Dara's POV

"I-I'm just going to go and get ready..." I mumbled as I crawled off of the bed, avoiding his eyes. I quickly rummaged through my wardrobe grabbing the first pair of clothes and underwear my hands touched.

I closed the wardrobe and kept my head down as I quickly made my way out of the room when--

"Erm.. Dara..." I heard Jiyong call out uncertainly.

I paused in my tracks, 'Should I just pretend I didn't hear him?'. I shook my head of the thought and turned my head to see what he wanted, my most hated enemy my blush colouring my cheeks immediately.

"You err... dropped your err..." he trailed off, as he looked around awkwardly, his cheeks tinted a slight pink, his hand extended towards me. My eyes rounded, mortified. There, hanging from Jiyongs finger was my bra. My BRA people! My life is cursed with bad luck I tell you. Seriously guys, I thought we were friends?! I told you to dig me a whole like 2 days ago! Why isn't it ready?! I looked up and glared at the ceiling, 'God, when I get up there, you and I are going to have some serious problems!'

I quickly snatched it from his finger hiding it under my other clothes. Could this be any more awkward?! Especially after what just happened?!

"T-thanks," I stuttered before turning around and legging it as fast as possible into the bathroom slamming the door shut.

As soon as I was in the safety of the bathroom I leaned my back against the door, sliding down to the floor, my clothes now scattered around me. I don't understand... What's happening to me? Why didn't I push him away? Why did I allow him to do that to me, when he was just a friend? I felt my heart sting slightly at that last thought, but ignored it. I growled, grabbing my head with my hands. I don't understand! I don't understand!!! What's wrong with me?!

I began to rock back and forth like a crazy person, 'What on earth is happening to me?!'. Everytime I closed my eyes all I saw was Jiyong. Jiyong, Jiyong, Jiyong. Why is he always in there? All the new memories we'd created, the majority of them being humiliating experiences constantly played in my head on repeat.

How am I supposed to act around him now? Bringing Jiyong home was a bad idea. So much had happened, I don't think I could ever look him in the face again without those intimate moments popping up in my mind to haunt me.

I leaned my head back on the door as I tried to control my breathing, 'Calm down Dara. There's nothing wrong with you. You're just tired. That's it. You're lacking sleep. The only reason Jiyong is in your head is because you've been constantly around him the past week.' I convinced myself.

I nodded my head, my breathing now back to normal, "Yeah.. that must be it..."  I murmured to myself. As soon as I step out of this bathroom I will pretend like nothing happened. I'll act normal. 'But what was normal?'. I pushed myself off of the floor, shaking my head of these confusing thoughts and got ready for the day.

========

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a short fluffly towel around my body. I walked upto the mirror and wiped the steam off as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, my eyes immediately zoning in on the red mark on my neck. HOLY ! This is not good. I repeat NOT good! Code Red people! CODE RED! I began to flap my hands like a chicken as I continued to panic. What the hell is that!? I can't believe Jiyong left a mark! What if Omma and Appa see?! OH GOD! What if Bommie sees?! I'm dead. I am so dead! If I live past this day... Jiyong is going to get it.

"Dara? Are you okay?" I heard Jiyong's concerned voice through the door. Speak of the devil!

"Y-yeah I'm fine. Just thought I saw a spider!" I fibbed, as I glared at the door, wondeirng if it was scientifically possible for me to somehow burn him through the wood.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to come in and get rid of it?" he replied, still concerned.

COME IN?! I looked down at myself, I was barely covered by a towel! No way in HELL was he going to come in here! He may be comfortable with parading his half- around, but I certainly am not!

"N-NO! Don't come in here! I'm fine!" I shouted back, unconsciously gripping my short towel tighter around me. It was silent for a while, then I heard his footsteps as he walked away from the door.

I turned back to the mirror and stared at the mark. I still can't believe he left a damn mark! Ergh! I quickly shook my head to rid the thoughts, not wanting to think about it.

I quickly threw on my clothes and looked into the mirror again. Damn. This t-shirt only just covered the mark.... I began to look around the bathroom to see if I'd left any of my makeup around. I stomped my foot in frustration when I came out empty handed. It's not like I could ask Durami either, she'd grow suspicious as to why i'd suddenly want to borrow her make-up.

I sighed heavily, looking at myself in the mirror, my hand coming up to touch the area lightly, the image immediately flashing in my mind. I'm going to have to be extremely careful, I don't even want to imagine how much havoc Bommie will wreak if she saw it...

I checked myself in the mirror again, trying to cover the mark up as much as possible, placing my hair over my shoulders for extra coverage. Satisfied, I made my way out of the bathroom towards my room, 'I wonder if Jiyong is still there? Or has he gone downstairs already?'

I peeked into the guestroom to see that Jiyong was nowhere to be seen, the bed had been made and the makeshift bed on the floor had disappeared. I made my way downstairs, playing with my hair nervously hoping it hadn't shifted too much and had exposed me or something. I could hear everyones chatter and laughter as I descended the stairs, my ears immediately picking up on Jiyongs voice amongst everyone elses.

I took another large gulp of air, exhaling heavily before pasting a large smile on my face and entering the dining room. Everyone turned their heads to look at me, I scanned all their faces one by one, my fake smile still pasted in place.

Sanghyun and Joon immediately turned back to their food, not bothered by my entrance. Durami was eyeing me suspiciously as if she knew I was hiding something. Bom was grinning like a cheshire cat, as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down knowingly, making my smile falter slightly in nervousness. Had she seen?! I nervously began playing with my hair again, trying to inconspicously cover up my neck even more. Omma and Appa... they were beaming, their grins so wide i'm surprised their faces hadn't split in half. I briefly glanced at Jiyong - who was wearing the same clothes as yesterday - to see him looking at me intensely, his eyes watching my movements as I played with my hair, his eyes concentrating on a particular spot.

"Morning Dara! Sit, eat!" Omma ushered me to sit down, practically shoving me down into the seat beside Jiyong. I unconsciously scooted away from him when I felt Bom looking at me again.

"Good morning.." I muttered, keeping my eyes down as I began to place some food onto my plate, eating in silence.

"Soooooo, Jiyong! Did you sleep okay last night?" Appa asked, a cheeky grin on his face. I immediately froze, swallowing the spoonful of food before I had even finished chewing. I glanced nervously at Jiyong.

"Neh, thanks Samchon." he replied, not offering any more details.

"I saw the bed on the floor... I hope the floor wasn't too cold and hard for you? Are you sure you slept comfortably?" Omma asked, trying to pry information out of us, after seeing us on the bed together this morning.

"The floor was perfectly fine Imo." he lied.

"*cough* LIAR *cough*" Bom faked a cough, I sent her a glare, what did she know, I hadn't even seen her since last night in the living room. There was no way she could've known that Jiyong and I slept together on a bed...right?

"I slept like a baby," he continued as he offered Omma a small smile.

"I'm sure you did Jiyong," Bom cut in, raising her eyebrows up and down suggestively, "I bet you had the best sleep of your life neh?"

I was currently in the process of trying to burn a whole through Bom's head when--

"Omo! Jiyong! What's that on your neck?!" Omma blurted out in shock as she pointed to his neck.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo! OMMMMMMAAAAA! Why?! I thought you loved me?! You may as well just throw me in a closet with the Bominator already!

I tried my very best to keep my face void of emotion, trying hard not to blush as I concentrated on my food, my eyes practically glaring at the poor mushrooms on my plate.

"Yes Jiyong, what IS that on your neck?" Bom cut in. I shoved a mushroom into my mouth and destroyed in mercilessly, imagining it was Bom's head.

"Wow, Dara Unnie. You seriously need a straightjacket when you sleep. I can't believe you punched Jiyong Oppa in the neck!" Durarmi asked innocently in shock as she stared at the supposed 'punch' on Jiyong's neck.

"Oh Durami..." Bom began in a condescending voice, "Let Bommie unnie teach you something, that is not a p--"

"YES! Yes it IS a punch mark!" Appa jumped in, cutting Bom off and sending her a reprimanding look. Bom pouted and folded her arms.

"Huh?" Durami sat there confused, "So is it a punch mark or not?"

"N--"

"YES!" Appa cut Bom off again, sending her another warning look, before turning to Jiyong, "I thought I told you to cover that up?" he whispered.

Yes Jiyong, why didn't you cover it up huh? You may as well just jump on the table and announce to the whole world what I had done, not that you needed to, the mark was pretty much announcing itself to everyone, chilling on his skin all proud.

"Hey Dara noona, you eating that?" Sanghyun who seemed to be oblivious to what was happening pointed to the sausage on my plate.

"I doubt it, I don't think Dara's really hungry, I think she's already eaten..." Bom sniggered as she oggled at the bite mark on Jiyong's neck

"Does it look like i'm eating it right now?" I snapped, venting my anger at him, "and no you can't have it." I said before turning back to Bom to glare at her hoping she'd just disappear off of the face of the planet.

I felt someones hand hovering over my plate and immediately snapped my head to the left to see Sanghyun chomping merrily on my sausage.

"YAH! Noona, no need to whip your hair in my face!" he whined as he backed away abit. My hair? My eyes widened as I quickly readjusted my hair, hoping no one had seen.

"Done! Omma, Appa i'm going over to Joons, we're going to go play football with the guys," Sanghyun spoke after swallowing the remainder of my sausage, standing up and pulling Joon - who clearly wasn't finished - up from his seat.

"Wait! Drop Durami off at the mall will you?" Omma said.

"Aww! Can't she take herself?!" Sanghyun whined.

"YAH! She's your sister, stop whining!" Appa reprimanded, narrwoing his eyes.

"FINE! Hurry up you turd," Sanghyun spoke, rolling his eyes and walking out of the room with Joon on his heels.

"TURD?!" Durami screamed, jumping from her seat to run after Sanghyun.

I watched in amusement, shaking my head at my dongsaengs. I turned around to see Bom still grinning at me. No jokes, she looked like a creepy e right now.

"Quit smiling at me like that!" I complained, not being able to stand her irritating smile anymore.

"Smiling like what? I don't know what you're talking about," Bom denied as she smirked at me.

"Jiyong, you're awfully quiet, are you alright?" Omma asked him in concern. I turned my head to see Jiyong looking down at his plate deep in thought, "Jiyong?" Omma asked again.

"Huh? Neh?" he asked, snapping his head up, his eyes showing confusion.

"Are you okay?" Omma asked, worried. I don't know if it was the way that Omma was speaking, but I began to worry over Jiyong as well, I watched him, anticipating his reply.

"Neh, just... thinking..." he said his eyes flickering to me briefly before returning back to Omma, giving her a tight smile.

"Well i'm done now... Dara, you're finished right? How about we go have that little catch up we were talking about hmm?" Bom said, standing up from her seat and gesturing towards the door.

I gulped and looked at Omma and Appa, to see them avoiding my eyes. YAH! Even they're afraid of the bominator! I turned to Jiyong, to see him staring at me with unreadable eyes.

"Ermm... I don't know, Jiyong and I have to go soon.. right Ji?" I asked as naturally as possible, telling him with my eyes to agree.

"Oh, actually. Jiyong, would you step into my office with me for a moment? I want to talk to you about something," Appa spoke up mysteriously and gestured out of the door like Bom. 'What did Appa want to talk to Jiyong about?' I thought.

Jiyong nodded slowly, looking slightly confused, before turning back to look at me. We both stood up together and headed towards the door.

"Good luck.." I heard him whisper softly to me before we seperated. I glanced back to see him walking into Appa's office soon followed by Appa.

I felt Bommie link her arms in mine, "Come on Dara, it's time we talked." she said this time with no hints of teasing or playfulness. I nodded mechanically as she pulled me up the stairs into my room.

As soon as we entered Bom closed the door locking it behind us.

/lock/

Why does that sound so.. so.. ominous? Like she's about to kill me or something.

As if reading my mind, "Relax Ssantoki, I'm not going to kill you or anything," she said rolling her eyes as she plopped down comfrotably on the bed, patting the space beside.

I reluctantly climbed onto the bed and sat beside her.

"Well?" she asked, as she turned to look at me.

"Well what?" I feigned innocence, pretending not to know what she was talking about.

"Cut the crap Dara, you know exactly what I want to talk about. What's up with you and Jiyong? Your arch nemesis, or rather ex-arch nemesis should I say?" she said, getting straight to the point.

"I-I honestly don't know what you mean," I stuttered, avoiding her eyes.

"Don't know what I mean? Don't lie Dara. You know perfectly well what I mean. Since when did you guys become so close? So intimate with one another? I'm not stupid. I have eyes you know," she said sharply.

"Yeah, I wish you didn't..." I muttered.

"What did you say?!" she said glaring at me.

"NOTHING! I said nothing!" I lied, not wanting to awaken the bominator just 5 minutes into our 'talk'.

"Come on Dara, just talk to me, what's the deal between you and Jiyong?" Bom softly probed, her voice taking on a motherly tone.

I sighed heavily, knowing there was no way I could leave this room until Bom was satisfied with my answers, "I-I don't know. I honestly don't know.." I said my forehead creasing in confusion. What was the deal between Jiyong and I? We were friends. That's all I knew.

"You... don't know?" Bom repeated slowly as she scanned my face, "You're telling the truth..." she repeated to herself.

"How about you tell me how you guys met again? Why is he back in Korea?" Bom asked, trying to paint a picture of what she had missed.

"He came back about 2 and a half months ago... God thought it would be funny to place us in the same university, in the exact same classes and live directly oppposite each other," I paused to shoot a glare up at the ceiling, before looking back at Bom, "Needless to say we didn't start off well, at the time I still had a grudge against him from when we were younger and you know..." Bom nodded, that she knew of.

"Then how did you guys suddenly become so... close?" she asked, looking just as confused as me.

"I don't know... I guess just being in such close proximity to him all the time. I couldn't exactly escape him. You know, it turns out he kept in contact with all the guys..." I eyed Bom carefully, "Jiyong and Seungri took the girls and I to a restaurant, and to our surprise Daesung, Youngbae and... Seunghyun Oppa was there..." I watched as Bom stiffened slightly, but then quickly relaxed again, nodding her head for me to continue.

"Anyway, long story short, Jiyong saved me from eating some peanuts and--"

"YOU ALMOST ATE PEANUTS?!" Bom exploded as she shook my shoulders.

"Calm down Bommie I'm fine," I said as I tried to pull away from her grip.

"I will not calm down! How could you be so careless Dara! What if you died?!" She cried frantically, as she looked at me as if I was about to disappear.

"I'm fine now Bommie, Jiyong saved me remember? I'm still here," I said calmly as I removed her hands from my shoulders, she nodded slowly, before gesturing for me to continue.

"I.. I well... I accused him of.. of trying to kill me when we were younger," I whispered, ducking my head in shame. I still can't believe I said that to him.

"Wow.. That's low Dara," Bom said disappointed.

"I know, I know! I don't know what came over me! Anyway, Jiyong obviously walked out, so we all went home." I watched her carefully again, my eyes glued to her face, "Afterwards, Seunghyun Oppa took me to the han river and he explained somethings about Jiyong that I never knew about..."

As I expected Bom tensed up again, her face twitching slightly.

"What did.. he.. say?" Bom said, seeming to struggle with her words.

"He just told me that I didn't know Jiyong as well as I thought and I had judged him too fast. He told me to give Jiyong time, told me to try and get to know him for who he really is. So I did, and here we are now." I finished, not bothering to fill her in on all the other minor details.

"Hmmm..." Bom hummed as she processed everything.

"Do you like Jiyong?" she finally asked, looking me straight the eyes.

"WAAAAHTTT?! I don't know what you're talking about! Me? Like Jiyong?! Pffft! As if!" I immediately replied defensively, as if the notion was ridiculous.

"Dara, I was just asking if you liked him as a friend, why are you acting so defensive?" Bom asked in amusement. Damn. This woman knew how to play with words.

"I-I thought you meant if I like-liked him..." I trailed off, "Of course I like him as a friend..."

"Are you sure you just like him as a friend?" Bom asked bluntly, staring at me again.

"Y-yeah.." I answered uncertainly. Why couldn't I answer her with confidence?

"I don't know Dara. I'm not convinced. I've been observing you and Jiyong for the past 18 hours or so, and you guys don't just act like friends. You act like how a couple would act," Bom spoke seriously, her voice ringing out with honesty.

"W-well, maybe you're just jetlagged. You don't know what you're seeing. Jiyong and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less." I replied, not convinced myself, "and before you say anything, we can never be anything more."

"I don't know what I'm seeing?" Bom scoffed getting up from the bed to rummage around in my draws.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused as to why she was randomly rooting through my draws.

"Aha!" she said grabbing something and turning around, a smirk on her face. She threw whatever was in her hands onto the bed and it landed directly in front of me.

"BB cream?" my eyebrows creased in confusion, "Why are you giving me BB cream?"

"Oh I don't know... You know, I could see why you weren't eating much, but I was wondering why Jiyong wasn't eating much either. Turns out you weren't the only one who had already eaten," she smirked, as her eyes glanced down to my neck.

I gasped my eyes widening as my hand flew to my neck. How the hell did she see?! Eyes like a hawk I tell you!

"Seriously Dara. You gave Jiyong a love bite, maybe it was a bit too literal, I mean girl, I could see your teeth marks!" Bom shuddered, "In return he gives you a cute little hickey!" she cooed at my covered neck like it was a baby.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" I continued to deny.

"Puh-lease Dara! I already saw it!" Bom marched over, shoving my hand away and pulled the collar of my t-shirt down, moving my hair out of the way in the process.

"THAT! Is what I'm talking about. I'm telling you, people who are just friends don't do that!" Bom accused as she continued to stare at it in fascination.

I pushed her hand away and immediately covered it with my hair. "This isn't a hickey! This is a bug bite!" I lied, blushing at her choice of words like an 8-year old.

"Yeah it is a bug bite. From a bug called Jiyong," she replied rolling her eyes at me.

"It's your fault I bit Jiyong anyway! Why were you teasing me with poolppang?!" I exclaimed, not being able to deny it anymore, the evidence was clear, and now I wanted to shift the blame.

"ME?! I did no such thing! I have no idea what you're talking about! Don't blame me for you wanting to mark Jiyong. Never had you down as the possessive type Dara," Bom teased as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down, "You may as well have just taken a piss on him."

"What the hell Bommie!! That's gross!!!" I exclaimed in disgust, not being able to stop the horrible image from entering my mind.

"Besides, did I force you to sleep in the same bed as him hmm?" Bom shot at me, her eyesbrows raised.

I gasped at her. W-what? H-how? "I-I don't know what you're talking about. Didn't you hear? Jiyong slept on the floor," I vehemently denied as calmly as possible, but I was beginning to sweat buckets under her sharp gaze.

"Don't give me that bull," Bom said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, pressing a few buttons before waving it infront of my face. Le gasp! I tried to grab the phone off of her to delete the picture but she held it above her head, locking it before slipping it back into her pocket.

"WHAT ARE YOU?! A CREEPY STALKER?!" I shouted, not knowing what else to say.

"Call me whatever you want to call me Dara, but I have evidence against you." Bom said evilly.

"Y-yeah, well, it was only because he was feezing down there! I couldn't let a guest freeze on the floor! Then the blanket couldn't cover us both s-so Jiyong... whatever!" I blushed.

"Oh really now? Fine, Jiyong shared a bed with you whatever, but why was he holding you? Hmm?" Bom interrogated further.

"I already told you! The blanket wasn't enough for us bo--"

"You could have easily used the blanket Jiyong had on the floor, instead it was left abandoned on the floor whilst you snuggled into his chest, " Bom teased as she hugged herself and pulled kissy faces.

Damn! She had me there. I had completely forgotten Jiyong had a blanket we could've used! What the hell! This is all his fault!!! Ergh!!!

"I did not snuggle into his chest! Stop pulling those faces at me!" I said, at my wits end.

Bom rolled her eyes at me before sitting down beside me, "Jokes aside Dara... I just want you to know that once you figure it out... Don't run away." she said ominously a hint of sadness and regret in her voice, a distant look in her eyes.

"Figure out what?" I asked in confusion, breaking her from her reverie. There wasn't anything to figure out... Who was I going to run from? "I don't understand your cryptic words Bommie, can't you just tell me? Why do I have to figure it out?"

Bom smiled softly at me before patting me on the head condescendingly, "I can't tell you Ssantoki, that would be cheating."

I sat there puzzled, not sure what the hell she was talking about. I think she's gone crazy. What is there to figure out? Nothing!

"Okay, I'm just going to pretend I get what you mean," I said, as I watched Bom roll her eyes at me, "But enough about me. How about you? How come you're back? Where's Imo, Samchon and Oppa?" I asked her with interest.

Bom sighed heavily as she leaned back against the head rest, "It's just me. Appa is currently requesting to transfer back over to Seoul, but it hasn't been approved yet. We just missed home so much..." she trailed off softly.

"You don't understand what it felt like to be away from here Dara.. From all of you..." she said sadness evident in her voice.

"America was nice... But I just didn't fit in. I didn't click with anyone over there, the cultural differences were just too much, I didn't have any real friends... I wanted so bad to come back after the first few months, but I knew how much the job meant to Appa, I had to stay and support him," Bom said with a far away look in her eyes, "I-I had to leave him.." she said tearfully, her eyes beginning to moisten.

"Did you keep in contact? Does he know you're back?" I asked softly.

Bom shook her head, "No, I couldn't do it to him. I couldn't expect him to wait for me. I couldn't expect him to partake in a long distance relationship... I didn't even know how strong my feelings for him were... I thought it was just a silly childish crush, something I could easily get over, but when I sat on that plane... then I knew. I knew it was too late..."

I placed my hand on her shoulder, "Bom, does he know you're back?" I repeated, looking her in the eyes.

"N-no," she stuttered as a tear leaked from her eye. She brought her knees upto her chest and wrapped her arms around them. My heart broke as I watched her cry. Bom was usually so strong, but when it came to matters of the heart she was very weak. I wrapped my arms around her shaking frame and cooed, reassuring her that I was here.

"I-I'm scared Dara. What if he hates me? What if he doesn't want to see me?" she asked shakily, looking into my eyes, as the tears continued to fall.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you Bommie. No one could ever hate you. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see you," I said comfortingly, knowing full well that I wasn't sure at all, and Bom knew it too.

"No Dara. He hates me. He has every right to!" Bom wailed as she cried harder, leaning her head onto my shoulder.

"No he doesn't Bommie, you don't kno--"

"Yes I do know! He hates me! I know he does! Why wouldn't he? I left Dara! I left without telling him! I left him without so much as a note! I can't imagine how he must've felt!" Bom exploded, before she curled up into a foetal position on the bed.

I watched her, my heart heavy. I had never seen her cry so badly before, not even when she was leaving for America. Bom cried quite often at dramas and silly things like that, but I had never seen her cry with so much pain before, and it hurt me to see her this way.

I her hair and rubbed her back, unsure of what else I could do to comfort her.

Eventually the crying calmed down and fatigue from all the emotions and the jet lag caught up on her, as I heard her breathing even out.

"I'm so sorry..." she mumbled, "Seunghyun Oppa.." I heard her whimper in her sleep. My eyes softened as I brushed some hair away from her face, smoothing out her frown.

I really hoped that what I had said to her was right, that Seunghyun would want to see her, because it was absolutely clear that she still loved him as much as she did when we were children, if not more.

========

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table and sighed. I got up from my bed and slowly repositioned Bom, placing the blanket over her. I grabbed a piece of paper and pen, quickly writing on it before placing it on the bedside table so that when she awoke it would be the first thing she saw.

I walked towards the door and took another glance at Bom's tear stained face. If love caused this much pain and hurt... was it worth it? I shook my head sadly as I walked out and closed the door behind me.

'I wonder if Jiyong and Appa have finished talking?' I made my way down the stairs, the house was deadly quiet. I found myself outside of Appa's room, hovering slightly. I placed my ear against the door.

Silence.

I frowned, before making my way into the living room. I paused when I saw Jiyong slouched slightly on the sofa, his eyes closed. 'He's sleeping? He must be tired...' I creeped towards him, gently sitting beside him, my eyes transfixed on his face. I couldn't deny it, he was unbelievably handsome. Especially when he was asleep, when he wasn't annoying me with his smirk or his words. Like this, he appeared so innocent. My eyes landed on the red mark on his neck that I had left from biting him this morning. I slowly it in curiosity. I saw him frown and mimicked his face, my hands immediately coming up to smooth his frown out. I began to lightly trace his facial featurs in fascination - his eyebrows, his nose... his lips. My fingers lingered slightly longer before I cupped his smooth right cheek.

I was about to pull my hand away when his hand reached out and stopped me, bringing it back to his face, his hand over mine. His eyes flickered open and gazed deeply into mine - they were unreadable. Something in his eyes kept me rooted to the spot as I looked back at him, my eyes searching as I tried to figure out what was on his mind. We sat there for a while, just staring at each other, neither of us speaking when I noticed Jiyong's eyes begin to flicker down.

"J-Ji?" I stuttered as I noticed him lean in when--

/door slams/

"Jiyong, will you and Dara be staying for dinner?" Omma's loud voice broke through the trance between us. I quickly withdrew my hand and turned my body away from him, diverting my eyes.

"Jiyong, are you a--" Omma walked into the living since she hadn't heard a reply.

"OH! Dara! Have you and Bom finished catching up already? Where is she?" Omma asked as she shrugged off her jacket.

"She fell asleep, I think the time difference is catching up on her," I explained.

"Oh, okay. Will you and Jiyong be staying for dinner? I need to know how much to cook," Omma asked.

I briefly glanced at Jiyong to see him leaning against the sofa, his eyes showing confusion, "I don't think so Omma. I think it's time Jiyong and I went," I said as I stood up, walking towards Omma.

"Awww, really? Well make sure you and Jiyong come home over again soon neh?" Omma said as she patted my head like a child. I nodded my head reluctantly, 'Sorry Omma, I don't think we'll be back soon. It's dangerous for Jiyong and I to be under this roof.'

"Come on Ji, lets go." I gestured for him to get up. He looked at me then nodded slowly, rising from his seat and following me toward the door.

"Make sure you guys take care of yourselfs neh? Dont' forget to eat your dinner! Don't sleep to late!" Omma began to list out instructions worriedly.

Jiyong chuckled before surprising Omma with a hug, "Don't worry Imo. I can take care of myself... and Dara too."

Omma pulled away and beamed, patting his shoulder, "You grew up very well Jiyong. Such a chivalrous man! Did you hear that Dara? Jiyong said he'd look after you. Now I can be rest assured you're in the capable hands of Jiyong!"

"Pfft! I'm not a baby. I can look after myself perfectly fine," I replied, rolling my eyes, but I couldn't deny how his words warmed my heart. I had never had someone outwardly say they wanted to look after me, it was always me looking after everyone else. I became independent early in my life, having looked after Sanghyun and Durami, so it felt nice that for once someone wanted to look after me.

"Are you guys going already?" I heard Appa's voice say as he walked out of thet dining room, wiping his hands on the pink apron he was wearing. I giggled at his get up before nodding at him.

"Neh, thanks for having me over Samchon," Jiyong said giving Appa a genuine smile.

"What did I tell you Jiyong? I told you to call me Appa," Appa said in a reprimanding tone as he rolled his eyes.

APPA?! Appa told Jiyong to call him Appa?!

"Waaaaht?!" I exclaimed in shock, "But he has his own Appa!" I whined.

"Don't be so childish Dara! Jiyong is like a son to me, if I want him to call me Appa, so be it!" Appa reprimanded me.

"Jagiya! You are so sly! Getting Jiyong to call you Appa! That's not fair!" Omma whined, glaring at Appa before turning to Jiyong, "No more Imo for you! Call me Omma too!"

"Waaaht?!" I screamed louder.

"Shhh! Bommie is asleep Dara, stop being so loud!" Omma reprimanded, placing her finger against her lips.

"Stop complaining Dara, I want him to call me Appa." Appa whined childishly, "Unless you plan on marrying him, then I can wait a while!"

My jaw dropped to the floor, my eyes rolling out of their sockets shortly after, "M-marry?!" I stuttered in shock, "What are you talking about Appa?!"

"Dara! Shhhh!" Omma silenced me again before turning to Jiyong.

"Call us Omma and Appa from now on neh?" Omma beamed up at him.

Jiyong chuckled before nodding his head, "Arasso Omma, Appa."

"You know what, lets go Jiyong. My parents have clearly lost their marbles," I muttered as I put my shoes on and went to open the door, "Bye Omma! Appa!"

"Jiyong, remember what we talked about okay?" Appa said seriously to Jiyong, no signs of playfulness in them. I turned around slightly, intrigued. 'What did they talk about?'

"Neh Sa-- Appa," Jiyong replied.

"Good. Take care son," Appa said naturally, patting Jiyong on the back. Jiyong grinned back at Appa, his eyes shining in happiness.

"You too, Appa and Omma. See you soon." Jiyong bid them goodbye before turning around to meet my curious gaze.

"Come on Dara, lets go." he said gently guiding me out of the door, closing it behind us and walking ahead of me towards his car.