Author's Note:

For reference:

Park Eun Hee and Park Young Jae are Dara's Parents. Kwon Jae-Hwa and Kwon Jin-Sang are Jiyong's Parents. Imo and Samchon, are 'Auntie' and 'Uncle.

~Water Phoenix

Dara's POV

"LEE CHAERIN! GET YOUR OUT HERE!" I continuously slammed my fists on her door, "RIGHT NOW! D'YOU HEAR ME YOUNG LADY?!"

"I won't come out until you calm your sh*t down Ssantoki!" came her muffled reply through the door.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. My emotions were all over the place, I went from feeling over the moon, to feeing scandalised, shocked, confused, then the over riding emotion - anger. *breathes in* *breathes out* I leaned my back on her door as I calmed myself down.

"Arasso, I'm calm now Chae, let me in." I said calmly, facing the door once more. A minute passed and the door opened slightly, I peered through the crack to see CL assessing my emotions. Once she was sure I wasn't going to butcher her she closed the door, unlocked the latch and opened the door wide. I walked into her room and immediately lay down on her bed. Not long after, I felt the bed dip as CL lay down beside me.

"Care to explain?" I questioned as I  tilted my head to glance at her.

She sighed heavily before replying, "Well it wasn't like I planned it to be this way, believe me Ssantoki. I had no idea at all. Remember the day we went shopping to pick out some stuff? Well as soon as we split up, I came here to collect our keys and check out what our asssigned apartment was like, so that I could begin to get it ready for us to move into. I really had no idea that Jiyong Oppa was living directly across from us... well not until yesterday at least."

I turned my face away from her so I was now facing the ceiling, placing my forearm over my eyes tiredly from all the emotions. "Why did I get that room? You know how much I despise that creature. I can see how your room doesn't seem to have the same problem as mine" I said sarcastically, hinting at the fact that I hadn't failed to notice that her room was free from a humungous window that allowed people to look into her room like they were looking into a fish bowl. She had a small window, with a view of seoul. I felt utterly tricked.

"I honestly didn't plan for this to happen Ssantoki. Please believe me, it's all just an unfortunate  coincidence. I was making the final arrangements just yesterday when I found out. You know how much of a light sleeper I am, I wake up to even the slightest sounds so I purposefully picked the furthest room, away from the rest of the apartment. I hadn't even looked inside your room until yesterday when the stuff you'd picked out had arrived. When I went in to prepare your room, that's when I noticed the window. At first I thought like you that the windows would be in the living room, so when I didn't see them I figured they'd made some sort of mistake... That was until I walked into your room and saw Jiyong Oppa sitting at his desk across from your room. He didn't recognise me though, so I just preteneded not to know him, I thought maybe you guys wouldn't recognise each other... but I guess I was wrong..." she trailed off, as she finished her explanation.

Ergh.. I can't even bring myself to be mad at her, I've known her since we were babies, and I knew she wasn't lying. She really was a light sleeper, even the sound of a toilet flushing and she'd wake up. "Arasso, I understand, sorry for all the screaming... I just... this wasn't how I envisioned our moving day to be..." I sighed tiredly, as I removed my arm and turned my head to look at her, smiling sadly.

"I know Ssantoki, but it'll be okay, I'm sure the two of you will stay out of each others way..." she said as she tried to console me, but the both of us knew that there was no way of avoiding him. As far as I was concerned, for the next three years of my university life, I will be greeted by his irritating face every morning.

"Chae, I just don't understand though... I thought... I thought he'd gone for good. I mean he moved away didn't he? He moved to Japan, to never return. I just don't understand. Why would he reutnr? There's nothing for him here. Couldn't he have just gone to a Japanese University? This is just so unfair." I whined, as I thought back to the day he left.

~ Flashback to 7 years ago ~

Third Person POV

"Ppali Dara! We'll be late for dinner at the Kwons," Young Jae, Dara's Appa called up the stairs.

"Eurgh, I just hate these weekly dinners with that devil spawn." 11 year old Dara grumbled as she looked at her cute dress in the mirror, scrunching her face in distaste. She didn't want to dress up but she knew her mother would just redress her if she came down in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Everybody ready?" Eun Hee, Dara's Omma looked at her three children, a soft smile on her face, her children were so beautiful. Her eyes fell on her eldest daughter, "Now Dara, you be nice to Jiyong okay?" she sent her a warning look. When her mother turned around Dara rolled her eyes, "Aren't I always?" she whispered under her breath, causing little Durami to giggle at her unnie.

They made their way over to the Kwons, knocking on the door. "Ahh! You're here! Come in, come in! We've got some exciting news to tell you!" Jin-Sang, Jiyong's Appa said excitedly as he ushered them into the house. They entered the living room and sat down comfortably. They'd been over to each others enough times to be able to treat each others houses as second homes.

"Dami Unnie!" Dara called enthusiatically as she sat down next to one of her favourite unnies, giving her a side hug. Now, Dara had nothing against Dami, or Mr and Mrs Kwon, it was just their devil child that she disliked. Aside from him, she loved them like they were her exteneded family.

"Everybody, time to eat!" Jae-Hwa called from the kitchen. Everyone made their way into the dining area, sitting down in their usual seats. Unfortunately for Dara, her assigned seat was always across from Jiyong's. She gave a quick glare to the boy, only to receive a reprimanding look from her mother, causing her to open her eyes wide, innocently, pasting on a fake smile.

They were well into the meal now, the table was full of lively chatter. From an outsiders perspective it was like a perfect family moment. Like Dara, Jiyong got along fine with the rest of her family, and although it had taken awhile, he had grown to allow them a small place in his heart, but to him, there was certainly no room for Dara in there.

"Ah Jin-Sang, what was that exciting piece of news you were talking about earlier?" Young Jae asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Oh yes, I'm glad you brought that up... you know how I was saying I was hoping to expand the business into Japan? Well I just received approval from the Japanese Government, we've been given permission to open a branch over there! Isn't that exciting?!" Jae-Sang replied excitedly before taking a quick swig of beer.

There were congratulations flying everywhere, the room buzzing with excitement, but Jae-Hwa was sitting there quietly, with a tight smile on her face. This didn't escape the keen eyes of Dara's mother, Eun Hee, who noticed there was something wrong with her close friend. "Jae-Hwa what's wrong? You should be really excited about this! Jin-Sang has been talking about this for god knows how long!" she said excitedly, but concern was clearly visible on her face.

"I am. I'm really happy, I just.. well there's no way other way to break this to you. We're leaving. Tonight. In order to be able to set up a branch over there, we have to relocate, there's no other way..." Jaw-Hwa whispered, her eyes filled with sadness.

"M-move? Can't you just send someone from the board of directors over there?" Eun Hee asked quietly. The whole room was now silent, the excitement was long gone and the atmosphere was tense.

"No. There's no other way, the Japanese Government only trusts Jin-Sang, they want him to overlook absolutely everything over there, they're only giving us permission if we move, and they want us to move as soon as possible. They haven't given us much time to decide, if we don't accept it now, they'll retract the offer." Jae-Hwa replied. Everyone had stopped eating at this point, no longer hungry from the shocking annoucement.

"Come on everyone, there's no need to be sad! We'll always see each other on holidays! We'll comeback now and again" Jin-Sang said merrily, trying to lift the mood, but you could tell there were traces of sadness in his eyes too.

They'll be back on holidays. They'll come back - now and again. It was clear they were going for good. They weren't planning on coming back. Sadness filled Dara, to think her beloved unnie would no longer be there for her. Dami was one of the people she would run to if she needed someone to talk to, and Jin-Sang and Jae-Hwa treated her like their daughter, she would miss them greatly, but at the same time she couldn't help the building feeling of giddiness at the back of her mind. Tonight would be the last time she'd ever have to face Kwon Jiyong again. But with this giddiness, she felt guilt. Immense guilt. She shouldn't be happy that they're leaving right? A torrent of emotions flooded through Dara, guilt, sadness, happiness but there was one feeling she couldn't place between all of it - her heart ached a little.

As for Jiyong, he didn't know how to feel. He was just numb. He didn't want to leave either. He felt like he'd finally just settled since he moved here. He was leaving his bestfriend yet again. A year had past since they'd moved, and Jiyong was still lifeless without his bestfriend, so when the news had come that Seunghyun had moved into the neighbourhood, well let's just say he was over the moon. He felt like he'd gotten his life back, and it wasn't so hard to live again. Six years on and he was packing to leave. Again. Why? Couldn't he just be like every other normal boy and grow up with his friends, not having to jump from place to place, rebuilding his life from scratch? He couldn't help but feel angry at his father for this. Yet he knew he shouldn't be, but he just couldn't help it, he was young, the prime age where his emotions weren't controlled. All he knew was that he was angry that he was leaving, he'd gotten his bestfriend back and he'd even made new ones, whom he also grew to love like brothers. Just the thought of leaving them made him angry, but what he didn't seem to know, was that he was angry for another reason, one reason that his young self couldn't quite comprehend.

The rest of the dinner went by, with small attempts of reviving some sort of normal conversation, but everyone was too emotional to attempt anything. The rest of the night was filled with the sound of cutlery scraping plates, and the occasional slurps of a drink. The ticking of the clock getting louder and louder as the dreaded time drew closer.

All too soon it was time for the Parks to leave. The Kwons would be leaving that night, and they still had some packing to do. A few tears were shed as hugs were exchanged and promises of meeting again were made. It was time to go back home, Dara turned around once more glancing at the Kwon family, her eyes falling on Jiyong last, they looked at each other, no emotions on either of their faces, and then the door closed with a resounding thud. That was the last time they saw each other.

~ End of Flashback ~

Dara's POV

Now he was back, back in my life again. I couldn't help but wonder if the rest of the family had moved back? Imo, Samchon and Dami? Although I hated to admit it, life wasn't quite the same after they left. It was peaceful. I didn't have Kwon Jiyong constantly all up in my face, and tormenting me, but it was almost.. too peaceful? New neighbours had moved in soon after, they didn't try to make friends with us, and we didn't either. It just wasn't the same, and I kenw Omma and Appa didn't want to replace Imo and Samchon. They had grown to be great friends.

"Ssantoki? Shall we have dinner? How about Ramyeon to cheer you up hmm?" CL's voice gently shook me from my reverie. I turned to her and smiled, "Sure, why not" I smiled softly. CL didn't really like Ramyeon, but I loooved it. It was the love of my life. If I could eat it every day I could. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up, even subjecting herself to eat Ramyeon with me. I smiled softly as we made our way toward the kitchen. I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I'm sure I'll find a way to enjoy my university life. I won't allow him to come between me and my happiness, I mean I had my bestfriend here with me, so there was no need to be afraid... right?

Author's Note:

Annyeong! Another flashback... I feel like what I'm writing is different to the foreword and description lol... I'll try my best to stick to it.. I might have to tweak it a bit xD I'm just kind of going with the flow at the moment... This update is kind of short too, mianhe! ^^

~Water Phoenix