Jiyong released their hands and stood up, making her hand feel empty with the sudden separation, but she shook the feeling away. He immediately placed his other hand on her forehead to check her temperature. "What are you doing here?" She asked but he didn't respond and just kept feeling her forehead. Irritated, she slapped his hand away but he just placed it back on her forehead.

"You don't have a fever anymore, but you should eat. Stay here, I'm gonna prepare breakfast."

"No! Just go away! Leave me alone!" She stood up and almost stumbled down but Jiyong caught her before that happened.

"Be careful, will you? You were just sick, no need to rush things."

"First of all, it's none of your business. Second, I can take care of myself." She glared at him as she pushed him away. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

Again, he couldn't answer. How could he tell her that he was watching her all night when she fainted? He just kept quiet and looked away. This made Dara more furious.

"Ugh, it's so pointless talking to you. Will you please make sure you lock the door when you leave?" She hastily turned around and went to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

He ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly. What am I going to do with this stubborn girl? Going out of the room, he headed to the kitchen to look for something to prepare. He was sifting through the contents of the cupboards when he noticed a pot on the stove. He checked what was inside and found porridge. He immediately scooped some of it and put it in a bowl, then set it down the table. He placed utensils beside the bowl and a cup of lukewarm water. He also heated a herbal tonic he found in the fridge and placed it beside the meal. Satisfied with how he set the table, he went to head to the front door only to find out that he can't open it.

That's weird, he thought. He tried pushing the door open again, but even with all his strength the door didn't budge. He tried looking for any other locks but there were none. When he couldn't think of any other way to open the door, he called CL. He heard the other line ring for three times, then he was greeted by CL's lively voice.

"So you're finally up, eh? Have you and eonni talked about things already?"

"What are you saying? And why can't I open the main door?"

"Because we locked it from outside."

"YOU WHAT??" He was so flabbergasted. He DID NOT see this coming.

"You two need to talk things out, and you know it."

"You really think this is a good idea? She won't even talk to me!"

"Knowing Dara eonni, you probably kept something from her or did something to irritate her that's why she wouldn't speak with you," she said matter-of-factly. "Just talk! Don't hold back and just tell her everything. You said you didn't know why she just gave up, right? Maybe this is the time to know why."

He didn't say anything. The truth is, he didn't want to force Dara into telling him why. The truth is, he was scared of her reason. The truth is, he wasn't sure if he was ready to get that closure because then, their break up would be more final. No, he didn't want this. But it has to happen anyway. If not for them, for the people around them.

He sat on the couch as he ended the call with CL. He didn't know how he was gonna do this. He didn't know if he can handle it. He closed his eyes, deep in thought, until he heard Dara's voice after a few minutes.

"I thought I told you to leave," she said rather harshly. He noticed she was already in training clothes, probably thinking of catching up with the other members.

"I can't."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She headed to the front door but was stopped when the door wouldn't open. No matter what she did, the door didn't open. "They locked the door from the outside." She heard Jiyong say. What the hell?!?! Frustrated, she kicked the door and let out a loud groan. She then headed back to her room and slammed the door behind her.

He knew he had to be patient with her. From all the times they have fought, it has always been him who confronted her first, who initiated with the fixing up. This couldn't be any different from all the other times, so with a deep breath, he placed the food on a tray and went to knock on Dara's room. When she didn't respond, he entered the room and saw her sulking on top of her bed and muttering words he could barely hear. He thought he caught the words unfair and stupid, but he doesn't know for sure.

"Eat," he said as he set the tray down in front of her. She shook her head. "You were just sick last night. Please eat, and then I will tell you why I'm here." She bit her lips, as if thinking if she should take the offer. After a few breaths, she took the spoon and started eating the porridge. Not realizing how hungry she was, she finished the whole bowl in no time. Jiyong couldn't help but laugh silently. She was stubborn girl, indeed.

After finishing her food and drinking up the tonic, she put the tray on the floor beside her bed and finally looked at Jiyong. "Now, tell me why you're here."

With a loud sigh he said, "I was here because I saw you fainted last night. I didn't want to bring you to the hospital because that would make such a big fuzz. I stayed because I wanted to make sure you're feeling better by the morning. I was supposed to leave before you woke up but obviously I failed to do that."

"You saw me faint? But how?" She asked, a little bit shocked. She didn't know the time but she was sure it was pretty late by then. What was he still doing there at that hour.

He sighed again and this time, he closed his eyes while answering. "Because I was watching you, okay? I was looking after you last night and the other nights before that." He opened his eyes. "Did you even think what would've happened if I hadn't been there?" Again, he shivered at the thought of what could've happened.

"But why?" She asked, genuine curiosity masking her face. "Why were you looking after me?"

He smiled weakly at her. "It's not like I have a choice anyway. Even if I didn't want to, I still find myself ending up in front of that practice room. Even if I didn't want to, I still followed you until you arrived safely in your apartment building. Do you even realize how sleep-deprived I am lately?" He laughed at himself which earned him a frown from her.

"But why? I thought you were doing so well. You even went back to calling me noona at the office. And you were even linked to that giraffe model." She rolled her eyes.

He laughed at that. She must've been jealous, right? "Well then, I must really be a good actor, eh?" Dara just looked at him, not sure how to respond. What kind of fool was she to believe he would forget about her that fast when it has always been him who led this fight? Maybe it was her defense mechanism, a way of escaping the pain. Maybe she wanted to make herself believe that he was doing fine even when everybody knows he wasn't.

Jiyong sighed again. How many time has he sighed for that day, and it wasn't even noon time? He then told her, "look, I don't know what your reasons are for... giving up on us, and I don't even think I'm ready to hear them, whatever they may be. But you can't possibly ask me to stop caring for you, right?" He then held her hand. Surprisingly, she let him. And then he went on, "I understand if you want to stop whatever romantic relationship we have right now, but..." he pasued, a lump forming in his throat. "Can't we still be... friends?"

Again, Dara just looked at him. When she didn't say anything, he spoke again. "I know we've been together like that for so long that the idea of being friends don't seem to exist anymore, but I can't think of any other way that we can deal with this. I can accept that you don't want to be together with me anymore, but at least let's still be friends. Neh? Just like how we were when we were both trainees."

No response.

"Please, Dara? Please say we can still be friends." He tightened his hold on her hand.

After weighing the pros and cons of his offer in her mind, she finally let out a soft sigh and said, "Alright. Friends." She squeezed his hand in return.

Glad that she accepted, he pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you," he whispered in her hair. It was a just a brief hug. Jiyong released her right away, knowing that he has the friendship line set between them he couldn't cross anymore. "I'll just tell them we talked already. See you in the office, noona." With a smile, he took the tray of dirty dishes and headed out of her room. After placing the tray in the sink, he went to sit on the couch and texted CL.

Who was he kidding? He has never been "just friends" with Dara. From the moment he laid eyes on her, his heart has been captured by her charms. He was, and always is gonna be the guy who's been in love with this kind, beautiful, stubborn girl for as long as he can remember. He will never be "just friends" with her.

But he has to pretend. It's the only choice he has left.

When he heard the front door open, he rushed out of the house without a word and went straight to his car. He drove off with no place to go in mind. He needed to think.

I hope I'm doing the right thing.

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a/n:

What do you guys think? Pretty heavy, right? Poor Jiyong. :( What do you think will happen next? Or better yet, what do you want to happen next?

Anyway, I just had a free time so I decided to update. Again, I'm not sure when I will be able to update the next chapter due to school works. I do hope it won't take too long, and I wish you all could wait for the next chapter with an earnest heart.

Thank you guys!

Newbie writer,

cescanicolelala♥