JIYONG’S POV

Jiyong. . . I’m sorry.         I’m sorry. . .      

I’m sorry. . . Jiyong.         I’m leaving. . . I’m leaving.

No.

I can’t be with you. . .     I’m sorry. . .        I’m leaving. . .

Jiyong. . .

No.

Jiyong. . . I’m sorry.

No.

I’m leaving you.

*Ring ring. . . ring ring ring. . . ring ring. . .

My eyes snapped open at the sound of my alarm clock. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and my breathing was ragged. I blindly turned off the alarm as I slowly sat upright and tried to even my breathing. I eyed my surrounding and noted that I was only in my room.

A dream, huh.

“Oppa, wake up! Breakfast is ready.” Jisoo called out as she knocked on my room’s door.

I shut my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to clear out my head.

“Oppa? Are you awake?”

“I-uh . . . Yeah. I’m coming down in a bit.”

“Okay! Omma and I will wait for you. Ah! No, I’m not waiting for you if you don’t come faster. I’m hungry already, okay oppa?” Then, I heard her shuffling footsteps outside my room. She didn’t even wait for my reply.

Dear sister, why aren’t you born cute?

“Oppa. Give me more rice, please? Oppa?”

“Oppa!”

“Huh?” Jisoo gave me a confused look and pointed at her hand with her lips. I look down and realized that she’s holding out her bowl to me.

“What?”

“I was asking for rice, oppa. It’s beside you.”

“Oh, right.” I took her bowl and filled it with rice. “Yah. Is this your fourth serving already?” She shot me the meanest glare but I only laugh it off.

I held my spoon in a tight grip when I thought of my dream again. Damn it all! I can’t get it out of my mind.

“Jiyong, are you alright?” Omma suddenly asked, breaking my chain of thoughts.

“Hm?” I looked at her and she’s looking back at me with a worried face. Jisoo, who’s busy with her food a while ago, was also looking at me expectantly.

I looked back at my mother and gave her a faint smile but she didn’t buy it. She’s always good at this. She always knows if something is bothering me. Well, I think all mothers are like that.

“You look bothered, dear. Did you not have a good sleep?”

“I’m okay omma. Just a bad dream.”

With a light furrow ran across her forehead, she asked, “Don you want to talk about it?”

“It’s fine omma. I-uh . . .  I already forgot about it anyways.” I gave her another reassuring smile but she’s still looking at me worriedly. We fall into an uncomfortable silence so I tried to change the subject but my cute little sister decided to take things in her hands.

With a snort, she said. “Ha! You’re just disappointed you didn’t dream about Dara unnie.”

“W-what?” I heard omma muffled a laugh and when I turned to her, the worried expression was long gone and replaced by a sly grin.

“Oh, I see. It must be really the case.”

“Omma!” I cried out and my dear mother only laughed at me.

This is what I’ve been dreading for. My mother caught a disease. A disease I’d like to call the Dara Disease. The first time I brought to her to visit omma in the hospital, I swear I heard wedding bells and cries of babies inside my mother’s head.

Don’t even start with my sister. She found the big sister she never had in Dara. The problem is, Jisoo has the same thoughts with omma so you can guess what she’s been telling me since the ‘uh-oh’ moment (refer  to Chapter 16).

‘Dara unnie is so nice and beautiful, isn’t she? I bet the entire male population of SNU wants to date her. Don’t wait for me to say I told you so. Someday, someone will snatch her away from you’

‘Aren’t you a bit slow oppa? Go and confess to her already.’

‘I wish Dara unnie would be my sister soon.’

‘I’ll pray for a miracle so Dara unnie will fall for you instead. Even though I really think that would be impossible.’

Dara unnie this—Dara unnie that—blah blah blah and blah blah blah.

My father is no exception. I still remember how he asked me so out of the blue about Dara. We were in his office discussing about the planned business expansion in Japan when he suddenly mentioned her name. It was so random it caught me off guard.

Flasback

“So, how did you and Dara met?”

“We should focus on new business opportunities like—Wait, what?” I stared at my father and waited for him to speak again. Maybe I didn’t hear it right.

“How did you and Dara met?”

I scoffed. I straightened my back crossed my leg over the other. “Appa, how did Dara get into our conversation?”

“Come on, son. Humor me a little bit here. We’ve been talking about business for hours now. I understand that you’re anxious about your new business project but I know you can make it successful. You’re a Kwon after all!”

With a sigh, I said, “Dara and I met . . . Hm, how should I say this? I think I can say, we met by an accident.”

He must have seen something on my face that made him smile. Not a big, visible teeth smile but more like I- know- something- you- don’t- know smile. “We don’t meet people by accident, Jiyong. Sometimes, they are meant to cross our path for a reason.”

His words stuck in my head so deep I wasn’t able to formulate a single word to reply.

“I like her so don’t do anything stupid that will make you lose her. Listen, I’m not saying you aren’t allowed to make mistakes. That’s what makes us human. We made mistakes not to regret them . . .  but to learn how to make things right. That’s what important, you must learn how to make things right. ”

I was silent and engraved his words to my mind and to my heart. I understand what his saying but I don’t want him to misunderstand my relationship to Dara.

“Appa, we don’t have that kind of relationship. She’s just . . . a friend.”

A crease formed in his forehead and he heaved a dejected sigh. I don’t understand why he looked disappointed when I say those words. To be honest, I also don’t know why but I’m feeling the same way. Those words left a bitter after-taste in my mouth.

“Girlfriend or not, it’s hard to find someone like her. So you better take care of her, son.”

That conversation got stuck on my head like super glue since then.

She’s like a virus rapidly spreading and infecting my family. If I bring her here, in our house, I’m sure as hell Dara Disease will contaminate the entire employees of this household.  

What I’m so afraid is, sooner or later, I’ll also catch this one hell of a virus and infect me for life.

“Oh, speaking of Dara. When will you bring her again Jiyong? I missed her already. Tell her to come visit me. I’d loooooove to have a chat with her again.”

I sighed and half-heartedly nodded at my mother. I feel like I’ve been sighing a lot lately. “Okay, I’ll tell her later.”

It was a huge mistake turning to Jisoo. A -eating grin was plastered on her face and I already know what will happen next. “You’re seeing unnie later? Did you finally ask her out on a date?”

“Seungri is having a barbeque party later and he invited the whole squad. So, no sis, it’s not a date.”

This non-stop conversation about Dara reminded me of what Youngbae told me. His words echoes in my head repeatedly and realized that I have this much bigger priority right now.

“…Here’s what I know and no matter how much you want to deny it, you like Dara. And when you’re done with your bull, make sure of your feelings for her…”

Damn that Yungbae for knowing me so well.

BOM’S POV

Seunghyun and I were grilling the last batch of meat when I sense a negative vibe looming around Seungri’s backyard.

I was just joking. But wouldn’t it be cool to have super powers like that?

The truth is, since we arrived here at Seungri’s, Dara has been distracted. It’s like, she’s physically here but her mind is floating somewhere else.  She got her shift at the café before coming here so I assume she’s only tired but remembering the recent happenings, it is so much deeper than that.

My eyes met with Chaerin then she nodded at the direction of Dara. She must have noticed it too. “Hey Seunghyun, can you handle the grilling by yourself? I’m just going over there.”

He puffed his chest out and shot me a smug look. “Of course! Who do you think I am? I am Choi Seunghyun! I’ve already mastered the art of grilling. That’s basic—”

“Okay, okay.” I held my hand to stop him. You said all that but it made me more worried, you know.

Chaerin sat beside Dara and I sat across from her. This girl’s spacing out too much, she didn’t even notice that someone’s already with her. “Hey, everything okay?” I squeezed her hand. She blinked and took in her surroundings. “What planet did you go?”

She actually did laugh but it was a faint one. “I’m fine.”

“Well, you don’t look like one. You sighed for like, ten times in the last 60 seconds. That is not fine.”

“You didn’t even notice us approaching you.” Chaerin supplied.

There goes another sigh. “I don’t know. I mean . . . I can’t bring myself to party while my family’s still deeply in debt.”

“We understand what you’re saying but you’ve been working your for weeks. Give yourself a break Dara. Forget about your worries for the meantime and enjoy yourself.” She smiled as Chaerin also put her hand on top of us. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.” She told us sincerely. I’m glad we somewhat managed to make her smile.

She’s been working a lot lately that I only got to see and talk to her properly