The deadline is nearing, and Dara still hasn’t finished going through the whole manuscript. She thought she could finish it prior to Friday, but it’s already Thursday afternoon and she’s still far from being done. She s

ighs in exhaustion as she eyes the remaining pages, waiting to be inspected and inked with red. As much as Dara loves reading, she sure hates it when she’s under the pressure of a deadline. It ruins the fun of the job completely and sets her off rhythm, even more when she already has a lot going on for her. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, she’s still bothered about that night with Jae. She hasn’t talked to him about it though, and she still doesn’t understand why she’s hesitating. It’s only fair they have a conversation about it, there’s no harm in that, but something is just not settling well with her and she’s scared to confront her fears. She sets her red pen aside, and leans on her chair, pondering over what to do. Her talk with Jiyong has actually helped lessen her doubts a bit and encouraged her to just go for it, but she’s been so busy with the manuscript that she momentarily forgot her problems, but, on the rare occasions where she takes a rest, they easily slip back into her mind and haunt her. She furiously shakes her head and stands up. She’s in desperate need of coffee to calm her nerves; caffeine always does the job.

“Dara noona!” someone loudly chirps and she turns around to see Seungyoon, one of the assistants, smiling sweetly and approaching her. She smiles back as she pours coffee into her mug.

“Hey there Yoon, long time no see” she takes another mug and pours coffee for Seungyoon. He happily accepts it and leans on the counter.

“Yeah, I’ve been so immersed in work lately I rarely see daylight” he takes a sip as Dara stands next to him, silently appreciating his presence.

Seungyoon is one of the rare people Dara considers as a good friend. He has this comforting aura around him that makes him so loveable and approachable that she can’t help but have a soft spot for him. She even lets him call her ‘noona’, which Dara absolutely hates because it makes her feel old, not that she will admit it to him, though.

“Must be hard with Jiyong bossing you around all the time” she glances his way and he chuckles.

“Jiyong hyung is far from being a problem in my life. He’s actually really helpful, and he covered for me many times. I owe him a lot.” Dara looks genuinely taken back that Seungyoon doubles back in laughter at her reaction.

“Either you’re an absolute angel who thinks good of everyone, or Jiyong is secretly bullying you into submission” she tries to reason out, which only makes Seungyoon smirk.

“Or, he’s actually a great boss and I like having him around” he says and Dara simply rolls her eyes. Sure, Jiyong is good guy, but he’s the most handful and stressful person to work with, at least, that’s what she thinks.

“Speaking of that guy, where the hell is he?” Dara’s surprised she didn’t notice before. He’s gone MIA for two days now which was strange. Sure, Jiyong worked in the editing department, two floors above theirs, but she can’t remember a day where he didn’t barge in uninvitingly and lurked around her department. Now that she thinks about it, today was too quiet, too tedious, too slow, and as much as it hurts Dara to admit it, not having Jiyong around pestering her every two minutes feels so wrong.

“I don’t know. He got this urgent call yesterday morning and he suddenly left.” Seungyoon casually checks his watch and gasps “Ah! my break is over. I better get back to work before Seunghyun hyung gets out of his meeting. See you later noona!” he smiles as he waves goodbye and hurriedly leaves the office. As if on cue, Dara suddenly receives a text message.

From: Satan Jiyong

I’ll come by this evening to your apartment to fetch the manuscript. Get it ready by 7.

Dara rolls her eyes, a small smile unconsciously forming on her lips.

To: Satan Jiyong

Hello to you too. Where the hell are you?

From: Satan Jiyong

Missed me already?

“Ugh.” Dara mutters under her breath. The nerve of this guy.

From: Satan Jiyong

How are you? Feeling better?

Dara’s heart, honest to god, skips a beat.

To: Satan Jiyong

I’m fine. Still haven’t talked to Jae though.

From: Satan Jiyong

Go tonight, the sooner the better.

I’ll wait for you at your place.

 Good luck!

Dara smiles as she stares at his message, but she quickly shakes her head and pockets her phone. She doesn’t understand why she suddenly feels so giddy, but she’s even more confused by the fact that it’s Jiyong who made her feel this way. She immediately shakes the feeling off and gets back to work with a vigorous renewed energy and a tenacious determination. She will finish the manuscript, go to Jae’s house, have a talk to clear all sorts of misunderstandings, kiss and make up, and end the night with a long nice relaxing bath.

Or at least, that’s what she thought.

**************

Jiyong hastily climbs up the stairs to Dara’s apartment, feeling drained and tired. These past two days have been stressful to him and he’s close to collapsing on the floor any moment and sleeping for centuries. He knocks three times before Cheondung opens the door, his face immediately lighting up the second he sees Jiyong.

“Ji hyung!” he excitedly welcomes him in and Jiyong smiles gratefully at him. “I didn’t know you were coming, Dara didn’t tell me!” he complains as he excitedly follows him to the living room.

Cheondung got to know Jiyong last year, during the company’s annual Christmas party, where anyone can invite whomever they want. Dara wasn’t with Jae back then and Cheondung was bored out of his mind at home so she decided to bring him with her. She thought he would camp at the buffet and stuff his face till he throws up, but boy was she wrong. Ten minutes into the party and he was the center of attention among all her co-workers, including her boss, the chief editor. Dara knew Cheondung was a sociable guy, easy to get along with, but she didn’t peg him for a charmer, and she didn’t understand how the hell anyone found his jokes funny. That night, while Dara spent her precious time sipping alcohol and uninterestedly listening to Bom’s daily dose of gossips, Cheondung and Jiyong were bonding over their love for James Bond movies and shounen manga. It was almost unbelievable how easily the two became great friends, despite their . Cheondung, albeit likeable in his university, doesn’t have someone he’s particularly close to, and Jiyong is the closest thing he’s ever had to a best friend, and he’s very thankful for that. He knows his sister isn’t fond of Jiyong that much, and she values her personal space a lot, so Cheondung refrains from inviting him in to their apartment.

“I’m just here to pick the manuscript. She’s not here yet?” Jiyong looks around the cozy apartment, admiring its simplistic design.

“She texted me she’ll be late” he replies and Jiyong hums as he plops on the cranky old sofa. He stares at the notebooks scattered around the table and picks a random one.

“You were studying?”

“Nah, those are just for decoration. The table looked so with nothing on it.” Jiyong snorts in amusement and puts the notebook back down. “Hey hyung?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think Jae is good for Dara?” Jiyong immediately shoots Cheondung a confused look.

“Where the hell did that come from?”

“It’s just..” he mutters, absently playing with his fingers. “She’s been a little down lately and I can’t help but think it’s because of him. She doesn’t tell me anything and whenever I bring it up, she gets defensive about him and..” he sighs “I’m worried about her”. Jiyong smiles and softly ruffles Cheondung’s hair.

“You’re surprisingly caring. Who knew you had such a cute side to you” he chuckles as Cheondung rolls his eyes but doesn’t swat his hand away. “I’m worried about her too, but we can’t make decisions for her. All we can do is be there for her and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” Jiyong softly says, and Cheondung defeatedly nods.

“Still, she can do so much better, someone much much better than Jae” Someone like you Hyung, he wanted to add.

Right at that moment, Dara comes in and slowly makes her way towards the living room.

“welcome back sis!” Cheondung yells with a smile, but it immediately drops the moment he catches eyes with his sister. Jiyong quickly takes notice of the sudden eerie silence in the room and slowly turns around and he wish he didn’t. Because right in front of him, is a broken, vulnerable and completely shattered Dara, and Jiyong can feel the moment his heart sinks.

“H-hey guys.” She whispers weakly, her voice hoarse from crying, her face a mess of tears and snot, desperately trying to mask the pain with a smile. She was planning on running straight to her room and locking herself in, but the moment she saw Jiyong, she couldn’t bring herself to hide and she doesn’t understand why. They share a long stare, one that conveys so many raw emotions, her eyes basically screaming ‘You were right’ and Jiyong has never wished to be so wrong before. Without thinking, he walks up to her and tightly wraps his arms around her, caging her in his warm embrace, and Dara loses it. She lets the tears stream freely as she firmly clutches to his back, crying her heart out on his chest. Jiyong just holds her tighter as he caresses her hair, trying not to break down himself. He can feel his blood boiling, his heart thumping loudly, his eyes growing red from unshed tears and the anger curling inside his guts, because there’s only one explanation to this.

Jaejoong.

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N.B: wiiw I'm finally back. these past months have been so stressful and hectic I can barely find the strength to write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!