Date Roulette: Daesung
Friday
Intro Week Start Seungri Week Start Previous Next
My second, even more selfish, attempt at reaching out last night had proved more fruitful. As such, I was woken up before dawn by Jiyong’s alarm going off.
“Ji?”
He sat on the edge of the bed, rolling his neck.
“I’m glad you messaged me last night.” He stretched, his back flexing just barely visible under his loose shirt, before turning and kneeling to look at me.
He was quiet for a moment before continuing.
“You’re not the only one having difficulties with this. I don’t want to put my troubles on you but,” he sighed heavily, “I am working to protect you.”
I didn’t know what to say. He had said similar things before, but each time felt wrong somehow.
“Ji-yah… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, moving to stand up, “I guess we’re both in the dark here.”
I couldn’t get back to sleep after he left. I felt weak and ashamed. The previous night’s calls weighed on me, like most calls made after midnight tend to do, even before considering international charges.
Not that I really had time to be dwelling on things past. I had received a voicemail from Chul. They needed some confessional style roll, so I had to be ready for an impromptu series of interviews. Coffee made, clothes simple, face clean, I was as prepared as I could be when Chul arrived.
“Change of plan,” Chul greeted me. He quickly moved into the suite, followed by a team of six people carrying large stacks of blue plastic. They quickly set about unfolding the plastic to reveal that they actually carried boxes.
“What’s going on?”
In lieu of an answer, Chul simply took my arm and directed me towards the bedroom.
“Do you have a face mask? Sunglasses? You should cover up as much as possible.”
“Chul!” I shook him off my arm, watching as the people with him efficiently pack up my belongings. “What’s going on?”
“There’s a security issue. We’ll explain later. Right now we just have to move you. All of you.”
It was alarming, to be sure. But Chul was easily the most trustworthy person I had met so far, so I didn’t question it. I quickly grabbed a mask, a hat, and sunglasses, and threw a few essentials into a tote.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Everything is fine. We just need to go.”
Once ushered into the hallway, I was met with a team of three security officers. Two women and a man, all three looking overly serious.
“This way,” the man gestured towards the emergency stairs. This probably wasn’t quite in line with what the designers had imagined as being an emergency, but I didn’t stop to think about it too hard.
I tried to question Chul again on the way down the stairs, but a combination of worry and keeping his breath stalled conversation. Once we reached the bottom I was hurried to a slightly dingy looking older model Renault. I was positioned between the two female security officers in the back seat while Chul took the front passenger seat and the male officer took the driver’s seat.
An overlong drive later, we pulled into YG’s headquarters. I was quickly ushered through hallways, brushing by a few familiar and unknown faces as we moved along. Eventually, I found myself in a meeting room, alone save for Chul and one of the female officers.
“Chul-ah?”
“Just wait, Luna. We’ll wait for the others.”
Feeling chastened, I took a seat on one side of the table.
Chul ran a hand over his face.
“Sorry. Somebody got into one of the men’s rooms last night.”
I felt my face blanch.
“Are they okay?”
“Yes, from my understanding he wasn’t in his room when it happened.”
I fought to keep my expression under control. Jiyong had been with me. Had that been the only reason he was alright?
Chul cleared his throat, causing me to look up in time to see his eyes flicker towards the security officer.
“Of course, when Seunghyun returned he found the culprit in his bathroom.”
I felt relief wash over me momentarily, then new worries surface. In an effort to keep covered, I leaned forward, resting my head on the table and letting my hair cover my face.
The next person to show up was Taeyang. He seemed annoyed but unworried. We exchanged nods before he settled into a seat and took out his phone. A few minutes passed before Seungri and Daesung entered as well. We exchanged brief greetings before settling down into our respective styles of silence.
I was nearly asleep by the time Seunghyun and Jiyong arrived. I was slightly alarmed by how calm everyone seemed, not least of all at my own sleepy reaction. Is this just how it is now? Big problems and security issues and all of us just wanting a break? I shook my head, trying to catch up to the conversation. Particularly since Chul seemed to be addressing me.
“Sorry?”
“Your friend,” Chul reiterated, “you don’t think she’d have told anyone about where you were staying?”
I leaned my head back, thinking about Soo-Ah. But something else came to mind.
“Staff…”
“Staff?” Daesung cocked his head.
“Yeah, staff. I mean, I know, codes of professionalism and all that at the hotel, but that place has to employ… I mean between the front desk, kitchen, housekeeping, engineering…”
“It’s being looked into,” Chul interrupted. “We’re just supposed to be thinking of anyone else.”
“Right,” of course they’d be looking at that already. “Sorry, uh, Soo-Ah? I don’t imagine she’d bother with something like that. She’s not shortsighted enough.”
“Shortsighted?” Jiyong this time.
“Yeah,” I shrugged, “she’s too smart to mess up the one thing that lets her meet her idols. What would she gain from telling anyone? Besides, she only knew where my room was. Even if she was stupid enough to say anything she wouldn’t know anyone else’s room numbers.”
“So not Soo-Ah then,” Jiyong muttered.
“What about the delivery guy?”
I frowned at Daesung,
“What delivery guy?” Chul asked.
“Well, Luna and I ordered some food the other day. And we, uh, well we took a picture with the delivery guy.”
I jumped at the thunk of Taeyang’s head hitting the table. Jiyong had thrown his back and groaned.
“That’s not it,” Seunghyun murmured. “Your room is in a different hallway from mine. Besides, it was a woman.”
Chul sighed and shook his head.
“Okay, we’ll keep looking at it. But for now we’re moving you into the company dorms.”
There had been quite a bit of grumbling about the change in accommodations, but at least the company had moved quickly to retrieve our things from the hotel. There was, of course, a bit of a hold up while they carefully went through everything just to make sure that some endeavouring fan hadn’t managed to somehow place a tracker on anyone.
While we waited for everything to get the all-clear, Daesung showed me around the building we were temporarily staying in.
“I hadn’t used it yet, but I was looking forward to the pool at the hotel. At least there’s a sort of gym here.”
Daesung ruffled my hair, “I’ll take you swimming.”
I shook my head and laughed. “What do you want to do? We seem to only do what I want.”
“Hey,” Daesung put on a fake pout, “the spa was my idea, wasn’t it?”
“Sure, but it seemed like the kind of thing designed to please me.”
“I’ll tell you a secret.” Daesung leaned in close before whispering in my ear, “I really needed to get my hair done anyway.”
I laughed, pushing him playfully.
“Hey,” Daesung pretended to fall. “You’ll regret that!”
“Why?”
He just smiled and sprung up.
I shrieked, suddenly delighted, and ran off.
After quite a bit of running and hiding I eventually let him catch me in what looked like a miniature version of the dance space I had originally met iKon outside of.
The impact of being caught had sprawled us out on the floor again, this time with Daesung clasping his arms around my body. I laughed, careful not to throw my head back for fear of cracking into his chin.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are. Or, you’re fun anyway.”
He loosened his grip on me, letting me get to a sitting position on the floor. I stretched my legs out in front of me, facing the mirror. I tilted my head back and forth, watching my hair shift. I grimaced at my reflection then pouted.
“What’s up?”
“It’s stupid,” I pulled another face in the mirror.
Daesung shuffled over to sit next to me. “Tell me anyway.”
“Nobody said anything about my hair,” I laughed sheepishly.
“Ah,” Daesung draped his arm over my shoulders, “that was very rude of them.”
He shook me back and forth a little bit before standing up. “Come on, we still have a date today.”
Due to the break-in, there was a noticeable increase in security measures. While until now I hadn’t been able to notice security guards unless I was paying close attention, they were just… around now. It made me feel equal parts safe and self-conscious.
But I was easily distracted. I of course found the jellyfish tank as soon as I could. For a moment I was able to completely forget about everything in the last few weeks. Something in the way they moved all around the giant cylinder in front of me made my brain go completely blank.
Of course, nothing that peaceful can last very long. Daesung nudged me slightly. I blinked several times before registering that he held a stuffed jellyfish in his hands. He held it out to me and I took it, somewhat bashful that I hadn’t even noticed him leaving to get it.
“You must really like them.”
I nodded slowly before replying. “They are fascinating. Extremely simple and complex at the same time. And of course they’re incredibly beautiful once they hit their medusa stage.”
“What did you even go to school for?”
“Accounting,” I laughed, “but I’ve always been a heavy reader. You should ask me about the different ways to mummify a body sometime.”
Daesung grimaced slightly at that. “I think I’m all set with that.”
We trailed around, making small talk between rounds of Daesung letting me point out different aquatic life facts that I had picked up between late night internet holes, documentaries, and the seemingly endless books I had been bought when I was younger.
“We should go to a trivia night sometime.”
“Oh no,” I protested, “I don’t know anything near practical enough to be useful in that sort of thing.”
“Come on,” Daesung pressed on, “they never ask about anything useful. I’m sure you would do great.”
“I would rather go to another norraebang. At least I can choose things to suit my strengths there.”
I made the mistake of checking my phone when we stopped for some lunch. I had put it on silent mode for the planned interviews in the morning and had never turned my ringer back on.
From: Hugeboy What are you up to today?
From: Hugeboy I heard there was some trouble at the hotel. Is everything okay?
From: Zico You okay?
From: Sooooo AH! I’m going on a date next week with Bobby.
Obviously, one of these was much more important than the others.
To: Sooooo AH! I fucking told you.
To: Sooooo AH! What are you going to do?
From: Sooooo AH! I don’t know. It’s not very planned.
From: Sooooo AH! He’s so young!
From: Sooooo AH! I should cancel.
To: Sooooo AH! No. You should go on at least one date and see how it goes.
From: Sooooo AH! Right. It’s one date. It’s not like I have to marry him next week.
To: Sooooo AH! Exactly.
“Who are you texting so much?”
I smiled at Daesung, “Soo-Ah. She has a date coming up and is kind of nervous.”
“You two are really close, huh?”
“She has made leaving my life behind in America much easier than it would have been without her.”
All of my luggage had passed muster, as I expected it would. I noticed that someone had taken the liberty of cleaning my brushes for me in the inspection process. I supposed that was one of the perks of hanging out with superstars.
The dorm was small, but I actually liked it. Small kitchen that was open to a small living room type area, a closed off bedroom with a bed that was a bit smaller than I’d prefer, but perfectly manageable. The bathroom was pretty small, and I was stuck without a tub. But it was all very clean and everything matched. It was cozy in its smallness.
The sofa was also small, but I was still able to flop onto it fairly comfortably.
To: Hugeboy Yeah. Everything’s fine. Just a fan that got into TOP’s room somehow.
To: Hugeboy I hate to badmouth staff, but I think it may have been someone who worked at the hotel or a friend of one.
To: Zico I was not the target. So I’m fine.
To: Zico But we did have to move. For a little while I’m living the dorm life.
From: Hugeboy You’re staying in the dorms?
I couldn’t even summon the will to be surprised.
To: Hugeboy Are you two ever not together?
From: Hugeboy Sometimes. But you know we’re working on something.
From: Zico We’re playing Forza. You should come out.
To: Zico Are you reading my texts aloud or something???
From: Zico Not really. He mentioned that there was a fan in a room and I mentioned the dorms.
From: Zico For example, he doesn’t know I just invited you over.
I mulled over the invitation. It wasn’t late, it had just been a long day and Daesung had been called away for some… thing.
To: Zico What’s the address?
From: Zico Actually. Get dressed. I’m bored here.
To: Zico Dress code?
From: Zico Music video. Flashy. What part of the city are you in?
I felt silly standing outside a convenience store all dressed up. But if I had been drawing any judging looks, they were probably changed to surprise when Zico pulled up. It wasn’t the white car I had ridden in before. This was black, a little less flashy except for how meticulously clean and shiny it was.
“Again,” I said as the doors opened, “almost no subtlety.”
Zico laughed behind his mask and hat.
Mino shrugged, “You’re one to talk. Nice hair.”
“It’s not nearly as loud as the car,” I protested. “At least it’s better than that white tiger you usually ride around.”
Zico tilted his head at that, silent now.
Mino just ushered me towards the car, taking my elbow at the curb. “Come on. We’re going to show you something.”
The facade of the building looked like a museum. It was all Roman columns and gray stone. It actually seemed almost boring until I was distracted by the flashy vehicles parked in front. Maserati, Benz, Lamborghini, Benz, Porsche, Porsche, a row of obviously well kept motorcycles, and a Jaguar were easily picked out.
“Guys…”
“It’s fine,” Zico held a hand out towards me, gesturing up the steps with his other one. “Let’s go.”
Inside was both smaller and quieter than I had expected. It didn’t seem to make sense until I noticed that the walls around the main area were actually fogged glass separating areas for private parties from the dance floor and bar.
I looked up at the stage.
“Is that Hash Swan?”
Mino nodded. Both he and Zico were now scanning the crowd. I took a closer look at the people surrounding me. It seemed that the place was not quite at capacity.
A woman with thick eyeliner and dark lips seemed to have spotted us and pushed her way towards us. I quickly tried to hide behind my hair. It was probably not the best idea to be seen with these two by someone paying such close attention.
Mino must have noticed, because he laughed and pushed my hair behind my ears.
“It’s fine here. I mean look around.”
“Hwasa! Have you seen Youngwoo around?”
I did a double take.
Indeed, the woman that had walked up to us and was now being hugged by Zico and Mino was Hwasa. I gave her a small bow before taking Mino’s advice and looking around while they talked.
There were plenty of vaguely familiar looking faces, but a few jumped out at me. Geegooin talking to someone who’s name I couldn’t recall from an earlier season of Show Me The Money. Giriboy laughing at something said by a woman with her back turned to me. Cheetah and Jessi were dancing, and about four feet away from them…
“I’ll be right back.” I wasn’t sure that either of the boys had heard me, but neither of them stopped me as I made my way out to the floor.
“Jihyun?”
The woman turned, a look of surprise quickly turning to something like happiness.
“Luna! Oh my god! What are you doing here?”
I gestured vaguely behind me, “some friends brought me. How are you? I haven’t seen you since you got a dancing contract.”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me off towards the bar.
“It’s been crazy,” she flagged down the bartender and ordered before turning back to me. “I mean I have time off but like… not enough.”
She offered me one of the shots that had been placed in front of us, and quickly downed hers before continuing.
“But it’s also pretty standard. Loads of practicing and revising and even some travelling. But,” she propped her chin in her hand, “what about you? I love the hair by the way.”
She reached up and tousled her fingers through my hair. Seeing a flash of colour under the icy white she grabbed my shoulders and spun me to get a better look.
“I got it done, wow,” time didn’t feel real when I realised what the next word was, “yesterday.”
“Really? It feels so soft.” She finally had completed her inspection so I could face her properly. “You’ve got to send me the information for the salon.”
“Uh, sure,” I nodded, pulling out my phone, “I’ll ask the guy I was with for it.”
To: D-Lite What was the name of the spa place yesterday?
To: D-Lite I ran into a friend who wants me to recommend it.
A thought hit me as I put my phone away.
“Wait, Jihyun… are you even old enough to be here?”
She laughed wildly, shaking her head and pawing at me as if she might fall over.
“You’re so sweet. I’m 23.”
I felt my face stretch out with disbelief. “I’m too old. I thought you were…” I ran my hand through my hair, trying to pick a believable number, “17?”
Jihyun pouted slightly, “It’s because I’m so short.” She leaned in and spoke earnestly now, “There are some dancers at the company that are too young to come out with us but they keep treating me like I’m the baby.”
We chatted a bit more, just catching up. Eventually Daesung texted me back with the name of the spa.
“Really? They’re pretty expensive there. I didn’t think you were the type to go to places like that.”
I opened and shut my mouth a few times before eventually deciding to address what I figured was the elephant in the room.
“You… don’t happen to know what’s been going on with me, huh?”
“Should I?” Jihyun tilted her head, which only served to make her look even younger.
“I, uh, well…” I couldn’t think of where to start explaining. “Wait, here…”
I pulled up an article about the show and handed her my phone.
Jihyun skimmed it, did a double take, and put her new drink firmly on the bar to hold my phone in both of her hands as she read closer.
“Holy shit,” she finally looked up at me, “no wonder you got in. Here,” she once again got the bartender’s attention, “you could probably use a drink more than me.”
I opened my mouth, ready to protest, but then thought better of it. She might have a point.
Thankfully, she didn’t press me for details. In fact all she said was…
“That must be quite a change for you. Explains the hair.”
I could only nod into my drink at that.
“Hey,” Mino inserted himself into my and Jihyun’s dance, “Zico wants to introduce you for some reason.”
Jihyun glanced between us and shot me a “well, well, well…” sort of look.
I rolled my eyes, “You have my number, right? Text me sometime.”
Jihyun nodded as I let Mino direct me elsewhere.
“Who was that?” Mino asked.
“Ok Jihyun. She used to go to the dance studio where I take Kung-Fu.”
Mino nodded. We had reached the door to one of the private rooms. Mino knocked on it softly.
The man who opened the door seemed to fill the entire doorway. Not only was he tall, but also bulky. His hands were covered with tattoos, but I tried not to stare.
He gave me a curious look as he stepped back to let us in. I offered him a slight bow as I passed him.
“Hey,” Zico was sitting on an upholstered bench. He leaned forward and filled a fourth glass from a bottle on a small table in front of him. “Did you have fun?”
Not the question I had expected. I held up the half finished drink that I had in my hand.
“Yes, actually. I ran into someone I know.”
Zico looked up, quizzically knitting his brows together. “Really? Who?”
“Just a dancer from the studio I go to.” I glanced at the man who had now sat down in one of the chairs in the room. “Um, Mino said you wanted me for something?”
“Right,” Zico gestured at one of the chairs. This one was facing the man. Mino settled into the seat next to Zico.
“Are you familiar with Monster Woo.”
“Of course,” I nodded. “I don’t live in a cave you know. I could probably name about half of Monster Fam off the top of my head.”
Youngwoo laughed slightly at that. Zico smiled and nodded.
“Of course,” Zico mimicked me. “I never know who you will or won’t know.”
“This is Luna,” Zico addressed Youngwoo now. “She’s-”
“I know who she is,” Youngwoo flashed a quick smile at me, “I don’t live in a cave you know.”
I rolled my eyes, which caused me to notice Mino. His demeanour wasn’t extremely closed off, but he was slightly shaking one of his heels. I narrowed my eyes slightly before turning my attention back to Zico.
“Not that I don’t appreciate the introduction.” I nodded to Youngwoo, “I am a fan, but I don’t get it?”
“Well I heard about Ilsung an-”
“How the hell did you hear about that?” I hadn’t even mentioned it to Jiyong. The only person I had told had been…
“Daesung told me,” Zico shrugged, “sort of. He had Taeyang email me.”
“Okay, but w-”
“As I was about to say,” Zico interrupted, “Woo-hyung has done some dancing at YG.”
“That’s a stretch,” Mino pointed out.
“I was in maybe...” Youngwoo shook his head, “four music videos.”
An idea struck me. I stood up and gestured to the door.
“Can I talk to you for a second Zico?”
“I just thought he might be a useful contact,” Zico shrugged up at me after Mino and Youngwoo had let us have the room.
“No,” I was still standing, making sure I had the metaphorical high-ground. “You said you wanted me to trust you, right?”
Zico just nodded.
“This is about Jiyong, isn’t it?”
He leaned back, reaching up to toss his hat onto the table. Resting an ankle on his knee he smiled ruefully.
“Yes and no.”
I motioned for him to continue.
“Indirectly, it’s about Jiyong. Directly, I thought you might benefit from meeting some…” he trailed off, clearly choosing his words carefully. “Trustworthy people.”
“You’re not really making a case for trust by pretending this was about my ex,” I pointed out.
At that, Zico leaned forward, quickly dropping his leg to rest both of his elbows on his knees. He threaded his fingers together before pointing at me with the combined weight.
“Do you really think your ex is a good enough dancer to choreograph for YG? Do you honestly think he got the job on his merit? I checked out his Instagram. He’s… fine, at the most.”
“I… well he…”
Fuck. He had a point.
I sat back down. Leaning against the armrest of the chair, I tapped at my lips with my nails.
“Well,” I leaned back, bracing my hands on either armrest, “why do you think he was hired then?”
“I have no idea,” Zico launched himself from the sofa and headed to the door. “But dancers talk to dancers.”
After exchanging contact info with Youngwoo, and Mino briefly explaining that I didn’t have to worry about pictures or anything while inside the club, I headed back to the main area to see if I could find Jihyun. I just wanted a minute of talking about anything that had nothing to do with Big Bang or Ilsung or anything like that.
Luckily I was able to do just that since I found her on the dancefloor again. She quickly disengaged from the man she was dancing with and grabbed my hands to pull me into the throng of people.
I had lost track of how many songs passed when a hand grabbed my wrist. I was pulled around and off the dancefloor by an irritatingly familiar figure.
“What are you doing here?” Seunghyun demanded as soon as we were free of the crowd.
“How did you even know I was here?”
“Chaerin saw you, and you’re fucking lucky she texted me instead of Jiyong.”
I grimaced, “Am I though?”
I spotted Seunghyun’s hands gripping into fists momentarily.
“Yes, you are. For one, I’m not going to make you leave if you explain how you got here.”
“And?” I prodded.
“And what? Tell me why you’re here.”
“You said ‘for one’, so I assume there’s a follow up?”
Seunghyun was supremely unamused, that much was obvious.
“Just start with one. How did you get here?”
I gave him a basic run-down of my night, with a few important exceptions from the story.
“So let me… let me just understand this.” Seunghyun took a deep breath. “Zico and Mino took out to the only club in this city that specifically markets itself as safe for celebrities, and just…” he gestured towards the dancefloor, “let you run free?”
“Basically,” I nodded, “I ran into someone I knew so I just hung out with her while they did whatever.” I cocked my head, “I think Zico had to meet someone anyway, so they just let me tag along.”
It wasn’t the worst lie I had ever told.
“Okay,” Seunghyun nodded, “so here’s number two: I will not tell anyone that you were here and I will make sure that Chaerin doesn’t either.”
“How are you going to do that?” I remembered how cold Chaerin had been to me at the baseball game.
“You know people for long enough, you can talk them into almost anything. Now, number three.”
I grit my teeth, letting my eyes vacantly stare at the light racks above us. This was sure to be some real bullshit.
“I’m leaving. If you need a ride later, text me.”
My head jerked slightly from the emotional whiplash of that last bit.
“So you’re not making me leave?”
“No,” Seunghyun shook his head, “they chose a good spot this time. Everyone here is under some sort of contract. Besides,” he scoffed, “I’m pretty sure everyone here knows that their destruction would be pretty quick if they fuck with us.”
Apparently he was done talking. He turned and walked quickly to the exit.
I found a seat and tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. A few moments passed when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
From: Seunghyun Remember to text me if you need a ride.
From: Seunghyun You don’t want Jiyong to know about tonight.
Well that only raised more questions. He was right. I didn’t want Jiyong to know, but having him say it seemed strange. It made me uncomfortable.
Jihyun must have spotted that I was alone, because I was quickly brought back into the crowd.
“So it’s mutually assured destruction?”
Mino nodded against the headrest of the car, “Yeah. If any one thing gets out, it all gets out.”
“It seemed pretty tame though.”
“Our careers are based entirely on our image,” Zico pointed out, “Some of the rappers might be okay but imagine the backlash from fans if someone like Mino or,” he shrugged, “I don’t know… Wendy was photographed drinking or dancing with someone.”
Luckily, since I was being dropped off in front of a 24 hour convenience store, Mino didn’t try anything like he had at the parking garage in the hotel. He simply got out, pulled his seat forward, and lent me a hand to get out.
“I’d offer to help you sneak in but I never stayed in this dorm.”
I laughed him off, “It’s fine. All I have to do is take my heels off. I can be incredibly sneaky if I have to be.”
