"Jiyong-ah" He called my name, we were sitting in the cafe near my apartment, having an afternoon coffee break.

"What is it Youngbae-ah?" I answered, indifferent was prominent in my voice.

He looked at me with confusion written on all over his face.

"Jiyong-ah, did I do something wrong?" He leaned forward, eyes filled with concern.

"What makes u think like that?" I replied back, still remaining impassive.

"This! You have been behaving like this for more than a week Jiyong-ah, what's wrong? He asked, frustration depicted clearly in his face.

"Nothing's wrong Youngbae-ah, don't overthink it" I answered coolly and quickly held up my hand to attract one of the waiter's attention and asked for the bill.

Youngbae seemed to give up on asking me further and just let out a heavy sigh. I paid the bill and wasted no time in finishing my drink. Spending more time in this place would only lead Youngbae to delve deeper into this matter and it was something that I wanted to avoid, at least until I managed to overcome my fear.

"I have another appointment Youngbae-ah, will catch up with you again soon ok?" I said to end this awkward meeting and got up from my chair.

"Alright then, let me know when you have time to meet up ok?" Youngbae said with a forced smile.

"Sure" I replied curtly and headed for the exit door.

Youngbae was still sitting on his chair with blank expression when I walked pass the window's cafe. I cursed inwardly, scolding myself for acting like an in front of him. But I couldn't help it, I was having my worst nightmare since the night I saw his performance. He shone brightly, the song suited him perfectly, but it wasn't mine.

He didn't need me, he could shine brighter with someone else's help. I am no longer the one who could bring the best out of him.

His other song even ranked longer in the chart compared to the song that we worked on together for the big variety show. It made me feel down, it was like I will no longer be the best in his eyes, and maybe he would soon turn that someone else to be his bestfriend.

I have been avoiding him for almost two weeks, always found excuses when he asked for meeting up. I lost my appetite in music, our full album was even got delayed. Luckily we were busy with the tour schedules and barely had enough time to discuss this problem further.

That day Youngbae sat on the sofa in the backstage with a really pale face, I never saw him like that before. Maybe our packed schedules has started to take its toll on him. I always warned him not to take it too far, he tended to dance hyperactively and not to mention that he had to sing big portions of all difficult part of our songs.

"Youngbae hyung, are you alright? You don't look so good" I heard Daesung asked worriedly and I was glad he did that, because I was already on the verge of asking him myself.

"I'm fine Daesung-ah, don't worry" He softly answered.

I scolded him inside, how could he say he was fine when he was far from it. I was about to approach him when the stage director came to inform us that the show was about to start in 15 minutes.

"Could we delay it for half an hour?" I asked and the rest of the members stared at me incredulously and I didn't blame them since I was always the one who insisted to start our concerts on time.

"What? Why Jiyong hyung?" Seungri asked in disbelief tone.

"Someone needs to rest a bit" I answered nonchalantly and glanced at Youngbae who seemed to quickly comprehend the meaning of my remark.

"I am alright Jiyong-ah, we can start it on time" He immediately answered and got up from his seat. It was a dumb move because soon he lost his balance and fell forward, luckily Daesung stood next to him and was quick to react. He caught him before he fell to the ground. The other members were taken aback and soon gathered around him. Daesung guided him to sit back on the sofa.

"Youngbae-ah, are you alright? TOP asked while checking on his temperature.

"I am fine Hyung, it's just I got up so sudden and felt slightly lightheaded" He chuckled, trying to downplay the situation.

"You are not having any fever, that's a relief" TOP said as he pulled back his hand.

"But you do look pale Youngbae Hyung, you don't feel pain or anything?" Seungri asked and leaned toward him.

"I am alright guys, don't worry ok" He spoke with louder voice, trying to convince us.

"Could you move away guys, let him lie down a bit" I said and Youngbae faced me with disappointed look.

"I'm really fine Jiyong-ah, there's no need for me to lie down" He retorted and I scolded him inside.

"Guys could you leave us alone for a moment, I need to have a few words with him" I requested, the others seemed to understand my urgency and gave us the space.

I grabbed a chair and sat across him, he looked me in the eyes while waiting for me to start the conversation.

"Lie down" I ordered and looked him square in the eyes.

"No, I said I am fine!" He insisted.

I cursed and got up from my seat, I held out my hand and pushed him on the shoulders, forcing him to lie down on the sofa. It seemed to startle him as he looked at me wide eyed.

"Just lie down a bit ok, you need it" I asked gently this time and felt glad that he finally chose to obey me. I lifted my hands off his shoulders and sat back on the chair.

There was an awkward silence since it's been quite some time that we had under four eyes conversation, lately I only talked to him when the others were around.

"Just have a rest for about 30 minutes, the fans will understand Youngbae-ah" I said to break the silence.

"Could you please tell me what's wrong Jiyong-ah, you have been avoiding me lately" Youngbae implored.

I couldn't look him in the eyes, I was ashamed to admit that I felt defeated.

"Jiyong-ah you're killing me, do you know that?! We have been friends for more than 10 years and this is the first time you treat me like this! Please tell me what's wrong?!" He raised his voice at me but suddenly he whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut, brought a hand up to touch his temple.

"Youngbae-ah what's wrong?" I asked worriedly, he seemed to be in pain.

"My head hurts, I have been having a headache this past couple of days" He admitted.

"You should've told me Youngbae-ah, we should have it checked" I scolded, headache shouldn't be taken lightly.

"Like I ever got the chance to tell you Jiyong-ah, you have been avoiding me remember?" He said with a sad look on his face and a pang of guilt rushed over me.

"I am sorry Youngbae-ah...it's just that...aargh" I growled angrily, feeling embarrassed and guilty at the same time.

"Jiyong-ah we are best friend, and we always tell each other everything, don't shut me down" Youngbae said and held my hand.

"How do you like my song compare to Zico's?" I asked bluntly, just couldn't hold it back anymore.

Youngbae stared at me with confused eyes at first but then he let out a chuckle.

"Are you jealous? Is that it?"

"Yah! Who said I'm jealous?! I was just asking for your opinion!" I denied and yanked his hand away. I got up from the chair and decided to leave but he held out his hand and grabbed my wrist.

"Jiyong-ah...let's talk" He said and brought himself up.

I just stood there and look away, avoiding his eyes.

"Please sit down Jiyong-ah, I'm still a bit dizzy" He asked and I couldn't help myself not to follow his request.

"Jiyong-ah, there's nothing to be jealous about, I was just helping Mino with the competition" He said after I sat back on the chair, it was obvious he was just trying to comfort me.

"You're lying Youngbae-ah, I saw the performance, you enjoy the song so much, that was probably the best performance I've seen out of you" I said matter of factly.

"I won't lie and say that I don't like the song Jiyong-ah, it is a good song and"

"See? You like his song and I bet you'll prefer him as your best friend, that kid adores you" I interjected, not caring if I sounded like a brat, he admitted it and It's just sparked my fear.

"But it doesn't mean that I will replace you with somebody else Jiyong-ah, no one could ever take your place but yourself, you will only stop be my best friend if one day you choose not to" Youngbae said in such a comforting tone while gazing at me warmly.

I felt so ashamed and small in front of him, I tended to act like a child and Youngbae would always had this big heart to accept me for who I am.

"Jiyong-ah, are you still mad at me?" Youngbae asked since I just sat there in silence, lost in my own thoughts.

For a moment I was at lost for words and could only stare at someone so precious that I extremely afraid of losing. I leaned forward and brought him close.

"Thank you for having me as your best friend Youngbae-ah" I said and held him tight in my embrace.

He returned my hug and pat my back "Thank you for always be there for me Jiyong-ah"

We were wiping tears and laughing at each other when the rest of members came to remind us that the show was about to start. I was reluctant at first, still worrying about Youngbae's condition but he and his stubbornness managed to convince me that he had gotten better. We started the show late that night but we had a blast performance.

Epilogue

"Youngbae-ah why don't sing fear with Mino at Gaon award, I bet everyone eager and desperate to see it" I asked, he had turned down couple of offers for singing the song and it started to get on my nerves

"Like I said Jiyong-ah, let Yoon do it, Winner is having their comeback" He tried to reason but I knew that's just another excuse that he had thrown lately.

"You've been asked several times to perform this song Youngbae-ah but you kept rejecting them, I don't mind ok, please don't turn them down just because of me" I said in remorse, I felt that he rejected them because he didn't want to hurt my feeling.

"It's not because of you Jiyong-ah, it's my own choice" He still denied and threw his smile at me.

"Youngbae-ah you're making me feel worst by doing this, I'm not that selfish ok" I said to convince him to take the offer.

"I know that Jiyong-ah, and I mean it when I said that I did it the first time to help Mino, I almost regretted the decision because Mino received so many backlashes because of it, so this time let Yoon did it, they are in the same group, give them a chance to share each other's success, let them grow together" He said sincerely and I could understand his reasons.

"They're lucky to have you as their mentor Youngbae-ah" I praised genuinely and it's just something that I felt jealous of him, he knew how to take good care of others.

"You praise me too much Jiyong-ah" He chuckled and I just laughed along with him.

"It's because you deserve it Youngbae-ah"