Bestest Friends

That Day in Spring

 

 

 

Glancing up at the afternoon sun, Dara wiped the sweat from her neck. The sweltering summer heat had officially been replaced with the cooler autumn breeze, giving way to a drop in temperature and a whole lot of fallen leaves for her to sweep off the pavement. The museum's facade was slowly turning into a blanket of reds and yellows and badly needed some cleaning and because she was the most recent addition to the staff by order of seniority, the proverbial baton was passed to her. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty—in fact, it was her usual routine back in the mountains so she was used to it. The mere thought made her wistful and she quickly shook her head to quell those bad vibes. 

 

*groooowl*

 

Dara clutched her stomach. One of the downsides of living on her own was that she had to wake up early to cook her own breakfast, something she didn't have to do back in the mansion. Butler Kim was a known stickler for rules and all things etiquette that when the clock strikes seven, you better make sure your behind is in the dining chair or else you'd be slurping on cold stew and nothing more. Dara sighed. Even that sounded appetizing right now. Fate seemed to taunt her further when a couple of high schoolers munching on some fried dumplings elected to walk in front of her before crossing the street. Her mouth watered at the sight. She narrowed her eyes at their retreating backs. "Ah jeongmal." Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she checked for any messages. Nothing. She sighed and continued plucking the weeds from the flower box.

 

Life had gotten lonely as of late. Her father, who's so workaholic he even goes to the office on Sundays, recently flew to Jeju to personally oversee the project he's currently working on. From the looks of it, he'll be there for a good half of the month. The rest of her friends were busy too. Chaerin and Bom were invited for a TV guesting on the popular variety show, Running Man and she contemplated visiting them on set, but in the end decided not to go through with it in fear that she'd only be a bother to them. On the other hand, Bigbang just finished their Oceania leg last week and are now in Japan for the continuation of their concert tour. In fact, the last time she talked to Jiyong, he was rushing through the airport to catch the earliest flight to Narita. That was three days ago. She haven't heard from him since. 

 

"Dara-ya!"

 

"Neh?" She looked up and saw one of her colleagues waving from the door.

 

"Aren't you leaving? It's already four."

 

What? It couldn't be. It was just— She looked at her watch and gasped. "Omo! Ottokae?!" Abandoning the pile of leaves on the sidewalk, she basically sprinted toward the locker room and quickly discarded her apron, grabbed her backpack and offered a swift apology to Professor Lee before bolting out the door. On any other day, she would patiently wait for the bus to arrive however, today was different and being late isn't exactly an option. She hailed a cab and told the driver the address, praying to the heavens he didn't leave the premises yet. Dara silently chastised herself, glancing worriedly out the window every five minutes. "Ahjussi, pali juseyo." Fifteen minutes later, she finally arrived in front of the school. Jumping out of the cab, she scurried toward the entrance and presented her ID to the guard. 

 

"Miss Park?"

 

"Neh."

 

"Are you here to pick up Yeonjun?" She frantically nodded. "He's waiting for you at the lounge."

 

"Kamsamhamnida." True enough, TOP's little nephew sat on one of the leather couches and was busy playing with his toy dinosaur. He raised his head as soon as she walked through the door. "Auntie Dara!" He ran and hugged her legs. "What took you so long? I'm hungry."

 

"Mianhe, Yeonjun-ah. I got busy with work. How's school?" She held his hand as they exited the building.

 

"It was okay. I drew Uncle Tabi."

 

"Ah jinjja?"

 

He nodded. "Wanna see?" He stopped to retrieve his drawing, pulling a piece of paper from his small backpack and holding it out to her. Dara paused. Blinked. Yeonjun basically drew a long line with protrusions on top, spikes that appeared to resemble his uncle's hair, but weirdly came out looking like a Bigbang light stick instead. It didn't even have any arms or legs or a smiley face which could help denote that it was anything remotely human. 

 

"Um...this is Uncle Tabi?"

 

"Neh."

 

How do you tell a kid his drawing ? You don't. You never do. "Ah, majayo. Aigoo. Good job, Yeonjun-ah!" She ruffled his hair and he giggled. "Can I have this one?" He nodded. She smiled and kept it inside her backpack for safekeeping. She's going to take a picture of it later and send it to Tabi. She could just imagine his face when he sees it. Kekeke

 

"Why are you laughing, Auntie Dara?"

 

"Eh? A-ani. It's nothing." She held his hand again and they walked toward the bus stop. "Wanna go get some ice cream?" 

 

"Yep! I want chocolate!"

 

They spent an hour at the ice cream shop before Dara dropped Yeonjun home. After giving her goodbyes, she was about to call a cab when her phone buzzed in her pocket. 

 

Bommie-chan calling...

 

"Yoboseyo?"

 

"Dara-yah..."

 

"Neh?"

 

"I need your help...unnnngh..." she groaned in pain. 

 

"What's wrong?"

 

"I...I don't feel well."

 

"Wae? Did you eat something without checking the expiration date again?"

 

"I don't know..."

 

"Okay, stay put. I'll call an ambulance—"

 

"Hajima!" She shrieked into the receiver. "I mean, uh...just c-come here and help me please."

 

"Alright. Where are you right now?"

 

 

 

~~~••••~~~

 

 

"Did she buy it?" asked CL as soon as the call ended. 

 

Bom flipped her hair before crossing her arms over her chest, "Of course. I told you I'm a good actress."

 

"You call that acting?" Seojoon teased from the couch while he helped the rest of the boys pump air into the remaining balloons. "You almost blew our cover." 

 

"Chaerin-ah, why is this jerk here again?" She narrowed her eyes at Seojoon who merely shot her a lopsided grin. 

 

"He paid for the cake."

 

"That's it??"

 

"He's also good friends with Dara unnie."

 

He nodded and crossed his middle finger over his index, "We're this close."

 

"Whatever," she replied before stomping off toward Jaesuk. Time to wait for the birthday girl to arrive. After almost half an hour, there was a knock on the door.

 

"Everyone, places!!!"

 

 

 

~~~••••~~~

 

 

The locks clicked and she hurriedly turned the knob. The inside of the hotel room was pitch-black and Dara blindly entered with her hand hovering in front of her, silently praying to the heavens she doesn't hit anything expensive. "Bommie?" she called out and fumbled with the light switch. She flipped it on.

 

"Surpriiiise!!"

 

She jumped back. Colorful balloons floated to the ceiling and had Polaroid pictures of her hanging from the end of its strings. Bom and CL were sporting their own rabbit ears while Yu Jaesuk—who she thought couldn't make it because he was busy managing the hotel—was wearing a fluffy hat together with Mino and the boys who held a huge banner that said, 'Happy Birthday Dara!' Some of the staff from YG also came including Hae-In who was holding the party poppers behind Choi Hyeyoun, Tabi's sister. Even Seojun was here too. "You guys..."

 

"Wae? Are you touched?"

 

She wiped her tears and nodded. 

 

"Aigoo! Don't cry, Dara unnie! We're supposed to be celebrating!"

 

"B-but..." She sniffled again and they all laughed ...it's not my birthday yet."

 

"Who says we can't throw you a birthday party in advance?" Bom gestured to Jinwoo who was already waiting for her cue by the turntable. "Hit it!"

 

 

 

~~~~****~~~~

 

 

Their concert in Osaka was such a huge success that the crowd clamored for one last performance from the OT5 even after the encore was done. After the show, Bigbang together with the staff and backup dancers ate dinner at a nearby restaurant before heading back to their hotel. The five of them were provided the penthouse and since there were only three bedrooms available, two pairs had to share while one gets to have a room all to his own. To settle this problem, they all decided to draw lots—Daesung with Youngbae, Tabi with GD, and the maknae, who had always excelled in games, nabbed the master bedroom much to s dismay. Jiyong stepped out the shower in his robes and was drying his hair with a towel when Seungri blasted through the door, screaming his name. 

 

"What the hell's wrong with you now?" He drawled in a bored tone before plopping down the couch. 

 

"Seungri, don't!" Daesung shouted behind the maknae and tried yanking the phone from his grip.

 

"Waaaae?? I just want to show Jiyong hyung!"

 

Youngbae languidly entered and headed to the fridge to get some drinks, TOP trailing behind him. 

 

"Show me what?"

 

"This!" He tossed the phone to their leader just as Daesung tackled him to the floor. Jiyong flung the towel over his shoulder before scanning through some dude's instagram, wondering why Seungri wanted him to check it out. A few more scrolls and his eyes instantly narrowed into slits. In the most recent photo, the guy was smiling from ear to ear and had an arm draped around Dara's shoulders while the little tokki pouted at the camera, her right cheek smeared with frosting. Under the picture was the caption: 'Aigoo. How cute is she? kekeke Saengil Chukahae, Darabbit!'

 

"Hey, isn't that Park Seojun?" TOP said over Jiyong's shoulder while munching on a bag of chips. The rest of the members glanced at him curiously.

 

"You know him, hyung?" YB asked.

 

He nodded. "We had a photoshoot together for a magazine."

 

"He's a model?"

 

"And an actor. He's very well-known."

 

"I knew he looked familiar," noted Daesung who remained sitting on the floor.

 

"Dude's really tall."

 

"Uh-huh. Chicks usually dig those types."

 

Jiyong suddenly slammed the phone on the table, his face devoid of any emotion and a deadly aura emanating off of him in waves. Without saying a word, he walked toward his room before closing the door with a bang.

 

"My phone!" the maknae sobbed as he picked it up, checking if his hyung had caused actual damage. 

 

"Yah," TOP threw the pillow at Seungri. "I'm sleeping on your bed."

 

"Waaaae??"

 

"Because you just lost me my room, you idiot."

 

"Should we talk to him?" inquired Daesung.

 

YB shook his head. "You know how jealous Ji gets when he sees Dara hanging out with other men. He hates the fact that he couldn't even greet her out in the open without causing a massive hysteria among his fans. Just let him be. He'll come out—eventually." He grabbed the remote and flopped down the sofa. "Who wants to watch the food channel with me?"

 

 

~~~********~~~~

 

 

"Happy birthday again, Dara-ssi."

 

"Thank you, unnie." She hugged Hyeyoun back. "Drive safely, okay?"

 

The short hand of the clock was nearing 12:00 am and apart from Chaerin and Bom, the rest of the guests had already left the party. Dara noticed three duffel bags stashed inside the bedroom earlier when she left to wash her face and surmised that the two girls must've planned to do another sleepover without telling her. "Daroooong~~" whined Bom from the kitchen. She maneuvered through the balloons still scattered on the carpet and found her perched on the stool, the icing off of her fingers.

 

"Neh?"

 

CL sipped her wine and pointed to a rectangular box on top of the counter, "It's time you open up our present."

 

"But you guys already threw me a party," she looked at them with furrowed brows and slowly traced the silver wrapping. "This is way too much." 

 

"Aigoo. Just open it!"

 

With a slight shake of her head, she lifted the cover and found three pieces of paper. "Are these—"

 

"Plane tickets!" shrieked Bom and CL excitedly as they jumped in unison in front of her, "We're going to Japan!"

 

 

 

 

 

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Madhatter_19
New chapter posted guys!! Sorry for making you wait. I got busy with the holidays, but here you go. Check it out now!

Comments

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PinkySwear90117
#1
Chapter 66: Authornim update juseyo 🙏🙏🙏
Carol_99 #2
Chapter 66: Update please author
freckles #3
Hope your okay. . . . Still Awaiting for your updates. . . . :-D
bernie20 #4
Chapter 66: Oh interesting.....jiyong it will takes all ur efforts to build a new good memory with her...
Thank u for the update....loving it
Frozen2big
#5
Chapter 66: I don't usually like reading incomplete stories because i hate waiting for updates but I'm glad i read this. This is one well written story. Can't wait for more updates. Thanks authornim
Grace62 #6
Chapter 66: Oh my god dont let her forget jiyong authornim he suffered too much!
chiiiyong
#7
Chapter 66: i just wished they all just planned this so jiyong can focus on his career
while dara is slowly recovering or a joke? anything just not her forgetting him
they had so many hardships already authorniim! haha
daragon_vip #8
Chapter 66: Nooo!!!! don’t make the plot by letting dara has amnesia authornim!!! Jeball...
daragon_vip #9
Chapter 66: Nooo!!!! don’t make the plot by letting dara has amnesia authornim!!! Jeball...
sheila_261981 #10
Chapter 65: Update pls...i really love the story