Wretches & Kings

G-Dragon's deft fingers were quick to roll a cigarette and light it. He inhaled deeply, blowing smoke from between his flawless lips.

“I thought you said you quit,” Seungri's voice resounded from behind him. GD's answer was another draw of tobacco-infused smoke. “What's got you all worked up?”

“The war. What else?”

“There's something else.”

“What does it matter?” G-Dragon asked.

“Better to get your issues sorted out now instead of when you're dead,” was Seungri's answer. GD made no move to speak anymore. Seungri sighed. “Fine, if you don't want to talk about it...” He turned to leave.

“Hyun Ae.”

Seungri turned back to his leader. “What about her?”

“She went back to Daesung.”

Seungri let out a quick left. “What did you expect? They were like...crazy about each other.” He looked at his leader's face and it clicked. “You liked her too.”

GD put the cigarette to his lips and the end lit up. “Yeah, I did.”

“You've liked a lot of girls, G.”

“That's just it. I didn't like her. I think I was in love with her.”

Seungri's eyes widened. One, because G-Dragon rarely spoke about his personal feelings with anyone. Two, he was known to be a heart breaker—only used the girls who were fools enough to fall for him for a quickie or some sort of small emotional satisfaction. To hear him speak about love...it astonished Seungri.

“I'm sorry...”

“I really did love her, Seungri,” he said, looking at his right-hand man. “Never have I had the feeling she gave me. I mean, I took care of her when Daesung was supposed to be long dead and buried. I saved her life. And she just...fucking pushed everything we had aside, forgot all about me, and went back to him.”

Seungri did not know what to say; he just listened, which was all it seemed GD needed.
“I was just a stand in,” GD said, the hostility in his voice lessening. “She needed something to help her forget about the hurt—like we all do—and I was what was there. I used her for the exact same thing.”

“Its hard to get rid of the pain,” Seungri agreed quietly.

“It was only temporary,” GD went on. “I should be happy for her—for the both of them. But...fuck. She hurt me, Seung.”

The street fighter laid a hand on his shoulder. “I'm sorry, G. Really, I am.”

“Its fine,” G-Dragon answered. “I guess you got to get over it sometime, right?”

Seungri nodded solemnly and offered a small smile. “There will be other girls.”

G-Dragon snorted. “Not sure about for me.”

Seungri shoved him lightly. “Whatever! If T.O.P can get a girl, you can!”

G-Dragon's head whipped around to stare. “T.O.P? Girl? What?”

Seungri laughed at the leader's bewildered look. “Yeah, you know Yeon Hee, the mute girl?” GD nodded slowly. “Yeah, I saw the two of them...well, I don't really know what they were doing other than staring at each other. You know, that would be a hard relationship. She can't talk and T.O.P chooses not to...”

“You're kidding.”

“No! They had that googly-eyed look going on. Or she did. He had that look like...well, for once he looked like he didn't want to kill something. And he was smiling. Like a tiny, little bit.”

G-Dragon smiled. “Good for him, finding some humanity.”

“Yeah, so see? If the killing machine can get a girl, I'm sure you'll eventually find one.” He paused. “It'll take a while to get over Hyun Ae, but it will.”

“Let's hope,” GD said and threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping it out.

--

“Do we have everything planned?” the Colonel asked.

“As of now,” G-Dragon answered. “Let's just hope nothing goes wrong.”

“We always do,” the Colonel answered. “Your men have been trained?”

Seungri and T.O.P both nodded. “To the most of their ability, Sir,” Seungri said.

He had been in charge of training in hand-to-hand combat. It had been a rough two months of Seungri and T.O.P's training, but they were as ready as the could get them. Hyun Ae had gained a talent, and liking, for things that involved sharp edges—an unexpected surprise.

“How about you, Hyun Ae? Are you ready?”

Hyun Ae bowed her head. “As I'll ever be, Colonel.”

“Good,” Colonel Wright said. “We've established contact with our outside forces. They will ready when we give them the signal.”

“And we can blow the motherfucker off his throne,” Seungri growled, making the Colonel chuckle.

“Damn right. So are you all ready?”
“Yes, sir,” came a unison of voices that rang with determination.