Wednesday - 7:03 am

 

Dara rolled over the bed. She stared at the ceiling, remembering how no words passed between their mouths during the drive and their arrival at the resthouse. The dinner last night was also the quietest dinner she ever had. Then, after having dinner, she immediately took off and locked herself on her room.

 

Guilt. That washed over her yesterday upon seeing the gorilla stuffed toy. Remembering him, she also remembered her mother. A gnawing pain hit her chest. Maybe she should go visit her after this vacation. It's been a while already.

 

But, is she ready to face her, her own mother? To face HIM?

 

She sighed. Walking down the memory lane makes her uneasy. Of course, a thought of her bestfriend also passed by and upon remembering him, she suddenly stood up and ran downstairs, looking for Mr. Kwon. And she found him in the kitchen. “I have a question,” she asked.

 

“So, you're talking to me again, huh?” he answered, his back facing her since he was busy preparing for CL's arrival later.

 

“I have a question,” she repeated.

 

“You have a lot of questions,” he said.

 

“You don't answer all of them so stop complaining,” she hissed, then continued, “the crab soup.”

 

He chuckled. “What kind of a question is that? On second, thought, it's not even a question, how can you expect me to answer that?”

 

“Stop being sarcastic. It taste exactly the same way with my bestfriend's crab soup. How did you do it?”

 

He sniggered. “All crab soups taste the same, well except yours.”

 

“Ji told me before that he had a secret ingredient to it and only he knows what that secret ingredient is. He won't even share it with me. And I've tasted all kinds of crab soup and you're right, all of them tasted the same, except for Ji's. Except yours. Ji's crab soup had a distinct and unique taste.”

 

SILENCE. . .

 

Dara's heart started beating hard against her chest. “Y-you're-”

 

“Chaerin will be arriving around 10,” he cut her off then turned to face her. His face wore a stony expression. “And, I'm not your bestfriend. It was probably a coincidence.”

 

“No, it cannot be a coincidence. Same face, same name, same expressions, the soup and the ice cream. Only Ji knows that one of the ways to cool me down is ice cream.”

 

“So, what are you trying to say? That I'm your bestfriend? Have you gone mad? I would never befriend a social climber like you.” Upon seeing the horror in Dara's face, Jiyong continued taunting her. “Don't give me that look. I'm not stupid. Do you think I haven't noticed how especially kind and sweet you are with Chaerin? But then-”

 

SLAP.

 

Dara's hand stung as she made a big impact in slapping his face. “You can throw insults at me all you want but NEVER, EVER say that I'm just using CL-roo! And you know what? You're right and I'm wrong! You're not my bestfriend! You're not Ji! Because you're the total opposite of him! You're cruel, mean and heartless! I was stupid to think that YOU could be JI! You don't even come close to how pure he is!”

 

She stalked off. She grabbed the door knob and bumped into someone.

 

“Unnie!”

 

The next thing she knew, she was caught up with a series of arms.

 

“Ssantokki!” Bom squealed, squeezing Dara like she's a rag doll.

 

“Ya! Be careful. You know how thin she is,” Dae's voice emerged.

 

Seeing her friends again, the looming shadow in her mind was pushed aside as she savored their sweet reunion. Her relief upon seeing them was beyond words. She laughed and smiled with them, thinking that finally, she have now acquaintances other than the insulting manager.

 

“You're early,” Jiyong said from behind Dara, wiping her smile off momentarily. But then she put up a brave face and smiled again.

 

“Bom unnie was so excited to see Dara unnie,” CL answered.

 

Jiyong smiled. “I suggest you guys freshen up and take a rest first. I'm still halfway in preparing the foods.”

 

Dara was more than glad to hear those from Jiyong. She joined her friends and even carried their bags out of gratefulness that they finally arrived.

 

9:45 am

 

Everyone was freshened up, except for Jiyong. The others were now lounging in the terrace, catching up with each other, though Dara kept on deliberately changing the topic when they asked her about the past days she had in the resthouse. But she told them about going to the mini-mall.

 

11:15 am

 

Jiyong was now setting the table. When he was done, he went to take a quick shower. Then, he immediately went down and called the others.

 

“Ooh, wow!” Bom exclaimed.

 

“The foods looked great!” Dae chuckled.

 

They were now seated. Dae was sitting at the middle, talking animatedly to his right who was Dara while Bom was sitting beside her. And out of all the people to sit in front of her, it got to be Jiyong. She secretly chagrined. Beside Jiyong was CL while Minzy was sitting beside CL.

 

“I hope I can meet someone here,” Bom said out of nowhere, making CL laughed.

 

“We'll go out later. And maybe we could match Dara unnie with someone, too.”

 

“I don't think that's a good idea. We can't be sure these days.”

 

“Jeez, Jiyong-ah! You're such a spoilsport!”

 

“Maybe if Bom and Dara unnie could meet someone here, we could go out on a date or something,” CL suggested.

 

“Ooh, I like that!” Bom winked.

 

“It's fine with me, too,” Dara seconded, earning her a glare from Jiyong.

 

“Uhm, excuse me? Can we eat now?” Dae broke in, making the rest of them laugh; even Jiyong gave a light chuckle.

 

The lunch went well. Jiyong and CL was talking about the latest trends in fashion, making Dara cringed as she heard a few of their conversations. She realized she's totally left behind, not that she cares. The first time she gave attention to fashion was the time when she and TOP were together. Minzy, on the other hand was busy with her phone, texting while Bom and Dae were exchanging jokes. All throughout, Dara kept her silence. She was aware of her surroundings but she's also lost in her own mind. Now that she allowed herself to remember the past, an empty and hollow feeling attacked her heart like a bomb. And she felt heavier as she sensed someone watching her. She looked up and saw Jiyong looking at her intently but with a subtle gentleness at the side. She scowled and looked down. She hates it when he's being like that: being rough but gentle. She'd rather see him glaring at her than that confusing looks in his eyes.

 

What is it with him? What the hell's wrong with him? He seemed psychotic. Or someone with bipolar disorder. First he would go all sarcastic and stony then he would be gentle the next. He would go ignoring and avoiding her all day long then he would follow her nonstop 'til she gets home the next day. He would insult her then he would throw jokes at her the next. He's like a girl who's having some mood swings or tantrums or anything in that matter. It's irritating and annoying. Plus, it's really confusing.

 

She sighed and started convincing herself that everything is just coincidence, that fate is playing a trick on her, letting her meet this guy in front of her with the same name, same face and same gestures with her bestfriend. Everything was a coincidence. She should have known better. But she was desperate. She was desperate to see her bestfriend back. If only she could turn back the time. There's so much she wanted to do and undo. With her bestfriend being gone, she realized a few things. Well, a lot of things, actually.

 

The importance of Ji in her life topped her list. The emptiness she's feeling, like someone had ripped her heart out of her chest was the evidence of it. She should have showed him how important he was in her life. But she didn't have the chance. She was too selfish that all she did was think about herself. Second was regret. She regretted how she used to treat him before, how she neglected him. She regretted how she ignored him when TOP came along. She regretted how she didn't notice about his pain because of Sohee and his parents, but eventhough he was having problems, he still had time for her. What a good bestfriend SHE was. Her insides shifted uncomfortably. She also realized how lucky she was to have him as a bestfriend. He was always there. Always there for her. He was like her shadow that never leaves her, always silently lurking behind her.

 

But through it all, she still believes her bestfriend is a cheater for leaving her behind just like that. What if she wins the bet? How will she claim her prize? But more than that, he broke his promise. He said he won't leave her. He said he would always be there for her. He said they would open those wishes together. But everything was burned to ashes, just like his body. Unfortunately, his memories were also burned in her mind permanently but unlike his body, it will never turn into ashes, it will never get blown by the wind, it will put a mark on her forever. A mark that's irreversible, UNERASABLE.

 

“There's this beach not too far from here. You guys wanna go? Just check the view? Since we can't literally go swimming now.”

 

Dara snapped out of her reverie upon hearing CL's voice. There's a mumble of agreement from everyone while Dara just stared at nothing in particular. The others stood up excitedly and started talking about the beach. They walked up ahead of her, with CL in the lead. She stood up obligingly and started following them.

 

“You hardly touched your food,” Jiyong said from behind her. She froze and curled her fists into tight balls to control her trembling. She inhaled deeply then loosens up a bit. Without looking or answering, she walked towards the others. “What happened to your appetite? It surprised me to see that you hardly put a food into your mouth knowing how eager you are when it comes to food,” the manager continued.

 

She ignored him.

 

“CL-roo!” she called. CL was now leaning against a van, looked up then smiled. “I'm not coming,” Dara said, making the other girl frown.

 

“But why?” CL asked as Dara was now in front of her.

 

“Beaches are boring,” Dara answered.

 

“Aww. Come on, unnie-”

 

“And I'm not really interested. I'd rather stay.”

 

“I don't think that's good idea,” Jiyong butted in.

 

“I don't care what you think!” Dara hissed, making CL gasped with surprise.

 

“Are you two still fighting?” CL asked. The two didn't answer.

 

Instead, Jiyong continued. “My opinion might not matter to you but knowing how clumsy you are, it won't be surprising to see the house burning when we get back.”

 

“Oppa!” CL warned. Jiyong just shrugged and headed to the direction of his car. CL turned to Dara. “Unnie, please?”

 

Dara sighed. She doesn't really have a choice, does she? She went into the van with the others while CL went to ride in Jiyong's car. Dara saw Dae will be driving for them.

 

“All set?” Dae asked. Then, when Jiyong's car started, Dae followed.

 

 

BEACH. . .

 

Dara stomped off the van angrily. The others were exclaiming with delight, totally enjoying the scene. They started running towards the shore, playing with the waters. Minzy, who brought a camera, started taking pictures. But Dara didn't mind much as she started wandering alone. She was mumbling incoherently to herself, unaware of the pair of eyes watching her with exhaustion.

 

Jiyong watched how she stomped her feet against the sand. Then, she stopped, removed her slippers, stooped down and carried it. She was now walking barefooted.

 

Really careless, he thought. He looked at the others and saw that they were enjoying. He smiled a little as he heard CL laugh. Then, he looked back at the stubborn girl who was walking away from everyone and decided to follow her. “Watch ou-” he tried to warn but he was too late. A ball went straight into her head, knocking her down the sand. He sighed impatiently. Aside from being careless, reckless and stubborn, being CLUMSY is now a new system in her body. He started walking faster towards her.

 

Meanwhile, Dara gritted her teeth in irritation. She started pushing herself up when she saw three shadows. “Are you alright?” someone asked. Her eyes squinted as she looked up.

 

“Do I look al-?” she stopped and gasped. The three boys looked shock themselves.

 

“Dara!” they chorused. She felt herself starting to retreat.

 

“Jiyong hyung!” Seungri exclaimed, a look of surprise, fear and disbelief passed his face. He went running to the guy and pulled him towards the others. The others started attacking them with questions. Dara's head ached.

 

“STOP!” she shouted. “Listen, this is not the Jiyong you know.”

 

“But how's that possible? He looked exactly-” Hyun Seung started.

 

“No,” Dara firmly said.

 

“But this is-” Taeyang butted but was cut off.

 

“Well, well, well. Look who we got here? Why, isn't that the long lost girlfriend of mine?” a deep sarcastic voice snides. The familiarity of it froze Dara all over as her heart skipped a beat, then it started doubling up. She wheeled around.

 

“Tabi!”