I would just like to say that the plot of this story didn't turn out like I planned. It is so far from my initial idea, but as the story progressed, I kept on changing parts, so I had to go back and change some stuff in the beginning to the point where the whole entire thing changed completely. So, forgive me if it's kind of...bleh (don't I use the greatest adjectives? lol). Oh and there is some Doojon/Dara friendship in there. They're really close, I mean really, really close. Lol you'll know what I mean. Anywho, on with the story! :D

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Dara pulled into her driveway and stared at the house in front of her. Her parents had bought this house for her and her brother, Sanghyun, 5 years ago and they've been living there ever since. That is, until 2 months ago. Sanghyun was diagnosed with coronary heart disease and it recently got worse, so he was required to stay at the hospital for treatment and observation. When Dara doesn't have work, she stays with her brother while her parents go home to rest. Today, her boss asked her to work, so she couldn't stay with Sanghyun and her mother, but luckily, her best friend, Doojoon, had the day off and was able to stay in the hospital to help her mother out. She was going to visit after work, but she didn't finish until 10pm and figured that Sanghyun was probably sleeping, so she decided that she'll just visit tomorrow. 

Dara sighed and got out of the car. She walked up to the door and was about to put the key in when her cellphone rang. When she looked at the screen, it read, "Umma :)".

"Hey Umma, how's Sang--"

"Dar-Dara, come to the hospital! Your b-brother, he...he...I don't kn-know what's h-happening! He was...he was just sitting and then he just...he just stopped breathing! Doojoon went to get the d-doctor a-and they're trying to g-get him to breathe again b-but...I don't know! P-Please come here now!"

Dara started panicking and ran back to her car.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Umma, don't worry, Hyunnie's strong, he'll be okay!"

She hung up and quickly started her car. Right when she backed up out of her driveway, she heard a screeching sound and felt her car hit something. When she got out of her car, she found that she had hit a black SUV.

"," she muttered. Dara swore that she looked both sides before she backed up. She didn't see any cars at all. She hurriedly ran towards the other car and came face to face with the driver, a man who looked to be in his twenties. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see your car. I was in a hurry and--"

"Do you ing know how much this car costs? It probably costs more than two times the worth of your car, and you have a BMW," the man spat. 

"Look, I said I'm sorry already, okay? I'll pay for the damages to your car, but right now, I really need to go, so I'll give you my number and you give me yours, and we'll work this out later," Dara pleaded, but the man wouldn't have any of it.

"No, I want the money now. You'll probably just give me a fake number," he insisted.

"I'll give you my home phone number, cell phone number, my address and you can even take down my license plate or take a photo of my car, I don't care. I need to go now." Dara said all this while writing down her contact info on a piece of paper. She handed him the paper and apologized one more time before running back to her car. 

The man wasn't going to let her off easily and blocked her driveway with his car. 

"What the ?!?" Dara got out of her car and gestured for him to move his car. He smirked and pretended to not notice her. She started screaming for him to move. After 10 minutes, he finally drove away, but not before flipping her off. Dara yelled in frustration and got back in her car.

As she drove, she noticed a familiar car in front of her, going extremely slow. ", what the hell?"

She honked her horn, but he wouldn't go any faster. She tried changing lanes, but he would do the same. "God, you've got to be kidding me."

After about 20 minutes, the driver finally let her pass. As she drove by his car, she saw him smirking and it took her all she had not to crash her car to the side of his. 

---

When she finally got to the hospital, she ran up and found Doojoon standing in the hallway with his back against the wall and his head in his hands. 

"Sorry I'm late, Doojoonie. I ran into some ." Doojoon looked up with tears in his eyes and immediately enveloped her in a hug.

"Oh, Dara." Dara knew what was happening, but she refused to believe it.

"He can't be...he-he's strong, he can't..."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Dara felt numb, she didn't know how to react. She knew this day would come, but she didn't expect it to come so quickly. 

"U-Umma, where is sh-she?" Doojoon pulled away and pointed at her brother's hospital room. Dara took a deep breath and entered the room. She found her mother beside Sanghyun's bed, hugging his lifeless body. That's when it hit Dara, her brother, her baby brother, is really gone.

"My baby, my poor baby, why must they take you away from us?" her mother sobbed, caressing his face. "Dara, why did they have to take your brother away? He was such a good person."

Dara walked up to her mother and hugged her. She put her hand on his arm and flinched as she felt the coldness of his skin. Dara loved hugging Sanghyun because he was always warm, no matter what season it was, and now all the warmth is gone. She finally let the tears spill as she hugged her umma tightly, whispering that everything is going to be fine and that Sanghyun is at a better place now.

1 month later...

"Doojoonie, do I really have to go?" Dara asked as she sat beside him on the couch, holding a bowl of popcorn.

"Of course, babe. It's your bestest friend's 24th birthday, so you have to go." Doojoon grabbed the bowl from her and stuffed his mouth.

"But I don't know any of your friends from work. It'll be awkward."

"I'll introduce them to you. Plus, I always talk to them about you, so they pretty much know who you are. Come on, please Dar! If you're really my best friend, you'll go." Doojoon put down the bowl and hugged her. "Pretty please, with an assortment of fruits on top!"

Dara chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Fine, I'll go. You're lucky we've been best friends since we were babies."

"Yay! Thank you so, so much bestie! I love you!" Doojoon kissed her cheek, then pecked her lips.

"You should really stop kissing me on the lips. Sometimes, my umma thinks that we're dating." Doojoon laughed and pinched her cheek.

"Tell your umma that unless you have a low voice and a , I would never date you," he said as he changed the channel on the tv. 

"I did, but she won't believe me. She still thinks that someday, we'll realize our undying love for each other, get married and have babies."

(Lol, I really wanted Dara to have a gay best friend in this story. :P)

Doojoon parked in front of a bar and grill. "Dar, wake up, we're here."

Dara opened her eyes and looked around. "Wow, looks expensive."

"I just got a bonus, so we're going all out tonight. Now let's go, my co-workers are probably there already." They got out of the car and headed inside. Doojoon spotted his friends and waved at them. They all gave Doojoon a hug and greeted him a happy birthday. 

"By the way, this is my best friend, Dara. Dara, this is Hyunseung, Yoseob, Hyuna, Gina, Seungho and--"

Dara's eyes widened when she saw the last person. "You!"

"Well if it isn't Ms. I-don't-know-how-to-drive. How nice to meet you again, I'm Junhyung." Junhyung smirked and extended his hand. Dara ignored it and looked away.

"You two know each other?" Doojoon asked.

"Why yes we do. You see, we ran into some complications some time ago, but it's all good now, right?" He patted her shoulder, but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" The memories came flooding back in her head. She would've gotten to the hospital earlier if it wasn't for him. If he hadn't decided to be an , she would've gotten to see her brother while he was still alive. She would've been able to say goodbye to him before his heart stopped beating completely. 

"Whoa there, calm down. Look, I'm sorry for being a jerk back then. Can we just forget that none of that happened?" Dara didn't respond and turned to Doojoon.

"Doo, I'm not feeling so well. I'm sorry, but I think I should head home." Doojoon looked at her worriedly and put his hand on her forehead. 

"You do feel a bit warm," he said, cupping her cheeks. Dara thanked God that she had a slight fever that day. "I'll take you home."

"No, no it's okay, Doo. I'll just call for a taxi. You and your friends have a great time." Dara smiled up at him.

"Are you sure? I don't think they'll mind, I mean, you don't live that far from here." Dara shook her head and gave him a hug.

"I'll be fine, babe," she assured him. He pouted at her and stuck out his lips. Dara rolled her eyes and chuckled, knowing what he wanted. "I'm not kissing you in front of your friends. They'll think that we're dating or something."

"Oh, don't worry. They know that I'm gay. Actually, I have my eyes set on that brunette over there," he whispered, pointing at a guy who Dara remembered as Yoseob. 

"All the more reason why I shouldn't kiss you."

"Oh, come on! We always give each other kisses when we part ways. It's like tradition," he insisted. Dara huffed.

"Ugh, fine." Dara pecked him quickly. "Happy, Joonie?"

"Very."

"Whoa, you two dating or something? I thought you were gay!" Junhyung said. Dara ignored him again and turned to his other friends.

"Unfortunately, I have to go. I don't feel so well and I don't want to ruin your night by slumping on my chair. It was really nice to meet you all and I hope that we'll get to hang out for real next time." She shook their hands one by one, but when she got to Junhyung, she only gave him a small smile before turning to leave. Dara hugged Doojoon and was about to go out the door when Junhyung grabbed her hand. 

"Hey wait, are you still mad at me for what happened that night? I'm really sorry, I was just in a really bad mood and I'm a total when I'm pissed, so I usually don't think before I say or do something," he said. Dara sighed. Even though she wants to be mad at him, she can't because she knows that regardless of the time she got to the hospital, it wouldn't change the outcome of what happened to Sanghyun.

"I'm not mad at you anymore and I accept your apology. I just really don't feel well."

"Then let me call and pay for your taxi. It's the least I could do after my poor behavior a month ago." Before Dara could say anything, Junhyung was already talking to the taxi company on the phone, giving them their location. "There. Your taxi will be here in a few minutes. I'll wait with you so that I could pay the driver when he arrives."

"Oh, thank you." She gave him a smile and Junhyung felt his knees go weak. He can't say that he wasn't attracted to her the first time they met, but he was just really tired and angry that day, managing his dad's company and all, so any chance that he has with her went flying out the window.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Dara's taxi arrived. Junhyung handed the driver some money, more than enough to cover for her whole ride home. 

"I guess I'll, uh, see you around?" he said before she got in the taxi.

"Um, yeah sure. Thanks again, Junhyung."  They waved at each other before he closed the door for her. He watched as the taxi drove away, smiling to himself. He can now try to make up for his rudeness towards Dara and possibly get that chance that he lost a month ago.

The next time they see each other is at a grocery store. Dara used to go grocery shopping with her brother since they lived together, but ever since Sanghyun passed away, she has no choice but to go on her own, or occasionally with Doojoon. Dara couldn't help but reminisce as she passed by the junk food aisle that Sanghyun would sneak off to when he has the cart and stuff it with bags of chips.

Junhyung was there because he ran out of coke. He lives in a huge apartment by himself, so he's been grocery shopping on his own for years. He went into the aisle that has pop and immediately forgot what he was there to get when he saw Dara standing there, looking at the shelf with chips.

"Hey!" he called out. Dara turned her head and smiled upon seeing him. She waved before pushing her cart towards where he was. 

"Hi Junhyung. How are you doing?"

"I'm great, and you?"

"I'm doing well." 

"That's good, that's good." They were silent for a moment before Junhyung decided to say something. "Hey, um, after this, do you want to, maybe, go for coffee with me?" 

Dara laughed, earning a puzzled look from Junhyung. 

"Are you asking me out on a date? In the middle of a supermarket?"

"No, well uh, maybe, I mean, uh, yes?" he stammered and Dara giggled. 

"Sure, sounds cool."

After their coffee date, Junhyung and Dara became closer. She never mentioned her brother to him nor the significance of the night her car hit his. After a few more dates, they officially became a couple. 

One day, she invited Junhyung over for dinner. It's the first time that Junhyung will see the inside of her house as they always hang out at his place, so she spent the whole day cleaning. When evening came, she sat on the couch and waited for him. She leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"Hyunnie, I hope you approve of Junhyung. He's a really great guy. We can forget about that one incident, right?" She continued to stare at the lights until she heard the doorbell. She opened the door and found Junhyung holding a bouquet of flowers and, what seemed to be, expensive wine.

"Hey baby, these are for you." Junhyung said as he handed her the flowers.

"Aw, for me? Why, thank you." She gave him a kiss, then opened the door wider. "Come in."

When Junhyung entered, he couldn't help but gawk at the huge house. He knew that it was big just by looking at it from the outside, but it was actually two times bigger than he expected. 

"You live here by yourself?" he asked, setting down the wine on the kitchen counter.

"Actually, my parents bought this house for my brother, Sanghyun, and I. My brother and I used to live here together, but not anymore." Junhyung joined Dara on the couch and put an arm around her. 

"Why not? Did he want to live on his own or something?" Dara chuckled, but Junhyung could hear the sadness.

"He actually passed away a few months ago." 

"I--" Junhyung didn't know what to say. He didn't mean to bring up such a sensitive subject. Dara smiled and took his hand in hers.

"It's fine, really. I don't have a problem with talking about it." 

"H-How did he die?" 

"He had a heart disease." 

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Junhyung hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head.

"I guess when it's your time to go, you really can't do anything about it." Dara didn't want to talk more about it, so she changed the subject. "So, how about dinner?"

"Sure, smells delicious." Dara grinned and pecked him on the lips and cheek before getting up to set the food and table. Junhyung sensed that there was something she wasn't telling him, but he didn't want to ask more questions.

---

After dinner, Junhyung and Dara snuggled up on the couch and watched a couple of movies. Dara ended up falling asleep after the second movie, so Junhyung carried her up to her room. As he set her down, she opened her eyes.

"Mmm, where are you going?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I think I might head home now. I still have work early in the morning tomorrow." Junhyung caressed her cheek and she leaned in to the touch.

"Mmm, okay. Be safe, baby. Pick me up from work tomorrow? We can have dinner together." 

"I will and of course I'll pick you up. Dinner sounds great." Junhyung leaned down to give her a soft kiss. She patted his cheek, then grabbed a key from her nightstand.

"Here," Dara handed it to him. "This is my house key. It used to be my brother's, but now I want you to have it. I trust you."

"Wow, um, are you sure?"

"Yeah and I'm too lazy to get up and close the door for you, so..." Junhyung rolled his eyes and chuckled. 

"How nice of you." Dara giggled and nodded her head.

---

The next day, Doojoon and Junhyung went out for lunch.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me about Dara's brother?" Junhyung asked as they brought their tray of food to a table.

"It's not my place to tell people about that. What did she tell you?" Doojoon replied.

"That he had a heart disease. How did he die?"

"Well, Dara had work that day, so I stayed with her Umma. He was just sitting on his bed, watching tv, and after...I don't know what happened. His upper body fell forward and his heart...it just stopped beating. We panicked and I immediately called for help. A bunch of doctors and nurses ran in the room and tried to revive him. Apparently, he went into cardiac arrest. They couldn't get him to breath again on his own, so they attached a machine to him in order to get air in his body. Aunty managed to call Dara and asked her to come as fast as she can. The doctor told us that the chances of him breathing on his own again are very slim. Aunty hated seeing her baby boy like this and contemplated whether they should take him off or wait. We waited for Dara, but she came two hours later and by then, Aunty had already decided and Sanghyun was gone. I felt really bad for Dara because she didn't get to say goodbye to him while he was still alive, barely, but still alive." Doojoon was wiping his eyes from the tears that were forming. Junhyung sat there, trying to digest the information.

"Why did she arrive so late? Was the hospital that far?"

"Actually, it's not that far. She could get here in 20-30 minutes if she hurried. She ran into trouble with some guy who was a total bastard to her when she was on her way here. She didn't really say anything about what happened."

"If I was there, I would've probably beaten the crap out of the guy. God, that's horrible. If only he knew the effects of his actions." Doojoon nodded. They continued eating their food until Junhyung got an idea. "Where is Dara's brother buried? I feel like bringing flowers or something."

---

Before Junhyung went to pick up Dara, he bought some flowers and headed for the cemetery. 

"Hmm..Park Sanghyun." He looked at the gravestones, trying to look for her brother's name. After a few minutes of searching he finally found it. "Ah, there it is."

In Loving Memory

Park Sanghyun

October 7, 1990 - January 12, 2012

A great son and a caring brother

"January 12..." Junhyung thought for a moment. "Why does that date seem familiar?"

He tried to think of what he did that day, but he couldn't remember. "Maybe it was just any other day. Weird, I swear something significant happened that day. Oh, well." 

Junhyung set down the flowers in front of the gravestone. "I hope that wherever you are, you're always looking after your parents and noona. It's a shame that we didn't get to meet each other, but I feel like we would get along quite well if we did. I bet you were just as wonderful as your sister is."

He stayed there for a few more minutes until his phone started ringing. He knew that it was Dara calling to say that he could pick her up now.

"Hello? Hey babe...Okay, I'll be there in 10 minutes."

---

Junhyung pulled up in front of Dara's workplace and spotted her sitting on a bench. She smiled upon seeing him and walked to his car.

"Hey there," she greeted as she got in. She kissed him before putting on her seatbelt.

"Why hello, my beautiful lady. How was work?" Dara shrugged.

"Boring. We had to do paperwork because there weren't much patients today. Ugh, I hate tuesdays."

"Aw, don't worry, tomorrow will be a better day." Junhyung chuckled when Dara sighed. "By the way, can we stop by my apartment first? I need to grab something."

"Yeah, sure."

---

When they got to his apartment, Dara went up to wait for him while he went to get his mail. As he was in the elevator, he looked through them and saw one from the insurance company. 

"Hm, it's for the car mishap that Dara and I had..." Junhyung read it and gasped upon seeing something. "Oh God, it can't be! !"

---

Dara sat on his couch, waiting for Junhyung. She was a bit hungry, so she decided to look through his fridge for anything to eat. She managed to find a chocolate bar and started eating it. 

Junhyung entered the apartment and looked around for Dara.

"Over here." Junhyung turned his head and walked towards the kitchen. Dara noticed that he looked distressed. "Sorry, I got hungry. I hope you don't mind, I ate your chocolate. Are you okay?"

"Dara, why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a low voice. Dara looked at him confusedly.

"Tell you what?" She stepped closer, eyeing him carefully.

"About the night that your brother passed away." Dara stopped. Junhyung kept his head down.

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"I was the who held you back from going to your brother."

"Junhyung, it's fine. Just forget about it." Dara reached out her hands, but he stepped back.

"How can I forget about it?! Because of me and my bastard self, you weren't able to go and stay with your mother when she was deciding something so crucial. I deprived you of the chance to say goodbye to him while he was still alive. God, I feel so horrible. You knew all this time, yet you treat me so well and even accepted me as your boyfriend. I don't deserve this, I don't deserve you," Junhyung said, voice wavering. Dara huffed in frustration.

"See, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you! You'll feel guilty and start talking bull. No matter how late or early I get to the hospital, it won't change the fact that my brother was going to die that night. It's inevitable, Junhyung."

"But--" he tried, but Dara wasn't having any of it.

"--Let me finish. Yes, I was mad because I didn't get to see his final moments of life, but I got over it because I realized that I would much rather remember him as this lively, energetic, caring and loving brother who loves to play around and give the warmest hugs, not a guy who is hooked up to a breathing machine, barely alive. So in a way, I'm glad that you acted like a jerk towards me that day because I don't think I would've been able to handle seeing my poor, baby brother like that."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Can we just forget about it? I really don't want to remember that day anymore." Dara stepped forward, this time, grabbing the front of Junhyung's shirt to pull him closer so that he can't move away from her again. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She lightly kissed it and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, encircling his arms around her. 

"I know you are and I accept you apology." She pulled back and kissed him with as much love as she can. Junhyung smiled into the kiss and her cheek. "Now that all of that is settled, why don't we go out and get dinner?"

"Sure, but can we stop somewhere first?"

"Where?"

"You'll see."

---

"Hey there, baby bro. I'm sorry noona hasn't visited in a while. I miss you so, so much," she said as she stood in front of his grave.

"I hope you can forgive me for the way I treated your sister that night. Promise I won't do it again." Dara smiled and put her arm around his waist, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"So, Hyunnie, this is my boyfriend, Junhyung. I hope you approve of him. He's a really great guy, annoying, but still great."

"Hey! Don't listen to your sister, I am so not annoying."

"Ha, right." Dara rolled her eyes and lightly punched his arm.

"If I'm annoying, then she's abusive. Did you see what she just did?" Junhyung chuckled and tightened his hold around her. "Aren't we just the greatest couple?"

"Anyway, we should stop bothering you and get going. I promise I'll come visit again soon. Bye, Hyunnie, noona loves you." 

"I'll come visit you too. Bye for now, Sanghyun." Junhyung intertwined his and Dara's fingers as they walked back to his car.

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I don't even know. I don't know what I was thinking while I was typing this up. Gah, I feel so sad. This story isn't what I wanted it to be. OTL

I shall rack my brain for better plots for my next stories.