Se7en said, “To be fair, he has a point, Dara. Those types of men—they always come back. And as much as I wanted to say those things to you, I think you’re right too. The last say would always be yours.”

She nodded and looked at the aisle that led to the restroom. She wondered why Jiyong acted that way. Even though she didn’t expect it, she was touched to know that he cared.
Se7en added, “I used to be your love coach, but now that we’re older, I’ll leave you be. You need to find someone of your choice now.”

“I hope to find someone already too. Being busy is nice, but I guess having someone with you during the hard times would be nicer, don’t you think?”

“Correct! It feels so good, I swear.”

“Ah! I envy you.”

“My last relationship didn’t go well though, but thank you. I’m happy with someone new now. You’ll get here someday too.”

“Someday…”

“My only piece of advice for you is to find someone you know well already. This might be too common and you probably hear this a lot anywhere but find someone who feels like a best friend and a lover as well. Yeah, chemistry is nice but compatibility is more valuable.”

“A best friend? Someone compatible with me?”

“Yes. It’s important that you have a lot of similarities, but that won’t get you anywhere unless you have the same values in life as well. It’s good to find a partner who’s in the same stage in life as yours. And please, don’t choose someone too young.”

Dara chuckled then said, “Not too young? I thought I should find someone of my choice?”

Se7en laughed and replied, “Young men tend to be somewhat immature. What I mean is… find someone who’s willing to settle down with you since we’re at that age already.”

“Ahhh. Right, I get it. Someone at least near our age bracket?”

“Yes! Now, while Jiyong is still not here…” He leaned in and whispered, “Ya… Tell me who it is.”

“I’ll let you know when things progress between us. I don’t want to spoil it too early.”

He leaned backwards and said, “Ahh~ Dara, you’ve matured a lot these days~ That’s good.” He nodded then carried on, “Update me, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Jiyong knows about it?”

“I guess he knew now.”

“You two seemed to be closer now than before, eh?”

“Yes. Years of friendship can do that.”

“I’ve never seen him like that before but I guess he really has a gut feeling as a man. I don’t see any other reason for him to be too touchy about the subject other than because he wants to protect you.”

“That’s what it looked like for me too. He can be like that sometimes.”

“That dongsaeng really does have a strong personality.”

“You’re right.”

“I like that you two remained close until now.” He grabbed his glass and offered a toast, “Cheers to your indestructible friendship!”

Dara grabbed her glass too and let it touch Se7en’s. She said, “Cheers to the three of us!”

He rested his back on his seat and relaxed. “Well… good luck to that man. You can handle that, independent woman, Darong.” ,he teased.

As Dara laughed, Jiyong finally came back and sat back on his seat with a lighter mood now.

Se7en joked around, “What happened, Jiyong?”

Jiyong smiled and jested, “Well, did you enjoy the show lately?” ,acting like he didn’t get pissed off minutes ago.

Dara clapped her hands and spoke in amazement, “Wahhh~ It was very convincing.” 

Jiyong replied smiling, "I thought about it. Do what you want, noona. But the moment he hurt you…" He paused for a bit. "I'll kick his ."  

"His head seemed cool now, huh?" ,Se7en said before he laughed, finding it funny how things escalated lately. 

They all laughed after. Jiyong hid his embarrassment through his confidence. He played along yet he still made sure to let them know that he stood his ground for what he said. 
 
They stayed for an hour, talking about their schedules and future plans. Mentioned there was the event that both Jiyong and Dara will be at. Jiyong will be receiving an award together with Big Bang. By talking about the members of Big Bang, they reminisce about their memories together in YG as a family. Laughter came naturally within their conversation as for the way their humor became one just because they have been friends for too long already.  
And then before the night sets in, they called it a day and went back to their homes.  
 
Dara prepared for her night time routine. She went to her bedroom, wearing only a bathrobe and held her phone.
She could not forget how Jiyong acted. The look in his face was dead serious when he said he doesn't like him for her. It struck like a warning for her. Thinking about what he said lately, she realized that Jiyong gave a fair judgment.  
She felt moved by what he did so she sent him a message.
 
"Jiyong-ah! Thanks for lately! I'll keep them in mind. ^^" 
 
Jiyong replied after many minutes, "I'll kick his . Just kidding."  
 
"ㅋㅋㅋ Rest well. Ppyong!"  
 
She put her phone down for a bit as she let Jiyong rest after freshly coming off a long flight from Paris. Dara was about to go to her bathroom and wash up when she heard her phone ring. 
She was smiling as she went to her room to pick up the call, saying “Isn’t he going to sleep?” ,thinking it was a call from Jiyong.

When she checked it, it was Gray who’s calling. She wondered why but looked forward to hearing from him again regardless of the reason. She answered, “Yoboseyo?”

He went for a straightforward approach, “Noona! Are you busy?”

“Right now? No.”

“I mean, this week?”

“Ahh… I’m preparing for the event I’m MC-ing for.”

“Ah, yes. You’ve mentioned that. It’s okay.”

“Why did you ask?”

He sounded nervous as he carefully composed his words, “Hmm… I know you already came to some of our shows. But, ah~ How do I put this?—I'll just invite you again to come to our mini concert. AOMG’s mini concert. If you can come, that would be good.”

“I’ll see with my schedule.”

He blabbered, “I’m sorry to bother you. They forced me to invite you. They just bribed me to call you. Actually, no. I volunteered to do this. I did this myself. I’m personally inviting you.”

“I’ll go to it.”

“Okay! Great! I’ll text you the details.”

“Sure.”

“Alright. See you!”

“Ne~”

They hung up. Aside from being supportive, Dara liked Gray’s company so she wanted to go as well. They were good friends and he had a good impression on her. Gray was there to support her in her activities and she was one to give back ten folds of what was given to her.
Not only does she respect Gray’s loyalty but she also looked up to him for his works and talents. She smiled and remembered what happened lately. She felt lucky to have such friends who were not only protective but also supportive of her.
When she was about to put her phone down on her bed, Gray called again.
She thought, “Oh, I thought he’ll just message me the details?”
Nonetheless, she answered and Gray talked right away