As their lips parted, Taeyang held IU tightly in his arms.

'Please stay, you don't really have to go right?' Taeyang whispered, holding back his tears.

Instead of answering, IU wound her arms around Taeyang's waist and let her head rest on his shoulder, damping his shirt a little with some tears.

The both of them just stood there in the midst of so many people, holding on to one another and not saying a word.

'Do you want me to go in with you?' Taeyang asked when he noticed IU's worried expression.

'It's okay, I'll be fine,' IU replied hurriedly, failing to hide her nervousness.

IU had eventually decided to stay in Korea and was aware that she had to bear the consequences now. Surely her father would be furious when he found out that she had changed her mind, but no way was she leaving for Canada any time soon.

Before IU unlocked the gate, Taeyang suddenly pulled her by the hand towards him, enveloping her in another hug.

'Thank you for staying,' Taeyang said gently as he IU's hair, 'Thank you for giving me a second chance.'

'You can thank me by proving to me that I made the right decision,' IU said light-heartedly, 'I really need to go in now and explain-'

Taeyang then held IU's head in his hands and kissed her forehead, 'Okay, but remember to call me if anything bad happens or if you need something okay?'

'I will,' IU said with a sincere smile. It certainly felt good when you knew someone out there would be there for you, and that was what IU was feeling at that moment.

'You have an early night today, just go to sleep and not think about anything else. Everything is going to work out fine.' Taeyang added before waving goodbye to IU.

'Ji Eun darling? You didn't leave after all?' IU's mother asked, feigning shock when she saw her daughter pulling the bulky luggage behind her.

'Omma, sorry I changed my mind at the last minute. I didn't do it on purpose, I just-' IU stumbled upon her words, trying to give a proper explanation.

'I don't need to hear any explanations. I already told you I would support you in whichever decision you make. If staying in Korea is what you want, then Omma's right behind you,' IU's mother said calmly, shushing her daughter and even helping her unpack her stuff.

Seeing that her mother understood her, IU felt relieved and a little puzzled. Thinking back, she realised that her mother did not make her way to the airport after all, and she didn't look unwell to her. She scratched her head and then the idea that perhaps her mother and Taeyang were in cahoots dawned upon her. She huffed and comically blew her bangs upwards, realising that the two of them were the ones who were working together to bring her back, and she was indeed glad that they did.

That night, IU received a sudden call from her dad. She composed herself before taking the call, knowing that this was the chance for her to explain to her father why she hadn't turned up in Canada before he found out himself.

'Appa,' IU greeted politely as the conversation started, 'I have something to tell you.'

'Can that wait Ji Eun? Appa has something to tell you too, and it's very urgent,' IU's father rebutted fast.

'What is it Appa?' IU replied nervously, worried that something bad had happened because of the tone her father was using.

'I'm sorry Ji Eun but Appa is going to disappoint you,' IU's father began apologetically, 'My future boss from Canada called me and said that they thought I wasn't suited for the position after all. They have suddenly changed their minds about hiring me, so I'm afraid we won't get to go to Canada after all.'

'What?' IU asked, not believing what she was hearing.

'I know how much you wanted to go to Canada but Appa is truly sorry, I never expected this to happen as well.' IU's father continued, thinking that his daughter was disappointed by the news.

'That's not it Appa, I understand. Maybe going to Canada wouldn't be so nice after all, don't worry about it.' IU replied happily.

'Really? You don't mind?' IU's father voice lightened up, 'Thank you for being so understanding Ji Eun. And by the way, what was it that you wanted to tell me?'

'Nothing important,' IU added quickly and ended the phone call soon after.

Maybe everything was really going to be all right.

'You two have made up already? That's awesome!' The always cheerful GD greeted them with a beaming smile as he saw IU and Taeyang walking alongside each other to school. 'It's also high time that you two should have made up, the school anniversary dance is coming up and if you two were still at odds with each other, Young Bae would have no one to bring to the dance.'

Taeyang hit GD's head playfully, a sign that he was annoyed by GD's childish talk but was also relieved that his best pal was trying to make things less awkward, silently cheering this couple on.

The three of them didn't notice that Hara was at her seat, staring daggers at them once again. She stood up suddenly from her seat with her head hung down and trudged slowly to the direction of the toilet.

'Is she okay?' IU asked worriedly, seeing the state Hara was in.

'You don't have to show your concern, she's just going to take advantage of you if you are nice to her,' Taeyang replied firmly, 'Just let her be.'

'But what if she does something silly?' IU asked in concern, 'She didn't look so well to me just now, maybe she's sick.'

'So what do you want to do?' Taeyang asked, holding onto IU's hand in case she was going to look for Hara.

'I'm g-going to find her in the toilet, I need to see whether she is okay,' IU answered unsurely, afraid of Taeyang's response, 'She's our classmate anyway and she's suffering from depression, one of us needs to show her our concern.'

'Okay,' Taeyang replied deflated, 'But promise me you won't let Hara come between us like she did before.'

IU nodded hurriedly, and sped off to find Hara.

True to her suspicions, Hara was sitting there in the corner of the toilet, slitting her wrists, staining the toilet floor with her bright red blood.

'What are you doing?' IU hollered angrily at Hara, snatching the pen knife away from her furiously, 'How can you do this to yourself?'

Hara looked up to see IU using wads of tissue pressing against the wounds and preventing the loss of more blood. She was surprised that IU had came looking for her and was even caring for her but she did not speak and neither did she react. She just let IU lecture her and continuing to put pressure on the self-inflicted injuries.

'Are you listening to me?' IU shouted at the top of voice when she noticed Hara was still staring into space and ignoring her, 'I'm asking you why did you do this to yourself?'

Hara shot IU a nasty glare, and if looks would kill, IU would have died there and then.

'Why does it bother you that I'm hurting myself? Why do you have to act like you care? Why do you have to be so nice when I was so mean to you?' Hara hurled her words like stones towards IU.

IU took Hara's trembling hands in hers and said seriously, 'I'm not acting like I care, I really do care. Don't ever hurt youself again like that, whatever the reason behind it, it isn't worth it at all. What do you gain by cutting yourself? Do you feel better? Will your problems be solved just like that?' IU paused for a while, feeling relieved that Hara was taking the effort to finally listen to what she had to say. 'If this is because of Taeyang, then quit it. Why do you want to injure yourself when he won't even bother? Do you really think that by doing these kind of crazy stuff, he'll come back to you?'

Hara broke into tears, what IU said made a lot of sense, even though it was painful to admit.

'I'm not doing this because of Taeyang, I'm doing this because I feel so lost. There's no one who loves me, no one at all. Seeing you and Taeyang together, it is so painful that I want to die. It's painful not because I still have feelings for him, but it's painful because he has found happiness and someone he loves who loves him as well. Everyone around me seem to have people who love them except for me, I have no one. And that is very painful, so painful that I have to resort to physical pain to remind myself that I'm still alive. Alive for a purpose, but yet to find it,' Hara confessed bitterly, spewing out tears in the process.

'I'm here,' IU said suddenly, reaching out her hand for Hara, 'Now pull yourself together and stand up. There are people who care for you, it's just because you tend to focus on the insignificant things that you fail to see those who truly matter.'

Hara, with the help of IU's support managed to stand up unsteadily. She wiped away her tears with the tissues IU offered her and smiled wryly afterwards.

'From today onwards, I'll open my eyes and find those who truly care about me,' Hara said bravely, 'And I think I just found one.'

IU smiled back and replied, 'I've found one too.'

Who knew Hara and IU would become friends?

'IU! Good morning!' Taeyang half sang when he spotted IU the next day in school, 'I've got something for you!'

'What is it?' IU answered curiously, it wasn't any special day today, so what did Taeyang have in store for her?

'Ta-da!' Taeyang exclaimed as he whipped out two tickets from his pocket, 'It's the school's anniversary dance tomorrow! I'm so happy that I was able to get the tickets even though I booked for it late. So my princess, would you care to go to dance with me?' Taeyang added cheekily, bowing to IU.

IU couldn't help but smile at Taeyang's foolishness and eagerness, she was glad that he had managed to get the tickets, but she wasn't going to let him know just yet.

'Do you think you are the only one who wants to take me to the dance?' IU asked playfully, taking out three tickets from her purse, 'Wooyoung, Eunhyuk and Yoseob were all begging to take me to the dance yesterday. They are all so charming that I don't know who to accept.'

'What?' Taeyang asked, trying to snatch those three tickets from IU's grasp, 'They actually asked you to go to the dance with them when they know that you have a boyfriend? Don't they know that you are mine?'

'So what if you're my boyfriend, I still have the right to choose who I want to go with to the dance okay?' IU answered, amused by Taeyang's reaction, 'Going with you would be too boring anyway.'

'Boring?' Taeyang asked widening his eyes in shock, 'You've become haughty already, now that you have become pretty right? Where's the shy IU I used to know?'

'She migrated to Canada,' IU replied, restraining herself from laughing, 'You don't like the haughty me? Go date some other girls then!'

'Give those tickets to me! I'll just tear them for you!' Taeyang said, wrapping IU's waist with one arm, and the other trying desperately to get a hold of the three tickets IU was swaying in the air. 'You're only allowed to go to the dance with one person! And that person is me!'

Taeyang managed to snatch the tickets successfully in a jiffy and the both of them stood there panting, realising how childish they were and how much energy they actually used in their playful fight.

'You silly head, of course I'll only go with you,' IU said exhausted, wiping the sweat off Taeyang's forehead.

'You mean you were playing with me all the time?' Taeyang asked in surprise, 'So you're not going with any of those sickening three guys then? You're going to go with me right?'

'Wooyoung, Eunhyuk and Yoseob are not sickening,' IU said with a laugh, 'I happen to find them quite charming, and besides they are all taller then you. Don't you know that I tend to find tall guys extremely handsome?'

'Hey!' Taeyang shouted, 'When did you become so hypocritical?'

'You really are a fool!' IU burst out into laughter, unable to carry on with the act anymore, 'You're not allowed to go to the dance with anyone else except me too.'

'Don't fool with me like that!' Taeyang scolded IU lovingly, 'You're mine and I'm yours. Of course I won't go with anyone else!'

IU tiptoed and gave Taeyang a peck on his cheek, 'And by the way, I like your height because it makes it easier for me to kiss you.'

'You ertic girl!' Taeyang said jokingly, 'What would have happened to me if I hadn't met you?'

Author's Note:

Annyeong readers!! ^^ Yay!! This chapter is very sweet right? I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! I could not resist adding Wooyoung, Eunhyuk and Yoseob inside because I find these fanboys of IU very cute! Hehehe, but I still ship Taeyang and IU the most~ :b Oh! And I wrote more for this chapter because I felt a little guilty not updating yesterday so in conpensation, I wrote a big chunk today! Okay, will update soon (the next chapter is the final chapter). Remember to leave comments if ya'll are free~ x) Okay, bye bye!! Hope all of you have a great day ahead! x