“I don’t like him.”

“I never asked you to.” Mona huffed. They were back in the house and were standing in a secluded corner where they wouldn’t be heard. She watched as Dari narrowed his eyes at Simon who was standing not very far away, talking to the twins. She sighed. She loved Dari, she truly did, but sometimes, he was just too overprotective of her. 

“Mona, do you like him?”

Mona hesitated before answering. She wasn’t sure if she should tell him. He had always monitored the guys she used to have a crush on, until she lost interest in all of them because of his constant nagging. Was he trying to do the same thing with Simon?

“Oppa, I...”

“Who is he anyway? He looks way too old for you!” Dari scrutinized.

“Oppa...”

“And look at his veins popping out everywhere! Those muscles, is he on steroids?”

“Oppa...”

“And look at the way he talks! He has fish mouth!”

“Oppa!” Mona finally shouted. “Stop picking out his bad qualities so I’d stop liking him!”

Dari raised his eyebrow at her. “So you do like him! Who is he Mona?”

“He’s... no one.”

“No one? Really? Like how YoungBae, SeungHyun, JunSu, MinWoo were all no one?”

“Stop listing down my ex-crushes! Simon is... no one.” Mona finished lamely.

“Then why were you defending him?”

“I wasn’t! Gosh, stop grilling me! You’re not a cop!” Mona said, exasperated at his behaviour.

“Hey... you know I’m just looking out for you.” Dari said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “You shouldn’t date... guys like that.”

Mona let out a laugh. “And who says I was going to date him?”

“You’re not? But he’s been staring at us ever since I came. Now unless he’s gay, I’m pretty sure he was looking at you.”

Mona’s pulse quickened and her face broke into a smile, feeling excited at this unexpected piece of news. “He has?” Slowly and discreetly, she looked over her shoulder, only to notice Simon quickly looking away. She grinned. He was looking at her! Why was he looking at her?

“Mona, I don’t like him.” Dari pointed out. “I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t even know him!”

“But he has blond hair! That’s enough for me to know he makes bad choices!”

“His blond hair is perfectly fine!” Mona shouted. “Look oppa, I appreciate your concern, I really do. But Simon is... a great guy. Yes, he’s slightly older, but he’s very nice!”

“And how would you know that? Because your heart skipped a beat when you see him? Because your knees buckled every time he smiles at you?” Dari pointed out.

Mona’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow... you know me very well.”

“Because I’ve seen it a million times. It’s no different with this Simon guy.”

“Oppa...” Mona said affectionately before reaching for his hand. “Simon is... different. Trust me please... if you must know, I really do like him. I see him as...”

“I’m going to throw up if you say he’s the love of your life.” Dari cut in.

Mona giggled. “He is... Well, I think he is.”

Dari stared long and hard at the girl he loved. He had missed her terribly during his military training, wondering until the wee hours of morning if she was doing ok. He had gotten rid of all the feelings she had for her crushes before he entered military, because he knew how dramatic and lonely she would be without him to talk to. But now Simon was in the picture, and by the looks of it, there was no way he could get rid of her feelings for him in just one night. So now what?

His phone suddenly rang, interrupting his trail of thoughts. “Hello? What? I thought you covered for me? Ok ok, I’ll be right back!”

Mona furrowed her brow at him. “What’s going on?”

“I have to go back to the training camp.”

“I thought you had the weekend off!”

Dari smiled guiltily. “I didn't actually. I snuck out.”

“You snuck out? Oppa, that’s a serious offence!” Mona said in horror.

“Well, what do you want me to do? I’ve really missed you! I just wanted to see you!” Dari said with a small huff.

Mona bit her lip to prevent herself from lashing out at him, and instead smiled before wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. “Oppa, that’s really sweet of you. But you shouldn’t have done it...”

“I know. Be good ok? I’ll talk to you soon.” Dari said, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I can trust you right?”

Mona nodded her head. “I’ll come visit when it’s time...”

“You better.” Dari said, playfully threatening her. “Tell the others ok? I really have to go now.”

“Bye oppa! I’ll miss you! I love you!” Mona said with a wave.

“I love you too!” Dari said, returning her wave. He made sure she couldn't see him and quickly made his way towards Simon, who to his delight, was standing alone. “Hey, err... Simon right?”

“Umm yeah.” Simon nodded.

“You listen to me, if you mess with her, I will not hesitate to kill you.” Dari threatened quietly before slipping out of the house. Well, since he couldn't change Mona’s mind, he might as well threatened the so-called ‘love of her life’. He was way out of line, he knew that, but he didn't want her to cry in the middle of the night pining for some low-life jerk. He wouldn’t be around to console her, and he hated that...

 “Mona! You’ll never guess what just happened!” The twins said at the same time a while later.

Mona took a step back, frightened by the matching looks on their faces. “Please don’t look at me like that. What’s going on?”

“Let me tell the story!” JiEun shouted.

“No! I’m older! Let me tell her!” EunJi countered. Without waiting for her twin’s approval, she continued. “We heard Simon asking Jeesu something about you!”

“What... what... what did he say?” Mona gasped.

“He asked Jeesu about Dari oppa.”

“What did Jeesu say?” Mona asked urgently.

EunJi shook her head. “He didn't say anything. He told Simon to ask him yourself.”

Mona’s mouth opened, forming a perfect ‘o’. Why was he asking about Dari oppa?

“You know what Mona, I think he likes you.” JiEun stated.

“Psshhhh...” Mona made a sound. “That’s preposterous. Why would he like someone like me?”

“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with you! Besides, when you were talking with Dari oppa, I noticed he kept looking at you.” EunJi said, nodding her head firmly.

“Really?” Mona said, getting her hopes up. “That’s what Dari oppa said...”

“See? Maybe this isn’t a one sided crush.” JiEun said, wriggling her eyebrow teasingly.

“But... that’s ridiculous. He told Daniel someone on the dance floor caught his eye. I’ve never even been anywhere close to the area.” Mona said sadly, recalling what had happened earlier. Right, she was stupid for getting her hopes up. Why WOULD he like someone like her? Maybe he was staring earlier because she had something in her hair... or the back of her shirt. Her shoulders slumped. This was too much for one night. Maybe she should just go home...

“Mona, you ready to go?” Simon suddenly appeared beside her. Hmm... It was like he was reading her mind...

Mona stumbled in surprise and Simon hastily held on to her arm. “You ok?” He asked her gently.

“Simon sshi, you should take her home. She looks kinda pale.” EunJi urged while JiEun stupidly nodded her head. Mona wondered what the twins were playing at. She felt perfectly fine. In fact, she knew she was far from pale. She was blushing from the physical contact, the colour of her cheeks putting her red sweater to shame.

The other boys rushed over when they heard EunJi. “Mona, are you ok?” Jeesu asked. The light was dimming slightly but she could clearly see the playful twinkle in his eyes. What were they all up to?

“Simon, please take her home.” Intae instructed, throwing a discreet smile in her direction. She finally understood. They were setting her up with him!

“Ok hyung. See you all on Monday. Come Mona, let’s go.” Simon said, helping her to the front door.

“Have fun Mona!” Someone shouted gleefully. She rolled her eyes. Stupid Daniel!

“I’m fine.” Mona insisted once they were in the car.

Simon inserted the key into the ignition and turned to look at her. “I’m not.”

Mona furrowed her brow in confusion. “Why? Are you sick? Why don’t you let me drive?”

“Mona... who’s Dari?”

Mona had a feeling he would ask, but she didn't know it was going to come so soon. “Sorry, what?”

“You guys were awfully close. Is he your boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend? No, God no! He’s... someone special.” Mona said with a smile. She decided to test the twins’ theory. She could read facial expressions very well, and if Simon showed any sign of jealousy, then the theory would be proven and she would be the happiest girl on Earth.

Simon raised his eyebrow at her. “So, he’s not your boyfriend but he’s special?”

“Yeah... something like that.”

“He kissed you.” Simon pointed out.

“Oh, he loves public display of affection.” Mona said nonchalantly with a wave of her hand. She wondered where the boldness came from. She felt so brave all of a sudden, as if there was no way she could embarrass herself this time... “Why Simon sshi? Why did you ask?”

Simon shook his head before driving away. “Nothing... just nothing.”

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. What was he thinking? Was he jealous? He was extremely good at hiding his emotion that she couldn't quite tell what he was feeling. Maybe she should just tell him who Dari was to her... Before she could say anything, the car stopped in front of her house and Mona turned to Simon. “Thanks for the ride Simon sshi.”

“Yeah...”

“Erm... actually, Dari oppa is just a friend. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. He’s like a brother to me. That’s all there is to it...” Mona said with a smile. Her heart almost jumped out of at the obvious relief that appeared on Simon’s face. Was it true? Was Simon as into her as she was into him?

She was about to step out of the car, when his hand caught hold of her wrist. “Wait... I love you...”

Chapter Posted on: Jun. 9. 2012

Yay! Another chapter is up! ^^ This chapter was supposed to be a few days after the party, but then I realized that if i don't continue with the party, the story would be hanging... haha... Another cliffhanger! Yay! =D Please enjoy! Hope you guys like it! ^^ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FAckkQ8fO8&list=UU8rJIQcgbd-LUA3Pn3PoQoA&index=2&feature=plcp (this video totally destroys the cool image i always pictured simon has. It's still cute anyway! =D)