Lee Seungri was not lonely nor a sourpuss with a huge stuck up his . Neither was he “in dire need of answering the call of Mother Nature”, as his no-good hyungs used to cackle as their heinous plan of humiliating him in front of everyone regardless of how important they were, nor was he “pining for his one true love in a horrible rendition of Prince Charming and his migraine-inducing monologues of love, destiny, and fictional dragons.”

He was just thinking. With a frown. And maybe his hands were curling amongst themselves, unconsciously imagining them circling around a certain someone’s neck.

Okay, so he was sulking, sue him! He’s a Hallyu star, with millions of won attached to his name. Not to mention, his face was seen everywhere, even his image that was crudely drawn with Sharpie at public restrooms.

With all that fame and fans, he’s entitled to sulk even more.

A fact he wanted to drill into his bingu hyung but said hyung was busy making villainous plans in that head of his, and he should be terrified of what he could do, but he’s too tired to make that penguin stop quacking his mouth off.

They were in a small coffee shop, near Gyeonggi Art Center, watching a live stream of their esteemed leader’s Motte Act III in the Philippines. They were the only ones inside the shop, thanking the middle-aged man who owned the coffee shop for closing it down for the two of them.

He sipped on his coffee gingerly. “I still don’t know how you got someone to stream the concert for you. Illegally.”

“Guts and a sleight of the hand, hyung. You couldn’t have done it even if I told you anyway.”

“Prickly, prickly, dongsaeng. What’s gotten into you, huh? You look like someone just took your cat away from you.”

He watched as the great G-Dragon turn around from the fans as her hesitant yet sweet voice was clear in the shaky video.

She said she missed him.

“Rabbit. Someone took my noona rabbit away from me.”

The ever-clueless Lee Seung-hyun of BigBang furrowed his eyebrows. “You’ve been hiding animals in your apartment?”

You can’t hide it from me, hyung, that annoying grin of yours!

Seung-hyun sighed as Seungri ignored his attempt at making the maknae stop strangling his hands. “That thing with your fists. You’d kill your hands with how your cutting off its oxygen.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I should cut something else—maybe your oxygen then?”

He ignored the aggressive tone of his dongsaeng and leaned in to watch the video. G-Dragon was powerful onstage: attractive, charismatic, and talented. Even while talking to his, he can’t put down his persona. And it works for him, that mysterious idol aura.

Today’s not one of those days.

G-Dragon stepped down and let Kwon Jiyong shine through.

“Hmm, so Jiyong pushed with his plan to have Dara noona as a guest to his concert? I thought YG said it’s too risky.”

Lee Seung-hyun shook his head. That smile can blind anyone, even with him in his sunglasses.

Seungri scoffed. “What’s there to risk? They’re too famous to have one scandal bring them down. YG made his point but Ji-hyung’s skull is so thick it’s useless to talk him down when he wants something.”

“True. And fans have been clamoring for noona to date already.”

Seung-hyun’s silent “And most of them want her to date him” did not go unnoticed by a fuming maknae.

He never thought that there’d be a time that he needed to comfort someone because of his standoffishness, but alas, he never did get a break. Even now, when Seungri pulled some strings to pull him out of his military consignment for a day.

“Alright, what’s with you Seungri-yah?”

That did it.

“What’s with me? What’s. With. Me? Jiyong hyung, that’s what! I told him not to do it! I told him not to do it without me there to watch and supervise! But no, he thinks he’s too smart to listen to me and Sajangnim and Dae hyung!”

Seung-hyun sighed. This again.

He feared that his minimal aging lines would multiply after this visit.

“Seungri, not this again. We’ve had this talk about this clingy disorder of yours. Noona won’t go and forget about you and your stupid antics. And Jiyong won’t hog all of her time, you’ll still have your Seungri Academy with noona as your co-President.”

His tensed shoulders sank down as he pouted. Seung-hyun rubbed his nose bridge as the fearsome Lee Seungri disappeared and in its place, was the clingy and Dara noona-obsessed dongsaeng of Sandara Park.

“You’ve been wanting Jiyong and Dara noona to be together for years, Ri. Years. Longer than anyone you’ve ever dated. Even when Jiyong had a stick up his and slamming down Dara noona with his “I don’t date within YG family” crap. Heck, you were the only one who did not support his relationship with Kiko and very vocal about it, I should add. All the stunts you pulled, the hints, the teasing on-cam and in concerts—they were what pushed them together.”

“I know that,” His voice was soft and slightly grudging. “But everything’s about to change. And I don’t know if I like where everything’s going.”

“Are you talking about BigBang? We’re old enough to decide for ourselves, Seungri. Our fans won’t create riots just because we’re dating people. They’d start one if you grow old and saggy and unmarried, if you ask me.” He joked.

He pressed further. “Is this about Dara noona?”

Seungri looked out the window. “I miss her. I miss noona. And I’d miss her more because she won’t stay with me.”

“She’d stay with Ji hyung and not with me, hyung. How in the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

“Be a good dongsaeng. You love noona, yes?”

His voice was nearly inaudible. “Yes.”

“You’d love her and support her even if you’re not the one she’d first see in the morning or go to when she has a problem, yes?”

His voice slipped even lower. “Yes.”

“You’d always be her little brother and treasured confidant, yes?”

He looked away from the window and met the prodding eyes of his hyung with a calm gaze.

There was a tinge of hardness in his voice. “Yes.”

Resolve. It was resolve.

Seung-hyun pulled out his phone and called a number he is so familiar with. “It’s a few hours before Jiyong flies to Jakarta. Noona should be with him. You’re on speaker, Ri-yah.”

A few rings then the call connected.

“Seung-hyun, what’s wrong? Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

Seung-hyun nodded to Seungri who returned the gesture. He stared at those morose eyes, wondering if he did the right thing. “Uh, I got a free pass today, noona. Took the night out, less eyes and stuff, you know. Seungri found out and now, we’re having coffee in Gyeonggi-dong.”

There were voices in the background. Familiar voices.

Jiyong.

“Oh! That’s great! Is Ri-yah there? Ri, I bought you your favorite foods here in Manila! You still like sweets, right? Well, I have just the thing for you! It’s a new twist to your favorite dessert that my friends told me to try so we bought all of you two boxes each. Don’t worry, I made Ji carry forty boxes so my arms won’t hurt—Ri, Ri you still there?”

Seungri took a deep breath.

She sounded upset and bothered. “Seungri, are you okay? Did—Did I do something wrong?”

Seungri smiled as he waved his arms to emphasize his point. “Noona! I missed you! I was just waiting for you to finish. Haha, joke’s on you, noona!”

“Yah! You scared me, you stupid dongsaeng! Don’t do that ever again, I thought you were mad at me! Why, you, I’ll wrangle your neck the next time I’m there—”

Her tirade did not stop as she threatened the smiling maknae with some input from the tired voice of Jiyong but Seungri did not stop smiling.

Seung-hyun hoped that they’d be fine in the end.