I’m Home




I knew I promised to myself that I wouldn’t bother her anymore.


But seeing her back against me, taking little steps towards the boarding area and waving goodbye to some random passerby greeting her just made me lose control.


I don’t know what had gotten into me.


Before I knew it, I was sprinting across the boarding area and in just a matter of seconds; I was already standing behind the frail-looking and stick-thin girl I was watching from afar.


My hands had a mind of its own as I felt them reach around her waist, hugging her from behind.


I felt her froze. For a minute, she was silent before I felt her suddenly trembling under my touch.


It was like time stood still for both of us. No words were communicated.


Only the silent beating of our hearts.


I leaned my head towards her neck, inhaling her familiar scent, the scent that I have missed for so long. 


“D-ah…” I started to say. 


I felt her stiffened as she heard me speak.


I felt her took a deep breath before finally speaking.


“Go away, Jiyong.”


More than her words, it was her voice that made me flinched.


Cold and uncaring.


I didn’t know what else to say. I guess I was stupid to think I could persuade her change of heart if I just held her like that.


“D, I.. Please listen to me first before you go.” I begged her. “What you watched on TV , when I said Yoona and I are dating, it’s just----“


“Frankly, Jiyong, I don’t care anymore. Just go away.”


And with that, she tore my hands away from her waist, her touch were cold and unwelcoming.


Though shocked at her action, unbelieving that she could turn cold and uncaring just like that, I still fought to hold her once again.


I was only interrupted when two pairs of hands restrained me.


“What the… GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!” I yelled as they yanked me away from her. My hoodie, which served as my disguise, was starting to reveal my identity which I was trying so hard to conceal.


No matter how I fought to pull away from the hands that restrained me, my efforts all proved to be in vain.


“Don’t hurt him. He’s just a fanboy.” She said without even sparing me one last look before she completely walked away.


I felt all my energy to get loose was in and for a moment, I was unable to move.


Then realization sunk in.


She’s gone.


















She woke up to the gentle tapping of my hand on her shoulder.


“We’re home.” I smiled at her.


She suddenly sat up straight, rubbed her eyes and glanced around.


“It’s a beautiful afternoon in Tokyo...”


“We’re in Japan.” She told me hesitantly.


I nodded as I took our bags from the compartment.


She followed me as we made our way out of the airline.

As soon as we were out of the plane, a group of security accompanied us to ensure that we wouldn’t have any problems with fans or unexpected paparazzi.


I was thankful that they were taking extra effort in securing Dara but got slightly pissed off when I noticed one of the guards stealing some lingering stare at her.


Hayssst! Even in airports she has fanboys.


I sighed. Dara must have noticed my sigh as she turned to me and gave me a questioning look.


I just smiled at her and shook my head.


Once we were exposed to the people inside the airport, we immediately heard screams from those waiting to board their flight.


“OMO! Dara and Nichkhun!”


My head darted towards the direction of the voice. I saw a tall girl pointing at us.


“Ya! Why are they together?!” Her friend asked.


“Waaaaaaa! I can’t believe they look so good together!!” 


We both looked at each other and I felt myself blushed. She, on the other hand, bowed her head shyly.


“Let’s ask for their autographs!”


“Get your camera quick!”


“Oh my! They’re getting away!”


“Quick! Let’s go! KYA!”


I felt the guards pull us as they hasten their steps. Dara and I did our best to catch up with their strides.


We were out of the airport in no time.


We breathed a sigh of relief as we felt the air outside Narita Airport welcome us.


“Oh, look! There’s noona and Boo-ung-ee !” I waved to Bom noona and Woo who were waiting in front of a van.


I noticed how Dara’s face lit up upon seeing her best friend.


A smile crept up to my face as we ran towards them.


“Ssantokki!” Bom noona greeted her with a big hug. “I missed you so much!”


“YA! I’ve been gone for just two days you know.” Dara stuck her tongue out to noona and pretended to be unfazed. 


She was acting playful but I knew deep inside, she was slowly breaking.


“Hey! Don’t ever do that again, arasso? Leaving all of a sudden without telling us…” Bom noona tucked some of the stray hairs behind Dara’s ear. “We were so worried about you.” She told her seriously.


“Mianhe…” Dara replied, looking down. Bom noona took her hand and led her to the van.


“Enough of the drama. Let’s all go home. I know you guys are so tired.” She looked at me meaningfully and I understood what she meant.


I joined Woo in the front seat. He turned to me and smile. “Good to have you back, Khunnie Boy.” He gave me a high five.


“Thanks, Boo-ung-ee .” I smiled at him. I looked at the back part of the van and found that Dara was intently listening to whatever Bom noona was saying.


“How’s everything? Are we all set?” I asked anxiously. The ride from Narita to our apartment would take at least an hour and a half and I was getting worried that the preparations would not be done by the time we get there.


“Don’t worry, bro. CL and Taec are on top of things. They were almost done when we left.” He winked at me.


I breathed a sigh of relief at his assurance.


I looked at the rearview mirror, quietly observing the two girls seated at the back.


I could see Bom noona talking nonstop, animating her stories with ridiculous hand gestures that made Dara laughed continuously.


I could see that her laughter was hollow but at least, she was sensitive enough to appreciate Bom noona’s effort.


Good job, Bom noona!


I felt Woo watching me intently.


I turned to him and pretended to be irritated. “YA! Don’t tell me you’ve been caught by my charms as well, huh, Boo-ung-ee ?” I joked.


He snickered. “You should rest. I can see that exhaustion is causing mild damage to your brain.” He joked.


I laughed and leaned my head on the car seat. 


He was right. 


I was really tired.


Physically and emotionally.


I closed my eyes and let myself rest for awhile, blocking off all the stress that has been bugging me for the past few days.

















It was two and a half hours and I was still seated on one of the cafes at Incheong.


I didn’t even notice that Seunrgi was now seated beside me, wearing a concern look on his face.


“Don’t look at me with those pitiful eyes of yours, maknae.” I smirked. “What? Do I have something funny on my face?” I challenged him. Seungri just sat there, watching me silently.


I automatically placed my hand on my cheeks and stopped.


No wonder Seungri was looking pitifully at me.


I realized that my cheeks were still damp from tears. 


My tears.


I bowed my head on the table and furiously grabbed my hair.


“Hyung…”


Hi voice interrupted my momentary sulking.


“Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?” His voice was almost pleading. “I know noona. She would definitely listen to you and I thi----“


“I did, Suengri-ah. I tried to tell her the truth but she wouldn’t listen!” I grabbed my hair out fo frustration once again.


Seungri fell silent for a moment.


“Guess, I screwed up again, eh, maknae?” I asked him with a bitter laugh.


Seungri shook his head. “What you did was stupid, hyung but it couldn’t be helped. You already did what you did.”


I nodded my head. For the first time, I was agreeing to what the maknae said.


“Guess, I just have to live with the consequences, right?” I asked him, giving him a weak smiled.


He nodded as he tapped my back. “You’ll pull out from this, hyung. You always do.” He told me convincingly. “Who knows? Maybe in time, noona will have the heart to finally listen to you. Just not this time, hyung. She has hurt too much.”


I understood clearly what he meant.


“Hyung…” He started hesitantly.


“Neh?” I asked him, wondering what the maknae had in mind.


He smiled shyly which was uncharacteristic of him who usually was loud and confident.


“I just wish you’d be back to the same Jiyong. The boys and I kinda miss our leader, you know?” He hesitantly said.


I looked at him meaningfully and I guess it scared him a bit as he darted his eyes away from me.


Time to man up, Jiyong.


I forced a smile. “Come on. Drive me to the studio. I still have a few songs that need to be done for our next album.” 


I saw him smiled and followed me as we made our way out of the café.
















“Ja lwat-sseo!” We were greeted by a very loud and welcoming greeting from our friends.


I looked around and saw that all the remaining 2NE1 and 2PM members were smiling from ear to ear all looked giddy to see us.


“Unni! Welcome back!” Minji ran to me and hugged me tight. CL-roo followed her and threw her arms around me as well.


“We missed you, unni!” She said as we shared a long hug.


“YA! Why are you leaving me out?!” Bommie scolded us. I looked at her and laughed.


“YA, BOMTARO! Why are you just standing there?” I motioned for her to approach us and she did. 


Not long after, the boys approached us and shared in the hug as well.


“GROUP HUG!” I heard Wooyoungie yelled out.


“YA, PANDA! You’re stepping on my foot!” I heard Bommie yelled as we were being compressed together by the guys.


“Ouch! Stop hitting my side, hyung!” I think that was Junho.


“Ya! It was an accident!” Taecky yelled back.


“Guys, we can’t breathe!” I exclaimed. Almost immediately, the boys pulled away from the hug.


I saw Bommie shooting daggers towards Junsu who was looking innocent.


“Haysst, noona! You got us worried pretty bad.” Taecky went to my side and put his arm around me, gently squeezing my arm.


“Mianhe.” I told him guiltily.


“Ani, it’s ok, noona. We’re just happy that you’re here now.” Junho smiled brightly.


“Kamsahamnida.” I smiled and bowed in thanks to him.


Khun Khun was starting to pout. “What’s this? Only Dara-noona gets a warm welcome?”


The boys paused for a moment and stared at him.


“Hayssst! Honestly, guys, you are extremely insensitive----” He started to say but was muffled by a sudden crashing of bodies against him.


“WE MISSED YOU, KHUNNIE BOY!!!!!!!”


The boys all gave him a bear hug. The girls and I laughed at the boys’ childishness.


CL-roo ran towards them and we followed her. “We missed you too, Khunnie oppa!” CL-roo and Minji yelled as we continued our second group hug.


We all laughed and after a moment, pulled away from the hug.


After gaining my breath, I let my eyes roam around the place and gasped as I saw how well-decorated the whole place was.


All the lights were lit. There were even balloons and cute bunny characters displayed everywhere.


The stereo was playing our song, “Can’t Nobody”, loudly.


The girls and the boys were all wearing party hats while carrying party noise makers.


I LOL’d as I realized the scene looked like a children’s party.


I couldn’t help laughing when I saw the huge banner that was hanging near the balcony.


A huge “WELCOME BACK!” was written on it in a hideous handwriting.


“Who wrote that?” I giggled. Bommie darted her eyes at Junsu Panda and Chansung who looked guilty.


“We’re sorry noona if it’s not that good-looking.” They bowed their heads together.


I laughed. “Ani! I actually find it cute.” I said as I continued laughing.


I noticed how the two boys’ face lit up immediately upon hearing my words.


“You heard that, noona? Dara noona liked it! She liked it!!” Junsu Panda was doing a victory dance while Bommie just stuck her tongue at him.


There was a sudden tug, though, in my heart as realization set in that they did all of those to make me feel better.


Yeah, I was always teased as scattered-brain by my friends for I have the tendency to act dense most of the time but I was not stupid.


I knew that news travel faster than a speed of lighting.


They must have known the news about Jiyong and Yoona already.


I admit that the thought brought me back to the little black hole occupying my heart at the moment.


But seeing the effort my friends exerted just to make me feel better, I couldn’t help but pull myself up from that hell and bring back the Dara who knew only two things: love and care for those who matter.


So I placed a smile on what once a frown and joined my friends who were already fighting over what to do first.


“YA! Will you all stop bickering and start eating already? This girl’s tummy is starting off a revolution already!” I rubbed my tummy playfully.


With that, my friends squealed in delight and scampered to take a seat on the long dining table, fighting over who gets to seat with who.


I squeezed myself between Bommie and Khun Khun and looked at the faces surrounding the dining table. For the first time in three days, I smiled genuinely.


I’m finally home.

















“GUYS! GUYS!” Wooyoung was screaming his lungs out over the noise we were making. I laughed as he failed to get the others to notice him.


I approached Nichkhun who was standing by the window, silently watching the ongoing chaos. His eyes though were specifically focused on Ssantokki.


“Hey, Khunnie Boy.” I greeted him as I offered him a drink. He smiled and gladly accepted it.


“Kamsahamnida, noona.” He thanked me as he took a drink.


“Thank you for filling us up with what happened to Ssantokki in Korea.” I told him gratefully. He nodded his head seriously at me.


The girls and I were all panicking when we saw the news in MTV that Jiyong and Yoona admitted that they were dating. At first, we didn’t want to believe it and thought it was just for publicity, maybe a possible collaboration between SNSD and BigBang.


But a phone call from Nichkhun confirmed our worst fear. He told me that Jiyong called him and asked him to take Dara home and back to Japan.


The moment I heard that, I wanted to scream my lungs out and punch the lights out of that kid, Jiyong.


How dare he hurt Ssantokki again??


So I called Tabi and gave him a scolding instead. I used all the profanities and evil words my mind could conjure and hopefully, he would deliver it to his mighty Kwon Leadah.


I looked at the guy who was standing beside me. I looked at how his face softened the moment Ssantokki laughed at one of Chansung’s weird jokes.


If I felt disdain and disappointment at Jiyong, all I felt was gratitude and admiration for Nichkhun. He had stood beside my best friend when she was at her lowest, even if it meant enduring the pain of knowing she was crying for another man.


Yes, I know very well that Nichkhun have feelings for my best friend, way before Ssantokki had told me that he confessed to her. I have always noticed how different he had treated Ssantokki from us. He always had that special look and that special smile that was meant for Ssantokki alone.


“Ssantokki’s lucky, neh?” It was more of a statement actually. He looked at me and smiled widely.


“Very. She has such good friends.” He smiled as his eyes roamed that place that was filled with smiles and laughter.


“Neh. She also has you.” I told him, meaningfully. He looked at me, stunned by what I said.


You see, I was not known to show my endearment to anyone except 2NE1. What I said earlier must have caught the poor boy off-guard.


“K-kamsahamnida, noona.” He stuttered. I laughed lightly when I saw him blushed.


“You’re a good man, Nichkhun.” I told him seriously. He bowed his head thankfully as I started to make my way to the living room.


“Well, the good guy never gets the girl in the end.” I heard him uttered under his breath.


I looked back and smiled at him. He looked surprised.


“Who knows? In this story, the good guy just might.” 


I gave him a wink as I joined the others in the living room.

















“GUYS!!!!!!!” Wooyoung was now shouting on top of his lungs. He was getting impatient from being ignored by his friends. At the moment though, he finally succeeded in getting their attention.


He stood in front of everybody when the room finally fell silent. “Look what I have here!” He was waving a piece of DVD for all his friends to see.


Dara creased her forhead upon seeing the DVD. It looked oddly familiar. She just couldn’t get her hands on what movie that was…


“OMO! Is that Dara unni’s movie back in the Philippines?!” Minji exclaimed excitedly. Now, everyone was buzzing in excitement.


My movie in the Philippines? Dara’s hands started sweating as a realization dawned at her. That couldn’t be…


“SUPER NOYPI!” Wooyoung exclaimed and did a superhero/Johnny bravo pose much to the delight of the group.


Dara felt like fainting from too much embarrassment right there and then.


















The whole group hooted and cheered every time, Dara was in a scene. Thank god for subtitles for they were able to understand the dialogues.


The story was about six normal friends who were later revealed to be the offspring of legendary superheroes known as “Super Noypi”, the most powerful superheroes on earth and had therefore inherited their parents’ supernatural powers.


The group enjoyed the movie, especially the crazy antics that their Dara unni/noona displayed onscreen. They realized that even in the Philippines, she was already a charming dork.


They all burst into laughter as they watched Dara, in one of the scenes, do her crazy head-shaking dance that she made popular in Korea.


“OMO! Unni! You doing that head-shaking dance you and Jiyong-oppa made popular is so hilarious!” 


The room suddenly became silent at what Minji exclaimed.


Minji covered in shock upon realizing what she did.


Everyone looked at Dara with concern.


Dara, though visibly shaken, composed herself and let out a smile.


“It’s ok, guys. What’s past is past right?” She eyed the group. 


“What matters is what I have now. That’s you, guys.” She said as she felt tears welling up her eyes. She fought hard to keep her tears from falling.


This time, her tears were not from sorrow and despair.


It was from the overwhelming gratitude knowing that though a storm has wreaked havoc on her heart, a beautiful rainbow appeared in front of her now.


Yes. I’m definitely home…