Dara opened the door to her apartment and took a seat on the couch. She had a long day trying to look for a job and decided to take a few minutes to wind down. She took her phone out of her bag and saw Bom’s messages. Yes, plural. Dara sighed with a smile. She suddenly missed her bestfriend and gave her a call.

“Darongggg!”

“What’s with the messages? I can’t even decide which one to read first.” She said teasingly.

Dara got an earful from Bom about how she’s been too busy to even text her, but really, what Bom  wanted to say is that she has to be in on all the gossip between her and Jiyong first, before the world knows about it. She just gave her a laugh, because really, how can Dara predict what photo those hungry media people will release first?

Her relationship with Jiyong has been so good, she didn’t even bother reading whatever the entertainment sites wrote. They mostly chronicled whatever information and photo they could gather. It sometimes amazed Dara how they recognize her and Jiyong even if they tried being inconspicuous.

AllKpop: G-Dragon spotted with girlfriend at Jeju Shinhwa World

Dispatch: Dara’s style is setting a new trend

Soompi: G-Dragon And Dara: Couple Style

The things written about them ranged from cute to ridiculous (some KNetz even gave them a nickname: Daragon and Nyongdal); some fans hated her guts but a good number loved how she “grounded” Jiyong (their words, not hers, but she smiles whenever she reads about it). The news and comments no longer bothered her though. She’s gotten used to it in the past 3 months, that she rarely read the links Bom sends her every now and then.

“Arasso, I won’t be a pest.” Bom joked. “What’s new with you?”

“Nothing much. I just came from some job interviews earlier.”

When Jiyong finally ironed out their initial dating contract with YG’s legal team, and made it void, Dara told Jiyong she wanted to find another job. Sure, she loved hanging around YG, watching Bigbang and other groups practice, but they both knew she can do more than be his assistant. Jiyong supported her wishes to go back and create a career of her own, but so far it hasn’t been working out.

Dara told Bom how she’s been having trouble applying to jobs mostly because she gets recognized more as “the Kpop superstar’s girlfriend”. She thought she could go back and work in marketing once again, but it’s been a real challenge. A part of her felt like she was getting interviews not for her skills, but so people can ask her Jiyong-related stuff.

Dara sighed.

“Aigoo. Does Jiyong know about this? Maybe you can call that guy who offered you that songwriting gig?”

“No, I don’t want to worry him or anything. But I may have to tell him about it soon. Maybe I’ll tell him and then bring up that offer from Ian from months ago.”

Christian or Ian is part of DPR, whom Dara met that night at Cakeshop, a creative team behind notable ads and music videos. DPR even helped Taeyang for one of his solo MVs. Dara got a follow-up email from him a month ago, but she hasn’t decided yet.

I hope the offer is still available.

Jiyong was adamant about the job offer – but Dara was unsure why but she was confident she can convince him, especially with her not lucking out on her interviews.

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