I'll save all of my words for the end, so be sure to read it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Seungyoon’s POV

YG didn’t say anything to us about what happened, really. He only told us we had three days before we had to start doing everything for our debut. We’re even more behind schedule than we planned to be because of everything that went on, so I guess we’re shooting for an August debut; that means we have to hurry.

We flew out to the U.S. and did some photo shoots and we also shot our teasers there. We’re really excited about the concept we have and think it will set us apart from all of the summer concepts that are bound to be out. It was really fun shooting the music videos—I felt glad that I was able to help the other members a lot because they weren’t really used to the process like I am. We’re also happy that after all this time, we finally get to show all of the hard work we put into this album; we finally have something to show our fans. We hope they aren’t disappointed.

Most important, though, is that we get to do all this with our maknae right where he belongs… with us.

With me.

Since the night he came back, we’ve practically been attached at the hip. There wasn’t a moment when Minho wasn’t hugging him or Seunghoon wasn’t playing with him or Jinwoo wasn’t feeding him (he’d gotten too thin for our tastes) or I wasn’t just holding his hand. We just missed him so much… we made sure to make up for lost time in those three days before we got busy.

After a long time of talking and hugging when he first came back, everyone went to bed and left us alone. We didn’t really talk much—I couldn’t really find words to say that I hadn’t already said a million times, and I don’t think we needed words anyway; plus, I was just too overwhelmed with emotions. I knew he was tired, and I was tired too, so I just held him tightly as we drifted off to sleep, more tears falling silently because I was just so happy that I finally had him back and the nightmare was over. Of course, I called Jiyong-hyung the day after to thank him profusely; he merely shrugged it off, saying it was no big deal even though it totally was.

Taehyun became even more clingy than he was before, which was just fine with me. I couldn’t really keep my hands to myself either. Every morning, I shower him with kisses and he gives me that smile I know is reserved just for me, making me feel whole again like before that past week ever happened.

Even though we became more affectionate at home, I do think that the whole experience made us mature a little. We’re more careful and more professional when we’re working, maintaining a strictly platonic relationship when we’re out in public. Before, we were only thinking of ourselves and being selfish; the newness of our relationship made it hard for us to tone down our behavior so we wouldn’t cause trouble. However, the incident was so traumatic that we wouldn’t dare risk it again, so we behave.

I think I treasure Taehyun even more now than before, if that’s even possible. I do everything in my power to make sure he knows it, too. I do everything I can to make him smile because I don’t ever want to give him a reason not to again. I don’t get annoyed with him over stupid stuff anymore and he’s been more understanding. We’ve been working on us, and we’re better than ever. If the whole ordeal wasn’t so abysmal and emotionally draining, I’d almost be thankful it happened. Almost.

One thing, though, hasn’t left my mind… The fact that Taehyun once tried to kill himself continues to haunt me. It worries me that his mind had sunk so low; I never thought that he was someone even capable of feeling that way. I’ve come to accept that it already happened so there’s nothing I can do to change it, but it still sticks with me. I vowed that I would do everything I could to prevent that from ever happening again. There are still moments, moments when we’re together peacefully, that the thought creeps up on me and makes me uneasy.

One such moment occurred the other day. I was tired, ready to go to sleep. It had been another exhausting day, and all I wanted to do was go cuddle up with Taehyun and sleep. I walked towards our room and saw that the door was open. I stopped and stood in the doorway, simply smiling at the sight of him in one of my t-shirts as he lies on the bed, reading. He looked so peaceful and so content… it was then that my mind dredged up how irrational it was to me that someone so happy could ever want to take his own life. I frowned, reminded that you never really know if someone is truly happy.

He looked up at me, a smile on his face that faded as he saw the frown on mine. “Seungyoonie?” he called, snapping me back to the present. “What’s the matter?”

I shook my head, closing the door behind me as I walked toward the bed and lay down next to him. I just looked at him for a moment before I reached up to cup his cheek, his face with my thumb. I never told him that I knew about his attempt; I didn’t really think I needed to. As he leaned into my touch, I decided to speak. “You know you can tell me anything, right baby?” I said, looking into his eyes.

His eyebrows came together in slight confusion for a second before he nodded. “Yes, of course,” he answered softly.

I moved my hand down to the necklace around his neck—it was the one I gave him on his birthday. He never takes it off. “Promise me that you’ll always tell me what you’re feeling… no matter what, okay?”

He blinked, now even more confused. “Where is this coming from? Of course I—”

“Please,” I interrupted. “Just promise me.”

He paused then, seeing how much it meant to me in my eyes. He nodded again, closing his book and putting it away before lying down next to me.  “Okay… I promise, Seungyoonie.”

“Good.” I lean forward and kiss his nose. “Thank you.”

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Taehyun and Minho are out playing with Team B at their dorm, leaving Jinwoo, Seunghoon and I to ourselves. Jinwoo is in the kitchen making us dinner (which is probably just ramen) and Seunghoon and I are in his room, laying on the floor and listening to music.

Seunghoon has his eyes closed at the moment and mine are glued to my phone since I’m texting Taehyun. I chuckle at something he just sent me and Seunghoon pops open an eye to look at me. After I send my reply, I look over at him.

“What?” I say.

He just smiles. “Nothing.”

I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Whatever, hyung.”

“It’s just…” he starts. “I’m glad to see you happy.” I raise an eyebrow and he keeps going. “Seeing you struggle this past year… it wasn’t easy.” I put my phone down now, as he has my full attention. “It was so hard watching you… you were so confused and messed up over your feelings for the maknae. And when you finally figured it out, you were so distraught because you never thought it would happen. You also had the added pressure of us preparing for our debut and working on this album all this time, too… I know you were always worried about disappointing the fans.”

“Still am,” I mumble, but he ignores me.

“Then maknae started being so cold to you and eventually blew up at you. Even though I thought love was impossible for me back then, I thought it would be good for you since I thought it would work out. But after watching it destroy you and your relationship with maknae, I doubted it and wondered if it would have been better if you’d never figured out your feelings. God, Seungyoon-ah, I was so worried for you…” His expression becomes pained. “You were so down… so outside of yourself… you’d become a shell of your normal self. It scared all of us.”

I looked down. I never really thought about how the others felt back then. I knew they’d been affected, but I didn’t know they felt this way; especially Seunghoon. We’d never been especially close, but over the past year we really became the best of friends. I’m really thankful for his friendship and that he cared for me so much.

He sighs before he looks back over at me. “But then it happened. It happened, and then all of that went away. It was really awesome to see because I’d never seen either of you so happy… you were even happier than when we won WIN!” He smiled, albeit a little sadly. “This is why it hurt all of us even more when you guys were ripped apart like that recently.” I wince—it’s still hard to think of… those dark days without him next to me. “But,” he said, his smile brightening, “now you guys are back to that happiness, which in turn makes us really happy.”

I chuckle. “I didn’t know you hyungs sat around and discussed your feelings about us.”

“Oh yeah, always. We have secret conferences with a bunch of delicious snacks while you guys are in your room, banging.” He smirks suggestively and I blush bright red. He chortles at my horrified expression and shakes his head. “I’m just kidding!” I groan and smack his stomach. He pouts and rubs the spot I hit. “Um, ouch? But seriously though. You guys are kind of inspiring.”

“Huh?” I question, my eyebrows shooting up.

“Yeah. Even though you were going through that rough spot with Taehyun at that point in time, the dedication to your love that I saw in you is part of what convinced me to just let go and take a leap of faith with Jinwoo.” He closes his eyes contently. “And it was the best thing I ever did.” I smile at the thought of how happy he is with our eldest hyung; their lovey-dovey ways can be sickening, but the love is contagious. “Minho-yah has said that watching you is what got him to work up the courage to confess to Jiwon-ah, too.”

“From watching me…?” I’m surprised because it’s always the other way around; I learn a lot from watching him.

Seunghoon smiles at me again. “Yes. From watching you,” he says, poking my nose. “Whether you believe it or not, Seungyoon-ah, you really are a good leader. You really don’t give yourself enough credit. You’ve been super good to us aside from being an example in just that; I really have no idea why you’re always so hard on yourself.”

I shrug. “I guess it’s in my nature… I just really want to be a great leader to you guys. It’s hard because I’m one of the youngest members, and I doubt my ability because of—”

“Hey.” He turns on his side and reaches out a hand to bring my head forward until our foreheads are touching. “You. Are. Awesome. Stop worrying about it because I’m telling you now. Keep being a worrywart and you really will .” I look down again but he just lightly tugs at my hair to get my attention again. “Seriously, Seungyoon-ah. We all appreciate you and love you. And it’s not just me; when you’re happy, we’re all ten times happier. Please understand our feelings… we’re brothers, always.”

I smile at him. He always knows what to say. “Thank you,” I say. “You’re the best hyung in the world. And…” I pretend to look around before I whisper to him. “Don’t tell anyone, but you’re my favorite hyung.”

He breaks out in the goofiest smile and squeezes me against him in a near bone-crushing hug, squishing our faces together. “Oh my god!” he says in his dorky high-pitched tone. “Really???”

“Uh, hyung…” I try to say, my voice distorted from my cheeks being smushed.

“Time for dinner, guys!” Jinwoo chirps, bounding into the room. He notices us on the floor and pouts, albeit playfully. “Yah, Kang Seungyoon! Are you trying to steal my boyfriend??”

“What? No!!” I screech, voice still weird.

“He totally is,” Seunghoon says, his voice calm as he turns and plants a fat, wet kiss on my cheek. I immediately curl my toes in disgust.

“Ewwww~!” I mewl.

Jinwoo gasps dramatically. “I knew it! 2Seung is reaaaaaaaaaaal!” he yells, running down the hall.

“No, wait! Hyung~!” I whine, managing to free myself from Seunghoon and escape as he lies on the floor, dying of laughter.

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Taehyun’s POV

It’s the night before our album drops. I’m extremely nervous, wondering if we’ll do well… I have a solo and a song I wrote on there. I hope they’ll receive them well, too…

As I’m fretting, Seungyoon finally comes in for bed. As I look up at him, I smile a little at how handsome he is. Raven hair flopping into his eyes, he lowers himself to sit on the desk chair as he gives me a look.

“I know what you’re doing, and you need to stop.” He raises an eyebrow. “Even I’m not a worried mess, which is completely brand new to me.”

“I know, and that’s awesome, but now I’m the one worrying,” I reply, going back to frowning at the bed sheet.

He sighs. “What I’m saying is that if I’m not freaking out, you don’t need to be either. It’s really okay.” He shrugs and I whine a little, wondering why he can’t just worry with me. Then he glances down at the floor, frowns, picks up a shoe and proceeds to stare at it intensely before he starts scratching at a scuff mark, trying to scrape it off. The tip of his tongue pokes out of his lips as he concentrates, and I giggle at him, momentarily forgetting my worries. He’s such a weirdo…

I lean over and snatch the shoe away, tossing it to the ground. I then take his beautiful hands in my own. He looks at the shoe, frowning, before he looks up at me as I raise his hands to my lips. I kiss his knuckles gently before I smile at him and say, “I love you so much, Seungyoonie. I’d endure anything as long as you were there at the finish line.”

He raises his eyebrows slightly, chuckling as his cheeks turned pink. “I love you too.” Then he leans closer until our noses are touching, kissing mine before he brings our foreheads together. “And stop worrying so much about tomorrow. It’ll be fine.”

I purse my lips. “But what if they don’t like it? Don’t like us? Or what if people only like us because we’re YG?”

He looks down then. “Well… that is bound to happen. That people only pay us any attention because we’re from YGE.” I look away then, but he brings me back to look at him. “But we’ll show them. We’ll show them that we’re a different color than our sunbaes… that we have our own identity and can stand on our own two feet.”

“…Yeah…?” I say quietly, and he nods, smiling a little.

“Mhm. And our current fans will continue to love us and we’ll gain even more fans. There will always be those who hate us, but those who love us are the only ones that matter.”

I finally smile back at him, relieved a little. “I guess you’re right…”

“Of course I am. I’m Kang Seungyoon. Don’t you know me?” I roll my eyes at his silly line and push him away playfully. He just laughs and squeezes my hands in his. I look down and start playing with his fingers, admiring them before he pulls his hands away. “You are way too into my hands.”

I blush. “Didn’t I already explain this to you…? You’re making me feel like some sort of weirdo…”

“You are.” I widen my eyes, ready to punch him before he leans in close again. “But I love that about you.” He then trails his fingers up my arms before he rests his hands on my shoulders. “Know why?” I shrug. “Because I’m a weirdo too.”

I nod a little. “You definitely are… I’m glad you acknowledge that.”

“Hey, now…”

“If I’m weird, then you’re astronomically, off-the-charts, class A weird.” I stick my tongue out and he makes a shocked noise.

“Hey!”

I smirk, shrugging. “It’s true. Sorry, love.” He looks away then, pretending that he’s gonna cry. “Oh, stop it,” I mutter, pulling him in for a kiss before pulling him onto the bed with me. He slowly pushes me back until he’s hovering over me, continuing the kiss as I run my hands down his body. He starts planting little kisses down my neck before he breathes, “I love you so much.”

I bite my lip as I smile playfully. “Mm, you just want me for my body.”

He nips at my skin. “You just like me for my .”

I scoff. “Riiiiight…” I say, moving my hands down to said . As I do, I frown a little. “Wait, what happened to it?”

“It’s gone.”

“Noooo!” I whined. I liked the booty!

He leans up so I can see him. “I thought you noticed by now. It had to go sometime.”

“But why~?”

“It was the result of me gaining weight. I had to lose a little more weight to prepare for our debut, so it’s gone now.”

“Bull, you had to lose weight!” I groaned pitifully. “YG just doesn’t want me to have nice things, so he took your away!”

He bursts out cackling at this. “What?!”

“He’s spoiling our fun. I bet he figured out somehow that I’m an man and saw fit that yours was reduced after he released me.”

“Oh my god, I’m speechless.”

I pat his behind woefully. “So long, Seung-… it was good while it lasted.”

He finally calms down enough to lower himself so he’s lying on me. “Well I’m sorry my is gone and you can’t have any ‘fun’ anymore, whatever that means.”

I sigh. “It’s okay…” I squeeze it, smirking. “There’s still some I can grab onto here.”

“I never knew it was so important to you,” he says, pouting.

“Oh, shut up. I’m completely joking.”

“You’re half-joking, you liar.”

“Hmph. Well don’t pout if you know.”

He laughs lightly, running his hands up my sides as he nuzzles into my neck. Then he slides a hand up my shirt, brushing his fingers on my stomach. “Taehyunie,” he says softly.

“Hm?” I answer, his hair. He doesn’t say anything else, instead pressing a kiss to my neck, right on that one spot that only he knows about. I can’t help the quiet moan that escapes my lips and he takes that as a sign to continue, so he does.

After a few minutes, our breathing is getting heavier and he’s touching me all over my chest, my legs... Did I mention that I was only wearing one of his shirts and some underwear? My thighs are especially under attack since they're bare; he's always had a thing for my legs. “Is this a good idea?” I pant, nearly out of breath. “Don’t we have to be somewhere tomorrow…?” My mind is already far away, his soft touches making me unsure of anything at the moment.

He kisses his way back up to my lips. “Even if it is, let’s do it anyway,” he replies, out of breath himself. He smiles at me and closes his eyes again as I pull him back down. Then he leans back up, thoughtful. I roll my eyes… what did I start? “Well wait, maybe we shouldn't—!” he curses softly. I smirk, as I have my hand down the front of his pants with the intention of getting him to shut up. It works, and he’s leaning back down to me again.

We’re interrupted by a rather obnoxious knock.

“Seungyoon-ah!” I hear Minho call.

Seungyoon groans somewhat awkwardly as he leans away from me a bit. “Go away,” he calls back, leaning back down to me.

Another knock. “But I have something to show you.”

“Go away!” he says again, dragging his tongue up my neck oh so casually.

“C-Come back tomorrow, hyung!” I plead, my voice almost coming out as a squeak.

“But it’s important!”

Seungyoon sighs dramatically. “What is it??”

“There’s a ladybug on the coffee table and it’s so cute—”

“Do you wanna fight?!” my boyfriend says exasperatedly. “Go away! We’re busy!!”

“Doing what?”

“Uh… listening to music.”

Minho snickers; he knows damn well what we’re doing. “I don’t hear any music.”

Seungyoon growls under his breath, noticing my phone on the speaker and fumbling for the remote to turn on whatever I was listening to before. Instantly, one of the R&B songs I like floats through the room, the music slow and sensual. Seungyoon blushes ferociously while Minho’s chortling can be heard from the other side of the door and I try desperately to muffle my own laughter.

“S-See??” Seungyoon stutters, embarrassed. “Now leave!” He turns to me, hissing, "What are you doing listening to baby-making music by yourself, anyway??" I just continue laughing silently, unable to explain myself. What? I like the beat.

“Okay, okay!” We hear Minho walking away, along with a muttered, “No way am I sticking around to hear what happens next…”

Seungyoon sighs, annoyed, before he puts the remote down and tries to lean back down to me. I push him away, giggling a little still. “Are you really gonna leave that on?”

“Why not?” he says lowly, his eyes hooded. “It fits the mood.” Ah, he means business… not much I can do, in that case. I let him kiss me this time, his tongue sliding between my lips to tease my own. My grip on his hair tightens slightly before he pulls away to wiggle my shirt off me, and I sit up and do the same for him, running my hands across his back afterword. As I lay back down and the rest of our clothes gradually join our shirts on the floor, I decide that I don’t mind the music at all.

I roll us over so I’m on top of him and start kissing down his chest. He’s panting hard again already as he reaches down to tangle his fingers in my hair. “I love you, baby,” he whispers, eyes closed.

I kiss his bellybutton, looking up at him and saying genuinely, “I love you, too,” before continuing.

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Seungyoon’s POV

It’s happening.

The day has finally come.

We’re standing backstage at Inkigayo, letting the coordi-noonas put the finishing touches on us before we go out onstage. Everyone’s a nervous wreck because it’s our first TV performance and we want it to go off well without a hitch.

Our album debuted successfully, earning us the love of our fans and gaining us some new ones. Of course we got some negative reviews, but the good far outweighs the bad, in my opinion. Everything went well, except for the delay in Minho’s solo video being put out—I don’t know what that’s about and hope it gets resolved soon.

When we performed at the YG Family concert, it was magical… so much more so than ever before. We had a set this time. We had our own light sticks, our fans holding them tightly as they waved them around. There was a sea of color all our own for the very first time, and the sight was breathtaking. They even prepared fan chants for our songs, which was really the icing on the cake. It was amazing, so we can’t wait to perform here.

All of the staff are running around like a bunch of headless chickens as we stand in position, waiting to go on stage. I, however, am not having a mental breakdown right now; in fact, I’m strangely calm. I think I know in my heart… I know that everything will be okay. After everything that we’ve been through, I think we can get through anything. Nothing can stop us… we are Winner, and we’re here.

I close my eyes, in the zone as I take in the moment. I’m ready.

Suddenly, I feel a hand clasp mine. I open my eyes to see Jinwoo smiling at me. He squeezes my hand excitedly, and I squeeze his back, sharing his excitement. Then I feel another hand grab my other one, and I look over to see Taehyun smiling at me, too.

“We did it,” he says softly, so softly I almost can’t hear him. His voice is a little thick with emotion, so I squeeze his hand comfortingly. “We made it. It’s finally happening. We did it, Seungyoon-hyung.”

I smile back at him, knowing he’s only calling me ‘hyung’ because of the staff around. He’s right; we did make it. I was so worried… We were all so worried that this day would never come, but it has. We’re debuting, and we couldn’t be happier.

I squeeze Taehyun’s hand as I rethink that. I couldn’t be happier because I have Taehyun by my side. Without him, I think the stress would have eaten me alive. The music may have slipped away from me with all of the worry and doubt I was drowning in. But now I’m okay; now I can stand tall because I have his support and I know he’ll be there to pick me up if I’m down again. I know I’m ready to do the same for him because he’s my best friend—my companion, my lover. This may be my cheesy self coming out again, but I mean it when I say I can do anything with him next to me. I’ll lead this team well, and I’ll be the best brother and boyfriend I can be to my bandmates and Taehyun, respectively. I couldn’t have made it here without him… I love him, and he loves me too. As I look at his smile, I know this for sure.

This is us… Kang & Nam. And this is who we’ll be forever, no matter what.

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Thanks so much to everyone for subscribing, upvoting, and commenting! All of that seriously means a lot to me. This was my first fanfic ever so I was surprised by all of the support I got. Thank all of you for everything, even those of you who don't comment at all. :3 I'm sad to see it end, but it was fun and it had it's run, so I hope you guys enjoyed reading as much as I did writing! I can't say thanks enough, so I'll stop now. x] If you haven't already, you can follow me on Twitter at @ThisOneOuO since that's where I post news most of the time. Speaking of which...

NEWS! (What happens next? Is this truly the end of this story?)

Okay, so here's what's definitely gonna happen. There will be a Jinhoon oneshot and a Bobho/Minby/whatever their pairing name is oneshot as well. xD It'll be the same setting as this fic, so they're connected. I just wanted to give them oneshots. :3 Also, you guys have expressed some interest in knowing that whole story with G-Dragon and his failed love? I mean I do have a story in mind, but I didn't know if I was gonna do it, so I had no plans. If you're interested, kinda work that into your comment somewhere and let me know. :o

FUTURE FICS

My next big fic project... is not KangNam. 3: Sorry. I'll post the foreword for it at some point so you'll see what it is; it's still a WINNER fic. However, KangNam IS my first love, so I won't forget them. They will have oneshots and more multi-chap stories in the future (at least that's what I wanna do), so please look forward to it. :'3 I also wanna venture out and do fics for other groups, like JJCC (maybe... I'm scared to because what if Prince Mak found it?? :U I'd die) and... well, I won't spoil it for you. ;]

Anyways, thanks everyone for the warm welcome to the fic community and for joining me as I wrote this fic. :] I hope you'll stick around for my other projects~

See you soon...

-Tao