Seungri rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn't think the whole thing would become an issue. If it had been him in Jiyong's position, people would've just brushed it off. "Hyung, I think you should—"

"I know, goddamit!" Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Jiyong finally dialed the number Taehee gave to him. She answered on the fourth ring. 

"Yoboseyo?"

"Jooyeon-ssi?"

"Speaking. Who's this?"

"It's GD. Are you busy?"

"Ah, aniyo," she happily chirped. "I'm on set right now, but the camera's not rolling yet so we can totally talk. Yah, I'm surprised you kept my number."

He didn't. But that's not important. He decided to cut to the chase. "Listen, can you delete that video you posted earlier?"

"Video? Ahhh. You mean, the Kwai app thing?"

"Yes," he replied through clenched teeth. "Please delete it. I don't want this to cause rumors about us dating. People might get the wrong idea."

Her voice sounded slightly disappointed when she asked, "Is that the only reason you called me?"

"Yes."

It took a few moments before she spoke again. "It's done. If there's nothing more, I'm going back to work."

"Arasso. Thank you." After hanging up, he instructed Seungri to check if Jooyeon wasn't bluffing.

"It's gone, hyung. She deleted it."

"Good."

"We still have a problem though," he started, "the video's already leaked out. It's published on numerous fansites."

"That's not even the worst part," muttered Taehee as he turned the computer screen around so they could see the news. "Dispatch has their hands on it, too." True enough, it was a screenshot of him and Jooyeon playing around with that blasted Kwai app and acting all cute toward each other. What the public doesn't know was that he's pretty much sloshed at that point during the night which would explain why she successfully convinced him to do the video in the first place. Jiyong leaned forward and rubbed his temples. Why can't anything ever go his way for once? This was giving him a major headache. A knock on the door forced him to look up. 

"Sorry to interrupt," muttered Soonho as he peeked in, "but Perron's requesting a video conference. He says it's urgent and that we might have to move the tour dates up."

"Move it up?" asked Jiyong with a scowl. "Whatever for?"

Soonho shrugged. "He mentioned something about the availability of the concert venue. I don't really know, man. It'd be better if you just take the call."

He raked his hands through his hair. Looks like he had no other choice. Rising from his chair, he followed Soonho out of the room. "Yah, wait up!" Taehee yelled, jogging after him. "You forgot your phone. I think you got a message, too."

"I'll check it later," he brushed it off with a dismissive wave. "Let's finish this for now."

========

Dara tore her gaze away from the Han river and settled on the steaming cup on Suengho's outstretched hand. "I hope you still like caramel machiatto. I'm afraid it's the only thing they have."

"It's fine," she replied with a warm smile as he sat beside her. "I should be the one apologizing for bothering you."

"Aigoo, don't worry about it. I needed an excuse to get out of the office, anyway. It tends to get pretty boring talking to the wall, you know." Her laughter slowly turned to a fit of coughs and he dutifully rubbed her back until she calmed down. "So..." He turned to look at her. "Have you really eaten dinner or are you just faking it because you don't want to tell me how my precious brother ended up ditching you again?"

She smoothed down the hem of her skirt. "He didn't ditch me. He's just—"

"A moron who makes it a habit of messing up. Seriously, how can you like him?" he playfully bumped her shoulder. "I mean, pssh, clearly I'm the better brother." It coaxed a heartfelt laugh from Dara, the sound pleasant to his ears  enough to make him chuckle. "See? I'm charming when I want to."

"Not to mention perfectly modest."

"Exactly." It earned him another slap on the arm. He grinned and took a sip from his coffee cup, the swirl of steam joining the night air as he exhaled. "By the way, heojangnim wanted me to take over the Jeju project. Says he'd be unable to do it for the time being. Are you guys leaving or something?"

She nodded morosely, the loose strands of her hair whipping around her face in the cold breeze. Without a word, Seungho removed his coat and draped it over her frail shoulders. "It seems to be the only option left."

"But you don't want to go." Her silence was confirmation enough. "I don't know, Dee. If the doctors think it's the best solution then maybe you should at least consider it. I take it you haven't told Jiyong?"

"Not yet. I was planning to tell him earlier, but--" she bowed her head, her shoulders dropping. "I think I know what got him preoccupied."

"You saw it too, huh?" She nodded into her lap. "Aigoo. That pabo's always causing trouble." He gently nudged her side. "You okay?"

"Neh. I'm just worried about him."

"This isn't the first time he's involved in a scandal and it certainly won't be the last. He's a grown man, Dara. He can handle it. The person you should be worrying about, however, is yourself. Which is why," he continued as he moved to stand, the fine hairs on the back of his neck raising at a particularly chilly wind, "I should provide you with a proper meal. Kaja. You're not even supposed to be staying outdoors for a long time, remember?" She nodded and tried to hand him back the coat. "Aniya. You need it more than I do."

"Dukkeobi."

"Aiisht, I told you not to call me that."

"I know this might be asking for too much, but...I need you to promise me something."

"Mwo? What is it?"

Wringing her hands in front of her, she fixed her eyes on the damp ground. "Whatever happens, please stay with your brother. No matter how much Jiyong pushes you away, don't ever leave his side. Take care of him for me." She reached out and gripped his wrist, her hand startlingly pale against his shirt sleeve. "Butagiyeyo, Seungho."

It pained him to see Dara easily accepting her fate. That his best friend and the only girl he had ever loved got defeated by a stupid anomaly made him frustrated moreso because he couldn't even do anything to help. "Yah, didn't I tell you to focus on yourself? Aiisht." He sent her a lopsided smile before pulling her to his chest, his chin coming up to rest over her head. "And you don't even have to ask me that. Someone has to make sure my idiot of a brother doesn't get himself into too much trouble." He felt her nod against him and he tightened his hold, as if the action itself could take away all of her pain and suffering. Dara deserved the world, but the world didn't deserve her.

"I'll take care of him, I promise."

~~~++++~~~~

*Beep beep beep beep*

Click. 

Jiyong pushed open his door with a heavy sigh. When he arrived at the restaurant, Dara was no longer there. He visited her apartment next and found it empty. He even went so far as to stop by the mansion and ask the caretaker if she was inside. The elderly butler had informed him that his 'agassi' had decided to leave for the time being and did not disclose any information as to where she was headed. He thanked him and after checking three more places she frequented, he finally decided to call it a night. There was no point trying to contact her either. It all went straight to voicemail. Cracking his neck, he was about to amble his way toward his bedroom when the door to the balcony opened, revealing Dara with Iye purring contentedly on her arms. 

"Ahjumma?" he squinted in the dark.

"You're back," she quietly answered, carefully bending down to place Iye on the floor. When Dara finally stepped out of the shadows, Jiyong was shocked at what he saw. At the side of her head was a small band-aid and she had obviously gotten thinner. Despite the three layers of clothing she had on, it looked like a breath of wind could blow her away. Her cheeks weren't as full as before, her complexion paler than the last time he saw her. Half of her hair was braided, the rest fell over her shoulders in brown ringlets. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Can we talk?"

He didn't know why exactly, but warning bells went off in his head. He tamped down the feeling and muttered, "S-sure.” Jiyong gestured for her to take a seat on the couch while he grabbed the glass from the counter and filled it with water from the fridge's dispenser before chugging it down in one go. They glanced at everywhere but each other for a few minutes before he broke the strained silence. "I'm sorry about dinner. I got busy with work and—"

"I understand," she nodded, her eyes still fixed on the glass table.

Jiyong cleared his throat. "Have you eaten?"

"Neh."

"Okay. You want something to drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Ahjumma, what happened to—"

"Who's Lee Jooyeon?" she suddenly asked, brown eyes coming up to stare at him. Jiyong's muscles went rigid. . This was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to avoid. He rocked on his heels and considered his reply. "It's not what you think. We're just friends. Seungri invited me over for drinks and she was there. That video, we were just fooling around. It's nothing but a harmless joke, I swear."

She nodded after a while. "Youngbae did say you were with other people that night and that I shouldn't get the wrong idea."

He sighed in relief. His bestfriend was truly a life-saver. "Then you know nothing happened, right? She's just an old acquaintance." If she believed him, he couldn't tell. Her expression didn't give anything away. 

"It would be better if you avoid situations that might put you at a disadvantage in the future, Jiyongie."

"Arata. I will."

"I'm serious, Ji. You need to be more careful from now on. It's not always—"

"Aiish. I get it already! Geez, you sound like President Yang," he grumbled and removed his jacket, flinging it over the ottoman before bending over to take off his socks. "It's been a really long day so can you spare me the lecture just this once? I'm too exhausted to argue with you right now." Jiyong dragged himself toward the bathroom to do his nightly routine of washing his face and brushing his teeth. He decided to forego taking shower since he basically spent the whole day attending meetings and therefore left his face bare from any make-up which was a relief in itself. He was too lazy to do it, anyway. Once done, he sauntered toward his walk-in closet to change into something more comfortable. After a few minutes of perusing, he finally settled on a pair of lounge pants and a sweatshirt. Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out the orange snuggie he bought from a thrift store during one of his trips abroad. Ever since the little tokki started sleeping over at his apartment, she had taken ownership of the right side of his bed, insisting that it's topographically 'warmer.' In fact, he found it adorable how she's always curled up against him in the mornings, head planted on his chest, arms secured across his torso, and her legs in a tangle with his own. Smiling at the memory, he came back to his room expecting Dara already tucked under the sheets only to find it empty.

"Babe?" Throwing the towel over one shoulder, he peeked out the door and saw her in the exact same position he left her. "What are you still doing there?"

Hands folded on her lap, she looked resolutely at the wall. "You're right. I—I'll let you rest. We'll talk in the morning."

"That's not what I meant." Jiyong frowned. "It's late, love. I'll drive you home tomorrow."

"I have to leave."

He scratched his head and yawned, completely unaware of her change in demeanor. "Okay. Just—lemme grab my jacket and I'll take you home."

"No, Ji. I'm not talking about home." Dara's mouth formed into a thin line as she fumbled with the buttons of her coat. "I meant I have to leave...out of the country."

He whipped his head around to face her. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I’m not. Our flight's in four days."

"What?" he exclaimed, his earlier drowsiness all but disappeared. "How come you didn’t tell me?"

"I’m telling you now."

Jiyong crossed the room in three strides. "When will you be back?"

"I'm not...” she replied, chest heaving "...sure when exactly."

"What do you mean you’re not sure?"

"I may be there for a couple of weeks—maybe months..."

"But why now?" He sat across the table from her. "My tour’s going to start soon. I rarely get to see you because of my crazy schedule and your dad's equally stupid rules. I mean, can't you just leave once the year ends?"

Dara refused look at him and settled her gaze on her lap instead. "It's...complicated."

"No it's not. All you need to do is tell your dad you're not going."

"It's not his decision to make."

He stared at her for a solid minute, processing the meaning of her words. "I don't believe this," he let out a mirthless chuckle. "You're actually mad at me, aren't you? You think I cheated on you with Jooyeon that's why you're doing this to get even with me. And here I thought, you were the rational one."

His words rendered her speechless. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here in the first place. She closed her eyes and worked up a deep breath to compose herself before standing and grabbing her bag. "If you're not ready to listen to reason, then this conversation has come to a moot point." Without another word, she turned around and headed toward the door. 

"Dara."

She halted, her hand hovering from the handle. He took a step, then another, until he was a mere two feet from where she stood. "I’m sorry, love. I’m just...you're right. I'm just really tired. Please stay. I promise I won't lose my temper this time."

Her shoulders went up and down as she took a breath. "I'm going home. My driver's already waiting outside."

"Then at least take this with you before you go."

"Ji—"

"Please."

Not knowing what to say to him, she turned around. She wished she hadn't. Jiyong stood before her, brown eyes warm while holding out a beautiful white gold infinity ring toward her direction. When she didn't move, he took a step forward and gently lifted her hand, slipping the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. "Now we're matching." The corners of his mouth lifted up into a smile as he raised his left hand, showing her the identical one on his own ring finger. 

Dara's vision became blurry as tears filled up her eyes.

Kwon Ji Yong, you idiot. How am I supposed to say goodbye now?

"I’m aware that as proposals go, this maybe the worst ever," he chuckled nervously. "But I don't think I can wait any longer. All I know is that I want to spend every single moment with you, ahjumma." Jiyong had never been this nervous his entire life. Not when Bigbang had their official debut broadcasted for the first time on national television. Not when he had to perform his first solo concert knowing President Yang was watching him from the backstage. Not when that drug scandal broke out and he was detained by the police for further investigation. Those times he felt agitated, but somehow, he still had the confidence that he'd be able to pull through in the end. Now? He just felt scared.

And rightfully so. 

His palm was getting clammy and he quickly wiped it on his pants before holding her hand again. "What do you say, Dara? Would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Amidst the tears, she looked at his face and tried to commit it to memory. 

'Five months, give or take a few—'

'—you think dying solves anything? It doesn't. It would only cause insurmountable pain for the people you leave behind—'

'...I got in the way of her dreams...'

Sometimes love just isn't enough.

Mianhe, Jiyongie. 

"I...can’t," she whispered. "I’m sorry."