Chapter 둘: In the Arms of Another

Dara was mortified. For a second, her heart soared to the zenith of happiness but the impact as it smashed on the cold, hard ground was more fatal. A lump formed in and she swallowed hard, feeling dejected when he pushed her hand away. Yet, unknown to Dara, she was not the only one who looked stunned because Eunhyuk was equally astounded by her actions.

"Sorry" she mumbled, lowering her head. She squeezed her fingers hard and nibbled on her lower lip to prevent herself from crying. She couldn't possibly make a scene. Eunhyuk might misunderstand and think that they have a shared past. Of course they have, but whether this fact is something he wants to hide or not, is beyond her. 

She wanted to tell him things she never had the chance to tell him before but the unmistakable hatred and disgust in his glare obstructed any more word from coming out of . 

The blonde was quietly watching the subject of his confusion, his gaze travelled from left to right, between Dara and Donghae. They were oblivious of his bewilderment which left him gawking at the scene in front, probably waiting for either of the two to finally drop the bomb. But Donghae was wholly staring at Dara, not a word was heard from him.

What else could she expect after breaking up with him without even giving an explanation, only to see her the next day marrying another man. She felt ridiculous thinking that Donghae would accept him right away. She took a deep breathe, decided to work a way on making him back to her life. She is aware that it won't be easy as A-B-C but she will go through it just to have him back. She waited for very long and she just couldn't waste it away by letting him go now.  

Finally releasing the air she's been holding in, Dara lifted her eyes to Donghae. 

"Babe..." he spoke faintly and Dara was a bit skeptical. His cold piercing stare turned soft and warm. Dara's eyes widened, mouth gaped, her voice was trapped as tears gathered over the threshold of her lids. The loud pounding of her heart against her ribcage made it more impossible for her brain to produce any coherent thought. Did he really call her 'babe'?

Her trail of thoughts was soon cut short when the seemingly stranger  in front of her transformed back into the man she once loved - her Donghae. His lips curling upwards into a smile. She couldn't take it if it's just her mind playing with her. For a second she hesitated to cofirm what might be another hallucination yet she decided to free herself from the longer torture anyway.

"Babe..." she beamed at him. The dark cloud over her vanished and her face brightened up rather quickly, the welling tears in her eyes dried up at the sight of Donghae smiling at her; just like the old times. She had never been so relieved. She couldn't ask for more. 

"Baby!" he said again making the girl's eyes glisten with tears, this time of uncontained joy. Her eyes lingered on him but he wasn't looking at her. A warm smile appeared on Donghae's face before extending his left hand forward. A woman suddenly appeared beside her and in a split second, they were both engulfed in each other's embrace; cuddling as if nobody else's around.

"Guess it's a cue for me to exit." Eunhyuk said as he walked towards Dara. "And that goes for you too Dara-sshi." 

The woman released herself from Donghae's embrace "Dara?

She willed herself to speak up but words became impossible to utter when she saw the woman's face in Donghae's arms.

"Do you know her?" Donghae asked Jessica in a distinct pretense.

"NO" she firmly denied without blinking, but Dara missed the initial reaction registered on the woman's face. 

Tears started b in her eyes again as the pain continued torturing her now throbbing heart. Dara couldn't take any more lie from her cousin and Donghae. Meeting him is already crushing her heart, more so seeing Jessica, who is now Donghae's girlfriend is racking her brain. She doesn't know what to do when the fact about her past existence is something that never happened between the two.

Dara was fighting real hard to stifle her tears but she knows better, she is not very good at it. "I-I'll take my leave now Sir." she stuttered at first but managed to say it in one go like a one-syllable word. Dara did not bother waiting for his answer, she bolted out before she could make an outburst inside the director's office.

She almost ran her way out of the office while Eunhyuk followed suit. She heard Bom calling her name but she's not in a state to even care answering. 

God knows how much she yearned for him. For five long years she did nothing but search for Donghae, not a day had passed without her thinking about him. Her longing was almost unbearable but she was able to endure it. She thought that what he left her was enough for her to have him back and forgive her but seeing him happy now made her want to forget the happy ending she'd been hoping for her family. His happiness was what she only wished for and she could not possibly break him again. 

She locked herself inside the comfort of the tiny four-cornered room, pulled the seat cover down and settled herself on top. The unshedded tears flooded the moment she sat down. 

How could he come back when she finally had the courage to let him go. And why is she still hoping that he will be with her after leaving him behind. She was the one who chose this and she should be prepared for the consequences yet despite the time which gone by, she still hadn't moved on.
The unexpected appearance of another woman in his life is just unbearable for her. Did she ever thought about it. Of course! But not even the long years could make her prepare for it. 

***

She couldn't stop the pain she was feeling but she willed her tears to stop from falling. She has to be strong and face the reality, even if it hurts. She stared at herself in the mirror looking flushed, with her eyes swollen. She couldn't just walk out there looking like a total mess. Bom will surely bombard her with questions, knowing the woman's curious personality but she couldn't deal with it now. 

Dara splashed the cold water on her face to rid of it's redness and remove the streak of stain left from her crying before going back to her desk. 

Bom was looking at her but she couldn't just look at her. She settled on her chair without hearing anything from the other woman. She could still feel Bom's eyes on her, studying her, and it bothers her more that she did not say anything to her. Dara sighed then averted her gaze to the woman sitting opposite her.  

"They went out" Bom said before shifting her gaze down to the pile of paper she was now reading. She doesn't have to elaborate for her to understand.
 

"I promise you won't hear the end of this but please, not now Bom." Dara's eyes were pleading. 

Bom could be very persistent most of the time but she is sensitive and understanding. "Yah! Did I ever say anything?" Bom said in mock anger. The woman was worried about her friend but she should act normal now in order not to trigger her emotions from erupting again. It isn't the right time to talk about those things.

"I know you!" Dara pointed out.

"Well...." Bom was cocking her eyebrow and her lips curved into a smile. "Oh! There will be a party on Friday!" Glad she was able to divert the conversation to another topic. 

"Party?"

"Yes, you know the fancy events. Didn't you receive the email from Ms. Chung?"

Dara just let out a deep sigh. She's in no mood for a party. 

Bom scooted forward, her face serious. "Dara-yah, I know you're disappointed that he already has a girlfriend but even married couple breaks up." Dara raised her brows unbelievingly but the other woman just gave her mischievous wink. Clearly, Bom doesn't have any idea what she is  talking about.

***

The following day dragged painfully long. Dara didn't have the energy to go to work but she forced herself to. Her mother might just worry about her again unnecessarily. And she's not sick so she doesn't have any reasons to just shut herself off in her bed and forget that Donghae is back to her life, and now with another woman who makes him happy. Ready or not, she has to deal with it.

Donghae's inside his office for who knows how long. Bom told her when she arrived yet he didn't gave Dara any task to do. He is completely ignoring her. 

Dara slumped on her chair while making doddles on the 3rd paper she had used up. Now that she's deprived of her work, she can have all the time in the world to torture herself with thoughts about Donghae. 

She should be happy seeing where he is now but she couldn't make her heart agree with what her logical mind wants her to feel. Despite the longing to see him, she knew she's not ready to talk and face him again so she remained unmoving from her seat. 

It's not like she hates being free from work but she felt her employment will be endangered. If this continues, she might be fired in no time and she couldn't afford for that to happen. So she shoved her anxieties away and decided to talk to him about it. 

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Ready!

Dara walked towards his office, her hand gripped the door knob tightly then she turned it open. She was expecting Donghae to be busy on some paperworks when she slowly peeked in through the small opening of the door. But Dara suddenly slammed the door close in front of her before even going in, probably causing the two people inside the room to be alarmed. Her grip tightened on the knob, both eyes closed while she bit her lower lip hard, enough for her to feel the metallic taste of blood in .

Her heart's constricting in pain, she couldn't control her tears from flowing when she saw Donghae inside the room...with Jessica.