#and also the creepy janitor at work who somehow manages to keep getting assigned to our side of the building

[youwillfindilluminating]

It's been a while since I've had someone express interest in me, and wow what a feeling to be reminded of, it's literally The Worst.

[bigbanggot7stories]

Across the Hall Part 4

Hey guys! Here is the next part of the series, and I am so sorry about the wait! This one is a little shorter than the previous parts, but part 5 will be the last part of this story, and I wanted to have a little drama left for that part. I will hopefuly have that up by the end of the weekend! 

Thank you all for reading!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

----

The next morning, I woke up to a blinding sun, a pounding head, and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Recalling the slightly drunken hookup in a supply closet the night before elicited emotions I tried desperately to reel back in. Though I promised myself I would keep it all contained while near Jiyong, my familiar bed seemed to encourage self-doubt and tears. I wiped my eyes, finally, and cursed myself for being such a baby as I made my way into the kitchen in search of any kind of pain relief medication for the awful headache.

I grabbed a water to try to calm my rowdy stomach and silently thanked God it was the weekend. I moseyed off towards my bedroom, more than ready to climb back into bed to sulk for the rest of the day, when my phone chimed at a message notification.

Unknown: Y/N…I’m sorry.

I bit my lip as I let my head fall backwards. Sorry for which part? Pulling me along across North America to “get to know me”? For leaving me high and dry and making me out to be some crazed fan? Or for fucking me in the janitor’s closet just for a quickie?

Me: For what, Jiyong?

Jiyong: For everything.

Jiyong: We probably shouldn’t have done...that last night.

Me: We? That? Is that what you constitute as everything?

Jiyong: No, but that is the most recent thing that comes to mind.

Jiyong: And also, as far as I remember, you were an active participant.

I bit my lip as I read his messages. He’s right: I have a thing for being intimate with Kwon Jiyong. Probably because I thought we had an important connection, but it apparently wasn’t reciprocated.

Jiyong: You’ve always been an active participant—from the day we met, if memory serves me right. Just in case you forgot.

Okay, that was definitely hurtful. I suddenly felt the urge to throw up, feeling as though I was being compared to a cheap hooker. Always willing, always down, always on her knees.

Me: Well I wish I hadn’t been. Guess I’m just too willing to give myself away.

Me: Thanks.

Me: Maybe working on the video is too close to home for you. I’ll have someone take over on Monday.

And with that, I shut my phone off and ran to the bathroom. The anxiety rising in my chest forced my stomach to empty, and I was soon dry heaving with nothing to give. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t work with Jiyong, no matter how advantageous to my career it would be. Did he really only think of me as an “active participant”? Maybe he only invited me on tour to fulfill his needs. “Get to know you better,” he said. “It gets lonely on tour.” Now, everything seemed to be presented in a new, different light. I felt the impending doom, the demons crawling up my spine once again to whisper all my previous doubts into my ear. I felt cheap. I sarcastically laughed at the excitement I had felt for being relocated to Seoul and for seeing Jiyong again. My life was a big joke, and I somehow had missed the punchline.

—

When Monday morning rolled around, I had managed to suppress every little ounce of emotion I had and put my game face on. It was the morning of the partnership meeting with YG, and I felt the immense pressure of cutting a deal no matter what. I decided I would stay true to my word and assign someone else to Jiyong’s video. I hadn’t thought too much about who I would place in charge, but I knew it had to be brought up in the meeting.

As I walked through the glass door of the main office, Mi Na rushed up to take the stack of paperwork I cradled in my arm. Looking up, I noticed the sour look she gave me as she ushered me into my office.

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?! I’ve been trying to reach you to make sure you were ready for this meeting, and everyone keeps asking about your plans!” She rushed, closing my door with a loud thud.

“Okay first of all, my phone has been off all weekend, and I still haven’t turned it back on. Second, it’s none of their business what I have planned for the meeting. Negotiations never go as planned, and I’m not about to let people dictate how I run my business. And third, don’t slam my door. Only I get to do that.”  

My assistant sighed a response, hanging her head in apology, and I quickly sat down at my desk. I almost felt bad for being so stern with her—almost. I had spent most of the night before preparing for this meeting, but I wanted to make sure I was completely ready.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Anyways, here’s some messages from this morning and over the weekend. Apparently G-Dragon has been trying to contact you about design plans for a different project? I gave his assistant your personal email in case you hadn’t set up your work email from your home computer yet,” Mi Na rattled off, handing me a small stack of messages.

My eyes widened, and I opened and closed my mouth a few times with a lack of words. I turned my phone off for a reason, but I guess not having the last word for once really had an effect on Jiyong. I finally nodded and sat down to open my email. Mi Na left to make some copies, and I closely monitored the door while selecting the first email in my inbox with Jiyong’s handle.

—————

To: Ms. Y/N L/N

From: Kwon Jiyong – YG Entertainment

Subject: Designer in Red

Y/N,

I’m guessing you turned your phone off, and this is me hoping you will at least check your email more frequently—it is the professional thing to do.

I don’t want a new designer. I liked your ideas. If you wish to not work on further projects, that’s your call. I did, however, request you stay project leader for anything regarding me or BigBang activities in the expected partnership with YG. It would be quite beneficial to your career here in Korea if you remain related to my activities—not to brag.

I will be dropping by Tuesday to discuss further design proposals. Should we meet at your main office or your studio? I must say, your studio would be more comfortable and…private.

See ya,

Jiyong

P.s. Red looks really good on you—maybe you should wear some on Tuesday.

—————

My face and chest was majorly heated by the time I finished the email, and I felt light-headed. I was overwhelmed. Beneficial to my career? Future proposals? I suddenly had the urge to find a way to cut off any partnership, though I knew it was impossible.

Mi Na softly knocked on the glass door before clearing her throat. “Y/N, are you okay? You look flustered.”

“U-um yeah, can you grab me a glass of water really quickly? I feel a little hot.”

As Mi Na left to grab some water, I quickly sent Jiyong a reply.

—————

To: Kwon Jiyong – YG Entertainment

From: Ms. Y/N L/N

Subject: Re: Designer in Red

Jiyong,

I’m guessing you can’t stand not having the last word? Just because you’re used to getting everything you demand doesn’t mean I’ll be fulfilling orders.

I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m pretty sure a partnership with YG in general will benefit me, as I am the face of this company now—not to brag.

If you would like to meet Tuesday to go over designs, please make an appointment with my assistant, Mi Na, at our main office. My studio is a personal space not used for meetings unless I specifically ask or under extreme circumstances.

Thanks for your concern,

Y/N

P.s. I will wear nothing but bright yellow from now on.

—————

I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair furiously. What was I going to do about Jiyong? He was so full of himself, so…not the Jiyong I had come to know and fall for. Why has he so suddenly flipped on me? I couldn’t think straight, and it was nearing the meeting time with YG.

How was I going to stand my ground now?

-

I flopped down on the studio couch as soon as my blazer hit the floor. The partnership with YG was signed and confirmed, yet my least favorable terms still stood. I was indefinitely tied to Jiyong, and I began to wonder if the adoption of my more valuable terms was worth it.

I kicked off my heels, leaving me in the dark blue dress that hugged my curves in all the right places, and I made my way to the kitchen. I knew there had to be a bottle of wine I had hidden somewhere in the cooler, and I was relieved to know my memory was still intact. As I made my way to the sitting area, the harsh buzzer of the door rang in my ears. Mi Na knew the code to get in—who was at the door? I glanced at my surroundings and quickly grabbed the nearest chisel to defend myself with as I slowly approached the security camera near the door.

My head dropped back as I recognized the suspect, sighing as I pressed the speaker button.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood and saw you go inside. Please open up, people are starting to stare.”

Jiyong pulled his hat down and his mask up as he looked over his shoulder timidly. I closed my eyes for a second before opening the door, walking straight back into the studio without a glance toward the man suddenly invading my life.

“Well hello to you, too,” he muttered.

“Are you sure you weren’t following me? It’s creepy, Jiyong.”

He visibly rolled his eyes, taking off his mask and hat as he sat on the couch across from me. “I wouldn’t follow you, that’s not my style. My friend just opened a gallery down the street. I was there and saw you come in and decided to stop by.” He eyed me for a moment before grabbing the glass of wine I had set out for myself. “I thought you were going to start wearing bright yellow—I was looking forward to it.”

I rolled my eyes, but the pink running up from my chest to my neck gave away my true reaction. “Sure, would you like a glass of wine?” I sarcastically waved him off as I drug myself back to the kitchen for another glass. “Sorry to disappoint. Blue isn’t good enough for you?”

“Actually, blue is hot, too. Just being completely honest here, any color looks pretty hot on you.”

A gasp shuddered out of me as I whipped around to glare at Jiyong. What was he doing to me?

He held his hands up in playful defense. “Sorry, I was just being honest, here.”

I shook my head as I reached for a second glass, trying to control the emotions that were trying to rise up. “I don’t know if that’s appropriate, Mr. Kwon. If you’re here to talk about designs, then let’s talk about designs.”

“Why are you being so cold?”

“Why do you think, Jiyong? Every time I’m around you it doesn’t end well.”

Jiyong drew a sharp breath before picking up his wine glass and joining me in the kitchen. “I’m not here to talk about designs, Y/N. I’m just here to see you. I for one didn’t think last time ended all that badly,” he spoke quietly, almost as if he was the shy boy I met on the 18th floor of a fancy hotel last summer.

“You don’t think fucking me and then leaving before I could even get my pants back up my legs was good? Maybe it was from your perspective, but it sure had me feeling pretty cheap,” I bit, trying to focus on pouring another glass of wine, my eyes on the verge of betraying me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t—I’m sorry. I was kind of upset with myself. You deserve better than a gross supply closet in a barbecue restaurant.”

I was suddenly highly aware of the closing space between Jiyong and I, and I couldn’t decide if I wanted him to leave me be or to fuck me here on the kitchen counter. One thing I had never understood was the driving force that always lead to me being underneath Kwon Jiyong. I rolled my eyes, but inside I was wondering why he had become so moody. It made me think back to the New York show, when I had been the moody one, and Jiyong had just sat back and taken the insults I had thrown. They weren’t directly towards him, nor were they even true, but he had let me throw a tantrum after an obviously bad phone call with a client. Once I had quit pacing the room and taken a deep breath, Jiyong had silently pulled me into his arms and kissed my shoulder. That night was the first night I had realized I didn’t quite feel like we were “just fucking” anymore, and I had thought I could tell from his eyes that Jiyong was starting to feel the same. I sighed, letting a bitter chuckle fall at the memory.

“What’s so funny?” Jiyong’s voice whispered in my ear.

I jumped as his hands came to caress my hips, his chest ever so slightly grazing my back. I could almost feel him, and the muscles in my back seemed to tense one by one as he snaked his hands around my waist. My inner mind, deep, deep down, was screaming at my brain to shake him off, to reel it back in. My body, on the other hand, had a mind of its own. His right hand started to rake up my body, only stopping when strands of my hair were wrapped tightly between his fingers. My mind blanked, and my head fell back as I closed my eyes. I let out a soft groan from the slight pain his small tug on my hair brought, and I had totally forgotten the emotions I had felt just a minute before. Fuck him, he knew I loved having my hair pulled.

“I miss you Y/N. I miss fucking you,” he whispered, grinning against my neck as my hips jolted backwards towards him. My hands clenched around the wine bottle I had previously been trying to re-cork. “And judging by how eager you were to fuck the other night…” his voice was muffled as he moved his lips up my neck to circle my ear lobe.

“What?” I breathed, not catching his last few words.

“I want to fuck you again, Y/N. No strings attached.”

[evenstevensranked]

#46: Season 3, Episode 14 - “Dirty Work”

This episode was pretty popular. Ren and Principal Wexler have a falling out after she starts to realize he assigns her all of his “dirty work.” So, Larry Beale ends up temporarily taking over as Wexler’s student assistant. Petty drama ensues. Meanwhile, during the plot everyone remembers: Louis decides to start his own "Lumberjack Club" as an excuse to slack off in school. Where all they do is hang around, speak with semi-hillbilly accents, eat pancakes and wear flannels.

Let me start off by saying... To this day, people fondly remember the Lumberjack Club as if it were some major thing, but in reality it was only a (very) small subplot. That’s crazy to me. I did my research, and this Lumberjack Club plot resonated with people so much that students were directly inspired to start their own Lumberjack Clubs at school irl. I’m not joking. Here are some more examples. 

All of these clubs have basically the same mission statement as Louis’ and were formed in the Early 2000s. This alone made me feel like I should rank the episode much higher for “iconic” points. Buuuut, this was never one of my personal favorites *gasp!* and that’s outweighing a lot of things for me. So, please know that I had an extreme internal struggle when deciding where to put this one. I was originally going to rank this around #59-55. But, I didn’t think that was fair enough to the ~cultural impact~ it made, and decided to put it here at #46. That being said… let’s get into it.

This one opens with Coach Tugnut driving up to his school parking spot singing “‘cause I got a brand new suit, and pair of shoes to match! I wish I had a mustache—“ before he gets cut off by Ren. I just felt like those lyrics were worth sharing honestly. She tells him that Wexler has ordered his parking spot to be moved a block and a half away from the school. We find out the reason why when Wexler comes driving up in a new red convertible. He wanted that spot for himself. Idk why Wexler needed Tugnut’s spot though? Surely he has his own prominent spot? He asks Ren to look into some “Lumberjack Club” he came across while looking over the school budget.

What is up with Ren’s pants, btw? This outfit always bothered me. When I was young I always thought they were, like.. freaking Louis Vuitton pants or something, lol. I mentioned before that her wardrobe starts to include loud patterns and gives off an overall “older” and stuffy vibe towards the end of the series. 

The camera pans over to Louis and Twitty, who are accepting and signing off on a syrup delivery. They recycle their code names (Lars Honeytoast and Frenchie Von Richter) from an earlier episode in the series when accepting the order. The delivery man refers to Twitty as "Mr. Honeytoast." This is such a small thing that’s easy to miss, but it’s awesome and top notch casual continuity! I really like it.

It’s “New England’s Finest” syrup. I’m from Boston. This pleases me, tbh.

It cuts to Lumberjack Club! Where Louis, Twitty, Tawny and Tom are cooking pancakes and celebrating the fact that they’ve upgraded their syrup to premium quality, lol. “Lumber Tawn” asks “Lumber Lou” (yes, these are the nicknames they’ve given themselves) to tell them how he came up with the idea for the club again. Louis goes on to tell the story of the club’s origins. The hillbilly accent really kicks in now, accentuated by bluegrass music in the background. He starts off by saying “Well, ‘bout two weeks ago, when yous kids was much younger… everyone was siiignin’ up for cluuuubs.” That is one of my favorite lines though. Not gonna lie. He explains that anyone could get money to form a club as long as they got 50 signatures. So he decided to create a Lumberjack Club after remembering his “deep and loyal love for the pancake.” Incredible. 

Dat face tho.

Right about now is when Ren comes walking in, finding the four of them toasting to The Lumberjack. (See first image.) She grills them about what kind of club they are and what sort of things they do. Louis starts pulling crap out of his butt saying “We sing Lumberjack Songs.” Ren asks them to sing one and it’s great. None of them are in sync. They’re all making stuff up off the top of their heads and clashing miserably. The best part is Tom -- who’s repeatedly saying "Wood... Wood... Wood..." God bless Tom.

Louis says they’re “legit… with a big L!” “…and a small ‘egit’!” Twitty finishes. I feel like this is worth mentioning because one of the real-life clubs’ requirements for joining is that you have to “be legit.” Oh my god. Obviously, Ren vows to shut down the club.

Wexler surprises Ren with her own desk outside of his office. We’re getting into creepy territory again, guys. Wexler makes Ren, a 14-15 year old, do ALL OF HIS WORK while he goes out gallivanting in his new car. Remember when I said that Ren Stevens is basically the principal of Lawrence Jr. High…? Well, this episode really exemplifies that and takes it to a new level. She literally takes over as principal. How is this not illegal?

One of her tasks for the day is to fire the school janitor. Wow. (Fun fact: Jackie the Janitor is played by Knobby Frostybump -- the old elf from the Lizzie McGuire Christmas episode lol) This is the last straw for Ren. She confronts Wexler and quits being his assistant. But much like in Ren-Gate, that doesn’t last long. Over the course of a period, she gets all emo and decides she wants her job back. But, oh no! When she goes back to the office, guess who’s already taken over for her? Larry Beale. Dang, that was fast.

Another lazy name flub happens again here. Larry is polishing his nameplate and it reads "Lawrence M. Beale" when earlier in the series they say his full name on a few different occasions and it's "Lawrence Anthony Beale." I don't understand why something like this is so difficult to remember?! Although, I actually always thought it was weird that Larry's middle name was Anthony because Louis’ full name is Louis Anthony Stevens. Even weirder... The actor who plays Beans is named Steven Anthony Lawrence. What a strange coincidence. 

Ren and Wexler are being extremely passive aggressive towards each other while Larry sits there gloating. Out of spite, Ren decides to become Tugnut's new assistant instead. Like he even needs one. It becomes a petty, all out war between the pairs.

It’s Larry’s job to shut down Lumberjack Club now, so he busts into their meeting the next day. I’m pretty sure they’re not even going to class anymore. They hired a marimba player named Nate to entertain them during club meetings — which I think is absolutely hilarious. It might just be because I'm a musician, but any music-related humor kills me. I mean, a MARIMBA PLAYER?! And this dude is such a Jazz cat. It’s great. This is honestly probably my favorite scene in the whole episode:

So, yeah. Lumberjack Club needs to make an educational presentation in order to stay a thing.

Tugnut is chilling in a lawn chair, eating a burrito and telling his life story (”I thought about moving to Canada, but I don’t speak Canadian...”) while Ren does work on his car. Now she’s a mechanic. This is child abuse, I swear. She’s about to quit as his assistant, but she looks up and sees Larry and Wexler blissfully driving around in his convertible. She gets jealous and keeps working for Tugnut. These student/teacher relationships are so, so strange and not appropriate. Let’s be real... 

Anyway, the whole assistant war thing starts to come to an end when it becomes obvious that Ren is much more qualified and has a better relationship and understanding with Wexler than Larry does. Larry royally messes up as Wexler's assistant and ends up doing a lot of things wrong. Including inviting Wexler’s mother to school, putting nutmeg in his coffee, and forgetting to pay Wexler’s car insurance bill. (Really, what adult would trust a 14-15 year old to pay their bills…) 

Louis organizes the most impressive Lumberjack Club presentation ever within a few hours at the most. I do like seeing Louis at least fully see his schemes through, though. So that’s nice, I guess.

It’s like a freaking carnival.

Nate returns as the musical entertainment. I love this guy, lol. Everything’s going well, until Louis and Twitty chop down a tree during a demonstration which falls on Wexler’s car. Ouch. Wexler’s devastated and sobbing, but manages to mutter “Look what they’ve done to my sweet, sweet ride!” through tears. That made me laugh harder than I probably should’ve. Wexler faints when he finds out Larry didn’t send the insurance payment, and nowww Ren is responsible for Wexler’s literal life. 

Something always gotta go wrong. Louis was actually sort of pulling this whole Lumberjack thing off.

Wexler could be on his deathbed right now and it’s up to Ren to save him. Wow. “Breathe, Principal Wexler! Breathe!!!”

Turns out Ren sneakily sent out the insurance payment the other day and everything’s fine. The episode ends with Ren becoming Wexler’s assistant again. The end. 

So yeah, that’s it. I’m still shocked at how short the Lumberjack Club plot actually is. Pretty crazy how it somehow managed to burn itself into the memories of so many people. I’m also like, 99% positive it was inspired by this Monty Python skit. There’s even a song playing during the school presentation that’s near identical melodically (and lyrically a bit) to the one sung in this skit. The fact that it’s just a subplot also affected my ranking, because I’m not the biggest fan of this episode’s main plot. I love Larry/Ren conflict.. but this situation is just... slightly annoying to me for some reason. ALSO! I realized the other day that I should base my rankings on character development, as well. I’ve actually been doing that subconsciously so far, I think. Barring a few, the majority have been filler episodes basically. No material that actually advances the overall arc of the show. Just random, silly plots -- which makes it difficult for me to really consider it a “good” or “great” episode. And unfortunately, that’s what Lumberjack Club is to me. I’m so sorry. I just love these characters so much, so when there’s little to no character growth in an episode.. it sort of bothers me. I know the show is silly, but there’s a lot of heart there as well. Episodes that have a little meat to them are the ones I’m more fond of. 

We’ve officially reached the point in my list where I drew a line separating the lower half from the better half though, guys! The ball’s really rolling now. I’m excited. 

Thanks for reading! Were you a Lumberjack Club fan? Did you start your own?! Please, do tell. Haha. 

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