“Ready to go?” Jiyong asked, holding Dara close, his mouth next to her ear.

Dara nodded.

The two left the arcade, their hands linked as they walked. Jiyong felt on top of the world. He’d had a wonderful day with Dara and he couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He’d known for almost two weeks now that his feelings for Dara had changed from curiosity to affection. She was unique, smart, fearless, independent and more. She was also, he discovered, very private with her thoughts and feelings.

She wasn't the type of girl that easily told you what she was thinking. Instead she had a penchant for throwing up ruses, little tests to see who would put up the effort to see past her facade. It was already known she was able to fight and was not a pushover if someone tried to bully her. But at the same time Jiyong knew she wasn’t a trouble-maker. She wouldn't back down from a fight when pushed but she didn't relish being known as someone capable of beating others. Jiyong had seen that in her reaction the day she had fought those girls. She had looked unhappy that whole day. So much so that it had affected even her ability to concentrate in class that day. And when he had discovered her little recluse that she escaped to up on the rooftop he also realized that Dara was a loner in this school of close to a thousand students.

She had glowered and grumbled at his persistence in following her around in those early days, but he also noticed that Dara didn’t once ask him to leave. She picked on him, ignored him, and walked away from him dozens of times but he couldn’t stay away from her. Youngbae continued to ask Jiyong why he was spending so much time on a girl that had no interest in him, but Jiyong didn’t feel it was a waste of his time. Instead he felt like the girl he was looking for was there, in Dara. She was just waiting to see if he was willing to find her or if he would give up.

Now as he walked alongside Dara holding her hand, Jiyong felt like he had succeeded. He had found the real Dara, and she was everything he wanted. Furthermore she was finally allowing him access to see who she really was, and Jiyong couldn’t be happier.  He led her out to the street in search of a place to get dinner.

“Let’s try that one,” Dara said, pointing to a Vietnamese noodle shop. He could tell by the way her eyes lit up that it was someplace she really wanted to eat at. It was one of those hole in the wall dining places but there was a good size crowd there, attesting that the food must be good. It was noisy but had a relaxed atmosphere. Jiyong laughed when he saw how round Dara’s eyes got when the ahjumma laid out their order. She was like a little kid being given a treat as she clapped her hands and thanked the woman and smiled at Jiyong.

“I love trying different foods,” she admitted. “Last summer I traveled to Thailand with my sisters and spent a week there.” She wanted to travel to other places too if the opportunity came up. She shared with him her experiences, what she’d learned, and her favorite foods that she ate. She also showed him some pictures from the trip that she had stored on her phone. The two talked freely and enjoyed their dinner. And Jiyong found himself thinking how grateful he was that she forgot to wear her glasses that day because now he had a clear view of her every expression, every emotion reflected in her brown eyes, and he felt himself falling harder for her.

Afterwards when they left the restaurant and walked on the busy street toward the bus stop, he took her hand once more and stopped in a quieter spot to look at her. He liked that she looked straight back at him, not shy or coy but with just a small smile on her lips.

Jiyong squeezed her hand and lifted it slightly. “So...”

Her smile grew at his hesitation. She raised one eyebrow. “So?”

He grinned, and she thought he looked like a little boy, suddenly shy. “So, I like you,” Jiyong said, and he bit at his lower lip. “I like you a lot actually.”

He looked into her eyes and asked, “I’m kind of hoping you like me too, maybe?”

“Hmm, maybe,” she said.

He laughed shyly at her teasing. “Come on. I’ll see you home.”

At school Dara still wore her crazy hairstyles and geeky glasses. If she met Jiyong after school to hangout, Dara would wear her normal clothes and hair and didn’t bother with the glasses. Word got around that the two were dating. It wasn’t hard to tell because now when the two were together at school Dara didn’t appear to be ignoring Jiyong any longer. They were often seen laughing together or walking next to each other. Jiyong carried her bag for her, and every once in a while they could be seen touching hands or walking with their pinky linked.

Dara introduced Jiyong to her sisters and their boyfriends. When Bom and Byul asked if they were officially a couple, Jiyong looked first at Dara and then back at her sisters and said, “I’m working on it.”

“What does that mean?” Byul asked, and Dara explained with a shrug that she didn’t want to rush things. Jiyong and she were taking things slowly, spending time together and getting to know each other. But it was easy to see that both of them liked each other and it was only a matter of time before they made it official.

Jiyong also introduced Dara to his sister and also to his friends. The first time Youngbae, Daesung, and Seungri saw Dara off campus and without her glasses or strange hairstyle, the three could only stare in amazement. Who would have thought the geeky looking girl was actually a knockout?

In November Dara’s birthday came around. Her sisters were planning a party at the house so Jiyong held a private celebration the night before for just the two of them. He took her to a restaurant and reserved a private room. After their dinner a cake was brought out and Jiyong sang happy birthday to her and he gave her a present -- a couple’s ring. "Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked her. They’d been dating now for almost two months and he had no doubt that he wanted Dara as his girlfriend.

Dara stared at the silver band, a smile on her lips. She looked at Jiyong and answered happily and with certainty. “Yes, I’d like to be your girlfriend.”

All was going well for the two until one day while they were walking to school together and Seungri came running up with exciting news. “Guess who’s here?” he asked Jiyong. He answered his own question before Jiyong could venture a guess. “Chaerin!”

“Chaerin?” It took a few seconds for the news to register but then a big grin broke out on Jiyong’s face. “CL! CL’s here? Where is she?”

Dara looked on, curious as to who CL was. She followed when Jiyong grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her along after him and Seungri.

“Who’s CL?” she asked.

Jiyong explained that Chaerin, or CL, was Youngbae’s cousin and one of his closest friends. They grew up together but she moved away to Paris several years earlier when her father got a job teaching there. “You’ll like her,” he assured Dara.

Seungri led them over to the place where they normally hung out. Dara saw Youngbae and Daesung, and then she spotted a girl with blond hair wearing the school uniform.

“CL!” Jiyong shouted, and the girl turned around. She took one look at Jiyong and gave a scream and came running over, jumping into Jiyong’s arms as he spun her around.

“GD!”

Dara stood back watching the two. It was obvious that the two were close.

“When did you get back?” Jiyong asked, and then stepped back and looked her over, noticing that she was wearing their school uniform. “Are you back for good? And my god, what did you do with your hair?”

“You like it?” the girl asked, and flicked her blond hair back.

“You look great!”

It was Youngbae who noticed Dara standing to the side first. He cleared his throat and signaled to Jiyong that he should introduce Dara to CL.

“Oh, that’s right!” Jiyong took hold of Dara’s hand and pulled her forward. “Dara, I’d like you to meet CL, one of my best friends.” He turned to CL who was looking at Dara curiously, wondering who this girl with the strange hair and geeky glasses was. CL's eyes honed in on how Jiyong held Dara's hand as he brought her forth and introduced her. “CL, this is my girlfriend, Park Sandara.”

Jiyong didn't see but Dara noticed how the girl's smile diminished just slightly when Jiyong mentioned 'girlfriend'. A pained look registered in CL's eyes for the briefest second before she hid it with a bright smile and bowed in Dara's direction.

"It's nice to meet you," Dara said, but her heart felt funny.

It turned out that CL was back to stay. Her father had finished his tenure at the university in Paris and the family had now moved back. Dara sat quietly listening to the excited chatter between Jiyong, CL, Youngbae, Seungri and Daesung as they recalled different incidents in their past and shared laughs over it. Dara listened and smiled at the trouble the five used to get in.

Jiyong looked at CL's schedule and saw that she was in the same homeroom as Dara and him. So when the bell rang the three headed off together. Students stopped to stare at the newcomer, many boys and girls giving her admiring looks. She wasn't thin like Dara but instead was curvy in a very feminine way. She wore her uniform in a manner that looked stylish and y at the same time. She also wore bold make-up and blue colored contacts that made her look exotic. Dara had a feeling a lot of girls would be copying CL's style in the near future.

At break time the three joined up with the others again and they hung out some more. Dara thought CL was nice but she couldn't help but notice that what she saw earlier was true. CL loved Jiyong -- and he was completely oblivious of it. The five of them together, CL, Jiyong, Youngbae, Seungri, and Daesung were like a private club reunited and Dara, though welcomed by them, felt a little like an outsider. At lunch Jiyong wanted her and him to join CL and his friends at the cafeteria. Dara made an excuse, saying that she had to meet Bom but that she would meet up with them later.

"I'll go with you then," Jiyong said. "We can go to the cafeteria after."

"It's okay," she told him. "Go first. Buy me a cup of noodles and I'll join you there."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking uncertain if he should let her go on her own.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go!" she said, smiling at him.

"Okay, hurry back," he said, squeezing her hand before turning and hurrying down the hall to the cafeteria where his friends waited.

Dara walked to the bathroom and wet a paper towel and pressed it to her cheeks which felt hot. Was she getting sick, she wondered? Her stomach felt achy and her chest hurt. She left the bathroom and went in search of her sister. She found Bom and Seunghyun where they usually hung out. Bom took one look at her and frowned as she put her hand up on Dara's shoulder. "Tokki, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I think I'm coming down with something," Dara said. "Do you have a DBB for me?"

Of the three sisters Bom was the one into health and she always carried all sorts of vitamins and herbs in her bag. DBB or deer bellybutton was one that she took regularly, especially when she was feeling stressed. "Yes, of course," she said, looking worried as she grabbed her bag and searched it for the little round chewable tablet. Dara almost never got sick and she never asked her for medicine. "Here it is," she said, removing the tablet from it's foil covering. "Open up," she instructed, and Dara obediently opened while Bom popped the tablet in. She got a bottle of water from her bag and had Dara drink from it. Afterwards she smoothed her hand over Dara's hair.

"Do you want to go  home? Should I get you excused from your afternoon classes?"

Dara shook her head, taking a deep breath. "No, I'll be fine."

"Where's Jiyong?" Bom asked, noticing finally that he wasn't there with Dara.

"He's waiting for me over at the cafeteria. I asked him to buy me something to eat. I'll go there now."

"You sure?" Bom asked, looking uncertain. Both Bom and Byul were protective of their little sister, but Bom moreso than Byul. It didn't matter that both older sisters knew Dara could take care of herself, they still both looked out for her and worried over her. "Call me if you change your mind or if you feel worse, okay?"

Dara promised she would and then turned and made her way to the cafeteria where Jiyong, his friends, and CL was waiting.

**