Jiyong summoned all his energy to give Dara a big smile, which she didn’t return. She just opened the door and let him in. He followed her into the living room and sat on the free space on the couch. The mood was awkward; Dara was silent, just waiting for Jiyong to speak.

Jiyong cleared his throat and then put the small white box on the table. He put his hand on top of hers, and started talking.

“Tokki, what’s wrong? I know you’ve been avoiding me.”

Dara sighed. It took a moment for her to answer, which made Jiyong nervous. He never had to deal with fights in his past relationships. Those were wild days, and the women he dated were more or less okay with open relationships. Women got jealous of other women, but it didn’t bother him much. Probably not that much because maybe a part of him knew it wasn’t the real thing. And this scared, nervous feeling he’s having tells him just how much Dara meant to him. She’s the real deal, and he wouldn’t just let her go. Not just like that.

“I just had to have a little space from you, Jiyong. I had to think and make sense of things.”

Jiyong’s brows creased, and he cursed under his breath. Those words made him want to punch something.

“What things, Dara? I don’t understand.”

“You lied to me.”

“What? I-I have no idea what you’re talking about, Tokki. Please let me understand.”

“You lied to me about Kiko.”

The words hit Jiyong like a truck, and suddenly everything made sense. Well, maybe not everything but atleast he understood why. He enveloped both of Dara’s hands with his, squeezing them tightly.

“Dara, I swear, nothing happened. We met but it was a business transaction. I had to convince her to sign a non-disclosure agreement so she won’t blab to the media about our little arrangement. I had no intention of hurting you, I swear. Please, you have to believe me.”

Dara saw Jiyong’s imploring face. She knew he was being sincere.

“Okay. But why did you have to lie? I asked you, and all you had to say was what you just said.”

“I’m sorry, Tokki. I just didn’t think it was important. It was so dumb of me.” Jiyong sighed deeply. “I’m bad at this boyfriend thing. Will you forgive me, please?”

He kissed her hands. Jiyong was looking at her, but Dara wouldn’t look at him, her eyes focused on her toes.

‘Please?”

Dara finally returned his gaze and nodded.

“Thank you. I’m really sorry, Dara. Kiko’s been bugging me a lot. I think she’s annoyed that we’re dating or something. But that’s not important – she’s not important to us, okay?”

Dara nodded again, but he felt like something was still bothering her.

“Tokki, we have to talk so we can figure this out. I need to know what’s inside that head of yours.”

Dara bit her lip nervously, looking hesitant. Jiyong massaged her hand, patiently waiting for her to open up.

“I don’t know how to open up about this because it makes me feel so pathetic, Jiyong. But I have to, and I know that. Kiko invited me to lunch the other day when we happened to see each other near the café where I met DPR. The lunch went well, but she told me a lot of things about you and her…and how you …h-how you were so compatible in bed and all that. She seemed like she wanted to help me with you, but from what you said, that might not be true. But all those things she said made me wonder why you left so suddenly that night, Ji. What Kiko said, and how you’ve been with me lately, made me feel very insecure about myself. It made me feel like I’m not as attractive as your exes…which I know to be true bec