A few days have passed...


Youngbae stopped dancing when he felt someone was watching him.
He glanced at the door and saw someone quietly standing there with a huge grin on her face.

"Oh, nuna?!"

"Annyeong, Youngbae-ah." Dara greeted.

He smiled, walking towards the nearby bench.

"Ji's in the recording studio." He informed her while taking out a bottle of water from his gym bag.

"I know." She sat down on the edge of the bench next to his things. "I already went there."

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you argued again."

Dara let out an amused laugh.

"No, we didn't." She said, hitting him lightly on the arm.

He chuckled, moving his bag to the other side so he can sit beside her.

"He's working on a new song with Seunghyun and I don't want to disturb them. So when he mentioned that you're here, I decided to come and pester you instead." She explained, giving him a naughty smile.

He snorted. "I know I should be happy that you came to see me, but something is telling me that I should be scared.

"You know me too well, don't you?" She gave a wink and hits him again.

"Woah! Does Ji always get this from you?" He jokingly asked while rubbing his arm. "Be easy on him though. He's not as buff as me. "

Dara grimaced.

"I'm just kidding." He flashed his signature smile and lifted his hand in a peace sign.

She stuck out her tongue making him chuckle.

"I watched Strong Heart the other night." She suddenly said lowering her gaze to the floor.

He scratched the back of his head shyly, trying not to look at her.

"You're so unfair!" She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "If I didn't watch it I wouldn't have known."

He immediately turned his head to look at her.

"I tell you everything but you...." Dara paused and pouted. "Why didn't you tell me that you went on a date with Kwon Yuri?"

Feeling guilty, Youngbae moved closer to her.

He playfully nudged and pushed her to the side. "I'm sorry, nuna."

"Hmp!" Dara crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "And I thought I was your close friend."

Youngbae laughed seeing her acting childish.
He nudged her again, but this time she almost fell down the bench.

With quick reflexes, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

"Omo," Dara exclaimed when her body bumped his.

She felt her whole weight leaning on him.

He froze when he realized that their faces were just inches away.
Motionless, they just stared at each other not saying anything.

A loud clearing of throat got their attention.
They immediately straighten themselves up.

Youngbae turned to look where the sound was coming from.

"S-Seunghyun-ah." Dara was the first to greet.

Seunghyun was holding the door open while staring at them questioningly.

"Hyung. What's up?" Youngbae greeted.

"Uhm Youngbae-ah," He said. "Jiyong said we won't be able to finish early, he's asking if you can drive nuna back to her dorm after your practice."

"That's fine with me." Youngbae quickly answered, glancing at Dara. "I'm finish anyway."

"I'll say goodbye to Jingyo first." She announced.

Dara stood up and headed to the door where Seunghyun was still standing.

He moved to the side, allowing her to pass.

Youngbae grabbed his things and followed.

"You're better than this, Youngbae-ah." His friend quietly said when he walked past him.

"Huh?" He turned around.

"She's your best friend's girlfriend." Seunghyun said emphasizing the words 'best friend's girlfriend'.

"I don't understand." He replied, looking confused.

"I know you and Dara nuna are close. But you're way too close this time."

"Hyung-"

"Just remember, we are not just friends here Youngbae. We are family. Big Bang members are brothers. We don't betray each other."

Seunghyun walked ahead leaving him wondering.

When Youngbae had gathered all his senses back, he headed his way.

Youngbae could easily tell that the door to the recording studio was open because he can hear Dara's giggle clearly from the outside.
He was about to enter the room when he caught a glimpse of his best friend pulling Dara to sit on his lap.

"Yah! " She giggled. "Someone might see us."

"Let them." Jiyong said, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Sorry that I can't drive you home tonight." He apologized. "Sajangnim is already pressuring me to finish this song."

"I understand, Ji." Dara said, changing her sitting position to a bridal style so she can see his face.

"Don't worry about me and do what you need to do, okay? Hwaiting!" She cheered.

Jiyong instantly smiled and leaned closer to give her a smack on the lips. "Thank you, baby."

She replied by giving him a peck on the lips but he held the back of her head and deepened the kiss instead.

Peeking on the doorway, Youngbae felt his heart sank.
He stepped back and leaned his back against the wall.

"What are you doing?"

He turned to his side and saw Seunghyun walking towards him.

"Hyung, please tell nuna that I'll be waiting for her in the car." He quickly walked away not waiting for him to respond.

Seunghyun creased his forehead as he watched him leave in a hurry.

“What’s with him?” He murmured, entering the recording studio.

His eyes immediately turned into slits upon seeing the couple making out.

He coughed out loud to get their attention.

 Jiyong and Dara almost jumped off their feet.

++++++++++++++

"Ma'am, this package arrived an hour ago." The apartment guard said, placing a box on his desk.

Kiko checked the package and her face lit up seeing where it came from.

"Arigato gozaimasu," She said.

"Who's it from?" Her manager asked when they entered the elevator.
 
"A friend from Seoul." She replied with a wide smile on her face.

++++++++++++++

"Why are you so quiet?" Dara asked, turning her head to the side.

"Huh? Me?" Youngbae asked innocently, glancing at her then back at the road.

"You haven't spoken a word since we left."

Her eyes suddenly grew wider, remembering something.

"Omo, are you giving me the silent treatment because of the dating thing?" She asked raising an eyebrow at him.

Youngbae furrowed his eyebrows, still keeping his eyes on the road. "Why would I do that?"

Dara glared at him.

Feeling her unwavering sharp stare, he sighed. "I knew that you're not gonna let this slide."

"Arasseo, arasseo." He let out a sigh of defeat. "Where do you want me to start?"

"From the beginning of course." She crossed her arms over her chest.

It's now his turn to glare at her.

"What?" She reacted. "Now you're giving me that look."

Youngbae chuckled while shaking his head.

"Okay, I'll start now." He finally said. "I have this friend from school who happens to be acquainted with Yuri-sshi too-"

"Guy or girl?" Dara interrupted.

"Guy."

"Okay, go on."

He couldn't help but laugh at his demanding friend. "He set me up on this blind date--"

"Did you know that it was Yuri-sshi?"

"N-no. Of course not!" He exclaimed, glancing at her. "It was a blind date, remember?"

"Ohhhh riggghhht." Dara laughed out her stupidity. "Okay, go on."

"Yuri-sshi and I dated only once-"

"Why wasn't there a second time?"

"Because-"

"Do you like her?"

"No," Youngbae answered with a gasped.

He suddenly pulled over at the corner and turned off the car engine.

"Why are you stopping the car?" Dara asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Nuna, I can't drive while we're talking about this." He explained, looking uncomfortable.

"Why?"

"I don't know," He replied, avoiding her gaze. "Somehow, you're making me nervous with all these questions."
 
She snorted. "Those are just basic questions, Youngbae-ah. Wait till we get to the advance level."

He grimaced. "What exactly do you wanna know about the date?"

It took a while for Dara to reply to his question.

"Honestly," She said quietly, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know."

"Maybe I was just psyched out when I heard you went on a date. The fact that I'm your close friend and I didn't know anything about it made me feel...”

He fixed his gaze at her, waiting for her to continue but she looked away.

"..sad." She finished her sentence.


Youngbae didn't know how to react since this is his first time feeling guilty over something he didn't even know was an issue.

"Mianhe, nuna." He said reaching for her hand.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think it’s worth telling." He explained while gently caressing her hand.

"Pshhh... Not worth telling me but it was worth telling the whole world." Dara said bitterly taking her hand back.

Youngbae frowned.

"It was Seungri's idea,” He quickly said, defending himself. "Aishhh, because of him I made nuna disappointed at me. He is definitely gonna pay for this."

Dara chuckled while listening to his childish reasoning.

"Did I just hear you laughed?" He said tilting his head to get a better view of her face.

She cleared and straightened herself. "Yah, that doesn't change anything. I'm still upset."

An awkward silence surrounded them and it bothered Youngbae a lot.

It wasn't his first time making her upset, but he knows the consequences whenever a dilemma like this happens.

He is now starting to panic.

Youngbae watched her staring outside the window fiddling the pendant of her necklace.

He suddenly remembered something so he turned around to look at the backseat.
A tiny paper bag was sitting there.
He grinned widely as he reached for it.

"Here." He waved the paper bag in front of Dara.

She stared at it and gave him a wondering look. "What's that?"

"Open it."

She took the paper bag and checked what's inside.

The packaging was familiar to her.
Her forehead creased when she took the small box out and opened it.

"Omo," She gasped and turned to him with her eyes wide open. "Isn't this...”

"Yes it is, nuna. Same as mine." He said as he pulled out the necklace that was hiding under his shirt and showed it to her.

"You bought this for me?" She stared at the necklace inside the box.

"Yup." He smiled. "Don't worry about Jiyong, I already ask his permission. He's fine with it."

Dara looked at him questioningly.

"You know, us having the same necklace." He explained.

"Oh." She nods, understanding what he means.

Youngbae took the necklace out of the box then smiled at her. "May I?"

Dara nodded, allowing him to put it on her.

She held the pendant looking pleased then she glanced at him.

"You're not off the hook yet."