Bom came home that day to find a very distressed looking Dara hunched up on the sofa; her gaze was directed at the laptop in front of her but she seemed miles away. In fact, her laptop had already gone into sleep mode while she was blanking out and she didn't seem to notice at all. Was her fever so bad that her brain become overheated and short-circuited?  The older girl frowned at the worrying thought but shrugged it off. That wasn't possible, the brunette was probably just day-dreaming again. Bom tip-toed her way to her friend and when her prey was within attacking distance, the girl pounced, grabbing Dara's slender shoulders and shouted a thunderous:

"BOO!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAhhh!!!!" The startled victim screeched so loudly that Bom swore all the windows in the neighbourhood shook from the vibration.

"Calm down Darabbit! You're not about to be bloodily murdered." Bom picked slightly at her ears with her dainty fingers. Yep, no eardrums burst, it's all good. 

"Sorry."

The red-head looked at her friend quizzically, something seemed amiss. It wasn't like her friend to be so submissive, usually, the younger girl would have already taken her revenge by poking her slightly older companion sharply between the ribs for daring to scare her. But instead, she was curled in the same position, her arms hugging her legs close, looking painfully fragile, making Bom wondering whether the porcelain doll in front of her was really her strong friend.

" Dara, what's wrong?" The initial playfulness in her eyes morphed into concern.

"Nothing.", came the toneless reply.

"Park Sandara, don't lie."

Perhaps it was the graveness in Bom's voice but the simple yet sincere plead seemed to trigger something in Dara.

"I'm not lying okay? Nothing is wrong... Is just that, nothing is right either."

The desperate and helpless undertone was glaringly obvious and the older girl felt herself filled with worry and pity for her friend, though she really could not work comprehend anything Dara was trying to say.

"What do you mean?"

"I think... maybe I'm still not over Woohyun." the brunette admitted, those words didn't feel quite right in and she almost had to force them out.

Bom's eyes widened, her head tipped to the side in confusion as if she did not understand Dara was talking about. When the meaning of those words finally hit her, the look realisation on her face quickly moulded into an expression of disbelief.

"What?! But I thought you got over that bastard 2 years ago? Why are you thinking that now?"

"I saw Jiyong today." She stated, instead of answering directly.

"What does seeing Jiyong have to with Wooyoung?" Bom asked in exasperation. 

"Calm down Bom. Just let me explain..." Dara pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly. Her friend opened to complain but was silenced by Dara's gaze. After taking a deep breath, the girl continued. "Jiyong confronted me today about kissing him Saturday night."

Bom emitted a shrill noise resembling a neighing horse, "What? You kissed him? About time! But why didn't you tell me?"

"Bommie, can you stop interrupting me? Yes I kissed him, ok? It was only on the cheek so you can stop giving me that look!"

The uncomfortable heat was creeping its way to Dara's neck up to her cheeks at the memory. She had shared a kiss with the boy before, but only under special circumstances: under the mistletoe and during the New Year countdown. Those were just for the sake of traditions, it was not like Jiyong had actually wanted to kiss her or vice-versa. Right? 

It was obvious that Bom still had no clue about what she was on about, but she kept silent and prompted Dara to continue talking.

"So I questioned myself about my own motives for doing that, and I briefly wondered... whether I like Jiyong more than a friend. The thing is, when I ask myself that, all I can think about is Wooyoung and our relationship and I quickly eliminate any of such thoughts I have towards Ji. That means I'm not over him doesn't it?"

"Dara, oh silly Dara. That doesn't mean anything ok? It is not unusual to think about it because afterall, Wooyoung is your first boyfriend but there is no need to be hung up over him especially after what he did. He doesn't deserve that ok? He doesn't deserve to take up one atom worth of space in your head!"

"I know." The petite brunette retreated to her room upstairs with a sigh.

Once she reached her quiet sanctuary, Dara plopped face first onto her bed and tried her best to hold in the saline that threatening to gush out of her eyes.

It was hard for the girl to explain to her friend about her dilemma. She had already figured that maybe what she had felt for Wooyoung wasn't actually love, but merely a need to feel loved, a curiosity sparked by her wish to live out the perfect romances that she had read about in novel after empty novel. But despite that, to say that the breakup was upsetting was an understatement. It had cut her to the core, after all, at the naive of age of 14, Dara had not expected to be hurt, in fact, she had imagined Wooyoung who was 2 years older, to be the perfect prince charming, only to find out that she was not his princess, she never was. He in turn, was hardly a prince.

Her heart been harshly hurled onto the cold tiles that paved her ex-boyfriend's house on the eventful day she found him and another girl entangled in a heated embrace. Though it hadn't shattered like she had expected it to, it had been severely bruised and misshapen, and had to be wrapped up in thick layers of bandage for a long period of time, perhaps even until now, it had not healed and some of the ugly scars it left behind had still not fully faded. Worse still, Dara had built up a wall around herself after that, she really didn’t want to trust anyone so easily again, and even she did want to but her faith in someone, she found herself being unable to.

Time is often the best medicine, it sweeps away pain and erases unpleasant memories but Wooyoung’s betrayal had been burnt into Dara’s mind and it would take more than time to wash it away. Until then, allowing herself to fall in love Jiyong was not an option, whether she wanted it to be or not. It would be unfair to both of them.

With renewed determination, Dara pushed herself off of the comfort of her covers and descended the stairs, she left a note for Byul and Bom before dashing out the door.

~~~///~~~

Dara stareds at the metallic door and hesitated. The initial rush of adrenaline had worn off and now the petite girl stood outside her ex-boyfriend's door, lost as to whether or not she should ring the doorbell. After the thought that she had already come this far, she squeezed her eyes shut as she pressed the button. For a moment all she could focus on was the sharp ding that resonated in the dull silence of the afternoon, shattering its peacefulness. After agonising seconds, the door swung open, just as the girl was about to turn around and leave. 

"Sandara, what are you doing here?"

Oh crap!  She really hadn't thought her action through. Perhaps she'd secretly hoped that no one was in the house or that Wooyoung did not the nerve to come answer the door, but there he was, standing before her, his face lined with surprise and confusion.

"L...Look, Wooyoung, we need to talk." She exhaled shakily.

"Um... Sure, come on in." he gestured.

The brunette shook her head, "No, let's go somewhere else instead."

Wooyoung scrutinised her for a second, before slipping on his shoes. "Where to princess?"

Even though Dara knew she would never have the same feeling towards the boy in front of her ever again, his little joke made her chuckle. Oh the irony. But nevertheless, that was something she once admired in the boy, his smooth talking mouth that often amused her.

"Let's go to Day by Day Cafe, for old time's sake."

Wooyoung gave her a look and Dara knew that perhaps she was making this harder than it needed to be for the both of them but she wanted things to draw to a peaceful close, so that by the end of their conversation, they can still be civil towards each other. By pretending she didn't mind going to the what was once a regular location for their dates, she hid just how hurt she was by his betrayal, by the whole relationship, and instead it made her seem unaffected and almost reminiscent of their memories.

"For old time's sake." He echoed.

Hello there all my lovely subbies and readers! :D

I hope you enjoyed this update and I'm sorry for the wait.

I have been really busy with school lately and there's always the annoying Writer's Block. But I'm happy to say that I can already see the conclusion to this fic and it will probably finish in around 5 chapters :)

P.S. Comments are appreciated XP (less so if they're telling me hurry up and update, because believe me, I want to update too. T^T)

Until next time. Take care lovelies~

Love, -adorateur- <3