The Final Straw

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BORING CHAP UP AHEAD!

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I stared at Bom but she just stared back at me, too. I suddenly looked down at my fingers, remembering that they suffered as much as my face did. They looked. . . normal. I glanced back at Bom and saw that she’s smiling halfheartedly. “Bom?”

“I can’t really say it’s back to how it used to look but. . .” she trailed and looked around. She stood up and went to get a round mirror. “Why don’t you see for yourself?” she suggested and gave me the mirror.

I hesitantly reached for it while keeping my eyes on her. My heart was beating frantically inside my chest. I’m scared, I’m seriously scared. My grip on the mirror tightened as I forced myself to look at it. I stared at my reflection for a long time. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath. But slowly, I exhaled. There was nothing abnormal on my face except maybe that my lips and eyelid looked a bit swollen and purplish. I looked back at Bom. “Is this permanent?”

“No,” she said. “It’ll eventually fade.”

I sighed in relief but then, I scowled at her. “Why were you so serious? You scared the hell out of me!”

She grimaced. “I’m disappointed with myself,” she said. “I tried my best, Dara, but my skills weren’t enough. If Jiyong didn’t help in-”

“He healed me!” I almost screamed.

She stared at me in disbelief. “Of course he did! You honestly didn’t think he’ll just abandon you, did you? And don’t give me that look! I tried my best to convince him not to go overboard but he was in draining himself if that’s what it takes to make you look normal again. We realized the needle that Kevin used was cursed. Sulli probably gave it to him for safekeeping. And if I didn’t secretly put a sleeping powder in Jiyong’s food, he’s probably here and-”

“I’m sorry!” I loudly said.

Bom sighed and slumped on her seat. “I’m sorry, too. I’m just stressed out. And when Jiyong wakes up and realize what I’ve done, he’ll probably flip out. We both know how he is when he’s-”

“I think I’ll do more than that.”

“Jiyong!” Bom exclaimed.

“But since you’re keeping that tall TOP guy at bay, then I’ll let it pass.”

I quickly jumped to my feet. Emotions came to me like giant waves. I drank the whole sight of him. He looked pale and exhausted. Tears started forming in my eyes as I slowly walked towards him. “Why?” I softly asked. “You know I don’t want you risking yourself for me!” I pounded on his chest weakly.

I stopped a while later and looked up at him. I wasn’t able to stop myself. I burst into tears and I flung myself at him. “I-I thought you weren’t going to come. . . I thought you weren’t coming for m-me! I thought you didn’t n-notice or care I was gone. I. . . I thought you didn’t c-care anymore!”

He didn’t say anything. He was alls tiff and tensed. I cried even harder. I felt his hands trying to remove my arms off him but I held on tighter. “I’m sorry,” I choked desperately. “I’m sorry if I was stubborn! I’m sorry if I disobeyed you! I’m sorry if I didn’t listen to you tell me off from Kevin. It was my fault!”

The tension and stiffness went away. He hugged me back. “Dara,” he softly mumbled, kissing my hair. His arms tightened around me. And it felt so good. It also made me realize how much I missed him. I wailed louder and through it, I recounted what happened. I told him everything, even the way I felt so alone and scared when I thought no one’s coming to save me. The impact of what happened finally dawned on me. I finally realized how scared I was that time. I can’t help but wonder why I always end up in the wrong end of the rope. “And. . . and. . . I don’t know who’s telling the truth. . . Kevin or Sulli but. . .”

“It doesn’t matter,” Seungri’s familiar voice came in. “What’s important right now is that they’re both gone for good.”

I looked over Jiyong’s shoulder. I saw all of them leaning against the wall. “H-how. . . how did Kevin die?”

“Ask your boyfriend,” TOP snorted. “He knew every tiny detail of it.”

I pulled away from Jiyong and looked up at him. “Pancake?”

“Pancake!” TOP snorted again. “The word totally fits him.”

“Sohee. . .” Bom said in a controlled voice. “Sohee, you’re my friend but if you can’t do anything about that walking-tongue beside you, I’ll kick him out of my house!”

TOP rolled his eyes and even before he could retort something back at Bom, I beat him to it. “I want to know everything,” I said. “Please?”

My pancake stared down at me for a long while. I could tell he was thinking. I didn’t say anything and just patiently waited for his decision. He sighed and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. “Sohee,” he called without looking back. “Why don’t you tell her what happened? I’ll deal with the rest.”

“Sure,” Sohee said. “But why don’t we take a seat by the living room first?”

We all went to the living room. Jiyong settled beside me in a two-seater couch. He put his arm on my shoulder while the other went to play with my fingers on my lap. I don’t know why, here was something possessive with the way he was holding me. As I settled my eyes on Sohee, I could feel Jiyong sniffing and kissing my hair. Heat crawled to my cheeks. Aigoo, how am I going to concentrate when he’s being like this?

“Okay,” Sohee loudly started. “TOP and I were talking about. . .” she trailed and looked around uncertainly.

“We were talking about my feelings for Dara,” TOP filled in.

I turned redder the same time Jiyong went awfully still. I peeked at him secretly. He had his eyes fixed forward. I followed his gaze and saw TOP. Gah! He’s staring at me in. . . in a way that would make every guy think that I’m his property! I glared at him but he only smiled wider at me as if it was exactly the reaction he expected from me. Annoyed, I turned to Sohee. “I want to hear the important details if you don’t mind.”

“But that part’s important,” she said. “That’s how we ended up talking about Kevin. I told him I find that guy weird and he told me all about the rooftop incident. He-”

“I told her that after you two left, I went back to the rooftop just to snoop around,” TOP interjected. I saw your things neatly place in one corner. Sohee came to the conclusion that Kevin did push you off of the rooftop because she said if the guy was really concerned about you, he wouldn’t have the time to neatly settle your things in once corner and grab his bag. Good thing I was there, by the way. If it weren’t for me, I don’t know what would have happened to you. Anyways, Sohee then called Seungri and told him to bring. . . your boyfriend to her at once. I took off, of course. I went ahead of them to find you. Because you see, unlike other people, I’m more concern about your safety than hearing explanations.”

“I explained to Jiyong what I thought,” Sohee said after glaring at TOP. Jiyong immediately took off, leaving me behind with Seungri. I turned to Kevin’s school records and acquired his address. Seungri called Youngbae for help. The three of us then went to Kevin’s place. It was already thrashed when we arrived what with Jiyong slowly phasing to the dark moon state. I ordered Seungri and Youngbae to look around in case Jiyong missed some details. And he did because Seungri was able to retrieve a photo of Sulli. The three of them suddenly took off, leaving me behind again. So I tried contacting TOP. It took me a while to reach him since he was in his crow form. I asked him to bring me here because I had the hunch that they’d go ask for Bom’s help. And I was right. It-”

“Your boyfriend was shouting at Bom,” TOP interrupted, snorting. “He said Bom was being useless and-”

“Jiyong was really worried for you Dara,” Bom said. “Youngbae and Seungri were trying to calm him down while that TOP guy was mocking him. They started fighting. That’s when I finally remembered the chamber where Sulli brought us before. I told them this and Seungri and Youngbae were quick enough to respond. Jiyong and that guy stopped fighting and when Jiyong sensed that guy was going to-”

“I do have a name, though. It’s TOP. I’m not usually called as that guy but-”

“– follow him, another fight broke out between them. But well, Jiyong’s naturally stronger so he was able to knock that guy down without even breaking a sweat before taking off.”

“We were transporting most of the day,” Seungri spoke up. “As much as Youngbae and I wanted to arrive there in a few seconds, we didn’t have that much energy and strength left in us. And besides, we can’t really transport that far so we just went there in our crow forms since it usually doesn’t require great power and strength but it can still tire us. I didn’t realize I was so tired until Kevin warded me off. I tried to take you away at once so Jiyong won’t see what Kevin did but he arrived earlier than I expected him to.”

“And he obviously lost control,” TOP commented.

I turned to Jiyong. “You killed Kevin?” I whispered hoarsely.

He looked down at me. “Yes, I did.”

I wanted to ask how. . .but I can’t seem to get the words out of my mouth and there was something in Jiyong’s face that’s telling me he didn’t want to relive it, either. So instead I said, “Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t you want to know how Kevin died?” TOP asked loudly.

“No,” I answered firmly, looking at him straight in the eyes.

“I want to take a rest,” Bom suddenly said as TOP was about to say something again. “All of you should rest, too. Youngbae, come and assist me.”

“I watched Youngbae as he went to assist Bom who glared at TOP before leaving. The latter just rolled his eyes at her and didn’t say anything. As if sensing my eyes, TOP’s eyes moved to mine. He gave a long and calculating look before smiling and saying, “Finding me too handsome?”

“Drop it off, Seunghyun,” Sohee scolded. “Now isn’t really the time.”

“And you know very well I don’t tolerate people calling me by that name. Call me that again and you’ll regret it,” he warned. “You guys are so boring,” he scoffed then stood up, his eyes still on mine. “I’ll just go to sleep,” he said. “I haven’t slept these past nights since I’ve been watching over you.|

“I-”

“No need to thank me,” he cut off. “I had fun staring at you.”

“TOP,” Sohee warned at the same time I felt Jiyong froze beside me.

“I wasn’t going to thank you,” I growled.

“Whatever,” he yawned. “I’ll talk to you later.”

I glared at him but it was no use since he had his back on me already. Aish! What’s the matter with him? I glanced up at Jiyong. He was staring at the direction where TOP went. “Pancake-”

“Don’t think about it Jiyong,” Seungri said. I looked up and saw him frowning. It made the scar on his face wrinkly. It’s really odd. Seungri’s usually a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. “You’ll just drain yourself,” he added.

“He’s deliberately doing it,” Jiyong hissed.

“You weren’t this jealous with Jaejoong before. What’s with-?”

“I’m not jealous!” my pancake snapped.

“Yeah, right!” Seungri snorted then turned to me. “Hey, I’m glad you’re fine and I’m sorry if I’ve been a jerk to you lately. I was just. . . never mind the reason. I don’t really have one. But I really am-”

“Forget it,” I said. “It’s okay. And besides, you went to risk your life to save me, too.”

Sohee suddenly burst out laughing. “Seungri, the noble shadow – how fitting. Oh well, I better get going. I still have some planning to do. . .”

“I’m coming with you,” Seungri said.

“Suit yourself,” Sohee shrugged. Then, they left.

I turned back to Jiyong. What I saw in his eyes made me turn away a little. “No. . .” I mumbled.

He was hurt and offended. “Why?”

“M-my lips aren’t back to. . . normal yet,” I said, casting my eyes down. Aigoo! I’ve almost forgot the way I look right now.

His thumb lightly touched my lips. “Do they still hurt?” he asked.

“No. . .”

“They feel fine to me,” he said. I looked up and saw that he was staring at my lips. “They look fine to me, too.”

“Jiyong, you don’t have to-”

His head swooped down out of nowhere, his lips claiming mine. It was just a soft brush but it brought all my nerve-endings to life. He pulled away gently, his fresh and warm breath tickling my parted lips. “They still taste the same. . .”

That’s when I totally lost it. I succumbed to his smoldering eyes and melted in his arms. The next thing I knew, we were both under the bed sheet, , recovering from the aftermath of an intense lovemaking. He gathered me closer to him and I could just smile. “Thank you,” I whispered.

He kissed my hair. “I missed you.”

I froze. “Y-you did?”

“Yes,” he answered. “So much. I’m not going to ignore you like that again.”

I lifted my head and stared at him. “Pancake, you don’t blame yourself for what happened, do you? It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. You don’t have t feel bad about it.”

He pulled my head back to his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair first before saying, “Dara, you shouldn’t be this forgiving.”

I was silent for a moment. Then it dawned on me. “You don’t want me to forgive you that easily?”

“It’s not that,” he said. “But people usually don’t forgive that easily.”

“But it wasn’t your fault!” I whined. Sheesh, what’s wrong with me?

He sighed. “Okay, okay. Now go to sleep.”

- - -

JIYONG’S POV

I was staring at the fireplace for a long time now. Dara’s question a while ago bothered me. Do I want her to not forgive me that easily? My answer would have been yes. But why? Why would I want her to give me a hard time? I closed my eyes. I’m still guilty. No matter what I do, things that I’ve done in the past would never make me feel right about myself. The odd thing there, I shouldn’t even feel about it. I’m half-evil, for Pete’s sake! I shouldn’t be feeling guilty. I shouldn’t be. . .

“Are you trying to make a decision?”

I opened my eyes. “I think so,” I answered.

“Why?” Sohee asked as she sat beside me.

“You heard her,” I scoffed. “She was asking for forgiveness when it should have been the other way around. She said she was sorry for being stubborn and not for listening to me. She said it was her fault. That wasn’t the reaction I expected. I thought she’d be angry at me and she’ll blame me for always putting her in a deadly situation. That girl is out of her mind!”

“She loves you,” she quietly said.

“Then she’s really out of her mind.”

“You’re out of your mind too,” she chuckled quietly then turned sober. “But your decision. . .”

I sighed. “I only promised I’ll do it because I thought she’ll never forgive me for what I have dome to her parents, to her, to Jaejoong. . .”

She was silent for a moment. “You do know what I’m trying to do, do you? Of what will happen?”

“Of course, I do.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Don’t even think that I’ll take this easily, Jiyong. YOU GAVE ME YOUR WORD.”

“I am aware of that.”

“Fine!” she answered stiffly. “I’ll talk to her, then. I want to know what she thinks of you breaking your-”

“Don’t even think about it!” I growled.

“You’re right,” she bit back, standing up. “Dara must be really out of her mind to forgive you that easily. Don’t expect the same reception from me.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m disappointed with you,” she said then walked out.

Since when did my life become so messed up? Oh, right. From the moment I was born, I was already messed up. Dara’s face suddenly flashed into my mind.

But maybe. . . I could still fix it.

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Sorry if it took me a while to update guys. I just got so busy these past days. I'm sorry if I wasn't able to do mass updates but I'll update the others next time. I might just update Sundays and Mondays from now on, I'm not really sure so please bear with me. But don't worry, I'm not going to ABANDON any of my fics.. I'm almost done with TSC, anyways.. Kekeke..

And sorry for the typos, grammar errors and stuff. I don't proofread. Thank you to all of you who left comment in the comment box. COMMENT REPLIES ARE DOWN THERE. And to the new readers, THANK YOU!!

And oh, banner galore again!! Thank you thank you!

by G-Dara21: