Ji-Yong’s point of view

“Is school really closed?” Dara stared over at me as she buckled herself in.

I had called her earlier this morning to let her know the news and that I’d be taking her somewhere.

“Yes, Dara.” I revved the car up, getting ready to take off down the street before anyone saw us. “You can even check the school website.”

“Hm,” Dara shuffled inside her bag. “I think I just might.” Pulling out her phone, I raised my eyebrows as I watched her unlock her phone and click the safari app. Typing in the schools website, the link opened up and in big bold letters stated the following: School closed, staff meeting. Enjoy your weekend.

I smirked, watching as Dara’s cheeks heated up immensely. Laughing humorlessly to kill the awkward silence, she her lips, slowly putting her phone away before looking at me.

“You were saying?” I grinned childishly, knowing I had proved her right.

“Oh hush up and drive.” Dara muttered, shooting me a smile to indicate she was joking.

I laughed, putting the car in reverse to back out before twisting it around and zooming down the street. “I can’t believe you actually checked the website.” I shook my head at her. “I love how much you trust me babe, really.” I sarcastically remarked.

“I do…” She paused, “just not about school.” Giggling, she looked out the window, tapping her fingers against the arm rest to her own beat.

I rolled my eyes, leaning over and popping the glove compartment open and taking out my pack of cigarettes, slipping the lighter out of the pocket of my jacket before lighting a stick up and layering it between my lips.

Coughing, Dara waved a hand in front of her. “Are you ever going to quit smoking?”

Taking a puff, I held it in before letting it out through my mouth and nose. “No.” I stated monotonously, winking at her.

“You could get lung cancer you know.” She pointed out a matter-of-factly, a look of disapproval on her face.

“There’s more of a chance that I’ll get shot then die of cancer, babe.” I took another drag of my cigarette before letting it out. Cracking the window open a little, I let the haze blow out.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Dara’s body had stiffened and a mask of uncertainty painted her facial features.

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Babe…” I murmured softly. “I was just joking.” I sighed, grabbing her hand in mine while rubbing my thumb across her knuckles.

“It’s not funny though Ji-Yong.” She looked at me. “I mean, I know you’re just trying to ease the tension right now but you and I both know, that’s partially true and it scares me to know that.”

“Hey, hey, hey…” I shook my head, a look of pure sincerity on my face. “Don’t think like that.”

“Why not?” She snapped. “It’s true. I can’t just pretend that our lives are perfect.” She shook her head, a scowl placing upon her lips.

Bewilderment took over and I stared at her in confusion. “Where is all this coming from?”

Dara bit her lip, avoiding my intense eyes. Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Not in the mood to cause an accident, I pulled the car over to the closest curb. “I want you to talk to me.” Leaning over, I brushed the hair from her face back. “What’s bothering you?”

Dara latched her teeth onto her bottom lip. “Nothing…”

“Dara ,” I hissed, aggravation getting the best of me. “Don’t pull that bull with me. I’m not your dad, I’m your boyfriend. Stop holding back from me and just let it all out. I know something’s bothering you…”

“It’s not that it’s bothering me… it’s just that,” Sighing again, I could tell it was hard for her to put into words. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t.”

“Don’t say that.” She shook her head. “Don’t feed me lies.”

“I’m not—”

“You are.” She emphasized strictly. “You’re not invincible from the world, Ji-Yong. You may not be taken down by the cops but there are far more powerful and dangerous people out there who want to take you down.”

Realization seemed to have kicked in and suddenly, I knew just to what she was referring to. “Dara…”

“I’m afraid.” She whispered. “Okay? I’m afraid that one day I’ll just get a call from Young Bae or Seung Hyun telling me that you’re dead.”

“God damnit Dara …” I muttered, “Don’t think like that.”

“How can I not?” She looked at me incredulously. “If you haven’t noticed, your life is pretty ed up.”

“You don’t think I know that?” I spat. “But, I’m trying, okay? I can’t just turn off the bad that comes in my life. Trust me, if I could, I would.” Running my fingers through my hair, I pulled at the ends. “You don’t understand how hard it is trying to maintain your own life while worrying about others.”

“Don’t.” She hissed. “Worry about yourself. The guys are big boys, they can handle themselves.”

“It’s not them, Dara.” I looked at her. “I have to make sure you’re okay too.”

Frowning, Dara looked away, knowing exactly what I meant.

“I wish I could be normal and just be with you without any worries but I can’t. Not with the way that I live.” Shaking my head, I let go of her hand, looking forwards at the road ahead of us, countless cars strolling on by.

“Hey…” Dara leaned over, brushing her finger tips against my cheek, sincerity filling her eyes. “It’s alright, okay?”

I shook my head. “You deserve better…” I whispered.

“No.” She sternly spoke, her eyebrows furrowed together in the middle in determination to get through to me. “No matter what, you’ll always have me.”

“I don’t deserve you.” Leaning my head back against the head rest, I squeezed my eyes together. “You should be with someone who can make you happy and also keep you safe.”

“You make me happier than anyone, Ji-Yong. Don’t say that.” She sighed bitterly. “And you do keep me safe.” She reassured me but I just shook my head stubbornly.

“I don’t. If I did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” I opened my eyes to look at her. “We’d just be a normal couple, going out and having fun.”

“Stop it.” She spat, irritated. “I didn’t tell you what I did because I wanted you to think the way you are. You wanted me to be honest? I was. But that doesn’t mean I want you to change who you are because what girlfriend would I be if I did that?”

I stared at her long and hard, not being able to believe the words she was saying.

Any other girl would have run away the moment things got rough but she didn’t.

She stayed.

“Am I worried that something bad will happen to you? Yes but I knew what I was getting myself into the moment I agreed to be your girlfriend and I don’t regret a thing.” Dara continued on with her rant, her face flushed with concentration.

I sighed. “How can you say that after all you’ve been through?”

“What? You mean learning to love someone the way I could? Then yes. I can say that after all we’ve been through.” Leaning over, she grabbed my hand and held it to her heart. “I love you the way you are, no matter what. Despite the drama that went down, we’re still as strong as ever. Doesn’t that count for something?”

my lips, I squeezed her hand, pulling it to my lips where I placed a soft kiss on it before leaning over and pressing my lips to hers. Pulling away, I pressed my forehead to hers. “I love you, you know that, right?”

She nodded. “I love you too.” Kissing me once more, she her lips. “I want you and only you. No one and I mean no one deserves me more than you.” Caressing my cheek with her hand, she smiled. “Besides, who can handle my iness more than you?”

I burst out laughing.

Dara giggled. “Hm?” She urged me to answer.

I chuckled. “No one, that’s for sure.” I grinned.

“I know so stop being a butthead and saying all this bull like ‘I deserve better’. What better could I get than you?”

I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off before I could say anything.

“That’s right, no one.” She smirked.

I rolled my eyes, fixating my position on the seat. “Whatever.”

“See? You only whatever me when I’m right.” She cheesed over at me and I couldn’t help but smile.

I don’t know what I’d do without this girl, to be honest.

“You should probably get back to driving…” Dara pointed out towards the road. “Don’t want to be late to wherever you’re taking me…”

“Right,” Pulling away from the curb, I began driving down the street once more.

“Where are we going anyways?” She peered over at me.

I smirked. “Not telling you.”

“What do you mean, you’re not telling me?” She hissed, her eyes narrowed towards me.

“Because what kind of boyfriend would I be if I ruined the surprise?” I smiled.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’re just doing this because you love pushing my buttons and you know how much I hate surprises.”

I shrugged, changing lanes. “I guess we’ll never know, huh?”

“Ugh!” She groaned, crossing her arms stubbornly against her chest. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” I sing-sang.

“Yes, I do.” She shot back.

“Right,” I emphasized. “That’s why you just told me you loved me a moment ago.” I smirked, giving her the once over.

".” She muttered.

Coming to a red light, I turned to her. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” She countered quickly.

I shot my eyebrows up before leaning over and grasping her sides with my fingers, tickling her.

“S-stop!” She cried, laughing uncontrollably. “Please!”

“Tell me what you said and I will. If not, I’ll continue tickling you even when the light turns green.” I warned, tickling her stomach now.

“O-Okay!” She screamed. “I’ll tell you just stop t-t-tickling me!”

“Tell me and I will.”

“I said you’re a !”

I smirked. “Good girl.” Pecking her cheek, I pulled away just in time for the light to turn green. Pressing on the gas, we sped forward.

“That’s it? You’re not going to flip out?”

I gave her a weird look. “Why would I flip out?”

“because I called you a ?” She gave me a look as if to say it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Nah, I already knew what you said.”

“What?!” She dubiously shrieked.

I held back a laugh. “Yeah,” I shrugged. “I just wanted you to admit it.” Grinning, I playfully winked at her.

“You’re unbelievable!”

“I know.” I laughed.

Pursing her lips, Dara sat forward for the remainder of the ride, her knee bucking impatiently as she looked out the window, trying to figure out where we were going while also being slightly pissed at me.

I was a bit surprised she hadn’t figured it out by now.

Laughing, I looked at her. “Do you really want to know?”

She hesitantly looked over at me before timidly nodding.

I smiled. “We’re heading over to my parent’s house.”

Her face lit up. “Really?”

I nodded. “They invited us over for lunch.”

“Yes!” She smiled.

“You seem excited…” I chuckled, stating the obvious.

“Of course I am! Who wouldn’t be?” Her eyes were wide with glee. “I love your family, they’re awesome.” She gushed, bouncing in her seat now in complete contentment.

I smiled, glancing over at her ecstatic nature every once in a while.

It was then that I came to realize that no matter what, I would never let her go.

She was mine forever.


Dara’s Point of View:

I couldn’t help it. I was excited to visit Ji-Yong’s family again. Even though I had only met them once, I still considered them a second family to me.

Eun-Seo and I had bonded immensely while we were preparing dinner. She’s a lovely woman with a very strong set mind. She was also very smart and I could tell just where Ji-Yong got his intelligence from.

Si Hyun was just like his brother, a complete and total flirt who knew his way with the ladies. You could tell he had girls fawning all over him.

And then finally, there was Dong-Won who is a complete gentleman whom is also hilarious. He had this whole bad boy aurora to him as well. Ji-Yong was right; he definitely got his badass side from his dad.

I fidgeted in my seat, not being able to handle the excitement any longer. “Do they know we’re coming over?” I peered over at Ji-Yong who was currently focusing on the road before him.

He shook his head, turning onto a street quite familiar to me since we’ve driven down here once before. “Nah, I thought I’d surprise them.”

I nodded, smiling. “Oh, alright.”

“Why?”

I shrugged. “No reason, just wondering. Are you sure they’ll be home?”

“Babe, my dad’s off work on Friday’s, my mom always stays home and Si Hyun’s school starts vacation earlier than most. I’m sure they’re home.”

“And what if they’re not?” I raised my eyebrows, staring over at me with wide eyes.

Rolling his eyes, he let out an exasperated laugh. “Are you serious right now?”

“I’m just saying.” I put my hands up in surrender. “You can’t always assume things; you should call in advance just to make sure.”

“That’s too much work. Besides, it’ll kill the surprise. My mom will ask questions on why I wanted to know, she’ll put the pieces together and then this whole trip would’ve been for nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say it would be for nothing, Ji-Yong.” She sighed.

“I didn’t mean it literally, Dara…” He sighed, waving a hand dismissively. “You know what I mean.”

“Nope, I don’t think I do.” I smirked earning a groan from Ji-Yong.

“Seriously?”

“I’m just kidding. Jeez, lighten up Ji-Yong.” I playfully pushed his shoulder.

He cracked his neck, looking over at me. “How can I after the conversation we had about an hour ago?”

My face fell, caving into a frown. “Ji-Yong…”

“It just got me thinking, that’s all.”

“Well, don’t think about it. I know you and I know you’re probably overthinking everything right now.” I sighed, slightly frustrated. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything in the first place…”

“No,” Ji-Yong shook his head vigorously. “I’m glad you told me the truth. I need to know how you feel about certain things.”

I bit my lip. “But, now I feel bad…”

“No, don’t.” He shook his head, grabbing onto my hand. “It’s a pretty serious matter, Dara. My life isn’t exactly picture perfect as you’ve pointed out before—”

“Well, when you put it that way…” I muttered, shaking my head. “I sound like such a .”

“There’s a difference between being a and being honest and that’s what you were—honest.”

“I was a , Ji-Yong.”

He his lips, his jaw tightening a bit. “Dara…”

I sighed.

“Listen to me,” He squeezed my hand. “Stop thinking like that. Jeez, Dara, if you were a I would’ve told you.”

I let out a soft chuckle.

“I just… the way I said things came out differently than I expected.”

“Then what did you mean?” He gave me a pure look of sincerity.

I gulped, knowing this was going to come sooner or later. I looked at him, smiling softly before retrieving my eyes elsewhere. “I guess what I meant was that the things you do in life… it scares me. I’ve accepted it and I will support you no matter what,” I assured him before continuing, “but a part of me can’t help but go to sleep worried that something bad is going to happen to you. I know I shouldn’t think like that…” I shrugged. “I just can’t help it. You’re life isn’t perfect and neither is mine but the difference is yours is far more dangerous than mine. Sure, being your girlfriend comes with consequences but living in the lifestyle you do comes with far more worse things to deal with.”

Ji-Yong’s ears were perched, listening intently to what I was saying and I appreciated that more than ever.

“I know you and the way you work. You’re untouchable but sometimes even the most inevitable fall down and I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Ji-Yong shook his head, holding my hand in a protective way. “You won’t.”

I sighed. “Ji-Yong…”

“No,” He paused, collecting his thoughts. “You won’t.” Looking at me, he caressed my knuckles. “Do you want to know why?”

I looked at him, urging him silently to continue.

“Because… I now have something worth fighting for.” He looked at me. “Before it was ride or die, risk everything because I had nothing to live for.”

I felt my stomach do countless flips, my heart beat accelerating greatly.

“I’ve been screwed over so many times; I gave up on everything and everyone. Back then, my parents didn’t want anything to do with me either and I was just… alone.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “But then a certain someone caught me one night at a party doing something I probably shouldn’t have been doing…”

I smiled.

“I took her with me and thought she was pretty hot,”

I laughed, staring at him with beaming eyes.

“Despite her big mouth, which I knew from day one, would get her in loads of trouble.” He smirked at me. “And then, unexpectedly, I fell for her and she turned out to be the best thing in my life.”

I bit my lip, feeling my eyes blur over in a salty substance.

“I found something worth fighting for and ever since, I’ve made sure that no matter what goes down in my life, I’m going to come out on top because I have her waiting for me.”

The tears slid down my cheeks and I couldn’t help but smile big. “I love you.” I whispered.

“Whoa, who said the girl in my story was you?” He peered over at me with a smirk on his lips.

I rolled my eyes, brushing my free hand across my cheeks, wiping away the tears. “You’re a .”

“I’m just kidding.” Leaning over, he pressed his lips to mine before pulling away. “I love you too.” Moving back, he smiled. “Do you trust me now when I said that nothing bad will happen to me?”

I slowly nodded.

“Good.” Pecking the back of my hand with his lips, he continued driving to his parents’ house and it didn’t take long before he finally arrived.

Taking off my seat belt, I exited the car, waiting for Ji-Yong to come out as well before we both walked up the front steps and knocked on the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened, revealing Eun-Seo. “I don’t know who could be at the door Jer—Ji-Yong?” Her eyes widened and I laughed, watching as she nearly dropped the plate of brownies she had in her hand.

“Hey mom,” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek before brushing past her and into the house.

I smiled. “Hey Eun-Seo,” Grabbing the plate from her hand, I gave her a hug before walking inside. “Where do you want me to put this?” I looked at her.

She wiped her hands on her apron after closing the door. “In the kitchen…”

“Okay.” Turning, I walked into the living room, where Dong-Won was currently sitting, watching TV, laying the plate of brownies on the coffee table. “Hey Dong-Won,”

“Hey kiddo, what are you guys doing here?” He gestured between Ji-Yong, who was currently sitting next to him and me.

“We thought we’d visit you guys since we had no school.” I shrugged, smiling softly. Looking around, I noticed that somebody was missing. “Where’s Si Hy—”

“Hey hot stuff, missed me?” I turned to see Si Hyun sending me a sultry wink before taking a seat next to Ji-Yong which was a bad mistake on his part because it gave Ji-Yong the opportunity to smack him upside the head.

“What the hell was that for?” Si Hyun whined, rubbing the back of his head.

“For being an idiot.” Ji-Yong spat harshly. “That’s my girl you were talking to so you better watch your mouth next time.” He warned.

“Jeez bro, I was just kidding.”

Ji-Yong rolled his eyes before turning to me and patting his thighs indicating for me to sit on his lap.

I did as asked, walking over to him before perching myself on his lap.

Ji-Yong pecked the back of my neck slowly while working his way around. I turned around in time to see him shooting Si Hyun a look before leaning comfortably back on the couch, his arms secured around my stomach.

I rolled my eyes.

This will surely be an interesting day, that’s for sure.

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YAY ! ANOTHER CHAPTER ! <3

-Myung_Joon