Wicked Ways, part 6 (Perry/Taeyang)
Title: Wicked Ways, part 6
Beta: Tama and Momo
Pairing: Taeyang/Perry
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Credit goes to Tama for the amazing cover. XD
Taekwon decided to practice that trademark backflip of his and Perry took out his cellphone to check his e-mail just so he wouldn't have to watch. The kid was good, but not that good, and he'd seen him land wrong or hurt his fingers enough times to get antsy whenever he attempted it.
He checked the time once he was done with his e-mail. 1:43. "Aren't you tired?" he called out.
Taekwon turned to him and crossed the empty dance room to flop down by his side, panting. "I guess I'll take a break."
"Don't wanna go home and sleep?"
He glanced at his watch and chewed on his lip. "... Soon." He peeled off his wifebeater and leaned against him, sighing. "Jae Wook said I have to work on some moves."
Perry slid his arm around Taekwon's waist. There was so much heat emanating from him that Perry was seriously tempted to hit the kitchen and see if he could fry an egg on his back. "Want some water?"
He shook his head. "After." He was silent for a few moments, then elbowed him. "... It's been a year, right?"
"What, Big Bang? Yeah, somethin' like that."
Taekwon smiled. "No, I mean... You and me."
Perry blinked and made some quick mental calculations. He couldn't remember the exact date (and couldn't figure out what exactly would count as the start of their relationship, anyway), but it had happened around Big Bang's debut, which meant... "Yeah. Damn, if I'd known I would've bought ya some flowers or something," he joked.
Taekwon laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "We should celebrate when I'm finished."
"Better not tire yourself out, then."
Taekwon looked at him quizzically, then visibly understood and grinned at him before kissing him again, on the lips this time. Perry lingered and tried to distract him from dancing (and that goddamn backflip), but he caught on right away and pulled Perry's hand away from his chest, shaking his head as he broke the kiss. "Just half an hour."
He stood up and walked back to the mirror, stretching his arms over his head. Perry licked his lips, tasted Taekwon's sweat on them and smiled to himself.
One year.
He was one lucky bastard.
***
Miraculously enough, Big Bang were given some time to rest after promoting Hunduleo. Of course, "resting" in YG terms usually involved a couple of photo shoots and plenty of dance and English lessons, but Taekwon had been spending almost every night with him, which was a nice change of pace.
He woke up one afternoon, though, and slung his arm over something that most definitely wasn't Taekwon. Or human. He opened his eyes and stared confusedly at the red duffel bag, then took his arm off it. "... Taek?"
"I'm here." He walked over and stuffed some clothes into the bag. "I'm gonna spend a few days with my family."
"Oh." He sat up. "When are you leaving?"
"My mother said she'd cook dinner for me, so I guess I should leave soon." He shoved his DS into a small pocket of the bag, then looked up at him. "I kind of tried to invite you, but my dad..."
"'S all right. Would've been fuckin' awkward, anyway."
He nodded absent-mindedly (probably didn't know the word "awkward" yet), then turned and rummaged through the closet. He came up with a black zip-up hoodie. "Can I take this?"
"Yeah," Perry replied, then watched him cram it into his bag too, trying not to smile too much at the mental image of Taekwon wearing his clothes.
"Oh, Ji Yong said he wrote a good beat and he wants to talk to you about it, by the way."
"I'll call him."
He zipped up the bag and shouldered it, then leaned down and kissed Perry lightly. "I have to go. See you."
"See ya," Perry replied, then sighed and rolled over once Taekwon was out of the room. Calling G-Dragon sounded like a good idea - if Taekwon wasn't going to spend the rest of his holiday with him, maybe G-Dragon would feel like toking up again and hanging out in his place, at least.
***
Perry looked up from his notebook as Taekwon walked in and threw his bag down in a corner. "Hey, stranger."
Taekwon gave him a tired smile and walked over to kiss him, leaving the front door open. "Hi. Can I take some condoms?"
"... Yeah?"
The confusion must've shown on Perry's face. "It's for Seung Ri," he said over his shoulder before disappearing into the bedroom.
Perry was about to ask what the hell Seung Ri needed condoms for when he noticed that the kid in question was standing in the doorway, looking incredibly uncomfortable. He took a little step back when he noticed Perry had seen him, then gave him an awkward wave.
"You got yourself a girlfriend, huh?"
At least that got him to grin and relax a bit. "Maybe. Thanks for the... Thanks."
"No problem, kid."
Taekwon walked back in with a few condoms in his hand and stopped next to Perry, leaning down and muttering something he didn't catch. "What?"
Taekwon glanced at Seung Ri and cleared his throat. "... Do girls need lotion too?" he muttered again, a bit louder. If he hadn't looked so embarrassed about having to ask, Perry would have assumed he was joking.
"Only if he's fucking 'em up the ass," he replied, then looked down at his notebook and scribbled a couple of words to avoid laughing. Taekwon thought about it for a moment before walking back to Seung Ri. They talked quietly in Korean, and Perry caught a louder, indignant "NO!" from Seung Ri that probably meant Taekwon had actually asked him if he was planning on fucking his girlfriend up the ass. He bit the inside of his cheek and continued to write.
Taekwon sent Seung Ri on his way and sat down at the other end of the couch. Perry closed his notebook and tossed it onto the coffee table, smiling at him. "Whatcha doin' all the way over there?"
Taekwon grinned and slid closer, draping his arm over Perry's shoulders. "Did you work all day?"
"Yeah. I'm translating songs for you guys."
"Oh. ... Are you tired?"
Perry raised one eyebrow playfully and put his hand on Taekwon's knee. "Why?"
He raised a small stack of flashcards he'd apparently been holding in his free hand. "'Cause I have to go to bed soon, but... I'm supposed to know katakana for tomorrow. Can you help me study?"
Perry made an effort not to sigh and held out a hand for the cards. That had flown right over the kid's head. "Sure."
The last thing Taekwon needed was to learn yet another set of squiggles instead of relaxing and spending some quality time with him before bed, but he wouldn't see things Perry's way. It was amazing how much pressure Asian kids could put on themselves.
***
Perry picked up a small dumbbell and sat down on a bench to half-assedly pretend he was exercising as he watched Taekwon work out. That middle-aged gym bunny YG had hired as a trainer was standing over him, spotting him while he bench pressed, so Perry tried not to stare too openly. Which was pretty fucking hard, considering how long it'd been since he'd last seen him.
"Yo, Taek, what'd you do today?" he asked casually.
Taekwon glanced at him, then up at his trainer. "We had... a meeting with YG," he said between reps.
"What'd he say? Anything special?"
The trainer signaled for Taekwon to stop and he sat up, grabbing his towel. "Well... We're gonna have to spend lots of time in Japan. For training."
Perry wasn't sure he understood how different that would be from the usual routine. He had a bad feeling about it, though. "Whaddya mean, lots of time?"
Taekwon sighed and wiped his forehead. "We're going to stay in Japan during the week and come to Korea for TV shows on weekends."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Taekwon blinked at him. That had come out angrier than he'd intended. He couldn't help being pissed off, though. It seemed like he just wasn't going to win this one - he'd have to grin and bear having a part-time boyfriend until Taekwon was old and grey and not used as jerk-off material by half the girls in Korea. He took a deep breath. "Sorry. How long is it for?"
"I don't know." The trainer prodded him thoroughly, then shoved something into his ear. Taekwon was apparently so used to it that he didn't even flinch. Perry, on the other hand, wanted to kick the guy right in the nuts. "I hope I can spend more time with y... in Korea soon."
Perry smiled a little. "Yeah, me too." He put down his dumbbell and stood up. He wasn't in the mood to play just-friends with Taekwon just to benefit the latest fuckhead on staff. "Guess I'll leave you to it. Come over tonight if you can, a'ight?"
"Okay. ... Perry? Don't talk to YG about Japan, okay?" Taekwon blurted out. "I mean, I don't want him to think I'm not serious about music just because..." He glanced at the trainer and trailed off.
"I won't, don't worry."
The primitive, animal part of Perry's brain took over on his way out - before he could stop himself, he was shooting the trainer his steeliest glare and giving Taekwon's shoulder a squeeze as he walked past him. He didn't manage to get his expression back to neutral before the guy noticed, and his complete lack of surprise or confusion just about confirmed he was gay. That made him even more irritating, for some reason.
Perry took another deep breath once he was out of the gym. A long walk would probably do him a lot of good.
***
Eighteen days since he'd seen Taekwon. Eighteen. And the last time he'd seen him was when they'd said hello while walking past each other in a corridor of the studios. He'd tried texting him five days ago and still hadn't gotten a reply.
As much as he didn't want to think about it, the idea that he didn't have a boyfriend anymore was slowly creeping into his mind. He knew Taekwon was busy, but he'd been busy before and they'd still managed to make it work. And it was pretty Taekwon-like to try to drift away silently rather than tell him he wanted to break up.
Then again, he'd given him a ring just that February. That had to count for something.
He sighed and stared at his computer screen. He hadn't accomplished much in the past couple of days, unless beating his own long-standing speed record at Minesweeper was an accomplishment.
He grabbed his cellphone and texted Taekwon again, then gave up on trying to be productive and fired up Solitaire.
He'd been at it for only ten minutes when his phone rang. He didn't think he'd ever picked up before the first ring had ended, but he managed it just fine this time. "Hello?"
"Hi. ... I miss you too." Taekwon's voice cracked on the last word and he cleared his throat quickly.
Perry frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Taekwon replied. Then, after a long pause, "I'm tired."
It was obvious he wasn't talking about needing sleep. Perry knew him well enough to know he was crying. "You're coming back in a couple of days, yeah?"
"Yeah. We have performances to tape." He took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sick of airports."
It was good thing Perry was in his apartment, because if he'd been in the studios, he already would've succumbed to the urgent need to smack YG across the face. "I could pick you up there and drive you straight home if you want."
"Okay." There was another long silence, broken only by a quiet sniffle. "... Perry? Sorry for not seeing you more often."
"Don't worry 'bout it. You're busy."
"I know, but it's just... I wasn't... I mean, I didn't..." He was either struggling to simplify what he wanted to say or mentally trying to translate it to English, but he apparently gave up. "I love you."
Perry smiled a little. He'd never heard it from him before, aside from a few throwaway "sarang hae"s in e-mails and so on. He wished the circumstances had been slightly better, though. "Love you too. Think you're gonna be okay till Friday night?"
"Yeah."
"Call me again if you can't sleep or if you wanna talk or somethin', okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
"See ya," Perry replied before closing his phone and opening up a new tab in Internet Explorer. A plane ticket to Tokyo wasn't going to make much of a dent in his savings.
***
Perry dialed Big Bang's manager's number and waited, mentally lining up the Korean sentences he'd have to say.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Perry. I'm in Tokyo. Where is Big Bang's apartment?"
"... You're in Tokyo now?"
"Yes. Uh... I want to see Young Bae." That was probably too direct but it was the best he could manage - the question had caught him off-guard.
The manager slowly dictated an address, which Perry wrote down on a corner of his map of Tokyo's subway system. He read the address back to him. "That's it?"
"Yes. Don't come now, they're busy."
"Oh. When... uh... When is..."
"Six o' clock is okay," he replied, putting Perry out of his misery.
"Thanks. ... How's Young Bae?"
"Tired. He wants to see you too. Do I tell him you're coming?"
"Um, no. Secret, please."
He laughed. "Okay, secret. See you later."
"See you later," Perry repeated before closing his phone. That hadn't gone too badly. Now he just needed to find something to do until six.
***
Perry knocked on the door and found himself face to face with Jinu. Again. "... Dude, seriously. Which one you fuckin'?"
Jinu snorted as he stepped aside to let him in. "Yours. 'S good to see ya, man. Morale's kinda low these days."
"Yeah, I heard." Their Japanese apartment was smaller than their Korean one and even more of a mess. Perry nudged some shopping bags aside and found a clear space for his shoes after some difficulty. From his spot near the door, he could see Dae Sung and Seung Ri sitting in the living room, but no sign of Taekwon. "Is he here?"
"Yeah, he's in the bedroom."
"... The bedroom?"
"Yeah, hi, we're in Tokyo." He shrugged at the disbelieving look Perry gave him. "'S better than being alone in Seoul."
That made a whole lot of sense, considering the recent divorce. And Perry could understand the way he felt just fine despite being in a pretty different situation. "Yeah, it is. Where's that bedroom?"
Jinu pointed to a door. Perry headed over to it, but the kids looked up when he walked by and, to his surprise, they both seemed pretty happy to see him. "Hi! You're in Japan!" Dae Sung exclaimed.
He chuckled and leaned against the back of the couch. "Yeah. Gotta keep in touch with my cultural heritage."
Seung Ri blinked up at him. "You're Japanese?"
"No. ... I mean, yeah, kinda, but I just wanted to see how you're doing."
"Oh. It's okay, hyung. We know you came just for Young Bae."
Perry grinned. Apparently Seung Ri had grown a sense of humor while he hadn't been looking. "Hey, you're all like lil' bros to me. Where are the other two, anyway?"
"Shopping with their manager," Jinu replied from behind him. "But they've got dance lessons in, like, an hour, so they're gonna be back soon."
"Let them know I'm in there when they come back."
He heard Jinu snort amusedly. "Yeah, I'll tell them to knock."
The bedroom, as it turned out, wasn't really an appropriate name for it considering the lack of actual beds. It took Perry a moment to locate the top of Taekwon's head among the piles of covers, futons and pillows covering the floor. He closed the door and sat down next to him, trying to figure out whether he was asleep.
Taekwon pulled the covers off his face and blinked up at him, then sat up quickly, yanking his earbuds off. "You're in Japan?!"
"Yeah. C'mere."
He didn't need to ask twice - Taekwon squeezed him so hard he nearly crushed his ribs, then just stayed where he was, arms around him and forehead on his shoulder. Perry rubbed his back slowly, kind of worried he was crying again.
"Are you staying?" Taekwon mumbled into his shoulder.
"Yeah. Gonna fly back with you." He pushed Taekwon back slightly and took a good look at him. He hadn't been crying, at least, but he was rivaling Seung Ri in the dark-circles-under-the-eyes department. He'd also buffed up a bit since the last time Perry had seen him. "You doing all right?"
Taekwon nodded and gave him a little smile. "I'm okay. I missed you." He yawned and checked his watch, making a face. "... Can I sleep more? Sorry."
"Yeah, I'll wake you up before your... whatever it is."
"Radio show," Taekwon replied as he lay down again, putting his head in Perry's lap this time. He pulled the covers up to his nose and closed his eyes. Perry ran his fingers through his short hair - he wasn't quite used to it yet - and Taekwon caught his hand in both of his and pulled it under the covers, pressing his nose and mouth against the back of it. He smiled and used his other hand instead.
***
He and Taekwon had part of the following afternoon to themselves. G-Dragon had decided to hit up some mall in Harajuku and the other kids (plus Jinu) had followed. Taekwon had settled on Shibuya, and as they walked down the crowded sidewalks, Perry had to admit that it'd been a pretty good idea. It was almost impossible to stand out among the weirdos of all stripes who populated the area, and Taekwon seemed happy to be out with him. They hadn't done it often since Big Bang's debut, except for a couple of walks in the dead of the night.
Taekwon nudged him and pointed to a crepe stand, smiling. "Want one? We could share."
"Yeah, sure. Which one d'you want?"
Taekwon eyed the display of creepily-accurate plastic crepes and finally pointed to one of the more expensive ones at the bottom. Perry wasn't sure exactly what the hell it was supposed to be, but it seemed to involve caramel, whipped cream, nuts, and an entire slice of cheesecake, among other things. He ordered - by pointing - and tucked his Stitch plushie under his arm before paying. (Taekwon had painstakingly won him the plushie from a UFO catcher, because it "looked just like him". He still wasn't sure what he thought about that comparison.)
Taekwon took the monster crepe from the chirpy Japanese girl behind the counter and took a big bite as they walked away. "... Mmm." He licked whipped cream off his lips. "I'm not really supposed to eat things like that anymore."
Perry snorted. "Whoever told you that is fuckin' loco. You look like you just stepped off a pedestal or somethin'. One crepe ain't gonna make much of a difference." He grabbed it from him and took a bite.
Taekwon visibly didn't understand the compliment but grinned at him anyway and nabbed the crepe back. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, passing it back and forth.
"This is like... before Big Bang's debut," Taekwon said. "It's nice."
"Yeah, I was just thinking that. Gonna take you out for dinner tomorrow." He had to seize the opportunity before the kids took over Japan too. They'd never even gone to a proper restaurant together.
Taekwon made a face, and Perry knew instantly that his schedule had cock-blocked him yet again. "I'm busy tomorrow evening. ... Maybe next time you come to Japan?"
He sounded so hopeful that Perry promised himself he'd come back as soon as he could.
***
"How did you know you're gay?"
Perry turned onto his side and switched the phone to his other ear. "As soon as he could" had turned into "not so soon", thanks in part to Uhm Jung Hwa's sudden desire for a comeback, so he'd spent more time on the phone in the last few weeks than he'd had in the last few years. It seemed to keep Taekwon happy, although he couldn't figure out just when the kid slept. "I dunno, guess I always knew... Oh yeah, I had a boner for Michael Jackson when I was twelve, that was kind of a hint."
"A what?"
"Hint."
"No... The other thing. For Michael Jackson."
"Boner? 'S like... erection." And there was no way in hell Taekwon would know that word. "When your dick gets hard."
"Oh. So... when did you tell your parents?"
Perry grinned a bit at the question. The kid just went straight for the deep, serious stuff. Then again, they'd run out of small talk several phone calls ago. And it was more interesting than talking about fucking dance practice. Taekwon seemed so interested in the minutiae of his life, though, that Perry wondered why it'd taken him so long to ask all those questions. "I didn't tell 'em. They found out 'cause my school called them."
"What? Why??"
"My math teacher caught me making out with a guy in the bathroom."
There was a short pause (Taekwon was probably looking things up on his dictionary), then he laughed. "That's... bad. Were they angry?"
"Yeah. My dad kicked me out." That was one way of seeing it, anyway - his father had called him a good-for-nothing mamflorita*, so Perry had punched him in the face and walked out five minutes later with one eye swollen shut, blood pouring out his nose, and enough bruises to last him a lifetime. "I had to stay with my sis 'till mom calmed him down."
"Mm... So your mother didn't mind?"
"She cried. I guess she wanted more grandchildren or something. We didn't really talk about it."
"My mother doesn't really talk about it either..."
"Hey, give her some credit, she went to my place just to see you. I bet she's gonna come around."
He sighed. "Maybe. ... Tell me about the guy in the bathroom."
"A'ight. Uh... Geez, I haven't thought about him in a while. He was on the basketball team, I think. Tall as shit. We had detention together a couple of times. You ever had detention? They used to make us write lines, like 'I must not get high and make out in the bathroom' or whatever." Perry rambled on, letting himself wander further and further away from the original topic. "Tell me about ____" was usually an indication that Taekwon was ready to turn his brain off and just listen to his voice before going to sleep.
After a few minutes, Taekwon had become mostly silent, only managing a quiet "mmhm" or "oh" at sometimes-appropriate moments. That was Perry's cue.
"You're fallin' asleep, boo."
"Mmhm... oh. Yeah... Good night."
Perry smiled. "Night."
***
Taekwon had somehow managed to make him look forward to talking on the phone. Perry didn't realize how much his "shut the hell up and e-mail me" policy had changed until one particular evening - Taekwon didn't ring him up at the usual time, and Perry found himself glancing at the clock every three minutes or so. After an hour, he gave in and called him.
He picked up after a few rings. "Yo, P~ Wassup?"
Perry hadn't thought that grins could be audible, but he could somehow picture Taekwon's expression perfectly just from the tone of his voice. "Hey. Not much... You're drunk, right?"
"Maybe. TOP wanted to drink so our manager drove us to an ikaza... izo..." Perry heard faint laughter in the background and Taekwon started snickering too. "Shut up! A bar."
"Nice. What didja drink?"
"Sake and beer and then I had some tequila."
Perry laughed, wondering how much goading that had taken from the other kids. "I wish I was there to see ya."
Taekwon sighed heavily into the phone. "Yeah, me too. I miss you. Why didn't you come back?"
"I'm really busy, Taek. Gotta write some songs for your next single. And I'm still translating."
"Oh. Well, I wanna fuck you."
It was a good thing Perry hadn't been drinking or eating anything. The kid was hammered. He wasn't sure whether he should laugh or show Taekwon what real dirty talk was like. "Oh yeah?"
"Um... yeah? If you want," he added, obviously deflating.
Perry grinned. "Always. I'm gonna find some time to see ya real soon."
"When?"
"As soon as I can," Perry replied. He'd have to have a little talk with YG, no matter what he'd promised. He was pretty sure he could do it without putting Taekwon in trouble, anyway.
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you too. Don't drink 'till you get sick, a'ight?"
"A'ight~ See you~"
*****
Perry knocked on the door to YG's office, then opened it. "Yo, can I talk to you for a sec?"
YG looked up and took off his earphones. "Hi~ Of course. How are you?"
"Good." He walked in and sat down in the chair facing YG's desk. "What's Jinu doing in Japan with Big Bang?" he asked. He'd carefully thought about how he'd broach the subject, and he was confident he'd get what he wanted from YG. He usually did.
"He's on Big Bang's A&R team. I thought you knew about that."
"Right. Need any more people on that team?"
"No, not right now. Why are you..." YG trailed off, looking at him curiously. "You want to go to Japan?"
"Yep. Can you check if that building Big Bang's living in's got any free apartments?"
YG seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't pay for another apartment just because Young Bae misses you."
Well, fuck. That was exactly what Perry hadn't wanted to hear. "He didn't say shit, all right? I miss him."
"That doesn't change the--"
"And you know I'll give you the money, it's the lease I can't get by myself. Don't be an asshole."
YG sighed. "What about work?"
"I can work in Japan. I'll take my laptop."
He fiddled with his earphones, obviously trying to think of more objections. "... I'll think about it. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be around to distract him, though. He's supposed to be working hard."
It was incredibly hard to hold his tongue, but Perry somehow managed to. "Yeah, well, let me know when you've decided," he ground out before standing up. That hadn't gone well at all. He'd have to find another solution if YG didn't want to help him out.
*****
*mamflorita: the Chamorro equivalent of "faggot", of course.
Beta: Tama and Momo
Pairing: Taeyang/Perry
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Credit goes to Tama for the amazing cover. XD
Taekwon decided to practice that trademark backflip of his and Perry took out his cellphone to check his e-mail just so he wouldn't have to watch. The kid was good, but not that good, and he'd seen him land wrong or hurt his fingers enough times to get antsy whenever he attempted it.
He checked the time once he was done with his e-mail. 1:43. "Aren't you tired?" he called out.
Taekwon turned to him and crossed the empty dance room to flop down by his side, panting. "I guess I'll take a break."
"Don't wanna go home and sleep?"
He glanced at his watch and chewed on his lip. "... Soon." He peeled off his wifebeater and leaned against him, sighing. "Jae Wook said I have to work on some moves."
Perry slid his arm around Taekwon's waist. There was so much heat emanating from him that Perry was seriously tempted to hit the kitchen and see if he could fry an egg on his back. "Want some water?"
He shook his head. "After." He was silent for a few moments, then elbowed him. "... It's been a year, right?"
"What, Big Bang? Yeah, somethin' like that."
Taekwon smiled. "No, I mean... You and me."
Perry blinked and made some quick mental calculations. He couldn't remember the exact date (and couldn't figure out what exactly would count as the start of their relationship, anyway), but it had happened around Big Bang's debut, which meant... "Yeah. Damn, if I'd known I would've bought ya some flowers or something," he joked.
Taekwon laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "We should celebrate when I'm finished."
"Better not tire yourself out, then."
Taekwon looked at him quizzically, then visibly understood and grinned at him before kissing him again, on the lips this time. Perry lingered and tried to distract him from dancing (and that goddamn backflip), but he caught on right away and pulled Perry's hand away from his chest, shaking his head as he broke the kiss. "Just half an hour."
He stood up and walked back to the mirror, stretching his arms over his head. Perry licked his lips, tasted Taekwon's sweat on them and smiled to himself.
One year.
He was one lucky bastard.
***
Miraculously enough, Big Bang were given some time to rest after promoting Hunduleo. Of course, "resting" in YG terms usually involved a couple of photo shoots and plenty of dance and English lessons, but Taekwon had been spending almost every night with him, which was a nice change of pace.
He woke up one afternoon, though, and slung his arm over something that most definitely wasn't Taekwon. Or human. He opened his eyes and stared confusedly at the red duffel bag, then took his arm off it. "... Taek?"
"I'm here." He walked over and stuffed some clothes into the bag. "I'm gonna spend a few days with my family."
"Oh." He sat up. "When are you leaving?"
"My mother said she'd cook dinner for me, so I guess I should leave soon." He shoved his DS into a small pocket of the bag, then looked up at him. "I kind of tried to invite you, but my dad..."
"'S all right. Would've been fuckin' awkward, anyway."
He nodded absent-mindedly (probably didn't know the word "awkward" yet), then turned and rummaged through the closet. He came up with a black zip-up hoodie. "Can I take this?"
"Yeah," Perry replied, then watched him cram it into his bag too, trying not to smile too much at the mental image of Taekwon wearing his clothes.
"Oh, Ji Yong said he wrote a good beat and he wants to talk to you about it, by the way."
"I'll call him."
He zipped up the bag and shouldered it, then leaned down and kissed Perry lightly. "I have to go. See you."
"See ya," Perry replied, then sighed and rolled over once Taekwon was out of the room. Calling G-Dragon sounded like a good idea - if Taekwon wasn't going to spend the rest of his holiday with him, maybe G-Dragon would feel like toking up again and hanging out in his place, at least.
***
Perry looked up from his notebook as Taekwon walked in and threw his bag down in a corner. "Hey, stranger."
Taekwon gave him a tired smile and walked over to kiss him, leaving the front door open. "Hi. Can I take some condoms?"
"... Yeah?"
The confusion must've shown on Perry's face. "It's for Seung Ri," he said over his shoulder before disappearing into the bedroom.
Perry was about to ask what the hell Seung Ri needed condoms for when he noticed that the kid in question was standing in the doorway, looking incredibly uncomfortable. He took a little step back when he noticed Perry had seen him, then gave him an awkward wave.
"You got yourself a girlfriend, huh?"
At least that got him to grin and relax a bit. "Maybe. Thanks for the... Thanks."
"No problem, kid."
Taekwon walked back in with a few condoms in his hand and stopped next to Perry, leaning down and muttering something he didn't catch. "What?"
Taekwon glanced at Seung Ri and cleared his throat. "... Do girls need lotion too?" he muttered again, a bit louder. If he hadn't looked so embarrassed about having to ask, Perry would have assumed he was joking.
"Only if he's fucking 'em up the ass," he replied, then looked down at his notebook and scribbled a couple of words to avoid laughing. Taekwon thought about it for a moment before walking back to Seung Ri. They talked quietly in Korean, and Perry caught a louder, indignant "NO!" from Seung Ri that probably meant Taekwon had actually asked him if he was planning on fucking his girlfriend up the ass. He bit the inside of his cheek and continued to write.
Taekwon sent Seung Ri on his way and sat down at the other end of the couch. Perry closed his notebook and tossed it onto the coffee table, smiling at him. "Whatcha doin' all the way over there?"
Taekwon grinned and slid closer, draping his arm over Perry's shoulders. "Did you work all day?"
"Yeah. I'm translating songs for you guys."
"Oh. ... Are you tired?"
Perry raised one eyebrow playfully and put his hand on Taekwon's knee. "Why?"
He raised a small stack of flashcards he'd apparently been holding in his free hand. "'Cause I have to go to bed soon, but... I'm supposed to know katakana for tomorrow. Can you help me study?"
Perry made an effort not to sigh and held out a hand for the cards. That had flown right over the kid's head. "Sure."
The last thing Taekwon needed was to learn yet another set of squiggles instead of relaxing and spending some quality time with him before bed, but he wouldn't see things Perry's way. It was amazing how much pressure Asian kids could put on themselves.
***
Perry picked up a small dumbbell and sat down on a bench to half-assedly pretend he was exercising as he watched Taekwon work out. That middle-aged gym bunny YG had hired as a trainer was standing over him, spotting him while he bench pressed, so Perry tried not to stare too openly. Which was pretty fucking hard, considering how long it'd been since he'd last seen him.
"Yo, Taek, what'd you do today?" he asked casually.
Taekwon glanced at him, then up at his trainer. "We had... a meeting with YG," he said between reps.
"What'd he say? Anything special?"
The trainer signaled for Taekwon to stop and he sat up, grabbing his towel. "Well... We're gonna have to spend lots of time in Japan. For training."
Perry wasn't sure he understood how different that would be from the usual routine. He had a bad feeling about it, though. "Whaddya mean, lots of time?"
Taekwon sighed and wiped his forehead. "We're going to stay in Japan during the week and come to Korea for TV shows on weekends."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Taekwon blinked at him. That had come out angrier than he'd intended. He couldn't help being pissed off, though. It seemed like he just wasn't going to win this one - he'd have to grin and bear having a part-time boyfriend until Taekwon was old and grey and not used as jerk-off material by half the girls in Korea. He took a deep breath. "Sorry. How long is it for?"
"I don't know." The trainer prodded him thoroughly, then shoved something into his ear. Taekwon was apparently so used to it that he didn't even flinch. Perry, on the other hand, wanted to kick the guy right in the nuts. "I hope I can spend more time with y... in Korea soon."
Perry smiled a little. "Yeah, me too." He put down his dumbbell and stood up. He wasn't in the mood to play just-friends with Taekwon just to benefit the latest fuckhead on staff. "Guess I'll leave you to it. Come over tonight if you can, a'ight?"
"Okay. ... Perry? Don't talk to YG about Japan, okay?" Taekwon blurted out. "I mean, I don't want him to think I'm not serious about music just because..." He glanced at the trainer and trailed off.
"I won't, don't worry."
The primitive, animal part of Perry's brain took over on his way out - before he could stop himself, he was shooting the trainer his steeliest glare and giving Taekwon's shoulder a squeeze as he walked past him. He didn't manage to get his expression back to neutral before the guy noticed, and his complete lack of surprise or confusion just about confirmed he was gay. That made him even more irritating, for some reason.
Perry took another deep breath once he was out of the gym. A long walk would probably do him a lot of good.
***
Eighteen days since he'd seen Taekwon. Eighteen. And the last time he'd seen him was when they'd said hello while walking past each other in a corridor of the studios. He'd tried texting him five days ago and still hadn't gotten a reply.
As much as he didn't want to think about it, the idea that he didn't have a boyfriend anymore was slowly creeping into his mind. He knew Taekwon was busy, but he'd been busy before and they'd still managed to make it work. And it was pretty Taekwon-like to try to drift away silently rather than tell him he wanted to break up.
Then again, he'd given him a ring just that February. That had to count for something.
He sighed and stared at his computer screen. He hadn't accomplished much in the past couple of days, unless beating his own long-standing speed record at Minesweeper was an accomplishment.
He grabbed his cellphone and texted Taekwon again, then gave up on trying to be productive and fired up Solitaire.
He'd been at it for only ten minutes when his phone rang. He didn't think he'd ever picked up before the first ring had ended, but he managed it just fine this time. "Hello?"
"Hi. ... I miss you too." Taekwon's voice cracked on the last word and he cleared his throat quickly.
Perry frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Taekwon replied. Then, after a long pause, "I'm tired."
It was obvious he wasn't talking about needing sleep. Perry knew him well enough to know he was crying. "You're coming back in a couple of days, yeah?"
"Yeah. We have performances to tape." He took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sick of airports."
It was good thing Perry was in his apartment, because if he'd been in the studios, he already would've succumbed to the urgent need to smack YG across the face. "I could pick you up there and drive you straight home if you want."
"Okay." There was another long silence, broken only by a quiet sniffle. "... Perry? Sorry for not seeing you more often."
"Don't worry 'bout it. You're busy."
"I know, but it's just... I wasn't... I mean, I didn't..." He was either struggling to simplify what he wanted to say or mentally trying to translate it to English, but he apparently gave up. "I love you."
Perry smiled a little. He'd never heard it from him before, aside from a few throwaway "sarang hae"s in e-mails and so on. He wished the circumstances had been slightly better, though. "Love you too. Think you're gonna be okay till Friday night?"
"Yeah."
"Call me again if you can't sleep or if you wanna talk or somethin', okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
"See ya," Perry replied before closing his phone and opening up a new tab in Internet Explorer. A plane ticket to Tokyo wasn't going to make much of a dent in his savings.
***
Perry dialed Big Bang's manager's number and waited, mentally lining up the Korean sentences he'd have to say.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Perry. I'm in Tokyo. Where is Big Bang's apartment?"
"... You're in Tokyo now?"
"Yes. Uh... I want to see Young Bae." That was probably too direct but it was the best he could manage - the question had caught him off-guard.
The manager slowly dictated an address, which Perry wrote down on a corner of his map of Tokyo's subway system. He read the address back to him. "That's it?"
"Yes. Don't come now, they're busy."
"Oh. When... uh... When is..."
"Six o' clock is okay," he replied, putting Perry out of his misery.
"Thanks. ... How's Young Bae?"
"Tired. He wants to see you too. Do I tell him you're coming?"
"Um, no. Secret, please."
He laughed. "Okay, secret. See you later."
"See you later," Perry repeated before closing his phone. That hadn't gone too badly. Now he just needed to find something to do until six.
***
Perry knocked on the door and found himself face to face with Jinu. Again. "... Dude, seriously. Which one you fuckin'?"
Jinu snorted as he stepped aside to let him in. "Yours. 'S good to see ya, man. Morale's kinda low these days."
"Yeah, I heard." Their Japanese apartment was smaller than their Korean one and even more of a mess. Perry nudged some shopping bags aside and found a clear space for his shoes after some difficulty. From his spot near the door, he could see Dae Sung and Seung Ri sitting in the living room, but no sign of Taekwon. "Is he here?"
"Yeah, he's in the bedroom."
"... The bedroom?"
"Yeah, hi, we're in Tokyo." He shrugged at the disbelieving look Perry gave him. "'S better than being alone in Seoul."
That made a whole lot of sense, considering the recent divorce. And Perry could understand the way he felt just fine despite being in a pretty different situation. "Yeah, it is. Where's that bedroom?"
Jinu pointed to a door. Perry headed over to it, but the kids looked up when he walked by and, to his surprise, they both seemed pretty happy to see him. "Hi! You're in Japan!" Dae Sung exclaimed.
He chuckled and leaned against the back of the couch. "Yeah. Gotta keep in touch with my cultural heritage."
Seung Ri blinked up at him. "You're Japanese?"
"No. ... I mean, yeah, kinda, but I just wanted to see how you're doing."
"Oh. It's okay, hyung. We know you came just for Young Bae."
Perry grinned. Apparently Seung Ri had grown a sense of humor while he hadn't been looking. "Hey, you're all like lil' bros to me. Where are the other two, anyway?"
"Shopping with their manager," Jinu replied from behind him. "But they've got dance lessons in, like, an hour, so they're gonna be back soon."
"Let them know I'm in there when they come back."
He heard Jinu snort amusedly. "Yeah, I'll tell them to knock."
The bedroom, as it turned out, wasn't really an appropriate name for it considering the lack of actual beds. It took Perry a moment to locate the top of Taekwon's head among the piles of covers, futons and pillows covering the floor. He closed the door and sat down next to him, trying to figure out whether he was asleep.
Taekwon pulled the covers off his face and blinked up at him, then sat up quickly, yanking his earbuds off. "You're in Japan?!"
"Yeah. C'mere."
He didn't need to ask twice - Taekwon squeezed him so hard he nearly crushed his ribs, then just stayed where he was, arms around him and forehead on his shoulder. Perry rubbed his back slowly, kind of worried he was crying again.
"Are you staying?" Taekwon mumbled into his shoulder.
"Yeah. Gonna fly back with you." He pushed Taekwon back slightly and took a good look at him. He hadn't been crying, at least, but he was rivaling Seung Ri in the dark-circles-under-the-eyes department. He'd also buffed up a bit since the last time Perry had seen him. "You doing all right?"
Taekwon nodded and gave him a little smile. "I'm okay. I missed you." He yawned and checked his watch, making a face. "... Can I sleep more? Sorry."
"Yeah, I'll wake you up before your... whatever it is."
"Radio show," Taekwon replied as he lay down again, putting his head in Perry's lap this time. He pulled the covers up to his nose and closed his eyes. Perry ran his fingers through his short hair - he wasn't quite used to it yet - and Taekwon caught his hand in both of his and pulled it under the covers, pressing his nose and mouth against the back of it. He smiled and used his other hand instead.
***
He and Taekwon had part of the following afternoon to themselves. G-Dragon had decided to hit up some mall in Harajuku and the other kids (plus Jinu) had followed. Taekwon had settled on Shibuya, and as they walked down the crowded sidewalks, Perry had to admit that it'd been a pretty good idea. It was almost impossible to stand out among the weirdos of all stripes who populated the area, and Taekwon seemed happy to be out with him. They hadn't done it often since Big Bang's debut, except for a couple of walks in the dead of the night.
Taekwon nudged him and pointed to a crepe stand, smiling. "Want one? We could share."
"Yeah, sure. Which one d'you want?"
Taekwon eyed the display of creepily-accurate plastic crepes and finally pointed to one of the more expensive ones at the bottom. Perry wasn't sure exactly what the hell it was supposed to be, but it seemed to involve caramel, whipped cream, nuts, and an entire slice of cheesecake, among other things. He ordered - by pointing - and tucked his Stitch plushie under his arm before paying. (Taekwon had painstakingly won him the plushie from a UFO catcher, because it "looked just like him". He still wasn't sure what he thought about that comparison.)
Taekwon took the monster crepe from the chirpy Japanese girl behind the counter and took a big bite as they walked away. "... Mmm." He licked whipped cream off his lips. "I'm not really supposed to eat things like that anymore."
Perry snorted. "Whoever told you that is fuckin' loco. You look like you just stepped off a pedestal or somethin'. One crepe ain't gonna make much of a difference." He grabbed it from him and took a bite.
Taekwon visibly didn't understand the compliment but grinned at him anyway and nabbed the crepe back. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, passing it back and forth.
"This is like... before Big Bang's debut," Taekwon said. "It's nice."
"Yeah, I was just thinking that. Gonna take you out for dinner tomorrow." He had to seize the opportunity before the kids took over Japan too. They'd never even gone to a proper restaurant together.
Taekwon made a face, and Perry knew instantly that his schedule had cock-blocked him yet again. "I'm busy tomorrow evening. ... Maybe next time you come to Japan?"
He sounded so hopeful that Perry promised himself he'd come back as soon as he could.
***
"How did you know you're gay?"
Perry turned onto his side and switched the phone to his other ear. "As soon as he could" had turned into "not so soon", thanks in part to Uhm Jung Hwa's sudden desire for a comeback, so he'd spent more time on the phone in the last few weeks than he'd had in the last few years. It seemed to keep Taekwon happy, although he couldn't figure out just when the kid slept. "I dunno, guess I always knew... Oh yeah, I had a boner for Michael Jackson when I was twelve, that was kind of a hint."
"A what?"
"Hint."
"No... The other thing. For Michael Jackson."
"Boner? 'S like... erection." And there was no way in hell Taekwon would know that word. "When your dick gets hard."
"Oh. So... when did you tell your parents?"
Perry grinned a bit at the question. The kid just went straight for the deep, serious stuff. Then again, they'd run out of small talk several phone calls ago. And it was more interesting than talking about fucking dance practice. Taekwon seemed so interested in the minutiae of his life, though, that Perry wondered why it'd taken him so long to ask all those questions. "I didn't tell 'em. They found out 'cause my school called them."
"What? Why??"
"My math teacher caught me making out with a guy in the bathroom."
There was a short pause (Taekwon was probably looking things up on his dictionary), then he laughed. "That's... bad. Were they angry?"
"Yeah. My dad kicked me out." That was one way of seeing it, anyway - his father had called him a good-for-nothing mamflorita*, so Perry had punched him in the face and walked out five minutes later with one eye swollen shut, blood pouring out his nose, and enough bruises to last him a lifetime. "I had to stay with my sis 'till mom calmed him down."
"Mm... So your mother didn't mind?"
"She cried. I guess she wanted more grandchildren or something. We didn't really talk about it."
"My mother doesn't really talk about it either..."
"Hey, give her some credit, she went to my place just to see you. I bet she's gonna come around."
He sighed. "Maybe. ... Tell me about the guy in the bathroom."
"A'ight. Uh... Geez, I haven't thought about him in a while. He was on the basketball team, I think. Tall as shit. We had detention together a couple of times. You ever had detention? They used to make us write lines, like 'I must not get high and make out in the bathroom' or whatever." Perry rambled on, letting himself wander further and further away from the original topic. "Tell me about ____" was usually an indication that Taekwon was ready to turn his brain off and just listen to his voice before going to sleep.
After a few minutes, Taekwon had become mostly silent, only managing a quiet "mmhm" or "oh" at sometimes-appropriate moments. That was Perry's cue.
"You're fallin' asleep, boo."
"Mmhm... oh. Yeah... Good night."
Perry smiled. "Night."
***
Taekwon had somehow managed to make him look forward to talking on the phone. Perry didn't realize how much his "shut the hell up and e-mail me" policy had changed until one particular evening - Taekwon didn't ring him up at the usual time, and Perry found himself glancing at the clock every three minutes or so. After an hour, he gave in and called him.
He picked up after a few rings. "Yo, P~ Wassup?"
Perry hadn't thought that grins could be audible, but he could somehow picture Taekwon's expression perfectly just from the tone of his voice. "Hey. Not much... You're drunk, right?"
"Maybe. TOP wanted to drink so our manager drove us to an ikaza... izo..." Perry heard faint laughter in the background and Taekwon started snickering too. "Shut up! A bar."
"Nice. What didja drink?"
"Sake and beer and then I had some tequila."
Perry laughed, wondering how much goading that had taken from the other kids. "I wish I was there to see ya."
Taekwon sighed heavily into the phone. "Yeah, me too. I miss you. Why didn't you come back?"
"I'm really busy, Taek. Gotta write some songs for your next single. And I'm still translating."
"Oh. Well, I wanna fuck you."
It was a good thing Perry hadn't been drinking or eating anything. The kid was hammered. He wasn't sure whether he should laugh or show Taekwon what real dirty talk was like. "Oh yeah?"
"Um... yeah? If you want," he added, obviously deflating.
Perry grinned. "Always. I'm gonna find some time to see ya real soon."
"When?"
"As soon as I can," Perry replied. He'd have to have a little talk with YG, no matter what he'd promised. He was pretty sure he could do it without putting Taekwon in trouble, anyway.
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you too. Don't drink 'till you get sick, a'ight?"
"A'ight~ See you~"
*****
Perry knocked on the door to YG's office, then opened it. "Yo, can I talk to you for a sec?"
YG looked up and took off his earphones. "Hi~ Of course. How are you?"
"Good." He walked in and sat down in the chair facing YG's desk. "What's Jinu doing in Japan with Big Bang?" he asked. He'd carefully thought about how he'd broach the subject, and he was confident he'd get what he wanted from YG. He usually did.
"He's on Big Bang's A&R team. I thought you knew about that."
"Right. Need any more people on that team?"
"No, not right now. Why are you..." YG trailed off, looking at him curiously. "You want to go to Japan?"
"Yep. Can you check if that building Big Bang's living in's got any free apartments?"
YG seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't pay for another apartment just because Young Bae misses you."
Well, fuck. That was exactly what Perry hadn't wanted to hear. "He didn't say shit, all right? I miss him."
"That doesn't change the--"
"And you know I'll give you the money, it's the lease I can't get by myself. Don't be an asshole."
YG sighed. "What about work?"
"I can work in Japan. I'll take my laptop."
He fiddled with his earphones, obviously trying to think of more objections. "... I'll think about it. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be around to distract him, though. He's supposed to be working hard."
It was incredibly hard to hold his tongue, but Perry somehow managed to. "Yeah, well, let me know when you've decided," he ground out before standing up. That hadn't gone well at all. He'd have to find another solution if YG didn't want to help him out.
*****
*mamflorita: the Chamorro equivalent of "faggot", of course.