There was a sweet revival and reconciliation that roamed around in the air. It appeared that Dara and Donghae started dating again after that night. They began contacting each other often and updating each other on social media but in a very subtle way. They were being reasonably cautious as the relationship was still fragile.

They both felt like they had everything they could ever ask for. Donghae was very generous and kept on sending her gifts like shoes or accessories which he knew she was very fond of. Dara also was not one to not appreciate the other person’s efforts so she reciprocated by sending gifts as well and giving her endless support whether it be moral or emotional. 

Because of Dara’s busy schedule, Donghae had to wait for her until she finished work before they could talk at the end of the day. She liked the attention Donghae was giving her. He was normally the type to be clingy with the people he’s interested in and more to his partner. As might be expected, when Donghae was busy too, Dara had to wait for him until he went home so he could have someone to talk to. It was self sacrificial because they had to stay awake for each other despite the next day’s schedule but to them it was worth it.
When they both had free time, they secretly met up. Both being veterans in the industry they knew the where and how’s of dating as idols, keeping it as private as possible.
Their favorite day is when it's rainy because there are few people outside and they could date in the car even at day time and remain intimate with each other.

Their relationship went for 4 months already and is still going strong. Since they started over again, they relearned things about each other like they just discovered each other's new sides. They were also able to rebuild their trust for each other after revealing their true selves which they were reluctant about back then. By learning from each other, Dara became Donghae's inspiration to keep on becoming a better version of himself. She taught him to take care of himself and do everything he wants while they're still young. Since Dara was the type to be up on any challenges that came her way and to try new things, Donghae also aspired to be one since he realized that even after his long career, he was still inside of his shell.
She inspired him to break out of it and try the things he hasn't done yet.
 
Of course, Donghae also helped her by motivating her to keep on doing whatever she likes as long as she's happy. They support each other like that under people's noses or the public eye, making them keep a healthy relationship. 
However, these days they weren’t able to meet each other often or hear from each other because of their jam-packed schedule every day in which they already advised each other of what’s ahead prior to the said disruption.
Being both mature individuals, they handled it very well and never forgot to update each other at least at the very end of the day or just when their schedules were done.

They were in the middle of their hell week and they couldn’t even be bothered by the currently cold weather. It was because winter had already started and it began snowing a lot.
Dara didn’t like cold days and preferred the summer weather so she didn’t go out especially at night, as if she had a chance with her hectic schedule. There were nights when it didn’t snow and that’s when she took the opportunity to go out and buy food in the nearest convenience store when she craved for ramen one night.

Fully covered with layers of clothes, she went out of her apartment alone with a mask on to cover her identity to the public. She held the door handle before pulling it and entering the store but someone wearing a mask too pulled it first from the inside who was about to go out. 
She instantly gave way and let the person come out first. The person bowed to her and said, “Thank you.”

It was a man and he was accompanied by his friends who were about to go out of the convenience store too so she patiently waited on the side.

The man suddenly blurted “Gray hyung! Hurry up!”

Dara was immediately alerted when she heard his name. She looked at the face of the man with her from the outside and saw that it was Code Kunst, one of Gray’s friends.

(Background Music: Nobody - Mitski (slowed) || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1hoaHng4ac)

She stood straight and paid attention to the men coming outside of the convenience store, looking for Gray. Although it was uncomfortable to see him again after months without contact and after she rejected him, she longed to see him and check if he’s doing fine. She wanted to see him doing fine.

Within seconds, Gray went out of the convenience store and proudly said, “I bought sausages!” while looking at Code Kunst and raising the paper bag from his hand with sausages in it.

Code Kunst didn’t recognize Dara so he ignored her and carried on walking away while saying, “Let’s go. So game’s still on, eh? Loco v.s Seonghwa!”

Loco went out as well and replied, “I bought beers so I came prepared. Game on!” 
He then walked away to follow Code Kunst. Gray walked slowly and looked back at the girl who was waiting outside of the store.

Dara, who was trying her best to hide from her disguise, locked eyes with Gray. She didn’t know what to do. She had no clue on how to deal with such a situation. Should she greet him like nothing happened? Should she treat him differently? 
She didn’t want him to think that she pitied him so she wanted a casual approach but her overthinking got ahead of her and made her tongue-tied.

Gray saw the panic in her eyes but he didn’t have any reaction. It was a 5 second stare they had but it felt so long and endless. But because Gray was with his friends, he eventually looked away and walked away with them and ignored Dara as if she was a stranger; a nobody.

Dara stood still in her position. She was left wondering why he ignored her and acted like he didn’t know her at all when she could clearly tell that he knew her by the way he looked at her. There was a sense of familiarity from the way he turned to her and looked at her face, like he knew her, everything about her, yet the moment was dismissed right away because they had to go back to reality. He had to go to his friends and walk away with them.

She thought, “He could’ve at least said, "Hi!" but he just looked at me…”
She sighed with grief inside her for she was hurt thinking she lost another good friend. It was the time when she realized that these days were different from months ago. She wanted to believe that Gray just had a bad vision and didn’t recognize her and that everything’s okay and she was just being too dramatic about it but she saw it in his eyes. The same eyes that looked at her when they were going out together, her once safe space, the quick and precise 5 seconds of vulnerability they had with each other. He knew her. She was self-assured to point it out. He knew her.

She hated that it only took 5 seconds to bring back their delicate memories and at the same time slap her with the truth of the now seemed impossible reparations between them. She couldn’t latch on yet to the possibility that he intentionally ignored her and that they probably wouldn’t act normal towards each other again after what happened. It was a hard pill to swallow for her but she made a choice. Of course, she missed him without measure but she knew there was nothing she could do about their current situation now but to just accept it.

Having the cold look on Gray's face when he looked at her stuck in her mind, she bought 1 big cup of ramen and went back home to eat it before she hit her bed to sleep and forget about what happened. She thought she needed to let go because she couldn’t change something about the situation anyway. So after an hour of watching Netflix and eating ramen, she finally felt sleepy.

Within the same night, Donghae was also alone in his room. It was dark and his eyes were almost glued shut when he surprisingly received a phone call from Irene. 
He grunted after seeing her name. It irked him a little bit because he was put into a tricky situation again. He was never the type to talk to an ex on the phone when he already has a girlfriend.
It was already late at night and he almost ignored it only if it wasn't for a thought that it might be an emergency so he answered with a raspy voice.  

"Hello?"  

It took awhile before she responded but Donghae patiently waited. He could hear the background noises and the sound of her breathing.  

He talked again, "Hello?"  

This time, she finally replied, "Where are you?"  

He recognized that the tone of her voice was different. It didn't sound like the tone she would use when talking to him. There was a feel of bitterness to it which sent him off. 
He said, "It's too late at night. Why did you call?"  

"Pick me up. I'm waiting for you." ,she bluntly said. 

"Joohyun-ah…"  

"Are you done with your schedule? Oppa, pick me up." She called him like they were still together. Prominently, she was reliving their old patterns.

After her previous statement, he already knew that something was up. He replied with "Are you drunk?" 

"It doesn't matter. I'm at Insadong street. I'm alone and I think I drank too much. Can you pick me up?"  

"You know I can't do that. You can ask your manag—" 

"Why? Why can't you?" ,she cut him off mid-sentence.  

"Just go back home." 

She took a pause and said, "I miss you."   

He said with his deep and calming voice, in a way that it wouldn't sound too harsh but soothing instead, "Joohyun-ah, we're not… we already broke up. We can't be doing this anymore." 

"Just pick me up here already. I'm beside the convenience store near the supermarket. I'll wait for you!"  

"Why did you go alone?" His voice sounded tired as if the scenario must've happened a lot of times. Because of it, he felt sorry that he left Irene stuck in the same state. 
 
Irene replied, "It's okay if you don't want to go. Just tell it straight. You don't have to beat around the bush!"  

Donghae didn't have the energy to argue so he just sighed and said, "I'll be sleeping now. I'm sorry."  

"I guess I'll have to wait for someone to pick me up here until the morning."  

She cut the call and Donghae was again put into a dilemma of whether he should go or not. He knew he shouldn't and she has a lot of friends to do it for her but his conscience was telling him to go and pick her up one last time. It was the least he could do for someone he truly hurt. He wanted to come clean and make peace with her for the last time so he laid his phone on his bed and kicked in the air.  

He said, "Aish! Do it for your peace, Donghae. One last time!" 
He texted Dara and reported that he had to go somewhere but told her that he'll be back shortly. 

Dara texted him back with, "Okay! Wear warm clothes! Don't catch a cold! ^^"