He approached Dara's door which was slightly ajar. He took a deep breath and clenched and unclenched his fists several times. Just when he was about to push the door open, he heard her voice.   "Jaejoong, I promise I'm okay."   Jiyong's heart stopped and he froze as he listened to her speak.   "What about you? How are you coping? Is someone with you?.. I don't want you to be alone, right now."   Jiyong's heart felt like it was breaking with every word coming out of . Holding back tears, he turned to walk away when her next words stopped him.   "I'm telling Jiyong everything. I'm sorry if that hurts you but it's important for him to know the truth. That I love him. I've always loved him." Dara's voice was firm. "Well, when he finally agrees to speak with me that is... Can you blame him? He's been so good throughout everything and I just kept so much from him."   She laughed lightly at whatever Jaejoong was saying. "I'm glad you're okay with him knowing. Not that I would have changed my mind if you weren't. I would have just apologized to you later. We both know you'll forgive me eventually" She laughed lightly again. "Jae..  I'm sorry things turned out this way.. I know. I know. Thanks.. Call me if you need anything.. Bye."   Jiyong thought about her words. She said she loves him. Always have. But she's on the phone with Jaejoong so soon after everything has happened.   Finally coming to a decision. He'll listen to her first and decide what to do next from there. He took a step forward and pushed the door open. It's time to stop running.

____________________________________
    Jiyong pushed the door open and took a step inside. The room was dimly lit probably since Dara has been sleeping since she got home from the hospital. Only her bedside lamps and the muted TV are providing illumination in the room. And yet.. Somehow it seemed like Dara was absorbing the light, giving her an ethereal glow. 

How can she be that beautiful when she just got out of the hospital? 
  He stared at her face, taking in the signs of stress and fatigue that in no way diminished her beauty in his eyes. She had her hair in a braid and she was wearing her favorite sushi pajamas. She was staring at her phone, oblivious to his presence. So he continued staring.
  She pressed some buttons on her phone and put it to her ear. In seconds his phone started ringing, startling the both of them.
  "Jiyong.." she whispered his name reverently as if she wasn't really sure if he was actually there. Her eyes met his and he had to look away for a moment, or he would certainly forget why he was there. She ended the call and put her phone down, waiting for a reaction from him.
  C'mon, Jiyong. Man up. You're freaking G-Dragon! This is not the time to be a pansy, he scolded himself.
  Dara smiled up at him softly, "It's really good to see you. Would you.. Can you spend some time with me? Even just a little bit?" She asked hesitantly. Jiyong nodded stiffly and marched towards the bed. Dara quickly but reluctantly moved to the side so he had space to sit on. He sat down and stared at the TV.
  "So how are you?"
  "I love you."
  At her confession of love, he turned to face her then decided that it was time to asking the hard questions. "Then why?"
  Dara her suddenly dry lips at Jiyong's question. She knew this was coming. This was what she wanted. She wanted the chance to explain and now she is being given the chance to do just that. "I'm not sure where to start.."
  "The beginning would be good."
  She nodded at him then decided to just go for it. Their relationship is too precious to be risked over misunderstandings and uncomfortable pasts. "I really did meet Jaejoong at one of your after parties. Tabi introduced us but we didn't start talking until.." she paused trying to think of the right words, "until you and me stopped being okay."
  Jiyong remained silent but his gaze never faltered. He wanted to hear this. He needed to hear this. So Dara continued. "I wasn't doing well at that time." She told him meaningfully. He nodded, acknowledging how he is a huge part of her not being okay. "He.. he was dealing with the contract issues with SM and.. I guess we just found someone as miserable as we were in each other." She laughed hollowly. "We started talking, then drinking together, then after a particularly hard day, I went with him to Japan."
  "The first batch of photos?"
  "Yeah. That was on a different occassion.. that was when" She paused again, uncomfortable at the thought that she was about to tell her boyfriend about how she fell in love with somebody else then. "we.. uhm.. we agreed to try to make a relationship between the two of us work. I mean.. there were issues.. God, were there issues. He knew I still loved you at that time and that I probably always will and he didn't know if he can actually work again. Like ever. They were being banned from stations here and overseas. So he was basically scared out of his mind about not being able to earn money for food and stuff.."
  "And he was okay with that? Being with you while you claim to be in love with me?" Jiyong asked skeptically. Personally, he couldn't see how a man could be okay with that. And yet, if Dara told him that she also loved Kim Jaejoong right here, right now, he'd probably accept it as long as it meant she didn't leave him. As long as she still loves him.
  "He accepted it because he knew I loved him too." She answered truthfully. "He knew.. He knows how much I love you. How much I'll always love you."
  He gave an empty chuckle. "You say that and yet.." He released a frustrated sigh. "You don't know how much I want to believe you."
  She met his gaze and her eyes beseeched him, "Then believe me when I tell you that I love you. Question everything else but not that. Please."
  Jiyong held her gaze for a couple of seconds before purposely breaking their eye contact and gesturing for her to continue.
  Dara continued, "Things were good for a while. We sort of insulated ourselves in our own happy little bubble. No one knew about us so we didn't answer to anyone and we didn't have to deal with any outside interference. We were able to just.. be.." She sighed, worrying that Jiyong might take her words the wrong way again. He needs to hear the complete story so she grabbed his hand and held on tight. Scared that he might pull away. Grateful when he didn't. "With him, I didn't miss you as hard as I usually did. It didn't hurt as much seeing you out with other girls. He dulled the pain being away from you brought me.. He helped me smile again." 

Just as expected, Jiyong's body tensed but Dara held on tight. "You have no idea how much not being with you hurt me. And I'm not trying to take away from your pain, but you.. you had much more distractions that I did. You had Big Bang. Your solo. Your collaborations. Your other projects and your friends. 2ne1 was just starting and I didn't have much friends back then that aren't in some way or the other connected to you. Your presence haunted me and I had nowhere to run to, to escape.." Tears running down her cheeks, she gripped his hand tightly. Forcing him to listen. "He allowed me to rant. To curse at you. To say that you were an idiot and an . He even agreed when I dissed your talent, even though we both know what I said was out of anger. Then he calmed me down and then he made me laugh. He's a good guy, Jiyong and I know that you know it. I know that you've always respected him and Junsu and Yoochun for standing up for what they believed in and for pursuing their passions."
  "I don't need you to talk him up Dara." He told her dryly. "I have no interest in dating him."
  "Of course not." She agreed firmly, sniffling all the while. "You're dating me so you're not allowed to even consider dating anyone else. Ever."   Jiyong just grunted, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to ruin his serious demeanor. He's still mad. But she's just so cute when she's acting all possessive. "Okay." He said simply. 
  "Okay." She repeated. "So.. yeah.. Things were going really well and we were happy. Until he started changing. Just little things that would normally go unrecognized but they started happening frequently. And I don't know if the fact that we're almost always together helped me recognize the signs or blinded me to it, but it got really bad.."
  Jiyong watched her face carefully. "Did he hurt you?"
  "Never." She assured him. Patting his hand. "He.. he just got scary sometimes and I don't think he even realized it. I worried about him.."
  "Goddammit, Sandara!" Jaejoong cursed when he found her reading another article on Big Bang. "Why do you insist on torturing yourself?!"
  "Youngbae sent the link on our group chat and everyone but me has commented on it." She defended herself. "It's not a big deal."
  "Sure, it's not." He scoffed. "Until it mentions Kwon Jiyong swapping spit with another model, then you turn into a blubbering mess." She stared at him in shock. "Don't look at me like that. I'm your boyfriend! How do you think that makes me feel?"
  "They're my friends. I'm not doing anything wrong." She insisted. "I just wanted to read it so I could tell them truthfully that I did and maybe compliment them on whatever it's about. We're YG Family. This is what we do."
  "Some family." He scoffed again as he threw back another drink. He stood up and went to pour himself another glass of scotch. "Whatever. I'm taking a shower. We're going to that new club, right?"
  "Yeah." she answered slowly, wondering what was wrong with him.
  After his shower, Jaejoong was in a much better mood. Cuddling her and kissing her and just being good to her. Being the forgiving person that she is, Dara immediately forgot the incident and just focused on loving man by her side.
 
_________________
  "That !" Jaejoong fumed as he led Dara out of the restaurant where they've been having lunch.
  "Jae.." Dara cooed. "He wasn't doing anything wrong."
  "That er was staring at you like I wasn't even there." Jaejoong insisted. "Just because I'm practically unemployed doesn't mean that minimum-waged gets to treat me like this!"
  "Kim Jaejoong!" Dara was shocked at the venom in his words. Jaejoong massaged the bridge of his nose. Dara could see that he regretted the words almost immediately after he said them. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
  "I'm just stressed." He told her.
  "You know that's no excuse." She admonished him. He nodded but didn't say another word to her until they got back to their hotel.
    ______________________     Dara woke up after midnight to total darkness. She blindly reached out for the bedside lamp and turned it on. She blinked several times, her eyes adjusting to the sudden light.
  She listened for movement inside the bathroom, but heard none so she made her way to the living room. There she found Jaejoong staring solemnly at the TV watching his former group's music video. The TV's volume was so low it was practically muted.
  She approached him cautiously, "Hey.. Couldn't sleep?" She sat down next to him, cuddling up against his arm. He gave her a quick kiss then resumed watching the silent TV. Dara decided not to push and simply leaned her head on his shoulder and watched the flickering images. She was almost asleep when she heard him.
  "I wonder if I'll ever get to stand on the stage again." His words were filled with despair and helplessness, Dara's heart ached for him.
  "Of course you will." She assured him. When he didn't respond, she put a hand on his cheek and gently forced him to look at her. "You will. You have so much talent in you that the world would be a sorrier place if you aren't on stage." 
  "It's not up to talent - "
  "But it is. It's not the only factor, but it is a huge one." She answered him confidently. "People see your talent and they recognize it. They know a good investment when they see it and you are pretty much one of the best. Although I may be a bit biased.." She giggled when he brushed his nose against hers affectionately. "You have talent, you have passion and you don't look half-bad. This is just a challenge that's waiting to be overcome. You can do this, Jae. You, Junsu and Yoochun, you guys will make it. I believe it. In you."
  Jaejoong smiled at her and silently went back to watching the TV. Dara was drowsily basking in the affection when she felt Jaejoong stiffen. She raised her head to look at the TV and saw Big Bang's newest music video. "Oh, I haven't seen this one."
  "Do you want me to leave you to it then?" Jaejoong asked her bitingly.
  "Huh?"
  "Do you want to be alone so you can obsess about Kwon Jiyong?" he asked her heatedly. "You want to cry over him again? Is that it?"
  "What are you talking about?" Dara's confusion was clear but Jaejoong didn't see any of it. In his mind, his girlfriend was so focused on her ex's music video. Again. "I was just saying. We've been traveling so much that I don't really get to watch-"
  "So it's my fault then?" He demanded, pulling away from her. "I'm sorry being with me is cutting your time that you could use to keep yourself updated on Kw-"
  "Stop right there!" Dara was also starting to get angry. "I love being with you. I choose to be with you. I made an innocent comment about Big Bang, a group I admire and who are my friends. Stop putting words in my mouth!" She sighed in defeat when he remained silent. Watching the music video with a sullen expression.
  When Big Bang's music video ended, Jaejoong said so softly, Dara would have missed it if she wasn't paying close attention. "I just miss it. So much."
  Dara's heart broke for him and she hugged him tight. Whispering words of comfort and encouragement until they both fell asleep.
  When Dara woke up, she found Jaejoong happily making them breakfast. "Hey."
  "Hey, baby." Jaejoo