Dara:

“Noona, aren’t you going home?”

“Well, will you do the clean-up for today instead?”

“You wish!”


I wanted to strangle Sanghyun as he stuck out his tongue at me, but I was busy counting today’s earnings to even bother getting a piece of him to hit. 

Oh, this is how my life as an average part-timer at our neighbor’s small café is. I was at loss of what to do a week after I left YGE -- what do you suddenly do with your life after realizing that your day to day schedule would be completely blank from then onwards? No crazy, early, wake-up calls, no three-hour vocal trainings, no language classes, no exhausting dance practices to think of and whine about. It felt like I suddenly had the license to be a bum; which I was for at least four days actually, until Durami started complaining about how I don’t even contribute anything useful at home.

--------------------

“Why don’t you start applying for jobs again, unnie?” Durami casually asked me one time when all of us were having dinner at home. “Don’t tell me that you’re afraid that people would recognize you, ‘cause that would be a huge joke. You never even debuted.”

I swallowed my food and said nothing. Mother, Sanghyun and Durami exchanged looks, perhaps a bit worried about how I was acting lately.

“I think Durami is right, Dara,” Umma said gently as she added a few more strips of beef in my bowl. “Not that I’m asking you for help financially but…I think it’s about time that you start getting back to your old life. You know, get busy again.”

Umma meant well, I was sure. But I don’t feel like starting again, not yet. “I know umma. I will try to find some work, so I’d be busy again and you’d stop worrying about me. But can I just stay at home for a few more days?”

“Well, you could at least wash the dishes or even do the laundry while you’re here,” Durami muttered under her breath. Umma’s eyes flashed at her, warning her to stop. That shut her up, but it didn’t stop her from winking at me. After all, giving snide comments was Durami’s way of making me feel better. Umma just didn’t get it sometimes.

“Well, noona can work for a while at Mrs. Lee’s café,” Sanghyun, who had been quietly indulging himself with tonight’s dinner all this time, finally spoke. “It’s newly opened, and ajhumma needs another helper because Jinhee noona’s break is over, she’d be heading to the university again by next week.”

Umma looked at me. “Well?” She asked, her lips forming into a tiny, encouraging smile as she thought that working there with Sanghyun would distract me from problems, at least, for a little bit. “The café’s just a few blocks down our house, and since you’re not doing anything…” her voice trailed off, but I understood what she was trying to say.

Going someplace else would do me some good. The faster I get back to my old life, the faster I’ll recover.

And so, although reluctant, I agreed.

---------------------

“…na gude sengage onurdo hangsang solleyo
buphun gasumur ango gude chaja galleyo
gudeyo uri yongwonhi
We belong together, you’re my love…”

“That’s a really bad cover.”
I froze. That deep, low, a little bit husky voice his legions of fans would often describe as ‘y’ and ‘to die for’ (I strongly disagree on both, by the way) surely wasn’t a part of the lyrics I was just singing some seconds ago. It was one of their earlier songs that’s true, but the song didn’t have lines like that’s a really bad cover in it. Not in their official releases, that is.

And anyway, the voice sounded like it was here; inside the now empty (except for me, who was still calculating) empty café, the owner of the voice felt like he was exactly here, standing in front of me.

Hey, suddenly the room seemed a little dimmer than before. I looked up.

“Holy fcuking sh1t,” I cussed, totally shocked.

“Right, because that’s how you welcome your friends after not seeing them for almost a month,” Seunghyun replied dryly. He looked at the others (the OTHERS!) who were with him. “we could have robbed this place and‘may I take your order?’ and that would be 10 000 won, sir girl here wouldn’t even notice a thing.”

“I know,” Dong-Wook (so it wasn’t just a huge standee of his that I was seeing earlier, it was really him) “Tsk, and here I was thinking if I should hire her to work at my chicken restaurant…” He looked around as his voice trailed off, as if to say Good thing I didn’t, or else my restaurant will close down in about two months time, max. “What a relief, sort of.”

I put my pen down. “What was that?” I asked tersely.

“Just kidding.” He replied with a grin.

“You guys,” Another familiar voice giggled as she playfully slapped their shoulders, as if to reprimand them. “stop. And it wasn’t a bad cover, Seunghyun, I actually rather like it. Those were my lines she’s singing, and of course my baby girl owns it.”

She stepped out of Seunghyun and Dong-Wook’s shadows, and I instantly brightened. “BOMMIE!” I screamed, finally standing up and leaving my seat to give her a big hug. “I missed you!”

“And I miss you too,” she gushed as she returned my hug. “You don’t even call us anymore.” 

“I’m busy,” I said, smiling as I pinched one of her cheeks. “You know, with work.”

“That’s not what I heard,” Seunghyun remarked with a smirk. “Your younger brother said that you’re being such a bum for the most part of your break after leaving us, that they had no choice but to drag you outside of your house.”

So. Earlier today, some random guy went here to eat and he somehow reminded me of Seunghyun. I was saying to myself that while he can get really annoying sometimes, I sort of miss him.

And now he’s here, but why do I not miss him all of a sudden anymore? 

Sensing my irritation, Seunghyun smiled at me as he tried to change the topic and asked, “You’re done, right? Let’s go to a noraebang after you’ve cleaned up and have some fun!”

“You don’t even sing,” I said doubtfully. “Why are you even…”

“It was my idea actually,” Dong-Wook explained. “we haven’t seen you in a while and most of us just wanted to leave the studio, so.”

“Exactly,” Bom agreed. “Forget alien Seunghyun, we didn’t even invite him anyway.”

“Oh, really? If I remember correctly, I was the one who was able to contact Sanghyun, not you guys.”


“You were?” Bom laughed incredulously. “You got his number from Jiyong, Seunghyun.”

There was an awkward silence that followed at the mention of Jiyong’s name. Trying to brush it off, I picked up my pen again and started writing. “Going to a noraebang sounds fun, but where are the others?”

“Chae-rin had to go home early, and so did Minji. Family thing.” Bom’s face looked disappointed for at the thought of us not being complete. “They said they miss you though, and maybe they can visit you soon.”

“Seungri’s off to some place with some of his friends, yet again. Youngbae is busy practicing, Daesung is taping for a show.” Seunghyun relayed the other BigBang member’s whereabots after Bom finished telling where the other trainees were. “But Jiyong’s here, with us.”

That got me. “What? Where?”

“He’s inside his car, waiting for us.”

I didn’t know what to say next. If I kind of missed Seunghyun, Jiyong…

“So, are you coming?” Dong-Wook asked again. 

“S-sure.” I answered as normally as I could.

Anything to spend some time again with the person I miss the most.

Jiyong:

“Eyes on the road man,” Dong-Wook hyung reprimanded me from the back-seat of my car, his tone teasing. “We don’t want anything to happen, right?”

I blushed, and it made Seunghyun hyung laugh for some reason. Embarrassing ride is embarrassing.

Who can blame me, after all? Dara was also seating at the back along with Bom noona and Dong-Wook hyung, who was sitting in the middle, watching me drive. 

I wanted to see her. Like, I wanted to stare at her, but I’m driving and I could only steal glances at her through the rear-view mirror. She was looking outside the window with a pensive expression on her face that I couldn’t help but wonder…was she thinking about me?

“Dude, one more glance and the next thing you know, there’s a huge truck about to smash us in a split-second,” Seunghyun warned. “save those secret glances for later okay?”

Someone snickered at the back and I stole another quick glance at her. While her eyes continued looking at the passing scenery outside, her lips, right now, was curved upwards. Just a little bit, but I could see that she was smiling secretly to herself.

She’s gotten lovelier. I wonder why she never called. Doesn’t she miss me at all? Doesn’t she ---

“HOLY SH1T WATCH THE FCUKING ROAD!”

The car screeched as I tried to swerve to avoid another car (that came out of nowehere -- I swear, it wasn’t there a second ago!). Luckily, I did, but not with a loud bump here and there. I cursed inwardly as I waited to hear Seunghyun and Dong-Wook hyung’s angry complaints.

“Holy grail of corn, look what happened to me!” Bom noona wailed. The others looked at her, while I did the same through the car’s rear-view mirror. She was glaring at me -- she was trying to put some lipstick before I swerved as it turned out, and now there was a long trail of hot pink occupying her left cheek. She looked like a deranged Barbie doll. 

“You’re trying to kill us,” Seunghyun hyung whispered to himself as he clutched his chest, still reeling from what just happened. “I swear you’re…”

“Why don’t you let me drive, Jiyong?” Dong-Wook hyung, ever the calm one, offered.

“The best idea I ever heard today,” Bom noona quickly agreed, still pissed off from her lipstick faux pas. “Can we switch drivers, like, right now?”

--------------------

Bom noona didn’t even want to sit next to me, so Dara had to move so she could sit on Dong-Wook hyung’splace and I could take hers. I kept on apologizing to her as she pulled Dara next to hers the moment I went inside and sat down at the back of the car.

“Sorry, noona.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bom noona waved her hand dismissively, the look of irritation still not leaving her (lipstick smear - free) face. “forget it.” As if to say that she’s done talking to me, she sharply looked outside the window before I could even try to show how sincere I was with my apology.

Dong-Wook hyung proved that he was the better driver and while I’m a bit embarrassed by this, I was glad to just sit on the back, beside her.

She was so quiet. I still kept glancing at her while the other were busy doing other things -- Bom noona looking outside, Seunghyun hyung singing, his earphones on full blast, Dong-Wook hyung driving. Her eyes were focused on the road the stretched ahead of us, too. 

If I could just only stare at her without the others noticing it. I wanted to just take a long look at her and take in all of her beauty.

I wish Seunghyun hyung would fall asleep. I wish Dong-Wook hyung would be too absorbed in driving. I wish Bom noona would just ignore us for the rest of the ride.

Anything so I could look at her without getting caught.

Another glance, and I caught her.

She was stealing glances at me, too.

Think, Jiyong. Think.

Ah. I tried my best not to smile at my genius. As if on cue, Dong-Wook hyung turned the radio on. I cracked my knuckles, readying myself for today’s brilliant agenda.

Slowly, stealthily, I took one of her hands with mine. She almost jumped at the sudden contact, but she was able to stop herself just in time. Her hand was cold and shaking a little bit, maybe out of nervousness. When her hand was finally on my lap, I started playing idly with her fingers. She gasped, not too loud for the others to hear, but not too soft for me to miss it. I smiled to myself. 

All this while my eyes were staring straight ahead too, pretending that nothing between us was happening.

I played with her fingers for as long as I could, and she let me. I liked this. I liked how we were playing this little game while the rest of our friends were completely oblivious about it. The softness of her hands made me want this ride to go on forever. Seunghyun hyung can sing for as long as he could, Bom noona could stay mad at me until who knows when, and Dong-Wook hyung can drive forever, I could care less.

So as long as I could hold her hand like this, I’m happy.

Wouldn’t you know, Dara felt the same way, too.

Her hand clasping with mine, connecting us, proved it. Her blissful sigh as she leaned on me a little couldn’t be more perfect. 

The strong connection between us finally came back.