X – AND THE COURTING BEGINS

Dara hops happily while entering the underground later that afternoon. She is all smiles and excited. This is the day that she will begin to court GD as she promised. She’ll do everything for him.

She brings the box of cookies she made in her chest and hugs it tightly as she imagines GD’s reaction. She giggles lightly.

“Good afternoon, Santokki!” one of the bouncers bows and greets her. Dara just smiles and pats him lightly on his shoulder as she enters the underground.

Her eyes immediately search for GD. There he is, barking some orders to the other stuff of the underground. She smiles inwardly as she walks to him.

“Bring some staff to help you in ordering the stuff which out of stock. Double check the stock room and this list to make sure,” GD seriously said as he scans the list in his hands.

“Yes, boss!” the staff bows without looking directly at GD’s eyes.

Dara shakes her head gradually. GD is really intimidating. People tend to get frightened with him even if he’s just standing right there without doing or saying anything. That’s how powerful G-Dragon is. And with the thing he pulls off few nights ago with the poor man, the whole underground can’t look at him straight in the eye, breathe even.

“That’s all! Go,” GD dismisses his staff and turns to her with his eyes still glued on the report he is holding.

Dara sets a smile instantly.

“Hello!” she greets at him.

GD stills a bit when he heard Dara’s voice but totally ignores her like he always do ever since she came back. He walks pass at her without greeting back or stopping.

Dara pouts as GD ignores her again and passes through her as if she’s not there. She shakes her head and composes herself.

“GD-ah! Wait! I have something to give to you!” she calls up to him.

This time, GD stops on his track and wait for Dara.

“Here! I baked those cookies for you!” Dara smiles as she shows the box of cookies she made in front of him.

GD furrows his brows tentatively.

‘What is her game this time? Cookies? She baked cookies for me?’ GD said in his mind. He wonders why Dara is acting strange right now. And what the hell is with those cookies? Didn’t he tell her not to bother him anymore?

GD continues to stare at her blankly. Dara feels nervous inside. This is not what she expects him to react. She can’t read what’s running to his mind. His expression gives nothing but blank.

“Um…” Dara tries to make a conversation.

“I don’t like cookies,” GD cuts her nonchalantly and walks passed at her again.

Dara’s smile falters and slumps her shoulder sadly. She looks at the box of cookies in her hand and the burns she earned from preparing it. GD rejected her and her cookies. All her efforts put into trash just like that.

With that, she begins to tear up.

GD shuts her eyes as soon as he passed through Dara. He is fighting hard enough not to accept that cookies she baked for him. He knew Dara isn’t a kitchen lady. She can’t cook any decent meal. And baking for him is such an effort for her to do. He is quite sure that she earns some burns while preparing those cookies.

‘Damn it!’ GD curses himself.

He is trying so hard to be cold hearted and show to her that she doesn’t mean a thing to him anymore. That he will never ever forgive her no matter what.

‘Just stop. Stop consoling me. Stop trying to win me back. Stop it! You’re just hurting yourself. I won’t and can’t forgive you,” GD thoughts. He stops and turns to Dara who still there facing him with her back.

“Dara…” Dara jumps as she hears GD’s voice from behind her. “Don’t come near me ever again. Don’t talk to me. And just act like we don’t know each other. In that way, I might forgive you,” GD said.

Dara’s tears flows freely now on her cheeks as she widens her eyes. She turns abruptly to GD with tears in her eyes but GD didn’t see her current state as he turns his back again to her and walks away. She just stares at GD’s retreating figure. It’s as if he is totally walking away with her life.

“No!” she mumbles.

She looks at GD. She can’t let him go. Not now.

“GD!” she shouts his name not bothered who with the staffs around that has been listening to them. GD finally stops. “I can’t let you go, GD. If I ever do that then I’ll just die,” she said to him.

GD slightly flinches hearing those words from her.

“Then die,” GD answers without any trace of emotion in his voice.

Dara widens her eyes even more. Does GD really mean that? No he wouldn’t. He is just telling it to her because he is hurt by her. He is just blinded by the pain Dara given to him.

Dara finally looks away and shuts her eyes firmly. She is willingly taking every harsh word from him. Every cold treatment he is giving to her. GD has every right to treat her like that. No one else’s but him.

She can’t avoid to remember four years ago how there were. How different the situation they’re in…

_________________________________________________

FOUR YEARS AGO BACKTRACK

(writer’s note: from this chap onwards, we’ll be know the past four years life of the characters before Dara left)

Dara runs off from her home. She is fed up with her family telling her what to do. She wants freedom. She wants somewhere to breathe in. She walks mindlessly on the night city bored in her rented apartment that she has been living for a week or so.

From her own saved money she managed to rent this old apartment unit. She’s afraid to use her credit cards and checks in to hotels for her family might find her. Good thing she get some bucks in her room before running away.

She stopped by a small bar tent and decided to get some soju to warm her cold night. She enters the tent and occupies the table in the corner. She orders a bottle of soju and bulgogi. She was eating already when a girl slightly drunk enters the tent. She looks at her and shakes her head at her current state.

The girl has a long red hair wearing a black leader jacket over a black and red stripes shirt with black fitted jeans and high heels gladiator shoes. It’s obvious enough that the girl is anything poor. She is mostly wearing branded clothes. Dara watches the girl orders at the ahjumma sweetly. The ahjumma owner seems to know her though. A regular customer, perhaps?

Dara shrugs and goes on with eating and drinking alone. That’s when some drunken men start messing up.

“Hik! off! Hik! You d-dare… hik… call me… stupid! Hik!” the drunken guy points at the other guy in their table.

“Yah! Hik! Y-You are… hik… stupid! You c-cheat with your wife… hik! And let h-her discover it… hik… hahaha! STEWPID!” the other drunken guy counters.

“YAH! HIK! WHAT DID YOU SAY?! HIK!” the drunken guy 1 stands up and shouts startling the other customers.

The second drunken guy stands up and holds up the collar of the first drunken guy. They started to fight and scream at each other.

Dara sighs and just continues on her own little place at the corner not even bothering with what is happening in her surroundings. She wouldn’t budge even as long as they’re not evading her.

“WHAT THE !!!” Dara stops with her jigger protruding in mid-air when she heard a loud curse from the girl earlier. She looks at the table of the girl whereas the drunken guys had stumble into.

The girl stands up obviously pissed off. She pushes the first drunken guy to the floor while she kicks the other guy in the table. The two drunken guys start to cough and turn to the red haired girl angrily. They launch themselves at the red haired girl. Dara watches as the girl fights off with the drunken guys. The other customers and the ahjumma tried to stop them but they didn’t stop.

Dara shrugs again and stay on the corner while thinking about her problem. She didn’t give a damn about the hell is going around her as she drinks silently.

Her family that’s where her problem lies. They suffocate the living out of her. Yes. Many people would rather be in her state because she’s the only heiress of the Park Corporation. But she’s not. She is not happy being that rich if she can’t experience the true meaning of life; of having a complete and happy family. Her parents could give material things to her but they can’t give her what she really wants. They can’t understand that she doesn’t need the money. She needs her parents. The attention and love she can’t have because they’re always busy with their business. She had enough so she rebelled.

She didn’t pursue her college and moves out in their mansion. She left her old life and settles in with a small apartment unit away from those pretentions around her. She doesn’t like how her life runs when she is still in her family’s influence. And all her life, this is the first time she felt really happy and free.

Thus, the socialites’ call her the Park Corporation’s little black sheep.

She is startles when one of the drunken guys lurched on top of the table causing her food and drinks fall onto the floor. Her eyes widens while staring at her hundred buck order item. That’s already her last buck for the week! She grits her teeth and harshly looks at the girl who did that.

Dara stomps her feet furiously to the red-haired woman who clearly a bit tipsy and fighting with the last drunken guy standing.

Damn this woman! She cursed.

“YAH!” she shouts at the girl who is still busy beating up the guy.

The girl turns to her while glaring. She glares back!

“WHAT THE DO YOU WANT?” the red girl screams at her. Her mood flares up making her blood go high.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! CAN’T YOU DO YOUR MESS WITHOUT INTERRUPTING ANYONE! LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WITH MY HUNDRED BACK MEALS?! DO YOU EVEN KNOW THAT IT’S MY LAST BUDGET FOR THIS WEEK?! ! PAY FOR IT, YOU INSUFFERABLE WOMAN!” she shots back.

The red girl stands up angrily. Dara admits that the girl is way too bigger and taller than her but she will never back out. She must pay for her hundred buck meal.