Jiyong didn't know what he was thinking when he suggested they go to Dolce Vita, of all places, to have their talk. It was the off season, with January being the coldest month in Seoul after all, yet the pension was still extremely busy, fully booked in fact. Visitors often hailed taxis or drove to nearby restaurants that were famous for their bulgogi and barbeque meat. Dolce Vita was meant to be a summer attraction so even he was surprised when he called to inform his mother to prepare an extra room for Youngbae only for her to tell him that all the other rooms were booked. 

"There's still the Crayon room, of course. You guys can just share it, like old times," was her remark before hanging up the phone. 

The Crayon room was always reserved for Jiyong. His mother personally cleaned it weekly and it's purpose was to serve as a safe haven of sorts for Jiyong or any YG family member that needed to get away for a few days. He found it ironic now that the one thing the room was built for was the last thing Jiyong wanted to do at that moment. It was too late to make different plans with his mother and father already preparing for his arrival now that he had informed them of his visit.

The first thing he did after coming home from Youngbae's place was call Soonho. Although all of the managers look out for every member of BIGBANG, they each had their own personal manager as well. Remembering the scolding tone Soonho used with him the night before, he decided to give the manager a heads up about his little impromptu trip. He figured that Youngbae was also doing the same thing right about now.

"I'll be going to visit my parents at Dolce Vita tomorrow," Jiyong said. "Youngbae's coming with me."

There was a brief silence before Soonho replied.

"Ok. Do you want me to take you guys there or...?"

"No, I'll drive there myself." But then Jiyong thought about the pension being full and the tiny parking lot they had there. "...On second thought, maybe you better drop us off."

They worked out a plan and settled on Soonho picking Jiyong about around ten, swinging by Youngbae's right after, and then arriving at Dolce Vita around noon. Soonho also asked him about his hangover and they laughed about that for a bit after Jiyong thanked him for his cute note and the vitamins.

Finally, after another brief pause, Soonho brought up Youngbae.

"About you and Youngbae...Is everything okay?"

Jiyong's automatic response was to say yes, but then he remembered that Soonho was the one who found them after the party and that he also brought Youngbae back home. He thought about what the manager had seen when he first walked through the door and then how he proceeded to not make a single comment about it.

Jiyong decided to speak the truth.

"Honestly, I don't know."

Soonho could hear the worry and uncertainty in Jiyong's voice. He decided to reassure the rapper.

"You guys have been friends a long time. I'm sure you guys can work it out."

"Whether or not it works out, one thing is for sure; we'll never be the same anymore. Things will change."

Another pause on Soonho's end before he replied, "Nothing can change your friendship; you guys have often said so yourselves. I'm sure that at least that will stay the same, no matter what."

There was a long stretch of silence that made Soonho wonder if the call had dropped, until he heard Jiyong's quiet reply.

"I think that may be the problem. I think I want it to change."

The biting winter air was what greeted them upon their arrival at Dolce Vita. Youngbae thanked Soonho for helping him get his suitcase out of the car and he could see that the manager was eager to be out of the cold. 

"Remember to call when you want to be picked up or if you need anything," Soonho said before his departure, seemingly directing the sentence to both of them, but the manager's eyes were focused on Jiyong's back.

Jiyong lifted a lazy hand in acknowledgement and continued walking down the walkway to the entrance, his suitcase trailing along behind him. Youngbae followed after him, taking in the sight of the pension situated at the foot of the mountain. The snow looked beautiful on the conifers that surrounded the area. Though there was hardly any snow on the ground, it still made for a beautiful picture, especially with the man-made lake in the background that had yet to freeze over. 

The sound of excited barking turned Youngbae's attention to the front door of the building. Jiyong was already at the entrance, holding a familiar dog that was wagging his tail furiously and the man non-stop. The rapper was smiling, a full blown, ear-to-ear smile at his four legged friend before the dog anxiously clawed at his shirt, asking to be put down. 

No sooner was the shar pei released from Jiyong's grasp, the dog bounded down the pathway to where Youngbae was crouched and waiting. He had his arms outstretched and scooped the dog up once he got close.

"Hi, Gaho!" Youngbae said as he petted the dog and allowed it to his face. It had been quite awhile since he had seen Gaho, he realized. He placed the dog back on the ground and started walking through the door again. There was a brief stint of sadness and heartache as he was suddenly reminded of Boss. Boss and Gaho had grew up together, not unlike he and Jiyong had. He still had pictures of the dogs playing together and snuggling with each other on a computer back home. From time to time, he'd pull up the folder with his new puppy, Homie, in his lap and showed the little bulldog pictures of the hyung that he never got to meet. 

"Let's get inside before the rascal starts wanting to dig holes in the yard," Jiyong said as he held the door open for him.

"Gaho-ya! I told you not to give appa and eomma a hard time!" The rapper scolded, causing Gaho to whimper a little. All was well again in a few moments though, when he gave Gaho a reassuring pat on his head and a few scratches behind the ear. 

After all of the excitement, the dog seemed to mellow down back to his usual self and laid sprawled out on the floor, gnawing on a toy bone.

The Crayon room was in its own separate part of the building, though it was in the middle of the complex. Remembering that the place was all booked, Youngbae rushed inside to avoid being seen. He knew that eventually, word would get around that he and Jiyong were at the pension and as much as he loved seeing the fans, he also wanted to relish what little privacy they could get.

He watched as Jiyong started putting his luggage away while Youngbae started doing the same. There was still a hint of awkwardness in the air between them, but Gaho's presence helped to alleviate it somewhat. He couldn't help but wonder how things were going to play out or what was going to happen next.

He didn't have long to wonder though, for in the next moment, the door opened again and two familiar people appeared. Jiyong's parents walked in and they were both engulfed in hugs.

"Eomma," Jiyong murmured into his mother's hair as she patted his back and kissed his cheek. Mr. Kwon similarly did the same to Youngbae, though without the kisses. Then there was a switch as Jiyong went to embrace his father while his mother came to give Youngbae a tight embrace. 

"Oh, I'm so happy the both of you came," she said. There was suddenly a lot of chatter as they talked about the emptiness of their schedule for the next few weeks, what their upcoming plans were, how the other members are doing, and a slew of other things, including Youngbae's parents and Hyunbae's acting career. 

Jiyong's mother was adamant about making dinner for them that night and they had little choice but to accept. 

"So, what do you plan on doing now? It'll only be a few hours before sun down," Jiyong's father asked.

To Youngbae's surprise, Jiyong already had a response in mind. 

"We're gonna ride the duck boats." 

For the first time since they've arrived, Youngbae cracked a smile, a real smile, as he considered Jiyong's ridiculous answer.

"You want to ride this thing again?"

Youngbae pointed to the duck shaped pedal boat that they had ridden before on their last visit here. Surprisingly, the boats were still left out since the weather wasn't cold enough to freeze the lake water, though no one in their right mind were using them now.

Jiyong looked at the comically enlarged cartoon duck and shrugged his shoulders before saying, "Why not? It'll be fun."

As they carefully entered the boat from the dock, Jiyong further elaborated, "It will also give us some privacy."

Truthfully, he didn't think ahead about the whole privacy thing. Upon arrival, he realized that, at least for the rest of that day and evening, his parents were going to be around. Besides leaving or waiting until later that night or the next day, this was the only alternative he could think of. Today, he will get what needed to be said off of his chest. To be honest, he felt like he was suffocating: the words were locked up in his chest, desperate to be voiced. The longer he waited, the more difficult it will be for him to say it and he knew that. It was hard, though. He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to properly voice the feeling that had been plaguing him since that night.

The metal seats were ice cold and he heard Youngbae's surprised gasp as he sat in the seat next to him.

"I r-really hate you right now," Youngbae said jokingly through chattering teeth.

I hope you won't hate me afterwards, was Jiyong's silent plea.

They slowly pedaled out into the middle of the lake, the pedaling warming them up somewhat from cold. Jiyong was getting tired half way and made Youngbae peddle for himself for awhile, to the singer's amusement and annoyance.

Finally, they were out in the middle of the lake and they came to a stop.

Youngbae was the first to say something.

"You said you wanted to talk. So, talk."

Youngbae being so ready to converse caught him off guard a bit.

He absentmindedly scratched his head a bit before saying, "Where do you want me to start?"

"Those words you whispered to me on stage," Youngbae said immediately. "What did you mean?"

Jiyong gulped. "I can't start from there."

"Then start from the beginning," Youngbae suggested gently.

Jiyong chuckled. "Where do I even start?"

He didn't even know when it all began.

There was a moment of silence as Jiyong racked his brain for words to say. It seemed a lot easier before, when he was in front of his writing desk, planning it all out the previous night. He even built up some confidence on the car ride over with Soonho driving and even more confidence as he watched Youngbae interact with his parents, who treated him like another son. Of course, he didn't plan on the duck boat, the cold weather, or Youngbae's eagerness to hear what he had to say. When finally confronted with Youngbae and his feelings, he felt like cowering away again, all confidence and bravery lost.

Youngbae dipped his fingertips in the water, wincing a bit from the coldness, creating small ripples over the once smooth surface. Jiyong looked at their distorted reflections for a time and thought about how much they have aged in the thirteen, going-on-fourteen years of friendship. He wasn't a kid anymore. Surely he could talk through his problems like the ing adult he is.

"Youngbae," he began. " I–."

The rest of his sentence was lost in his throat as a splash of cold water made contact with his face. 

Mr. Kwon had Gaho on his leash and was walking along the pathway that lead to the docks. Gaho scratched at the door after the boys had left and he realized that the pup probably needed a walk. He bundled himself up to protect his old bones from the cold, put the dog on a leash, and set out for a short walk around the property.

He was wondering how far the boys had went when his answer came in the form of three sharp barks by Gaho and a strong tug on the leash.

"Woah there, boy. I'm not so nimble anymore," Mr. Kwon proclaimed, though he seemed to have no trouble keeping up with the dog as Gaho began to speed up into a run. The shar pei directed him towards the water and then further still onto the docks, barking once or twice when Mr. Kwon tried to redirect the dog back to the paved walkway.

Persistent at times, just like his owner, the old man thought as the dog came to a stop at the end of the docks.

Immediately, he realized that one of the paddle boats had found its way into the middle of the lake. It didn't take long for him to deduce where the boys were now.

"Youngbae!" shrieked a voice that he instantly recognized as his son's.

There was the sound of a gigantic splash and Mr. Kwon noted that the duck boat began to sway from side to side.

This time, it was Youngbae's turn to shriek out Jiyong's name and this back forth continued on for awhile as they took turn splashing ice cold lake water at each other. Mr. Kwon shivered at the thought of even dipping a finger into the lake.

To be strong and youthful, he mused to himself, remembering a time when he was bold enough to do much of the same thing in his younger years. Laughter sounded from the two figures in the water and his heart swelled with joy at the sound. He was hit with a strong wave of de ja vu, remembering the two's last visit.

Just like before, almost like children.

Gaho, finally realizing that his owner was too preoccupied to pay him any attention, started pawing his way back to the path, pulling his leash to catch Mr. Kwon's attention.

"Come on, boy. Let's leave the two to their fun."