6.

EARLY AUGUST

 

The next day Dara went into YG with CL all pumped up and ready to record. She had listened to the pre-recording of the song and she absolutely loved it. 

 

The song was fast, catchy and upbeat which is just what Dara had wanted in a song. 

 

Her voice was soft, not as powerful as the rest of the girls, so she thought that this song will show people that she's just as strong as the other girls in vocals and in performance when the MV styled commercial came out. 

 

She entered the studio and saw Teddy sitting down in front of his computer as usual, probably editing some new songs he has in store for 2NE1 or Big Bang. 

 

"Oppa!" CL greeted brightly as she entered the room, Dara following suit. 

 

"Oh, wassup? You guys ready to record?" he asked. 

 

"Yeah, is it okay if I go first ? Cz I have to meet up with the president later on." CL asked. 

 

"Yeah, hold on, lemme just get everything ready."

 

They waited about 5 minutes till CL could go into the booth to record and it had taken her about half an hour to perfect the rap segment in the song. After she was done recording, she had hugged Dara bye and waved at Teddy, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. 

 

Dara was feeling excited but nervous at the same time as she wanted to do really well. 

 

"Okay, your turn, Dara." Teddy said. 

 

Dara stood up from the couch and entered the booth. 

 

She began to sing. 

 

"I just wanna kiss

I never wanna miss

deo jja rit ha ge one more time

nae sum eur gajyeo ga

I’m dying for your kiss

I never wanna miss

deo mang seor-i-ji-ma

nae ip-sur-eul ga jyeo-ga"

 

Teddy told her to stop for a moment. 

 

"Is anything wrong?"

 

"Nope, just checking if I let it record or not," Teddy began typing away on his keyboard and was looking through the screen with such focus. "Okay, next." 

 

* * 

 

The recording went for about an hour and a half or so, Dara had to redo some lines again as Teddy told her to make her voice sound more fierce when she said the lines "dangerous" and "poisonous" while making it slightly gentle when she sings the lyrics "we feel so good". Dara followed all of his advice and she had finished perfectly. Teddy was really proud of her, praising her for her great work as she came out of the booth. 

 

Dara collapsed on the couch, she needed to stay for just a bit to make sure everything was okay and if she might need to go into the booth again. 

 

Jiyong was walking pass Teddy's studio when he saw from the small window on the door that Dara was there. He smiled and entered Teddy's studio, wondering what she may have been doing there. 

 

Dara didn't notice Jiyong come in as she had closed her eyes as she was leaning back onto the couch. Teddy turned around and was about to say "sup?" when Jiyong put his finger on his lips, indicating him to be quiet. Teddy just shrugged and went back to work while Jiyong slowly crept up towards Dara. He leaned over her slowly, blocking the light that was on her face. Dara scrunched her nose as she kind of saw it go a bit darker so she opened her eyes only to see Jiyong right in front of her smiling. 

 

"Argh!" she yelped. 

 

Jiyong started to laugh, even Teddy, and she started to pout. 

 

"Yah! Don't do that! What's wrong with you?!" she complained. 

 

Jiyong was still laughing, he just found her reaction way too funny and too cute. "Sorry," he breathed in, trying to stop himself from laughing more. "I just couldn't resist."

 

Dara rolled her eyes and grunted in annoyance. 

 

"So~" Jiyong started and Dara looked at him. "What are you doing here? 2NE1 isn't suppose to be recording any new songs yet." 

 

"She got a commercial and they asked her to sing the song." Teddy interrupted. 

 

"Oh, nice! Well done, Dara." he congratulated, he bought his hand up for a high five which Dara gladly gave. "For what brand?" 

 

"Cass beer." she replied. 

 

"Hmmm, cool. How's the song?" 

 

Teddy played the song that he had finished editing so far. 

 

Jiyong began nodding his head up and down to the rhythm of the beat. He liked the song, it was quite addicting that you'd want to listen to it over and over again. He loved the sound of Dara's voice, and this was a Dara he had never heard before. She was more edgy, fierce, completely different from her usual image, this made him like Dara even more, but he didn't know that it was a different type of like. She was versatile but she just didn't know it yet, even the public doesn't know what Dara is capable of. 

 

"I like it. It's really good, Dara." Jiyong said. 

 

"Thanks!" 

 

"Is it just you filming the commercial?" 

 

Dara shook her head. "Lee Minho too." 

 

"Oh?"

 

"Mhmmm..."

 

"Dara," Teddy said as he turned from his computer and faced the two. "I heard you were gonna do a kiss scene." 

 

He had wanted to see Jiyong's reaction when he found out about the kiss scene and he thought it was the perfect time to bring it up. He had a close up view and he was loving it.

 

Jiyong looked over at Teddy to see if he was lying or not but it didn't seem like it, he looked over at Dara who seemed to be blushing like mad. 

 

"Uh, there is but like... It's okay, right? They're just gonna get the camera to angle it so it looks like I'm kissing him." she shrugged. 

 

Jiyong looked at her as if she was crazy. A kiss scene?! What wrong wrong with the media today always wanting kiss scenes, he thought. 

 

He was about to speak but was cut off by Dara's phone ringing. 

 

She took the phone out of her pocket, looking at the ID and smiling. 

 

Jiyong thought it might've been Wooyoung or something but Dara answered the phone with a "Hye Sun unnie, how are you?" so he was relieved. He hasn't heard about Wooyoung lately so he was actually quite happy about that, maybe they stopped being friends, or aren't really in contact as much as before since he hardly saw Dara texting a lot. 

 

Jiyong looked at Dara as she was talking on the phone, only hearing what she was saying and having to guess what Hye Sun must've been telling her. 

 

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm doing a commercial with him."

"For Cass."

"In three days."

"My phone number?"

"Why?"

"Ohhhh, should I?"

"How's he like?"

"I really liked him in Boys Over Flowers, he's really handsome haha."

"Ahh, unnie, don't tell him!!"

"I'm not happy about it!"

"Well... I don't exactly mind."

"Enjoy? Enjoy what?!" 

"Ahh, shut up, unnie!!"

"Um, no, don't give it to him."

"Because he can just ask it from me instead. He shouldn't be asking you."

"Okay, yup~"

"Got it. Tell him that I'll meet him at the shoot!"

"Okay... Okay... Bye!" 

 

Jiyong glared at her, even though he doesn't know what Hye Sun had said, he was pretty sure that it had something to do with the kiss scene and Lee Minho wanting Dara's phone number. 

 

Dara locked off the phone with a grin on her face. Hye Sun always made her laugh, and actually she was meant to introduce Lee Minho and the rest of F4 to her one time since Dara was a really big fan of the drama but they never got to do that considering their busy schedules and the fact that the guys were starting to act in another drama or continue on with their music. 

 

She looked up to talk with Jiyong and Teddy again, only to be met by a glaring Jiyong. She looked at him worriedly before asking if everything was okay. 

 

"Great. Everything is great." he said through gritted teeth. 

 

Teddy shook his head lightly at Jiyong's over protectiveness towards Dara. Always treating her like his girlfriend, he thought. He continued back with his work, ignoring the other twos presence. 

 

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine."

 

"Was that Hye Sun noona?" Jiyong changed the subject quickly. 

 

"Um, yeah. She heard from Minho that we were doing a commercial together."

 

"He called her to know about you?"

 

"I guess. He wanted to know what kind of person I was to work with since we haven't met before."

 

"And he asked for your number?" Jiyong raised his eyebrow quizzically. 

 

"Yeah, if we could meet up before the shoot so it won't be awkward when the shoot happens since you know..." Jiyong stared at her blankly. "Um... The k-kiss scene." Dara stuttered. 

 

Jiyong rolled his eyes a little. It seemed to him that it was just an excuse to get Dara's phone number. 

 

"But I told unnie not to tell him and that we'll just see each other at the shoot. I'm sure we're going to get along fine, even without having to meet up beforehand." she continued. 

 

Jiyong sighed at her obliviousness. It was obvious that Lee Minho just wanted her number and that it wasn't to make things awkward at the shoot. A lot of guys were after Dara, yet she didn't know this which is weird since every show so far has always mentioned her as a certain idol or actor's ideal type. 

 

But Jiyong didn't say a word about what he really thought. He didn't want to argue with Dara again like he did with the Wooyoung situation. Plus, they had just started talking again, even though it was only at work that they were allowed to communicate. 

 

"Okay..." 

 

Dara was relieved that Jiyong didn't press on the matter any further.

 

Jiyong was a great friend but he was sometimes too over protective when it comes to guys approaching Dara. He was like her little brother, Sanghyun, who always tells her that the guy must come meet him first before they can properly date which Dara found cute but also a tad bit annoying. It was weird for both to be so protective of her when she was older than both of them, plus she was an adult so she was sure she'd be capable of protecting herself. 

 

Dara had then gotten a text so she looked over at it. 

 

BOM: Come to the gym now! Trainer oppa is looking for you, plus I'm the only one here and he's making me say corn is bad in front of 2NE1 TV :c 

 

Dara laughed at the text before replying that she was on her way. 

 

She looked back at Jiyong. "I have to go. Gotta entertain Bom at the gym." 

 

She picked up her bag and tucked her phone away in her pocket. Jiyong stood up when Dara stood up, and walked her to the door even though the distance from the door and the couch wasn't that far away. 

 

Dara said bye to Teddy and then was about to say bye to Jiyong and turn to leave when Jiyong held her shoulder, stopping her from her track. 

 

"Hm?" she asked as she tilted her head and looked at him. 

 

"Just, um, don't kiss him for real, k?" Jiyong was looking away from her as he said that and when he did, Dara's heart started to beat a little faster than her heart's normal steady pace. 

 

She smiled, putting her own hand on top of Jiyong's then slowly pushing his hand away from her shoulder. 

 

"I told you, it's camera angles." she reassured him. 

 

"Hm. Okay. Be safe on your way out." 

 

"Mhmm. See ya." and she walked out towards the gym. 

 

* *

 

When she was out, Teddy turned to Jiyong, watching him as he was still staring at the door. 

 

"Dude, you're so weird." said Teddy. 

 

Jiyong turned around looking confused. 

 

"What's wrong with you, man?" Teddy asked. 

 

Jiyong was really confused. "What do you mean?" 

 

"Are you dumb? Do you not notice how you act in front of Dara?" 

 

"What?"

 

Teddy sighed, Jiyong was really stupid. 

 

"What???" Jiyong pressed on. 

 

"You have a girlfriend."

 

Jiyong was shocked at Teddy's short statement. Of course he knew that he had a girlfriend, as if he would ever forget such a thing. 

 

"I know." 

 

"Then why do you act more like a protective boyfriend towards Dara than Kiko?" 

 

"I'm not," Jiyong defended. "I'm acting like a friend."

 

"Telling her not to kiss someone and getting angry about some other guy asking for her number, that's acting like a friend?"

 

"Well, yeah, I mean, like, friends... Uh, they can do that." Jiyong managed to say. 

 

Teddy looked at him for a moment, wondering what could be in Jiyong's mind. "Jiyong, can I ask you something?" 

 

"Okay..."

 

"Have you ever had feelings for Dara?"

 

"W-what?!" 

 

"Look, G, you can tell me. I mean, I ain't gonna say anything to anyone. Promise."

 

Jiyong sighed as he ruffled his hair. He guessed that it was time to tell someone about the thoughts he's been having lately. 

 

"Kiko..." he began. "Kiko is a nice girl, I love her, well, I loved her. Things just aren't the same anymore, the times when I always wanted to talk to her or hang out with her have passed. I don't really know what to do. Whenever I hang out with her, I feel as if I'm not meant to be with her or when I kiss her or hug her, I feel wrong. I don't get it. She's my girlfriend so why does it feel so wrong? Should I break up with her? But I don't want her to hate me. We've been through some good times and it hasn't been easy keeping up with each other considering our long distance relationship."

 

Teddy nodded as Jiyong let everything out, listening intently to the things his friend was confessing since this hardly happened as he liked keeping things to himself most of the time. 

 

"With Dara... It's different. I don't feel like I'm younger than her, we've been close since we've been trainees, and we've been through a lot too. I never get tired of talking to her and the times when I was in Japan or she was in Philippines when she failed her first audition, we always talked to each other, every single day, kept contact, we still do that. She's my best friend. When she ignored me because she didn't want to risk my relationship with Kiko, I always thought that I'd pick her over Kiko if Kiko ever told me to choose between her or Dara. Is that wrong? Choosing a friend over a girlfriend?" 

 

"Jiyong, of course it isn't wrong to choose a friend over a girlfriend. You and Dara have known each other for years."

 

"But choosing Dara over Kiko who I'm suppose to love, who I thought was the one. Until recently."

 

"What do you think now?"

 

"We've grown apart. She hangs out with completely different people. We're different. But Dara is quite different from me too, still we've never grown apart. She's the shy type, while I'm not. She's scared of animals, I love animals. Even though we're different, we still have so much in common, does that make sense?"

 

"Mhmmm..."

 

"Can I tell you a secret that I haven't told anyone?" Jiyong asked, sincerity in his voice. 

 

Teddy nodded. 

 

"I use to really like Dara during trainee days." Jiyong smiled. "The moment she entered the dance studio with Hyun Suk hyung, I fell for her. She was so beautiful and shy, still is, but we got along so quickly compared to how she got along with others. She started opening up bit by bit to others while I hanged around her. It made me smile. But I couldn't do anything then."

 

"Why?"

 

"She had a boyfriend back in the Philippines at that time. Of course I couldn't ask her out."

 

"Ah, right, I get you."

 

"Mhmmm... And then it broke my heart when I found out she failed her audition. It was tough letting her go back to the Philippines. I wanted her to stay. With me. I wanted to perform on stage with her, together, the two of us. That's probably why I wanted her to feature in a song in my first album." Jiyong laughed slightly. "I guess I got to thank that ex of hers though."

 

"Why?"

 

"If he hadn't cheated on her, then I wouldn't have persuaded her to audition for YG again. I mean, she had a career there too, although it wasn't the best, she was still well known, she could've stayed and built up her career, but when she told me that her boyfriend had cheated, I persuaded her to leave it all behind and audition again. And I was so happy when she did, when she got accepted too, I was happy that I get to spend more days with her and train with her. She's one of the reasons that got me to keep going with music, sometimes my inspiration."

 

Teddy didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet till Jiyong was finished with his confession. He didn't think Jiyong would admit to liking Dara, he always use to deny it when people during trainee days or whenever someone asked him. Jiyong was different right now. He was so confused, like a child. His maturity was cast aside at that moment, he went back to the child Jiyong who needed to be told what to do. Although Teddy didn't know what he should do, he would help as much as he could so Jiyong would find the answer. 

 

"Even though she was broken up with her boyfriend, I still couldn't ask her out. I was scared. Of ruining our friendship. Plus, one time we were having a conversation, she said she didn't want to have a relationship because she wanted to work hard to debut. I felt my heart break at hearing her say that. I hadn't tried yet but I had gotten my answer already, if I had tried, she would've said no, in order to do her best to accomplish her dream. I admire her for prioritising her dream over things such as love."

 

"Jiyong, you can try again. You know in your heart that you still have feelings for her, sure, you've been out with others but you know why they haven't worked out?"

 

Jiyong shook his head. 

 

"Because they were never in your heart. I'm not trying to say you didn't love them, of course you did, but you weren't IN love with them because someone was already in your heart. That girl is Dara. And to be honest, I don't think you should be with Kiko if you have another girl in your heart."

 

"Teddy, I can't try again!"

 

"Why not?"

 

"Years have passed by, I'm her friend, she considers me as her friend. I'm friendzoned!!!"

 

"How do you know?! People can change their minds, G. And trust me when I say you'll regret not trying."

 

Jiyong thought for a moment. "But, Kiko..."

 

"I know you don't want to hurt her but it's unfair to her that you're together when you aren't even in love with her. Let her find a man who loves her, and only her. Yes, she will be upset but as time passes by, she'll eventually forgive you and forget about you, and realise that you weren't the one for her."

 

Jiyong smiled, feeling free, he never knew confessing about his feelings or saying these thoughts of his could feel so good. He felt light, as if he wasn't hiding anything anymore, as if all his worries had disappeared. 

 

He had come to realisation that he loved Dara, he had always loved her. No matter who he was with, at the end of the day, it'd be her who he was texting or talking to.

 

---

 

A/N: I got a lot of comments from you guys yesterday so I thought I'd update again for you! 

And thanks for the people who sent me friend requests, DON'T BE A STRANGER NOW, OK??? hehe~

I'm not sure when I'm going to update again since I haven't finished writing up ch7 but when I've finished and I am satisfied with the outcome, I'll put it up straight away. I'm not that sure about this chapter because I thought that jiyong's realisation would be too quick but then I thought of another outcome so keep reading and find out, but I hope I'm not making your expectations to be high or anything because I don't think it's that good but lol, I'll see what you guys think of it :) 

 

Follow tumblr/twitter? ohkarlamae.tumblr.com / @kaymaei