Jiyong was getting to the dorms late, much later than was usual for the young rapper. Some friends from his school days had insisted upon seeing him for his 26th birthday, and he'd obliged, wanting to be with someone besides his band mates. He did care for them deeply, but he sometimes just needed a little air.

He was waiting as the elevator rose, taking him to his floor, thinking about how old he was getting,  about how, sooner rather than later, he'd have to go to the military. It was the same with Seunghyun as well.  He knew that the military was a thought that stayed persistently in both rapper's minds, and neither seemed to be able to make it go away.

Jiyong sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What's the point in worrying? It won't stop it and it's not helping. Damnit, get a hold of yourself!

Jiyong straightened up a bit when the elevator opened before he stepped onto his floor. Seeing no one, he slumped his shoulders and hurried down the hall, withdrawing his key from his coat pocket. He just wanted to get into his room quickly and go to sleep. He had schedules the next morning, and he knew he wasn't going to get as much sleep as he'd like.

As he approached the dorm housing he and his band, he heard the elevator ding as the door opened again. He jammed the key into the lock and quickly let himself into the living space, wanting to avoid any looks questioning his being out so late. Their dorm wasn't terribly large, but the five of them were still comfortable. He dropped his keys on a shelf by the door and hung his jacket up before moving further into the place they called home.

As he went to their small but functional kitchen, he heard another key in their door. He raised his eyebrows as he waited for the other to enter. It was Seungri.

"Ri?"

The younger jumped at the sound of the elder's voice.

"Hello! You surprised me, Ji. Why are you still up? Did you just get back too?"

Ji nodded affirmative. "But why were you out?"

The younger shrugged. "No reason." He stated as he hung his jacket up as well. He walked past Jiyong into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water before muttering a quiet goodnight and meandering down the hall to he and Daesung's room. Ji just stood with his arms crossed before he followed suit, and heading to the room that he and the eldest rapper shared.

When Ji entered their bedroom, he saw Seung with his face buried into the pillow, snoring quietly with his arm dangling over the side. His fingers almost grazed the floor. The younger chuckled as he went into the closet to change into his sleepwear. After a moment he stepped back out and crashed into his bed, letting the darkness cloud his mind and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

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The next morning, Ji awoke to his alarm blaring. He scowled before his hand fumbled around the table to silence the damned thing. Once it was quiet, Ji raised his head with a groan. He hated the idea of even moving, let alone ushering the other four to dance practice and dealing with Seung complaining. He didn't want any of it, but he didn't have a choice. He wasn't sick, so he had to do it. Moving to sit up, his body screamed in protest. He made himself stretch as he went to his closet for rehearsal clothes.



After changing, Ji walked out towards the living room where he could hear the others.

"Why didn't you guys wake me?" He asked with a tinge of annoyance.

Bae looked up, a smile on his face. "We know you got in late, so we gave you a little more time."

Ji sighed. "Well, we need to get to our practice, so come on. We can't fall behind just because we're tired."

As the others stood to leave, Seung fell in step next to Ji. The younger noticed the other had a strange habit of doing that, but it relaxed him on some level, though he didn't know why. "Did you have fun Ji Ji?"

Ji glared up at the other. "I told you not to call me that. But yes, it was nice seeing some old friends."

Seung just smiled and the shorter knew that he, as always, chose to ignore the request to stop with the ridiculous nickname. "I'm glad you had fun. You deserved it." And with that, the taller walked forward to bug Taeyang about something. They were in the elevator, going to the ground floor and were off to the dance studio to practice before Jiyong even realized it.

He didn't know how he managed to get there, but Ji was there, helping Seung get the steps right. It was like he'd just woken up. The rapper didn't know how he'd managed to be G Dragon without noticing. He'd been too busy thinking again.

When the clumsy older rapper missed a step and nearly fell, they all began chuckling, earning half hearted glare from said clumsy rapper.

"Why don't we take 10 guys?" Ji asked, hearing approving sighs and thuds as his band mates fell to the floor. He shook his head. "I'm going to go outside for a minute. Don't kill each other."

An echo of "Yes umma." Sounded as he walked away, followed by laughter. He hated when they called him that, but there was no stopping it.

As Ji stepped outside into the bright, late morning sun, he sighed again. He'd found himself doing that a lot lately, though he didn't know why. Bae had made fun of him saying all his sighs made him sound like a lovesick romance novel heroine. Ji didn't feel like he was in love. Then again, he didn't quite know the feeling, so who was he to say he wasn't. He hung around plenty of attractive men and women, so maybe he was. He'd heard people say love sneaks up on you and without you knowing, it had you by the throat and you wanted it to suffocate you.

As Jiyong stood in deep thought, he didn't hear the door open or the steps that said someone had joined him. He didn't see the man give him an amused smirk as he took in Ji's furrowed brow and concentrated face.

"Don't hurt yourself." He knew the deep, rumbling voice without having to look up.

"Ha ha, Seung."

The older chuckled. "What are you thinking about anyway?"

Jiyong shrugged. "I don't actually know. Just, kind of everything. Like, our inevitable military service, will any of us actually have time for love and family."

"You're thinking about love?"

Ji blushed, faintly, but it was enough for Seung to notice. His heart warmed to see the Jiyong that the fans didn't. The cute and shy Jiyong, the one who often questioned himself despite being their right leader. The older ruffled his hair. "You think too much, Ji. Let's get back in there to finish this horrid practice."

Ji smiled faintly, something in his chest fluttering as he followed the elder back into the studio. What's this?