Jiyong woke up on the floor, his third cigarette for the day loosely held between thin fingers. A quick glance at the clock told him it was two in the afternoon. Again, he had completely lost track of the time. Groaning from the crick in his neck, he stretched his arms over his head before pushing himself up. Sleep did not take away his problems. It only served as a short respite from his exhausted mind before reality kicked in again. He stepped in the shower and did his best to clean himself. When he was done, he walked toward his closet and donned the first item he saw without checking whether it matched or not. Quite frankly, he didn't even care. Glancing at his phone for the first time in three days, he saw that there were about thirty voicemails still waiting for a response from him and another set of missed calls from s which he deliberately ignored. He went past Iye who kept pawing at him, grabbed his bag and flung the door open. He found Taehee coming out of the lift. Scrambling forward, his manager greeted him with a smile. "Hey, thought you'd be hungry so I bought you something to eat," he gestured to the takeaway bags on his hand. "Wait, where are you off to?" 

"Places," he muttered simply, brushing Taehee's shoulder as he walked past him. Apart from answering yes he's okay and no he doesn't need anyone to drive him, he didn't say much else. He entered the car and turned the radio on, putting the volume up as high as it went.

~~~+++~~~

The sudden tap on her shoulder brought Dara out of her reverie. She tore her gaze from the elderly couple who just crossed the street and turned her attention to Haein who seemed to be expectantly waiting for her answer. “What do you think?”

She gave him a blank look. "About what?"

"Aigoo, I’ve been talking nonstop here and you weren’t even listening,” he replied with a chuckle as he lifted the cover of the velvet box before sliding it toward her. The princess-cut diamond ring sparkled every time the light hits the surface, creating a rainbow effect on her porcelain teacup. Tiny gemstones were attached to the white gold band and she can’t help but wonder how things could've been for her and Jiyong had the circumstances been different. Her fingers absently traced the daisy pendant effortlessly hidden under her cashmere sweater. 

"Noona, is something wrong?” Haein reached across the table to hold her hand. "You seem kind of distracted.”

"Ah, aniyo." She quickly rearranged her features, putting on a smile for his benefit. "Gwenchana. I'm just tired that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Neh." She patted his hand. "It's beautiful."

His face instantly lit up in a smile. “You really think so? I'm glad you liked it." He chuckled before taking a generous sip of his coffee. Dara studied his face. 

"Haein-ah."

"Mmm?" He leaned forward and cheekily took a slice from her strawberry cake.

"You know you don't have to do this, right?"

He chewed slowly before answering her, "Yeah, I know." Dara's eyes were downcast as she fumbled with the table napkin on her lap. Haein noticed her grim expression and quickly reassured her, "Don't worry. It's gonna be fine."

She frowned. “You can still refuse this arrangement. If you're going to get married it should be because of your own choice, not because you've been forced to."

"Sooya's not that bad," he told her, the guarded  expression on his face betraying his words. "She...she understands the situation. Besides, I'm sure we can work something out on the way."

"I'm sorry."

"Eh?" he tilted his head to the side. "Why are you sorry?"

"It's just...it's not fair for you to go through this alone. I wish I could do something—"

"You already have." He reached out and enclosed her hand in his. "You're here, aren't you? Besides, my parents would've found another way to marry me off to someone else. I'm sure I could do a lot worse than Sooya." He sent a small smile her way. "I do have to ask you for a favor though."

She automatically nodded, "Anything."

He glanced out into the street, a small crease between his brows as he absently drew circles over her knuckles with his thumb. "Don't waste your time worrying over things you can't control," he said softly. "I may not be able to get my happy ending, but you still have a chance with yours." Dara started to open , but he was quick to cut her off. "Look, the person you love loves you back. Not everyone can say the same. Trust me, I would know." He gave her fingers one last squeeze before letting go. "Aigoo. Jiyong's a pretty lucky guy. What I would give up to trade places with him right now."

"Haein-ah..."

"Hahaha. Don't worry, I'm only kidding, noona." Grinning, he placed the ring back inside its case. They chatted for a few more minutes before Dara had to leave for the hospital. Haein offered to accompany her there since he wanted to talk to the chairman too. When she arrived, Doctor Han and her father were already in a conference call with the group of surgeons from New York who's going to perform the procedure on her. She was asked to sit and listen to the discussion and was even encouraged to raise any questions if she had any. When it was almost over, Dara's phone suddenly buzzed inside her purse and she took it out.

Tabi calling...

She rose from her chair and excused herself before walking out the room to answer the call. "Yoboseyo?" 

"Dara, Jiyong got into an accident," he told her point blank. She drew in a stuttered gasp as Tabi continued, "His car skidded on ice and crashed straight into a concrete wall. Luckily, he was driving on a deserted highway and nobody else got injured."

Fear clenched like a tight fist around her chest, making it hard to breathe. Speaking in a voice just above a whisper, she asked him, "J-jiyongie...is he okay?"

"He suffered minor bruises and cuts, but otherwise he's fine. Taehee said it didn't even seem like Jiyong was drinking. He must've been driving too fast when he slammed on the brakes, causing the car to swerve out of control. I'm babysitting Yeonjun right now so I can't leave, but I already told the others. I'll go visit as soon as my sister comes home."

She brought the phone closer to her ear. "Where is he now?"

~~~++++~~~

Jiyong sat at the corner of the pavement, long legs splayed-out in front of him, his black sneakers crossed at the ankles. His plaid button-down shirt had splatters of blood and sweat all combined in a massive splotch all over his chest. His face was no different. From what the dim light has to offer, his right cheek was starting to swell from the impact earlier. His dark hair was in wide disarray, hands dropped resignedly at his sides as he tried to tune out the siren from the ambulance parked along the road. President Yang asked the police's cooperation to keep the incident under wraps so as to prevent the media from flocking toward the scene. His car was currently being towed and Taehee had to pay a street vendor so they could borrow his food tent for Jiyong to hide at the meantime. The place was a bit cramped, but it was conveniently located near the beach. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Dong-Gil still talking to a couple of officers while Taehee was busy on his phone. Jiyong released a grunt as he stood and slowly limped his way to the shore. His right knee hurt everytime he took a step, but he continued walking until the shoreline finally came into view.
 

Tonight was exceptionally freezing however, the cold air helped numb the pain from the cuts on his face. The scene from earlier flashed at the forefront of his mind and almost instantly, a fresh swell of rage shot through him, one which he desperately tried to extinguish with no luck. And to think he was on his way to Dara, ready to get down on his knees and beg her to take him back even if he didn't do anything wrong. Because he didn't cheat on her. Because she was his anchor and he loved her more than anything in the world. He thought a few days apart would be enough space and time for her to think things through. 

Boy, was he wrong.

Seeing Haein with Dara made him want to tear the guy's body limb from limb. The fact that they were obviously sharing a private meal and enjoying themselves forced him to step on the accelerator in order to stop himself from marching inside the restaurant and making a scene. The bastard even held her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Picking up a pebble under his shoe, he flung it across the ocean with as much force he could muster. He did this repeatedly until the muscles in his arm burned from the effort. He leaned forward, his chest straining with every breath he takes. Jiyong was about to throw another rock when he felt someone’s eyes on him. He spun around and instantly tensed. Dara stood a few feet away, her brown trench coat flapping in the wind, eyes red and cheeks mottled as if she'd been crying. He refused to believe that she did. Why would she? It’s not like he’s seriously injured. More importantly, it’s not like she cared. “If you're here because you feel sorry for me, don't even bother," he snapped, voice bitingly cold. He straightened his back and began limping his way back to the tent. 

"Jiyong, please," she tried grabbing his arm, but he jerked away from her. "Listen to me—"

"Listen to what? More lies?" he shouted in anger. "You didn't even have the decency to tell it to my face. You made me think we could have a future together!" His arms flung toward the heavens, a mirthless laugh escaping his lips. "I can't believe I fell for this again," he bobbed his head, eyes wide, if not looking a little manic. "I'm so stupid!"

"N-no, Jiyong," she pleaded. "It's not about you. I...It's me who has the problem. I'm-"

"Really, Dara?! You're gonna use that in' line on me? That is so ing typical."

"I tried to tell you," she was crying in earnest now, hand clutched to her chest. "So many times, Ji. You have no idea how much I wanted to let you know...but everytime I try, something always comes up—"

"Bull!" He trembled with rage, his resentment nearly consuming him. Suddenly the pain he was feeling did not stem from his physical wounds, but somewhere deep within his very being. The memory of what he saw earlier flashed before his eyes and he lost it. "You had plenty of chances! You just chose not to because after all this time, you're still in love with that bastard, aren't you?"

She blinked at him in confusion.

"I'm talking about you and Haein," he vehemently spat out. "You must've felt over the moon when he proposed." 

Proposed? Dara took in his words, trying to make sense of what he meant. Then it hit her. The ring. The restaurant. Jiyong must've seen her with Haein and got the wrong idea. 

"Ji, you don't understand. It's not—"

 
"Oh I understand all right," his voice came low, hard stare fixed at something behind her. Slowly, she turned to follow his gaze. Haein stood in the distance, the expression on his face painted with concern as he looked over them. He volunteered to take Dara to where Jiyong was since she knew that if her father had any idea where she was going, he would never have let her go. At that time, she didn't think about anything else except making sure Jiyong was alright. When they arrived, Haein opted to stay in the car and wait for her. He was in the middle of finalizing his flight details when Jiyong's shout reached his ears. Alarmed that something had happened to Dara, he jumped out of the car and hurried to the beach. 

 

"Don't worry. I won't make things hard for you anymore," muttered Jiyong, his jaw clenching like he was trying to stave off tears. He folded the sleeves of his sweater and forcefully removed the braided cord from his wrist before flinging it to the ground. "We're done. Go and run back to your precious Haein. I won't stop you." Without another word, Jiyong started to walk away.

He never looked back.