun or teasing they had together, everyone was still always aware that she was the teacher.  However, in her current exasperation, she seemed to have forgotten about keeping up that front.  For some reason, he found this incredibly amusing.  He reached out, flicking her pouted lip down with the back of his crooked finger, laughing at her shocked reaction.

"You tell me - I'm not like this very often," he informed her casually. "You seem to be bringing it out in me today, for some reason."  Her expression instantly turned sour.

"So you're saying I brought this on myself?" she demanded. "What kind of convoluted logic-"

"Ah, I've made you mad," he said, sounding almost sincere for a moment before opening his arms toward her. "Here - will a hug from your bias make you feel better?"  Caden's eyes bugged out for a moment before she slapped her palm to her face.

"Please don't tell the other members about this," she requested with a resigned sigh. "Especially Jiyong.  The last thing I need is everyone complaining about who's the teacher's favorite."

"Don't worry," he assured her seriously. "Didn't I say it's better not to tell?  Much more amusing to hold things like this against you..."

"Ugh!  Evil!" she cried, fed up.  She stood and began shooing him out of his chair and toward the door. "Out!  I've had enough of your bullying for today.  You can take this strange aspect of your personality and push it to the very back of your brain.  Then hopefully we won't meet with it again soon."  Top chuckled, allowing himself to be steered briskly toward the door.

"Very well," he said genially. "I'd better let you go, since your friend is waiting to see you."  Caden, who had been practically shoving him out the door, paused with a look of surprise.  She had momentarily forgotten all about Daeho's call.

"Right," she responded slowly. "I need to get ready for that."

"Yep," Top agreed, "then I'll be going first."  He bowed slightly before waving.

"Goodbye," Caden offered, returning both the bow and the wave. "Have a good night."

"See ya, Caden ssi," he returned. "Until Saturday, then."

"Yes, until then," she agreed.  Top smiled, turning to open the door.  He then paused halfway outside, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"Oh, by the way," he added, "as requested, I'll make sure to cover up this strange 'evil' aspect of my personality."

"Well that's good news," she teased with a smile.  Top returned a small grin of his own.

"Yes," he continued slyly. "Instead, if the feeling ever returns to me again, I guess instead of warning you about it fairly, as I did today, it'll just have to come out in covert strikes.  Anyway Caden ssi, enjoy your night."  With one final grin, he turned and disappeared down the hallway, door slamming shut behind him.

Caden crossed her arms, letting out something between a laugh and a scoff.  She stared at the closed door for a few moments more before finally shaking her head with a chuckle, turning to make her way back to her bedroom to change for her night out with her friend.

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A/N

I won't bother with excuses about why this took so long to be published, but just say that I'm very sorry and thank you for waiting T_T

So!  This chapter!  For some reason, I was very unsure about this chapter as I was writing it - I couldn't decided if it seemed quite right, mostly because we (and Caden) are seeing quite a different side of Top than the ones we've seen so far.  I always think of him as being very mellow and cool about most things - he doesn't overthink the way GD does (or course, GD's being the leader and a song writer/producer and having a million thoughts going through his head at all times, it makes sense that he's an overthinker, but still =P), but in this chapter, we find out that he does, in fact, do some plotting and actually has a tendency to hold onto information for later (especially if it can be used to tease).

Having read it back now, I think it's pretty right.  He loves teasing, hates losing to Caden, and so he likes have info to hold against her =P  The fact that she has gotten a little more sassy with him than usual (probably a result of talking to Daeho, because she would be in a far less professional mindset around her friends) might be what brought his 'evil' side out today, haha.

Being a fan previously, Caden would mostly be aware of the two most noticable sides of Top - cool, man-of-few-words StageTop, and offstage, with the boys Bingu Top.  As his teacher, she'd see that his actual personality is mostly somewhere in between, but this 'Evil mastermind' part is new, and it throws her off.  Haha, probably another reason EvilTop came out was because he knew she was getting more and more comfortable around him, and it was making it harder for him to beat her.  But something about Top (we now realize that it's probably the fact that he was her bias previously, followed by GD) has always made her a bit more unbalanced than the others, and he wants to retain that power.  Silly EvilTop =P

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!  Let me know what you think. ^^  I can't let myself keep taking this long to post chapters, so I'll try hard to make sure GD's party comes out as quickly as possible T_T