The next morning comes with a rude awakening in the form of cameras and a complete realization that today was the day they were scheduled to film the next episode of Signal B. They awaken with a start and substantial hangovers that leave them slurry and red-eyed. Jiho, who is much too out of it to even notice how he fell asleep, waddles out of his room and past the cameras swaddled in his comforter and clutching his GD Bear like a life-line. He’s tired but in a decidedly better mood than he would be with a hangover due to the events of the night before. The thought brings a sleepy smile to his face as he opens the fridge and pulls the carton of orange juice out. He pours himself a glass and sits himself on the counter and sips at it with the GD Bear clutched in the crook of his elbow.

At the other side of the dorm, Jaehyo is cocooned from the waist down with his sheets, his upper body hunched as he attempts to hide from the cameras for the second time. He curses his sleeping habits as the camera lens trains on his form as he attempts to somehow get a pair of boxers or a shirt or something on without accidentally flashing and or mooning anyone in the process. He’s embarrassed and he finds that they’ve all been embarrassed far too many times than should be comfortable for the span of only three days.

“Can I please get dressed? This is so embarrassing,” he whines and the cameras make their way out of his room, the staff behind them laughing at Jaehyo’s misfortune. They make their way instead to the bathroom where Jihoon is brushing his teeth mechanically, still not even really awake, the mirror is foggy and the camera crew, given the sound of running water not a few moments earlier, comes to the conclusion that one of the members managed to take a shower in around about four minutes. As Yukwon passes in actual clothes and wet hair their suspicions are confirmed.

--

After everyone showers and dresses and looks mildly presentable they pile into the living room where the main camera is set up on a tripod. One of the staff members hands them each an envelope and tells them to open it and keep the contents of it secret. To ensure that they order the group to find separate locations far from each other to read the small card enclosed in the envelope.

In his room, Jaehyo opens his card and it gives simple instructions:

Stay close to Seungri. Keep Zico from G-Dragon.

On the other side of the house Jiho reads a similar card:

Stay close to G-Dragon. Keep B-Bomb from T.O.P.

In the kitchen, Minhyuk reads his own card:

Stay close to T.O.P. Keep U-Kwon from Taeyang.

Sat on the porcelain of the toilet, Yukwon reads the contents of his card:

Stay close to Taeyang. Keep P.O from Mino.

Jihoon, in the front room of the house, reads his card:

Stay close to Mino. Keep Kyung from Seunghoon.

In the hallway leading to his room Kyung reads his card:

Stay close to Seunghoon. Keep Taeil from Daesung.

Finally, in the closet of the room he and Kyung share, Taeil reads his card:

Stay close to Daesung. Keep Jaehyo from Seungri.

--

They file back into the living room one by one and sit on the couch, chatter in between each other. One of the staff members makes a calm down motion with her hands and they quiet, staring intently at her.

“As you can see, you each got your own envelopes with cards telling you who to stay close to and who to keep one of your members away from. You are not to inform them of the challenge. The challenge ends when the day does and whoever ends the day with the person on their card while having successfully kept the person on their card away from the person they’re supposed to end the day with wins a special prize,” the woman explains and they all perk up, excited chattering marring the air. No one knows who is supposed to be with whom and they try their damndest to make sure that they keep it subtle when they reach the YG building.

“What if you end the day with the person you’re supposed to but don’t keep the person you’re supposed to from their own person?” Jihoon asks.

“Then your prize is bonding time, I suppose,” the woman answers.

With that, the game begins.

--

Jiho is scared about the outcome of the challenge given the events of the night before. He’s not sure if Jiyong will avoid him or be awkward or whatever it is that comes with the territory of kissing someone while you’re drunk that you normally never would while you’re sober. He has a small premonition that the feelings that Jiyong harbors for him aren’t strictly platonic but he’s not sure what they are. So until he figures it out and what the kiss probably did to those feelings – whether changed them completely, or developed them into something different – he’s not going to assume that everything is hunky-dory with him and Jiyong.

When they arrive at the building Jiho immediately lucks out when Jiyong is at the door. He then realizes that the event of last night gave him a distinct advantage given the situation he was placed in and he used said advantage in his favor.

“Hey, Jiyong-hyung, can I talk to you for a second?” Jiho asks as he stops in front of where Jiyong’s toying with his phone. Jiyong looks up, a little bewildered, before straightening up and reddening in the face.

“Oh, um, I, um, I just remembered that, um, I have things? To do?” He says, uncertain to even himself, and turns to dart before Jiho – who’s worst suspicions were confirmed – grabs his sleeve and lightly turns him to face him.

“Please. It’s important,” Jiho implores and Jiyong sighs and gives him a small nod before saying ‘sure, fine.’ Jiho brightens at this and lets go of Jiyong’s shirt sleeve.

“Look, about what happened last night, if you don’t want it to mean anything it won’t, but I just don’t want it to turn us into those two people who are really awkward around each other and just make everyone in their friend group uncomfortable until eventually everyone just kind of separates into people on one person’s side and people on the other person’s side because that’s the kind of relationship that breaks friendships and it wasn’t even anything serious and I don’t want us not to be friends because of it an-” Jiho rambles until Jiyong presses a hand to his mouth before lifting it and ensuring Jiho’s silence.

“I get it. Seriously. I won’t let it make things awkward… Even though I just did that, but whatever that was before we had this conversation and we’re no longer on a trail run of ‘How the Hell to React to Last Night’s Events’ because obviously we just handled this entire situation like adults and thank God for that because if you didn’t actually say anything I probably would’ve kept on giving what happened this totally unnecessary weight that would’ve put a damper on everything and I really don’t like being that person because then things just devolve into one-word text replies and those forced smiles that look a lot like you’re trying not to crap your pants and that’s definitely not what I want to have with you or any of you guys because that’s not fun we’re lab-” Jiyong rambles back before Jiho puts his own hand on Jiyong’s mouth. They stare at each other for a little before breaking out laughing.

“I guess we both get a case of the explanation motor-mouth, don’t we?” Jiho laughs and they start walking down the hall and away from the entrance of the YG building.

“Explanation motor-mouth should be my middle name. I remember one time I accidentally called YG Hyunsuk-sshi way back in my pre-debut days and I just rambled for – no – six minutes about how sorry I was and how I hoped he wouldn’t kick me off the label. I think I bowed like twenty-six times it was awful. Awkward situations that I have to talk in just make me antsy,” Jiyong explains and Jiho gives him an enthusiastic noise of ascent.

“Don’t I know it, buddy, don’t I know it.”

--

In the cafeteria of the YG building, Jaehyo sits next to Seungri who is on his laptop and drinking a cup of tea. He waits for Seungri to notice him and when he does it’s with a genuine smile and a warm hello.

“Hey, Seungri-hyung. What are you working on?” Jaehyo asks and Seungri gives a small shrug.

“Nothing too important, just trying my hand at more lyric writing, before we’re due in the dance studio,” Seungri replies, pointing to the open Word document on his Mac. The lyrics are disjointed in places but in places are beautifully woven into a song that is sure would bring tears to Jaehyo’s eyes with a soft backing piano track.

“This is actually really pretty. I’d love to help you out with it,” He says and Seungri preens at the praise and opens his mouth to answer before Taeil shows up at the table.

“Help him out with what?” He asks, looking at Jaehyo.

“Lyric writing,” Jaehyo responds, confused.

“That would constitute you having written lyrics before,” Taeil says nonchalantly.

“I have, just not that I’ve shown you guys because you ,” Jaehyo throws back and Seungri’s head snaps between the two of them. “Besides, us vocal visuals need to stick together, am I right?”

“That would have to constitute you being a vocal first, Jaehyo,” Taeil says and Seungri’s eyes widen comically and he holds back the laugh bubbling in his throat. That was a good one, he had to admit. “I think I’d fit the bill much better,” Taeil finishes and Seungri looks expectantly at Jaehyo.

“Oh, Taellie-hyung, that would have to constitute you being a visual first,” Jaehyo bit back.

And thus began the fight for Seungri.

--

Somehow, through sheer force of stupidity and the actual fact that they were enjoying themselves with the people they were paired with, no one ended up caring too much about the challenge much after Jaehyo and Taeil’s little stint, which was cut short by Seungri and Daesung who suggested they spend their time writing lyrics. Jiho forgot entirely about his challenge to keep Minhyuk from Seunghyun entirely and spent his time wandering the YG building with Jiyong, the backs of their hands brushing lightly across each other’s, goose bumps raising on their arms with every pass. Their conversation was light and when the time came for BIGBANG to head to the dance studio and practice, they found themselves in the dance room together watching Minhyuk lead Seunghyun through the steps. Jiyong was surprised with the grace and fluidity Minhyuk had managed to add to Seunghyun’s once choppy moves in the time he spent with the elder.

“So how the hell did you get him to dance like that? I’ve known him for almost eleven years and I haven’t been able to get through to him. Hell, not even our dancers got to him like that. What’s your secret?” Jiyong asks bewildered at the improvement Seunghyun was showing.

“It was easy. I used to dance exactly like he did and the problem was that I was placing too much of a burden on making sure that everything looked exactly like what I was told it was supposed to look like and too little time treating the choreography like it was something enjoyable and malleable. I just told him that when he started using his body as an extension of his raps or something that he enjoyed equally, it’d all fall into place the way it should fall,” Minhyuk explained. “He has the rhythm; he just focuses too hard on the choreography aspect. If you want to dance and you have the mentality that you can’t, you’ve got to treat your body like an extension of whatever it is you do enjoy doing.”

“And here I am wondering how the hell I didn’t come up with that,” Youngbae comments as he enters from his place at the door frame of the dance studio, Yukwon, Seungri, Jaehyo, Daesung, and Taeil trailing behind him. At this point it should’ve been an all-out gang war but – much to the camera men and staff’s surprise – it wasn’t. It was as if they’d forgotten entirely about the task at hand.

When they sat next to each other and watched BIGBANG practice, they were sure that they did.

--

On the other side of the YG Building, Jihoon and Kyung were spending their time with the Winner boys. The questions came at the two of them rapid fire about everything from their scandals to their relationship with Mino and everything in between. The pair did their best to answer each one and fire off a question of their own, soon turning the conversation into a game of 21 questions. And by 21 I mean 21 thousand.

“Okay but seriously, did that with Stardom really happen?” Seunghoon asks Kyung and Kyung gives him a grave nod.

“Like, we’d been working with literally nothing. But we could never stop, not even if we wanted to, because we felt like we had an obligation to BBCs everywhere. Like we always say, they’re the only reason we’re still here today,” Kyung explained and Seunghoon looked star struck.

“You guys must really care about them then, huh? BBCs?” He asked and Kyung nodded once more.

“Hey, I don’t blame them; I heard what happened at the ISAC from a friend and it seems like they’re actually really cool? I mean, hell, they beat you guys in a popularity contest, and not even by a little bit either. They destroyed you guys,” Mino pointed out and Jihoon shot him a pointed look.

“Don’t remind me. Like how the hell do our fans have more popularity than us? They have their own Fancafe for God’s sake! I know I shouldn’t mind, but gives me this really weird sense of weirdly jealous pride,” Jihoon replied, a dejected slump to his shoulders.

“I wish we had fans like yours,” Jinwoo sighed.

“No, no you don’t,” came the swift simultaneous reply.

--

The end of the work day arrived quicker than anticipated and everyone was grouped together in the lounge of the YG building, bubble tea being sipped between them, easy conversation being passed amongst each other.

“How is it that we always end up like this? Drinking and talking?” Jaehyo asks suddenly and every one looks away from him for a second as if contemplating his question before coming to the realization that for the past three days this was the logical end and/or beginning to the course of all the events that have happened up to now.

“Holy , how do we always end up like this?” Seungri echoes bewilderedly.

“Oh my God, I’m having an existential crisis. We need to do something different,” Jiyong notes and the group agrees, standing as quickly as they can before finishing off their bubble teas and tossing the cups in the trash cans.

“So what do you propose we do? It’s only five in the afternoon,” Taeil asks and the contemplative silence returns.

“Laser tag!” Jihoon exclaims and the elders look at him for a second before Seungri’s eyes light up and he breaks into a grin. Jihoon’s grin matches BIGBANG’s maknae’s grin and both groups look between the two maknaes before breaking into sighs.

“Fine, we’ll go play laser tag you toddlers.”

--

gone for nearly two weeks and this is what i come back with? ugh wEAK IM WEAK IM WEAK AND I WON'T SURVIVE THE WINTER. anyways im really sorry but i have a somewhat valid reason for being a huge flake and one half of said reason can be found here and the other half can be found somewhere along my tear stained keyboard, my algebra work, and the five ing articles i have to read memorize and summarize for an exam in like 10 days. either way im really sorry i hope this makes up for the time ive been gone and i'll try to update more frequently im so sorry i'll never leave y'all like that again rip in pieces <3333