If You

A Long Night

 Emily didn't see much of Jiyong over the next few days, but whether that was because he was busy or avoiding her, she didn't know. The band had ten days before leaving on a tour that would stop in China, Japan and Thailand before coming back to South Korea. The whole thing would be four months long, though Seungri had assured Emily that this was a rather short tour compared to others they had done. Emily felt excited facing her first tour with BIGBANG, but a little daunted when she considered all of the unknowns. Better not to think about that now, she decided, shuffling her notes together. It's going to be fine.

​​​She had already written a long segment on the variety show for the book, and a long entry in her diary about Jiyong's performance. He had spoken to her exactly three times since then, each time awkward and brief. It's better than him shouting at me, I guess, Emily thought, closing her computer with a sigh. It was approaching midnight and Emily yawned, stretching widely.

​​​Her phone rang and she answered it rather reluctantly. "Seunghyun, it's almost midnight. Do you have no mercy?"

​​​"I've barely seen you since the variety show, and I had to know what you thought."

​​​Emily raised her eyebrows. "You wanna talk about this now? Over the phone?"

​​​"I can come over if you prefer."

​​​"No, that's okay," Emily said quickly. The last thing she needed was a sordid rumor forming around them. "I was...impressed, honestly. I had no idea you're all so committed to your craft."

​​​Seunghyun laughed. "Why wouldn't we be? We've all worked really hard to get here. You don't invest that much time and effort into something you don't care about."

​​​"That's true," Emily conceded. "Most groups in the States don't put in half the effort you all do, so I guess it was a pleasant surprise." She paused, trying to piece together what she wanted to say next. "I'm sorry I laughed at him."

​​​"Don't be. He was out of line and Sagowa punished him fairly. It was kind of funny to see that."

​​​"I guess I just haven't seen that side of him since I got here," Emily mused. "Every time we're in a room together he's either ignoring me or screaming at me. And now if he's nice to me, I don't know if it's genuine or fake."

​​​There was brief silence on the other end. "Don't worry about that," Seunghyun said finally. "If he's faking it, we'll know. Just be open to him, show him what a good person you are. If that doesn't win him over, I don't know what will."

​​​Emily chuckled. "Thanks, Seunghyun. I don't know what I'd do without you."

​​​"You'd be sitting against the wall somewhere."

​​​Emily laughed and hung up, a glimmer of hope flickering in her spirit.

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​​​​​Youngbae stumbled from the room, his vision blurry and disjointed. The rubber band from his last injection was still tied around his arm, giving a faint sensation of numbness.

​​​Something's...not right, he thought dully. His head was pounding and he could feel a river of sweat running down his back.

​​​Jiyong. I need Jiyong, he thought suddenly and reached for his phone. It was wedged into his pocket, but he finally freed it and dialed.

​​​"Hello?"

​​​The voice on the other end sounded strange, but Youngbae ignored it.

​​​"Jiyong...it's me. I'm...I'm feeling..."

​​​"Youngbae? Are you okay?"

​​​"I think I'm s-s-s-sick," Youngbae managed, leaning heavily against the wall. "I need...need..."

​​​"Where are you?"

​​​Youngbae squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to remember where he was. "Neon Lights," he finally said. "Neon Lights Club."

​​​"Okay, Youngbae, I'm coming. Stay with me."

​​​"Hur...hurry..." he whispered, the phone clattering to the floor.

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