I stopped on my tracks, suddenly remembering something. I haven’t checked my locker yet for a reply from Daddy-Long-Legs. I hurriedly ran towards my locker, already anticipating on what he’ll reply. What met me wasn’t a new note from him though. It was still the same note I left for him. He must be absent. Gaaah! Both of my friends are absent today, that’s so not fair. I felt myself stop breathing for a while.

“They’re both absent,” I murmured to myself.

No, it can’t be.

I immediately went to Kwon Jiyong’s room. Of course, I know he isn’t there, so I looked for someone I know who is both his classmate and his choirmate. Then, I spotted someone by the name of Seungri.

I bit down my lip. I don’t usually approach people. But I’m too desperate right now. I leaned on the wall when I saw him heading my direction. When he passed by me, I tugged on his sleeve. He whirled around, surprise apparent on his face.

I cleared my throat before speaking but he beat me to it.

“Sandara Park?” he asked. I nodded. “What is it?”

“Do you…do you happen to know Kwon Jiyong’s home address?”

“Kwon Jiyong’s home address?” he repeated. Aish! Is he mocking me?

Along the way, there were too many thoughts swarming in my mind. Am I really doing this? What will I do upon seeing him? Slap him? Interrogate him right away? Are my suspicions of him being Daddy-Long-Legs true? Why didn’t he tell me then? Was he pretending back then when he said he doesn’t know who Judy Abbott is? Why will he even take the role of Daddy-Long-Legs when he could even talk to me directly every day? Why use those notes? He’s making his life difficult. Now that I think about it, though, Kwon Jiyong and Daddy-Long-Legs are a lot more similar than I imagined. They both want to see me smile as if it’s some kind of their objective. They even deliver lame jokes that I laugh to anyway. They both know how to play piano. They both love composing songs too. Well, at least I know for sure Daddy-Long-Legs does. Kwon Jiyong just composed a song once when he sang it so he could apologize to me.

However, maybe I’m just too paranoid. What if I’m wrong then? Maybe Kwon Jiyong would laugh at my face just like what he did when I asked him if he liked me. Aish! Whatever! I want to know and I am going to ask him right away. I don’t care if I’ll be embarrassed. But- GAAAAH! I’m going crazy already. I pulled out my hair in frustration.

“Miss? Miss, we’re here,” the taxi driver’s voice entered my ears.

I quickly fixed my hair. “Eh? Oh, thank you. Here’s my fare, ahjussi,” I said handing him the money.

I stepped off the taxi and looked up the tall apartment building in front of me. This looked like a place where rich people live in. Is he living alone? Or with his family? I breathed in and walked towards the building.

I pressed the buzzer for a million times already. No one was answering the door. I was getting more and more impatient so I raised my fist and pounded on the door.

A groggy Jiyong met me. He was still rubbing his eyes and yawning so loud. He went on cursing under his breath but immediately stopped when he saw me clearly.

“Eh? Dara?”

I stared intently at his beaten up state.

My hand immediately flew on his face. When he recovered from my slap, he faced me and blinked many times.

“Let me in,” I said, looking down on my feet. Gaaah! What did I just do?

I saw him making way for me and so I entered.

His place was a little too messy. Bottles are everywhere. I realized the he was drinking. The place also reeked of cigarettes. The television was on and the show he was watching was actually cartoons. Though because he just woke up when he answered the door, I knew he wasn’t watching it. On the sofa are a blanket and a pillow. I concluded that he was sleeping here.

He cleared his throat. “Um, Dara-“

I faced him and he stopped talking. I stared at him intently. I stared at his fresh wounds he have on the side of his lips and on his temple. The wounds were still red with blood. I raised my hand and he flinched so I stopped my hand midway.

Realizing that I will not slap him again, he straightened up. But I dropped my hand and turned my back on him.

“Get your first aid box,” I ordered.

I heard him quickly running away and looked for the first aid box. After a while, I heard him come back.

I turned to him and grabbed the box. “Sit there.”

He dropped to the couch and just stared at me. I sat beside him and started treating his wounds. Every now and then, he would flinch because it obviously stung.

“Be gentle!” he complained.

“Aish! Really! All you do is complain!” I said, dropping my hands. “I won’t treat your wounds anymore!”

He poked me. “I was joking.”

I glared at him and continued treating his wounds. He would still flinch every now and then but he didn’t talk again.

Now that I got the opportunity to look at his face closely, I noticed that there were dark circles around his eyes. His face got slimmer too. I wondered why.

“I’ve got a question for you,” he broke the silence.

“I came here to interrogate you, so I’ll ask you first,” I said.

“Interrogate me?” he asked.

“I said, I’m asking!” I said. I cleared my throat then asked. “Are you Daddy-Long-Legs?”

He laughed out loud. Gaaah! That’s what I hate about him. He’s obviously mocking me. I knew he’s going to do this but I still asked him though.

“Are you mocking me?” I asked.

He held his laughter in. “How can you say that?”

Realizing that he was asking about my former question, I answered right away. “He didn’t answer to my latest note. This is his first time. So I concluded that since you’re absent too, you’re Daddy-Long-Legs.”

He laughed again. “Is that your only reference?”

I creased my brows. “Not only that.” I started telling him my evidences like how they are both making me smile, how they love giving lame jokes, and the like. However, when I finished explaining, he just stared at me with an amused expression. “Never mind.”

He smiled.

“How long will you be gone?” I asked again.

He looked taken aback. He didn’t expect this question. “One… one week.”

“What did you do for the past week?”

“Nothing, I was just-“

“Don’t you dare lie to me,” I warned.

“I was looking for some students around the school who could help me beat up Youngbae.”

My hand stopped from treating his wound. “Why did you do that?”

He stared at me. I didn’t break gaze with him. “You looked upset after what happened. I wanted to take revenge for you.”

“What did you get then?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

“You just got yourself some wounds and didn’t get even one flaw on Youngbae’s face. Also, you got yourself to stain your school record,” I answered for him.

“You sound so much like a mother,” he said.

“I don’t care.”

“I don’t care too. I don’t care if my school record got stained. I don’t care if I got these wounds. I hate seeing you sulky and depressed just because of that jerk. I wanted to break his neck.”

“I’m going to ask you again. What did you get then?”

He turned silent. “I’m sorry.”

“You can be so reckless, can’t you?” I said. “I don’t want you to do those kinds of things again.”

“I want to.”

“I don’t want to see you being like this. Tell me, when did you last sleep for 8 hours? Do you still eat three times a day? Look at yourself on the mirror. You’re uglier than you really are.”

He chuckled.

“Don’t chuckle! I’m being serious here.”

He caught my wrist and put my hands down. He hugged me to himself but I struggled, but I failed so I relaxed myself in his arms.

“Ask,” I said.

“What?” he asked. “Oh, um, well, why did you come here?”

I pushed him away and stood up.

“At first I just wanted to ask you whether you’re Daddy-Long-Legs but when I saw you on the door, when I saw all those wounds on your ugly face, the thoughts were pushed back to the innermost of my mind and all I could ever think of is why you look like that! I hate you for being like this! I didn’t ask you to do this for me! I didn’t ask you to fight Youngbae for me! I didn’t ask you to avenge me. You did this all by yourself! You made me worried. For a week, I wasn’t able to see you that often. If I would see you, you’re walking away and when I call you, you wouldn’t turn to me! For a week, you made me worry about you! You made me think of all the worst things that could have happened to you! I got angry at you!  Just a week ago, you made me feel I’m not alone but right after that, you left me alone until I went back to my sulky self! I convinced myself many times that Daddy-Long-Legs is still here for me but I was a fool myself! I am not able to meet him. It’s like he’s just a figment of my imagination! For a while, everything that Daddy-Long-Legs wrote to me didn’t make me smile. And I blame you for that!” I gasped for breath when I finished talking nonstop. For the first time, I felt the hot tears streaming down my face endlessly. I realized that I was crying for a while already.

He stood up and hugged me again to himself. I pounded my fist on his chest but he didn’t budge. Instead, he my hair until I relaxed.

We were like that for a while when my stomach grumbled.

He pulled away and laughed. “I’ll go cook for you.”

“No,” I protested. “I’m going to cook for both of us. You’re the patient here.”

I went to the kitchen and cooked a few meals. I noticed that there are dirty dishes on the sink. He’s being irresponsible even to his own home. While waiting for the foods to be cooked, I peeked in the living room and saw him cleaning up. Maybe he got ashamed. Well, he should be.

After a while, the foods were finished. When I went back to the living room to call him over, I saw him sleeping peacefully on the sofa. Aish! He just wasted my efforts. This guy!

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Author's Note:

banner credits to @Lalab_Shi

 I was supposed to post this tomorrow.. But I was getting giddy to see how you will react on this chap.. hehehe.. I'm supposed to sleep early but i stayed up late to finish this chap. Oh, if you have any confusions or questions regarding the previous chapters, just pm me or just post it in the comment box.. hehe.. 

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TEASER

I was hiding behind a trash can when i saw someone getting nearer to my locker.

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Who do you think was it? LOL

Jiyong? Youngbae? Hmmmmm.

xoxo

zeyniiDara