“You know that yeoja?” Byeong yeong asked TOP, who seemed to not have notice his question. “She called you something… I didn’t hear it quite well.”

 

Bom stood outside the elevator, still dumbfounded with what she has witnessed.

 

“I would recognize those eyes anywhere! Hul! But how do I match the eyes with the body? He was never THAT slim before!” Bom thought animatedly, air drawing Top’s eyes with a fat body. “Omo, was I hallucinating? Tabi? Tabi the tubby? Aigoo, could it have really been him?! I’m torn! The body and the eyes totally do not match!”

 

“Maybe he has a brother?”

 

“No, definitely not!”

 

“Then maybe he had plastic surgery?”

 

“NO! Even plastic surgery couldn’t have helped ALL THAT WAS THERE BEFORE! Or maybe it would have?!”

 

“Bommie?” Dara asked, poking her friend for some time now. She had just come down using the stairs to the lobby. “You day dreaming again?”

 

“Darong…” Bom looked at her friend after her internal battle. “That explains it! I was dreaming! In broad day light! Thank you my friend, you have explained this predicament to me!”

 

Dara looked at her quizzically as they both headed to their apartments to rest a little more.

-----

 

“HYUNG!” Seungri exclaimed, seeing TOP enter the lounge room. He went closer to give him a pat on the shoulder. “Yah, I was in Japan the other day but you had schedules. Couldn’t even answer a dongsaeng’s phone call?!”

 

“Too busy for us now huh, superstar?” Daesung nudged Top with his left arm. “You should treat us now that you’re here!”

 

Top was too happy to see them, but with what he had just seen, his mind was still in a daze and all he could do was to smile and laugh a bit. “Maybe next time. Where’s Jiyong and Youngbae?”

 

“Tsk, so stingy!” Seungri answered ‘as a matter of fact-ly.’ “They’re in the recording room, finishing the song you wrote… Yah, yah, yah, tell me, any yeoja worth coming back for in Japan huh? You’ve been there for six months, there’s gotta be someone, neh?”  

 

“Can’t believe I was away for six months and you still think like that.” Top said, sitting down on the sofa. As he sat, he massaged his temples.

 

“You look pale, hyung.” Daesung noticed, and added playfully. “And you seem to have lost a lot of weight. Too much action in Japan?”

 

------

 

“Sajangnim, how is this ever a few friends of mine?!” Top asked regrettably, looking at the banquet hall for his ‘small’ celebratory dinner. When YG had first phoned him, they agreed to a casual celebratory dinner with a few friends. Hyun suk had it set in a hotel, which Top thought weird at first considering that they could have just gone to that small meat restaurant the Bigbang boys enjoyed going to. Even more, he was asked to wear a tuxedo for the event. Then again, Top couldn’t say no to his boss, could he?

 

Now here he was, this small gathering turned out to be a massive ‘surprise’ in-house celebration with all the YG staff. His eyes could be deceiving him, but there were at least a hundred people in the hall, all giving him their congratulatory messages as he passed by.

 

Top wasn’t that in love with the popularity of being in the Korean entertainment industry. The real reason he wanted to be a singer was to write songs and make music the way he wanted it to be (and make money out of it kekeke). Therefore being here, surrounded with people he barely knew, was an awkward moment for the guy.

 

“You know, when Jiyong had his celebratory dinner all he said was 'Kamsahamnida, sajangnim!'” Hyun suk sarcastically pointed out, and slowly approached a woman who was drinking on the far side of the hall. “Ah, I’ll talk to you later. I’m introducing the new girl group debuting this year but wait… Yah! Gummy-ah, not too much of the alcohol arrassou?”

 

“Hyung!” GD approached him slowly, wearing his usual flair with an ordinary tuxedo. The other Bigbang members followed apologetically behind him. “I know you’re not into parties and all that. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you in advance. YG threatened us with our careers!”

“W-what is this contraption you’re trying to make me wear?!” the horrified Bom asked Dara for answers. She had on her a white slim fit dress that barely made its way below Bom’s area.  “Darong, I’m not comfortable with this!”

 

“Why not unnie? You look gorgeous! Ssabunim has done you good!” CL praised, fixing Bom’s jet black hair to a side braid.

 

“Calm down Bommie! It’s part of the plan.” Dara said knowingly. She had worn a longer dress: a simple black tube top that reached her knees. “I’ve heard about this Top guy being a bachelor so I started asking around and looking for pictures! Bommie! He could be the guy for you! He’s dead gorgeous!”

 

“WHAT?!” Bom exclaimed innocently.

 

“Shush unnie! I’m not yet done with your make up.” Minzy commanded, fixing the bit of eyeliner that went off when Bom moved. “Dara-unnie is right. You’re not getting younger! Top oppa is nice, I’m telling you. We’ve hung out before and he’s generally an OK person to me! He even treated Chaerin-unnie and I to sangyupsal when we were exhausted after dance practice! You know unnie, unlike Jiyong oppa and Seungri oppa, he doesn’t go out to clubs or changes girlfriends ever so often! In fact he hasn’t had one for as far as I can remember. There’s rarely a guy like that in YG, let alone in the whole South Korean nation!”

 

“Why not Dara then?!  She’s the same age as me!” Bom argued.

 

“No way he’s too tall!” Dara said, picking a picture of Bigbang in her phone and showing it to Bom. “Next to him, Jiyong looks like a high school kid, and I’m almost the same height as Jiyong! Look at him!”

 

Bom looked carefully at the picture.

 

“Those eyes…” Bom considered, zooming into the picture. Then she started to cringe. “OMO OMO OMO! IT WAS REALLY HIM THIS MORNING! TABI IS TOP! TOP IS TABI! “

 

She examined TOP’s clothes. TOP wore a gray jacket over a turtle neck shirt.

 

“Are the layers covering his fat up?”

 

She looked at more picture and shook his head.

 

“What are you looking for?” Dara prodded.

 

“A picture without clothes! I need to see it for my own eyes!” Bom thought to herself again. “Tabi without the fat!”

-----

 

“A toast to hyung, who made every Japanese girl swoon with delight upon his arrival!” GD said over the microphone as he delivered his celebratory speech onstage. “Just kidding hyung! But really, congratulations on your successful career in Japan. You know the Bigbang members and I will always be behind you, right? Cheers!”

 

TOP smiled at GD and the rest of the Bigbang members as they raised their glass for the toast. Everyone gave TOP a well deserved round of applause. Shyly, he drank a sip of white wine before attempting to go down the stage.

 

“Ani, ani, who says you’re going down now!” Seungri pushed TOP back to the center of the stage.

 

“Good evening everyone, this is Taeyang from Bigbang. As you all know, I’m releasing my solo album two weeks from now.” Taeyang started, gathering everyone’s attention. “One song in my album was actually written and composed by TOP hyung here. It’s really a different genre from the one we’ve been used to hearing of him… But chincha, if you listen to his version of the song, you’ll really drop dead in awe! Jiyong and I were always talking about how this song was more perfect for TOP than for me, so I’m really thankful that TOP hyung gave the song for me to sing.”

 

“Deh, but however, since today is hyung’s night…” Jiyong continued. “And everyone from the agency is here… We think that everyone here deserves to at least hear the live version sung by TOP hyung.  So hyung, may we request for you to sing Nothing Better onstage tonight?”

 

The staff started clapping and chanting “We want TOP! We want TOP!”

 

TOP quickly formed an excuse on the top of his mind. “Ah-ah, but it hasn’t finished recording yet so I won’t have anything to sing to. Besides, Taeyang’s version---“

 

“We have a grand piano on the middle of the stage hyung! You can improvise from there!” Seungri cut him off using the microphone, making sure everyone heard him. His face went all ‘yeah, TOP plays the piano too’ because none of the YG staff and artists knew about that.

 

The chants “We want TOP! We want TOP!” grew louder.

 

TOP sighed in defeat. “Alright alright, but I can’t promise you it’ll be good, okay?”

 

“You kidding?” GD said away from the mic. “Young bae and I have been trying to get the same feelings from your recording of the song. This boy here just can’t get it right the way you did.”  

 

“What’s with all the commotion?” Minzy peered through the crowd as she and the rest of the 2ne1 members came into the hall.

 

All of the YG staff and members gathered near the stage. From afar it looked like someone in a white tuxedo was preparing to play the piano, but it was hard to tell who the person was.

 

“Looks like someone’s going to play on the piano, Minji-ah.” CL assumed. She grabbed onto Bom’s arm and said “Come on unnie, you look fine. Let’s go find TOP oppa so we all can be introduced! Sajangnim’s orders remember?”

 

“Ani, ani, ani!” Bom refused profusely, standing her ground on the edge of the stairs. “I’m just going to stay here and uh… practice my singing voice! That’s right! You guys enjoy the party and I’ll be here if you need me, neh? Right here!”

 

“Right here?” Minzy raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to practice singing at the edge of the stairs while people go in and out?”

 

Bom nodded, sweat beads already forming on her forehead. “I-I mean I wasn’t really given directions to meet him right, it was just you guys!”

 

“Bommie ah! What part of “2ne1” do you not belong in?!” Dara asked. “Did you hit your head this morning?!”

 

“Y-yeah that must be it! Oww my head hurts I think I’m just going to lie on the floor.”

 

“On the floor?” CL raised an eyebrow at her unnie as well. “Unnie, are you an alien?”

 

“You got it wrong! Between Tabi and I he’s always the alien!” Bom replied.

 

“Tabi?” Dara inquired inquisitively. She knocked softly on her friend’s head. “Who’s Tabi? Park Bom, you okay?!”

 

“Let’s give it up for TOP!” an emcee said from afar, and everyone started clapping.

 

“Unnie! TOP oppa is singing!” Minzy explained excitedly. “Hurry you have to see him sing!”

[Song: Nothing Better by Brown Eyed Soul, but I really prefer Jong hyun’s version]

 

Top sat down in front of the piano. He started by breathing in and exhaling heavily, and began to key in the piano (much to everyone’s surprise of his unrecognized talent) letting out the melodic tune of the song. “Nae-ge eon-jen-ga watt-deon/neo-eui eol-gul-eul gi-eok-hae/Meom-chweo-deon nae-mam-eul, mib-ge-do go-jang-nan nae ga-seum-eul/Neo-eui hwan-han mi-so-ga swib-ge-do yeon-geo-ya…”

 

(TRANSLATION: It always appeared before me your face, I remember… My heart that stopped short…
You spitefully took my dysfunctional heart . And with your bright smile that’s how you easily opened my heart)

 

“Woah, daebak.” Teddy, one of YG entertainment’s producers, said from the sideline. “This TOP chincha, didn’t even let us know that he was good at ballads too.”

 

“Oppa!” Minzi called in a whisper.

 

“Oh, Minji-ah, you came.” Teddy gave her and the rest of the 2ne1 members a salute as a greeting. “Hear him? He’s good, neh?”

 

Minzi nodded enthusiastically. This is her first time to hear TOP’s ballad as well. “Help us! The unnies and I want to take a closer look. Bom and Dara unnie have never seen TOP before, you see.”

 

“Oh, sure sure.” Teddy agreed, inching them past the crowd towards the centerstage.  

 

Bom eyed TOP nonstop. She couldn’t believe that the guy singing ballads now was the guy she formerly knew as Tabi. Apart from that, his singing was amazing.

 

People behind her were clearly swooning—the girls fan girling, the guys completely speechless. Even YG had his eyes closed as he swayed his hand to the song. GD was whispering something to Taeyang. From the looks of it he was telling his friend how to improve on the song TOP was singing now.

 

“Geu-rae geu-reoh-ge nae-ga neo-eui sa-ram-i doen-geo-ya” TOP continued to sing, not aware of the people’s attention on him. He was in his special place again, undisturbed as he said a sang more lines. ”Mot-natt-deon nae-chu-eok-deul-i/ i-jen gi-eok-jo-cha anh-na/ Na-reul ggok-jab-eun son-i bom-cheo-reom dda-ddeut-hae-seo…”

 

 

-----

 

“Yah TOP! Come here you little rascal.” Teddy called him after the performance. He dragged the 2ne1 girls along with him. “You couldn’t even tell your hyung you could do ballads huh? Or that you could play the piano?”

 

“It wasn’t worth telling.” TOP said humbly again. He glanced at the girls one second, then glanced back at Teddy. “My skills in the piano are barely sufficient.”

 

“Here you go again oppa!” Minzy commented. “Aigoo, how could you call that barely sufficient? You play better than Teddy oppa!”

 

“Yah, yah, yah Minji-ah! Let’s not get carried away huh?” Teddy laughed, then remembering that he intended to introduce the two new girls beside him. ”Oh, by the way, these are the two girls YG wanted for the new girl group he had planned. Jiyong and I will be working with them as producers.”

 

Dara took the cue as Teddy motioned for her and Bom to introduce themselves. “Annyeong haseyo, I’m Park Sandara.” She bowed timidly at the guy.

 

“A-a…” Bom stuttered, still staring at TOP. “Annyeong haseyo! Park Bom imnida!” She shouted strangely and saluted TOP.

 

“Unnie, what are you doing?! Bow properly!” CL reprimanded her and urged her to bow.

 

TOP laughed at the gesture and said “Ani. It’s okay. It’s nice to meet you too, Park Sandara-shi… Park Bom-shi.” He raised his right hand for a salute and stared intently at Bom.

 

Bom waited for a welcoming greeting. If this were truly Tabi, then he would have noticed Bom by now.

 

“Oh, I see you’ve met our two recruits.” YG entered the scene after their introduction. “They’ll be working with CL and Minzy for the 2ne1 project group.”

 

“Deh, Teddy hyung mentioned it a while ago.” TOP said politely.

 

“I couldn’t say that was a great performance,” YG stated, as usual. He never gives out compliments unless absolutely necessary. “That being your first ballad, and an impromptu for that matter, I’ll cut you some slack and give you an 80 over 100.”

 

“You’re being too generous sajangnim.” TOP replied.

 

“DEH? Sajangnim, did you see the audience watch TOP? They stopped whatever they were doing just to listen!” Minzy protested, as if she were TOP’s younger sister. CL nodded in agreement. “I think it deserves a hundred!”

 

“Aigoo, you’re saying that because TOP spoils you every time!” Seungri, together with the other Bigbang members, came. “But, hyung that was really daebak! Teach me how to play the piano so I can marvel the girls too huh?”

 

“What did you say?” YG asked. “If anything, TOP should be teaching you to stay away from girls! You’re always causing trouble for our publicity staff!”

------

 

“Could it really have been Tabi? He didn’t even react when he saw me.” Bom thought, having a fair share of the moonlight as she stepped out to the balcony. “Hul! I must’ve mistaken him for Tabi.. That’s right, how could he be Tabi with THAT figure. Impossible.”

 

TOP went out to the balcony, having too much of the limelight for one night. He then saw Bom’s silhouette.

 

“Park Bom-shi?” TOP went closer until they were side by side. He faced her and then made a salute. “Annyeong.”

 

“Ah.. Haha.” Bom mentally face palmed herself as she remembered the weirdest greeting she has ever done to anyone. “Annyeong, TOP shi.”

 

“TOP-shi?” TOP asked mysteriously as he crossed his arms. “So formal Bombom.”

 

“Bombom? The heck is with this guy! No one has called me Bombom for the longest…”

 

 

“HUL!” Bom exclaimed. “TABI! I knew it!” 

 

(A/N: As you may have noticed, the story I made is not coherent to the real 2ne1 and Bigbang. I've also made some modifications of their characters in comparison to how they act in real life. This is truly fictional guys, so I hope it is okay with you. Enjoy!)