3/31/12

Another chapter for you guys :) I really hope I can finish this by the end of this week, but I'll see what happens o.O Or else you guys will have to wait another ten weeks before I update again... school...

Enjoy~~ Comments and criticisms always welcome :D

            “Why don’t we go back to the land of Nod?” Seungri asked. “That way, we can visit Alana and Alfonso. They must be worried about you, Youngbae.”

            The other members nodded, and they all decided that it was a good idea. The group left the land of Gin in the middle of the night, and they arrived at the inn that they previously stayed at in the land of Hes.

            I didn’t really want to come here again, Chaerin thought as she was reminded of what happened last time she was here. Heat rushed up to her face. Even the room that the girls stayed in was the same. The relationship between Chaerin and Seungri has been nothing but awkward for the past few days. Thankfully, the awkwardness has sort of worn off now, but Chaerin still avoids eye contact with Seungri.

            I honestly can’t believe I kissed him, she berated herself. What were you thinking, Chaerin?! You don’t like him, do you? What made you do that?

            Looking over at Bom’s bed, Chaerin thought. You can’t like him. You just can’t.

                                                            ::::::::

            Chaerin went to get a glass of water, even though it was the middle of the night. She just woke up from a nightmare, and she didn’t want to go back to sleep. The thought of going to the kitchen reminded her of Seungri. Funny how everything between them happens in kitchens. Maybe they both just have an affinity to kitchens.

            When Chaerin reached the kitchen, she saw Seungri also getting a cup of water. Speak of the devil.

            “Hey,” Seungri half-smiled. “A nightmare again?”

            Chaerin frowned. “How did you know?”

            “I’m not sure,” he shrugged as he poured a cup of water for her. “I guess it’s because I had one as well.”

            “Déjà vu, huh?” Chaerin said as she accepted the cup of water he poured for her. Their hands touched, and she felt a tingle run through her spine. Shoot.

          Seungri chuckled. “Seems like we have nightmares at the same time. Wonder if it means anything.”

            “You wish,” Chaerin brushed off as rudely as she could. But in the back of her mind, she wondered the same thing. “Was your nightmare the same one as last time?”

            “Yeah,” Seungri nodded and sipped from his cup. “You too?”

            “Yup. The same exact one.”

            Chaerin quickly finished her water and went to the sink.

            “Here, let me do it,” Seungri offered.

            Although she should have protested, Chaerin let Seungri take the cup. Like last time, she was freezing after her nightmare, and she did not want to touch any cold water. To be polite, Chaerin waited for Seungri to finish washing her cup before she headed back to her room.

            Just before she exited the kitchen, Seungri caught her arm. Chaerin stopped in her tracks but did not turn around. The warmth from Seungri’s hand spread through to her own arm. It felt nice.

            “Look, Chaerin,” Seungri tried to begin. “I… I know that you’re still confused about us, but…”

            He let go of her arm, and a cold breeze replaced his warmth. She couldn’t help but feel happy when the warmth returned as Seungri wrapped his arms around her, giving her a back hug. Unconsciously, Chaerin relaxed into his arms.

            “Can you please give us a chance?” Seungri asked as he tightened his hold on her.

            You will not prove to your mom that you are independent if you die.

            Seungri chucked. “I can feel your heart beating.”

            Chaerin felt hot, knowing that Seungri knew how nervous she was for being this close to him. It joined her heart and was beating with hers, as if they were one. With this, she knew that he was just as nervous. Without thinking, she put her hands onto his. They were warm and soft. Chaerin wanted to stay like this forever, with their hearts beating at the same time, and with them so close together. She liked how his body heat wrapped around her and protected her from the outside world. Closing her eyes, Chaerin rested her head on his.

            Once, my friend told me that being unable to do something doesn’t make you weak, it makes you work harder than anyone else.

            Chaerin tensed up. Where is that voice coming from?

            Seungri noticed. “What’s the matter?”

            He released her and turned her around to face him. Chaerin didn’t dare to look up into his eyes. She knew what would happen if she did. Looking down, she shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know. Seungri brought her closer to him and held her in his arms again.

            “It’s okay,” Seungri whispered. Chaerin felt herself relax into him again.

            That means that you are stronger than most people. You have a stronger heart.

            She backed away, trying to make the voices in her head stop. All of a sudden, Seungri brought his lips to hers. Chaerin melted at the touch of his lips. She automatically kissed him back.

            The voices in her head proceeded. Then whoever your friend is, I’ll be in love with him.

            Chaerin pulled away to try to straighten her thoughts, but she was immediately pulled back into the kiss.

            And he will be my husband.

            This time, she pushed back, and Seungri tightened his grip on her. He put his hands onto her face and looked into her eyes.

            “I won’t let you run away again,” he whispered as he drew her back into a dizzying kiss.

            Because he, even though unknowingly, has given me strength to go on and not give up faith.

            Chaerin threw herself back from him and yelled as she covered her ears desperately. “Stop it!”

            Seungri walked slowly toward her and gently pulled her arms away from her ears. “Stop what?”

            “Stop making me hear these voices in my head!” she yelled back, filled with frustration. On the verge of tears, she looked up at him. “I’m supposed to be refusing your advances by all means necessary, but I can’t ignore the voices in my head at the same time!”

            Seungri dropped her arms and reached around her waist. He rested his head on Chaerin’s right shoulder.

            “What are the voices telling you?” he asked carefully.

            Chaerin’s eyes closed for a moment, and her breathing became heavier. She breathed back into his left ear, “Something about me falling in love and marrying someone.”

            Seungri froze. His eyebrows furrowed. “Who will you fall in love with?”

            “The person who gave me strength to move on and not give up faith,” Chaerin reached back to try and release his grip on her waist.

            But Seungri used his own hands like handcuffs and caught her hands with his own. “And how did he do that?”

            “By saying that I was stronger than most people because I have to work harder to accomplish something that other people can do easily,” Chaerin replied, trying to wring her hands out of Seungri’s grasp. Then, suddenly, he let go. Chaerin looked up at him

            Seungri was looking down, straight into her eyes, with a questioning face. “You remember?”

            Chaerin looked back at him, confused. “What do you mean, I remember?”

            Seungri took her hands into his again and started to tell her, “When you were four years old, you were lost, and Youngbae found you out in the cold, all alone.”

            Chaerin didn’t remember anything in her past with Youngbae in it. “And then?”

            “You were having trouble going back home because of your asthma, so he told you something that he had heard from me,” he replied. “That you were stronger in comparison to the people who have it easier.

            “Then you said that you’ll marry and fall in love with the person who had invented that phrase because it gave you courage to move on,” he told her. Seungri tightened his grip on her hands. “I heard about this from Youngbae the same day he met you. I never thought that you would remember that time.”

            Chaerin pulled her hands away and turned to face away from him. “I… You’re lying.”

            Seungri turned her back to him. “Do you really think I’m lying?”

            Chaerin kept her head down and said nothing. She believed him completely, but she was too afraid to admit it.

            “Then I’ll ask Youngbae to confirm,” Seungri said with a determined face. He headed over to his room.

            Chaerin became nervous. If Youngbae admitted it, she would have no more excuses. “Wait, right now? In the middle of the night?”

            “Yeah,” he replied tersely. “Or you’ll run away from me again.”

            She couldn’t say anything to reply to that, since it was the truth.

           “Chaerin,” a female voice said softly. Chaerin turned to see a sleepy Bom walking into the kitchen. More bricks were added to the gigantic pile on her shoulders. “What is happening?”

            “Good,” Seungri stated as he saw Bom. “The more the merrier.”

            “What?” Bom asked, confused. “I just woke up because there was a commotion. It felt like an argument was about to occur.”

            Well, ten points to her intuition, Chaerin thought sardonically. What? Is everyone going to wake up to hear about my long-forgotten past?

                                                ::::::::

            Turns out, everyone did wake up. But it was mainly to the noise that Seungri made when he tried to wake Youngbae up. Youngbae was a heavy sleeper.

            Since they were all awake, they decided to make a campfire and roast some marshmallows. Everyone was having a different conversation when Jiyong asked, “So Seungri, why did you wake everyone up? What did you want Youngbae to say?”

            “Yeah, sorry about being so loud earlier,” Seungri said, sort of embarrassed. Not embarrassed enough, thought Chaerin. “But I wanted Youngbae to tell Chaerin what happened when she was four years old.”

            After Youngbae told the story to the group, Dara asked to confirm, “So you mean that Seungri was the boy Youngbae was talking about? Seungri was the person Chaerin wanted to marry?”

            Seungri and Youngbae nodded.

            “That changes a lot, doesn’t it?” Dara said in wonder.

            “So you mean that you were the boy Youngbae was talking about?” Chaerin practically whispered. “You were the person I wanted to marry?”

            Seungri and Youngbae nodded.

            Chaerin was silent.

            “May I be excused?” Youngbae heard Bom say. “I have something in my eye.”

            Youngbae looked up at her, she was blinking quickly. I guess she’s still not over Seungri.

            Bom went down the hill so that no one would be able to see her. After a while, Youngbae also excused himself, “I’m going to get more firewood.”

            He saw Bom looking at the sunrise when he walked down the hill. Hesitating a little before walking toward her, Youngbae peeked at her face. He could already see the ice forming in her eyes.

            Approaching her from the back, Youngbae wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Cry all you want. Let it all out.”

            “But, it hurts,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady.

            Using his right hand to cover Bom’s eyes, Youngbae replied. “That’s why I’m here.”

            After he said that, Youngbae felt something wet run down his hands, and he heard her sobbing. When he felt no more tears running down, Youngbae placed his hand back on her shoulder. “There, doesn’t that feel better?”

            He felt her nod. In between her sniffs, Bom forced out a thank you.

            Youngbae let go of her shoulders and turned her around to face him. Bom’s eyes were still wet, and he had the sudden urge to kiss her. That’s probably not a good idea. He half-smiled, “You owe me.”

erinus27: Hmm, I'm okay with DaraYang, but GBom, I don't really like it either :P Hmm, but I don't really think Bombae (or Daragon for that matter) has the type of relationship that I want. Well, since you guys won't be satisfied with the pairings anyway, I'll just pick a pairing that I think is the best fit. MIANHAE :(

BigBang_VIP: lol, yes, she did :D