#7YearsWith2NE1 Happy anniversary to our queens and my fellow Blackjacks here! Fourever or Threenity? That doesn’t matter anymore. I believe that their sisterhood is stronger and realer than any contract and Wikipedia’s description. Long live to our Queens! CL! Bom! Dara! Minzy!

To Dyanna07! Thank you for upvoting! :) And the new subbies too! To those who always comment and share their delus with me every chapters of World Of Our Own. Liza4Dara. Tinxxi. Ilovedvet. Darahae_fan. Tartar. MerbinWilk. Joreenmae. And the other awesome readers I failed to include. Mian! Hello! Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump! Baliw lang? HAHAHA!

The class of Professor PSY in Medical Economics on that Tuesday morning was utterly quiet. Their movements, voice and even breathing were done in a very discreet manner. The reason?

Yang Sandara was present.

She was 5 minutes early before the class officially started. If that wasn’t a miracle that just happened, then it must be some devil works. What was even more puzzling her classmates and all the teachers was not once she stood and cut her classes! For the whole day, she just sat there, staring at the emptied chair in front of her.

RIIIIINNNGGGGG!!!

The bell has rung but still Professor Leeteuk, their teacher on their last subject, and the rest of the Med students did not move. Are we allowed to go? They were all thinking, even Leeteuk who was standing awkwardly near the whiteboard.

“That Lee Donghae vanished. He didn’t show up his face for the whole day.”

“Maybe somebody knock his senses that he doesn’t belong here.”

“For sure, he dropped out. Good riddance.”

“Now, YG University is back to normal.”

“No more peasants.”

“Finally Yang Sandara ssi got rid of him. Been put to his right pathetic place.”

The Med students kept on whispering but they quickly shut their mouths when Dara raised her head and glared at them. Professor Leeteuk cleared his throat and just lowered his head. “Get out.” She told them with that stern voice and all of them scampered their way out their classroom and out her sight.

The silence of being alone in the modish classroom of theirs did not lessen the thoughts that were running in her mind. She bit her lower lip as she took something out her pocket. She opened it and raised it in level to her eyes. The familiar eyes and smile he clearly inherited from them just added to the shallow feeling that was scraping inside her right from the moment when . . . when . . .

She saw a tear escaped his eyes yesterday.

It was embedded into her mind and sanity that she did not even sleep the whole night.

It was ten times worse than having a nightmare of somebody chasing you with an ax or a chainsaw. Opened eyes. Closed eyes. Lee Donghae was always there, staring at her with those forsaken eyes. Now, the more she stared at the two pictures of a middle-aged man and woman, the more she became restless. Dara closed the locket and put it back in her pocket.

Yes.

She found it.

It was almost 11 in the evening when she found the locket in between two large stones in that lake. Her black Saint Laurent white dress and hair were covered with some greeny stuff all over. The exhaustion she felt was nothing to the relief and joy of having the opportunity to touch it once again.

Her head turned to the back where he always sat and most of the time stood.

He’s absent. He was never absent. Dara thought as she turned back on the teacher’s table in front. “Tsk.”

Wednesday Morning

They were all beginning to think that the world was gonna end or something. Yang Sandara was even earlier than the school janitor. Again, she was just sitting at the back the whole time! The teachers felt their nerves and veins pulsating by the second that passed. Having the Chairman of South Korea’s Department of Education observed your class was better than having Yang Sandara sat there in silence. The fact was they were starting to think that she was there, thinking if her teachers were competent enough to teach the assigned subjects to them. PSY even talked to the dean to have him replaced and he’d gladly teach Social Science subjects to the non-Medical students.

“Uhm.” Professor Leeteuk glanced at the clock. The bell has rung already. Ten minutes had passed but they were still inside their room, not moving.  He and his class were all warily looking at the heiress who had her eyes closed and her arms crossed at the last row. “D-d-dismiss?” He barely said.

No reaction.

Leeteuk took his books and portfolio while the students stood up carefully, not wanting to create noise. Not wanting to disturb her.

“Except you three.”

All of them were glued to their places and their heads slowly turned to her as she finally opened those bored eyes. And they landed on the three guys in front of her.

Choi Siwon. Kim Heechul. Park Yoochun.

She looked at the teacher and just said, “Go.” Leeteuk was even faster than a duck as he slightly pushed the students who tried to leave the room first. Now, there were only four of them inside the room.

Three obviously nervous and confused namjas and an impassive and already piqued heiress.

Is it because Donghae hasn’t come to school anymore that she’s laying her wrath on us ‘cause we’re his friends? They all thought horribly. They did not even touched their bags and were about to tell her to spare their lives but halted when Yang Sandara finally stood from her chair and laid them a piercing stare.

“What’s the address?”

.           .           .           .           .           .

Siwon and Yoochun and glanced at each other as one question even baffled their already confused minds. Whose address?

But Heechul’s features smoothened as he stared back at Dara’s intimidating eyes. Something has changed in her. He thought as he answered back. “ELF Street.”

“One detergent bar, 5 packs of spicy ramen, loaf of bread, 1 small tube of toothpaste, 1 soap, and shampoo . . .” Donghae began rummaging his plastic bag of grocery. “Where’s my shampoo?” He was walking back to his rented apartment. “Oh. There it is.” He got sick yesterday from all that diving in the lake which he didn’t want to remember anymore. He caught fever and some runny nose but he was fine already. This afternoon, he assumed himself that he was really okay. Virus gone. He even went to buy some stuff in the nearby store. He felt like he could already attend his classes tomorrow. If he still wants to attend.

The light posts on the ELF St. where his apartment was weren’t functioning anymore. Some neighbors of his already complained it to some electrical company but until now, they weren’t giving action to it. If one would happen to pass by the ELF St., he or she would not even think twice of taking another route. Some would think it was scary to live there but the truth is, the neighborhood was all but safe. Yes, the long path was dark but there were two gates on both ends of the street and it closes at exactly 11 p.m. and opens at 4 in the morning. Each street in their area got a leader to protect and maintain peace in his area and in ELF St? It has Chairman Kangin. He lives on the very middle part of the street just beside Donghae’s. He is strict to those who would try to create trouble in their neighborhood but is very kind to those who need his help, ELF dweller or not. Just give him a slice of watermelon and you’ll be the best buds forever. In ELF St., they knew each other. There’s always a meeting every Saturday night for those who have concerns they want to discuss. Sometimes it’s a meeting but most of the time, it was just a plain and simple gathering for his neighbors to chitchat and have fun by singing and eating the food each family brought.

He stopped near his apartment as he fetched the keys from his back pocket. There was a short staircase with three steps to enter the blue gate of it. Donghae was never worried to go home a bit late for he knew that in ELF St., his safety is 101% guarant-

“Aaaah! Ohh! My god!”

His positive soul almost jumped out of him when a figure just popped up to his front. Donghae staggered back away from it, thinking a thief was waiting for him.

But sure it was no thief.

He adjusted his glasses to see a clear vision despite the darkness. Donghae narrowed his eyes as he stared at the person who obviously had been sitting on the staircase for some time. She looks like . . . He couldn’t see clearly for the person had her head bowed down despite abruptly standing when she felt his presence. He tilted his head to the left to see her face as a crease began to show on his forehead. No way. And she finally raised her head with that familiar glare.

“Woah!” Donghae stepped away even more.

Yang Sandara?!

What the.

“What are you doing here?” His voice was a bit hostile as he tried to compose himself from that shock. This is the person who threw my necklace. Who wants me out her school. What else does she want?

“You guys don’t really have light posts here? Unbelievable.” She shook her head in downright disbelief. “And the mosquitoes. God. Tell me there’s no dengue or malaria epidemic here.” Dara began scratching her arms, scolding herself that she should’ve brought the jacket in her car which she asked Seunghoon, her driver, to drive and disappear from her sight for some hours. She kept on looking around as if she could see the mosquitoes circling around her.

Did she just answer my question with an insult to my neighborhood? “I said, what are you doing here?” He repeated again with that ticked voice.

“Look,” Dara put a hand gesture for him to stop. “I waited her in the dark for almost an hour and half, okay? Sat humbly on this asphalt whatsoever second step to your gate. Endured the Bzzzz, Bzzzz of those freaking deadly mosquitoes. I think I deserve a glass of water inside your house, isn’t that right? Humane, perhaps?”

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