Warning: Grab a popcorn and drinks due to the long chapter ahead! ^^

By the time the song ended, everyone started clapping, whistling and cheering for him. Bom and Chaerin were no exceptions. Bom never stopped blabbering about how much of a romantic Jiyong was and how much she wanted a guy just like him at least once in her life. Chaerin nodded enthusiastically which was surprising since she was really a hard-to-please kind of person.

“What is this? Are we actually shooting a drama I didn’t know about? Kyaaahh,” Bom squealed.

“I agree,” concurred Chaerin. She still had that look of amazement and pure surprise all over her face.

Jiyong kept his eyes on her a few seconds and gave her a secret smile before turning and walking down the stage. Then, the white light that previously illuminated Jiyong’s stage went off as they prepared for the next one.

Dara felt her heart beat so fast. Nothing else mattered now. She needed to look for him. She needed to see him. There was some kind of thirst.. or hunger.. inside her that urged her to just see him because she knew that he was her only cure.

As if perking up something was going on inside her whole body system, Chaerin put her hand on Dara’s shoulder. “You’re gonna see him?” she asked. Dara turned her face to look at her bestfriend. “I need to,” replied Dara. Chaerin smiled and said, “Follow what your heart says. When you see a chance of happiness, never turn your back.”

“We’ll be there whenever you need us,” Bom reassured, smiling.

“I feel like I couldn’t thank you enough but..” Dara pulled them close for a hug which startled them. “I’m so grateful to have you guys. Thank you.” Bom and Chaerin chuckled and patted her back. When they pulled back, Bom urged her, “Go get him now!” Shaking her head, Chaerin said, “Just go. He’s probably waiting for you.” If only it wasn’t for her need to see him, Dara would surely throw tantrums because both her bestfriends were shooing her away. “Catch you later!” she waved her hand and ran from there.

When she was gone from her sight, Chaerin slightly nudged Bom, asking, “Do you think she’s about to figure it out now?” Bom smiled, still looking at where Dara’s shadow disappeared. “Definitely.”

Dara went upstairs where all the performers stayed backstage. She carefully looked at each signs plastered on the door which indicated whose room it was. She walked and walked, occassionally waving her hand and responding her friends’ greeting and calling along the way. “Hiphop dance group.. Bigbang,” she read the sign on the door in front of her. “Oh! This might be them,” she realized. And before she knew it, the door before her was opened abruptly, startling her that she almost fell backwards if not for two strong arms catching behind her. She suddenly felt all sorts of feeling—shocked, embarassed, and relieved for not falling on her .

“Oh!” was Seungri’s first response, followed by a naughty grin on his face and brows moving up and down.

Dara furrowed her brows.

Seungri’s surprised response seemed to attract others to approach them. Soon enough, three other guys were standing behind him. Dara noted each one of them while racking her brain to remember their names. The tall guy with thick eyebrows and very very handsome face.. Seunghun? Seunghyun? Ah, he must be Seunghyun. Beside him, the small-eyed guy whose face looked so much like smile emoji. Daesoon? Or was it Dae- sung? And the other bulky guy with his signature mohawk hair.. No doubt he must be Taeyang.

But they were looking at her weirdly right now. All of them had the same naughty expression on their faces. They all smirked and lifted their brows up and down with the very same way.

Hold on.

Naughty expression?

Naughty?

Dara’s eyes widened as saucers in realization. She stiffened.

“So, you two are purposely coming here, in a very compromising position, to tell us you guys are already official?” Seungri asked, smirking.

“Showing off is the right word to put it,” Seunghyun butted in.

“I really need to learn writing songs to have this kind of romance in my lonely life,” Taeyang sighed.

“You still have time, hyung,” Daesung patted his back.

Everyone was there in front of her. Except for one person. One person she’d been looking for.

Dara gulped hard, not realizing she was already sweating even when she didn’t do any kind of exercise.

“Umm, petite? Can you stand on your own? My arms kinda numb right now.”

Hearing that voice, Dara jumped on her feet in a lightning speed. She couldn’t look at their eyes, no.. she couldn’t, especially Jiyong’s. She was so damn embarassed right now. Earth please open up now and swallow me, she ranted inside her head.

“Omo, what’s that pet name I heard?” Daesung’s small eyes widened in excitement.

“Was it petite?” Taeyang wondered.

Four of them went aww and ohh in sync that Dara was sure she’d hear them even in her dreams later tonight. And she couldn’t be more embarassed than she already was. It was too much to take.

“Noona, if he calls you petite then, what do you call Jiyong hyung?” asked the curious maknae Seungri.

Dara’s face flamed red. She couldn’t answer to it. No, never!!

“It’s called none of your business,” Jiyong stressed out. “Bye.”

With that, he pulled Dara’s hand to walk away from them with him. As they walked, Dara could hear them groaning and she swore she could hear someone shouting, “You’re no fun, hyung!”

Jiyong rolled his eyes to that. “Whatever,” muttered him.

As realization kicked in, Dara looked at her hand in his grip. She widened her eyes once again. “Jiyong-ah, where are we going?”

“Where nobody’s gonna interrupt us.”

With that being said, she kept shut with the usual red tint on her cheeks whenever Jiyong was around her or did something that made her like a silly little girl. As they walked downstairs, the loud sound of music blared through the speaker sounded more louder. Then, they walked along the corridor. Both of them didn’t say anything. With her imagination, Dara just willingly let herself being pulled away from the reality to a world of fantasy Jiyong has always created for her.

He stopped so abruptly that Dara who was still wandering inside her head accidentally bumped her head into his lean chest. “Ouch,” she mumbled. “You look so immersed on your own thought that I don’t wanna disturb you,” he smiled. Dara looked everywhere else but him to hide her embarassment but seems like, Jiyong’s noticed it right away.

Dara looked at her surrounding. She realized they were currently at the school garden which located not far from the yard, only separated by the classes building and corridors they’d passed through. The sound of people singing along and the slow music could still be heard from where they were standing.

Since it was already long after dusk, a number of night stars have appeared on the dark sky up there. It was about time the moon came into sight and emerged with its illuminating light. But, this was enough to accentuate Dara’s never-changing beauty up close. Starlights created a shadow of her face and at the same time, shone her beauty. It made her look ethereal yet mysterious. The kind of mysteriousness Jiyong wanted to find out.

“Jiyong?” she gently called. “Why are we here?”

Jiyong went silent first, carefully scanning her face as if wanting to memorize this particular face, this particular moment, this particular... feeling. “We’re going to dance,” he said, flushing their bodies closer and grasping both of her hands to locate them behind his neck. Dara gasped in surprise but rested her hands right where he put them. Jiyong put his hands on her waist while leading her to the slow moves he made with his body. He stepped left and right slowly in turn to get her in the mood with the ballad song that was played in the background. The sweet lyrics resonated through the entire venue, penetrating walls of thick bricks around them, to where they were.

(4Men – Baby baby)

“I don’t know the reason why I changed

I’ve been thinking for a long time

After you and I met

It seems like I changed quite a lot

Just like how he did on stage earlier, never did Jiyong took his eyes off of her. He kept looking at her with those intense yet gentle eyes. Surprising enough, Dara didn’t feel intimidated or uncomfortable at all. In fact, she loved it. She returned his gaze willingly, with everything she had.

“I like this song,” Dara confessed.

Jiyong smiled. “I know.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I just know,” this time he smirked at her playfully.

“You just know everything, don’t you?”

“My Dara, you have no idea,” he said with such a mysterious tone she couldn’t decipher.

“Can you hear this song? Oh baby

Thank you so much, oh baby, you’re so pretty

I can’t take my eyes off of you

My eyes only see you

Just like in the movie, he let go of her to twirl her around. Then, he caught her back in his arms. She went along and laughed. Later, he pulled her back in place and put them in an embrace once again.

“I only want to keep looking at you

Oh really, I’m so happy everyday

Oh baby, I hope the days like this will never end

I hope nothing changes.”

All along, they danced in each others’ a