Chapter Three

It has been days since his girlfriend went to visit the doctor but he hasn’t heard any news from her about the results. He remembered that when he arrived home, she wasn’t there at his room. He thought that maybe he decided to stay at their dormitory for a while since it has been a long time since she bonded with the girls.

Whenever he tried to bring up the topic of the medical check-up she had with the doctor, she would quickly attempt to change the topic. Seeing the annoyed and pained expression on her face, he decided not to pursue the topic anymore even if he was worried a lot about her.

He sighed when he heard something crashed from the kitchen. He quickly stood up and rushed towards the scene. He saw Dara picking up the glass shards in the floor and injuring one of her fingers in the process. He let out a frustrated sigh and walked towards her.

“You should be careful.” He whispered and grabbed her by the arm to help her stand up. He pointed the nearest chair in the kitchen and told her, “Sit there while I clean this up for you.”

He saw her nod slightly and her eyes were filled with anxiousness. Come to think of it, ever since her appointment with the doctor, she always tends to worry a lot more than the usual. Something he cannot apprehend, something he don’t understand.

Is she hiding something? And if she was hiding something, what can it be? What can it be that she cannot tell it to him? Questions filled his mind as he continued to clean up the remaining shattered pieces of the glass. Using the corner of his eyes, he can see her faintly shaking as her eyes were watching him cautiously.

“Dara-ya… What happened?” He asked after cleaning up and took a seat beside her. He brushed off the strands of hair in her face and smiled. “These past few days, you seemed to be worried about something. Your eyes were filled with weariness and sometimes, just sometimes, I can see fear in it. I’m worried.”

He saw her gulped and her lips trembled a bit then she shook her head violently. Seeing her reaction, it just made him suspicious.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.” Dara stammered and closed her eyes as if she was gathering the remaining courage inside of her. “It’s really nothing.”

His eyes watched her expressions carefully before letting out a frustrated sigh. He brushed his fingers on his hair and pulled it a bit as if he was trying to release his vexed feelings over her. A forced smile curved into his lips as he messed up her hair.

“You don’t believe me?” Dara asked worriedly. Her hands that were trying to reach out for him were somewhat shivering. “Jiyong?”

“I believe you…” He finally uttered reluctantly. “But if ever you wanted to talk about something, just approach me and I will listen, okay?”

Dara nodded and smiled weakly at him before looking down. He can feel that she was hiding something from him but he would let the case rest for now. He can ask her at a later time. And he would wait until she was ready to tell it to him.

Because he trusts her so much and he knew that she would tell him when the right time comes.

She was strolling around the mall with her older sister when she saw a familiar figure enter a classy restaurant. She shook her head and told herself that it would be impossible. Earlier, she asked him if he can accompany her to the recital of her sister and going to the mall afterwards but he refused. He told her that he was busy and needed to record something with Teddy.

Her eyes were still on the restaurant that she didn’t notice the presence of her older sister. If not for her sister’s fake cough, she would not notice that she was already finished checking out the store.

“Bom, are you okay?” Go Eun asked with a worried expression plastered on her face.

“Uhm, yes.” She answered but her eyes were still in the restaurant.

“Are you already hungry?” Go Eun asked in a teasing manner as she followed the direction where her sister’s eyes were looking at. “It’s still early but if you are hungry already, we can eat now.”

twitched at her sister’s words and then shook her head. After battling with herself, she turned around and face her older sister.

“Unnie, can you just wait here for me? I just have something to check out.” She said and pulled out a pleading face cutely, making it harder for her older sister to refuse her request.

Go Eun just sighed and shooed her younger sister playfully.

“Fine, I’ll just go inside the next boutique to check if there’s something interesting in there… I’ll wait for you there, okay? Don’t take too long.” Go Eun reminded.

“Thanks, unnie.” She uttered and dashed towards the restaurant to verify if she really saw him.

Her heart was literally pounding hard that she thought her rib cage would break. It was just few more steps away when she saw him coming out. She was about to call his name out but her jaw fell when she saw someone following him closely from behind.

She stood there. Just a few steps away from him, she could have called him out but she doesn’t have enough strength left. For her heart just received a heavy blow. Fear started to creep inside of me and gnawing my spirit.

She knew very well who the woman is in his life.

Who wouldn’t know her?

The woman was just his first love.

The woman she envied from the sidelines.

The woman who made him cry a lot.

The woman she can never compete with.

The woman who still have a part of his heart.

The woman by the name of Shi Min Ah.

It was time for their rehearsals for their upcoming comeback. It was already their third year in the industry and they were still going strong. In her heart, she was very proud. Right from the very start, their group was already one of the best and she leads them.

She doesn’t care about what other people says about her. Some may even call her unworthy leader, irresponsible and uncaring but it didn’t matter. For her, she was the only rightful leader of the group.

Though her opinion still doesn’t change much from last year, she still thinks that the vampire-looking older girl is not worthy to be in her place now. A year has passed but her judgment is still the same. The only difference right now is that she’s not voicing out her opinion. She learned to keep silent and just let people thought that she changed.

Her hands turned the knob and her brows formed a crease upon entering the room. The training room was filled with tension and weariness. Her eyes looked around and saw the oldest of them spacing out in the farthest corner in the room. The oldest girl got dark circles on her eyes and the surprising thing is the oldest girl didn’t bother to hide it with cosmetics which she normally does. On the other side of the room, the youngest of them was sitting beside the second oldest girl. To her, it looks like the maknae was consoling the girl beside her and acting protectively over her.

She stepped inside and walked casually at the locker room to put her things inside. The air in the room was too heavy that she already knew that there was something wrong. After a few minutes, she walked out the locker room just to see that the other dancers and their choreographer just arrived.

She glanced at her wristwatch and glared at the newly arrived.

“You’re late.” She stated in a cold manner.

“We’re caught in a traffic jam.” Jae Wook answered and shrugged his shoulder, brushing off the leader.

“You should have left sooner.” She commented.

“We did leave the premises of SBS earlier, your highness.” Jae Wook exclaimed in a sarcastic tone.  “But there was an accident that caused the traffic jam.”

“Are you mocking me?” She asked.

“Why don’t you stop, CL-sshi?” She heard Dara asked.

“Aren’t you mad that things were delayed because of them?” She asked furiously.

“It’s not like it’s their fault.” Dara reasoned out and turned her attention towards the newly arrived. “Sorry about her rudeness, you can rest for a while. You all look tired.”

“What? And delaying us further?” She asked with a horrified expression on her face.

“Didn’t you just arrive as well? You were just a few minutes earlier than them?” She heard the familiar voice of the oldest girl.

“What? This isn’t about me!” She stammered on her words. She can feel blood rushing on her face.

“Then you should stop being a about it.” Bom exclaimed and glared at the blonde girl.

She gritted her teeth and she can feel the stares of all the people inside the room. Everything would have been fine if not for that busybody. Reluctantly, she turned around and walked towards the girl whom she started to despise. She was about to push her a bit when somebody slapped her hands away. Glancing on my sideways, she saw a very furious maknae and glaring at her.

“Move back.” Minzy exclaimed.

“What? I’m just gonna sit here beside Dara unnie.” She lied.

“I told you to stay back.” Minzy repeated herself as she positioned herself in between the leader and her favorite unnie.

“Can’t I sit here?” She asked and looked pleadingly at the dense and innocent older girl.

“Ah, of course, CL-roo… Anytime.” Dara answered with a smile on her face and looked at Minzy with a pleading smile.

“See?” She asked mocking the youngest.

“Fine. But I’ll sit in between.” Minzy said and occupied the space in between.

Now this seems too suspicious. She already knew how protective the youngest girl towards Dara but this is too much. It was like she was seeing another Jiyong in the maknae. Overprotective. But this one is different from before, it was like the maknae was treating Dara like a fragile glass that would break.

Something is going on.

She needed to know what it is.

She would, in time.

His mind was thinking of some things after the meeting with Jiyong. He wasn’t sure of it but if he based it on what the boy told him during the meeting. Dara’s sickness was symptoms of being… No, it cannot be. They weren’t that careless.

He sighed for the nth time that it has already bothered his wife.

 “Hyun suk, what are you thinking?” Eun Jo asked as her arms wrapped around his waist. “You look worried.”

“I’m just worried about the kids.”  He answered.

“I see. They’re fine. You are just overly worried, ahjussi.” Eun Jo kidded.

He let out a chuckle at her words. He smiled and thought that he can just personally ask Dara for the answers. After all, it wouldn’t harm anyone if he wanted some answers.

“Hyun Suk?” Eun Jo called out his name again. “You’re spacing out again. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… Let’s sleep then…” He said as he guided her towards their bed and rest for the night.