Chapter 14

A quarter past

The drive was long and exhausting but she opted to sit outside of the cabin...waiting.
 

"Are we waiting for anyone?" Youngbae asked joining her at the foot of the porch stairs.

"The sandman."

“and Seunghyun…”

“Bae..” it sounded strained.  He reached for her shoulder and turned her around, he heard her sigh. He grabbed a handful of her hair and found himself lost in it, a potent mix of love, broken promises and lost innocence. He felt her hands wrap around his waist.  They were cold, she is scared he knew and being this close to him anchors her, his brother isn’t here but he is.

“You do know I love you, right?” he whispers in her ear. He felt the need to tell her that, assure her once again.  He felt her nod.

 "You do know that Angela loves you too, don't you?" he continues.

 "Like I do." She closed her eyes. The pain is searing, insecurities slowly creeping in. She held on tighter, keeping her misery at bay.

 "Without you, Angela may not even be here. You fought for her, raised her in spite of everything like your own. She adores you…like I do… and as much as her father does." He released her and held a glass for her.
 

She drank silently allowing the liquid to dislodge whatever it was that stuck in her chest. A tear fell--- it was way too bitter.
"We fought so hard to find peace…don't give up now Dara." he said half-pleading.

The raging emotion took her by surprise. She cried.

~~~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is she?" he puffs. He had probably covered the floor fifty times over having been pacing for hours now. The hands of the clock went past ten, eleven. He checked the time again, a quarter and a half past twelve.

"With Youngbae." Seungri supplied, after a while. He had never seen him display such emotions before. Jealousy can be debilitating.

"She's not running away with him, if that's what you're afraid of." he stood to leave. "I'm going home,I still have work to do. I think you should too. Try to get some fresh air." he put his hand on his shoulder. "Try not to worry about her."
 

His mother was extremely worried too. He wanted to talk to a family but was afraid to leave the country. He needs to be there for Dara, his father is out of the question that he decided to meet his brother at the Marina instead. It was just fortunate that his brother, Daesung,a marine biologist and a part-time diver just finished an expedition on the nearby islands. In casual khakis and gleaming tan he looks more like a lothario out to seduce the next lass than a scientist who exhausted himself in and out of water for three months.

"Even though, this whole thing was your idea. It still sounds like bad news to me." his brother mused while pouring himself a drink.

"In fact, I do not understand why you have to insist on marrying her." he toyed with the ice on his drink. "She obviously doesn't want to. Forget your fantasy from gazillion years ago. You always wondered why she never noticed you whenever she dropped by the university to visit Seungri. You even moved right next to Seungri's apartment but to no avail, she failed to notice you. Now, the truth is out. You are competing with three men for her attention." he went on.

 "We have Seungri, the man you always considered to be your rival. Youngbae, the man she's willing to die for. And now, we have Seunghyun the man she endure everything for. Even with all the facts that we have, I'm not sure who poses the greatest threat. Those that are here or the one who left a token to remember him by. Now tell me. Why do you have to subject yourself to so much trouble?" his brother challenged.

He took a deep breath, he knows he will sound dotty but it is the truth. If only there was something he could anchor himself on to prevent himself from being buoyed in the ocean that is Sandara Park. "I have never thought it was possible to progress in to her life, I always thought I had the upper hand on things. But I found myself drawn in, slowly... every day. I miss her on days that I don't get to hear her laughter, on days that I don't get to see her... I miss her now." he groaned inwardly.

"I know this may be an impasse, but I love her... very much. And for me that is reason enough.

A/N :  Thank you for reading.  Comments are highly appreciated :)  Wishing you lots of love.

- Chen