{ 07 }

Rather than going home, she went straight to Bom’s workplace. She owns a very chic café where she plays her own songs. Bom was actually a songwriter/lyricist for YG Entertainment because she originally wanted to be a singer but her parents wanted her to be  an accountant. She uses her accounting skills on her café and her golden voice on recording demos for YG Entertainment artists. Dara heard that Bom was offered to be an artist but she refused, saying that an artist life isn’t for her. Well, Dara presumed that it was because Bom is already contented with her life.

Dara sighed deeply. Contentment. When will she have that?

“I bet this customer is a deeply unhappy person.” Seungri, one of Bom’s quirky part-timers, joked. Since Dara is a frequent customer and the kid liked to joke around, they clicked right away. Well, Seungri’s jokes weren’t that great, but what makes Dara laugh around him was his bluntness. He wasn’t afraid to bare himself. There was even a time when the kid asked her about women’s menstrual periods. With Seungri, there will never be a dull moment.

Dara’s brow went up. “And how would you know that, Mr.…” She pretended to read Seungri’s nametag. “Seungri?”

Seungri placed Dara’s order on the table. “Oh, just because.” He answered, shrugging. He then looked around and leaned closer to Dara. “I’ve got an ESP, Ms. Park.”

Dara threw her head back and laughed. “Aigoo, you really make the lamest jokes, Seungri-yah.” She shook her head, smiling. “Can you call Bommie for me?”

“Aye, cap’n!” Seungri answered and saluted before going to the office where Bom usually spends her time.

After a few minutes, Bom settled on the chair in front of Dara. “Oh, aren’t you busy? You told me last time that it’s exam week.”

Dara smiled sarcastically. “Yes, my best friend, it’s nice to see you too. I missed you too!”

“Tss! Shut up woman. What’s up?”

Dara’s sarcastic smile faded, which was replaced by… something Bom couldn’t understand. There was a mixture of emotions in her best friend’s face: fury, hurt, pain, rage, worry… and love. “Yah, Park Sandara, what exactly happened?” She asked, worried.

Dara held Bom’s hand and stared at her. “Bommie-yah… I… I saw… I saw Kwon Jiyong.” Upon saying that, Dara’s tears streamed down.

Bom was frozen on her spot. She couldn’t even comfort Dara who was now a crying mess. Seungri ran to them. “Bom noona, is there something wrong with Dara noona?!” The youngster asked, concern evident on his face.

It took Bom another minute before she answered. She helped Dara stand up. “Seungri-yah, help me take Dara to the office. After this, you guys clean up and put the ‘close’ sign on the door. You can leave after that.” Bom instructed.

Seungri only nodded. The two of them helped Dara up and they assisted her to Bom’s office. After they safely secured Dara on the couch, Seungri went out, leaving the two best friends alone.

“Bommie… It hurts. It still hurts a lot. Do you know? I…” A new batch of fresh tears rolled down on her cheeks. “I still miss that JerKwon. I still long for his voice. I still wish for his touch. I… I still long for his love.”

Bom didn’t say anything. She only sat beside Dara and patted her back. “It’s okay, Dee. We’re here, right? Seunghyun and Youngbae and I. We… we won’t let you down.”

Dara turned to Bom. “Okay?! It’s not okay, Bom! He left us just like that five years ago. He vanished without a ing trace! And now what?! He’ll come traipsing into our lives again?! JUST. LIKE. THAT?!”

“Dara, please calm–”

“NO, BOM! I can’t be calm! I will never be calm whenever that ’s concerned! He…” She broke down again. “He is the biggest jerk on the face of the planet.”

“Dee…”

Dara curiously looked at Bom. “But… why don’t you even look surprised? Why… why are you so calm, Bom?! Have you already forgotten what that jerk did to us?! You and TOP and Youngbae were his friends! And I… I was his girlfriend, for God’s sake! And he left us without even a goodbye like the jerk that he is!”

“Dara… Please don’t be mad at me, okay?” Dara only stared at Bom without answering. Bom took a deep breath. “I… I already know about Kwon Jiyong.”

Dara felt like everything was swirling. She held on to the couch for support. “Wha– what? You… you already knew about Jiyong?”

Bom nodded solemnly. “Seunghyun and Youngbae too.”

“Ho– how…” She looked at Bom with a piercing glare. “How could you guys do this to me?” Dara stood up and grabbed her things.

“Dara, please, listen to me first–” Bom tried to hold on to Dara but the latter only brushed her off.

“Stop.” Dara said tiredly. “Just… stop. Let’s talk next time, okay?” After that, she left Bom’s office, her emotions whirling around her.

--

She couldn’t even remember how she reached her apartment. When she woke up, she saw that it was already nine in the morning. She was about to run to the shower when she realized that it was Saturday and she doesn’t have classes.

She heaved a deep sigh before looking through her phone. She saw that Bom, TOP and Youngbae called her endlessly last night. It seemed like Bom already told the two men that she already knows about Jiyong.

Dara couldn’t help but wonder. Why would those three betray her? Looking at their actions, it seemed like they sided with Jiyong rather than in her, whom they’ve known for years even before they became close with Jiyong. Dara always thought that even if the whole world abandons her, she will always have Bom, TOP and Youngbae but now that this happened? She’s not so sure anymore.

“AISH. I don’t want to think anymore.” Dara said to herself. She went to the shower to refresh her mind. When she went out of the shower, she saw that she has another five missed calls coming from Bom.

She was about to toss her phone somewhere when it rang again. It was of course, Bom. Dara sighed before picking it up. “Hello?”

“Dara! Thank god you picked up! We were so worried about you!”

“Well, now that you know I’m okay, could you guys please stop calling?”

“Dara–”

“Bye, Bom.” Dara was about to end the call when Bom said something which caught her attention.

“Dara, at least let me explain!” Bom desperately called out. “It’s just that… I accidentally knew about it too! Three years ago, Chaerin went to my café…”

-Flashback-

“Noona, someone’s looking for you outside.” Seungri said as he opened the door to Bom’s office.

“Really? Who is it?” Bom asked.

“Someone named Lee Chaerin, noona.”

Bom suddenly stopped. “Chaerin?!” She exclaimed.

Seungri only nodded. “Yes, noona.”

Bom ran out of her office. It’s been a while since they’ve seen Chaerin. The last thing they heard about her was that she became a photographer for Vogue magazine in America. “Chaerin!” Bom merrily called out.

“Oh, unnie!” Chaerin stood up and hugged Bom.

“Whoa, you’ve gotten a lot prettier, Chaecat!” Bom teased as they sat down.

Chaerin only smiled. “Unnie, didn’t Kwon Jiyong oppa vanish two years ago?”

Bom shook her head. “Tss. Don’t even talk about that .”

“Unnie, I saw him!”

Bom’s eyes widened. “What?! Where?!”

Chaerin brought out a copy of Forbes magazine from her bag and flipped the pages. After finding the right page, she handed it over to a surprised Bom. “See unnie, Kwon Jiyong oppa is now a famous businessman! According to that article, he is the youngest businessman to be on Forbes “100 Top Businessmen in the World!” And look, he even made it to the top 50.”

Bom could only stare at Jiyong’s face in the magazine. Is this why you left, Jiyong? Is this why you never told us anything about you? Did you even trust us? Bom thought, feeling hurt.

-End of Flashback-

Dara dropped her phone to the floor. She was crying again. So that was it, huh? Because you’re now a hotshot businessman, you just dropped us like that? JerKwon.

She grabbed her phone and ended the call. She searched about Kwon Jiyong on the net and saw his company address. Kwon Group of Companies, huh? She thought bitterly as she made a mad dash outside.