[Chapter 11: Distance]

Taking a quick sip from his takeaway cup of coffee, Jiyong stepped out of the car and strolled slowly towards the front, leaning against the car hood. It was pretty cold out that night – grasping the warm drink in his hands tightly, Jiyong reached for the zipper of his leather jacket and pulled it all the way up, his breath escaping in little bursts of cold air as he did so.

“Seriously…” He muttered softly to himself as he brought the cup to his cold lips and took another sip. “What am I doing?”

Shaking his head a little as though he was trying to wave the thought off, he frowned and looked up, trying to catch sight of a familiar eatery that was some distance away. He couldn’t really see very clearly from where he was, but it was close enough to make out the actions of those who were inside the restaurant. Thank goodness for glass windows, they made things so much easier. Squinting a little, he scanned the place quickly, trying to locate someone…

“There you are.”

The words escaped from his lips before he even had time to process what he was saying. Startled by the tinge of gentleness in his tone, Jiyong choked a little on his coffee and burst into a loud racking cough. Catching his breath after a while, he breathed deeply and settled back onto the car hood in a bid to regain his composure.

Placing the cup aside, he pulled his arms together and fixed his eyes on Dara, who seemed to be running around busily in the restaurant. She looked so disorganized in her messy sauce-stained uniform, with locks of hair flying all over her face as she went from table to table to serve the customers. Anyone else who saw her on the streets would probably have mistaken her as some kind of homeless person – heck, he wouldn’t even want to be served by someone who’s in that kind of state. It’d probably put him off his food, for god’s sake.

Yet there was something in the midst of all that mess that really shone through – was it the way she always seemed so damn determined to go all out for whatever she was doing? Or perhaps, the way that bright smile never left her face no matter how busy she was? Jiyong wasn’t too sure what it was, all he knew was that she seemed different from all the other girls that he’s come across in his life so far. There was something in her, something special, that made her stand out from the rest.

And as he thought of her, the corners of his lips tilted into a small smile, his usually dull eyes shining a little more than they have in quite a while.

[Dara’s POV]

“Two more soups for table 12!”

I yelled over the order counter with whatever remaining strength I had. Slumping against the wall in fatigue, I took the chance to quickly catch my breath – today’s business was no joke. It’s been packed since morning! I’ve barely had any time to just sit down and breathe.

If not for the rent problem… An audible sigh escaped from my lips at the thought of my landlord.

Three days was what we agreed on, meaning that tonight’s the deadline. I glanced at the clock that hung right in the center of the restaurant – 8pm. Which means I’ve got four hours left till then. I’ll just need to quickly drop by her place later to pass her the money and it’ll all be fine. Thank goodness my boss was kind enough to agree to give me an advance on my pay, or else I seriously won’t know what to do.

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of yet another table with their hand raised limply in the air as they scanned the area for available help. Puffing my cheeks in a small sign of reluctance, I quickly adjusted my frumpy looking outfit and placed a smile on my face. Time to get back to work.

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[Narration]

“Dara, here you go.” Lee Hyori, the restaurant manager, quickly pressed an envelope into Dara’s hands while they were all cleaning up and preparing to head home. “Keep it quickly! Don’t let the rest find out or they’ll all be rushing me for payment haha.”

Dara broke into a huge smile – nodding hard, she pulled Hyori into a tight bear hug and beamed at her. “Thank you so much, I can’t even tell you how thankful I am-“

“Yes yes I know I know.” Hyori smiled kindly and gently patted Dara on the head. “And why are you still here, don’t you need to pay your landlord? Get going, just leave the rest to us.”

With another bow in a show of her gratitude, Dara quickly headed towards the staff’s room to get changed out of her working attire. Leaving the restaurant after bidding her colleagues goodbye, she took a quick glance at her phone to check the time. ‘Just nice,’ she thought to herself as her lips curved into a small smile of relief, ‘I should be able to get this paid off just in time.’

With that, she jogged towards the nearest bus stop lightheartedly, humming happily to herself as she did so.

*** *** ***

“Hello, is anyone at home?”

Dara knocked the door a little harder this time – she’s been standing out here for quite some time already, but no one came to open the door. She frowned to herself as her knocking was once again met with complete silence. Did the landlord aunty forget that she was supposed to pay today? But that didn’t make sense; they were just talking about it over the phone earlier this morning.

Sighing inwardly, Dara turned around and sat on the slight step in front of the door. Her legs were aching like crazy after running around the restaurant all day. Come to think about it, she didn’t even have time to stop for dinner… no wonder her tummy was growling so badly on the bus just now. Kneading her thighs gently as she tried dialing the landlord’s number for the umpteenth time, Dara pouted in a mix of both exhaustion and frustration - where on earth was the landlord? She seriously couldn’t wait to just head home, bathe and collapse on her comfy bed, so the landlord had better appear real soon or else.

“Who are you?”

A gruff, unfriendly voice broke Dara out of her thoughts. She jumped a little, and quickly looked up in surprise. A big-sized, rough looking middle aged man stood before her, dressed messily in berms and a ratty tee.  To be honest, she’s never seen this man before, but she’s assuming he’s somehow related to the landlord, given that he was holding what seemed to be a house key.

Getting up quickly onto her feet, Dara bowed politely to the man.

“Hello, I’m Dara… I was supposed to meet Aunty to pay for my rent, but it seems like no one’s at home so…”

“She’s not in,” The gruff man said, as he took a step closer towards Dara. “The old lady went back to the country this morning, her sister was having some trouble.”

“Oh I see…” Dara nodded in understanding. Then, pursing her lips a little cautiously, Dara smiled slightly at the man and asked, “Don’t mind me asking sir, but you are…?”

“I’m her husband.” The man turned the key and opened the door. “She told me about you before she left. You’re the one who always pays late right?”

Dara’s cheeks flushed a deep pink in embarrassment. Her head drooping downwards in shame, she bowed once again in a show of her apology. “I’m sorry, I will-“

“If you're really sorry, why don’t you come in for a drink?”

The man’s words cut her off halfway. A little startled, Dara looked up and saw a smile on the man’s face – no wait, instead of a smile, maybe calling it a smirk would be more appropriate. There was something in that smirk that unnerved Dara; maybe it was simply her being too sensitive, but somehow she couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of fear.

Subconsciously stepping backwards, Dara shook her head and declined the offer politely. She reached into her bag, searching through its contents for the envelope. “It’s okay uncle, I’ll just pass you the money and leave…”

Just then, he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her a little closer towards him.

“Don’t be shy, just come on in. Uncle just wants to get to know you a little better.”

Dara resisted, trying hard to shake her arm out of his tight grasp. She was still declining politely, but her mounting fear was obvious through the trembling of her voice. “Uncle, please-”

His hold on her arm grew tighter as she struggled; Dara could still see that disgusting sneer on his face through the corner of her eyes, and it took all her self-control not to scream, as much as she wanted to. Her house was at stake... it may be better to just find some way to escape and come back some other day when Aunty’s home. Her eyes darted around furiously, frantically hoping to find anything or anyone that may help…

Just then, a loud crash sounded, jolting Dara back to her senses. The pain in her arm lessened, and in place of the terrifying grasp was a warm, comforting hand that was now gently wound around her wrist. Dara blinked, still unsure of what was going on.

“Don’t you dare touch her.”

It was then, when that familiar voice sounded, that Dara finally realized what was happening. agape in surprise, she gasped at the sight of Kwon Jiyong, who was now standing right beside her. The look in those icy eyes of his was terrifying as he glared angrily at the useless scum of a person who was lying on the floor, still reeling in pain from the punch that Jiyong had thrown his way just seconds ago.

His shoes grazing loudly against the cobbled pathway as he slowly stepped forward, Jiyong bent down beside the man and grabbed his collar in one swift motion. His dark eyes piercing straight into the man’s terrified ones, a soft hiss escaped through Jiyong’s teeth as he tightened his grip, choking the man as he did so.

“Jiyong, don’t! Let go of him, please!” Dara gasped in fright as the man began to claw helplessly at Jiyong’s hands, struggling to breathe.

“If you ever touch her again,” Jiyong hissed threateningly, ignoring the man’s loud spluttering coughs, “I won’t let you off so easily.”

“Jiyong, please-“

Clenching his teeth in anger, Jiyong loosened his hold on the man’s collar and slammed him against the ground. Those dark eyes of his still burning intensely, he got onto his feet and grabbed Dara’s hand.

“Let’s go.”

“But, but I-“ Dara stammered, glancing at the landlord’s husband and back at Jiyong once again. “I haven’t paid my rent…”

Ignoring her words, Jiyong tightened his fingers around hers protectively and pulled her along with him. “Just follow me.” 

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Yay really happy to see that I've still got readers - to both new and old readers alike, thank you so much for your support! Really appreciate it :)