Taegong: Lace & Leather

Breaks were a luxury in this place. Gong-gi commended any idols that were in training or due to debut, because he feels the standards had only gotten higher since his debut. He tried his best not to think about the social media comments, but they followed him in is head.  

"What's your favourite thing about being an idol?"

Taeyang's question threw Gong-gi off. So much so, he was unable to speak. 

"Come on. You don't seem happy in this job, but there's got to be something that you like. Something that gets you up in the morning."

"It's not that I'm miserable," Gong-gi, "I just feel like I'm being turned into a Disney villain."

Taeyang dug his hands in his denim pockets and raised his leg. "Nothing wrong with that! Disney  villains are awesome. Wait, this is about your wife's new single isn't it?"

"How can you guess?" Gong-gi muttered. 

"Why don't you make an official statement, saying it's all a big misunderstanding?"

"Do you really think Flo would let us do that?"

"Yeah, our fake romance might be a minor problem. How about speaking to her face to face?"

"I doubt that will ever happen."

"What exactly did you do that Flo considered to be a breach of contract?"

"Dating: a big no-no in the industry. On top of that, I got another idol pregnant. I knew after my military service, there would have been serious infractions if I returned to the music industry. So I laid low."

"That's odd considering Flo really wants us to bang."

"She means no girlfriends for us, Taeyang!"

"Hang on a minute! If an idol can't date, people must know we're faking it?" 

"Doesn't matter," Gong-gi replied as he got his stage outfit on. "If something goes viral on social media, they automatically think it's real. Also, I miss the days where I could pick my own clothes." Gong-gi groaned as struggled to breathe in his tight leather pants. It wouldn't surprise him if they were the same pants from his VALENTINE COOKIE days. The concept of his ex-girlfriend keeping his clothes for over a decade caused tremors. As far as Gong-gi was concerned, the old him was gone. Seeing his older self struggling to mould his younger self's frame was painful. The fabric squeezed his calves. 

Taeyang laughed. "It suits you."

"You're just saying that because it's me. Even if I wore a bin bag around my crotch, you'd still whistle at me."

As for his top (if one could call it a top), it looked somebody had taken his grandmother's blouse and cut the front and back, leaving only the collar and laced sleeves. Gong-gi knew he wasn't fat, but knew he would be called chubby or chunky. If you didn't have the BMI of a school kid, you were done for. 

As an idol, Gong-gi knew it all too well how stupid the fat phobia could be, especially to the girls. If his daughters ever wanted to become pop stars, he would forbid it. In the corner of the room he saw a young girl crouched by the door. She was crying her eyes out as her long hair swept the the floor. Two other girls stormed towards her and slapped her shoulders. 

"You need to stop being fat or you will destroy the entire band."

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" A man's voice echoed from the door the bullies arrived from. All three of the women gazed at him in awe. "Why are you being total bitches?"  

"She's put on half a kilo this week!" The blonde trainee said. 

"So what?" Taeyang yelled. "This is why so many people have mental health issues."

"We all love each other. We're doing this for our own good. We're going to make it together!"

"You're all so skinny. The three of you all need to eat and drink properly. How are you expected to perform if you can't look after yourselves."

He took the words right out of Gong-gi's mouth. Had the girl on the floor had been one of his daughters, his anger would have consumed him to do unthinkable things. A few years ago he nearly got arrested for punching a teacher for saying the reason a boy was picking on her was because he fancied her. 

In ten years time, his daughters would be the same age as the girls. They had this strong idols-in-training vibe about them. He didn't know their names or faces, but it was clear to him that they were made to be the next BLACKPINK. 

It's hard to believe Taeyang wasn't even in his twenties. 

It wasn't long until Flo Glitz burst in to add smoke to the fire. "What's going on here? Why aren't you all rehearsing?"

"They need rest, and a good meal!" Taeyang begged Flo. "I can see their ribs. This isn't healthy."

"Taeyang!" Gong-gi called, rushing to his aid. He cowered at he cradled Taeyang and dragged him away from the room."

"Good," Flo said with her eyes glinting at Gong-gi. "You're suppose to be the dominant one. You should be controlling Taeyang."

"I'm not a puppet!" Taeyang said. "Everyone deserves to be treated fair and square."

"It's a good thing I'm not like other managers. If you worked in another entertainment agency, they would have fired the lot of you ages ago." Flo stormed off into her office. 

"Has she always been like that?" Taeyang asked. 

Gong-gi nodded. "Welcome to the K-Pop industry."