They were both in middle school when Jiyong fell from a tree.

The two boys were on their way home from school, walking together, when a poor cat meowed for help from the tallest branch of a nearby tree. Seunghyun stared up at the feline, wondering how the animal got there in the first place. Then Jiyong slipped off his backpack and turned to look Seunghyun straight in the eyes.

“Give me a boost,” the younger boy said.

Seunghyun blinked. “Ji—“

“Come on, what if the cat falls?”

“What if you hurt yourself?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Jiyong grinned. “I’m a dragon, after all.”

Seunghyun sighed. Not again. When Jiyong set his mind on something, he wouldn’t let it go. Not even after Seunghyun’s constant groans and complaints. They were still a long way from home, and the older boy wondered what would happen if Jiyong got hurt all the way out here. They were by the river, on a pathway accompanied by tall trees. But he knew that if they were to go home without rescuing the cat, Jiyong wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

“Fine,” Seunghyun mumbled, shrugging off his own backpack. He put his hands together and Jiyong smiled, his teeth showing. Jiyong set his feet on Seunghyun’s hands, and the latter gave him a shove towards the sky.

Jiyong jumped, grabbing onto the nearest branch and hoisting himself up. He looked down at his skitish friend, gave him a thumbs up, and began climbing towards the cat.

Everytime Jiyong’s fingers or foot slipped on a branch, Seunghyun would inhale sharply. The older and plumpier boy set himself below his friend, just in case there were any accidents.

Jiyong stretched out his hand when the tiny animal was right above him. “Come here, boy,” he said to the cat, in the calmest voice possible. “Let’s get down. It’s dangerous up here.”

Yeah, no kidding, Seunghyun thought.

The cat stared at the human in front of him. After a couple of seconds of intense staring, the feline finally began to shakily walk towards Jiyong’s open arm.

“There we go,” Jiyong whispered, bringing the cat close to his chest. The animal purred against his clothes, and he giggled.

Seunghyun let out a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the cat would flip out and cause Jiyong to fall. But he wasn’t fully relieved yet. Not untul the “dragon” landed on the ground.

Jiyong began his slow descent with the cat. He was doing fine, just a couple meters in the air.

Then a strong wind came out of nowhere and sent him falling.

Eyes wide and freaking out, Seunghyun quickly held out his arms. A loud THUD sounded as two bodies collided (three, if you count the cat.)

Then they were all on the ground. The cat on top of Jiyong. Jiyong on top of Seunghyun. Seunghyun on top of his...backpack. He had mushed it below him when he attempted to catch his friend.

“Owwww.”

“Damnit, Ji.”

“Meowww.”

Jiyong laughed. His back was lying on Seunghyun’s stomach.

“Your body cushioned the fall pretty well,” Jiyong commented.

Seunghyun gasped in air before replying. “Did you just call me fat?”

“Don’t take it too seriously, Seunghyun.”

“Get off, please.”

“Meow.”

“Both of you get off, now!” Seunghyun attempted to sit up, and Jiyong laughed. The younger boy finally rolled himself off of his plumpy friend and stood up. Seunghyun did the same, and the two of them began dusting off their clothes— their now dirty school uniforms.

“Great job,” Seunghyun muttered.

“Well, Mr. Cat is safe and that’s what’s important.” Jiyong grinned widely and finally set the cat down. The cat meowed politely before walking away. And that was that. Beaming with pride at his achievement, Jiyong bent over to grab his backpack. Suddenly he let out a sharp breath and stumbled.

Seunghyun saw it immediatly. “Jiyong, are you okay?” His voice was filled with panic already.

“It’s nothing,” the younger boy answered, slinging on his backpack.

“Stop lying. You hurt your leg.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did no—“

“We aren’t going to start this argument. We’re neighbors. Our houses are close. Now. Get on my back.”  Seunghyun slung on his own almost-empty backup and bent down, holding out his arms behind him. Without missing a beat, Jiyong flopped himself onto his friend’s back, wrapping his arms around the older boy’s neck.

Seunghyun grunted at the sudden impact of Jiyong. “Ow.”

“Sorry.”

With a sigh, Seunghyun stood up, lifting Jiyong behind him. He steaded his hands under his friend’s legs, making sure the younger boy wouldn’t fall again. “Come on then.”

And then they both set off.

A comfortable silence filled the air before Jiyong said, “You’re so cuddly.”

And with that comment, he snuggled his cheek against the back of Seunghyun’s neck.

Seunghyun was quick to complain. “Akh, what the heck!”

“You’re like a pillow~”

“Shut uuuuup.”

“Ahahaha.”

Seunghyun didn’t even try to hide his smile. It wasn’t as if Jiyong could see it. There was no denying that the older boy had fun with his younger friend, even though the jokes about his weight was a little hurtful. He knew that Jiyong meant no harm.

The sun was setting. They were still walking near the riverside. From afar, they were one sillouhete. Two people, but one shadow. Two dirty boys in their school uniforms, on their way home together.

“Ji...” Seunghyun didn’t know what was making him talk so suddenly, especially the words he was about to say next.

“Hmm?” Jiyong answered, and Seunghyun felt his friend’s cheek pressing against his neck.

“Will we always be like this?”

There was a silence.

“Am I troubling you that much?” Jiyong finally asked. His voice was tinged with worry.

“Wha—no. Of course not.” Seunghyun looked straight ahead, not faltering in his walk. One step after the other. Step step step.

“Then why are you asking?”

“It’s just nice... Moments like these. I know your mom will freak out when we get home. My mom will wonder why my clothes are so dirty. They’ll wonder where the heck we went...again. It’s fine, though. I enjoy spending time like this. You doing reckless things and us making random stops at the convenience store.”

“You buying a ton of ice cream,” Jiyong added.

Seunghyun laughed lightly. “Ice cream is awesome, man.”

“And cake.”

“Cake is also awesome.”

“Yeah, that’s why you keep asking to borrow my money for it.”

“Dude, I said I’ll pay you back soon!”

Now it was Jiyong’s turn to laugh. “It’s fine. Keep on eating tons of ice cream and cake and whatever you want. You’re more huggable this way.”

“Yes, I know that I’m not exactly as skinny as you, but there’s no need to rub it in.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your weight, Seunghyun.”

“Thanks for the empty words of comfort.”

“Oh come on, I mean it!”

“Hmph.”

Another comfortable silence. Their bodies pressed together, the wind blowing at their hair and clothes, the two boys continued their journey home.

“Why are you suddenly asking that though?” Jiyong finally asked. “Why’re you suddenly being all nostalgic?”

Seunghyun seemed to be thinking, holding back his words. “I dunno.” He kept on walking, Jiyong’s weight fully on him. “I guess I just have this weird feeling. I kinda feel like we won’t be spending time like this anymore. I kinda feel like you’ll be going somewhere far away.”

Jiyong was silent. Seunghyun continued.

“You’re already a kid star and everything... Already starred in a music video. I feel like you’ll be going off to continue your love of music somewhere else. Somewhere big. Anywhere but here.”

Still no word from Jiyong.

“I’ll miss our little rap-offs,” Seunghyun said, with a small laugh. “Those were fun.”

Gently, the arms around the older boy’s neck tightened as Jiyong gave him a hug.

“We never know where life takes us.” Jiyong’s voice was gentle, just like the hug. “In a year, maybe a couple months, we could end up being somewhere else. You could be elsewhere. I could be the one gone. We never know. But we’ll still be friends.”

Seunghyun didn’t say anything as he let Jiyong’s words sink in. It comforted him a bit.

“Thanks, Ji,” he finally said. “Thank you—“

His words were cut off as Jiyong’s hands came to smack him on both sides of his face, pushing his chubby cheeks together. Seunghyun let out a muffled groan, unable to pry the younger boy’s hands away because his own hands were busy keeping Jiyong steady on his back.

“You’ll always be the Seunghyun that I know, right?” Jiyong asked. “You’re not going to change into somebody else?”

Seunghyun, not able to talk properly, only nodded.

He heard Jiyong letting out a sigh, and then an answer.

“Good.”

Seunghyun smiled. “Yeah.”

He looked ahead, getting ready for the explanation he was going to have to give to Jiyong’s mom. About why Jiyong sprained or maybe even broke his leg. About why they were both so dirty. About why it took them so long to get home. He was going to have to explain to his own mom as well. But it didn’t matter. He enjoyed his time with his friend.

“Good,” he repeated.

 

---

 

They were both in their 20’s when Jiyong fell asleep by the river.

Seunghyun was staring at the wall clock of their dorm. It was already over three hours when Jiyong said that he was going out to look for some inspiration. It was getting dark out, the sun setting like all those years ago.

He tore his eyes away from the clock to look at his band mates. Youngbae, Daesung, and Seungri were preparing dinner. They had ordered food from a nearby restaurant and were setting the table.

The band was celebrating the release of their second album. Two hours ago, Jiyong was seated at the table, hunched over a notebook in his hand. Then he abruptly stood up, surprising them all, and announced that he needed to go outside to look for inspiration.

And now three hours had passed since that moment, and no sign that Jiyong would be returning soon. No message.  Nothing. They tried to call him only to find out that he had left his phone in his room.

“This could be dangerous,” Youngbae said, worry apparantly on his face. He was placing plates loudly on the table. Next to him, the maknae was opening the small delivery boxes filled with food.

Daesung checked to see if they had enough rice in the cooker. “Jiyong-hyung should be back by now.” With a small worried nod, he joined Seungri with the boxes.

“Jiyong-hyung usually goes out to look for inspiration,” commented the maknae. “But he would usually tell us if he was going to come home late.”

While they talked, Seunghyun poured water into a jug for them to drink. He agreed with all of them. Jiyong was somewhere out there, either far too lost in his own thoughts or kidnapped.

Or worse.

Stop, he told himself. Don’t overthink too much.

“I’ll go look for him,” he finally announced. He set the now full jug on the table and ran over to grab his jacket.

“We’ll come with you,” Youngbae said. “Let’s all look for him.” The two younger members nodded vigorously.

Seunghyun shook his head. He shrugged on his jacket and slipped on his glasses. “It’s fine. Just get the table ready.” Before covering his mouth with a disposable face mask, he offered them a smile. “Jiyong’s gonna be starving by the time he gets back.”

Seunghyun’s words must have been reassuring, because his three friends grinned back in return.

“Careful, hyung,” Seungri said.

“Don’t get lost,” Daesung added.

“Just get back as soon as possible,” Youngbae said. “Food’s getting cold.”

Seunghyun laughed. “Yes, mom.”

Then he his heels and left the dorm.

--

It took Seunghyun over half an hour to find the leader of Big Bang. Jiyong was sitting down next to the river, leaning against a tree, notebook in hand, eyes closed. He was fast asleep.

Seunghyun could only shake his head as he ran down the incline towards his sleeping friend. Upon reaching him, Seunghyun saw that Jiyong had on his hoodie—to cover his face, it seemed---but the wind had blown it back. Seunghyun said silent words of thanks that no fans saw him, and that he didn’t get kidapped or worse.

The older of the pair crouched down, hands on his friend’s shoulders. He gently shook them.

“Jiyong, wake up.”

There was a silence before he shook them again.

“Time to wake up.”

“Nnnngh.”

“Kwon Jiyong, come on. Dinner’s ready. You’re making the others freak out.”

Slowly, Jiyong opened his eyes. It took a while for them to adjust.

“Seunghyun?”

“Yeah. You fell asleep out here?”

“I guess so.” Jiyong looked down at the notebook in his hand. A pencil lay next to him on the grass. “Look, I finished the song.” With a tired but satisfied smile, he held out the notebook out for his hyung to see.

Seunghyun read the lyrics, the sound of the river by his ears. His eyebrow raised slightly. “Nice. Great job.” He was impressed, just as always, by his friend’s lyric writing skills.

Jiyong grinned from ear to ear, hugging the notebook to his chest. “All that’s left is to compose the music and for you to write your rap part. And then we’ll record.”

Seunghyun grinned back. “Sounds great. I’m sure the others will be really excited.” He looked over his shoulder, taking in his surroundings. There were a couple people walking here and there, on their way back to their homes or to hang out with friends or other appointments. But none of them turned in their direction. Seunghyun had covered his face well as to not be recognized. “But we gotta go. Everyone’s worried. And dinner’s on the table. Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m—“ Jiyong paused. Then he put a hand on his stomach, as if thinking. “Yeah, I’m hungry.”

Seunghyun shook his head. “Come on, let’s go.” He stood up, but Jiyong didn’t follow.

“Five more minutes,” the leader mumbled, slumping against the tree.

Seunghyun slightly raised his voice, whining a bit. “Jiyongie! Not here! You can sleep back at the dorm.”

“But I’m so tired...”

With a sigh, the oldest of the pair crouched down, offering his back. “I’ll carry you. Come on.”

Small arms wrapped weakly around his neck. Seunghyun gathered his arms underneath Jiyong’s legs and stood up, lifting up his friend up like all those years ago.

Then they began their way back to the dorm.

Jiyong must have dozed off again, because a silence filled the air. It shouldn’t take too long to get back to the dorm.

The passerbys stared at them, probably thinking it weird for two fully grown man to act that way. A piggy back ride? Really? But it seemed that these passerbys didn’t recognize them as members of  Big Bang, because they kept on walking by. Seunghyun silently thanked his little “disguise” and the fact that Jiyong’s face was buried in his shoulder.

They were about 10 minutes away from the dorm when Jiyong woke up with a small groan. He then snuggled his cheek against Seunghyun’s neck.

“That tickles,” Seunghyun said. “Good morning. Oh wait. Good evening.”

“Hey,” Jiyong replied. “Your neck’s not squishy anymore. It’s not a good pillow anymore.”

Seunghyun looked over his shoulder. He saw that Jiyong had on his hoodie, covering his face from the people passing by. He answered, “Hey, I had to lose weight to get accepted into YG Entertainment. A lot of weight. Chubby Seunghyun wasn’t accepted.”

Jiyong let out a tiny laugh. “Yeah. I can still remember the look on your face when YG rejected you because of your weight. Then you came back months later, with twenty pounds less. I could barely recognize you.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

Jiyong thought it over. “Both good and bad. Good because you could be in Big Bang. Bad because you were no longer the chubby Seunghyun that I was used to. But I got used to the skinny Seunghyun quickly as well.”

Seunghyun grunted in response. “And you still don’t call me ‘hyung’.”

“I don’t call Youngbae with ‘hyung’ either.”

“Being childhood friends makes it okay, though, I guess.”

“Yep.”

Silences were comfortable for them. They continued the next few minutes in silence before Seunghyun spoke again.

“Hey, Ji.”

“Hmm?”

“Those years ago. Remember how we grew apart when you moved away?” Seunghyun remembered his little, chubby self that ran over to Jiyong’s house, knowing fully well that Jiyong was no longer there. “You really did chase your dream.”

“Yeah.” Jiyong nodded. “It that I couldn’t see you anymore.”

“Hm.”

“It that we couldn’t save cats and eat ice cream at the convenience store anymore.”

Seunghyun laughed. “Now that’s what you remember?”

“I missed our little rap-offs too.”

“....Yeah.” Seunghyun smiled as he stared at the ground. “I did too.”

Silence.

“We really did grow apart,” Jiyong finally said.

“Yeah.”

“No word from each other in...what? Months? Years?”

“You were really busy.”

“You were too, by the looks of it.”

“Yeah.”

“But then I called you when YG said that Big Bang was going to be formed.”

“And that call changed my life.” Seunghyun remembered it all clearly. Jiyong’s voice and words as he explained the situation to Seunghyun. Asking him to go to the YG building. Asking him to audition. Asking Seunghyun to join.

As the memories rushed in his head, Seunghyun opened his mouth to speak.

“Thanks.”

“Ehh...for what?”

“For everything.”

“Everything sure is a lot of things.”

Seunghyun laughed. “I’m serious here. Thanks for calling me when YG said that Big Bang was going to be formed. Thanks for getting me that audition. I know that you wanted to be a dinamic duo with Youngbae. You guys trained for six years and YG suddenly says that they’re going to debut you guys as a boy band instead. And then I come strolling in.... along with Seungri and Daesung. I can only imagine how you felt.”

Jiyong seemed to be lost in thought as he pondered it over.

“I can’t image how my life would be if you hadn’t gotten ahold of me.” Seunghyun stared at the ground, gazing at his feet as they put themselves in front of each other, one by one. Step by step. “I’d be stuck in the underground rap scene... But now I’m able to show my music to the whole world. And that’s thanks to you.”

Still no word from Jiyong.

“And I got to meet the boys,” Seunghyun continued. “I got to become friends with the Youngbae that you always talked about, with Seungri whose same name made it hard for people to address me and him, and with Daesung whose endless smiles creeped you out at first.” He chuckled in affection, remembering the memories. “I didn’t know I could become so attached to such a group of weirdos.”

“You’re a weirdo as well, Seunghyun.”

“Hey, I’m trying to say thanks here.”

“You’re an alien~”

“Ji!”

“You’re welcome.” Jiyong gave him a slap on the back.

“Ouch!”

“You are very welcome, Seunghyun!” Jiyong said, raising his voice, grinning from ear to ear. “I give my thanks to you too! What would Big Bang be without Big Seunghyun?”

Seunghyun felt the blood rising to his cheeks in embarassment. “Hey, are you making fun of me or—“

“Thanks, Seunghyun. Really. Thanks.”

Jiyong’s words were firm and serious now. Seunghyun closed his mouth. Four words were enough to make him understand that Jiyong needed him just as much as Seunghyun needed Jiyong. How the older man felt at that very moment was difficult to describe. He felt his feet lift the ground, as if he was suddenly walking on air.

“Well then.” Seunghyun cleared his throat. And without giving a warning, he broke off into a sprint, running down the road. Jiyong’s cry of surprise was cut off as he bounced up and down on his friend’s back.

“What theeeee—“ Jiyong managed to scream, surprised but laughing at the same time.

Seunghyun burst out laughing too. The two young men laughed to their heart’s content. Onlookers stared at them, but thanks to their ‘disguises’, no one recognized them.

Seunghyun threw out his hand in front of him, making a grabbing gesture at the sun in the sky. His legs pumping as he ran, it felt like they were both flying.

“Well then.” He looked over his shoulder at his friend. “Let’s go home.”

 

______________

 

Author's note: receiving comments is like being given a big yummy cookie :) I love to hear what you guys think. Thank you for reading!