“It looks like I got a rival,” Teddy said the moment I served him the coffee he ordered.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

The monkey pointed towards Danny who was busy browsing the newspaper on the next table.

“He’s just same as you. Some lost soul. Though you’re worst,” I said. It wasn’t like I wanted to talk to him or do I enjoy his company. Heck, I despise every second spent with him. It was just that bickering everyday was already part of our routine.

He chuckled. “Good sense of humor, eh? But I’m not hurt,” he said.

I rolled my eyes.

He feigned shivers. “Here I am trying to be very nice and build up our relationship but there you are, being the cold girl that you are.”

I hissed. “You’re not my type.”

He sat back on his seat, relaxing himself, a satisfied smirk on his lips. “You’re not my type either.”

“I know that. And I know what your type is.”

He looked up at me, suddenly interested. “Really?”

I nodded. “You like those ladies which are covered with hair all over their body and with a long tail and those who shamelessly scratch their butts, climb trees, eat bananas, and live either in the jungle or in the zoo.”

He laughed, too loud that we earned some glares from nearby tables.

“Good! I love your sense of humor!” he exclaimed and then continued laughing and pounding the table with his fists.

“Perhaps you want me to accompany you to the zoo to look for your ideal girl, but only after visiting the mental asylum.”

His eyes widened. “Omo~ I love zoos!”

Oh God. He only heard the zoo part. Efforts of pissing him off were wasted. Great. Just great. *face palm

“Will you really take me with you?” he asked, now standing and grabbing my hand.

I was surprised, of course. So I pushed him too roughly but it seemed he didn’t mind. “Dream on!” I hissed and turned my back to go back to work.

“I’ll be looking forward to that day!”  He called out.

I stomped my way towards the kitchen. Aish! Fail! Why do I always end up being the pissed off one! AISH!!!

JIYONG’S POV

“What is this?” I asked Dara as I picked up the letter that was protruding out of the pants she just threw on the floor when she changed into her pajamas. I think she’s too tired herself that she just threw her clothes on the floor and immediately hit the bed, face first.

“What?” she asked, turning to me, her hair messed up but still looking adorably cute like a little angel.

“This,” I said, showing her the envelope.

“Oh,” she said as she buried her face on the pillow again. “Dssshhh…trrrssshhhhh…”

“What?” I asked as I didn’t understand her.

She stared at me for a while. “I said it’s trash…” she said then went back to burying her face.

I turned it to see who it came from, it was from her grandfather. “You have to read it.”

Upon hearing this, she sang her heart out stifling it with the pillow in order for her not to hear me.

“Dara…”

She rolled on the bed and got the other pillow and covered her ear with both. She was sitting, cross-legged, staring at me while still singing.

“Up, up, baby get up, up, we’re goin’ up. Up, up, baby get up, up, we’re goin’ up. Up, up, baby get up, up, we’re goin’ up. Up, up, baby get up~”

“Dara…” I said, my voice turning dangerous. I sat on the bed too.

“Up, up, baby get up, up, we’re goin’ up. Up, up, baby get up, up, we’re goin’ up. Up, up, baby get up, up, we’re goin’ up. Up, up, baby get up~”

I removed the pillows from her hands and threw it away, not minding where it will land.

Her voice faltered. “Up, up…” she pouted.

“Cute…” I said as I pinched her cheek. “Now…” I said, turning serious. “Read this.”

She looked at me pleadingly as if asking me, ‘do I really have to?’ I stared back at her, my eyes expressing the words in my mind, ‘yes, or else I’m going to punish you.’

It seemed she understood as she snatched it away from my hand. She stared at me again before opening it. I waited for her to finish reading.

Then she stared at me. And then just like that, she let herself fall back to the bed. I lied beside her, her face.

“What did it contain?” I asked.

She bit her lip as her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling. She breathed in first before speaking. “He invited me to a dinner.”

“That’s great,” I said.

She faced me. “No, that’s not great, Ji. I don’t want to. I won’t. It would just cause me pain,” she said, her voice strained maybe because she was trying to hold back her tears.

“Give him a chance,” I urged.

“But, Ji… you know why I don’t want to.”

“It’s time to move on and forgive, Dara.”

She remained silent after that, searching my eyes. In response, I smiled at her in assurance.

She, then, bowed her head. “I hope it will turn out right.”

“It will,” I said reassuringly, as I buried her head on my chest. I didn’t notice it that we both fell asleep.

DARA’S POV

To my dear granddaughter,

                I hope you’re reading this now. I miss you so much. I want to see you. I have a favor to ask, if it’s not too much… can I meet you tomorrow at dinner? Please come. Please... If you won’t, though, it is alright. But, please come.

                I just want you to know how much I am sorry and how much I regret every action I did before. I know I’m at fault.

                This will be the last time, I promise. If you won’t come, I will leave for Tokyo right away and then I will not bug you forever and let you forget about me.

                Please come. I will be waiting at Exquisito Restaurant.

                                                                                                                                                                Your grandfather

I sighed once again as I finished reading the letter. I didn’t know how many times I did that, but one thing’s for sure – there’s just some kind of a force that made me say yes to his request. Well, I didn’t really say yes, did i? it was Jiyong who made the decision for me. However, I must admit, I wanted to say yes though it was too hard for me to do so. Why? Maybe because it almost sounded like he was saying goodbye forever. Did his sickness worsen? But what was his sickness exactly?

I didn’t notice that I already arrived at the restaurant he mentioned. For a while, I just sat there, staring at the fancy restaurant, not in awe but in hesitation. I wanted to back out and tell the cab driver to send me once again.

“Miss… I will lose many opportunities of having more passengers if you will just gawk at the restaurant like that,” the cab driver said, irritation on his face.

I twitched my lips. “Here,” I said as I handed him my fare.

I struggled getting out of the cab as my dress made me feel uncomfortable and I haven’t walked a step yet but my feet already hurt from just stepping out of the cab. This was Jiyong’s fault. He told me to at least exert some effort to make it look like I prepared for this night.

That was the exact thing I wanted to avoid the most, though. Of course I wanted to just come here in comfortable clothes. I didn’t want to give my grandfather the wrong idea that I was anticipating. I would just give him some false hopes.

However, Jiyong won over and now I’m here.

After a few minutes of fighting over myself whether to turn back and go home or to proceed and give him a chance, I eventually gave in to the latter. I stepped once but my feet twisted. But instead of hitting the unwelcoming ground, a set of strong arms caught me.

I looked up and was met by Danny’s shocked face. “Are you alright, Miss Sandara?”

It took me quite a few seconds to recover. Then I pushed him away, but not roughly like what I did before to Teddy.

“I…I’m alright,” I said, fixing myself. “Th-thanks.”

“You shouldn’t have worn those shoes if you weren’t comfortable, Miss Sandara,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I said, facing the restaurant again. “Let’s go,” I said as I gulped the lump in my throat. I was really feeling nervous. And it became worse the moment we stepped inside and met my grandfather’s eyes.

---------

*poster credits to teph95