Dara followed the advice Seunghyun gave to her and finally asked Youngkwang out on a date. Well it was mostly her stammering and asking if he wanted to go get coffee. To which he replied “is it a date?” Dara, obviously flustered began stuttering once again as she said “n-no it’s not a d-d-date, just c-coffee.” She wanted to die. Youngkwang was staring at the girl and couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked when she was nervous.

“But I’d like it to be a date.” Youngkwang leaned back onto the wall as he continued to observe Dara in her misery.

“It’s not a da—What?” She looked up to find him already staring at her. He looked amused.

“I want to go on a date with you, so I would like it if you considered it a date.” Dara seemed to look even more confused now.

“Why?” Youngkwang couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her question. He wondered if she really didn’t know the effect she had on people, especially guys.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not really…” Dara was hopeless, so Youngkwang leaned off of the wall to step closer to her. He caressed her hair and pushed a loose strand behind her ear. The blush was almost immediate.

“Because I like when you blush like that. I also really like your smile, especially when you get the perfect shot you want when photographing. I like the way your forehead wrinkles in frustration when you don’t get the shot you want. I like how you treat everyone with the respect they deserve. I can go on and on if you want.” The smile on Youngkwang’s face was dazzling.

“You like me?” Because he was so close, Dara was almost straining her neck to look up at him but it didn’t matter because what he said next made her want to jump in joy.

“Quite a bit.”

It’s been a few weeks after that moment and Dara has never been happier. She was going out often with Youngkwang. Seunghyun was slowly becoming her best friend and there was no awkwardness between the two now as they quickly became the person the other trusted. Dara, however still had not told Youngkwang about her situation back at home. Although there was nothing going on between her and Seunghyun it still scared her to think about how Youngkwang would react to the idea that she was “married.” She wanted to tell him the truth but was still waiting for the right timing.

One weekend, Dara ran into Seunghyun’s room screaming his name. Seunghyun, who was in bed typing something on his laptop, wasn’t even fazed by her crazy behavior.

“Seunghyun! Guess what???”

He looked up at her and asked “what?”

“There’s a HUGE sale going on at the mall and we HAVE to go!”

“Why do we have to go?” He stressed on the idea of them both going. She jumped onto his bed and sat pretzel style facing him.

“Because it has come to my attention that I have a slight addiction to shopping, so I need you there to stop me if I want to buy anything crazy.” Seunghyun was trying to hold back his laughter when she said the word ‘slight.’

“Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I also need help carrying the bags.”

“You just want me to go as your servant.” Seunghyun’s eyes showed the suspicion he felt.

“No, of course not! I value your fashion advice. You’re pretty stylish you know, one of the best I know.”

“One of the best? Not the best?”

“No, Youngkwang’s the best.”

“Then ask Youngkwang to go with you.” Seunghyun went back to typing away on his laptop.

“He’s busy today.” Seunghyun was still typing.

“So I’m the second choice? I see.” He enjoyed teasing her, especially when it was obvious how excited she was.

Dara grabbed the laptop off his lap and moved it aside as she continued to beg him. “Please Seunghyun it won’t take that long plus it’s not like you have anything planned to do today anyway.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“Please.” And just like that it was hard for Seunghyun to say no to Dara because he looked straight into her eyes, she had her puppy eyes down to an expertise level.

“Fine, but no more than three hours. After three hours, I’m out.” The excitement was basically oozing out of Dara now as she reached over to throw her arms around Seunghyun. He couldn’t help but laugh at how happy she was.

“We really need to do something about your shopping problem.” He was standing now heading towards his closet, as she was running out his room to get dressed as well.

They left the apartment after about 20 minutes, with Dara dressed in light blue jeans, a white blouse tucked in the front, and comfortable vans. Seunghyun was dressed similarly as he was wearing a white button down with the sleeves folded up to his forearms, dark blue jeans and black toms.

“We match.” Dara made the observation while they were both in the elevator.

“At least we look like a married couple.” Seunghyun joked and Dara could only laugh. It was much easier to joke about their situation now that they were closer.

“Well not really” Dara said as she held up her left hand to show her bare fingers.

“I am not buying you a ring.” He shook his head as he looked over his phone.

“Pft, cheap.”

“Yah” They both knew it was a joke and continued to laugh and fool around as they reached the mall.

The mall seemed to be especially full today and Seunghyun couldn’t help but notice a similar picture all around them. The women were dragging along their boyfriends or husbands to every store despite the unhappy look on their faces.

“This is how we look right now” Seunghyun pointed out his observation to Dara.

“Please, you’re happy to be here right now. This has to be more fun than what you had planned.”

“Yah, how do you know what I had planned?”

“We live together; you never do anything on the weekends.”

“That’s because I need a break after the week, that’s how weekends are supposed to be spent.”

“Whatever, just admit you’re boring.”

“I’m going home, I don’t want to get insulted.” He was about to turn back around when Dara hooked her arm onto his.

“Alright! I’m sorry, don’t go home. I’ll even buy you ice cream after this.” It was a weird discovery Dara made recently, despite being a grown man Seunghyun would literally do anything for ice cream.

“What flavor?” He stopped fighting now.

“Chocolate chip.” The smile on his face after hearing his favorite flavor always made Dara laugh, the very few moments where he seemed like a little kid.

They finally started to shop, and they only let go of each other when picking out clothes. Dara realized that Seunghyun was actually pretty helpful when asked about his opinion. He was honest but still kind. They were making their way to all of Dara’s favorite stores when someone called behind them. Dara looked back to see Heeyeol.

“Samchun! What are you doing here?” She was always glad to see him.

“What do you think?” He held out the many bags in his hand. “You Imo dragged me here.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s still in the store, I saw you so I came out to say hi.” Heeyeol then saw Seunghyun step out of a store and call out to Dara.

“Yah, how can you leave me in there all by myself?” Seunghyun was about to say something else but paused when he saw Dara’s lawyer standing there.

“Oh hello, I didn’t see you there.” He gave the older man a deep bow to which the man just laughed off and held him on his arm. Heeyeol had an aura around him to make anyone feel comfortable.

“I see you’re in the same position as I am.” Heeyeol stated as he looked at the bags in Seunghyun’s hands.

“Yes, she only brought me here to hold the bags.” The two men laughed together as Dara scowled.

“Don’t act like I’m the only one shopping. You bought a lot too.”

“Not nearly as much as you did.”  

“Whatever.”

“Wow you two are already acting like an actual married couple.” With that comment the three of them laughed, but it was cut short when Dara heard a voice say “married?” She looked back in surprise to see Youngkwang standing there. Seunghyun and Heeyeol were oblivious as they continued to joke about the subject until Heeyeol was called to leave. Seunghyun turned around and casually put his arm around her shoulder to keep her moving. But stopped when he noticed that she was stuck in the same position.

“What’s wrong?” His hand now moved to her small back, and Dara was suddenly very aware of how it felt. She moved away from his touch to Seunghyun’s surprise, and finally looked in the direction of Dara’s gaze. There was a man there looking right back at her, and almost immediately Seunghyun connected the dots.

“Youngkwang…” Dara whispered as he was now walking towards them.

He didn’t say anything to Dara as he stuck his hand out towards Seunghyun.

“I’m Youngwang.”

“… I’m Seunghyun.” The two shook hands, and Youngkwang completed the sentence for Seunghyun.

“Dara’s husband.” Youngkwang said this as he finally looked at Dara, and then once again at Seunghyun while saying “I’m her boyfriend, supposedly.”

“You have it wrong.” It was obvious Dara didn’t tell Youngkwang about them, and Youngkwang was feeling betrayed.

“I don’t think I do. It was very clear from that man that you two are married. Congratulations.” He was about to turn away when Dara held onto his hand and told him to wait.

Normally, Youngkwang would wait and let her explain but he was too angry. He shook her hand off his and looked her in the eyes as he said “I didn’t take you to be a cheater.” The words resonated deep within Dara and it took all her strength to not crumble down in the middle of the mall. Her whole life, she vowed that she would never be like her dad, a cheater, and here she was being accused of being just that by the man she loved.

Her hands felt cold as he walked away from them and she probably would’ve fell if it wasn’t for Seunghyun’s support. He was silent as he took the bags from her hands into his own, and with his other hand he held onto hers as he led her out of the mall. Her hand didn’t feel as cold anymore, after being engulfed by his warm one. 

****Hi guys, it's been a while! I finally updated, i'm sorry for the long wait. My classes start tomorrow after my long break and I decided to write to make myself feel better. So, in this chapter Youngkwang finally enters!! I love Youngkwang so much so i didn't have the heart to make him a bad person lol. I know his reaction might seem a little exaggerated but I'm writing as if some time passed by and Dara and him have gotten much closer. It makes sense why he would be hurt to know that his girlfriend has a husband, even if he doesn't know the whole story. As for Dara and Seunghyun, they've gotten MUCH closer as well <333 i loved writing their parts. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, i wasn't going to end it there but i decided to do so and write the next chapter starting from there. Thank you for reading, I'd love to know what you thought in the comments below.