-----

 

Crowds of YG fans chanted and screamed with joy. The most awaited girl group of the year has debuted, and was topping charts everywhere. The four girls walked to the stage, full of spunk and attitude, as they received their very first win at Inkigayo.

 

CL stepped up, being the leader of 2ne1. She held the microphone shakily, a sea wave of emotions consuming her. All four of them didn’t expect this win. “We’d like to thank everyone who made our first win possible! To all our YG staff and dancers who worked hard all throughout our preparations, Teddy oppa and G-dragon oppa who produced our album, and of course, YG sajangnim for believing in our potential. YG family, this is for you!”

-----

 

“NOOOOOOONA!!!” Seungri called blissfully as he greeted Bom in 2ne1’s dressing room.

 

He and Bom grew quite close during the last days of preparation for 2ne1, as they often snuck out of training with Hwang Ssabu together.

 

Seungri gave Bom a well deserved congratulatory hug. “CONGRATULATIONS! You were great out there!” 

 

“Yah, Seungri, is Bom the only 2ne1 group member you know?” Dara asked teasingly as she began to tear down her tower of hair designed for their performance. Yes, the coconut tree hair style stayed, and it became a fashion trend. “Keep that up and I’ll ban you from our dressing room!”

 

“Stop scaring our maknae, ajumma.” GD remarked, entering the dressing room with Teddy and the rest of Bigbang. Fortunately, he and Dara were no longer at war; although compared to the other members, the atmosphere between the two of them remained awkward and trying, but never comfortable. “Congratulations 2ne1!”

 

Bom watched the people silently, addressing them with rehearsed smiles from time to time. She ought to be in the festive mood; their group was a sensation to both the Korean and international market. The digital sales of their album have surpassed that of all other albums by other Kpop groups, including their label mates, Bigbang. They have made history with their debut, and everyone in the industry was all praises for them.

 

Truth be told, she was frustrated most of the times; the answer was too clear to her that she often thought misguidedly as to why. Bom tried to think that it was her ‘lackluster’ performance that made her so annoyed, that she was not doing her best so she felt irately for herself. But no, there was apparently a simpler and more honest answer than that: she was aggravated by TOP’s abrupt indifference.

 

For the first few months of being in the same entertainment agency, Bom and TOP were civil, even friendly at times. After the 2ne1 group moved into the YG apartment, however, things changed drastically. The friendliest words TOP used to converse with Bom became “oh” and “annyeong.”

 

“Congratulations.” TOP courteously greeted the girls.

 

Wow, add that to the TOP dictionary. Bom thought sarcastically as she plastered a formal smile. She tried to catch TOP’s gaze, as she had been doing the past months. Those gaze usually mirrored how he felt. But now it was distant, devoid of emotions.

 

“What schedules do you have after this?” Daesung inquired casually.

 

“Oh, we have to go back to YG for a while. Since sajangnim couldn’t make it today, he wanted us to stop by his office so he could personally congratulate us. Then, we have to run to a shoot for that carbonated drink commercial. And then later tonight we have to attend a radio show.” Minzy reported like a dutiful little sister.

 

“Really? He also wanted to talk to us after this show.” Taeyang informed, puzzled at the overlapping schedule. “Let’s just go together, then.”

 

“So busy!” Teddy observed. “Don’t you have time to celebrate your win tonight? We could do it just like we did in your house warming.”

 

 

-----

 

“The black jacks have arrived! I repeat, the black jacks have arrived!” said Kang Seung Yoon, the YG male trainee prodigy, over the phone. He was lingering outside the YG building, tasked to survey the parking lot and alert the other staff if the 2ne1 and Bigbang members arrive.

 

“You could be more specific.” Lee Hi, his female counterpart in the agency— as she was also dubbed a trainee prodigy, asked in disbelief. “Stop making code names, they’re confusing.”

 

Seung Yoon couldn’t believe this dongsaeng of his. He and Lee Hi were similar in terms of how they were recruited into the agency. Both joined singing contests, wherein president Yang Hyun Suk recognized their unique voices and immediately signed them in after the competition. The way they sung were also comparable, husky and deep; so they were often paired in recording session and other agency activities.

 

Yet, the fact still remained: he was a year older than Lee Hi. Normally, that would have demanded at least a little bit of respect; but the girl’s natural tendency to be disinterested was constant, especially to him. And as they were together most of the times, she grew accustomed to treating Seung Yoon the way she would treat other people her age.

 

“I meant the 2ne1 noonas.” Seung Yoon explained in defeat. “They’re with the Bigbang hyungs and Teddy ahjushi.”

 

Funny how Teddy’s in the ahjushi category for these two.

 

“You should have said so in the beginning.” How Lee Hi’s naturally deep cold voice flustered him always was an astonishing talent. She and the other staff and artists of YG were at the rehearsal studio, which was decorated meticulously with party paraphernalia by the concept team in lieu of the surprise celebration for 2ne1. “Get back up here before you get seen.”

 

“Yah, is that how you talk to you senior?” Seung Yoon retorted, but Lee Hi had already hung up the phone. “Aish, that girl really has no manners.”

-----

 

As they walked through the parking lot on the way to the YG building, Dara couldn’t help but notice TOP’s disposition. Like how she noticed that Bom was losing spirit nowadays despite their successful debut, Dara felt the same way about TOP. Although he was known to have a cold and stern character, she could have sworn that he was livelier a few months before than he was now. She continued to stare at TOP as they walked towards the stairs, tripping clumsily at the first few steps.

 

GD caught her elbow before she could stumble further. He rolled his eyes before lowering his head to Dara and whispering, “That’s what you get for ogling at my beloved hyung.”

 

“Don’t tell me he’s going to start that useless argument again.” Thought Dara, who fixed her posture before continuing to stride. It took three months and a car chase for GD to let that incident (of Dara calling TOP 'beloved') off the hook.

 

“I thought we were past that! I already apologized, didn’t I?” Dara whispered GD back. GD chuckled, obviously teasing Dara.

 

“What are you so curious about him now?” GD inquired, they were nearing the entrance of the building where a thumb print and pass code were needed to be able to enter.

 

“He looks… lonely?” Dara explicated, though she wasn’t sure herself. “These past few days he seem different. I mean different than how I saw him at first. Or maybe he’s always been like that?”

 

GD stopped his track to scrutinize Dara. How she was spot on about her description of TOP was peculiar, since to GD she didn’t look like she thought deeply that much. In any case, TOP’s current state was a sensitive topic, so he veered away from the discussion. “Ajumma, rather than focusing on other men, you should focus on me.”

 

“You?” Dara pointed, baffled at what was said. “This conceited guy… Why should I focus on you?”

 

GD looked smug at Dara. “What, you think you’ve patched things up with me through that lousy half drunken apology you made?”

-----

 

Teddy went out of the elevator on the second floor, where the rehearsal studio was located, while the 2ne1 and Bigbang members waited until they reached the fifth floor where the president’s office was located.

 

“Sajangnim!” Seungri called diplomatically as they reached the room, urging everyone to bow courteously.

 

“Oh, have a seat.” YG responded casually, fiddling with a few toy models on the wall. “Congratulations 2ne1, on your first win.”

 

He said his congratulations in detachment; the president didn’t even look at the girls. He kept his attention to the toy robots in front of him and continued to fiddle. The girls looked at each other in half smiles, already expecting this acting from their president. His enthusiasm was always reserved in front of his artists; and he never truly showed blatantly how content he was with their performance. The fact that he even wanted them to visit the office to congratulate the girls was an effort that he rarely made with the other YG members.

 

“Kamsahamnida, sajangnim!” They four girls responded cheerfully.

 

“Anyway, I called you here for other purposes.” He announced. Of course. how could they not have known? He would never call for a meeting to just congratulate his artists. “I’ve reviewed the list of companies that want to have you in their commercials… Most of them want a collaboration between 2ne1 and Bigbang.”

 

They continued to stare at the president, waiting for what he had to say.

 

“Well, there are two collaborations I’m interested in executing. One is the commercial for LG’s latest line of cellular phones called Lollipop. The other is the annual commercial for Fanta, you know that juice with different flavors?” YG elucidated his thoughts. “The concepts for both commercials are similar; they want to do a full length music video featuring you. Well for the first commercial, they want all of you there; but for the second commercial, I’m assigning Jiyong and Dara.”

 

“Eh? Waeyo!” Jiyong reacted fiercely. “Isn’t Fanta that drink for high schoolers?”

 

“Sajangnim! I’m already 25 years old!” Dara further argued.

 

“And who, from both 2ne1 and Bigbang, do you think resemble high schoolers the most?” YG pointed out. The rest of them looked at Jiyong and Dara, who both had tiny frames which made them seem like they were in their teens.

 

Jiyong pouted. YG had a point.

 

“Besides, we’re still trying to diffuse the fans’ attention on Taeyang and Dara’s kiss.” YG added. “The rumors are resurfacing again, especially now that 2ne1’s debuted. Having Dara paired to another guy will help gather their attention away from that. I’m pretty sure you won’t be kissing in this video shoot anyway.”

 

Dara rolled her eyes. Of course, not to this pompous brat.  Jiyong responded with a smirk.

 

“I know that smirk GD. Don’t even try.” YG warned. “Well, that’s all I wanted to say. Your managers will inform you about the details of the commercials… Oh,  and drop by the rehearsal studio before you go, there are some choreographers who want to meet you... Ah you know what, I’ll go there with you.”

 

This president, really. He couldn’t have been more obvious.

-----

“SURPRISE!” The the YG staff shouted, showering confetti on the expecting 2ne1 members. The Kwon twins led the YG dancers in operating the party poppers, Lee Hi and Seung Yoon cheered from the side where most of the ‘soon to debut’ trainees were, and some prominent YG artists like Epik High, Se7en, Psy and Gummy gave a round of applause for the girls. “Congratulations 2ne1!”

 

The members were teary eyed. Although they were already expecting the surprise due to YG’s bad acting, seeing the crowd of cheering YG family members still made their hearts swell.

 

“Thank you everyone!” CL exclaimed, letting her emotions out. The girls made their way to the middle of the room, hugging people here and there.

 

“See TOP, when someone holds you a surprise party, that’s how you’re supposed to react.” YG explained, reminding TOP of how he received his congratulatory dinner a few months ago.

 

“Ah.” TOP uttered, and then there was silence.

 

“When are you coming back?” YG asked as he soaked in the festivities, occasionally laughing at the sight.

 

“What do you mean, sajangnim?” TOP followed through.

 

“You’re in that phase again.” YG said, looking sadly at TOP. “I’m not really fond of that side of you. I like bingu better.”

-----

 

“Hyung, since you’re starring in a high school video, can I start calling you Jiyong then?” Seungri teased as they were getting burgers at the food table. GD scowled and left Seungri before he could hit the maknae senseless. Instead, the Bigbang leader headed for the drinks table where an unsuspecting Dara was.

 

“Now about your apology…” GD said as he got a plastic cup.

 

“Don’t even start with me. Getting a coconut hairstyle for my debut and shooting a high school type of commercial with you should be enough punishment for what I did.” Dara replied, glaring at GD.

 

“Oh, why? Do you not like being around me?” GD tried to look offended, topping his look with his signature pout.

 

“With your face, I don’t know if you’re trying to look cute or ugly.” Dara looked disgusted at GD’s distorted face.

 

“Depends. Which look would get you to be friends with me?”GD asked in return, his playboy side making an entrance. He leaned towards Dara until his eyes met hers. “Da…rong?”

 

Dara pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. Wasn’t anyone seeing this? Why isn’t anyone stopping this jerk?

 

Bom was with Gummy in the other side of the room. Minzy and CL were conversing with the Kwon twins. The Bigbang members were also busy mingling with other people. Everyone was busy minding their own business that no one really cared for whatever Dara and GD were doing.

 

“Flirting with me?” Dara asked.

 

GD let out an ‘innocent’ smile.

 

Dara observed his face carefully. It was apparent that he only meant to joke with her.

 

But Dara decided that two can play the game.

 

She smirked evilly at GD and glanced around with her eyes. Once she saw that the coast was clear and no one was looking, she leaned quickly to give GD an short kiss on the lips that left him wide-eyed and shocked.

 

“Y-Y-Y-YAH!” GD shouted angrily at Dara who ran childishly to the crowd, fearing for her dear life. “SANDARA PARK! COME BACK HERE YOU!”

 

Dara flashed a peace sign with her hands as she made her way to Bom’s side.

 

 

 

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A/N: This chapter's title sums it all up. Hahaha. I'm not really fond of dramatic or even semi-dramatic chapters so I like to balance them with light ones. But this chapter is really random, don't you think? With Lee Hi and Kang Seung Yoon's cameo, the random commercials and the never ending parties at YG. They always seem to find a reason to celebrate in this fanfiction. :)) Ahh, I'll probably lessen those in the future. OH! and the playful Daragon makes its way in this chapter!

 

Speaking of random commercials, here are the links. I recommend the Fanta commercial. Try imagining G-dragon and Dara there. I swear it's possible! 

 

Lollipop commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIRW_elc-rY

 

Fanta Commercial (Imagine G-dragon and Dara instead of Kang Seung Yoon and the girl there) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNczpEewZhE

 

 

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