6/5/2015 -- last one tonight because I really got to sleep now...

That's How we Roll

That was the beginning of Dara’s association with Jiyong. It wasn’t romantic in any way. There were no long stares of burning desire. Although, Jiyong did tend to stare at her pretty intensely.

No whispered ‘I love yous’.  Thank god. Because Dara was sure if Jiyong said anything close to that she would have seriously took off running.

No longing looks at each other’s lips. Although, again, on Jiyong’s part his eyes did seem to shift to a lot. But Dara wouldn’t have known that as she was too busy staring at the curtains, her father’s empty chair, her coffee cup, the antique clock that showed only a minute had passed since she last looked at it. She looked anywhere but at Jiyong it seemed.

However there was a lot of biting of her lower lip, tapping of her fingers on the table, nervous shifting in her seat, and the blowing out of a long slow breath of air by Dara. It made Jiyong smile.

He liked her. Loved her even. When he first saw her she was full of hellfire and rebellion. Sanjin had hated her dark look and that blond and pink hair of hers. But he’d taken one look and felt his body respond to her. It hadn’t taken him long to see that behind all her mutinous looks and vicious words was a young girl that was hurting, and his heart had ached for her. He wanted to comfort her, tell her that she was wrong about her father’s feelings for her, but she wouldn’t let him anywhere near her. And then on that day when the maid had informed him of the call by the police station saying Sandara had been in an accident, fear had nearly drove him crazy. His father had died the same way. When he thought of Sandara lying broken and lifeless it had torn at him. He ripped into her that day, so angry that she would risk her life so carelessly. But what he hadn’t told her and that he regretted afterwards was how much it would have killed him if he had gotten there and found she had died.

The maid came back and placed a plate of food before him along with a bowl of rice. For Dara she brought a slice of shortcake with fresh strawberries and cream.

“Thank you for this. I’m starved, and I miss Mrs. Ko’s cooking” Jiyong said, picking up his chopsticks.

Dara relaxed a little. She ate her cake silently as Jiyong ate as well.

“I heard from your father you’re going to the Choi’s tomorrow.”

Dara nodded. A smile formed on her lips at the anticipation of seeing them again.

“When will you be back?” he asked. He knew her father was accompanying her and that he would return back tomorrow. Teddy would be driving them.

“Now that I’m unemployed, at least until I start working at the office, I’m thinking of spending a few days there. There’s really no rush for me to come back right away. I do have to clean out my apartment though by the end of the month. I’m thinking too that I want to decorate this place up for Christmas.”  She was going to make her father go with her to buy a large tree and help her to decorate it. That was something she’d wanted to do for years.

“Did you know that the company is planning a Christmas charity ball this year?” he asked. “It was your father’s idea. The proceeds will go to help several orphanages and children hospitals.”

“I didn’t know that. It sounds like something I’d like to get involved with though,” she said, liking the idea of a charity ball.

“You should look into it. I think it would be a great experience.”

Dara had finished her shortcake and she sat and watched Jiyong eat. Her heart went out to him as she saw he’d eaten everything on his plate. “Do you want some more?” she asked, and he smiled and shook his head.

“No, this is enough. It was wonderful,” he said, and looked at her again. “Especially the company.”

Dara blushed as she glared at him. “Stop doing that. You’re making me uncomfortable.”

This time he laughed, and Dara felt her heart lurch. It was the first time she ever heard him laugh and she thought it was an attractive sound.  “I’m sorry,” Jiyong said, looking anything but sorry. He looked then at her father’s still empty chair.

“I don’t think your father’s coming back.”

“Either that or he went to use the toilet in China,” she muttered, causing Jiyong to stifle another laugh.

He stood and carried his plate and dara’s empty dessert saucer back to the kitchen.

“Leave that,” Dara said, but he was already walking toward the kitchen.

“It’s fine. Plus I want to say hi to Mrs. Ko.”

The moment he disappeared into the kitchen Dara blew out a sigh of relief and pressed her palms to her cheeks, abhorred to find they were warm to the touch.  Quickly she stood and went looking for her father in his study. He wasn’t there so she came back out and went to the living room. There she found him sitting comfortably in his armchair and watching the evening news.

“Appa, is that any way for you to treat guests is to disappear in the middle of dinner?”

“Jiyong’s used to it. Remember he used to live here,” Sanjin said.

“I was referring to me,” Dara pouted.

“Oh.” Her father held his hand out to her and Dara went over. She took hold of his hand while she perched on the arm. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“Sure you are,” she said, and her father chuckled. Jiyong came walking in and he thanked them again for dinner and said he was going to leave.

“Jiyong-ah, can you drop Dara off at home please?” Sanjin asked.

“Huh? Why?” Dara asked. She had come with JT and  Sungmin, her two bodyguards.

“I sent them to go help Teddy prepare things for our trip tomorrow. Jiyong can you drop her off?”

Dara opened to protest but Jiyong was already at her side and steering her toward the door. “I’ll be glad to, Uncle.”

“Wait a minute. If JT and Sungmin are here, who will be my security over there?” she asked, folding her arms. Not that she thought she needed security, but her father had made such a fuss about it before.

Sanjin and Jiyong exchanged looks.

“Got it,” Jiyong said, and steered a protesting Dara right out of the room and straight to his car.

**