"I thought you need to be at the party by 9?"

Jiyong raised his head after hearing her voice. He was busy with some files and didn't notice the time.

His eyes widened after seeing Dara.

"I'm really not comfortable with the heels I'm wearing... Can I just go home and let your friend drag you to the party instead?" Dara pouted.

Jiyong remained staring at her.

"Earth calling Jiyong... Hello..." She snapped a finger in front of his eyes.

"Are you the Ajhumma I know?" He asked.

"No... I'm someone else." She sarcastically answered.

"You look different." He smiled.

"Thanks to your cousins... HAHA." She replied.

"What time is it?" He looked at his watch.

"It's 8:45."

"Already?"

"Uh huh..." Dara nodded. "So let's go get going so we can go back home early."

"Sorry... I didn't notice the time." He stood up and walked towards the door after neatly fixing the papers on his table. "Shall we?" He opened the door widely.

Dara got near Jiyong and said, "Please guide me while walking... I really don't know how to walk in heels." She crinkled her nose.

"I'd gladly assist you." He answered and offered his arm for her to hold.

"Thank you." She smiled sweetly.

"Let's go before I receive thousands of text messages from Bom."

***********

""Let's wait 5 more minutes... Jiyong will surely come." SeungHyun was trying to calm her girlfriend.

"He might not come... I think I really need to fly my way to his office and drag him here." The woman was fuming.

"Have a drink... I already threatened him about your anger so I'm sure Jiyong would listen... But since he's a busy person, he might come late." SeungHyun tried to explain.

"We haven't seen him for a while... Work's more important for him." She crossed her arm across her chest.

"But he misses you and still thinks of you guys although he's busy." A guy from behind spoke.

She immediately turned her head to make sure she's really hearing Jiyong's voice.

"Good evening lovey Bom." He waved his hand.

She quickly hugged him tight and smacked his arm afterwards.

"I was about to go to your office and literally drag you here after kicking your ." She placed her hands on her waist.

Jiyong scratched his head and replied, "Why do you always have to nag?"

"Just think about how hard it is for me to be with this nagging lady." SeungHyun teased.

"Ah! So you don't want to hear my nagging anymore?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I was just kidding... Of course my everyday's not complete without hearing that beautiful voice." He hugged her.

"Both of you haven't changed... Still as cheesy as before." Jiyong chuckled.

"I have to or else Bominator will come out of the dungeon."

"Yah!! Who are you calling Bominator?" She kicked his leg.

"Ack!! That hurts." SeungHyun grimaced.

"Serves you right." She smirked.

Dara was silently standing behind Jiyong when Bom glanced at her direction.

"Who did you bring with you?" Bom asked curiously.

"Oh!" Jiyong slapped his forehead. "Sorry, I forgot... This is Dara... my friend. Dara, these is my bestfriend SeungHyun and her super lovely girlfriend, Bom."

Bom smiled maliciously. "Friend?"

"Yes... she's a friend." Jiyong answered.

"Hi, nice meeting you." Dara greeted shyly.

SeungHyun got near Jiyong and whispered. "Is she really just a friend?"

Jiyong looked at him and Bom then glanced at Dara.

"Can we talk in a private room?" He asked.

Bom lead them to one of the private rooms of the hotel. They own the place so it was easy for her to request for a room quickly.

***********

"Will Kiko be coming?" Jiyong asked Bom after they got into the room.

"She said she will but will come after her activities for the day... Why?"

Jiyong sighed.

"Hon, you know Kiko and Jiyong's past, right?" SeungHyun reminded.

"That's way past your moving-on time frame Jiyong... Don't tell me you still have not forgotten about the decision she made."

"Do you want me to be honest?... Yes, I haven't moved on yet... And I think I'm still not ready to see her... That's why I brought Dara." Jiyong replied.

Dara stayed silently seated on a chair at one of the corners of the room.

"I asked her to come with me to divert my attention away from Kiko if in case I won't be able to avoid her presence... She's Tim and Kim's Nanny."

"Why avoid her when you can talk to her about what your feeling or what you have felt about her decision." Bom asked.

"The pain is still there, Bom... It's not easy to forget."

"You still like her... and you just can't admit it to yourself because of your pride." Bom told him.

"I don't know." He said honestly.

"If you didn't want to see her, you could have just declined the invitation."

"Then what? Receive tormenting messages from you or have myself dragged by those deceiving arms of yours?"

"Bom has a point bro... You probably have not noticed it yourself but declining the invitation could have been easy for you... But you must have felt the urge to see her again that's why you agreed." SeungHyun commented.

"Why not just talk to her?" Bom asked.

"I won't... I have someone with me tonight." Jiyong glanced at Dara.

"I can manage Jiyong... Don't worry about me. If you need to talk to her, go ahead. I can just go back home and make sure the kids are okay."

"No... You'll stay with me... You two, enough of talking about Kiko... I'm here to see you guys... because you asked me to come... That's it."

"Fine." Bom said. "Let's all enjoy the night... It's our reunion after all."

************

"You okay out here?" Jiyong asked while they were seated on a table quite far from the crowd.

"I'm fine... I'm just not accustomed to socialization so I'd rather sit here and have my drink." She smiled.

Jiyong looked at the crowd where Bom and SeungHyun was.

"Isn't she here yet?" She asked.

He shook his head. "She probably won't be coming... Which is a good thing."

"You really think so? Don't you think your friends were right with your reason for coming?" She asked.

"Not you, too..." He rolled his eyes.

"By the looks of your glances to the crowd, you're surely looking for someone... Waiting for Kiko, right?... Expecting for you to see her tonight?"

"Tell me why I brought you here with me?" Jiyong asked.

"To help you divert your attention from her." She answered.

"Then why would I wait for someone I'm trying to avoid?"

Dara shrugged. "I don't know... I just feel that your friends can see what you can't see... and I can see it, too."

"Pointless discussion." He stood up. "I'll just go to them and have a little talk." He pointed at his friends.

"Go ahead."

"You sure you're okay here?" He asked her.

"Ajhumma will be fine." She smiled and he did the same.

************

Dara was silently watching the crowd as the number of people increased. The night's getting deeper but the party has just became livelier.

She took her time looking at how Jiyong acts with his friends.

His smile was visible and he was surely enjoying himself with the stories they're sharing, chuckling and laughing every now and then.

'He really looks attractive... Who won't be mesmerized by that smile?... I wonder why Kiko selected her career versus Jiyong.' Dara thought to herself.

She was drinking the last sip of her juice when she saw the crowd's gaze turned to the entrance of the reception area.

It was Kiko who arrived.

Dara looked back at where Jiyong was and she saw him stiffened in his position.

The first person Kiko greeted was Bom who immediately hugged her with excitement.

They headed to where SeungHyun was and he was only a couple of friends away from Jiyong.

When Dara noticed SeungHyun, Bom and Kiko were about to go near Jiyong, she quickly stood up and raced to their direction.

She can see how Jiyong became uneasy after seeing Kiko heading his way and she's worried he might not be able to handle it.

"Hi Jiyong... Long time no see. Did you come to the party alone?" Dara heard Kiko asked.

Dara was quick to stand beside Jiyong even before he opens his mouth to reply.

"I'm actually with him." She answered, sliding her hand down to Jiyong's, intertwining their fingers together while smiling at Kiko.

Kiko looked shocked but was able to regain her poise rapidly.

"You're girlfriend?" She asked, forcing a smile.

Dara was about to answer YES but Jiyong was first to say, "A very close friend."

"I see... Nice to see you again, Jiyong... I hope we can talk some other time." Kiko told him while looking at him in the eyes.

"We'll see." He answered squeezing Dara's hand, feeling nervous for no reason.

A close friend interrupted their conversation, giving Kiko a hug and asking how she's been.

Jiyong took the opportunity to escape and walked back to their seat, far from where Kiko was, while still holding Dara's hand.