Jiyong rolled his short sleeves to his shoulders then said, “Ahh~ This is the energy I crave.”

Dara looked at him because he suddenly spoke. She replied, “Hm?”

“I like that you’re calm and collected. You calm my thoughts.”

“What’s bothering you anyway?”

“I feel weird. I’ll be leaving the country tomorrow. I’ll be back next week.”

Dara just nodded and didn’t say anything back. She knew he was always busy going here and there. It was tough being a superstar like G-Dragon, she thought.
They were quietly sitting beside each other when Taeyang went out of the bar and caught them together on the side.

Dara slowly stood up. Taeyang said, “Ah noona! You’re here already! What are you two doing?”

Dara said, “We’re just talking.”

“Ahhh. Let’s go inside! CL was continuously nagging me. She has been waiting for you so she told me to check if you’re around already.” He looked at Jiyong next and said, “I thought you smoked the whole box again. You took so long for a smoking break.”

Jiyong stood up too and playfully said, “Because noona is late!” as he pointed to Dara like he was blaming her.

Dara responded with a humorous upset face, “Mworago?! (What?!)”

Taeyang chuckled and poked Dara’s shoulder. He said, “Ya… Noona, tell us who he is.”

“What do you mean? Who?”

“That guy lurking around your radar.”

She looked at Jiyong, realizing he just told Taeyang about what they talked about the other night. She said, “You told Youngbae?! I thought you’ll keep it to yourself.”

Taeyang chortled and said, “Jiyong is a big mouth! He can’t keep secrets. We’re used to it so we never talk about personal things to him. He spills it right away. He just couldn’t help himself.”

Of course, Jiyong would tell his best friend. Jiyong laughed with Taeyang as he saw the regret in Dara’s face. Taeyang spoke again, “Don’t worry. I keep secrets. This one just wouldn't.”

Dara chuckled and said, “Aigoo! There’s nothing to talk about. Why do you have to⁠—Aish!” then glared at Jiyong.

Jiyong raised his hands in mock surrender and said, “Sorry. I can’t help it. Just tell us, we’ll help you with it.”

“There’s no way I’ll be telling things to you now!” ,she angrily said.

Jiyong laughed with Taeyang. They found her so cute when she’s angry. Taeyang went closer to Dara and put his arm around her arms as he dragged her along with them to go inside.
He said, “We’ll teach you how to date.”

“Omo. Look at this expert.” ,she teased.

Jiyong laughed loudly when Dara came up with a wise comeback. Taeyang just smiled and replied, “Well, I’m married now. I can help you with whoever that man is. Pro tips from YB!”

While laughing, they finally got inside the bar. It was cozy despite the dark and chaotic vibe as the music plays nonstop. The noise was loud but CL’s scream was louder when she saw Dara. She ran to her and hugged her tightly while saying “Unnie! I missed you!” Dara almost fell on her back from the impact of CL’s hug attack.
Dara was welcomed inside the bar. She felt comfortable right away because inside the bar were the people (Jiyong’s 82 squad/friends who were one call away) she treats like a family. It was home.

Dara changed her clothes to a casual one for she was still wearing formal clothes from hosting a show. She wore a black hat, big white shirt, black lousy pants and Nike shoes. Now she felt like she belonged more because everyone inside was wearing casual but still fashionable clothes.
They sat around the table as they drank whatever drink they preferred. Bajowoo offered a variety of alcohol only for them. Some drank wine, some drank hard liquors and some just drank beers and Taeyang is one of them.
Taeyang said he won’t be long because he needed to go home before midnight or else Hyorin(his wife) will get mad. Jiyong said the same only but because he has a flight to catch-up early in the morning. Almost all of them have a busy schedule except Bajowoo who originally planned to turn up the whole night and rest the whole day tomorrow.

They were making jokes and laughing as the night got deeper bit by bit. While Junsuke, one of Jiyong’s closest friends, was busy entertaining them with his funny stories, Jiyong stood up and walked around to move and sit beside Dara. Everyone saw it.
He was aware of their stares so he said after he sat, “Dara noona smells nice. I think I’ll sit here.”

Junsuke reacted, “So Xin smells bad?!”
Everybody laughed. Jiyong teased, “He smelled like cigarettes.”

It was followed by another laughter. Dara bantered, “But you also smell like one.”
The laughter was even louder now that Dara, the quiet one, had spoken and she spat facts.

Jiyong just laughed with them then said, “I’ll just be here, quietly sniffing Dara’s perfume.”
Then they get on with the story Junsuke was telling before he got interrupted by Jiyong’s sudden actions(sitting next to Dara).

Their laughter was therapeutic for each one of them. They all had something going on with their lives but whenever they’re all together, the stress felt lesser and lesser to a point that they felt numb with their problems. It was always fun whenever they hung out. It was more than pleasant. It was something undescribable but they knew there was that unique connection they all feel inside.
Hours felt like minutes. Taeyang has been busy with his phone lately. He was too conscious of the time. They noticed him and realized it was 10:30 in the evening already. Some better be going to prepare for their schedules tomorrow. 
Bajowoo said, “Before you guys leave, let’s take a photo!” 

He handed his phone to a staff inside the bar to take the photo of them.
CL cheerfully shouted “Memories!”

They gathered and moved closer to each other, compressing to fit Bajowoo's camera screen. Dara and Jiyong were behind them as they prepared to pose in front. Dara was about to go beside CL but Jiyong pulled her to stay beside him so they stayed behind.
They were all making a pose when Jiyong put his arm over Dara’s shoulders and put his face beside Dara’s as his pose for the photo.
Dara was shocked and weirded out by what Jiyong did because it was too much for their normal ways of touching but then she also thought that maybe he was a little drunk so she just submitted to it, not moving an inch.

Bajowoo started counting, “1, 2, 3~”

He finally snapped the photo and everybody went back to normal. They started cleaning the table and fixing things inside Bajowoo’s bar. When everything’s clear, they bid their farewells and went home one by one, leaving the bar behind with amazing memories.

The night was over and the next day arrived. 
It was another free day of Donghae. He woke up early in the morning and rode his motor bike around the city while the rest of the people were still asleep. He went back to his house, showered, ate breakfast then drank a cleansing juice. He did his normal morning routine when he’s not busy and he had never felt so refreshed.

He was relaxing in front of his dining table when he said, “It’s been so long since I’ve done this! It feels good!”
His phone beeped from the table in his living room. He received a message so he stood up and walked towards it. He took the phone and read the message from his manager. It was an update for his schedule this week. 
After reading it, he pressed the back button and it led him to his inbox wherein he saw his previous conversation with Dara. Above it was the messages from Irene.
Because of that, he was reminded once again about his situation. He screamed, “Yaishh! Jenjang! (Damn it!) Above all the times to be reminded! Why now?!”

His conscience just wouldn't let him relax for a bit. It was mind boggling to be in his shoes. It was like a never ending battle between his heart and his mind. He thought he couldn’t be thinking the same way when he’s back to the office and meets with Irene so he needed a solution right away.

In a while, he called a friend. In fact, he always calls a friend when he's going through tough times. He's naturally a people person. He called for another person instead since he started to get into Eunyuk's nerves last night. He thought Eunhyuk must be tired of hearing his love problems already so he reached out to a more reliable friend he knows. Someone who he's sure will speak kind words to him. He needed comforting words so he called his religious friend, Siwon. 

He invited him for lunch a bit later to catch-up. After a few hours, they finally met. Luckily, Siwon is free today so he came to accompany his fri