Author’s Note: I don’t own anything.

/own thoughts/
italics – past lives

So I smile, to mask the tears that choke me inside. How foolish, I knew...
 

"Dara, stop acting like a baby."

She stubbornly folded both arms across her chest. "Go away."

"Dara, grow up."

"No."

Youngbae rolled his eyes and thought briefly of the joys of being an only child. "Dara, you were being tugged in two directions in the middle of the quad." His eyes narrowed, "Come to think of it, you were MAKING OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE QUAD!"

Chaerin and Bom kept their heads bent over the latest fashion magazine, listening to every word.

Youngbae continued to rant. "Are you INSANE! Dad's friends with some professors here! What if he heard about this?! Don't you remember what happened to your last date when he brought you home late? The guy is terrified to come within a foot of you!"

Dara scowled. " out, Youngbae."

"I would! Do you think I like talking about your stupid love life? I have my own!"

"You do?" Bom asked, looking up. She quickly engrossed herself in the latest celebrity gossip when her brother snarled in her direction.

"But then Dad gets mad at me for not looking after you! I am your older brother!"

Dara snorted. "By two minutes. Oh, the seniority trip you must be getting now."

"ARGH!"

Chaerin sipped from her coffee, wrinkled her nose at the slightly bitter taste and reached for some sugar. "Youngbae, you're going to pop a blood vessel."

"Yeah," Bom piped in, her lips twitching. "Can't you wait until we're not in public to have a conniption?"

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Does it bother you that you're kissing some weird man in the middle of the quad? Who is that guy anyway?"

Dara lifted a shoulder and turned away, pointedly ignoring her twin. Youngbae snarled.

"I don't think that I would be that bothered if a guy that cute kissed me in the middle of the quad," Bom pointed out. She wisely went back to her reading again as the twins glared.

Annoyed, Youngbae threw up his hands, upsetting the table. "Well? Who's the guy?"

Chaerin stirred her coffee and took another sip. Satisfied, she looked up. "His name is Kwon Jiyong. He's a friend of Seungri."

Youngbae's mouth dropped open. "Oh, no. Oh, hell no. Not a friend of Seungri's."

Chaerin's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What's wrong with Seungri’s friends?"

Youngbae looked at his sister like she was insane. "It's SEUNGRI! SEUNGRI! What else do you need!"

Bom closed her eyes and silently muttered a prayer for peace as another fight broke out.

Jiyong let the apartment door slam behind him, instantly regretting the decision. The marching band that thundered behind his eyes took that as a sign to start crashing the cymbals.

/What happened?/

The boy headed towards the bathroom, nearly knocking the sword and its stand over in his haste, and yanked open the medicine cabinet, quickly locating the bottle of aspirin. He studied himself in the mirror and grimaced. His face was pale and haggard, his hair in disarray. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

"I'm going insane," Jiyong decided, popping the two pills in his mouth. "First, I grab Dara's wrist. Then the next thing I know, her brother is asking me why my eyes weren't gold."

After a pause, he snorted. "As If my eyes could ever be gold."

Splashing water on his tired face, the boy rubbed a slim hand over his eyes and glanced in the glass once more.

And screamed.

The boy in the mirror had sorrow filled golden eyes.

Stunned, Jiyong lifted a shaking hand to his cheek, watching as the reflection lifted a steady hand on the same cheek. He watched, horrified, as the reflection opened its mouth. His voice filled the small bathroom, bounced off of the shiny tiled walls.

Your fault.

Your fault, to give into your cowardice.

Jiyong watched, spellbound, as a single tear ran down the reflection's skin. Both raised a hand and pressed their fingers onto the unforgiving glass.

How foolish to think that one would always have another chance at happiness.

Daesung glared darkly at his brother. "I don't understand why I have to go. I might have homework or something, you know."

Seungri barely glanced in his direction as he lowered the window, letting the wind mess up already mused hair. "Shut up. It's a Friday. Do your homework tomorrow."

"You only say that because you never do your homework."

"Eh."

"Stupid Panda."

"Show respect, punk."

Daesung just slouched further into the seat and desperately wished that he did have homework to complain about. "I still don't see why I have to go."

"Because you're living with me while you're going to that high school, Daesungie," Seungri grinned as the Daesung tried to hit him. "And because you're living with me, I make the rules. In fact, I'm God as long as you live in that house. My word is law."

"That's a scary thought."

"Shut up, TOP."

Daesung craned his neck to take another look at the quiet man who was driving. An odd guy, he mused, running a hand through his hair. But a nice one, he supposed. Now what was he doing with his brother?

He looked up as he heard Chaerin's voice and waved half-heartedly, as teenagers were wont to do. His brother's girlfriend wasn't so bad either, even if he had talked to her only a handful of times since she and Seungri started going out.

"Why does Park Chaerin go out with you?" he asked Seungri, who glowered at him. "I wouldn't."

TOP chuckled absently, his eyes passing over Chaerin. He seemed to be searching for someone. Daesung briefly wondered who it could be.

"Daesung!" Chaerin smiled and rested a white hand on his shoulder. "How are you? Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

He gave a typical shrug and a grunt, hiding a blush as he thought of a particular shy girl in his home room class. "Eh."

Chaerin laughed, noticing the blush. "How's school, Daesungie?"

"Eh."

"Sounds like fun."

He turned to see a girl with dark, laughing black eyes, and stared for a second, unable to speak.

Seungri gave the girl a hug before wrapping an arm around Chaerin and pressing a kiss to her temple. "Daesung, this is Dara, Chaerin's sister. Dara, Daesung. Daesung's my brother."

Daesung managed to untangle his tongue. "Step brother. I'm his step brother."

Dara smiled and held out a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Seungri's step brother."

He took it and his eyes filled with tears.

He scrubbed and scrubbed, not noticing the pain in his fingertips as they rubbed against the wood. His sobs ripped out of him unnoticed, his tears falling softy on the dried blood on the floor.

"Daesung." Seungri stood by the door, his eyes sad. "Daesung, come to dinner. You missed lunch. You've been working since breakfast. You must be exhausted."

He only shook his head, his arms straining as he moved the rag. . .

"Daesung."

"I can't. I'm not done."

"Daesung, its nearly time for dinner. Come on. Jiyong made your favorite."

His fingers twitched dangerously on the rag as his eyes narrowed. "I'm not hungry."

Seungri only watched as the boy's arms soon gave out and he collapsed, sobbing on the floor. The man walked over quietly and picked Daesung up, saying nothing as the boy flailed and kicked out.

"Put me down, Seungri! Put me down! The floor is dirty, Dara, she's going to be mad when she comes back because I told her that I would have the floors clean by today and..." his breaths came out in heaving gasps. "Dara, she's...she's."

Seungri only sighed. "Oh, Daesung."

The boy seemed impossibly young as he gripped Seungri's shirt. "Why? Why? Its not fair, Seungri. Its not fair! The blood won't come out, it won't come off...and Dara, and Dara..."

Seungri let him cry it out, unflinching as Daesung's punches hit him full on. Soon the boy's breaths quieted and slowed.

"I hate him," he whispered, his eyes drifting shut as Seungri half-carried him to his room and tucked him under the heavy blanket. "He wasn't there for her, Seungri. He didn't protect her."

"I know," Seungri murmured, his eyes gentle as he brushed a hand over the boy's locks. He didn't look as the door opened silently behind them. "Shhh. I know."

"Why couldn't he have just told her loved her?" His limbs felt heavy, and he fought off sleep to look at a sorrow filled brown gaze above him. "Why couldn't you just tell her, Jiyong? Didn't you love her? Didn't you?"

Your fault. Your fault.

Daesung missed Jiyong’s pain filled reply, his mind going black with blessed oblivion.

Your fault.

Dara watched, panicked, as the younger boy's eyes shined with unshed tears. "Daesung?"

He continued to stare, spellbound.

"Hey," Seungri nudged Daesung gently, concerned. "Daesung."

The high schooler jumped, muttered an apology and a 'nice to meet you too,' and bolted towards the car.

...how foolish, to think that time would stand still forever.