Chapter 12

Death Wish

It wast 3:00 a.m. and almost 30 minutes after Seungri left with Kiko, but these two men haven't said anything to each other.

 "For so long, I wonder… Why didn't you ask her to marry you?" Jiyong said finally

"Because you are marrying her." He replied

"...but you had all the chances before that." he pressed

"What made you so sure that I didn't?"

"She told me so.."

"Did she also tell you that she was originally betrothed to my brother?." he asked

"I don't understand...I thought..." Jiyong replied utterly confused

"Seunghyun meant so much to Dara. He was indulgent, protective and crazy. He practically never said no to her. Whenever she wanted to jump off a building, he was there, patiently waiting for her to pick a floor. He never abandoned her, and sometimes takes the responsibility for her. That's why she was devastated when Kiko broke my brother's heart. She felt the pain several times over. Whenever she's angry with me, she'll threaten to marry my brother. Until five years ago, she ceased to mention his name, right after he left, leaving Angela to her care."

"I don't get it. You are his brother. Why would her leave his daughter to her instead?" his interest obviously piqued

"Kiko was my girlfriend." Youngbae replied

"What a mess." Jiyong sigh

Youngbae simply nodded. " I met her through my brother. She used to frequent the same car racing club as that of my brother and Dara. She was then dating one of the racecar drivers in the club. I asked her out once...twice then we started going out." he narrates. " Dara was furious of course, that she started avoiding me .she did warn me though, never to come anywhere near her or else. But I dared and she set my car on fire." Youngbae shivered at the memory.

He was about to say something when a series of urgent knocks interrupted his musing.

"Pardon me, Sir." the maid servant bowed. " ...but Miss Sandara...uhm...Madame Ama wants you to hurry." she stammered

He felt a sudden thump somewhere deep within his heart. He was afraid that he dashed out of the library towards the flight of stairs that lead to her room. His mind was screaming, the lights were off except those in the bath. Several people were already inside the room, he saw her mother, his father, Ama and Youngbae who was quick to make a couple of phone calls. For the first time in such a long time, he prayed so hard...like he was praying for dear life.

It was the calm after the storm. Dara is sleeping, "peacefully." Ama hoped

These two men refused to leave the room after she found her half-drowning in the tub. There was no screaming, no struggling, just a little girl obviously shaken. She had to give her a couple of shots before assuring everybody that Dara's going to be all right. "We’re staying" these two men chorus.

She just gave them a nod and stood to leave, “she had it rough." Ama thought, just before closing the door she made a vow to make that phone call.

He had been staring at her sleeping form since Youngbae laid her to bed. He too wanted to comfort her more than anything else. 'Maybe it's just guilt." he told himself

"Or maybe even more." his heart whispered. "Damned" he cursed. It was crazy.

"I think it would be best if you sleep beside her." Youngbae told him.

"I don't think that is a good idea." he objected

"Would you rather I sleep beside her, instead?" Youngbae asked

"No." he replied truthfully.

"Very well, then. She would feel so much better in the morning, knowing she was not alone, she hates sleeping alone when she’s cold." Youngbae nodded "I'll take the sofa." he added as he moved to give way for him.

It was somehow strange how he wanted to protect her. On impulse, Jiyong reached for Dara and moved her closer... closer to his heart.

On board silver Maserati, Seungri's mind is set on the road. He neither heard nor said a word from his companion since his phone rang. It was Youngbae telling him to hurry.

"Why is it that everybody gets so excited every time she does something? Don't you think the attention is a little too much?" Kiko asked.  She used to like her a lot; they were even close at least as close as you would allow someone you caught cavorting with your lover.  She was not supposed to find her there.  She was not supposed to catch them, but she did.   She shook the memory off.

"She deserves the attention besides I don't mind giving it to her." he snapped

"Don't tell me this yet another one-sided love affair." she jeered

"You know nothing." he muttered

"oh, touché`." she smiled

"I'm warning you, stay away from her or you'll get it from me." he warned

"Is that a threat?" she asked

"No. A promise." He replied after Kiko stepped out of his car.

Obviously this is not the first time something like this happened.

It was raining and she hasn't come home yet. It was just a couple days after she arrived in Malaysia and decided to pester Seungri . After a few phone calls, he found her in a drag strip.

"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted at her

"Fulfilling a death wish." she smirked as she attempted to climb on to the driver's seat

"This is madness!" he cried

"Welcome to my world." she muttered

"Hey, Park! Let's get this going." signaled the man on board a Bentley Continental GT. He recognized him as Ryu, Kiko’s ex and
at that moment her face was grim, her eyes were clouded by hatred that even he was afraid.

"Get out!" he barked, jerking her out of the car. "I'll do it."

He heard her scream, scrambling to stop him as he slammed the door. She ran towards the passenger side, this time crying, "No! Stop it! No!" she pleads knocking earnestly. "Let me in." she cried but he already locked the door.

The minute the flag went up, somebody was already restraining her. "Riiii!" it was the last thing he remembered but five years later he can hear her screaming his name still.

"Wounds heal, baby. Yours should too." he whispered "Hang in there."

A/N  To celebrate more than 1000 views hehe here's an update. Thank you taking time to read this fic.  To all the lurkers, thank you for dropping by. To my subscriber, thank you for wanting to comeback and to mydtze and xara10 for the comments.