Dara's POV

 

Seung Ho helped me up on the slide. "Do you remember this place?"

 

I smiled as we sat down, our legs hanging from the bars. "How could I forget? It's where we first met."

 

It was raining that day. My hair was parted at the middle and carefully braided. I wore black.

 

"You looked like a toad."

 

He rolled his eyes. "For the hundredth time, I was trying to get my pencil that got stuck under the swing."

 

"Well, you looked like a toad while doing it."

 

"You weren't exactly the picture of sophistication yourself," he retorted wittily.

 

I nodded, folding my arms over the bar and resting my chin over it. He did the same.

 

"I looked horrible, didn't I?"

 

"We both did."

 

It was already past ten so we had the whole playground to ourselves. Thousands of fairy lights decorated the area along with a few Christmas wreaths hanging from the lamp posts that were yet to be removed. It was peaceful, being like this. Reminded me of the old times when things were better. Simpler.

 

"Are you staying?"

 

"Mmm?"

 

"Are you going to finally stay here?" he repeated.

 

I shook my head. "I'm only here because grandmother got sick. I have to make sure her health stabilizes before I go back to the countryside."

 

He was silent for a moment, pursing his lips like he always did when he's trying to figure something out. I sighed and nudged him with my foot. He looked up and met my gaze.

 

"What are you thinking?"

 

"It's really nothing important," he said sheepishly.

 

"Well, I've got"—I grabbed his wrist to check his watch—"an hour, more or less. So come on, humor me."

 

He chuckled. Wringing his hands, he went, "I was just thinking about this friend of mine...um—Jim. And well, he has this girl that he likes and they're very close."

 

I turned my head sideways to look at him. "Okay. Go on."

 

"But the problem is that she doesn't seem to think of him as a man that she'd actually, you know...date."

 

"Why?"

 

"Well, you see, they're so used to being around each other that she kinda treats him like a brother." He scratched his cheek absently. "Do you, uh, think he should pursue her and risk ruining their friendship? Or should he just forget about it because it's stupid and she'd probably end up turning him down?"

 

I stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

 

"Wae?!" He asked, lightly pushing me on the shoulder. "What's so funny?"

 

"This is what it's all about?" I raised a brow at him. "You brought me here because you're having girl problems?"

 

"What—no!!" Seung Ho's face turned to a classic shade of red. "It's my friend, Jim!"

 

I snorted while wiping stray tears from my eyes. "Yeah, right. Your friend, Jim." I laughed again. "I always knew you had someone you liked."

 

"Y-you did?"

 

"Yep." I cheerfully kicked my legs as I leaned back. "You always force me to watch romantic comedies with you and insist we stay until the credits roll in. Whenever I send you messages, it takes you hours to reply and even then I'd get very curt ones. Oh!" I wiggled my finger in front of his face. "Remember that flower shop we used to pass by from school? The one where they display a calendar and—"

 

"If it's your birthday, you'd get a free flower," he finished for me. "Yeah, I remember."

 

"You always tell them it's your birthday so you could get one. You were lucky the owner found you cute or else she'd have called the police everytime you entered the shop." He smiled bashfully at that. "You always picked a different flower each day, but I never saw you give it to anyone. I often wondered what you do with them." Then it hit me. "Or was it for her?"

 

He looked at me with a confused expression.

 

"You know, the girl you liked."

 

He sighed. "I told you, it's not me. It's Jim."

 

"Fine," I huffed. "Let me know if 'Jim' wants to listen to my advice."

 

He nodded vigorously. "He does."

 

I cuffed him on the ear and his mouth fell open in shock. "Aigoo, I'm your best friend so why are you keeping secrets from me?" I grabbed him by the neckline of his cashmere sweater. "Who?" His head moved back and forth as I shook him. "Who is this girl, huh? Do I know her? Where does she live? Is she even Korean?"

 

"Um..."

 

"She's American, isn't she?" I exhaled loudly. "Does that mean I have to talk to her in English? Gosh, that's going to be tiring."

 

"I don't—"

 

"Did you want to have a girlfriend that bad?" I clicked my tongue in disapproval. "Aiiish, paboya. Why didn't you wait for me to meet her? I could've told you if she was sincere, at least. I mean, you're not really an excellent judge of character. You're too trusting."

 

"I'm not—"

 

"Yes, you are. How did you think we became friends?"

 

"I..."

 

"I bribed you with ice cream. Then told you I'd pay for it. Did I pay for it?" He began to shake his head, but I cut him off with, "Nope, I didn't. I made you pay for it because I crawled under that swing to get your freakin' pencil."

 

"I wasn't—"

 

"Come to think of it, if you had the gall to lie to me for years then you must really like her." I slowly released him from my clutches. "Fine." I crossed my arms. "I guess I'll just have to—"

 

"I'M NOT DATING ANYONE!" He suddenly screamed. "I DON'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND, DAMMIT! YOU CAN'T—"

 

My hand shot out to cover his mouth. "Are you crazy?" I whirled around to make sure no one else heard him. "What's wrong with you? Geez." He narrowed his eyes before my palm. "Eew!!"

 

Wiping his lips with the sleeve of his jacket, he shot me a scowl. "That's what you get for not letting me speak."

 

"You're disgusting."

 

"And you're insane."

 

"Careful," I warned. "It takes one to know one, if you know what I mean." He rolled his eyes and I grinned. "Tell your friend," I poked him in the chest with each word, "to take the risk or he's going to lose his chance. If he confesses and she feels the same then he'd get the girl of his dreams."

 

"And if she turns him down?" he asked, his voice ridiculously small.

 

"Then it's her loss," I answered with a shrug. "Jim's an awfully great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have him." I winked. He shook his head, but I could see he was smiling.

 

"Thanks," he muttered and I raised a brow. "I mean, Jim would love to hear that."

 

I laughed. "And tell him if he has any problems or if he just wants to hang out, I'm only a call away."

 

He snorted. "Does that mean Hae In is finally out of the picture?"

 

I gave him the evil eye before pushing him off of the slide. Thanks to his lithe physique, he was able to easily land on his feet. I shrieked when he suddenly grabbed my legs and carried me over his shoulder like a sack of potato. Lucky for me, no child was around to hear the profanities coming out of my mouth. After enduring countless punches on his back, Seung Ho finally put me down on the swing.

 

"One of these days," I grunted as I tried catching my breath, "I'm going to get my revenge on you and it's going to be epic!"

 

"Oh, I look forward to it," he quipped as he occupied the swing beside me.

 

"And just so you know, Hae In and I were never in a relationship."

 

He didn't look convinced. "Then why did you go out with him?"

 

"I didn't 'go out' with him. Heojangnim asked me to show him around the city."

 

"And of course the movie theatre was a top tourist spot," he added dryly.

 

He earned a kick for that snide remark. "He invited me. I thought it was rude to decline. Besides, I refused to see him again after I learned that I was part of a contingency plan in case the company merger goes haywire." The swing stopped moving as I glanced up at the starless skies. Even nature reflected my misery. "You know what the worst part was? He knew and still went along with it."

 

Seung Ho growled. "That bastard—"

 

"It's fine. I don't blame him. He was stuck in the same position as I was." I sighed wistfully. "I just...it would've been nice to receive a genuine compliment once in while, you know?"

 

His eyes softened as he reached out to take my hand. "Hey, I—"

 

*Bzzzzz*

 

"Dara—"

 

*Ring ring ring*

 

I chuckled. "You should get that."

 

With a disgruntled sigh, he let go of my hand and took out his phone from his pocket. Upon seeing the number on the screen, he immediately cursed.

 

"Who is it?"

 

He made a face. "No one," he replied before ending the call.

 

"That could have been an emergency."

 

"I highly doubt that. It's probably another one of his stupid prank calls."

 

"His?"

 

"Yeah." He sighed. I snatched the phone from his grasp and looked at the caller's name. "Who is Airhead and why is he calling you?"

 

"I think the name speaks for itself." Seung Ho crossed his arms and glared at the ground. "I don't even know why he's calling me. He's probably dying or something."

 

"Heol," I gasped and slapped his arm. "You hate this guy that much?"

 

"Trust me, the sentiment goes both ways," he scoffed.

 

As if on cue, his phone rang again. Before he could take it from my hands, I swiftly pressed the answer button. He shot me a murderous glare as I handed him the phone. Left with no choice, he moved it to his ear and brusquely went, "What do you want?"

 

I leaned closer in an attempt to eavesdrop. The one-sided conversation went like this:

 

"Who? Oh. Oh. He's what?! Wait. Where?" He bowed his head and sighed deeply. "Arasso. I'm coming."

 

"What's going on?" I asked as soon as he ended the call. Seung Ho looked immensely put out.

 

"You're right. It was an emergency." He stood up and offered his hand. "I'll take you home first."

 

I shook my head. "If it's urgent then you should go. I'll just take a cab."

 

"Don't be ridiculous. I promised the chairman I'll get you home safe. Besides, your house is on the way so it's no trouble."

 

"Okaaay. Whatever you say...Jim," I taunted, laughing all the way to his car.

 

 

 

GD's POV

 

"One more, juseyoooo," I yelled at the bartender.

 

"Sir, I don't think—"

 

His words were cut off by my glare. Shoulders dropping in resignation, he poured me another shot of tequila, sliding it toward my direction when he was done. I might've said thanks. I can't really remember. Looking for a comfortable position in the narrow seat, I tried wriggling my body to right myself when someone bumped me in the shoulder and I almost toppled over.

 

"Oops. Sorry, dude."

 

An unbidden memory crawled its way up into the forefront of my brain, rendering me frozen in a trance.

 

'I'm sorry,' I pleaded. 'Whatever it is that I did, I'm sorry, okay?'

 

'Let me go, Jiyong.'

 

I blocked the door, refusing to let her leave without telling me what went wrong. 'Was it the flowers?' I glanced at the large bouquet on the table, wrapped in felt paper and a red bow. I had it especially arranged for her. Had it been too much? 'Was it the orchestra? Was it too tacky for you? I...I know you don't want anything grand, but I just want—"

 

'Let's end this.'

 

I stared dumbly at her. 'W-what?' A nervous chuckle erupted from my lips before I could stop it. 'I don't understand—'

 

'Of course, you don't,' her tone was sharp. 'You only see what you want to see.'

 

My hand reached out to touch her, but she slapped it away. 'Kiko, talk to me. Please.'

 

'It's not working. This...relationship. Or whatever you call it. It's suffocating me! Didn't we agree that we'd make it casual?'

 

'But I thought...that after everything—'

 

'Look, we dated and it was fun, but let's be real, we're both at the peak of our careers. Are you really going to jeopardize that for—'

 

'Yes,' I exclaimed, my hands finding her shoulders. I held her gaze. 'For love, I will.'

 

For a moment she didn't say anything, only stared at me with vacant eyes. 'You still don't get it, do you?' she finally murmured. 'I was never in love with you.'

 

 

Reality yanked me back when I felt a hand on my arm.

 

"Are you alright, sir?"

 

Ignoring his baseless concern, I tossed my head back and downed the whole drink. Almost instantly, a burning sensation filled my throat and I stopped myself from openly gagging. Blinking back tears, I slammed the glass on the table before raising two of my fingers to ask for another one. This time however, the guy manning the bar didn't have to be told twice.

 

As the pounding in my head hiked up to an alarming intensity, I decided to rest my cheek on the marble counter. The smooth texture of the slab felt cool to my skin and it helped ease my growing migraine. I tried to focus on the way the bartender prepared my drink—God, he moved slow—but the alcohol must've been ng with my optic stems since he was starting to replicate like he was fckn Naruto.

 

"Here you go, sir."

 

I cocked my head to the side and squinted. "Thanks, Hae Shhh...shoo—"

 

"Hye Bin. It's Hye Bin," he helpfully provided, pointing to his name tag before shrugging. "Not that Hae Shoo doesn't sound appealing, but yeah. You're welcome."

 

"Cheers."

 

"You do know that's a tissue holder, right?"

 

Scrunching my nose, I pulled the object closer for inspection. Oh, damn. It really was a tissue holder. "Oops." *hic* "My bad." Kekekeke. He handed me the glass and I struggled in bringing it to my mouth. God, why was my hand so uncooperative right now?

 

I gave up and put the glass down.

 

"Ahjussi." He didn't look up from his work and continued wiping those little glasses, smoothly moving his wrist in a circular manner. "Do you have anyone you love?" With a barely there smile, he nodded. I leaned forward, head on my hands. "Would you...lie to the one you love?"

 

He chuckled and stowed the already clean shot glass on the shelf behind him before picking another one up. "Only when necessary."

 

I frowned. "When is lying ever necessary?" I told him, some of the words coming out in a slur. "If you love someone, shouldn't you be honest with them?"

 

The bartender, whoever his name was, looked at me for a long while before wiping his hands on the black apron tied to his waist. Glancing around the almost vacant bar, he went, "I suppose I can spare you a few minutes." He grabbed a stool and sat in front of me, linking his hands as he gave me his undivided attention. "So...have you ever been married?"

 

I made a face at his insinuation. "Do I look like I'm married?"

 

"I suppose not. If you were, you'd be having a whiskey right now." He crossed his arms and leaned back. "Well, I'm married. And let me tell you, kid, it's been a crazy rollercoaster ride with the wife for twenty-three years, but—" he held his finger up, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

 

Did he just call me kid?

 

"If you're drinking your off for a girl then you aren't as mature as you think."

 

Daebak. How did he know what I was thinking? Was he a mind reader?

 

"I wish I was, but you're saying everything out loud. I have no doubts even the security over by the door can hear you." The bartender looked at me with a pitiful expression. "You got hurt pretty bad, huh?"

 

I snorted. "You have no idea." Balling up the tissue, I threw it toward the bucket of ice...and missed.

 

"Tell you what," he said, clapping me on the back before smoothly pushing my drink away from my reach. Man, his hand was heavy. "If you let me borrow your phone so I could call someone to pick you up, then I promise to tell you my secret to a perfect relationship, free of charge."

 

I loudly snorted. "What kind of *hic* lousy offer is that?!"

 

"The kind that might just save your life. Drink another one of these and you're gonna end up in a coma." He frowned at the glass. "Believe me, I've seen a few in this lifetime to know how fast alcohol can kill you."

 

I frowned. "But you work in a bar."

 

He shrugged. "I hand my customers the poison, kid. What they do with it is up to them." I was still trying to decipher what kind of moral lesson was imbedded in that phrase when he asked me again, "So, what do you say? You want the advice?"

 

I rolled my eyes. Fishing the phone out of my pocket, I tossed it on the bar counter. Leaving it to him to make the stupid call, I let my head fall back into the table, my hands covering my ears to tune him out. I think I sort of drifted for a while because when I gained back a sliver of lucidity, I was already looking at the ceiling.

 

"Oh, good. You're alive." The bartender stretched his hand and hauled me up from the floor, placing me back on the bar stool with the gentleness of a hippopotamus.

 

"What happened??" I groaned as vertigo hit me. Sh*t. My head feels like it's going to explode. "How long was I out?"

 

"Long enough for you to slip on the floor like a deranged worm. I actually thought you needed reviving or something." He cackled. "Are you alright?"

 

"Y-yeah." I rubbed my temples.

 

"Can you walk?"

 

"I'll manage."

 

"Good. That means I don't have to carry you all the way to the car."

 

I looked up to see the new addition to my pity party of one. It had me instantly questioning how drunk I was. "What are you doing here?" I croaked.

 

"I've been asking myself the same question."

 

"B-but...H-how—"

 

He shot me an exasperated look before turning his attention to the bartender. "I'm assuming it was you who called?"

 

"Yep," the bartender piped up and took his place between us. "You must be his manager."

 

"What?"

 

"You're on his speed dial. I'm Song Hye Bin, the one who talked to you on the phone. Are you his manager?"

 

He crossed his arms and sent a glare my way. "Did you tell him I was your manager?" I don't know if it was the alcohol, but he sounded like he was offended or something. I mean, what's up with the attitude? Being my manager is practically a privilege. Ask Tae Hee. "You really are something," he added.

 

Not just something, but someone! Which is more than I can say for him.

 

"Wait, how do you know each other?" Hye Bin asked, looking between us with a raised brow.

 

I shrugged. "Never seen him before in my life."

 

"This bastard," he murmured under his breath.

 

"I heard that! Ya, is this how you speak to someone older than you?!" I stood up from my seat and almost toppled over if not for Hye Bin catching me. "Where are your m-manners, you punk?"

 

"It's overshadowed by your rudeness."

 

"Why, you little—"

 

"Okay, time out!" Hye Bin raised both hands in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Let's keep the bar free from any unnecessary bloodshed, alright?"

 

"He staaaarted it," I drawled. The world began spinning again and I swayed. Stupid ground.

 

"Easy, buddy."

 

"I don't have time for this. Here." I saw the squirt slam a few dollars on the counter. "That's for whatever he ordered. Thank you for your help." He cocked his chin in my direction. "I'll take him off of your hands now."

 

"Aiiiish, shiro!" I hid myself behind Hye Bin-ah's broad shoulder. "I don't want to go with him."

 

"Stop acting like a child, will you?"

 

I narrowed my eyes. "I will once you leave." I shooed him away with my hand. At least that's what I think I'm doing. "Go. Pali. Get lost!"

 

He loudly exhaled. "I believe we already had this conversation and I don't like to repeat myself. Now can you please extricate yourself from the bartender so we can get going."

 

"Don't want to."

 

"Fine. You leave me no choice," he snapped and yanked me from behind my human shield. I wanted to fight him off, but my stupid body was malfunctioning. "Look at you. You can't even stand on your own two feet. Idiot."

 

"I don't need your help, s-squirt."

 

"Alright."

 

That was the only warning I got before he let me go. I dropped to the floor like n jello.

 

"YAAAAAAAAA!" I glared up at him.

 

He appeared extremely gratified as he went, "I was proving a point."

 

"Well, joke's on you 'coz I'm telling Dad!" I tried crawling my way toward the stool before I was hauled up a bit forcefully.

 

"Wait...you two are brothers?" Hye Bin exclaimed, amusement showing on his face as he helped in dragging me toward the car.

 

"Unfortunately," replied the squirt. I wanted to deck him in the face while he was securing the seatbelt across my body. It would've been great if only I could get my fingers to work. "That's the thing about family, you don't get to choose them."

 

"Well my parents love me," I mumbled with half-closed eyes.

 

"They got no choice. They're stuck with you," I heard him mumble near my ear. Smart-. I was barely awake at this point.

 

"I never got your name, kid," Hye Bin called out.

 

I listened to the car purr to life. Then a window being rolled down.

 

 

"Seung Ho," my squirt of a brother answered. "My name's Seung Ho."