When Jiyong let go of his hyung’s shoulders, he barged in and went straight to the living room. TOP was shocked by Jiyong’s sudden appearance and wasn’t able to react properly except mutter, “Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

The oldest in Big Bang frowned as he contemplated what Jiyong meant. Even though Jiyong was the leader of the group, everyone still went to him for advices. His heart skipped a beat when he heard Jiyong say those words. If it’s him who said those, then the problem must be too huge for him to solve. TOP felt something brush his legs and he looked down. He saw Gaho trailing behind Jiyong and TOP casually said, “Annyeong, Gaho.”

Wait…Gaho?

“Ya! What is Gaho doing here? I thought he’s with Han Byul-noona,” TOP shouted as he closed the door and followed Jiyong in the living room. “Why are you here too? And more importantly, what do you mean by trouble? I swear, Jiyong, if you did something irresponsible again, I’m going to kick your faster than I can rap.” He sat on one of the chairs and waited for Jiyong to speak.

“You’re actually looking at the problem,” Jiyong said with a pained expression. TOP gave Gaho a glance and knitted his brows in confusion.

“I’m not sure I follow.”

Jiyong groaned and lay down on the couch. “Remember the limited edition couple shoes you and Se7en-hyung bought in Japan?”

How could I not? TOP rolled his eyes as he realized what Jiyong was referring to. Big Bang and Se7en were in Japan when a limited edition of couple shoes was made. Only ten pairs were released and the item was only sold to the highest bidders. Se7en got himself and his girlfriend a pair for their anniversary while TOP, who was single at that time, bought three pairs. When Jiyong learned about it, he kept on teasing his hyung until TOP was forced to keep the shoes and not wear it. “What about it?”

“That dog,” Jiyong pointed at Gaho and got a lazy yawn in return, “somehow managed to chew every shoe Han Byul-noona owns, not to mention the other pairs of shoes Se7en-hyung left in her apartment. Man, you should have seen the look on their faces!”

Gaho looked bored at his owner’s ranting and left the room while TOP was fighting every urge to laugh. For the couple, there was only one rule: Don’t touch the shoes or you’ll die. And Gaho just managed to destroy the shoes the couple owned.

I never knew Gaho was a mighty character, TOP thought. No wonder Jiyong looked like that.

“How many shoes were damaged?” asked the older guy.

“Ten, including that couple shoes,” Jiyong replied miserably. TOP grimaced at the figure given. Knowing the couple, it would cost a lot. Jiyong sat up and said, “I was wondering if I could buy one pair from you. I know one of the pairs you bought was the same size as theirs.”

“Sure you can.” TOP chuckled when Jiyong let out a loud hoot and sighed with relief.

“Thanks, hyung,” said Jiyong. “Now I got only nine pairs to worry about.”

“Why don’t you try asking the stylists?” suggested TOP. “They keep tabs on the stuff we buy. Maybe they have extras.” His suggestion made Jiyong smile and TOP wondered just how angry Han Byul and Se7en were. Han Byul was really caring with every shoe she owns, and you’ll face her wrath if you ever do something to make even the smallest scratch on it. So was her boyfriend, but he’s more lenient than her. And he rarely gets angry at his dongsaengs, no matter how stupid they were.  So, Se7en flipping out was definitely unusual for him. Unless…

“Dara-noona has a suitor. And Se7en-hyung is pissed off!”

TOP tried to push Seungri’s annoying voice out of his mind, but like bad takeout food, the maknae’s news had its aftertaste and he was genuinely bothered. Is Jiyong the mystery suitor? TOP thought. No, it can’t be, can it?

“Jiyong,” TOP said and his dongsaeng turned his head to him, “are you sure that the shoes were the only reason Se7en-hyung was pissed off? I’m pretty sure you already know that Dara-noona has a suitor, thanks to Seungri’s snooping, by the way. And it made Hyung extremely angry so…”

“Are you actually thinking it’s me?” Jiyong asked, his face expression hard. Gaho came back and his owner picked him up.

TOP shot him a wary look and said, “I’m trying really hard not to. But him getting angry like that means he knows the guy and that guy is a close friend.” Jiyong’s jaw line set hard and his eyes avoided TOP’s. “I really hope it’s not you, because you know what that would do to the team. We just had our comeback, and it would be real selfish to make a move like that,” he finished.

The air between them became still and they were enveloped with silence. Damn it, Jiyong, TOP thought. Don’t just sit there. Look at me and say it’s not you. But Jiyong only continued to Gaho’s coat, not saying anything. The silence was broken when someone opened the door.

“I’m back!” Judging from the voice, it was Daesung. Only seconds has passed when his happy demeanor changed and he started to scream, “Gah! Is this poo?! God, TOP-hyung! How could you do your business here?!” He entered the living room wearing a disgusted expression and TOP threw a slipper at him. Daesung easily dodged TOP’s ammunition because the latter was not much of a shot and it went sideways.

“Pabo!” TOP said as he hurled his other slipper. Seeing Jiyong, Daesung was instantly distracted and wasn’t able to avoid the second slipper. It hit him flat on the face and he whimpered in pain. TOP shot Daesung a reproving look. “Why would I take a crap there?!”

“Well, when I left, you’re the only one here! Who should I blame then, the potato?!” Daesung retaliated but shrunk under TOP’s gaze. Jiyong was laughing his out so Daesung turned to him and said, “And you! Why are you here?”

TOP told him why while Jiyong left the room to clean Gaho’s droppings. When he came back, Daesung said, “Hyung, you could have called from Seoul instead of coming all the way here.”

“Well, I can’t go back to the dorm.”

“Why not?” TOP and Daesung asked in unison. Jiyong sat on one of the available chairs and said, “Because I would be alone. Taeyang and Seungri went with CL and Minzy to their orientation-slash-meeting with the other contestants for that dance competition they’ll be joining. Taeyang told me that they won’t be back until tonight or maybe tomorrow. And Gummy-noona picked Bom-noona up this morning.”

“And Dara-noona?” TOP inquired.

“She doesn’t have any schedules for today. She’s just at the dorm,” Jiyong’s eyes lowered.

Daesung frowned in confusion. “If she’s there, then you are not al—“

“She’s with Nichkhun,” Jiyong interrupted.

“Nichkhun? Pretty boy Nichkhun of 2PM?! In the dorm?!” Daesung exclaimed while TOP looked speechless. “How could you leave her there with a guy, hyung? Not just any guy, but a guy from another company!”

Jiyong glared at his dongsaeng and Daesung stopped talking. Looking at his hyung, Jiyong definitely looked affected by the fact that someone else was with their most coveted noona and he just had to laugh. He got an annoyed look from Jiyong and a bewildered one from TOP. Daesung steadied himself and cleared his throat. His eyes narrowed and his voice was full of mischief when he said, “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

“I’m not,” Jiyong curtly said and he stood up to avoid further questions. He made his way to the kitchen and only stopped when Daesung continued, “Well, according to Seungri, you and Taeyang-hyung were affected when he revealed that noona has a suitor daring enough to take the test. I understand Taeyang-hyung’s reaction, because the whole world except Dara-noona know about his feelings for her, but your’s? The reaction itself was fishy. Also, Seungri called me. He said that you had a moment with Dara-noona last night.” He saw Jiyong blush and Daesung smiled evilly. “What was that about?”

Jiyong tried to act nonchalant and said before he sprinted to the kitchen, “Nothing. That means nothing at all.”

After Jiyong left, TOP turned to Daesung and asked, “What moment was that?”

Daesung shrugged and smiled. “How should I know?”

“I thought Seungri called you.”

“Seungri didn’t call me last night. I just made that up. But his reaction was priceless, wasn’t it?” Daesung raised an eyebrow and laughed.

TOP chuckled and said, “Yeah, it is. But I think you just shortened Seungri’s life span. Jiyong looked livid.”

At the kitchen, Jiyong was helping himself to a glass of water. He sighed, rubbed his temples and tried to calm himself.

Seungri, you blabbermouth. Your name just made it to the top of my hit list. Come to think of it, it’s just your name there. You’re so dead when you get back. I’ll definitely shut you up for good.