Chapter 6:

''And you're sure it wasn't her who called them?'' Taeyang asked sceptically, watching Jiyong and his manager.

They were in the manager's office discussing the matter of him being found out.

''Yes, I'm sure. She didn't know I would come on Friday and she was even more shocked than I. Someone else from that place must have called them. It wasn't like I was hiding that much. I got carried away and walked around without my glasses.'' Jiyong explained, annoyed at this whole situation.

''It doesn't really matter who called them. Fact is, they know you're here in Seoul again and that means your privacy is gone. What do you want to do?'' asked the manager, his assistant answering the calls of many reporters.

Jiyong shrugged.

''They don't know where I live and I can still stay hidden if I keep my clothes a little thicker. It's not like they would know where I'll be going every second of the day.''

''True. The only thing they know is that you're here – which of course doesn't mean you will stay here. Officially, you could travel again. That would keep them away for a while.'' Taeyang commented and they all nodded. They were silent for some time, only the assistant talking into the phone.

''What about the girl?'' his manager asked.

Jiyong looked at him.

''What about her?''

''Look.'' His manager started tiredly.

''You know how this goes. I honestly don't care who you're hanging out with or what relations you have, but if you don't clear this up, the press might find out she's somehow involved with you and then she's going to pay for it. The majority of your friends are either people who were with you since the very beginning or people who are celebrities themselves. An outsider like her isn't aware of how life as a well-known person is like. If the two of you keep in touch, it will make her known. She won't be able to avoid it.''

Jiyong did not say anything for some time.

''Think this through, Jiyong. It's not just about you.''

Jiyong nodded.

The next day, Jiyong spent alone.

Yesterday had been a horrible day for him. As he sat in his bright flat, staring through his huge windows, his cat on his lap, the incident yesterday went through his head. The one who called the press had been exposed and appeared on TV for those few minutes, ecstatic to have found the GDragon in a library.

In the library Jiyong had felt happy.

And now he could not go back without being exposed – the mass of reporters that was surrounding the building did not give him a chance.

He thought about Dara. He still saw her shocked expression, and the fear reaching her eyes. She was standing behind the counter, helplessly staring at the uproar around her. She had no idea how to react and once her eyes caught his, he had wished he could take her hand and run away. He still wished he had done that – but what he did was the sensible thing.

The smart thing.

He respected her too much to pull her into the dirty side of his world. No privacy, no hiding, many lies. He could not do that to her. So he turned away from her frightened expression, played it cool explaining his presence in the library as coincidence, and walked away.

He knew he did the right thing. He saved her name and her career. He saved her in a way.

Still…

It felt like someone punched him in the stomach and repeatedly slapped him across the face. It had only been a day, but he already missed her. He wanted to see her and talk to her. He wanted to ask her out on that date, and then invite her for another one until she decided to stay.

With him.

That would not happen now.

He had to let this go. It was not even much. They had only had moments of smiles, slight touches, and conversations. Nothing else, nothing much. This should be easy.

But it was not.

It was far from easy to let go of her.

Jiyong drowned himself in these thoughts, unable to forget

On Saturday morning, Dara and Dadoong went to the park. This time not just to run, but to spend the whole day here.

Dara prepared them some food, found herself a nice summer dress and comfortable shoes, and went out. They played around in the park; she was throwing a ball, and Dadoong was running after it, catching it. They walked around, and Dara let him run around the grass. Then she gave him some food, sat down on a bench and ate her own. Dadoong fell asleep after that and Dara pulled out a book from her bag, made herself comfortable on the bench, and read.<

The wind was gently caressing her face and Dara felt calm, even though she was still a little sad. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm, and she enjoyed it. She breathed in and closed her eyes for a moment, her head lolling to the side.

She felt strange. It was not like she was madly in love with Kwon Jiyong; she had admired him since forever, but she was not that crazy over him. Yet, since they started talking, she felt they got closer. He gave her the feeling that he liked spending some time with her, that he liked talking to her. She knew they would not be able to stay in touch for a long time, especially not when his vacation was over, but still…

It was nice.

She had hoped it stayed that way for a long time. Yet it was over now. She would most probably never see him again. At least not in person. And for a long time, they