Dara's POV:

*ziiiiiiip* I stare down at my last piece of luggage. All of my other clothes and necessities have already been shipped over. This is it, today is finally the day. I pull out my plane ticket, I wonder if the boys told him…I shook my head, Nah, that’s impossible. I check my phone again, He never replied…Is this really it for us Jiyong? A sharp, aching pain ran through my chest as I stared at my phone hoping that his name will appear.

 

“Noona,” Sanghyun called, “We better get going, you’re flight is in two hours and it’ll take a little while to get to the airport. Are you ready?” He stared at me from the doorway.

 

“Yes,” I flashed a smile, “I just finished. Can you grab those two bags?” I pointed at the two larger pieces of luggage that were sitting by the door.

 

“Sure,” He easily picked them up, “I’ll wait in the car with mom and dad. Make sure to come down soon.”

 

“Neh,” I smiled, “I’ll be right there, I just need to double check everything.” I check each drawer and closet again to make sure I didn’t forget anything. It’s so empty. I step through the front door and look back, Goodbye, I won’t see you again for at least another two years. Luckily, I wouldn’t be losing the apartment in the time I'm out of the country. Sanghyun would be staying here once he starts university in the fall since it was only a few blocks away from the campus. I step into the car with the rest of my belongings and glance over at my brother, how times flies. My baby brother is going to start university in a couple of months. He’s even going to the same university as me. Who knew this is how things would turn out? The scenery raced past us as we drove to the airport.

 

“Are you excited tokki?” Dad asked, breaking the silence.

 

“Yeah,” I reply still gazing out my window.

 

“Are you sure you got everything?” Mom asked.

 

“Yes, I tripled checked the apartment. Plus, even if I forgot something, Sanghyun will find it and can just send it to me,” I turn towards her seat, “Don’t worry mom.”

 

“You can't stop me from worrying,” she pouted, “You’re going to a foreign place for two whole years! Remember to come home as often as you can.”

 

I chuckle, “I’ll try. I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have once I start working or if I’ll have the time to come back.”

 

“Any regrets?” Sanghyun startled me by asking.

 

“Regrets?” I bit my lip, “I already said goodbye to everyone, took care of my apartment, and this job is too great of an opportunity to miss,” I smile, “No regrets.” Liar, I felt a tug on my heart, you’ll always regret not telling HIM. Not telling him that you are leaving…not telling him to break up with that girl…not telling him that you love him... Quickly I turned away from him and faced the window as my smile faltered.

 

“Ah, we’re here,” Dad said as he parked the car at the drop off area. Unloading all of my luggage, I hug all of them and say good bye, telling them that I’ll skype home often, I promise not to eat too much ramen, and that I love them.

 

After checking in my bags, I head toward security when I hear someone yelling.

 

“YA! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING SANDARA PARK!”

 

Is it??? I turned around just as someone tackled me in a hug. “How dare you leave without telling us!” The girl pulled away and pouted, “We all wanted to meet you at the airport and send you off.”

 

I looked around and saw 6 people, “I didn’t think you guys would be able to make it,” I smile widely, “I thought you would have work, thank you so much for coming. You guys are seriously so amazing, I’m going to miss you all so much,” I started crying as I hugged each one of them.

 

“That’s strange,” Seungri looked around, “I’m pretty sure I sent him a text,” he muttered.

 

“What’s wrong?” I pouted as I place my hand on his shoulder.

 

“Ah,” he shook his head, “I was just wondering where Jiyong is.” My heart pounded in my ears, I had noticed that only 4 of the guys were here, but I didn’t want to acknowledge that he really didn’t come, “Maybe he’s stuck in traffic,” he frowned, “There’s no way he would miss this.”

 

“Ah,” I force a smile, “It’s okay. Thank you so much for coming,” I hug him, “I’m going to miss you panda,” I teased.

 

“Ya,” he pulled away from me, “I thought you said you’d stop calling me that after college."

 

“Habits are hard to break,” I stuck out my tongue at him, “Plus, compared to college, you have way darker circles now.”

 

I started to walk over to Daesung when I saw him pull out his phone. Ah, he’s calling someone. I’ll just go thank Seunghyun first then. I start to turn towards Seunghyun’s direction when I heard Daesung yelling. Who is he talking to? Daesungie never yells, I pouted as I stayed where I was trying to hear what he was yelling.

 

“YA! KWON JIYONG WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU??? DARA’S LEAVING IN HALF AN HOUR!” He yelled.

 

Oh no. I fully turn towards Daesung with wide eyes. Oh no!

---

Jiyong’s POV:

*Ring ring ring*

 

“Hello?” I answer my phone, “Yes, this is Jiyong Kwon speaking,” I reply in fluent English. My eyebrows knit as I heard the person on the other side rapidly speaking. “I understand,” I say as they finished telling me the entire story, “I deeply apologize for the mistake. My team is solely responsible for this mistake, please do not take it out on our company.” I hear the other side respond, “Yes, thankfully this issue was caught before things could get worse. I will personally fix all of the mistakes and send you the correct version by the end of the day.” I glance up at my clock, it read 3:25 pm. “It’s no problem at all, it is our mistake and it is best to handle this as quickly as possible. I will handle the matter personally.” I start to open all of the relevant files, “I understand. Thank you, I will email the corrected version as soon as possible. Thank you. Good bye,” I hung up.

 

Aish, I rubbed my temples in frustration. The entire budget was miscalculated and with the current calculations it goes over the initial budget by 20%. I start scrolling through the multiple excel sheets used to compile the budget trying to locate all sources of error. Luckily we had an outside source double check this. I can’t lose this account. My mind flashes to the week before.

---

[Flashback]

One Week Ago.

 

“What is this bullsh*t?” My boss slammed down a stack of papers onto his desk.

 

I looked at the cover page, “It’s…It’s my team’s latest project account,” I whispered.

 

“Why yes it is,” he flared his nose, “And you know what’s wrong with this report?”

 

I look up at him, panic clearly written in my eyes, and quickly look away before shaking my head, “No, sir.”

 

He flipped to a page, “This!” He pointed at a paragraph.

 

I looked at the paragraph he was pointing at and slightly gasped. How did that happen? What is this? I stared at the paragraph, who was in charge of the section? I looked at the main subject line and clench my teeth, Kim Sunggyu! “I’m so sorry for this mistake,” I bowed deeply.

 

“Do you know what this could have done if it had gotten into our client’s hands if we hadn’t caught it? We could have lost the entire account! You are the project manager for a reason, you can’t be slacking off. How could you let such an inappropriate and might I mention racy paragraph be in the report? None of this which pertains to the actual project. This isn't the first time this has happened Jiyong,” I wince at the reminders of other very minor mistakes from previous projects. “I’m sorry to say this, but,” He looked me right in the eye, my heart was pounding, No…please, not my job, PLEASE. “We will have to start looking into whether you are really qualified to hold this position.”

 

I hung my head low, “I understand, sir,” the words automatically came out of my mouth.

 

“You must nail the Park account,” he continued, “If you make any mistakes or report anything below standards, you will be fired immediately.”

 

I clench my fist, “Yes, sir,” I bowed, “I will take my leave now, sir,” and exited his office. This is my last chance, don’t you dare screw it up Kwon Jiyong.

 

[End of Flashback]

---

I…screwed up, well . I better tell Dara that I can’t make it tonight. I pick up my phone and see that I had a text message from her from a couple of hours ago.

 

[From: Dee~]

[Sent 1:43pm]

Are you free tonight? I want to catch up with my best friend(:

 

I frown, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to hang out with you until this project is over. I bet I’ll be working on just the spreadsheets until at least midnight tonight.

 

[To: Dee~]

[Sent 3:35pm]

Sorry, I already have plans for tonight.

 

I quickly reply and continue scanning through the spreadsheets. Aish, where is it??? I had already look through all of the data twice and could only get it to only 10% over the budget. Ah, I should check if Dara responded.

 

[From: Dee~]

[Sent 3:52pm]

What about tomorrow? Are you free?

 

Ah, she texted me a few hours ago. Tomorrow? I look over at my calendar and frown. Meeting booked straight from when I get into the office at 8am until 5pm. Maybe after work? Do I have plans with Sohee on Friday? Then I noticed a post it note on my calendar. “Family Dinner 6pm at XXX Restaurant. Sh*t, I forgot about that too. Sorry Dara.

 

[To: Dee~]

[Sent 4:26pm]

Sorry, I have meetings all day tomorrow and I already have plans in the evening.

 

Why does Mom and Dad even want to have a family dinner tomorrow? That’s so strange of them.

 

[From: Dee~]

[Sent 5:56pm]

Aw, what about this weekend? Are you free?

 

I look over at my calendar again, well sh*t. Two teleconferences on Saturday, plus this project, and a date with Sohee. Sunday then? Wait how can I forget, Sohee invited me to her sister’s wedding that day. I can’t exactly skip on that.

 

[To: Dee~]

[Sent 6:01pm]

I’m pretty booked this weekend. Sorry.

 

*beep beep*

 

[From: Dee]

[Sent 6:02pm]

Are you sure? I really want to see you, even 30 minutes is fine.

 

The wedding’s at 11am, and I’ll need to dress up. Ugh, I don’t really want to wake up at 9am. , plus THAT. How could I forget? I close my eyes, Sohee wants me to hang out with Dara less. Especially after I’ve been texting her nonstop the past two weeks to hang out. I’ll just go along with it for now. Once this project is over, I’ll be able to breathe and talk things out with Sohee and Dara. Jeez, why can’t any of my girlfriends get along with Dara?

 

[To: Dee~]

[Sent 6:02pm]

Look Dara, I’m really busy. And you know how it is. She doesn’t like the idea of us hanging out so much, and you know what she means to me. So I think we shouldn’t hang out for a while. Sorry Dara, please understand.

*beep beep*

[From: Dee~]

[Sent 6:10pm]

I just need 10 minutes, plus you owe me for ditching me the other day, remember?

 

I felt the guilt build up in my chest. I read over my last message, I sound like such a jerk, I guess waking up early won’t kill me…

 

[To: Dee~]

[Sent 6:18pm]

Fine, Sunday 9am, we can go get coffee at your favorite place.

---

Friday Night~

“Son,” My mom started after we finished eating, “We have something important to tell you,” she looked over at my father.

 

I nod, “What is it?”

 

“Sweetie, please understand us,” She started. I looked at both of them in confusion, “But we’re getting a divorce.”

 

I blink several times as I look back and forth between the two of them, “What?” I croaked out. They couldn’t have said…no…they couldn’t have just said they were getting a divorce. No way. Mom and Dad are the most loving couple I know. I must have heard wrong.

 

Dad cleared his throat, “We’re getting a divorce son.”

 

“What? Why? You are so happy together! What happened?!” I clenched my fists, anxious to hear the answer.

 

“We,” she looked over at my father, “We’ve come to realize that the love between us has faded away. Your father and I do still love each other in a sense, but only as friends. And…” she drifted off.

 

“Is there someone else?” I gritted my teeth.

 

“Yes,” she hesitated, “He was my first love. When we saw each other again, I felt it. The kind of love that your father and I once shared.”

 

“I’ve also,” Dad started, “found another person. This was a mutual agreement son, please be understanding.”

 

“Why now?” I scoffed, “Why did you wait so long to get divorced? You’ve already gotten to the point of realizing that you two weren’t meant to be, but why did you wait so long? You’ve even found another significant other,” I breathed in harshly, “Why are you just telling me this now?”

 

“Please understand son, we wanted to wait for the perfect timing. And even though we both realized that this marriage won’t give us the love we want, your mom and I are still friends. We thought it could work out, so we didn’t want to burden you with this. But once, we found our own significant others, we discussed it and thought it was best to finally file for divorce. And to finally tell you,” my father said.

 

I breathed in deeply, trying to calm down, “I can’t believe this….I can’t believe you two.” I felt my eyes slightly sting, they patiently waited for me to continue, “You were my idols. I thought the love you two shared was the most beautiful thing. I’ve always, always wanted to have what you two have. And now you’re telling me that there is no romantic love between you two?”

 

My mom started crying, “We didn’t know that’s how you felt sweetie. We did love each other once with all our heart, but sometimes things change. We still love each other, and we want you to find the one that you will love with all your heart.”

 

“We wanted to tell you,” my father said in a strained voice, “And like your mother said, we know you’ll find your special person.”

 

“So what happens now? Are you going to abandon me and live your life with your new families?” I nervously asked.

 

*Smack!* “How could you even suggest something like that?” My father scolded me.

 

“Sorry, I’ve seen way too many dramas, I blame Bom and Dara,” I tried to joke.

 

My mom hugged me, “We love you son, never forget that. Even if your father and I are no longer together, we both love you so much.”

 

I nod, still in her embrace.

 

“They want to meet you, you know,” mom continued.

 

“I…” I took a deep breath as I remove her arms, “I think I need time to digest this all,” I stood up and quickly left the restaurant. My brisk walk turned into a run to my car. Too much…this is just too much! I turned the ignition on and slam the gas pedal, trying to get as far away as possible. Mom…Dad…Divorce…First my job is on the line and now the divorce??? Words kept running through my mind, trying to figure out everything that was happening. My mind was full of chaos that I didn't registar that I was in my apartment already and sitting on my couch, staring at the objects on my coffee table. Too much…I stare at the bottles of alcohol sitting in front of me. I can’t…I can’t breathe… Eventually all of those words stopped and everything became black.

---

*SLAP* “How could you even say those things about her? You don’t even know her, she’s nothing like that. You’re just jealous that I’ve found love and now she’s taking away my attention from you. Just because you can’t keep a boyfriend for more than a month doesn’t mean you can ruin my happiness. I thought out of everyone, you’d be the one to understand Dara. But I guess I was wrong,” The words kept tumbling out of my mouth, I couldn’t even see the expressions on her face because of my anger at her words. Just like them, she sounds like everyone else who is against me and Sohee, I turned away and walked out, I thought out of everyone she would understand. But even then, I reflect on what just happened, she’s my best friend…and I said all of those vicious things and slapped her. I stared at my hand, I slapped her…I SLAPPED HER. WHAT THE WAS I THINKING. My eyes widen and stare at my hand in disgust.

 

“Jiyong!” A voice called, I turned and see Sohee running over to me, “I’ve been calling you, where have you been. You still need to get ready for the wedding, jeez, what have you been up to,” she started to tug on my arm.

 

Her words fell on deaf ears, my mind was too consumed with my thoughts, I need to go apologize to Dara. Oh my god, what the have I done now. Sh*t, “I need to go,” I said quietly, “I need to go,” I shake my arm out of her hold.

 

“Yah Kwon Jiyong! Where the h*ll do you think you’re going, huh?” She yelled as she took hold of my arm again.

 

“I need to go to Dara, let go of me Sohee,” I tugged my arm from her hold, ”Sh*t I totally screwed things up.”

 

“If you leave this instant,” She glared, “I am totally ending this relationship. FOR GOOD, understand Kwon?”

 

My mind raced, but Dara, I can’t just not go back and not apologize, not just apologize, I need to grovel on my hands and knees to her, “Please, I really need to go see her,” I tugged my arm again.

 

“I’m serious Kwon, it’s either her or me,” she took hold of my collar, “Now choose.”

 

*beep beep* My text tone rang. I hastily pull out my phone and see it’s a message from Dara. All of a sudden the phone disappeared from my hand and I saw it being flung against the building wall, shattering to pieces, “I SAID PICK KWON!” she yelled.

---

“Here’s your new phone Mr. Kwon, we have already activated it for you with your old phone number,” the salesman said as he handed me the phone and packaging.

 

“Thank you,” I smiled as I picked up the phone as well as the back that contained all of the packaging and accessories.

 

*ring ring ring* I looked down to see Daesung is calling me, Daesungie?

 

“Hello?” I answer.

 

“YA! KWON JIYONG WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU??? DARA’S LEAVING IN HALF AN HOUR!” He yelled.

 

I stopped dead in my tracks, “What did you say?” I almost whispered.

 

“I said, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU? HOW COULD YOU NOT SEND OFF YOUR BEST FRIEND??” He yelled.

 

“WHAT?” I yelled, “WHEN IS HER FLIGHT?” I looked down at my watch, 9:30am.

 

“Her flight is in 45 minutes and she still needs to go through security!” He frantically told me.

 

“45 minutes??” 45 Minutes, I started to calculate the distance from where I am to the airport, Just getting there would take me 20 minutes and that’s without traffic. “! I don’t think I can make it, can you pass the phone to her??”

 

“Sure, Dara!” He called.

 

“…hello?” Her voice came through the phone.

---

Dara’s POV:

 

“Hello?” I answered nervously.

 

“You’re leaving?” he asked, he sounds frustrated.

 

“Yes, I’m leaving,” I answered, gripping Daesung’s phone harder.

 

“For how long?” He asked desperately.

 

“T…Two” I hesitated, my breath became ragged.

 

“Two weeks?” A sense of relief filled his voice.

 

“N-no…two years….at least.”

 

“TWO YEARS?!” He exploded, “YOU’RE GOING TO LEAVE FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO TELL ME? WHAT THE H*LL SANDARA! WHY DIDN’T YOU AT LEAST MENTION IT TO ME? I’M YOUR ING BEST FRIEND!”

 

I tried to hold back my tears and level out my voice, “An opportunity for me came up and I decided to take it. Plus, I think need a break from you Kwon Jiyong, a break from this friendship. Lucky you, this is what you wanted, right?” I said before immediately hanging up. I turned to everyone, “I think I better get going, thank you all for coming again. I’ll miss you so much,” I cried, trying to hide the real reason for my tears. I bid everyone farewell and passed through security. There’s no going back now.

 

15 Hours later my plane landed in New York. With my luggage in tow, I stepped outside of the airport. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, Even the air is different here.

 

*Honk Honk* “Yah! Dara, stop spacing out!” someone yelled.

 

I opened my eyes and saw Lee Chaerin. “Ya! Chingu, I’ve missed you so much!” I grab my things and start walking towards her car. One step at a time.

---

[From: Kwon Jiyong]

[Sent 9:50am]

No, it’s not what I wanted…

---

A/N: OMO I love reading all of your guys's comments, thank you so much for the feedback <3 To be honest, I hadn't expected that I'd make Jiyong into the character he is, it just unfolded that way, but all your comments about him are great! :D

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please continue to read, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, and UPVOTE ^___^

 

P.S. Since I have structured this out to be 10 Chapters and the storyline somehow got more complicated as I started writing it, the chapters are kind of long...hehe, sorry about that, hope you enjoy it though~ 

3/10 Chapters DONE ^___^

Until Next Time! Pyong~