“Just friends?!Are you kidding me?! The two of you are just friends?!” Jiyong exclaimed right after Chaerin told him what transpired when she and Dara were left alone in the shore for a short while yesterday.

Chaerin hastily covered his mouth so that he couldn’t further speak and discreetly said, “Lower down your voice, Ji.”

Jiyong nodded and gradually removes Chaerin’s hand on his mouth. He sagged his shoulders and gives Chaerin a vexing stare. “But really, the both of you are just friends?”

“Mmm. Friends-friends.” She casually told him and started moving as she catches up with Dara and her group who’s already at the end of the dock, putting on their life vests and getting on the boat.

Jiyong fastened his pace and arrived the end of the dock in time with Chaerin. They put in their vests and embarked on the narrow aquatic vessel.

Dara and Chaerin exchanged a smile when their eyes briefly met, then the latter settled on her seat right beside Jiyong.

The boat started to move, and their Underground River tour began.

All of them enjoyed the wonder that the nature is offering to them. They keenly paid attention to the tourist guide, telling them about the landmark’s history. A few moments later, Chaerin felt a nudge from her side.

She looked at Jiyong and gives him a cold stare. She whisperingly said, “What?”

“Are you really okay with just being friends?” He replied in the same level of voice.

“Let’s just talk it about it later in private.” Chaerin immediately dismissed and shifted her attention to the breathtaking view that they are currently witnessing.

Unknowingly to herself, a smile appeared from her face. The thought of Dara being all amused is pleasing her.

“You’re smiling. Penny for your thoughts?” Jiyong interrupted and grinned at Chaerin.

She just rolled her eyes and chose to disregard him.

The group completed their Palawan Underground River trip in a few minutes. They’ve eaten their lunch on a nearby restaurant and tried their famous delicacies.

Chaerin and Dara exchanged friendly glances and smiles from time to time. Even they are now friends, the both of them are still awkward with each other. Especially when they never really become casual friends.

All of them continued exploring the city until they finally came to their last stop – Iwahig River. It was already evening and they came at the right time to witness the fireflies illuminating the riverbanks.

This time around, Dara and Chaerin seated next to each other during their Iwahig River tour. Chaerin won’t deny that she was fascinated by the presence of those fireflies wandering around. The place is entirely dim, but it was lit by those little creatures.

But there’s one living being that caught her attention the most – Dara. Chaerin observed on how Dara’s facial expression changed everytime she is amused. She smiled to herself and thought, ‘I missed seeing you close like this.’

When she perceived that Dara was about to stare at her, she jerked her head to the side and pretended that her attention is undivided. She started to smile. ‘After all, maybe we could start all over again.’

Their river tour was short. But they stayed there and had dinner on its floating restaurant. Chaerin noticed that her best friend is missing. She approached Mario who she’d seen the last person he spoke with and asked him, “Maurer, have you seen Jiyong?”

“He went back to the hotel first. He said that he has something urgent to do.”

“Urgent?” Chaerin asked in oddity. As far as she could remember, their schedule until tomorrow is free.

She looked at Mario with a probing look, but the model just shrugged. His face tells her that he’s completely clueless about Jiyong’s whereabouts so curtly dismissed him.

Chaerin saw the executive assistant of their affiliate’s senior accountant slash prodigy and asked her, “Miss Reyes, have G-Dragon told you the reason for his sudden AWOL?”

“No, Miss CL. But he told me to tell you to not worry about him. He’ll just see back at the resort.” The EA informed her.

“Okay, thanks.” Chaerin said and went back to her seat and waited for the food just like everybody else.

Right after having their dinner, the group went back to the resort and decided to call it a night. As much as she wanted to spend the remaining time with Dara, Chaerin has to see Jiyong as soon as possible because his sudden leaving bothered her.

When she arrived inside her room, Jiyong welcomed Chaerin with an upsetting statement. “As much as I wanted for you and your friend to catch up and go back from being lovers, we have an emergency.”

There was urgency in his voice, which is very unusual of him to do. So Chaerin asked him in conce