Title: The Trouble With Love Is
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Sandara & Seungri / Seungri & OC
Length: 2957 words
Summary: Seungri decides that something must be done to keep their marriage from breaking down.
Warnings:
Notes: This was just as tough even though it is not a member pairing because I don't really know Dara that well.

Remixee author: Cheon Sa
Title of work remixed: Prompt 2 - (Pandara) Seungri and Dara are no longer with their respective idol bands. They got married to each other and are now running Seungri Academy together. They live a stable couple life, maybe too stable for Seungri whose hormonal rush is still not over yet... And when some of his students start to openly seduce him, things start to get hard for him to control.
Link to work remixed: (No links)

He could give a commentary of his day to day without thinking too hard. His alarm would go off at six a.m. and he would roll over, hands blindly reaching for the snooze button. Fifteen minutes later, Dara's soft, urging voice would finally chase away that part of him that just wanted to lie in bed and he would go for his jog. He would return by seven, breakfast served, and Dara would be ready, gym bag at her feet, her beaming smile greeting him as he stooped down for a quick peck on the lips. She would drop him off before hitting the gym herself and he would check the trainees' schedules and take note of the practices he would want to observe personally. He had a roster of some ten working artistes (half of which were groups, the rest solos). Sometimes he had lunch with Dara if she decided to come into the office, but lately he has been eating alone in the afternoons. Dara did most of the footwork, bringing talents to the agencies and planning out concepts. On some days, when he was in a good mood, he would go down to the practice room and personally coach whoever was there, and then by four he would hit the studios, checking in on who was recording or working on an album and give his input. Home by seven, dinner would be served and going over some general logistics with Dara, who was in charge of financials, and if they did make love he would be asleep by ten p.m. His life had become a veritable nutshell of monotony. Until today, that is.

"Sajang-nim." The young woman, who had been flaunting her lengthy legs and curvy hips in his direction for the last two weeks, whispered huskily, now rubbing those said hips over and around the bulge that had emerged from beneath his tailored pants. She had not been the only one, of course. Most of the young ones were pretty determined to get his attention in all the wrong ways. He stifled the moan that had threatened to escape his lips and glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes to seven. He glanced down at the woman bending over him, gyrating in ecstasy, cheerleader skirt hiked up to reveal baby smooth derriere encased in pastel pink lacy , and decided to call home. He pushed her to the desk, a little bit rougher than he had intended to but she seemed to like it, as her ministrations on his now utterly erect desire became much more hurried. His fingers shivered slightly as he punched the numbers to Dara's phone and he realized the brevity of doing this, a pang of guilt coursing through him. It was enough for him to take a step back immediately. "Sajang-nim?" The young girl groaned quizzically. 

"I've got to go." He suddenly stated, gazing at the receiver on his hand and wondering how it got there. "Go on, go home Lena." He interred, placing the receiver against his ear as the familiar ringtone of Dara's cellphone (VVIP, come rock with me!) played in his ear.

"What? Now?" The girl exclaimed, disappointment clearly marring the normally soft, seductive whisper his ears had been assaulted with. Oh, the wiles of these young ones, he thought randomly as his voice (jigeumi ni insaeng choegoui seontaek!) seemed to admonish.

"Yes, now!!" he commanded, taking control of a situation that had almost gotten out of hand - that should have never happened in the first place, a part of him exclaimed. Dara picked up just as the girl left, her pretty face pouted in anger.

"Where are you?" He asked, adjusting the tone of his voice, so that she would not be able to pick up the distress signals in it.

"That's a silly question." She rebuked softly. "At home of course. I made samgyetang, rich and hearty, the way you like it." She added and he could almost picture her, cradling her handphone against one ear and her shoulder as she stirred the broth, immaculate in her home attire (she was into linen blouses and flowy skirts of late) and the gingham apron with its frilly trim. Her hair was probably pinned up, her face glowing and radiant. Seungri realized that he had married a Stepford wife.

"Do you remember that pizza place we used to go to when we were dating, back in the day?" he quickly interjected before the reality hit him. Silence on the other end and he wondered if she was still there.

"Y...es," came the hesitant softness. 

"Meet me there in ten minutes. And Jagiya?" He interred, waiting for another nervous yes before adding, "Wear something casual. Just jeans and t-shirt." Another yes and he hung up, hitting the showers and changing into a Rolling Stones t-shirt Youngbae had gotten him when he dropped in from the UK where he was based now, paired with denims and high-topped Converse sneakers. He gazed in the mirror. He would be thirty-five next month, a far cry from the soppy, crying, rejected seventeen-year-old whose shoulders drooped at the thought of returning to Gwangju as a failure. That long walk to the bus stop had been the catalyst of his destiny. The man staring back at him could still pass off as a young adult, the shirt was filled out; not ripped like Daesung but close enough. He kept himself fit, aware that his image as a former entertainer had to be maintained. His hair, normally coiffed into a spiffy mullet now lay lank and damp against his head and he raked it back and left it at that.

They celebrated their fifth anniversary barely a month ago. Dubbed 'the odd pair' by none other than CEO Yang himself, the title had stuck and the press had reveled in this weird pairing. Even their respective band members had been shocked by the announcement that they were 'mutually exclusive' to each other, and when Seungri proposed two years after they officially dated VIPs and Blackjacks rejoiced (well, a small number of them went to all the trouble of actually starting a fanwar, with one calling her a cradle snatcher whilst the latter dubbed him The Panda Noona-Killer, or PuNK for short, it was ridiculous), witnessing their OTP dreams coming true to life as DaraGon shippers wept in a desolate corner at the injustices of reality.

He ordered Long Island Tea and a medium sized Napolitano as he waited, basking in the anonymity his garb had afforded him. Dara walked in five minutes later, her beautiful face still youthful as ever, looking uncomfortable in the pastel pink woolen sweater with a white sheep emblem across the chest and skinny jeans encasing those long slender legs he used to spent hours kissing when they were newly married. Her hair was still clipped up neatly, with wisps escaping the sides of her face. She sighted him and smiled slightly as she walked towards him. She was gazing at him worriedly as she sat across from him in the booth, her fingers clasped together, playing with the diamond ring he had bought for her five years ago.

"What's the matter, yeobo?" She whispered, hunkering down in his direction from over the table. She straightened up long enough for the waiter to place his drink and the piping hot pizza onto the table, requesting for an iced latte before the gaze returned in his direction.

"I just felt like eating out today, that's all." He explained, sipping on the tea and dividing the pizza between the two of them.

"But I made..." She began, as if the stew would rot and turn bad in a matter of hours.

"Let your hair down," he commanded, stopping her from going any further, and he saw that face again, that flustered, what's-going-on face of Park Sandara that he had first fallen in love with (and still did, apparently). "You heard me, Krung-Krung," he added. There was something in that puzzled gaze, a sense of memory of the many nicknames that had once defined the girl who had lived such a hard life and worked so hard to get where she was. Her hand went up to release the small butterfly clip that had held her chignon, and as the locks fell softly against her back she exhaled, and he could see Park Sandara, the one that he fell in love with, coming awake. "You are beautiful," he announced, urging her to eat. They ate in silence. It was unnerving her, he could see that. It was like meeting each other again for the first time. As the dinner progressed, she told him about running into Chaerin at the gym and then going for a manicure. 

"Min Young is going to elementary school very soon." She sighed wistfully, recounting Chaerin's excitement at watching her daughter with Teddy prepare her books and stationery. Seungri smiled, knowing exactly what was on her mind. They lost their firstborn when Dara was two months along, a year after their marriage. They had never talked about it. It was too painful for the both of them, and Dara seemed to have changed since then. He had changed too.

"What do you want for dessert?" He asked, gazing at the menu, hoping that she would remember. That she would not have forgotten the usual order that they used to share here.

"Banana split," she said almost immediately, eyes lighting up keenly like a child who had stumbled into a candy shop. They laughed then, sudden and spontaneous, and Seungri recalled five more reasons why his heart had always been with her. The icy treat came, although the portion was considerably smaller than they recalled.

"I guess some things can't remain the same forever," he sighed sadly and then caught her gaze again, this time both of them mulling over the deeper meaning behind his statement. As he plunged his spoon into the strawberry ice-cream, Dara stopped his hand gently, holding it with meaningful tenderness. There were tears in her eyes as she scooped up his favorite vanilla flavor with her spoon and fed it to him. One of the reasons they had always ordered it was because it contained things that they loved (vanilla for him, strawberry for her) and things they did not really fancy (Dara didn't like chocolate that much and Seungri hated the taste of nuts). Yet it was just the right thing to have.

"And some things do," she assured, smiling at him. The night air in Seoul seem invigorating as they emerged from the pizzeria hand in hand. They allowed their feet to take them down the stretch they used to go on secret dates, and by the time they passed the theatre he had a look on his face that she could immediately read. It was some ancient romantic fluff with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. It was badly dubbed and the theatre was barely full. Ten minutes into the movie, the popcorn was forgotten and Seungri's hands had found the soft swells of her s underneath her sweater, as his lips tasted a mixture of caramel and strawberry ice cream in whilst Dara palmed his growing need with equal candor. 

"Let's go home," he urged, as Bogie taught Bacall how to whistle. They could not make it home in time of course, Seungri drove the car up the hill where couples normally go - and not for the scenery. It was cramped, slightly stuffy and uncomfortable but they were too consumed to care. Seungri led on Dara's s as she arched her svelte body across the back seat, his pumped and ready entering her eagerly as he whispered his declarations of love. She held onto his muscled back tightly, returning with her own moans of 'I love you' and begging for more. As they came together, Seungri had collected over ten thousand more reasons why he was in love with her and he wept joyfully against her shoulder in relief. There was an urgent tap on the dark windows and they hustled for their clothes. It could not be the law? Could it? Dara had barely pulled the sweater over her head as Seungri rolled the windows down. A spark of a camera flash and Seungri knew exactly what had happened.

One month later...

He made a wish and blew out the multitude of candles burning on Dara's signature vanilla cheesecake. TOP popped the bottle of champagne to the cheers of the rest as GD began pouring it out into the glasses. Somewhere in the background, Chaerin was admonishing Teddy as he opened another lollipop for their daughter. Daesung the noraebang machine and began singing 'A Big Hit', his voice still as robust as ever. Dongwook began dancing trot with the very pregnant Han Byul as Minji exploded into raucous, husky laughter at this comical scene. Youngbae had Skyped him earlier on, ragging on about 'him and Dara' being caught like teenagers on their first dates. GD had chimed in a theory that maknaes were forever prone to doing derpy things like that. They had laughed and Seungri had teared a bit, wishing Youngbae was here.

It was laughable really. Apparently someone had spotted him getting in the car with a long-haired beauty and had alerted the press. They were in a tizzy when they realized that his car was parked at Lover's Hill, and of course the joke was on them when he had pulled down the window with no shirt on and a surprised Dara, with opened, hair mussed, turning out to be the 'long-haired beauty' in question. The pictures made headlines, of course, and they were lauded for being able to keep their romance alive after all these years. Over the internet, fans squealed over their 'back to nature' concept and were happy that the PanDara fire was still burning. For almost a week, all he got when he went to work were appreciative applause from his young trainees. The skirt flaring, hip swaying antics from the young girls stopped completely. Apparently, sajangnim was and will forever be happily married.

"What did you wish for?" Dara asked as she fed him a slice of the cake that had no nuts. He smiled saucily, a hand groping her (she really did look good in jeans and leggings) as he did so. She laughed, a clear tinkle he now added to the list of whys that was still growing in the back of his head.

"That could be easily remedied. For now, I have a surprise for you." She announced joyfully, handing him an envelope. It was too flimsy to be a card and he gazed at the poorly printed Polaroid that was all grainy black with a little dot of white in the center that he had found in it. He looked at it, puzzled, trying to figure out what it was.

"In about eight months, that could be a little Krung-Krung or Seungri Junior," she whispered as Minji started on GD's Heartbreaker. He blinked at her, then at the photo, and back at her again, looking for words that could not be found. She nodded eagerly, laughing at his disbelief. "Yes, I am," she confirmed for him. He embraced her for the longest time, tears falling down his cheeks. A silent prayer welled within the depths of his heart and he cupped her delicate face in his hands with grateful relief.

"Best birthday present ever," he finally said, touching her locks and caressing her back wondrously as his eyes gazed at the photo again.

"I was thinking of us producing a duet before the baby is born," she suggested. "You know, something that is a testament to our 'odd pair coupling'." He gazed at her, smiling, surprised that she wanted to sing again. 

"I don't see why not, we were both Director of Communications in our group. The soft voice pair. It will be daebak!" He enthused excitedly, it had been too long since he had heard her singing voice.

"Ung... correction., Bom interjected, overhearing their conversation, "Dara was Director of Communications, you were Director of Annoyance," she added wryly, to the agreement of the others. A look of resignation flashed across his face, one they were all too familiar with and utterly adored. Everybody wanted to be a part of the album, even GD promised to write a song. Then Gummy Unnie was wrenching the microphone away from Minji as the drum-thumping refrain from I Am The Best began to fill the house. Cheeondoong pulled Dara up from the couch and began shuffling for a dance. Seungri yelled for him to be careful to the general laughter of the others. Then TOP was edging him to join in and everybody sang the chorus in unison.

When the song was over, Seungri walked over to the kitchen to get more ice, only to find TOP leaning against the counter, eyes fixed on Bom, who held the microphone hostage now. 

"Don't you think it's time you told her?" Seungri stated, opening the fridge door and checking on the ice. TOP's gaze turned in his direction, piercing sharply.

"The trouble with love is, maknae..." TOP began, "It's complicated." And ended. Everybody knew, of course, that he had been in love with Bom since, well, since forever, but the lanky rapper was still having issues confronting it.

"The trouble with love is there are too many things stopping you from acknowledging it. The worst part is realizing that you have been the only obstacle all along," Seungri noted and walked away. TOP gazed after him in surprise. That boy had sure grown up.

~ THE END ~