Young Jae wasn’t that surprised to see Him Chan and Yong Guk fighting when he came back to the dorm.

“See?! Look! Young Jae just got home too. Why do you always have to scold me huh Yong Guk?”

“Young Jae only had a walk in the park, he didn’t go to a f---king club to dance and do some s---!”

“There you are again! This is our life Bang Yong Guk. Don’t expect us to follow your principles; we’ve grown so much already.”

Grown? You’ve levelled up hyung, all of you, for the worse. Young Jae thought.

It was when a punch was thrown at him that he realized that he said his thoughts out loud.

“Young Jae, are you okay? Dae Hyun what the f---?!” Yong Guk can feel his anger boiling. If there is one thing he hates; it’s physical fight between the members.

“You have the nerve to tell us that? You have changed too Jae!”

Young Jae looked at the fuming Dae Hyun straight into the eye. He smirked and dragged himself to their shared room. Dae Hyun was caught off guard with the younger’s reaction.

The others we’re still standing in the living room when Young Jae went out with a backpack.

Ignoring others, he said.

“Yong Guk hyung, I’ll be sleeping in the practice room. Just text me if prince Dae already had his fair share of cheesecake.” Young Jae said, emphasizing the word prince.

Yong Guk followed Young Jae. He knew it’s bad to take sides, but this time he knew Young Jae was right. The two of them had enough.

“Walk out that door, and you’re not my best friend anymore.” Dae Hyun said, coldly.

“I’ve lost mine months ago,” Young Jae stopped as he opens the door.

“And I know we’ve stopped treating each other like one ever since.”

With that, the leader and the vocal left the four members; mad and dumfounded.

*******

If B.A.P would be assessed in terms of popularity, fifty percent will only be composed of Dae-Jae. The appreciation for this two have exploded since their world tour.

Dae Hyun with his y physique and on-top vocal talent swept every girl’s and even boys’ feet. BABYs and WARRIORs will always say ‘A B.A.P song without Dae Hyun’s vocals is not a B.A.P song’. His popularity among the fandom is so huge that most of the forum posts were about him.

While the main vocal dominated ‘fandom popularity’, Young Jae gained public recognition along with Yong Guk (but he’s considered more as a producer). At first, it was only about his changing looks; a cute boy turned into a handsome man. Then when he guested for a well-known variety show and revealed his hidden variety skills and wits, the Korean public can’t help but love the boy. He’s fans were not just B.A.P fans, but also people of all ages. During their comeback, he was cast in a mini-drama and once again gained recognition for his acting skills.

Maybe it all started because of this shrouded rivalry. Maybe the members were starting to compare themselves from one another. Who’s more popular? Who’s most hated? Who got the biggest pay?

For Young Jae, his popularity was out of luck. Whenever he’s on a guesting, he’ll always credit the group’s work. For him he’s still the lead vocal, not the visual, and definitely not the most-loved member. He knew people have personal preferences.

Yong Guk never cared for popularity too. Him Chan is sassy and vain, but for him, as long as ‘StrongBabe’ is alive, he’s still considered relevant. Jong Up is pretty much contented with his main dancer title, and though he’s stubborn, he doesn’t care much about popularity rankings. Zelo is loved by noona fans, and knew that someday, as young BABYs aged, they will end up favoring him more than the others.

It was one day when Dae Hyun came across an article about him and his best bud Young Jae.

It was an article written by a Korean blogger.

B.A.P’s new ‘IT’ boy, vocal + visual Yoo Young Jae

‘Vocal-Visual’ is the name of one his fansites.

Gaining more fans after singing a duet with APink’s Eunji; this earned #1 spot in digital ranking for four weeks straight.

He’s the first one to release an OST but it didn’t rank that high in the charts.

Both Him Chan (the official visual) and Young Jae shoot ten CFs in total this year

He is included in one of those commercials, but his scene was cut out

Chic guy Young Jae, is also taking another vocal training to improve his angelic voice

Is Young Jae trying to steal my parts? another vocal training for higher notes?

Will he be beating Dae Hyun’s fandom popularity too?

Dae Hyun stared at the screen for the moment. He felt a pang in his ego.

He loves his best friend as much as he loves his own brother.

But no, he will not let the younger steal anything away from him anymore.

You are my best friend, but you are also my greatest rival.

It will always be Dae-Jae. Dae on top, Jae will only follow.

Young Jae, you’ve reached your limit.

*******

Both the leader and the vocal slept inside one of the practice rooms that night. Although it was already late, the two couldn’t allow themselves to rest.

“Are you going to accept the casting in that movie?” Yong Guk asked the younger. Young Jae was casted as one of the leads in a star-studded film about crime and politics. It was one of the most anticipated movies for the next year and landing on such huge role is already considered an achievement.

“No hyung. I’m not actually interested.” The younger tiredly replied.

“Why? You auditioned for that role right?”

“Yes. Dae Hyun and I were asked to audition for that role.”

“And you ended up passing the auditions, right?”

“Mmm-mmm. But with all this things happening in our group, I doubt I’ll be able to work professionally on set.”

“Young Jae, it’s not your fault. Dae Hyun had his fair share already way back from our debut days and up until now. It’s your time to establish your own place in the industry.” It’s his work ethic that big time.

“I’m not an actor-dol hyung. And you yourself told us that you don’t want the group to be the typical idols, but more of an artist.”

Yong Guk closed his eyes at the boy’s comment and reminisced their debut days. They’re all inseparable back then. Their passion for performing is as strong as their brotherly bond; everybody’s equal and respectful to one another.

“I failed as a leader, Jae.” His heavy breathes audible to the younger’s ear.

“We failed hyung. We failed as a group to our fans. We failed our own selves.”

A tear fell down to the younger’s cheek. He misses the members. He wants Him Chan and his motherly behavior back. He wants to play with the maknaes again. He misses the group’s unending and out-of-this-world conversations at night.

He misses Jung Dae Hyun.

He wants his best friend back.

He wants his brothers back.