A new beginning

Tired. Jet-lagged. And a little hungry.

Ji ran for his bed and crashed like a meteor.
“It’s so good to be home!!!” he shouted to the four walls of his bed room.

He missed being in his own bed, being in his own room, being in his own apartment, being with his own dog – Gaho (who had staunchly ruled his older sister’s house based on the messaged he had been receiving), and most especially… being with her.

What magic a totally new perspective on life can do. He had begun seeing a lot of things in retro color and smiling more than he usually did. He was just so perky that T.O.P. had asked him in all earnestness whether he had begun taking drugs.

“It’s addictive… but it’s not a drug” he replied cryptically, further worrying the hyung.

He had laughed it off and T.O.P. mock-punched him on the face. “Crazy Dragon” T.O.P. snickered.

His phone rang and saw that it was CL calling. “Hello?”

“Ji-oppa!!!” he heard all the girls on the other line. That made him smile.

“Are you guys in the apartment?” he asked.

“No” CL answered “We’re training with Se7en-oppa and he’s just told us that you’ve all arrived. YB-oppa said he bought gifts for us… what did you buy for us sunbae???”

Ji had to shake his head at their antics “I brought a boyfriend for each of you” he replied playfully.

“But you don’t know our types!” CL replied.

He laughed harder “So, you really want boyfriends??? Haissshhh. And I thought you and Seung-ri were getting pretty close.”

“NO WAY!!!”

He laughed again “I’ll see you guys later, ok? Practice well and don’t eat RAMEN for lunch… everybody heard me?”

“YES!” the girls replied in unison – Dara’s voice being the loudest – and he slept with a smile on his face.

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

*Something to want*

Dara realized that being friends with Se7en didn’t mean he would be more lenient with her. If anything, he was stricter and tougher on her - a thing that Bom had even commented on.

“I hope Se7en-oppa isn’t out to kill you” the other girl joked.

“I will not stop training no matter what they do to me” she thought to herself “I will continue to be better and better. Fighting!”

“You seem in good spirits” a voice said from behind her.

Turning around, she saw Han at the door. “Han!!!!!!”

Laughing out loud, the other girl rushed to hug her. “I’ve got lots lots lots of gifts!”

“Han-unnie!” CL called out.

“My lovely girls!” Han announced and opened her arms to hug them all.

“I said I’ll pick you up the airport” Se7en said, walking towards them.

“Yaa!!! I wanted to surprise you.”

The girls let go of Han and watched the couple hug tightly.

“Ahhhh… I envy them” Bom whispered.

“I hope I could find someone who’d love me like that” CL added “They’ve been together for so long but I still gush when I see them together.”

“I think that’s how true love is” Dara said.

“I want true love” Minji said aloud – making Se7en and Han look at the four of them.

The two lovebirds laughed “Oh! You’ll find true love baby Minji” Han told her and looked at all of them “You’ll all find true love. I mean, who knows? Some of you might have already found that but you just don’t know it yet.”

Unseen by the other girls, Dara shook her head at Han’s comment. “Yeah right” she wanted to answer.

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

*Good things happen to those who deserve it*

It had been quite a long day but she knew that it was all worth it and she loved every minute of it.

Thinking back, she didn’t know how she could have thought that performing was just “that” when it was really so much more. Contentment. Perfection. Happiness in a performance wasn’t achieved “just” by singing in front of a crowd. It was achieved by putting hard work into each song, sweating for every move to a dance, and taking your voice as high as you can – breaking it won’t matter at all coz you have to push as much as you can to really know what you can do.

She’d been feeling pressure as, despite her friends’ efforts to protect her from it, she heard that she was considered the weakest member of their group.

“Dara-unnie, you’re our strongest member” CL told her “They just don’t know how you’ve been able to do so much… how you have even been able to make the impossible, possible.”

“Thank you” she replied and hugged the leader “Don’t worry about me. I’ll prove them wrong.” She put on her widest smile and then crunched up her nose. “I will. I will. I will.”

That had been before they left the training room. Now, staring out into the city from their apartment’s rooftop, she remembered those words.

She wasn’t going to let negative criticisms take her down. She’ll show everyone just how much she really shines “I will. I will. I will.”

A noise from behind her made her pause. She turned to look and found her heart skip a beat.

“It’s cold tonight” Ji told her as he walked towards her - his voice freezing her more than the air that he was talking about.

“I’ve got a jacket on” she replied carefully, eyeing him as he came nearer. Texting him was a whole lot different than this. He was a thousand miles away and she had made sure that she sounded off-hand so as to project that she really didn’t care whatever he did or however he replied to her or whether he didn’t reply at all.

But this close.

“Put this on” Ji suddenly wrapped her into another jacket – his jacket “You can’t get sick for whatever it is you seem to want to do when you kept saying – I will.”

“Ow” was all she managed to say.

He had her face him after making sure she was all bundled up. “Don’t go up here too much ok? It can get pretty cold.”

Unused to him treating her like this, all she could do was nod – confused. He was so gentle… He’d never been like that to her. “Have you bumped your head Ji-sunbae?”

“What?!” Her question earned her a look from the man as confounded as she felt.

“Are you sick again???”

Ji Yong laughed at her. “I think you’re the one who’s sick.”

More perplexed. “You’re – you’re….”

“Handsome?” he asked playfully, winking at her and smiling smugly.

“Hong!” she reacted, a sense of anger mixing with her confusion as she looked at his face – God! How unfair to be this handsome! She shook her head before she was totally distracted from her train of thought. Something weird is really going on with Ji. “Maybe… I’m dreaming” she said out loud.

Ji poked her forehead “You’re weird sometimes Dara.”

Affronted, she immediately said, “Weird?!? I’m weird?! Look who’s talking!” Maybe it was all a farce, she thought as she watched for signs that he was really out of his "sane" self. Maybe he was playing with her.

Still smiling, Ji laughed louder than he did the first time and did not answer – which took her to the brink of bewilderment.

“Has something happened to you?” she asked, unable to stop herself.

THIS!

This was a different Ji. He wasn’t cold. He wasn’t distant. Well… he was still arrogant but it was so much like the arrogance he had before… before…

Ji folded his arms around her “before” she was able to finish what she was thinking. As her eyes widened in surprise, the world seemed to stand so still that she wasn’t sure if she was feeling the ground.

“Oh my God! What’s happening?” she thought as the steady sound of Ji’s heart beat reverbrated in her ears.

“I missed you Dara” he whispered into her hair “I really really missed you.”