The backstage area was buzzing — staff shouting cues, dancers hugging goodbye, stylists packing up cases of glitter and sweat-soaked clothes. The final night of the world tour was over, and exhaustion hung thick in the air.
But your heart beat a little faster as soon as the double doors swung open and you saw him.
Ji Yong.
He stood at the center of it all, still glowing from the stage lights, hair slightly damp, his mic still clipped to his collar. Taeyang was patting him on the shoulder, Daesung laughing at something Seung Hyun said, and CL was trying to wrangle them all into a quick group selfie with Bom and Dara.
And yet — the second Ji Yong saw you, everything else seemed to fade.
He froze mid-sentence, a grin spreading across his face so naturally it softened every sharp line from the performance. Then he noticed the two figures standing behind you — taller now, nearly grown.
“Wait—” he breathed, already walking over. “Seo-hyeon? Min-joon?”
Min-joon grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Surprise, Appa.”
Seo-hyeon smirked, arms crossed. “You didn’t think we’d miss your last show, did you?”
Ji Yong’s jaw dropped, and before you could blink, he pulled both of them into a hug — messy, tight, half-sobbing and half-laughing. “My babies are here,” he muttered against their shoulders, voice thick with disbelief. “You’re both so tall. When did that happen?”
Taeyang called out from behind, grinning. “Hyung, they’re sixteen! You blinked and missed it!”
Daesung laughed. “Remember when they were still wearing your oversized hoodies around the house?”
Seo-hyeon giggled, stepping back. “We still do. Umma steals them first, though.”
You snorted. “Don’t expose me, young lady.”
Bom leaned toward Dara with a teasing whisper, “Aigoo, they’re just like their parents. Fashionable and dramatic.”
Ji Yong finally turned to you, and for a moment, the noise faded again. You could still see the stage in his eyes — the lights, the crowd, the fame — but beneath all of that, there was just him. The man who still smiled like a boy every time he saw you.
“You came too,” he said softly, brushing his thumb over your cheek. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I wanted to see your face when you saw them,” you murmured.
He laughed quietly, pulling you into his chest. “Still know how to make me weak, huh?”
CL walked past with a grin. “He almost cried during ‘Untitled, 2014.’ I bet he was thinking about you.”
“Yah, Chaerin!” Ji Yong protested, his ears turning pink.
Min-joon smirked. “Wait— Appa cried on stage?”
“I did not cry!” Ji Yong insisted, immediately flustered. “That was… mist from the stage machines.”
Seo-hyeon deadpanned, “Right. Totally believable.”
Even Seung Hyun chuckled quietly. “Face it, Ji. You’re soft.”
Ji Yong shot him a mock glare before turning back to you with that sheepish grin. “Maybe I am. But only for her.”
You smiled up at him. “And for them.”
He looked at the twins again — both smiling in that half-sarcastic, half-adoring way teens did when they pretended not to care — and nodded. “Yeah. For them too.”
Bom clapped her hands. “Okay, okay, family photo time before everyone leaves!”
They all gathered around — BIGBANG on one side, 2NE1 on the other, you and Ji Yong in the middle, and the twins squished between Taeyang and Seung Hyun. Daesung counted down, “One, two— say ‘legendary family!’”
“Legendary family!” everyone cheered.
The camera clicked, freezing the moment — laughter, messy hair, tired eyes, love everywhere.
As the others dispersed, Ji Yong leaned close, voice low near your ear. “Come with me tonight. I don’t want to go home to an empty hotel room.”
You smiled, threading your fingers through his. “You won’t. We’re all coming home.”
He exhaled softly, relief painting his expression. “Finally.”
And in the dim backstage light, surrounded by friends, chaos, and music still echoing faintly from the arena, Ji Yong pressed a soft kiss to your temple — the kind that said everything his lyrics ever tried to.
He was home again.