Around December 2009

 

The girls were asked by the president to stay in Japan during the holiday season since it would be too lonely for them to spend it in Korea. He knew about the rendezvous of his talents since he has already been there and he understood it. He just cannot risk their careers in Korea and he would rather let them roam around the busy streets of Tokyo than Seoul.

 

A week before their flight to Japan, the girls just came from a long day of practice and recording new songs with Papa Teddy when Minzy noticed the gloomy aura of her favorite unnie.

 

“Dara-unnie, what’s wrong?” Minzy asked as she stopped and face the tired and restless older girl.

 

“Nothing much,Minkki.” Sandara answered in a very weak voice and gave out a weak smile. She walked pass through the younger girl and slumped herself in the nearest couch as she stared blankly at the open space. She thoughtlessly reached out for something in the open space and thought aloud, “─just tired.”

 

Minzy looked at the older girl and she cannot help but sigh at the older girl’s state. Basing on her unnie’s acts, she already knew─ they all knew─ who caused the over energetic girl to be this drained out. This happened several times already that they already knew what to expect and seriously, she is hating every time it happens.

 

From her point of view, her favorite unnie never deserves this kind of treatment. She deserves better treatment than this. She stood there watching Dara’s moves and hearing her sighs when she felt someone nudged her from the back. She turned back and saw her other unnies looking at the dazed Dara.

 

“It happened again?” Bom hissed as her fist tightened while looking at the girl.

 

“Again? Meaning he has swayed for the nth time?” Chaerin said as she gritted her teeth in anger. She hates seeing Dara being like this. She prefers her to act like a silly little child and playing happily with the maknae. She would even prefer Dara teasing and matching her with Seungri than this.

 

Minzy nodded slowly as they watched Dara burying her head on her bended knees like a child who was too scared of unknown things such as ghost. “She looks so tired and a bit scared…” She whispered in the air.

 

“Right. Who wouldn’t be tired from loving someone like him?” Chaerin stated as her fist were now hurting from too much clenching.

 

“This has to stop. I can’t bear it anymore.” Bom exclaimed before marching down towards the unknowing girl. She took a deep breath as soon as she was in front of her before scooping up Dara’s bended, curled body. “Yah! You need to change clothes already before you get sick! You don’t want that to happen, right?

 

Dara looked up and with a weary expression; she spoke in a weak voice, “It would be better to get sick, at least, he might worry and give me a ring. Don’t you think?”

 

Minzy can no longer take it and decided to go to her room before she can begin to loathe him for hurting her unnie. Chaerin followed the maknae worriedly and she also felt that the older girls need more time to sort the sad thoughts on Dara’s mind.

 

“Now that the kids were gone, what happened?” Bom asked while sitting down beside the little girl and brushed off the fallen hairs on the girl’s face. “… don’t even try telling me it’s nothing when we both know it’s never nothing and I am not going to believe you either.”

 

Dara sighed as she gulped a few and times and took out a deep breath as a last attempt to hold her tears. She looked at the older girl, her sweet and brutal Park Sister, Bom and sighed again.

 

“You know my habit of calling him every five thirty in the morning since I’m having trouble in sleeping.” Dara started in a weak, shaky voice.

 

Bom nodded and motioned for the younger girl to continue.

 

“I sent a message first telling him that I can’t sleep and if it’s okay to call him…” Dara continued and her tears were now starting to form on her eyes. “… and I received a reply urging me to do call which I did.”

 

“Oh, you should be happy! He did reply… and I thought I would have to do a whacking session with him again.” Bom cheerily said since she thought everything is alright and the sadness was all on her friends’ mind.

 

“Y-you don’t understand Bommie.” Dara said that made Bom frowned at her and mouthed a “..What?” She paused and slowly looked at the floor before letting out another heavy sigh. “… I did call a girl answered the phone.”

 

Bom’s face has lost its color in a flash when she heard about another girl answering the phone. She knew the pain of discovering there’s another girl answering your lover’s phone. She smiled a bit and pulls Dara closer to her before saying, “His phone might have been lost and that’s why somebody answered him phone. You should all know the dangers of Japan and their fangirls.”

 

She shook her head and tears were now falling on her cheeks.

 

“How I wish that’s the real case…” Dara said in between sobs and she felt being envelope by the warmth embrace tightening and she hears Bom telling her to go on with the story. “… on the background, I can hear him whispering sweet nothings to her…”

 

“You’re playing with me right, Ssantoki?” Bom asked as if trying to tell the girl it’s not a joke.

 

“How I wish that everything right now is a play or simply a nightmare I could wake up from. Bommie, it hurts.” Dara mumbled with tears on her eyes. She pointed her temple and then on heart before saying, “It hurts here that I just want to crash and burn from the pain… I’m tired. I am so tired already that I just feel like quitting. It hurts so bad that all I can do was to cry and feel pity for myself. Maybe, I really am too old and he mistook his admiration for love. Or he doesn’t need me anymore since everything was already in a blur... Bom, is there any medicine to make me numb from this… Coz if you do have, give me thousands of those, please…”

 

Bom’s colorless face has started to redden from her anger but she puts a restrain on herself. She needed to stay first on Dara’s side. She pulls her closer towards her and puts her head on her lap. She started giving her temples some rubbing to relax the girl and she spent the night, once again, comforting a hurt and broken girl.

 

“Enough is enough, Kwon Jiyong. You can’t hurt her anymore.” Bom thought as she fell asleep comforting the girl.