One Month Later.

 

[From: Seungri]

[To: Me]

Ji was officially discharged today (:

 

A sigh escaped my lips as I re-read his text message. He’s finally out of the hospital? That’s good, I closed my eyes and let out a little smile.

 

“Taking a nap at this time Miss Park?” my boss said making my smile quickly disappear.

 

“No sir, sorry about that,” I said as I quickly sat up and turned back to my computer screen.

 

“Please keep in mind of what I said before Dara,” he firmly said as he placed a few different files on her desk, “Also, please read and review these for the upcoming meeting.”

 

“Yes, sir,” I nod as I watch him exit the office. Sigh...I exhale as the door clicked close behind him.

---

*Flashback*

 

“WHERE WERE YOU??” My boss yelled as he stormed into my office.

 

I looked down tapping my index fingers together, “I did file to work remotely before leaving,” I quietly said.

 

“I understand that Miss Park,” he rubbed his temples in frustration, “But you can’t simply call in to work remotely for a whole week on a whim, you should know that.”

 

“I know sir,” I bowed in apology, “An emergency came up and I had to leave. I’m sorry for my unprofessional behavior.”

 

“Oh,” he let out a sigh in understanding, “I understand Miss Park. Please keep in mind to completely communicate with me if something like this happens again. I can’t have you going off the grid without a complete explanation.”

 

“I’m very sorry about that,” I apologized once more, “This won’t happen again.”

 

“It’s alright Miss Park, you did keep up with the workload and emails. There’s just been some new issues that you weren’t here to settle and deal with.”

 

“I’m very sorry for the inconvenience,” I bit my lip, New issues?

 

“Don’t worry, I’ve already dealt with them, it’s not too bad,” he smiled, “Now get back to work Miss Park.”

 

“Yes, sir!” I smile and saluted.

 

“Ah,” he paused on his way out before turning to me once more, “If you ever doing something so irresponsible again, please remember I am your boss and I can fire you,” he said seriously.

 

My eyes widened, fire me? No, I can’t lose this job. “I understand sir,” I nervously swallowed hearing my heart pounding through my ears.

 

“Good,” he suddenly smiled, “I expect great things from you Miss Park, have a good day,” he said as he exited the room.

 

Aigoo…

 

*End of Flashback*

 

---

 

“Jiyong was discharged today,” I said before placing another spoonful of pasta into my mouth.

 

“Ah, Daesungie texted me about that,” Chaerin nodded, “So…” she looked up and started to twirl her fork in her hand, “When are you going to tell me?”

 

I quickly looked down at my plate, chewing the remaining pieces of pasta very slowly, “What do you mean?”

 

“You know what I’m talking about,” she placed the fork down and folded her arms, “What happened on your trip to Seoul?”

 

“Nothing,” I said, avoiding her eyes.

 

“Don’t lie to me Dara,” she narrowed her eyes, “When you got back, even though you acted normal at work and with friends, you can’t fool me.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I look up only to get caught up in her gaze.

 

“You smile, you laugh, but your eyes, Dara,” she sighed, “Your eyes are dead. Your smile doesn’t reach your eyes. I thought it was because you were that worried about Jiyong being in the hospital so I didn’t say anything. But he’s been discharged Dara and your eyes still aren’t smiling.” She reached across the table and took my hand, “What’s up? Did something happen when you were in Seoul?”

 

With a loud sigh, my head dropped, “Just,” I took another deep breath as I squeezed her hand before looking up back at her, “I heard some things while I was in Seoul…and I don’t know, it’s confusing.”

 

“Like what?” she asked.

 

“The boys told me some things about Sohee and Ji,” I retracted my hand and hugged my knees in my chair, resting my head on them, “Apparently Sohee was only using Ji,” I looked up and checked her reaction before continuing, “And Ji was aware of it during most of their relationship…”

 

“….Why?” she stared at me with wide eyes, “Why did he stay with her then?”

 

“I…I don’t know…they just told me that he was trying to protect me or something,” a tear started to trail down my cheek, “Isn’t that crazy? He dated a girl, knowing that she was using him, because he was protecting me. He even went as far as openly showing me their affection for one another and slapping me to defend her. How can I simply believe that he was protecting me Chae? How?” I buried my face into my palms.

 

I heard her chair being pushed back before hearing her footsteps as she approached me. “Did you ask them why?” She gently asked as she hugged me.

 

“They told me that I need to ask Ji in person if I really want answers…”

 

“Have you asked him then?” she asked.

 

“No…he was still unconscious when I had to leave…I didn’t have the chance to ask. Plus,” I bit my lip, “I’m scared to hear the answer.”

 

“What?” she pulled away with her hands gripping my arms, “Why?”

 

“Because,” I fiddled me the hem of my shirt, “What if he knows about my feelings for him? And he’s just doing it because he’s trying to protect me from getting hurt because he doesn’t feel the same way?”

 

She frowned at my response, “Why would he slap you then? Say IF your hypothesis is correct, why would he physically hurt you if he was trying to emotionally protect you?”

 

“Because physical pain will heal over time, but emotional pain just burns just at the mere thought of that person,” I bitterly laugh, “it’s not something that can just go away with time.”

 

She let out a loud sigh before speaking again, “I’m sure that’s not the reason…I guess you’ll just have to wait and ask him yourself to find the answer. But Dara,” I looked up at her, “don’t be afraid,” she gave me an encouraging smile, “don’t be afraid to find out the truth, because you never know. Like you said, he is your best friend and he’s not someone you want to lose, so don’t be scared to ask him. You might just lose him if you delay on asking him.”

 

“Mhmm,” I nod my head in agreement, “Next time I go home, I’ll definitely confront him.”

 

 “Who knows, maybe it’ll be even sooner than that,” she smiled with a twinkle in her eye.

 

“What?” I asked in confusion.

 

“Nothing,” she laughed.

 

“Hmph,” I pouted.

 

---

 

A few days later.

 

*knock knock*

 

“Just a moment!” I called as I finished drying my hair. Wrapping the now damp towel around my neck, I walk over to the front door and look through the peep hole. My eyes widened as I saw who was standing on the other side. Quickly, I swung the door open and came face to face with the person that's been on my mind all the time.

 

“Hey Dee,” he shyly smiled as he nervously tugged at his backpack strap.

 

“Hey,” I quietly whisper as I kept my gaze on him. My eyes ran up and down his face no longer seeing all of the cuts and bruises that used to mark his handsome face. The only evidence of the accident that was left was the bandages poking out of his right sleeve.

 

“I know it’s very sudden and I didn’t clear it up with you before coming here, but I-”

 

“Just come here already,” I cried as I pulled him in for a hug, “I can’t believe you’re here,” I said into his chest as I felt my tears start to soak into his flannel shirt. "I'm glad you're alright."

 

After getting over the initial shock he hugged me back, hard. “God, I miss you so much Dee,” he said as he tried to pull me closer, “I miss you so much.”

 

“Me too Ji,” I gripped onto his shirt, “me too.” All of a sudden everything seemed to crash down on me. Jiyong is here…JIYONG IS IN NEW YORK AGAIN. Omo, why is he here? Didn’t he just get discharged a few days ago? Why would he want to come here? He should be resting more! Oh no…I told Chaerin I was going to confront him the next time I saw him, well now I see him, what do I do?? I quickly pull away from him with wide eyes.

 

“What’s wrong Dee?” he asked in surprised.

 

“I…I...” I swallowed, “We need to talk."

 

His eyes widened for a second before understanding took place, “Yeah…I think we do,” he said as he followed me into the living room. It was as if we were transported 13 months into the past, both of us staring across the coffee table at each other and coffee mugs in hand.

 

Clearing my throat, I finally started talking, “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

 

“Ah, about that,” he rubbed his neck nervously, “I’m already fully healed so I should be fine. And I came because there’s something really important I need to talk to you about Sandara,” he said, his eyes burning with intensity surprising me since he never calls me by my full name unless it's something very serious.

 

“Same here,” I stared back at him with equal intensity as I was reminded of all of the questions that’s been floating him my head for the past month.

 

“Ladies first,” he said as he took a sip.

 

I raised an eyebrow at his tone but decided to ignore it, “Well,” I gently place the coffee mug back onto the table before crossing my right leg over my left, “I heard that you and Sohee broke up.”

 

Surprise with a hint of confusion flashed through Jiyong’s eyes, “Yeah, we broke up over a year ago. What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“Well you see Jiyong,” I looked over at him making sure to keep eye contact, “I heard some interesting things about you two,” I started.

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like how she was just using you and you were even are of the fact,” I watched as surprise and panic ran through his eyes. “But if that were the case, why were you so adamant about her? Why did you go so far as to even slap me, your best friend, for a girl you knew was using you?”

 

“I, um, I,” he stumbled trying to find the right words.

 

“And you know what the craziest part of it all is?” I ask, “I heard you did all of that to protect me. How does that even make sense Jiyong? How is slapping me your way of protecting me? Because to me, that sounds pretty messed up.”

 

“Who even told you this?” he narrowed his eyes.

 

“Does it even matter?” I asked him.

 

“Just tell me Dee,” he said with slight irritation.

 

“The guys told me,” I shortly said.

 

“Oh…” he went quiet as he broke away from my gaze.

 

“You haven’t answered my questions yet,” I frown as he continued to stay quiet.

 

“It’s,” he sighed as he raked his hair with his fingers obviously completely thrown off by my questions, “it’s a long story.”

 

“I have all night Kwon,” I said.

 

“Well, what you’ve said was true…for the most part. I did know that Sohee was using me,” he started, “But I didn’t know that from the beginning. It wasn’t until a month or so of dating her that I knew she was just using me to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. The guys were always vocal about their dislike of her, especially Seungri. When I found out, I didn’t tell them because my pride, I guess,” he lightly chuckled, “I didn’t want to admit to them that they were right about her. When I approached her to break up, she refused. I just didn’t understand, I mean, why would she refuse to break up with me when I know she doesn’t have any feelings for me? When I asked her, she said that she still needed me, she needed me until her ex-boyfriend would finally come crawling back to her. When I refused, well she,” he took a deep breath, “she threatened me.”

 

---

*Flashback*

Author's POV:

 

“Why?” Jiyong stared at her with disgust, “Why would I stay with you just because you want your ex-boyfriend back? That’s pretty ing pathetic Sohee. We. Are. Over,” he said as he turned away from her and started working.

 

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you Jiyong,” she said, stopping him in his tracks.

 

“And why is that?”

 

“You don’t know what I’m capable of doing, so if I were you, I’d pretend we never had this conversation,” she said harshly.

 

He turned around to face her, “And what the h*ll is that supposed to mean?” he asked with frustration. “What could you possibly do to make me want to let you use me?”

 

“Dara,” she simply said.

 

“What about her?” his hands subconsciously curled into fists.

 

She smirked at his reaction, “She’s important to you, right? Heck, you spend more time with her than me,” she scoffed, “It makes me wonder if you’re really in a relationship with me or her.”

 

“What does our breakup have to do with Dara?” he gritted his teeth.

 

“I can ruin her Ji,” she said, “You see, I wasn’t known at my high school for being a bully for nothing,” she started to walk closer to him, “You wouldn’t even believe half the things that I did to some of the girls there,” she giggled, “let’s just say, after I was done with them, I never saw their faces again.”

 

“Tch,” he scoffed, “as if Dara’s like any of those girls. She’s so much stronger than that.”

 

“You know, the stronger they are, the harder they fall,” she said playfully, “Plus, Dara works at XXXXX Corporation, correct? I have some great connections there,” she lightly brushed his hair, “And ruining her wouldn’t be any trouble at all, if you know what I mean.”

 

He stood there frozen as all the words she said processed through his mind, “You-you can’t be serious.”

 

“Oh, but I am,” she said as she played with his jacket zipper, “I am very serious. So if you don’t want me to ruin her, you better not try to break up with me again.”

 

“I-I…” he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth.

 

She grabbed onto his jacket and pulled him close, “And you better stop seeing her so often, it’s because of you and her that my plan isn’t working,” she said with irritation.

 

“W-what?” he asked in confusion.

 

“Stop seeing Dara,” she hissed, “Or you’ll really face the consequences.”

 

*End of Flashback*

---

 

Dara's POV:

 

“She said that?” I gasped.

 

“Yeah…I…I didn’t want you to get hurt,” he sadly smiled, “I didn’t even tell anyone about this until after we officially broke up and she was back with her ex-boyfriend.”

 

“Aigoo,” I walked over to him and ruffled his hair, “You silly boy, I could’ve taken her,” I smiled. “Wait, if that’s really the case then why did you slap me?” I pouted as I punched his arm.

 

“I thought I told you!” he said as he winced from my punches, “It was just from stress at work and with everything about Sohee. Because of my pride, I didn’t want anyone to know about what was really happening. So imagine my frustration when all of them constantly berated me about her and I couldn’t tell them, only for you to also do the same thing,” he sighed, “I’m sorry, I should’ve controlled myself. I never, never should have done that no matter how angry or stressed out I was. I can never hurt you,” he said as he caressed my cheek.

 

I let out a little sigh, “Apology accepted, I was just shocked, that’s all.”

 

“Speaking of shocking things…” he quietly started as he took my hand in his. I tried to pull away but his grip was too strong, “I heard one of the most shocking things in my life when I opened my eyes after the accident.”

 

“Huh? What did you hear?”

 

“I heard you,” he looked me directly in the eyes, “I heard you say that you love me,” his grip on my hand tightened, “Is it true Dara? Do you love me?”

 

“I-I,” I tried to look away, but his other hand held onto my chin, making sure that I was looking at him. He heard, oh no, how is that possible?? This only happens in dramas not real life! What is the possibility of him waking up when I said that??? “H-how do you know that was me that said it?” I asked trying to throw him off.

 

“Dee, I know your voice anywhere,” the hand on my chin started to caress my cheek trying to coax me into looking at him, “Do you mean it Dee? Do you love me?”

 

I looked over at him nervously, “Of course I do Ji,” I nervously smiled, “You’re my best friend.”

 

He frowned at my answer, “That’s not what I mean Dara and you know it.”

 

I tried to shake my head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about then. Why are you even talking about this, huh? You shouldn’t even be here, you should be in Seoul recovering from your injuries. You should go get some rest now,” I rambled on as I tried to escape from his hold.

 

“Fine,” he said with frustration as he moved his hand so that both of them were holding both of mine, “If you won’t answer my question, at least just listen to what I have to say.”

 

I stopped struggling when I realized it was a lost cause and nodded my head for him to continue.

 

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, more than I’d like to think about. But the one I regret the most is us,” he said, “I took our friendship for granted and I didn’t realize it until it was too late. I felt us drifting apart, but I overlooked it, I thought it was just normal. We have moments when we need space from each other, but in the end we would always come back to each other. Every time I had a new girl in my life, you were so patient and understanding when I canceled plans or told you we needed space. I took that for granted, I took it for granted that I can always go back to you, that you’ll always let me in. But when you left…I was like a fool, just blankly standing there as I watched you slip out of my grasp. All I could do was look at you as you got farther and farther away from me, it was to the point that you had just become a small dot before completely disappearing. But the pain of losing you didn’t disappear, it was branded into my heart and soul. I lost you because I took you for granted, for taking us for granted, and for not being honest with you. I used to wonder Will this pain go away after time passes? But then I remember the old times and I remember you. I remember how much you mean to me, so I can’t let the pain go away, because if I did, I would be forgetting how much pain I caused you. I should have treated you better when I had you but IF YOU are struggling like I am can’t we make things a little easier?” he looked at me sadly, “If it’s not too late, can’t we get back together? Can we have another chance? Will you give me another chance?”

 

To say I was speechless was an understatement, I couldn’t even get a word out as I stared into his pleading eyes.

 

“Please, give me another chance to show you how much you mean to me. I want you back…I need you Dee,” he said as he affectionately rubbed my hands.

 

“W-Why?” I quietly asked.

 

“Because you’re the most important person to me,” he said sincerely.

 

I’ve heard those words before…pain shot through me at the memory of those empty words, “What happens if another girl comes into your life?” Will it end like every other time before? You tell me these words only to find someone else and throw me out.

 

He let go of both my hands and cupped my face, bringing me out of my thoughts, “I’ll prove to you that you’re always going to be my number one person.”

 

“How?” I asked, surprised with his determination towards the subject.

 

“I’ll show and remind you every day,” he said, as he gently rubbed his thumbs in circles on my cheeks.

 

“Remind me of what?” I asked in confusion, trying to think clearly without getting distracted by the feeling of having him caressing my cheeks so lovingly.

 

He leaned in and touched his forehead to mine, “From now on, I’ll constantly remind you of how much I love you. Not as my best friend, but as a woman,” his gaze caught mine, “I love you Sandara Park,” he whispered.

 

 

---

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading ^___^ Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter in the comment section below! :D 

8/10 Chapters DONE! (omg only 2 more left >.< )

Until Next Time! Pyong~