41.

"Oh. He was the one who helped you out when you prepared for your first Strong Heart appearance, right?" Donghae stated.

Dara was genuinely surprised that Donghae knew about that. "Oh.. you watched that episode, Hae?"

Donghae immediately reddened, embarassed. He was certainly not gonna tell Dara that he watched that episode just because she was going to be there. He thanked God that Dara couldn't see him over the phone.

"Um..yeah. I'm a fan of Strong Heart. I try to never miss an episode," Donghae explained, his facial expression tight. 

As always, Dara was oblivious. "Ooh.. that's nice, I guess. So you're gonna have to help me out, since I bet you're a Strong Heart expert now." She joked, and Donghae laughed along with her nervously.

"Anyway, you're correct. He was the one who 'coached' me. Because, as you know, 2NE1 members aren't that good at variety shows."

Donghae almost flipped his at Dara's short giggles after she spoke.

So. Freaking. Cute. Donghae thought. He composed himself after a few moments, and cleared his throat.

All he could think of was that he was falling in too deep for the small woman he was talking to on the phone.

"Sooo.. what is this SH episode about again?" Donghae asked. Dara answered that it was an idol couple special, but Donghae heard CL in the background.

"Correction, unnie. It's a celebrity couple special, and you're the representative for the idol couple." 

"Oh, okay. Did you hear what Chaerin said?" 

"Yeah. So, when do we meet Seungri?" Donghae replied. He heard Dara hum, obviously thinking before replying to him.

"I'd have to call him first to see if he's available." Dara said, and he agreed. "I guess I have to get off the phone so you can talk to Seungri?"

"Yeah. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Okay."

Donghae waited for Dara to end the call before putting his phone down. 

"What the fu-" He almost fell out of his chair, when he felt someone breathing on his left cheek.

It turned out that it was Eunhyuk, eavesdropping closely on their conversation. The culprit grinned mischievously at the glaring Donghae.

"Wow, man. I've been totally near you the whole time, and you never noticed until you were done with the call." Hyukjae laughed. "You're so focused on Dara that you can't notice anymore?"

Donghae whacked his bestfriend's shoulder. "Shut up."

On the other hand, Dara was left alone by her members, as she opted to go to her room as she tried calling Seungri.

After 5 missed calls, Seungri finally answered. "Noona! Sorry. I was taking a a while ago."

Dara face palmed. "You did not need to tell me that, Ri." Seungri guffawed, obviously happy that he annoyed his noona.

"So what's up?" Seungri finally seemed serious enough to talk to.

Dara explained the whole Strong Heart situation first, before asking him for help. "Ooh.. so your first tv appearance as a couple huh?"

"Yeah. I'm so nervous. So I need your skills." Dara pleaded. 

"Sure. Anything for my favorite student slash noona