Dara hasn’t yet decided how to deal with Jiyong. Should she keep her distance from the man again? But this afternoon they had eaten and talked together just as before when Jiyong hadn’t lost his memory, and Jiyong came to the library to look for her. Going back to avoiding the man will feel strange.

But if she returns to be close to Jiyong, instead Dara herself is at risk of getting hurt because she’s forced to watch Jiyong and Yoona together. The image of Jiyong hugging Yoona again plunged into her brain. Dara shakes her head firmly, not willing to remember that. At times like this she hates her mind who likes to drift without direction.

While fixing the wool hat, Dara momentarily stops stepping in front of her apartment building and looks up at the gloomy night sky. She takes a deep breath and blows it hard, white steam coming out of and disappearing before her eyes.

“Stupid,” she grunted at the image of Jiyong’s face in the night sky. “Stupid...”

With unsteady steps she climbs the stairs of the apartment building while reaching into her handbag to find the door key. “Where is that thing?” She asked herself. She has stood at the door of her apartment but the key had still not been found.

“Hey.”

The deep voice that suddenly sounded so close behind her makes Dara gasps and jumps in surprise. She spins so fast that her handbag slipped from her hold, falls to the floor, and the contents scatter. Her back pressed against the door of her apartment while her eyes widen in fear staring at the blurry tall figure in front of her.

“What’s wrong? Why?” asked the person in front of her in an anxious tone.

The voice pierces through the sound of Dara’s thumping heart and she begins to realize who is standing before her. The figure that had been blurred in her eyes had changed clearly as her hard heart pounds. Jiyong... The person who stands before her and looks at her with eyebrows furrowed worriedly is Kwon Jiyong.

Some of Dara’s fear turns into anger. Although she feels relieved, her voice still trembles slightly as she hisses, “For God’s sake, never once...”

Seeing Jiyong’s confusion, Dara pauses to take a breath, clears , and says in a calmer voice. “Never do that again.”

Jiyong is surprised to see Dara who stands trembling in front of him. “Do what? Are you okay?” He asked, looking at Dara from head to toe, then glued back to Dara’s pale face. “What happened?”

Not wanting to return Jiyong’s gaze, Dara crouches down and begins to collect her scattered items. “Nothing,” said Dara stiffly. “Why are you sneaking up like that?”

“I’m not sneaking up,” Jiyong argued, while squatting and helping to collect Dara’s belongings. “I walked up the stairs as usual and saw you busy looking for something in your bag. Looking for this?” He holds the key to Dara’s apartment he had picked up from the floor.

Dara looks up and looks at the key in Jiyong’s hand. “Yes,” she said, then she stands up after collecting all her belongings.

Jiyong stands up too, but he doesn’t hand the key to Dara. He looks like he’s thinking. “This had happened before, right?” He asked suddenly.

“What?”

Jiyong doesn’t answer right away. He thinks again, then says, “Have I ever helped you find something?”

“No,” said Dara. Suddenly remembering when Jiyong had just moved here and surprised her on the quiet road, she adds, “But you really had surprised me like you did earlier.” As soon as the words slide out of , Dara immediately regrets. Now Jiyong will definitely ask why she reacted so much when she was greeted earlier.

However, Jiyong just nods and looks at Dara for a moment, then asks, “You’re home earlier than I thought. But why didn’t Seunghyun take you home?”

Dara is a bit surprised because Jiyong suddenly changes the direction of their conversation. “Oh... He really wanted to take me home, but because he had to hurry home to celebrate his grandfather’s birthday, I asked to be dropped off at the bus station.”

Jiyong’s frowns faintly. “You’re not celebrating his grandfather’s birthday?”

“What? No,” said Dara, surprised to hear Jiyong’s question.

“Where did you go before?”

“He wanted to buy a rare book for his grandfather and I happened to know a place that sells antique books, so he asked me to accompany him there.”

Jiyong suddenly feels he can breathe easier. “Ah, I see. I thought...”

Dara looks at him with eyebrows raised in surprise. “What do you think?”

“I thought he would invite you. I guess you guys... because...” Jiyong sighs and shrugs. “I thought he wanted to invite you to meet his family.”

Dara furrows her eyebrows. “Do you think he wanted to introduce me to his family? You mean... Oh...”

“But I’m glad it turned out he didn’t invite you.” Jiyong said with a hint of relief.

Dara’s eyes rise to Jiyong’s face. What did he say earlier?

Jiyong looks straight into Dara’s eyes. “My words at that time... when I asked you to accept Seunghyun,” he muttered softly. He pauses for a moment, then says, “I wish I could retract those words.”

Dara doesn’t realize she was holding her breath. Her heart also stops for a moment, then returns to pounding as fast as the express train. All her attention is focused on Jiyong’s last sentence. What did it mean? Dara tries to hold back her hopes that begins to soar. She doesn’t want to be too hopeful. The hope that is thrown back to the ground will feel very painful. But what did the man mean?

Dara tries to find her voice that seems to disappear just like that. “Why?” She asked softly. Her voice sounded a little choked, even in her own ears.

Jiyong takes a deep breath. “Because ...,” he said, shrugging, “because I...”

Does my heart stop beating? Dara thought. Why can’t I hear anything other than Jiyong’s voice? She’s still waiting for Jiyong’s next words.

Suddenly Jiyong turns and sneezes.

***

Jiyong lets Dara push him into his apartment and lets the girl scold him about the possibility of getting cold in the winter, especially if he wanders all day outside to find interesting objects to photograph.

The girl’s nagging is so soothing. Good diversion. And Jiyong feels grateful for that. Two minutes ago he almost said something he had never thought about at all. He almost said he didn’t like seeing Dara with Seunghyun. Almost said he hoped Dara could smile at him like the girl smiled at Seunghyun.

And almost said he liked Dara.

Where did that thought come from? Jiyong shakes his head, trying to pull himself back to what Dara had said at the time. “How do