Inspired by Little Do You Know – Alex & Sierra

Requested by yssassyla

Dara always daydreamed about having the perfect romance ending with a grand wedding and that she did get. But Dara was so caught up in her fantasy that she didn't clearly see the person she was going to marry. In her defense, Dara's parents handpicked her own lifetime partner. However she did not put up a fight, never did it hit her mind to fight for a marriage with a person she truly loves. As a matter of a fact, she was more in love with her fantasies than her husband, Jung Il Woo. Dara thought that if she acted as the role model wife then everything would be okay. As years passed, Dara became exhausted from doing such a routine. She felt empty having barely any contact with Il Woo. He took care of her the way a man should should take care of his wife but the intimacy was lacking.

“Welcome home, sweetie,” she opened the door for her husband

“Thank you,” he responded and gave her a kiss on the top of her head

The two headed straight to the dining room for dinner.

“How was your day?” she asked as she pulled out the chair for him

“It was okay. Same old, same old,” he answered, “What's for dinner?”

Dara excitedly looked at her prepared menu.

“I tried something new today. It's beef broccoli with mashed potatoes on the side,” she told him as she put the plates on the table

“Not Korean food?”

“We always have Korean food. Let's try this. Doesn't it look delicious?”

“I guess.”

Dara twitched a little at his unenthusiastic response.

“Let's eat.”

Just like that, dinner passed for the married couple.

Dara waited for Il Woo to lie beside her before going to sleep. It always took him exactly ten minutes to get ready for sleep. He was always precise with time. Due to this, Dara caught the same trait. At exactly 9:30PM, Il Woo was next to her on the bed.

“Night, dear,” he kissed her on the cheek before facing the opposite direction

“Um, do you want to talk?” asked Dara

“No, I'm tired,” he mumbled

“Oh, okay.”

Has it always been like this? Dara tried to recall how they were after being newly wed yet no specific memories came to mind. Up til now, what have we been doing? This isn't what I wanted.

All these years had gone by with Dara living a routine. She sincerely thought it was the best choice but not anymore.

“Shin, I'll be out for a walk around the neighborhood,” she informed their maid

The maid was shocked by this. Dara would stay home regularly unless they had to go grocery shopping or attend a special event. Shin always accompanied her too since Il Woo was always too occupied with their business.

“I'll come with you, miss,”

“It's okay. I want to go alone. You can stay here and watch over the house.”

Dara made her way outside, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

“I should do this more often,” she told herself

“Good morning,” a stranger greeted her

He was jogging but kept his pace matched with her walking.

“Good morning,” she replied

“I've never seen you before,” he said

“I've been living here for two years now,”

“Ah, I've only been here for one week. I live over there,” he pointed at the blue house across from theirs, “Where do you live?”

“Few houses down this street. Across from you. So, you're the new neighbor. That's a big house for one person,”

“How'd you know I live alone?”

“Our maid likes to gossip,”

“How come you don't go out often?”

“Oh, um, I just don't.”

Dara was starting to feel uncomfortable with his questions.

“Are you not going to continue your jogging?” she asked

“I am jogging still,”

“But at my pace,”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“Kind of,”

“I'm Kiyong by the way, and you are?”

Kiyong was now in front of her, jogging backwards, with his right hand out for a handshake.

“I'm Dara,” she hesitantly shook it

“Oh, you're married,” he noticed her wedding ring before going back to her side

“Yeah,”

“You seem too young to be married,”

“I'm 35,”

“What? Stop lying,”

“I'm not,”

“I thought we were the same age. Actually, I thought I was older,”

“Are you going to keep talking to me in this manner?”

“I talk to everyone like this,”

“Okay,”

“I'll leave you be for now, Ms. Dara. Or rather Madam Dara since I don't know your surname and you are married. However, I would like to invite you to go jogging with me every morning. Looks like you've never ran your whole life. I look forward to seeing you again. Bye!”

He dashed away from her.

“Is that man insane? We just met. Why would I jog with him? He asks too many questions. Was he insulting me? Why am I so hung up about this? I'm talking out loud.”

The following day, Dara went out again the same time she went the day before. Even though she was shocked by Kiyong's behavior, her interest was perked. Kiyong saw Dara from a distance, looking around for him, and a smile formed on his face.

“She's married, you fool,” he told himself, “But what's the harm in making a friend? Looks like she needs one.”

Kiyong was an honest man. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to Dara but he also knew how wrong it is to take another man's woman away. He shook his head from having such thoughts and ran to Dara.

“Good morning, sunshine!” he greeted her enthusiastically, “I wasn't sure you'd come out but you did,”

“Well, I do need jogging. And I have nothing else to do,”

“Your life sounds like a bore, Madam,”

“And hey, you already jogged without me,” she changed the topic

Dara couldn't deny it.

“Well, that's just sad. You're not arguing with me about it,” he looked at her concerned

“Let's just jog,” she said

Instead of bombarding Dara with questions, Kiyong dropped the topic. He would wait for her to open up about it willingly.

“Let's go!”

How is he full of so much energy? Of so much life? Dara was thinking. Dara hoped Kiyong's energy would rub off of her because she was suffocating.

Thrice a week of jogging in the morning turned to every day turned to brunch dates. Without realizing it, Dara was spending more time with her neighbor than her busybody husband.

“I still haven't met the lucky man that married you,” Kiyong blurted out one day during brunch, “How come you don't have kids yet? Ah, wait don't answer that. He's too busy, I got it,”

“Ah, Il Woo,” she said his name as if he was a regret in her life

“What's wrong?”

“Il Woo is a nice guy. We were actually friends before getting married, but it was arranged. We didn't date, you know?”

“Why'd you do that?”

“Huh?”

“Why'd you let that happen? Just marry without dating,”

“You wouldn't understand,” she sighed, “And we were friends already so yeah,”

Well, more like acquaintances when I think about it. Il Woo hardly ever spoke, he still doesn't.

“Try me,”

“We both come from families of businesses,”

“So this marriage is business,”

“When you say it like that, it makes me feel worse,”

“Why'd you agree to it?”

“I... To be honest with you, I was a brat like every other rich kid there is in those Asian dramas,”

“So you're telling me that you didn't think of the consequences,”

“I was blinded by money and fantasies that were so shallow,”

“I'm sorry,”

“It's my fault. For not going out there in the world and trying to learn about it. I just did whatever my parents told me. I never tried to educate myself. I believed that I just had to marry someone with the same status as me and I would live fine, just like my mother,”

“You really don't have to say all this,”

“I want to. I'm realizing all these things and I have no one to talk to about it except with you. You, Jang Kiyong, you are my only true friend.”

Kiyong felt his heart ache for her. How lonely must her life been this whole time?

“You have me now,” he held her hand.

Dara felt her heart skip a beat. She almost rejoiced until her eyes landed on her wedding ring. She was a married woman. She wasn't suppose to be feeling this way about another man. She wasn't suppose to be having thoughts of running away from her life with this man.

“I, I have to go now. Thanks for the brunch. I'll pay next time,” she hurriedly left.

Unexpectedly, Il Woo's schedule for the day was canceled. He rejoiced thinking he could go home early to his wife to spend more time with her. Upon his return at their house, Dara was still out with Kiyong for brunch.

“Where did you say she was?” he asked Shin for the second time

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“She is out with Mr. Jang for brunch,”

“Mr. Jang?”

“The man that lives across the street, sir. Jang Kiyong is his full name,”

“Why would Dara be having brunch with him?”

“They've become close recently, sir. They jog together in the morning and then have brunch.”

Il Woo might be a plain, business man but he was no fool. Dara has been the love of his life since they were kids. He knew even from then that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But he also knew that his wife has never loved him the way he wanted to. He knew she married him for her family's sake. He knew she agreed so easily thinking it was for the best and because in her eyes, he was a good man. He told her he loved her and she responded with the same three words, “I love you.” Deep down, Il Woo knew that Dara's love for him was only as a friend, but he wanted to try. He wanted to try for her.

Il Woo drove to the nearest plaza where there were cafes and restaurants in hope of sighting Dara. He wasn't sure what he would do when he sees her with another man. He wasn't thinking with his brain as of the moment.

“There she is,” he spotted her

He felt a crack in his heart as he watched them talk to each other. They were enjoying each others company. He's never seen Dara's face light up that way before. His grip on the driving wheel tightened the longer he watched them. When he finally came to his senses, he saw Kiyong was holding Dara's hand. He became furious, but he noticed the sudden change of facial expression in Dara's face. She looked torn. With a matter of seconds, Dara was out the door.

“What happened?” he wondered.

Dara felt ashamed of herself, even disgusted. She continued to walk, aimlessly.

“I can't do this to Il Woo. Even if Kiyong has made me realize so much. Even if Kiyong has taught me how to live. Il Woo, my husband, my precious husband. He doesn't deserve this. He sincerely loves me. I knew that from the start which is why I never worried about the marriage not working. It's all me. I'm the problem.”

Tears began to roll down Dara's cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting to cause a scene.

“Why is my beautiful wife roaming around the streets?” Il Woo was in front of her

Dara stopped on her tracks, startled by her husband's sudden appearance.

“Il Woo?” she blinked rapidly, “Is it really you?”

“Yes, sweetie,” he inched closer to her, caressing her hair. 

“How?”

“I'm given a day off. I was on the way home and saw you walking,” he lied, “Let's go home.”

He gave her a kiss on top of her head when she said nothing. She just nodded as a reply. She was too ashamed of herself, for thinking for even a second that she should drop her routine life for a man she barely met. Il Woo knew the moment he saw tears run down his wife's cheeks. His wife had fallen for another man but she chose to stay with him. She chose to do the right thing and he didn't know if he should be thankful or furious.

Dara decided she was going to try her very best to love Il Woo sincerely, erasing any marks of Kiyong put in her, and Il Woo was going to accept it all without any guilt. He would have to keep it secret from Dara that he knew, he knew her struggles. While Kiyong would have to live with the fact that Dara was not fated for him. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE. 

I didn't follow the lyrics word for word because I can't imagine any of the three doing something so horrible and I couldn't force myself to write them that way xD