EPILOGUE

7 months after

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It was the weekly forum on the Super Junior’s fan café and the hundreds of commenters had been shooting their heated opinions in rapid succession involving a certain thread which read:

WHO IS THE MOST HANDSOME IN SUPER JUNIOR? LET’S DO A POLL!

Among all the members, two names topped the said poll. Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae who both garnered 201,722 votes in a span of 5 days.

Forum:

                HeyHae: Fishy oppa is definitely the visual! He’s looking so handsome! Too handsome recently. It’s like he’s aging like a fine wine! <3 <3

                Heua23: Seriously, how can we pick a visual from this group? It has been 10 years already and I still have no single permanent bias!

                cornbub21: Why are y’all still going on about this? Clearly, my Siwon wins this round! I mean look at him! Hes so dashing! And he looks like a bishounen who stepped out from a manga to wreck havoc in the world of maidens! He’s so perfect! Donghae is not as near as handsome as he is!

               Ssansaeng: Excuse me? Lee Donghae is way better than Choi Siwon.

              cornbub21: Better in what aspect, really? My Siwon is taller, he’s manlier, esp wt his beard, and he’s over-all dripping with appeal!

              Ssansaeng:  Choi Siwon is tall, alright. But he looks like he’s 40.

             cornbub21: He’s not! He looks matured, that’s what he looks like! Donghae looks like an overgrown teenage boy. :p Siwon should win this poll!

                Heua23: Hey guys EASY. ><

                CLaSsy8te: *grabs popcorn*

             Ssansaeng: Look here, @cornbub21. Lee Donghae is the finest specimen one could ever have the privilege of witnessing in their lifetime. He should be hailed as the most handsome member of SUPER JUNIOR because it is simply a FACT. To prove this, I have three points which I will further punctuate with pieces of evidence for you to shut your insolent mouth :)

First: LEE DONGHAE IS HANDSOME IN WHATEVER HE WEARS.

In order to be perceived as someone who is aesthetically pleasing, it is imperative that they not only have an impeccable sense of fashion but also have the skill of pulling off even the most disastrous outfits there is and make it look like its high fashion. Lee Donghae, in various occasions managed to prove this point by looking marvelous as if it’s as easy as breathing. Among them are the following:

                Exhibit A: (PICTURE) Incheon Airport. Taken at 10am of June 20, 2014. Look at this picture. He looks striking even in his casual wear. Def. a headturner. Even in a simple white shirt and sweatpants and a pair of slippers, he looks like a charismatic young stud that cannot be bothered by the chilly weather of South Korea because he’s already hot as hell.

                Exhibit B: (PICTURE) SBS Inkigayo Comeback Stage. November 16, 2017. He looks ravishing even in a disgustingly vibrant red overalls. If that is not being handsome, I don’t know what the heck is.

Second: LEE DONGHAE IS HANDSOME EVEN WHEN HE DOESN’T WEAR ANYTHING.

Now, what is the point of being able to pull off about any outfit in the world, when you don’t look as pleasant as without wearing these clothes? Lee Donghae is not behind in this department, because clearly, among everyone in the group he is the buffiest and probably the one who spends the most hours in the gym since he hella looks like it.

                Exhibit C: (PICTURE) Look at his well-defined arms!

                Exhibit D: (PICTURE) His chest and his back!

                Exhibit E: (PICTURE) and waddaya know, hello, magnificent abs! Look!

“Hmm. No. I don’t want them to stare at Donghae’s abs. Nope. Let’s delete this one,” she muttered under her breath, eyes glued on her screen, fingers tapping the delete button before she began on furiously typing once again.

Delete delete delete

Tap tap tap tap

Third: LEE DONGHAE IS ALSO AN ADORABLE IDIOT.  HE’S A FREAKING DORK HOW CAN HE BE REAL?

Finally, what’s the use of having both the face and the body when your personality is as boring as a glass of lukewarm tap water, sitting in a kitchen counter that even ants won’t bother sparing a single glance? Lee Donghae is a bundle of craziness, I tell you. Sometimes, only God knows what shenanigans he has under his sleeves.  

                Exhibit F: (VIDEO) Look at him grinning like a fool while playing with children. He’s teasing them like he’s the actual child in the video which I’m sure is genuine given that he has the penchant of acting childish and cries out so easily without even looking like a disgrace to the adult population because he is too damn adorable when he’s reacting comically like that.

                Exhibit G: (VIDEO) His smile and his laughter and the way his eyes would slightly crinkle as his whole face lights up when he’s genuinely happy could melt even the icecaps in Antarctica, not that global warming isn’t doing that already, but you all get the point.

 In his spare time, he also likes to imitate Johnny Bravo. But too bad I have no video of that.

                SJxswonie: HAHAHA Im ded. Y’all she just ended it for all of us! Psshaha what poll??!

                ELFsince2001: How can anyone beat that? kekeke I say lets declare Lee Donghae as the winner!

                cornbub21: OH MY GOD. Wtf. What are you…his lawyer????

“Well, I am.”

Dara snorted at the comment, wearing a proud smirk because she had clearly made her point. Three points, actually—with attached photos and videos. Okay, maybe she went a little too far and treated that harmless public forum like an actual litigation, but at least, they got her point.  Lee Donghae is the most handsome in SUPER JUNIOR. Period.

And she wasn’t even done yet. She still had a lot of pictures and videos stored in her computer and in her phone just in case anyone decided to throw a rebuttal at her. But lucky for them no one dared to say that Donghae was inferior to anyone, especially not referring him as a “boy.” Heck, she swore she felt her veins pop out when she read that comment. The audacity of that ignorant fan. To call Lee Donghae an overgrown teenage boy—her Lee Donghae?

“Wow. It has been years since I engaged in a forum like that.” Dara straightened her back, stretching both arms in the air to loosen her stiff muscles. Closing her laptop, Dara plopped onto her bed, and took out her phone. The calendar on her screen showed that it was August.

Already August.

One day Dara just woke up and realized that the hours had past by in a blink of an eye, the days blurred into weeks and weeks turned into months, and now 7 months had passed since that night when they both fell on a puddle of mud.  Dara and Donghae had been staying in Japan for almost 3 months now since her therapy sessions began.

It was astounding how a lot of things could happen in such a short amount of time.

Youngbae was no longer her secretary since he was already reviewing his off for the incoming bar examination, practically locking himself inside his house. The last time she spoke to him, he was crying—crying of all things—as he poured his anxiety to her. Dara merely laughed at him and told him he was already as better than other lawyers there because he was working under her. Then he was no longer crying. He promised that the next time they spoke, he would make sure that he was already a lawyer. So Dara haven’t heard about him yet since that conversation.

Bom had been visiting her in Japan in times when Donghae had to go back to Korea shortly for some important matters. Along those days, she found herself confessing everything to her cousin—from the fake relationship until the truth about her past. She found it hard, tremendously hard, but it somehow liberated her. And Bom, her dear dear cousin, was more than devastated. She had never seen Bom cry until both hey fake lashes fell off. But Dara assured her that she was getting better. And she believed her words. When her therapy began, she was a skeptic. Yet, as she allowed herself to trust the process, she realized that her nightmares were no longer a consistent companion. It was still there, lurking behind the shadows, but it had shrunk into something far less monstrous than it was before.

But she was getting better.

One day, she would tell Jaejoong the truth. She would tell her childhood friend what truly happened during that night because he too, deserved to hear everything. Dara could only pray that he wouldn’t hate her, or would unintentionally reopen his old wounds especially now when he was looking happier and more alive ever since he introduced a beautiful girl to them.