I moved out from the old man’s place and decided to stay in the hotel. I didn’t attend to the old man’s funeral, either. Actually I let Kwon Jiyong take care of everything. I’m wasted. I was drinking when I heard the buzzer. I ignored it at first but the persistent buzzing made my head ache. I scowled and jumped out of the stool, bringing the glass of champagne with me.

 

“I’m not here!” I called through the door.

 

“Open the door,” Jiyong’s familiar voice called back. I inclined my head to the side, thinking if I should open it or not. With a shrug, I decided to open it.

 

“Hey!” I giggled. “Have you finally changed your mind about needing my service?”

 

“I’m not in the mood for jokes,” he growled.

 

“I’m not joking” I said. “What are you doing here anyways?”

 

“Your grandfather-“

 

“Ugh!” I groaned and walked away.

 

“Your grandfather asked me to look after you before the. . . incident”

 

“I’m a big girl,” I said.”I can take care of myself. Want to drink with me?”

 

He sighed. “I could use a glass or two.”

 

“Help yourself then.”

 

He took a seat beside me. Silence enveloped us. I can feel his eyes on me but I ignored it.

 

“I’m sorry for what happened to your grandfather,” he broke the silence.

 

I snorted.”Don’t be. I’m quite used to people leaving me. It’s not really a big deal. I’m used to being alone.”

 

Another expected silence passed between us.

 

“You’re staring” I said.

 

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just that I forgot how charming and pretty you are. It’s probably because you’ve been covering your real beauty with thick make up. And you’re wearing the Minnie Mouse pajama I bought from Hongkong long time ago. If you ask me that suits you better than the clothes you’ve been wearing lately.”

 

I shrugged. “Bom’s bestfriend and the Sandara Park you knew don’t exist anymore. And if you came here just to talk about the past, could you just leave? I don’t want to dwell in the past and drown myself with sad memories.”

 

“What happened to you?” he quietly asked.

 

I laughed again. Tipsy. “You’re asking me what happened to me? Like seriously? Gosh! I can’t believe you could be so damn stupid and dumb”

 

He just looked at me. I looked at him and laughed louder. He took the glass of champagne out of my hand. “I think you had enough of this,” he said and put the glass on the counter. He put his arms on my shoulder and pulled me out of the stool. I wasn’t stable anymore so I staggered towards him. I laughed and kissed him on the lips. I roamed my hands on his body but he stopped them and pulled me up straight.

 

“Stop this!” he hissed.

 

“Do you really want to know what happened to me?” I playfully asked. “I fell in love with my bestfriend’s fiancé, that’s what happened. You asked me before why you, of all people? It wasn’t really my fault, was it? You approached me first, you befriended me, you acted all sweet and kind, you always treat me for lunch. I fell in love first before you started pursuing Bom. It’s not really betrayal, right?”

 

“Sandara. . .”

 

I took an unsteady breath. “I regret it. It’s the biggest mistake of my life – falling in love with you, that is.” I continued. “I’m sorry I fell in love with you. I’m sorry I loved you before.”

 

“Sandara, you’re drunk”

 

I cheerfully smiled. “But don’t worry, I’m over it now. I’m over you. I’ve moved on”

 

His grip on my arm tightened then loosened then tightened then loosened again. Finally, he let me go. I took a step back unsteadily. “Actually, you and Minho are quite the same,” I said. “Both of you used me. But at least, he was straightforward about it unlike you. What you did was much worst than what Minho did to me. What he did was just superficial. What you did went deeper, way deeper than that.”

 

What have gotten into me? I shouldn’t have burst out like that.

 

“I hope you don’t mind but I really want to take a sleep,” I said then turned around. I went to the bed and curled myself in a ball. When I heard the sound of a door closing, I started crying.

 

~o~

 

“Where are you going?”

 

My hand stayed on the knob as I saw Jiyong in front of my door. “Somewhere fun,” I carelessly answered and attempted to evade him but I failed. “I’m going to a club, okay? So get out of my way.”

 

“We need to talk.”

 

“Not in the mood,” I scowled, glaring. But he glared back at me. “Uh! What now?”

 

“Let’s talk inside,” he said, emphasizing each word. I stepped back to let him in.

 

“Okay, I’m all ears.”

 

“You have to stop this you have responsibilities and obligations to the company.”

 

“You seemed to handle everything well enough. As long as money’s always coming in, I don’t have any complaints.”

 

“ it, Sandara!” he suddenly exploded. “Stop acting like this!”

 

I inclined my head to the side. “Why? Can’t you take my y attitude?” I softly asked. I slowly walked up to him, bringing my hands on his shoulder. I smiled innocently then reached for his lips.

 

“Stop!” he hissed and pushed me away. “What do you think are you doing?”

 

I didn’t answer; I just smiled again. I reached for his lips for the second time and ran my tongue along his lower lip. I nibbled his lip a little and pulled him closer. He inhaled then pushed me away again. I know he was about to say something but I beat him to it.

 

“Kiss me” I whispered brokenly. “Please”

 

We stared at each other. I waited for him to say something or push me away but he didn’t do any of those. Instead, I felt some hesitancy from him. Slowly, his head started to descend, making my heart flutter. Eventually, his lips touched mine. He brushed his lips on mine once – softly and gently. He pulled back and looked at me. We looked at each other testily. And then, we attacked each other’s lips at the same time – hungrily and thirstily.

 

“Hmmph”

 

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer by the waist. We enjoyed a minute of fierce lip locking before I felt him pulled my dress down in one go. I kicked my boots off, making me tiptoe to better reach his lips. I started loosening his tie. When I was done, I went to his shirt. We started moving, still locked in each other’s arms. I took his shirt off and started unbuckling his belt while he unhooked my bra.

 

By the time we were near the bed, we were both already. We stumbled in the bed in a tangle of limbs.

 

Sometime later, I removed his arm off my waist. I pulled myself up and looked down at him. A gentle smile curved my lips as I traced his features with my forefinger. After a while, I sighed. I quickly gathered the pieces of my clothing and put them on. I picked up my purse and walked out of the room. I put my dark glasses on as I took the elevator.

 

Once outside, I called for a taxi. “To the airport,” I told the driver.

 

~o~

 

After six months

 

I started pole dancing which earned me a lot of claps and gleeful whistles from my fellow clubbers. I hitched my skirt up but a set of arms snatched me away from the platform. I laughed, thinking that it’s one of the guys eyeing me a while ago. He carried me out of the club and pushed me inside a car. I snorted and turned to the driver seat. I suddenly felt indifferent as I recognized the person. In just a snap, I became sober.

 

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

 

“Did you really expect that I’ll just sit around after what happened? One moment, you were asking me to kiss you and then the next, you just disappeared without a word! Not even a note!”

 

“And did you really expect me to stay beside you? Wait for you to wake up and be all sweet?” I countered. “Well, you’re out of your mind. People do casual everyday. It meant nothing to me.”

 

“Will you stop that? This isn’t you!”

 

“You’re wrong!” I yelled. “This is the real me, Jiyong!”

 

He suddenly pulled stop in a dark place. “No,” he gritted. “Do you really want to know who you really are? This,” he said, cupping my face, “is the real you!”

 

He kissed me so gently and lovingly that it melted the ice walls I’ve built around me. The kiss broke through the happy memories I made and brought the sad ones up to the surface. Remembering everything made me push him away and stepped off the car. I started running as tears went rolling down my cheeks. I ran as fast as I could until I finally reached the main road.

 

“Sandara!”

 

I panicked upon hearing Jiyong’s voice being near. With the desperate need to get away from him, I crossed the road blindingly. There was a sudden flash of light and I felt two hands pushed me away. I rolled over the rough road. I looked up.

 

My world suddenly stopped.

 

~o~

 

I looked at the letter found in Jiyong’s pocket. With trembling hands, I instantly recognized Bom’s penmanship. She must have written this while she was still alive. It was addressed to Jiyong. With tears in my eyes, I started reading it.

 

Jiyong,

 

I want to thank you for all the love you showed me, for taking care of me. I may not often say this but I’m really the luckiest girl for having you as a boyfriend. I love you so much.

 

But I got a confession to make. I don’t want to die with a burden in my heart. So here it goes. I didn’t like you at first. When I noticed how my bestfriend looks at you, I realized she was in love with you. My bestfriend has always been . . . a coward. So I thought that by making you as my boyfriend, she’d finally learn how to stand up and fight. Obviously, that didn’t happen. And then, I fell in love with you along the way. It was really hard NOT to fall for you.

 

And then, I got sick, really sick. I got scared of course but my fear only heightened when I noticed something. I noticed how you never fail to buy her something when we’re out of town or out of the country or when you have trips here and there. The funny thing was, you’re not that consistent in buying me something during your solo trips. Also, I noticed how your face lits up everytime Sandara’s name is mentioned or when we talk about her or you talk about her.

 

You’re in love with her, Jiyong. She’s in love with you. Both of you are in love with each other. I didn’t tell you this at once because I was scared I’ll lose you. I was scared. I’m sorry if I got selfish.

 

Please take care of her.

 

Bom

 

“Oh my God!” I cried. Why? Why do I have to learn about this NOW? Why didn’t she tell me earlier? She was supposed to be my bestfriend!

 

Why just NOW?!?

 

 

 

 

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*a/n: err, i think i went a bit overboard when i said this'll just be a 5-part fanfic.. i think it's more of a 4-part fanfic.. haha.. CHAPTER 5 is actually a short epilogue (just like Entangled Web's epi)

And oh, just want to thank everyone who keeps on supporting me and leaving lovely messages! i love you all! mwa!

xoxo
hagocimit