„You are YG Entertainment’s CEO?!“ Jiyong screamed and just his expression told Seungri everything he needed to know. 

His leader was beyond angry, he was furious and Seungri knew he had to choose his words wisely or else the other would explode. He had known Jiyong for a long time now so his reaction didn’t come as a surprise.

„That’s correct as well as not entirely.“

„What’s that supposed to mean? Stop playing games and answer me!“

„I am answering your questions but it’s nothing I am comfortable doing so please bear with me. I didn’t plan on telling anyone about this anytime soon.“

Seungri watched as Jiyong’s face scrunched up into a grimace. He was obviously upset and angered by the whole situation, especially since this was probably nothing he had seen coming. His little maknae was his boss. That must’ve felt everything but right.

The rapper was agitated but kept quiet and Seungri was glad that he was ready to cooperate and that he didn’t throw every insult he knew at the younger.

„Yes, I am YG Entertainment’s CEO.“ Jiyong scowl only deepened but he didn’t say a word. „But so is YG himself. We both have the same amount of rights concerning the company therefore he always needs my permission if he wants to make big decisions, and of course it’s the same the other way around.“

„How long?“ Jiyong asked seriously with his frown never faltering.

„Excuse me?“

„How long have you been in this position?“

„Since 2011.“

„…WHAT?!“

Seungri sighed and turned to face the window. This conversation wouldn’t be easy, he knew that. He probably looked like someone fishing for advantages but really, if he had wanted that he wouldn’t be where he was now with barely any lines and recognition in Bigbang.

„Jiyong, you probably never realized but Hyunsuk used to have severe financial issues around that time. When he had freshly started out with his company, to make sure his project wouldn’t immediately fail, he needed money which he didn’t have, at least not enough. So he illegally borrowed quite an amount from people he shouldn’t even have considered. That, of course, got him into trouble and in the end he had to pay way more than he had originally planned because he was found out by the government. It never made it to the news, luckily, but he was so deep into debts that he would’ve had to either give the company up completely or sell it to someone. No one wanted to invest or financially support him though, because they knew of him having dealt with his issues illegally before so they didn’t see him as someone trustworthy.“

„But if it wasn’t on the news and even I didn’t know, how did you find out?“

„You see, I have quite some connections, even back then I had, so I heard rumors. I wasn’t sure if I could believe them but I did notice the irregularities inside our company such as the lack of activities and the fact that YG seemed to try to save money in some places you probably didn’t pay any attention to at all, so of course I became suspicious.“

„You noticed all of that? I had no clue.“ The older muttered, clearly irritated but at the same time slightly sad. It was understandable, he was YG’s Golden Child, Hyunsuk was like a second father to him.

„Yeah, well, I’m kind of trained in that area, I have to notice these inconspicuous signs or else I would be eaten alive in this business. Anyway, since I couldn’t be sure without him telling me, I simply confronted him and while he was extremely reluctant to tell me at first, he did open up after my offer to help him out. He didn’t have much of a choice if he didn’t want to lose everything.“

Jiyong shook his head and looked up at the ceiling before he started pacing around the room. It really got to him, perhaps because he thought he knew Seungri so well yet the younger had been the CEO of his company for over five years without Jiyong’s knowledge. He hadn’t even come close to considering it.

„Where did you get the money from?“ He suddenly asked as he came to a halt right in front of Seungri. „You couldn’t have possibly had this much money from your small businesses.“

„Let’s say I’ve always made a little more money than all of you thought I did.“

„And Yang? What does he say?“

„He tolerates me, he actually wants to pay me back desperately since he has earned enough money now, so he can be the sole real CEO again, but as long as I don’t agree to his offers he can’t force me to leave my position. After all, as I said, we hold the same rights. Actually, back then I could’ve easily thrown him off his position as a CEO because he didn’t have any money, which would’ve resulted in me being the only boss at YG, but to be honest, I wouldn’t have wanted that. That wouldn’t have felt right considering I am a member of Bigbang and only received that possibility because of Yang.“

„Do you make decisions too or are you just the CEO on paper?“

„I make decisions as well.“

„What decisions? Do you also meddle with our band? Is there something else I should know?!“

Again Seungri had to sigh. It felt like an interrogation, though, he could understand that Jiyong had many questions. But it was exhausting, especially since the younger wasn’t prepared for this.

„I take care of many things regarding our company, especially of promoting bands and trying to keep everything equal for artists under our label. You might be angry at what I did but if it wasn’t for me, some of the bands under YG wouldn’t exist anymore. And no, I don’t meddle with Bigbang, except for when I have the feeling our band as a whole gets treated against our policies or if we, as a group, decided on something, like a concept for example, and YG wouldn’t agree on it. Only then I would make use of my position. I never, not even once, have taken advantage of my position only to benefit myself.“

Jiyong snorted with a short „Yeah right.“ and turned his back towards Seungri. From the way the older’s foot kept tapping against the wooden floor of Seungri’s apartment he could tell just how livid the other was. His whole body was stiff and his muscles visibly tense while his mind must’ve worked a hundred miles an hour. 

„I can’t ing believe it.“ Jiyong then said and turned back to face the younger. „ YOU SEUNGRI! I’ve always believed we were close but just looking at you now makes me feel sick! And it’s not just because of this whole YG story, you know?! It’s because I can ing see that you have more secrets that you are not willing to talk about and it makes me realize that I have never known you at all! I have never been friends with Lee Seunghyun, I just got emotionally attached to his mask that he had put on around me the entire time. So you Seungri. Thank you for hurting me when you were the only person I thought I could trust!“

Tears were welling up in the leader’s eyes but he immediately turned around and walked away from Seungri who only then realized what actually had happened.

„Jiyong! Wait-“

„Leave me alone, bastard!“

And with that Jiyong had slammed the door to Seungri’s apartment shut behind himself, leaving the maknae to stand there frozen in his place.

His face was void of any emotions, after all he had worked so hard to keep everything to himself, but he did feel the unstoppable hot liquid escaping his eyes and burning his skin.

He wasn’t allowed to complain, after all he was the cause of this mess. But the thought of losing his favorite person… 

It was then that Seungri realized his mistake as he had spoken to Jiyong. He had used his business persona to talk to his leader, his friend. He wanted to say the right things and sound like he was in control of his thoughts, which he never sounded like when he was his usual self. But it caused him to sound so detached and foreign and that must’ve additionally hurt the other.

Seungri wasn’t a person to regret a decision or to dwell on it but for the first time he knew that if he didn’t solve this he would regret it for the rest of his life. He also knew, though, that he didn’t regret not telling anybody and if he were to go back in time he would do the same again. It sounded selfish but exposing himself like he involuntarily did to Jiyong today only ever caused trouble, hatred, and jealousy. He never wanted to be treated differently by his friends because he was a powerful man. He was still Seungri. Funny, cheerfully, idiotically Seungri. He did wish for his band members to treat him better but not because he was an influential business man but because he was a human and, more than anything, their friend that deserved their respect.

But how could he possibly tell Jiyong that he, the little maknae, the troublemaker and good-for-nothing of the group, was way richer than him? That he owned companies that produced technology Jiyong used? Or clothes that Jiyong wore? That he owned hotels Jiyong had