Dara sighed heavily as she stared out at the peaceful waters of the river from the closed window of her room that night, the blanket wrapped around her while she sat indian-style on the bed she share with CL. Her hand lifted up to touch the the gauze bandage on the right corner of her temple where she supposedly hit something solid when she fell. She tucked her hand inside the blanket again inhaling deeply before letting it out in a loud breath.

She barely heard a knock and when she turned  her head, she found CL entering the room with a tray of food.

“I brought you dinner,” CL said with a smile kicking the door closed with her foot and striding over to the bed. “Hye Sun thought you need some rest so we just brought the food to you.” She placed the tray on the bed near Dara. It had barbecue, a bowl of rice, some vegetables, pork ribs, fried fish, and a big glass of juice. “Unless you wanted to come out and join us. We’re at the main deck.” She grinned. “Which Hye Sun strongly disapproves off because she said you needed to rest. Which I’m not really sure what you are resting for, I mean, you’re not sick, right?”

“No…,” she answered halfheartedly, letting out a sigh again.

CL’s grin faded at her downtrodden expression. “Does your head still hurt? Do you hurt anywhere? I thought you said were okay?”

“I am….”

CL sat down on the bed beside her and put her arm around her shoulders. “I know it’s hard to get over your near-death experience and it probably traumatized you or something but we’re here, okay?”

Dara nodded slowly. “I know.” But nothing could ever take her out of this misery.

CL rubbed her shoulders. “I’m not used to seeing you looking so dejected or something. Tell me what’s wrong? Is any of your bones broken?”

“My camera...,” she answered tearfully.

“What?”

“My camera,” she answered loudly feeling like she wanted to cry. “It fell on the water and no one saved it.”

CL’s sympathetic face suddenly turned wry and she grabbed a handful of Dara’s hair and yanked it down.

“Owww!” Dara yelped frowning at her friend.

“Are you kidding me?” CL stood up and put a hand over hip. “We were all worrying about you almost dying and you are depressed over a camera?”

“That was the camera I bought on my first paycheck,” Dara defended indignantly. “It had sentimental value.”

“Ohhh, wait until Hye Sun and Bom heard about this.”

“Sorry! I appreciate you guys worrying about me and I thank you for that but I just can’t help it, okay? It was… my most valuable item and I lost it.” Her arms gestured over the river. “Lost it at the bottom of the sea. Do you know many years worth of memories are in there?”

“Aish,” CL said, twitching probably wanting to scold Dara until her ears bleed.

“So let me just brood over that, okay?” Dara asked with a pout. “Don’t worry about me anymore. I survived and I thank you, guys.” Then added in a sob. “But my camera didn’t. And I need time to grieve.” It cost a fortune when she bought it! She should have brought a camera strap with her and tied it on her neck.

“I really can’t believe this,” CL muttered. “Imagine telling them you didn’t want to come out because you are moping about your camera. And to think Donghae had jumped out of the water to save you and you are grieving over a camera he didn’t get to save.”

“I am really grateful for you guys saving me, don’t get me wrong and—say what now?”

“You’d better get your outta here or I’m gonna tell Hye Sun what you’re sulking in here about.”

“What did you say?” She was still stumped.

CL paused noticing the mystified expression on her friend’s face. “Uhh… that you’d better come out of the deck and join us for dinner?”

“No, before that.”

“Huh?”

Dara decided to just repeat it herself. “Donghae jumped in the water to save me?”

“Yes,” CL answered with a roll of her eyes.

“He did?” For some reason she really couldn’t believe that. She wasn’t expecting him to be playing hero. Or even have the ability to play the hero. Or maybe she is just too harsh in incorporating his impassive face to being callous.

CL’s expression changed after watching a series of emotion play over Dara’s face and she regarded her with a teasing look. “Yes, he saved you. He already dived before we even knew what’s going on.”

“Hmm….” Dara was still lost in thought trying to remember what happened. All she can recall is falling into the water, panic of not knowing how to swim, flailing while she screamed for help, the water suffocating her until her lungs burst and she can no longer breathe, her arms and legs getting numb until they became lifeless as she slowly sank.

CL sat down beside her again, her face looking eager this time. “He really saved you in every sense of the word. You weren’t breathing when he brought you up soooo he performed mouth to mouth resuscitation.”

Mouth to mou…. Dara inadvertently lifted a hand to touch her lips, her eyes getting wide… then quickly noticed the teasing look on CL’s face who is practically hanging on her shoulder and she immediately dropped her hand on her lap. “Well, I guess someone did a good job in teaching him first aid emergency.”

“Mm hmmm.” CL’s teasing tone.

“Oh, would you stop that! That was nothing, okay?”

“You look reaaaally affected over that nothing,” CL said with a wide grin wanting to tell Hye Sun and Bom about this immediately. They really wanted to break the chip off Dara’s shoulder and start to have fun. Ever since she got her position in 21 TV, she became more workaholic that she rarely had time to go out. Even with them. In all honesty, Dara and Donghae Lee really look good together but in her opinion, he’s way too workaholic as well and what’s going to become of their relationship? NOTHING. Dara needed someone outgoing and fun. Not someone rigid like Donghae Lee who’s the epitome of being serious all the time.

And being so straightforward in saying Dara is not her type. Tact, anyone?

Though it was fun teasing Dara about him because she always reacts everytime his name is mentioned which rarely happens with a guy they with. So if Dara turns out to like Donghae Lee eventually, then she will give her full support!

“I was just… puzzled that he would be the… you know… the one who would play the hero because… you know, he doesn’t look the type. And you know he doesn’t,” she added immediately when CL was about to open .

“You are being too mean on him,” CL said with a grin but completely agreeing with her. “But he really looks the type who would just stand there watching you drown while waiting for his men to come and save you because he had an important appointment to go to and he would rather not be late.”

Dara laughed at that along with CL.

“But seriously, Dee,” CL said after a moment. “Now that I think about it, he looked really worried while he’s trying to get you to breathe. All of us look worried, I guess. You really gave us a scare.”

“I’m really sorry,” Dara apologized again patting CL’s hand. “I was just an idiot for climbing on the rails. I was trying to feel Jack and Rose, y’know?”

CL yanked the side of her hair again for referring that Titanic scene.

“Oww.” Dara made a face at her.

“Get up on the deck,” CL said standing up. “Join us so you could forget about your stupid camera.”

“Fine, fine,” Dara said dropping her blanket. “I guess I should thank Donghae Lee for inconveniencing himself.”

CL chuckled. “But you have to admit, he looked really cool when he saved you.”

“How would I know? I was half-dead.”

The yacht had all the lights open making its beautiful reflections on the dark waters when they went up on the deck. Jae Hyun had set up the barbecue grill at the side and Hye Sun and Bom are sitting on the sofa with their legs curled underneath them. They yelled her name when they saw her like they haven’t seen her for a lifetime. Bom put her arms around her and made her sit on the sofa while the rest of them are asking if she is okay, their voices overlapping each other.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, sheesh!” Dara said looking exasperated at how they are treating her. She much preferred them using her as a of a joke or something.

“You were an idiot,” Hye Sun scolded her. “Jae Hyun saw you on the rails. Even a child knows that part is off limits.”

“She was re-enacting Titanic,” CL piped in reaching for a beer.

“Obviously,” Bom said. “The movie was 20 years ago and you’re just getting in on the fever.”

“Huh?” Hye Sun said sounding confused.

“She just got around to watching Titanic last month,” Bom explained.

“Seriously?” Hye Sun said looking like she wanted to laugh. “Didn’t we watch that when we were in High School?”

“Dara didn’t come with us then as she was too busy with her English Project with our teacher,” CL said plopping on the chair across from where Dara was seated.

“She skips when we wanted to watch movies,” Bom said.

“You were skipping classes to watch movies,” Dara stressed out.

“And you have missed out a lot,” CL said with a grin lifting her can of beer to take a drink.

The girls started teasing her while they reminisce their High School years, laughing at her expense and Dara just glowered at them but she did noticed that Donghae wasn’t there. Jae Hyun was the only one manning the barbecue grill while listening to them with a wide smile.

Before she can even wonder where he is, he suddenly appeared from the upper deck with a can of beer in his hand. Their eyes met for a split second before Dara immediately turned her head to Hye Sun, grimacing when the motion hurt her neck. Ah dammit. Why did she even turn away?

What the hell are you beating fast for, you stupid heart! She internally growled. Her heartbeat is speeding erratically inside her chest and what the hell, she could feel the blood rushing up on her face. She isn’t blushing, is she??? Just to be sure in case her friends zeroed in on her stupid reaction, she scratched her forehead and used her hand to slightly cover her face.

“You need some help with that?” She heard Donghae asked Jae Hyun.

“No, I’m good, dude,” Jae Hyun answered jovially.