AUTHOR's POV

 

“Running away again, Dara?” a deep voice asked. Dara jumped in surprise, dropping her bags in the process. She doesn't have to look up to know who it was. Actually, she's a bit thankful it's TOP and not Jiyong. She just can't face the latter right now. “You left your phone,” TOP said and handed her the phone. Dara accepted it quietly.

 

A moment of silence passed between them.

 

“You can't run forever, you know. You will have to face them eventually.”

 

“You don't understand,” the girl whispered.

 

“Then let me understand,” TOP gritted. Dara looked up, eyes squinting.

 

“Why would I do that? You lied to me, too, you know. Why should I-?”

 

“No, I didn't lie to you. I just didn't tell you. And besides, you didn't ask me anything. . .” his voice trailed. “Aren't you tired of always running away?”

 

“I have to!”

 

“No, you don't have to!”

 

“You don't understand! There are so many things at stake. Too many feelings involved! I don't want to cause another tragedy or pain on anyone! I already destroyed too many lives!”

 

TOP fell silent. “You don't have to face all of that alone. I can help you,” he offered. Dara's eyes went to meet his.

 

“How?” she asked.

 

“Marry me.”

 

~o~

 

 

WEEKEND. . .

 

CL smirked as she saw Seungri, Taeyang and Hyun Seung arrived. Her parents wanted to meet her new friends, so she invited them through Seungri. It was weird seeing the three of them in a formal wear, most especially Seungri.

 

“Where's TOP oppa?” she asked.

 

“He said he'll follow,” Taeyang answered.

 

“Where's Dara noona?” Seungri asked, too. CL frowned after hearing this. Bom assured her that Dara will come. But she hasn’t seen any sign of her yet. At first, she was really worried about her since the slightly older girl had been ignoring her calls but after she finds out that she left her phone, she started going to the apartment, but no one's answering, so she assumed she's not home. Plus, she hasn’t showed up in the cafe for days already.

 

“Ya! Where's Dara noona?” Seungri asked again.

 

“She'll be late,” a voice behind said. CL looked behind her and saw Bom.

 

“Oh!” Seungri mumbled.

 

“Hey guys, come, I'll introduce you to my parents,” CL said. She led the way to where her parents were and started introducing the boys to them. After that, Seungri noticed someone and was about to call the attention of the person when Bom suddenly grabbed his arm.

 

“Let's go take our seats,” she said to the others then turned to Seungri in a whisper. “Save your questions some other time.” Bom led the way towards the table where Daesung and Minzy were seated. A while later, Jiyong arrived and joined them in the table but not before looking around as if he was searching for someone.

 

“So, where's TOP hyung?” Jiyong asked the boys.

 

“He's on his way,” Bom answered. Bom rolled her eyes as she knew Jiyong actually meant for Dara. “This is a disaster,” she whispered.

 

CL looked up. “What did you say, unnie?”

 

“Nothing, I was just saying Dara's so running late already.”

 

“Oh,” CL mumbled, “yes, she is,” she added then turned to Jiyong who was sitting beside her and started ranting about their common interest: brands of clothes and fashion.

 

 

Later. . .

 

After Mr. Lee's long speech, he finally announced the start of dinner. Jiyong kept on glancing at the entrance. Dara hasn't arrived yet and he wanted to see and talk to her already. After the incident in his room, his sister advised him to let Dara alone first. He gasped upon remembering his sister; he forgot her mother and sister were also invited to the party. He looked at the boys, when he saw that nothing was unusual, he decided that they haven't bumped into each other yet. It's a pretty big party, anyways. He felt a heavy gaze upon him. He looked around again and saw Bom looking at him intently. He frowned as he saw fear in her eyes. Her head snapped to the entrance, he did the same. But the entrance still looked the same, nothing unusual. Noona's really weird, he thought. He looked back at Bom and saw that the girl was still wearing that fearful look in her eyes, then her eyes widen, making him look at the entrance again. And there she was, the little rabbit in a white dress accompanied by TOP.

 

 

DARA's POV

 

I was trembling. I saw that the dinner started already. I wanted to back out, but the firm hold of Tabi on my waist didn't allow me to. CL-roo waved at me as she saw me. She stood up and went towards our direction. “Unnie! You've been ignoring my calls!” she pouted.

 

“I'm sorry. I had some things to attend to.”

 

“We'll talk about it later, okay? Come, your seats are with us.”

 

We followed CL. I tried not to look at Ji but fate might have some other plans because the chairs that weren't occupied stands across CL and him. Perfect, I mocked myself. Tabi pulled the chair in front of CL-roo and motioned me to sit. I quietly complied. The others greeted my arrival and I returned the favor.

 

“Unnie, TOP oppa, you should start eating, too. I bet both of you are hungry already.”

 

“Oh, neh,” I mumbled, looking back at CL. I looked down and found out that my plate and Tabi's were already filled with foods. I took the spoon and fork when CL suddenly gasped and reached out across the table to grab my hand.

 

“Omo! What's this?” CL exclaimed, looking at my finger in amazement. “Is this. . .?” she trailed, looking up at Tabi.

 

“Family's. Handed down to the eldest male in the family. It's quite old,” Tabi answered.

 

“Wow! No wonder it's quite exquisite! Ooh, I love antiques. And oh, look at the elegant curve of this. And my, the stone is really something. Diamond! Ah!” CL excitedly said, and then she looked up at Tabi again. “Does this mean. . .?”

 

“We're engaged,” Tabi answered quite happily. The others woot in glee and surprise and they started greeting us enthusiastically. I smiled and thanked them. In my peripheral vision, I saw Ji's spoon stopped midway. I wanted to look at him but I forced myself not to.

 

“Wow! I can't believe this! Congratulations!” CL-roo got all excited.

 

“So, when's the wedding?” Dae asked.

 

“At the end of the month,” Tabi answered.

 

“Whoa! You two aren't in a rush, are you?” Dae chuckled.

 

“It was Dara's idea,” Tabi chuckled. “Oh, as early as now, I want you guys to know that you're all invited.”

 

“This is a joke right?”

 

I froze upon hearing Ji's voice. As much as I don't want to, I looked at him. He was looking at me, too. “No,” I quietly answered, then smiled. “It's true! I originally thought it would be better if me and Tabi get married next week but he said we need to prepare and all. So, I said my maximum is at the end of this month. Haha!”

 

“You must really love TOP oppa for wanting to get married at once, don't you, Dara unnie?” Minzy chuckled. “Ah, I hope I'll have my TOP oppa someday.”

 

“You're still young, Minkki,” CL chuckled. CL and Minzy continued talking while my eyes were held prisoner by Ji's eyes. There was a look of accusatory betrayal in them. A while ago, I can't bear to lok at him. But when I did look at him, I can't look away anymore. I don't know what made me do it, but I opened my mouth and words just came pouring out.

 

“Aren't you happy for me, Mr. Kwon?” I asked. I saw his jaw clenched. He suddenly stood up and walked away.

 

 

JIYONG's POV

 

I felt dizzy, like I'm being suffocated. This was what I felt when I dreamt of me drowning years ago. It was the same feeling. It was as if I was being pulled deeper into the black waters, like being by a plunging hole.

 

“What's with the face?”

 

I looked up and saw TOP hyung. He obviously followed me.

 

“What? Do you expect me to jump and rejoice?” I snapped.

 

He chuckled. “You should, I mean she's your bestfriend after all, you should be happy for her, shouldn't you?”

 

“Did you follow me just to mock me?”

 

“No. Well, can you remember the deal we had before? When you said you'd do anything in exchange of my silence? I haven't really asked you to do anything yet, have I?”

 

“You broke it! She found out!”

 

“Yes, she found out about the truth. But I didn't tell her anything. It was her mother, so I'm off the hook. I did the part of the deal; it's time you do yours.”

 

“What do you want me to do then?”

 

A small smile curved his lips. “I want you to be the bestman in our wedding.”

 

I stared at him for a minute or so. “You've got to be kidding me!”

 

“No. And you can't back out, we had a deal. Oh, by the way, looks like your little secret would be out in the open anytime soon. Seungri told me he saw your sister a while ago.”

 

Silence. . .

 

“Tabi?” I heard a voice outside the men's comfort room. Hearing that voice made me curl my fists into tight balls.

 

“What if I fight for her?” I blurted out quietly. He smirked.

 

“She already chose me. And besides, we had a deal. Oh, got to go. MY FIANCE's looking for me already,” hyung chuckled.

 

 

AUTHOR's POV

 

The moment Dami saw Jiyong, TOP and Dara left the table, she quickly stood up and went to them.

 

“Meet me tomorrow at 3pm in this hotel. I'll be in suite 405,” she told everyone, surprising them with her appearance. She went back to her table.

 

“Dami, I saw where you went. Don't you dare go telling anyone about the family's secret!” her mother gritted in a whisper. Dami gave everyone in the table a radiant smile before turning to her mother.

 

“Stop me then,” she whispered back, smiling sweetly.

 

 

Later. . .

 

A shadow was silently waiting behind a tree. It has been what? Two or three hours already since he left that party. He was getting impatient, yes. But he has to wait. And finally, he saw headlights. For a while, he remained where he was, watching the oddly couple say their goodbyes. He hissed under his breath as he saw them hugged. But at least, they just hugged; he should be thankful, right? But no, he was no where near being thankful. He silently crept behind the girl as the latter opened her door. She stepped inside and was about to close the door when he pushed it open and stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

 

“Ji! What are you doing here?” she asked, aghast.

 

“What was that all about?!?” he thundered. He grabbed her hand. “Take this ring off!” he gritted, pulling the ring off her finger. Before he can fully remove it from her finger, the girl pulled her hand back and fixed the ring.

 

“No,” she said. He looked deeply into her eyes.

 

“Why?!?”

 

“Why what?”

 

“Why did you say yes?!? What about me?!” he whispered this time, though the intensity was still there.

 

“What did you expect me to answer, Ji? Tabi's my first boyfriend and he proposed to me. And as for you, don't worry, you'll always be my bestfriend.”

 

He exclaimed out of exhaustion. “Bestfriend?! No wonder he took me as the bestman!”

 

A momentary shock crossed the girl's face but it was quickly replaced by understanding. “Of course. I want you to be a part of the most important day in my life. And if you don't mind, I want to rest already. Let's talk about this some other time.”

 

She sighed as he didn't move. She turned around to head towards the bedroom when he felt his arms from behind her s around her waist. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the onslaught of emotions.

 

“I love you,” he whispered. Her eyes opened and she forcefully removed his arms around her, succeeding.

 

She turned to face him and shook her head. “I'm sorry,” she whispered back. “But I don't believe you.”

 

Pain crossed his eyes. “You don't believe me?” he breathed.

 

She looked up and gave him a weak smile. “I'm tired of hearing lies anymore. When Appa said he won't leave me, I believed him but he still left. When you promised that you'd always be there for me, I believed you but you left me, too. When Tabi said he won't leave me, I didn't believe him but you know what? He didn't leave me, instead it was me who left him. Can you blame me for wanting to be with the person who never broke his promise?”

 

“But you don't love him!” he protested.

 

She laughed, the sound of it was hollow. “Says who?” she asked.

 

“This!” he mumbled darkly as he took her face in his hands and crushed his lips on hers. She protested at first, especially when he was being aggressive. But when he started to be gentle, she started melting into his arms, too. When the boy started feeling the eager response of the girl, he pulled back, his eyes gleamed with darkness. “You dare call me a liar when you're lying to yourself! I'm gonna fight for you, Dara 'til that scattered brain of yours realized what's inside your heart!”

 

He dropped his arms to his side and turned towards the door. He was about to turn the knob when she spoke.

 

“You already killed me once but luckily I survived, only barely. If you do that for the second time, I don't think I can survive it anymore. Don't fight for me, Ji. There's nothing to fight for anyway.”