A/N - Well, there were some guesses as to who else likes Dara and i'm sure the answer will surprise you. In fact I didn't think of it myself until i re-read the whole thing and went...hey! Wouldn't this be a surprise, but at the same time something seriously bitter-sweet. So, i don't know if you'll all be fans of this pairing, but here it goes~

Chapter 5 – Love flickers like embers

Seungho POV

I charged into my room, ignoring the four stares from the living room at my abrupt entrance. I could hear Cheondoong in the background, questioning my mental state and it infuriated me.

It was all his fault. That I couldn’t be with Dara.

“No…no…” I hissed, slapping myself on the side of the head. This wasn’t Cheondoong’s fault. I couldn’t blame him. No.

Outside I could hear G.O. “I’ll go check up on him.” He said, stretching.

“No.” Mir suddenly said, unexpectedly. “I’ll check on him.”

“Uh…okay…” G.O sat back down, surprised that our maknae was so serious for once.

I heard footsteps creep closer to my dark bedroom where I lay splayed, face down, on my bed. “Go away.” I said roughly as the door creaked open and Mir slipped in.

“Shut up, Yang Dark Circles.” retorted Mir. “You’ll make your panda face worse.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.” I hissed, turning my face sideways so I could see Mir leaning against the wall. “You can’t help me.”

But Mir just looked at me seriously. “You’re in love with Dara-noona, right?”

I choked. “What!”

He chuckled. “Yah!” he exclaimed and scooted me over so that he sat with his back to mine on the bed. “I’m not blind. Anyone could guess from the way you were staring at her when she brought us snacks. Only Joon and G.O didn’t notice because they were too busy stuffing their faces.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” I muttered.

Mir turned around and gave me his cutest aegyo-face that mimicked Joon’s flower pose. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. His triumphant gaze made me smack him upside the head and Mir fell over, complaining that I had damaged his beautiful complexion.

“My face!!!” he mock-wailed as he rolled around on the bed. Suddenly he rolled too far and fell off the bed. With an oopf, he landed on the hard floor. “My head!” he now complained.

I was laughing far too hard, so much that it hurt my stomach.

“At least care about my health!” Mir whined, clutching his head. He scrambled back onto the bed and gave me an unexpected hug. “Your maknae is delicate you know.”

I chuckled. “We all know that, grandmother.” I tweaked his nose, laughing even more at his indignant expression. “I’m no longer the oldest of the group, you are!”

“Hyung!”

We both rolled with laughter, clutching the bed to prevent falling off again. Then we fell silent, our chests heaving for breath.

Then Mir spoke. “Hyung, what are you going to do?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. All I know is that Dara doesn’t want to be with me because of Cheondoong.”

Mir nodded, philosophically silent. “But Cheondoong’s feelings aren’t all that matters.” He said, so uncharacteristically maturely that I had to turn and check it was Mir next to me and not G.O or something. “Your feelings matter. And Dara-noona’s as well.”

“But I can’t force her to make up her mind.” I heaved a sigh.

“Yeah,” Mir half-agreed. “But sometimes when love is right in front of your face, it’s better to follow it rather than let it run away.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

“Why do you sound like you’re speaking from experience?” I whispered, feeling the atmosphere darken.

Mir just smiled softly. “Not my experience to be honest, but I’ve seen it up close. You have to chase love or else it’ll just dissipate like rain clouds.”

“Are you telling me to go after Dara?” I asked, uncertain.

“Yes.” Mir affirmed, eyes locked onto mine. “Go after her, make her happy and worry about Cheondoong later. Because your feelings come first.”

“Isn’t that selfish?” I blinked.

“No.” Mir shook his head. “Because if you call that selfish, then everything about love is selfish.”

I laughed. He sounded so mature that I could barely see that childish maknae in him.

“I’m not joking.” Mir hugged me tight. “Follow you heart and go after her, before she runs away. Don’t regret what you didn’t do.”

And with that Mir slid off the bed and out of the room, leaving me to lie in the darkness and wonder what sort of pain Mir had gone through to know love so well.

Chae-rin POV

The door crashed open, equally loud as the thunder flashing outside. In came Dara, drenched and dripping.

“Dara!” I exclaimed, shocked at seeing my best friend absolutely soaked. I rushed over to her. In addition to be soaked to the core, Dara was crying.

I had no idea what was wrong except that my best friend needed help. So I did what logic dictated best and seated Dara down on our plush couch. Within seconds I had her cocooned in blankets with a cup of hot cocoa in her hands.

Only then did I decide to probe. “Dara.” I said softly as I wiped away the older girl’s dripping tears. “What happened?”

“I-I…” she sobbed. “I told him I can’t be with him.”

“Shhhhh…” I calmed Dara, rocking her back and forth. “Explain it to me slowly.”

So Dara did. Starting with the moment at Cheondoong’s debut when she first set her eyes on the ever-so-y Seungho, then how she had invited him for lunch and how it ended with a kiss. And finally their parting.  

“What do I do?” she whispered in despair.

I leaned close to her, pressing her drenched hair to my cheek. It was something we always did when we wanted to be closer and share our doubts. But this time, even I had no certain advice to give to her. Not when the two people vying for her heart was her dearest brother and the man who had captured her heart.

“Truthfully,” I said, drawing in a deep breath. “I would just follow what my heart says.”

“But my heart is so chaotic in there. It’s all thunder and clouds.” Dara hiccupped. “I have no idea what it’s saying.”

“Rest on it.” I advised. “See what it says in the morning when the storm tides over.”

Dara blinked at me, shedding more tears. “But what do I do about Cheondoong. Either way, one of them gets hurt.”

I shrugged, remembering the same feeling that rainy day when I had to choose between him and her. One love or the other. And now I had to choose again.

“People get hurt all the time, sweetie.” I whispered, rocking her back and forth again. Her hot cocoa sat on the table, untouched. Lightning flashed at the window and Dara cringed.

“What matters is what you want.” I touched the area right above her heart. “Go for it, or else you’ll regret never getting Seungho.”

“But-“ she argued.

“But nothing,” I interrupted her misgivings. “Trust me. I was faced with a similar problem a long time ago. One was the man I loved and the other was a girl who was like a sister to me.” My heart twanged as I dredged up moments of my past.

Dars was silent. “The girl loved the guy. But the guy was in love with me. I had no idea who to choose and in the end, I chose the girl.” I took a deep breath. I could practically see that rainy day, when the two of them stood in front of me with eyes that begged me to choose them. “The girl confessed to the guy, but it never worked out. And in the end he just left. And she blamed me. I was left with nothing.”

A tear leaked out and Dara brushed it away, her silence speaking volumes. “I-I should have just chosen him, as my heart said so. But I didn’t and I will always regret it.” I whispered. “So don’t do the same as I did back then. Not when you have the chance.”

Dara hugged me tightly, gripping me as if I was attached to a frayed rope and falling further away. “Sorry, Chae-rin.” She whispered. “Sorry to remind you of the past.”

“It’s okay,” I chuckled, wiping away my tears. “So long as it helps you.”

Dara nodded. “I won’t regret anything.” She said firmly, but small tears continued to flow like silver droplets.

I hugged her tight and that night we fell asleep on the couch, huddled together like lost lambs abandoned in a starless sky. She fell asleep faster than I did, exhausted by the events of her dramatic day. But I just stayed here, enclosing her tight. And then, as I pressed a kiss to her forehead, I felt another tear fall.

“You love Dara, don’t you?” came a quiet voice from the doorway. I flinched and turned around to see Minzy leaning against the wall.

“Minzy.” I heaved a heavy breath of relief. “You shocked me. Where’s Bom?”

“Sleeping in her room. She was dead tired.” Minzy skirted over the facts quickly and returned to the subject at hand. “You love Dara, right?” she repeated.

“What makes you say so?” I said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Minzy chuckled lightly. “It’s not that difficult to see with the way you watch over her all the time. Both Bom and I have known this for a while.”

Then Minzy’s eyes darkened. “But what are you going to do?”

I sighed. “I’ll support Dara’s love for Seungho.” I whispered, letting the words etch themselves into my heart. “That’s all I can do.”

“Even though you love her?” Minzy demanded.

“Yes.”

“Why?” she whispered and walked into the room. Minzy settled herself down next to me lightly so that we wouldn’t wake Dara. “Why sacrifice your own happiness?”

“Because it wouldn’t have worked out.” I shook my head and put one arm around Minzy. “I can see that Dara isn’t into girls and telling her I love her would have made her situation more complex.”

Minzy was silent for a moment, and then she shocked me again. “That girl in the story. You loved her as well, didn’t you? You loved both the guy and girl.”

I was speechless. Since when was Minzy so perceptive? “Yes.” I admitted. “I loved both the guy and the girl equally, as lovers would love one another. But she never knew. And she would never love me either. I wanted them both to be happy, and I thought the best way was for me to be out of the picture. ”

“And once again you’ll sacrifice your chance at love?” Minzy breathed. “Again?”

“Yes.” I closed my eyes. “I should've listened to my heart the last time and this time my heart tells me Dara isn't the one for me. Or more fittingly, I'm not the one for Dara. I’ll find love one day, the right person and all. I just won’t be impatient.”

“You freaking amazing leader.” Minzy half-cursed, half-praised me as she held me close. “Make sure you get a happy ending as well.”

With that, Minzy stood up and pulled another blanket out from the cupboard. “Sleep well.” She smiled softly. “Don’t catch a cold, okay. You’re still important to us all.”

I smiled at her retreating back and settled under the blankets comfortably with Dara beside me.

It was true. I loved Dara, god to honest love and not just a sisterly love. I was in love with her, but I knew it wouldn’t work. I wasn’t meant for her. Not her, not the guy or the girl I had loved so long ago.

“Please let Dara be happy.” I whispered the empty night sky, now devoid of rain or thunder. “I can’t have her, so at least let the person who is fated for her love her truly.”

Then I closed my eyes, continuing the prayer. I love you Dara, I really do. But I’m not meant for you. So I’ll say goodbye to that love.

“Goodbye.”

And tomorrow when I wake up, I promise to always have your back. I’ll be your strongest supporter.

But for now, goodbye my love.

Goodbye and goodnight.

A/N - Okay...i'm slightly worried about how you guys will take Chae-rin's love for Dara. In case you're confused, she likes both guys and girls in this story. What happened in her past was that she was in love with this guy and he loved her too. But her best friend (a girl whom she also loved) liked the guy and didn't know Chae-rin loved them both. And when she had to make a choice which one to take as a lover, she couldn't decide because she thought she was being selfish and stepped away. But the guy didn't love the girl, so he left after she confessed and the girl blames Chae-rin. So that love story ended with no one happy.

Therefore Chae-rin wants Dara to follow her heart even though she fell in love with Dara as well, because she realizes though she loves Dara, she knows Seungho loves Dara more and she is not meant to be with Dara. A bitter-sweet sort of love. The third-wheel friend who sacrifices their own happiness because they know they aren't the right person. Sad but satisfying. Don't worry though, i want Chae-rin to have a happy ending as well.