Dara feels lightheaded and there’s a throbbing pain by her temple. A few symptoms that tells her that a monstrous migraine’s about to begin. She makes her way to the dining area, where she sees her older sister, Bom, taking a slice of bread from the basket.


“Good morn...” Bom starts to greet Dara, raising her eyes “Eeep!” she shrieks, when her eyes take in Dara’s face.


“Morning, unnie.” Dara takes her seat. Scouring the table for a food she thinks her stomach could hold down. “If I had cared one iota about how I look, your reaction would’ve wounded me to the core, unnie.”


“I’m sorry. But what happened to you?” Bom ignores the sarcastic comment. She can’t drag her eyes away from Dara “And you’re still going to work?”


“Migraine.” Dara reaches for the platter of assorted fruits and places some of it on her plate. “Yes, I’ll go to work. I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t.” 


“But you’re sick!” The older girl’s voice raises a pitch.


“It’s only a migraine, not a life threatening disease.” The words may be simple, the tone Dara used , says that it’s the end of discussion. 


Bom wants to convince Dara to take a leave off her work even for the day, she knows how bad Dara’s migraines could get, and it worries her. However, she knows it’s easier and she’d have a greater chance of making a monkey that it’s human than have Dara skip work. She tried that when they were kids. Even then, she can’t break through Dara’s strong resolve.


“Don’t let yourself starve, so you can take your medicine. If your migraine worsens, don’t hesitate to tell Seunghyun and call for the driver to fetch and get you back here.” Bom ranted on instructions “Heorin-ah” she later on, calls out “Could you please get Dara-ah some medicine for her migraine? Oh, and place some inside a pill box for her to take with her. Thanks.”
Once Bom turns her head back, she sees Dara giving her an odd look. It made her slightly conscious. Instinctively, her hand reaches upwards and touches her face.


“Do I have something on my face?” She asks Dara.


“Your future kids would be lucky to have you. You’re even more motherly than Byul unnie than you want to admit.”


“You’re my little sister. Of course it’s only right that I look out for you.”


The sisters share a smile and then continued on with their breakfast. Once done, Dara stands up, hugs and kisses Bom on the cheeks. 


“I’ll go ahead, unnie. Thanks.” Softly, Dara says. 


Bom hugs her back, and then she says jokingly “I still think unnie beats me at being a mother hen.” 


Dara left laughing on her way out for work. 


Bom stares at Dara’s retreating back. Her face lights up as a thought enters her mind. She fishes out her phone from the pocket of the jeans she’s currently wearing and dials a number.









-oOo-

The day drags on slow. Dara is bored out of her wits end now that she’s all alone on the floor. 


Earlier, she was called inside Seunghyun’s office. He tells her that he’d be out to meet with some prospective clients for the rest of the day. The only thing he asked her to do is to take messages for him and to make copies of the recently approved proposal he’d be presenting. 


Dara was able to finish the second task within ten minutes after Seunghyun left for the meeting. The phone on her desk had only rung twice within an hour. The first call was from a telemarketing company offering special ‘toys’. Dara was about to inform that they called a wrong number, but the caller beat her by ranting on their products. She could feel herself instantly turning red from the roots of her hair down to her toes as the caller continues. Without a word, she places the phone back to its cradle, ending the call. 


Shock is still on Dara’s face as she fully absorbs the context of the call, when the phone rings again. Warily she eyes the phone, wishing the ringing to end. Annoyance replaces the wariness as the caller seemed persistent. The incessant ringing is making her temple throb.


“Would you please stop calling this number? And me, hanging up the phone earlier meant I’m not interested in buying a freaking bottle of libido enhancer pills!” Dara yells.


“Uhmm…I’m not selling libido enhancer pills. Is this Choi Seunghyun’s office?” Came the hesitant voice from the other end. “I’m hyung’s friend, Kang Daesung.”


Dara stretches the hand holding the phone away from her. Her free hand clamps over the mouthpiece.


“Aaaahh!!!” She shrieks at the realization that she had just made a fool of herself. She takes big gulps of air to calm her frazzled nerves.


“I’m so sorry about that Mr. Kang” Dara’s grateful that her voice sounds normal. “Yes, this is Mr. Choi’s office. But he’s currently out for the whole day to meet with some clients. Would you like to leave a message for him?” Her hand grabs a pen from the holder and poises it over a clean sheet of post its.


“No message. I just called to check if we could invite him over for lunch. Thank you.”


Dara places the handset back to the cradle and then buries her face in her palms. Mentally giving herself a kick. The throbbing at her temple increased, she rummages inside her bag for the pill box, takes one out and pops it in . Snatching her mug on the side, and drank some water to help push down the medicine.


“This is all the dreams fault!” Dara yawns as the medicine is starting to have an effect on her five minutes later. She slumps over her table, resting her head against her bended arm. Her eyes feel heavy, but no matter how much she tried fending off Mr. Sandman, she is slowly being lulled to dreamland.


“Stupid Jiyong!” Dara grumbles as her eyes fluttered close. 








-oOo- 

Inside a restaurant. Jiyong is seated at a table with Young Bae, Seungri and Daesung. He was dragged away from the solace confinement of his office. For some reason, he knows something’s up whenever these three are together. But what bothers him the most is the odd looks, Young Bae is giving him. 


Shrugging it off, his hand reaching over for the menu, he hears Seungri’s say “Let’s invite Seunghyun hyung for lunch.”


Daesung is quick enough to whip out his phone and dials the company number. Jiyong watches from the corner of his eye.


His brows furrow when he sees Daesung’s face turn beet red. Still putting up an act of disinterest, Jiyong lifts the glass of water and takes a sip.


“Uhmm…I’m not selling libido enhancer pills…” Daesung’s words almost made him spurt out the water from his mouth.


Not wanting to incite Young Bae’s interest Jiyong keeps up the pretense of not eavesdropping by acting like he’s checking out the menu like his life depended on it.


“What happened Dae?” Young Bae asks the younger guy. “Why are you blushing?” 


“Hyung’s secretary.” Daesung begins.


“She told me hyung’s out for the day.” 


“And you’re blushing because of that?”


“No. It’s because of his secretary.”


Kang Daesung is blushing because of Dara?


Jiyong could sense Young Bae’s eyes focusing on him. Jiyong knew better than to give in and show a reaction Young Bae’s been expecting, thus leading the latter to misconstrue stuff between him and Dara, just like his Seunghyun hyung. He went on ‘studying’ the menu in his hands.


“Why?”


“She thought I’m a salesman promoting libido enhancer pills” Daesung looks like he’s about to cry after revealing what troubled him.


“I should’ve made the call!” Seungri reacts from the side. “I bet Dara-ah sounds y over the phone.”


It took a lot of sheer will power from Jiyong not to give in to the urge of giving the maknae a smack on the head and not to burst out laughing at Daesung. The four of them went on in having lunch.


As they eat, Jiyong’s imagination is now running wild picturing how Dara had standoffishly turned Daesung down thinking he was a telemarketer. He is rearing to finish the lunch so he could head over to Dara. A smirk appearing on his face at the thought of the ways he could torture her to say out the reason why she thought Daesung is a telemarketer and what’s more, why she thought he’s selling out of all the products available, it’s a libido enhancer supplement.








-oOo- 

In record time, Jiyong finishes the main course he had selected, settling his fork and knife down.


Seungri looks up from slicing a bite from the remaining half of the steak he ordered. “You’re already done hyung?”


“I..uh…I forgot that I have a meeting” Jiyong raises his left arm, where his watch is and taps it “I only got thirty minutes left to get there.”


“Hyung, aren’t you staying for dessert or a cup of coffee?” Daesung asks.


“I’ll take a rain check on that. I can’t be late for my afternoon appointment.” Jiyong rises from his seat. “I’m really sorry, I’ve to go. I’ll make up next time.” He is already walking away towards the door, 


“Wonder where Jiyong hyung’s going?” Seungri voices out, a puzzled look on his face. “This is the first time I saw him eager to go to a meeting.”


“It must be really important, otherwise, he would not be in such a hurry to leave.” Daesung responds.


“You may have already fallen for her but you may be clueless about it, Ji.” Young Bae says under his breath.


“Hyung, were you saying something?”


“I said, for a grown man, you still eat like a kid. You have some sauce on the side of your lip, Maknae.”










-oOo- 

The elevator opens at the floor where Seunghyun’s office is at. As Jiyong nears, his brows furrow, Dara’s face is not visible beyond her desk, as it usually is. He was about to turn around when he catches the chair behind Dara’s desk make a slight movement. He walks nearer, and he couldn’t help but smile at what he sees. Dara is slumped over her table, sleeping. She has her face turned towards him. 


Jiyong went around, until he is standing right next to the oblivious, sleeping Dara.


“…Jiyong….y….wolf….lamb chops…” Dara mumbles, still asleep.



"Lamb chops?" Jiyong chuckles at what he hears.


Because Dara moved in her sleep, a lock of hair fell on her face. Jiyong reaches down and brushes it aside and tucks the loose hair behind her ear. The same hand stops to cup Dara’s chin. His thumb grazes her pink lips.



DUGDUG DUGDUG DUGDUG DUGDUG



Jiyong jerks his arm back. Stares back and forth between it and Dara’s face.









-oOo- 

With a mewling sound, Dara starts to rouse up from her sleep. Eyes still closed, she sits right up and stretches. She opens her eyes, and halts in a middle of a yawn, when her gaze lands on a paper bag sitting right smack in front of her. It’s the first time she had laid eyes on the paper bag. She’s very much sure it wasn’t there when she fell asleep from the medicine she took earlier.


She stands up to look around, hoping to still catch whoever left the paper bag. But the halls and Seunghyun’s office are still empty. Going back to her table, she stares at the paper bag warily, like it was a bomb about to explode. 


Dara takes out the contents of the paper bag. She opens the lid on the big container, and immediately the scent that wafted from it assaulted her and made her stomach growl. It was only then that she realized she is hungry and had forgotten to eat something for lunch. The other containers are for the side dishes that came with the beef soup. 


The first person to enter her mind is Won Bin. So she takes out her phone and starts crafting a message, but before she could press the send button, her phone rings. Dara almost drops her phone, when it did.


A look of surprise is on her face when she sees the name on the screen.


“Hello?” She answers hesitantly.


“Don’t worry the food’s libido enhancer free.” Jiyong is indeed the person calling her.


Her heart skips a beat the second she hears his voice. 


“I already said sorry about that.” Dara feels her face getting warm “You’re not going to let this one go, right?”


Jiyong chuckles “You got that one right.”


“Jerk.” Dara hisses. 


They were silent for a few minutes. 


“Dara-ah?” Jiyong starts, placing an end to the silence.


“Yes?”


“I don’t know the deal about the lamb chops and wolf. But, thank you for finally admitting that you find me y.”


Is that my dream?!?


“What the heck are you talking about?” 


“You were dreaming about me, baby. Heard it myself.”


Dara lets out a groan. When she thought her day couldn’t get any worse, it just did. Talking in her sleep is one of her pet quirks, grumbling about the dreams for everyone to hear. It’s already shameful for other people to hear what she’s been dreaming about. Having Kwon Jiyong hear her mention his name in her sleep, takes it to a whole different level!


“The soup’s quite delicious if I say so myself” Jiyong speaks again. “Let’s just say it’s a treat for admitting you find me hot. I got to go. Enjoy the soup.”


“I’d go see a doctor first before that happens.” Dara tries to save her waning dignity. “Thank you for the soup though.” She says as the call ends.


Dara is wearing a smile on her face the whole time she was eating the soup.



 

Not much moment here i know...

but i'll make up on the second half.. which is looonggger than this one

just had to post this to motivate my lazy bum 

THOUGHTS and COMMENTS

are welcome and appreciated

THANK YOU

as always for reading

much ♥

CHET