No One’s POV

 

She walked away from him after that. It took every ounce of strength her body had, but she did it. And he, he stayed put. Foolishly watching her figure become smaller and smaller, until it was too far away to see.

 

Dara didn’t turn back at any one point and Min Ho didn’t move from that spot for what seemed like forever, so the distance between the two of them only grew greater. When he finally did start walking out of the club, there were only strangers he walked past. Strangers and people he didn’t wish to become well acquainted with. When Dara stopped walking, she was standing by the city viaduct and let her tears accumulate in the body of water below her. Shamelessly, carelessly, crying in the eye of the public. Not one single soul, offering her a tissue or any sort of comfort.

 

Earlier, before the last quarrel, Min Ho and Dara coincidentally walked into the same club to drown their sorrows in. No one had been given a hint that they would find the other there. It was pure luck, if such a thing existed.

 

Coincidentally, Hyun Joong decided to go out on that particular night too. Where he met a girl named Dara, who he held near and dear to his heart, drinking enough for two. A nervous wreck on the inside, a calm collected man on the outside, he asked her if she had an answer to his confession- though her week of consideration had yet to expire. A heartbroken girl answered him in a crushingly delicate way, something he knew only she, the girl he had come to love, could muster. Hyun Joong received a farewell kiss from the said girl andthat night one more heart was thrown into the furnace.

 

Coincidentally, Yuri was on the prowl on the same night as the other three. She was doing what she did best, taking up space. To her delight, after fooling around with a handful of men at the club she spotted a man who went by the name of Min Ho. He had fooled around with her, rejected her and thrown her into the trash- something that no other man had ever had the nerve to do. She cornered him at the bar where he was already gulping down gallons, and threw herself at him. But only to be disappointed with his lack of participation in her sloppy kiss. He pushed her away after the little outburst and she stomped her feet and went off to find someone else to screw.

 

Min Ho had never wanted that kiss. Dara had never wanted that confession. Min Ho’s heart pricked with jealousy when he saw that farewell kiss shared between Dara and another man. Dara’s heart cracked when she saw another girl all over Min Ho.

 

If only they had spent a minute during the last quarrel arguing over those two matters. Then maybe things would have panned out differently. Maybe they would have decided to talk some more about what they were struggling with instead of trying to sweep it under a mat or walk away.

 

But of course, those are just ‘only ifs’ and ‘maybes’.

 

Sandara Park’s POV

 

Saturday was for crying and rocking back and forth in front of the window like a baby. Sunday was for changing the pass code for the apartment and taking different routes around campus. Monday was for avoiding Bommie so that I wouldn’t need to tell her about that person.

 

Today was Tuesday.

 

Like a robot, I typed up the last sentence for my essay. I didn’t know what I had actually written. It was just a fifteen thousand word paper on something my professor thought was relevant to whatever subject we were supposed to be studying. It would make sense, probably earn a decent mark, but I wouldn’t know anything about it. I had gone into autopilot mode, taking notes down in class but not actually dwelling on what our lectures were about. Never putting in more effort than necessary to pass above the average. It was difficult to focus on school with that person constantly floating about in my mind.

 

Had he eaten? Had he recovered from us?

 

Today was Tuesday and the last time we spoke to each other was Friday. Today was Tuesday and the last time we saw each other was Friday. Today was Tuesday and Friday had been three days earlier, five if you counted today and Friday.

 

Tomorrow would be Wednesday, the day my dad died. I would go to the cemetery in the evening while Mom would go in the morning. We would mourn separately as we had been doing for years and then we would carry on with our separate lives as we should, with the occasional reunion for a birthday or holiday. It had always been easier on the both of us, to be alone when visiting Dad’s grave. We could say different things without having to worry about the other person’s feelings or reactions. We healed at different paces, my mother faster than I. I had been good at being independent like this, until that person.

 

I pressed the print icon on my screen and watched my printer begin to spout out pages of black and white for about twenty seconds. I neatly placed those pages into a red binder and put it in my book bag that I would take with me the next time I had to head to campus. I checked my organiser for anything else I needed to do and was sour to find not one thing in need of attention. I didn’t have any jobs booked in for the week and all my school stuff was taken care of.

 

Was there always nothing to do before you came along?

 

I reprimanded myself for letting the thought cross my mind and decided to get something to eat. I skipped more like trudged to the kitchen and opened up my pantry to get something to eat. His snacks were still sitting in the corner too. I would have thrown them out if not for the fact that it was a waste of food, but at the same time I refused to eat them myself.

 

I need to get rid of those.

 

On impulse I dialled a number into my phone and waited patiently for the recipient to answer.

 

“Yoboseyo?” He answered almost instantly.

 

“Hi Min Ho I have a few things here that I thought you might like to pick up”

 

“What are these things you speak of?”

 

“Just some snacks that I thought you might like to have...” I trailed off, opening my fridge to grab a glass of milk.

 

“I like food. The guys like food too. I’ll be over in ten minutes then” He laughed heartily.

 

“Okay see you soon” I smiled, though I knew he wouldn’t see it over the phone.

 

“Do I bring SHI-kiss with me?”

 

“No, leave the tribe at base. But you should share this stuff with them” I giggled.

 

“Arasso, byebye Dara”

 

“Byebye Choi” I ended the call.

 

Min Ho was a common name, I had known that throughout the duration of my life. However, I wished that that person had a different name, something unusual. That way, I wouldn’t be likely to have friends with the same name.

 

Ten minutes, as promised, a knock sounded at my door. I put down the cookie that I had been dunking into my milk and opened the door with one hand while the other held the snacks in a plastic bag.

 

“Hey Dara” Choi Min Ho, my friend and member of my fanclub which I still opposed the idea of grinned.

 

“Hey” I greeted him back with equal warmth, waving the bag in my hand above my head childishly.

 

He took the bag away from me, peeped at its contents and groaned with delight. Making a big show of his approval.

 

“You are going to be SHI-kiss’ favourite person today. When you’re a poor uni student this is exactly what you want, free food” He gave me a big thumbs up.

 

“I thought I was SHI-kiss’ favourite person everyday” I feigned shock and dramatically put a hand over my chest.

 

“A-a-aniya! You are, every single day. It’s j-just that today it’s magnified” He stuttered like a fumbling idiot.

 

It was funny to watch him trip over his words and get flustered.

 

“Calm down. I was just teasing” I laughed, reassuringly patting his shoulder.

 

Min Ho smiled softly and then turned anxious, trying to look around past me. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned around as well to see if anything was out of the ordinary. All I got was my average apartment staring back at me.

 

“Is anything wrong?” I asked, puzzled.

 

“Where’s Lee Min Ho?”

 

It was almost like he had punched me square in the face with that single question.

 

“Huh? Why would you ask about that person?” I awkwardly laughed.

 

“Because you guys are always together. I don’t exactly want to get disassembled by that guy for meeting up with you at your place...” He trailed off.

 

“Disassembled?”

 

“Yeah, he once told me that if I came any closer than a metres distance to you that he would have to disassemble me in a very slow, torturous way which he would thoroughly enjoy” He recited back the threat to me.

 

I felt a small smile of reminiscence twitch on my lips and nodded knowingly.

 

“I can assure you he do that to you. And I’m not always with him”

 

“Sure you aren’t Dara. You can’t fool me or any of the other SHI-kiss members, we know that you two are something. Especially after that kiss...”

 

A pang hit my chest.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Apparently that pang reached my eyes.

 

“Y-yeah” I nodded.

 

“Are you sure? You’ve been kind of quiet around campus lately. We are friends, you can tell me if something is bothering you” He said with a worried expression.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine Min Ho. Really. Just a little tired” I yawned for emphasis on the ‘tired’.

 

“Okay, if you say so. I’m just concerned” He gave me a meaningful look.

 

“I appreciate that”

 

He glanced at his wristwatch and then back at me.

 

“I should get going. Are you sure you’re okay?” He checked.

 

I shook my head with a small smile and ran a hand through my hair.

 

“I’m fine. Thanks for coming over and taking the food” I beamed.

 

“No, thank you for offering” He replied.

 

Just as we were about to go our separate ways I stopped him.

 

“Min Ho”

 

“Hmmm?” He turned his head back to me.

 

“Just for the record. Nothing is going on between that person and me” I quietly announced.

 

He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Having rethought whatever it was he was about to do. He simply nodded and then continued on with his journey back to wherever it was he came from. I closed my door and sighed.

 

Was I okay? No. But I couldn’t talk to Min Ho about it. He was my friend, a good friend. But a friend who I knew had a crush on me and a friend who would gather the others who also felt affectionate towards me and confront that person about everything. That person...I cared for that person too much to do that, even after everything.

 

Would I be okay later? It depends on how you define okay.

 

Was I ever going to be able to eat those types of snacks again? No, most likely not.

 

Lee Min Ho’s POV

 

I was lounging around in II Woo’s basement, watching him and Kim Bum play pool while Geun Suk drank straight from a bottle of vodka beside me. There was a table of food that I would have normally pigged out from, even without an appetite but I didn’t even consider snacking today.

 

I hadn’t checked up on her since Friday, though the temptation was there. I knew it would be for the best if I didn’t bother her anymore. I wasn’t good enough for her and she would be better off without me.

 

That’s what I was going to be telling myself everyday for God knows how long.

 

I missed that dark brown hair and those wide eyes. I missed that pearly smile and that sassy attitude. I missed those days in her apartment where we would bicker and laugh and I’d eat her food just so she would scold me.

 

Yeah, I wasn’t going to get those back.

 

I had been occupying the majority of my time with breaking random objects around the house, and when i wasn’t doing that I was with the guys. I didn’t really want to be around Kim Bum, but if I wanted a distraction I had to put up with him. He only acted like a about Dara on Saturday and after that the bet was history, another thing to store in the archives of our friendship circle.

 

II Woo had four more balls to sink and then Kim Bum would complain about him having the advantage as the game is in his basement. Which would lead to an argument where the absence of logic would make II Woo victorious. That’s how it had always been. Kim Bum would say something that was completely idiotic and then he would fight over it with someone and eventually lose. He didn’t seem to learn from that mistake of his, or if he knew about the mistake he chose to play ignorant to it.

 

“I heard that Hyun Joong got rejected by Sandara” The idiot suddenly spoke up from his intense game with my best friend.

 

It wasn’t news to me and I didn’t know why he was bringing a subject rooted to Dara up. I didn’t appreciate it at all considering the fact that I was trying to busy my mind with things far from her, but none of them knew that. No one knew about how I felt about that girl besides Hyun Joong and I was positive that my former friend wouldn’t be interested in being my confide when he would be trying to get over the same girl as I.

 

“Really?” I dryly answered.

 

“Yeah. She must have really been into you” He chuckled insensitively.

 

“Kim Bum” II Woo warned apparently not enjoying the uncomfortable subject too.

 

“It’s a shame. You should have hidden the bet better and strung her along a little longer. She looks like she’d be fun in the sack” Geun Suk drunkenly slurred.

 

My hands curled into fists and I gritted my teeth. He shouldn’t have said that.

 

“It was hilarious how she found out about everything and called me up” Kim Bum cackled like a hyena in need of a good beating.

 

It really irked me how he had gone behind my back too. Assisting Dara with that. I knew I deserved it, but as my friend I expected the tiniest bit of loyalty from him. Of course, it was my mistake to expect anything from Kim Bum, an inglorious bastard.

 

“Where’s that new club Hae Woo was saying his dad was going to build?” I attempted to change the subject.

 

“I can’t remember and I couldn’t careless. Tell us, how was Dara in bed? Was she like...pure material? Or was she a vixen?” Geun Suk slung an arm around me.

 

I didn’t answer that. I tried to keep my cool, I didn’t want it to come down to my fist meeting Geun Suk’s pretty face. His mother would flip if her precious son needed a nose job.

 

“Ohhh, have we hit a nerve?” Kim Bum joked, leaving the pool table to join us on the couch.

 

“Guys I think you should-” II Woo started.

 

“On a scale of one to ten how good was it with her? Would you recommend the commoner?” Geun Suk pressed on.

 

My jaw clenched and my eyes turned to slits.

 

“No. Our mighty leader wouldn’t recommend the commoner” Kim Bum sounded.

 

“He has better taste than that”

 

That did it. I launched myself at my supposed friend, pinning him down on the couch by the collar.

 

“Woah! Woah! Woah!” Kim Bum shouted.

 

“Min Ho what is up with you?!” Geun Suk added to the noise.

 

“Don’t you dare talk about her like that” I snarled, animalistic.

 

“Huh? Who? Park?” Kim Bum popped.

 

“No, G-Dragon. Who the hell do you think I’m talking about you little ? Of course I’m talking about Dara”

 

His mouth formed an ‘o’ and the information registered in his eyes making me mentally face palm myself.

 

“Min Ho maybe we should calmly-”

 

I shot a glare at my best friend, causing him to automatically shut up. He made a little zip sign and threw away the key like a five year old.

 

“Don’t talk about Dara like that, ever” I repeated, tightening my grip on the man beneath me.

 

“Why do you care?” He questioned.

 

“Why? You want to know why?” I chuckled darkly, lifting an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, why do you care about that girl man?” He snivelled.

 

“Because maybe, just maybe I stopped caring about the bet a long time ago” I hissed.

 

That had both Geun Suk and Kim Bum chorusing with laughter. II Woo just gaped at me and wildly wove a finger in my direction. It was obvious that everything made sense to him now, like the final piece to an incomplete puzzle of his. Possibly the only other normal, sane, intelligent life form that belonged to our circle of friends.

 

“What? So you’re saying you fell for her?” Kim Bum asked the million dollar question.

 

“Yes I am, you little ” I pressed my weight on him some more, causing mild discomfort.

 

“Well, that’s just priceless” He said.

 

“Priceless my , you just don’t know when to quit it do you?”

 

“Shouldn’t you ask yourself that question? You should have gotten out of there the moment you started to feel remotely like that for her. I would have let you forfeit the bet”

 

“You think I give a damn about the bet? About my pride? I couldn’t care less about those things”

 

“Then why did you follow through with the bet? Huh?” He snickered.

 

I punched him in the left eye, just once. But hard.

 

“Because I had her” I puffed, hopping off of the man who was growling in pain.

 

Geun Suk looked like he was about to say something until I threw him a warning glance, making his mouth clamp shut.

 

II Woo was standing by the door at the top of the stairs, knowing that I would be heading that way. I met him there, and stopped at the threshold.

 

“I’m sorry for pulling crap like that here” I muttered, looking straight ahead.

 

“You don’t need to apologize for that, those two crossed the line even for uninformed dickheads” He gave me a lop-sided smile.

 

I nodded and took a step forward when his hand landed on my shoulder.

 

“You could have told me dude”

 

My shoulders sunk. He was right about that, but the short amount of time that I was sure of my feelings was a time where he wasn’t around. He was busy with his own and I didn’t wish to bug him.

 

Of course, being a guy I would never tell that to him.

 

“But then I would be a ” I came back with instead.

 

He chuckled, understanding exactly what I was trying to communicate.

 

“Get out of here” He lightly shoved me.

 

I winked at him as I walked away and he gave me the finger in return.

 

If there was one person I could rely on to back me up with anything, it would be that guy. My best friend, who had been with me through my whole life. Who had helped me with my math homework and sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night to get up to all sorts of nonsense. Who had been there during the ‘let’s give Sandara Park hell’ period and through the ‘I don’t give a about my high school studies because I am ing loaded’ period. We had both somewhat matured from little rascals into men.

 

The scent of her lingered in my car, though it had been s while since she had sat in here with me. I imagined her by my side, complaining about my constant demands and jealous outbursts every time another male showed the smallest amount of interest in her. I knew exactly what I would retort with for each complaint and I knew how I would make up for it. With a kiss and an ‘I’m sorry’ and an ‘I’ll never do it again’. She was right about it all and I hated that, because it meant I was predictable and hopeless.

 

My phone sat in the compartment between the seat that would usually be occupied by her. Taunting. I had the urge to pick it up and tell her that I wanted to see her. Better than that, I had the urge to turn up at her place and refuse to leave until she would forgive me.

 

But I knew better.

 

Have you eaten? Are you warm enough? Are you taking care of yourself?

 

Tomorrow would be her father’s death anniversary. Once, I had planned to help her through that day. To make it a happy day, a day that we could smile on instead of cry which is what I pictured she did. I wouldn’t be able to do that for her anymore, I didn’t have the right to.

 

I raked my hair and cursed myself once more.

 

“I’m an idiot”

 

I could already see what they would put on my tombstone.

 

Here lies Lee Min Ho. The Bloody Idiot.

 

Sandara Park’s POV

 

Black on black on black. The skirt of my dress hung loosely around my lower body while the bodice hugged my chest. The sleeves protected my arms from the cold that the evening was guaranteed to bring. There was no makeup masking my face, though I didn’t wear it often to begin with. The ballet flats I wore made me feel short, which was what I really was. I was just not used to walking around at my real height, the world seemed bigger. No jewellery adorned my limbs today nor a bag strap on my shoulder.

 

I looked ready for a funeral.

 

What a stupid thing to think.

 

I picked up the bunch of sunflowers that I had left on the counter for Dad, his favourite type of flower according to Mom. I realized not too long ago, that I never got to really know my father. No as a person anyway, not like I knew my mother. He had never been around long enough for us to have an in depth conversation, he left too soon.

 

I may have resented his absence, but I never truly resented him. I missed him terribly, but not as much as Mom. I loved him like a child should love their father, but my love wasn’t as personalised as other children’s. The little knowledge I possessed of my father was trivial and anything else Mom had to inform me of. To say that he was hardworking would be an understatement, he was more like devoted- a workaholic if you will. He possessed the looks of an average Korean man, but to my mother he was a shining star. He loved Mom and I, I knew that. But it wasn’t enough to keep him anchored at home. He apparently enjoyed reading and during his younger years would read the same books as my mother. He had no other family, so I never met my other set of grandparents- by the time I was born they had passed on. He wasn’t good at expressing himself and had a sensitive side to him. I knew things like that, but I didn’t know about what he got up to when he was my age. I didn’t know about the nonsensical things that he would have done that would have given my grandparents grey hair. I didn’t know his version of ‘how mommy and daddy met’. They may seem like stupid things to want to know about, but those were things I wanted to know. Silly things. Details that only family knew about, details that to some would be irrelevant.

 

I hailed a cab and told the driver where to go. Sitting in the back, twiddling my thumbs.

 

After my conversation with Min Ho about my Min Ho I felt a little more shaken up. The next time I would bump into him, how would we act? Would we freeze up and stare for a while. Would one of us chase after the other an try to say something that was left unsaid. Would we pretend to not see each other and walk in the opposite direction? Or would one of us be with someone else and not notice the other at all.

 

I hated the idea of coming across him with another girl, staring at her with adoration. Holding her like he held me. That’s what happens with people, they eventually move on. They find someone new and they’ll treat that person like their previous love, maybe with one or two differences. They’ll touch them the same way, they’ll speak to them in the same tone, their hearts will beat wildly just like with the previous love.

 

I didn’t want to be the previous love, no matter what I said. But I couldn’t forgive him for what he did to me, he had never done anything to balance out the scale. He couldn’t possibly do anything that would balance out the scales.

 

When I arrived at the cemetery, it was already that time of day. Sunset.

 

I walked down the little trail, familiar with the path. It was a sea of tombstones and the occasional crypt. Yes, there were also the shelve graves, where the more recent dead people where put to rest. The graveyard had run out of space as all places in Asia eventually did. We were fortunate enough to have had a plot reserved for our family, not a crypt, but a small plot of land. Allegedly, my father’s parents had bought it just for him and his future family. No one else seemed to be here, it was deserted. No one else had died today or no one bothered to show up at this time of day, most likely the later.

 

I was relieved because the thought of having to go through this intimate time when a total stranger would be standing a few metres away from me doing the same thing felt weird. I didn’t like having to experience that.

 

There was a slight breeze that made my skirt flutter and blew my hair out of my face. The fading sun provided little to no warmth and the grass grazing against my ankles was chilling even for the bitterness that I had accumulated towards myself for wallowing in self pity lately.  The sky was near to clear, indicating that tonight would be far from warm and even the cricket sounds were few.

 

When I saw it, I nearly tripped over my feet. I rubbed my eyes to see if I was hallucinating, but nothing changed. Out of panic, I hid behind a crypt near the resting place of my father.

 

A fitted pristine white pair of slacks and blazer matched with a black button down and leather shoes. With golden cuff-links and his hair combed neatly in place. I couldn’t keep my mouth close, my jaw just hung open. My blood pumping rapidly, my heartbeat even faster, my mind a mess. What he was doing here was beyond me.

 

“Good evening Mr Park, I’ve come here to pay my respects” His low voice flowed into my ears from the short few steps separating us.

 

Why?

 

“You don’t know me sir, we never had the opportunity to meet while you were alive. But I would have liked to meet you now if I had the chance. My name is Lee Min Ho”

 

I didn’t understand what was going on. Why would he bother to come here and how did he remember such an important day? Did he really care that much, could the self-centred man actually be something else than what I had believed?

 

“You are probably wondering why I am here, if we never met during your lifetime. You probably are wondering what business does this young man have with me?”

 

It was strange, listening to him talk to someone who could never answer him. Admittedly, I was curious and couldn’t help but continue to hide and listen to what he had to say.

 

“So here it goes...My name is Lee Min Ho. I was born here in Seoul, during the year 1994, like your daughter, on the 22^nd day of June. I am 187 centimetres tall and weigh 71 kilograms. My blood type is type A. I am an atheist, but I respect other people’s beliefs and religious practices. I was born into wealth, my parents made their fortune before I was born”

 

He took a deep breath and continued.

 

“My parents wished for me to be able to interact with people of different classes so I went to all of the same education institutions as your daughter. I am now attending Seoul National University or as we like to call it SNU, your daughter also attends this university”

 

“Your daughter gave me a confession letter on her fourteenth birthday. She had liked me for a few years. I was a punk back then and my friends and I decided to make her life difficult afterwards for being so bold as to give me a confession letter. I didn’t know it was her birthday at the time nor would it have mattered to me if I had known. I made her life at school miserable because I thought too highly of myself”

 

Yeah. You had the head of an elephant on the body of a stick insect.

 

“Two months ago, I met your daughter at one of my friend’s parties. She was working there while I was a guest. I couldn’t believe your daughter had blossomed into this beautiful woman and neither could my friends. Later on I found out that she had been like this for quite a while, but I wouldn’t have noticed because we grew bored of torturing her after a while and stopped paying any mind to her. My friends and I made a bet to see if I could land a kiss on her cheek that night. I did manage to do this and I felt pretty good about myself until she publicly slapped me, shaming me as she should have done”

 

He chuckled, that melodious chuckle.

 

“Dara is really good at slapping men sir, you should be pleased to know that. After this, my friends and I made a bet to see if I could get Dara to fall in love with me within two months. That was the kind of guy I was two months ago sir, the kind who didn’t have respect for anyone I thought was of lower status than me. Including your Dara”

 

Are you kidding me!? That’s why you made the bet? Because I freaking slapped you?! And yes, I’m glad you know about your lack of respect for people. If I remember correctly one time when we went supermarket shopping you asked me, quote and quote “Is this all you can afford?”

 

“I forced my way into Dara’s life. I threatened to have her expelled from SNU if she didn’t let me into her life. I paid her one million won for every week of the two months as compensation. At first I thought your daughter was just a pretty piece of eye candy and my play thing for the time being”

 

“But I began to notice things about her and I began to get to know her. I liked what I was learning about her and before I knew it I was forgetting about my bet and became genuinely interested in her. I began to like her and did things that I shouldn’t have done because of that”

 

Yeah, like reading my diary you jerk.

 

“Please sir, understand me when I say this, I never had the intention of falling for her. It just happened and I personally won’t take responsibility for it because I wouldn’t hold it against anyone else for falling in love with your daughter. She’s amazing”

 

I felt my cheeks flush.

 

“I was lucky enough to love someone who loved me at the same time. You have no idea how I felt when I found out Dara loved me too Mr Park, there really are no words to describe how I felt that night”

 

“But it was inevitable that she would find out about my bet and everything would fall apart. I never thought about what would happen to us you know, I was too wrapped up in my bubble. In the perfect world where Dara loved me and I loved Dara and that was all that mattered”

 

Our bubble.

 

“I can’t deny the allegations against me Mr Park. I have hurt your daughter on multiple occasions. I’ve caused her more pain than anyone else has according to her”

 

I clenched my hand around the bouquet of sunflowers harder than what was probably good for them.

 

“I regret everything I’ve done that has hurt Dara more than anything. I’ve been a jerk to your daughter, though she has made it evident that there is a whole list of names to describe me” I could hear his smile at the end of that sentence.

 

“I know Mr Park, that I am no good for your daughter, that I am undeserving of her. I know that I am the kind of boy you probably never wanted her to come across and that if you were here you would beat me with a cane for treating Dara the way I have. I am selfish and greedy. I become jealous easily and therefore am possessive by nature. I am arrogant and hate admitting that I am wrong. And I hate taking orders from others”

 

My heart constricted.

 

“But your daughter has matured aspects of me and I’m a slightly better Lee Min Ho than I was two months ago”

 

I slumped to the ground, sitting on the mossy ground.

 

“My name is Lee Min Ho and I have fallen in love with your daughter sir” He whispered.

 

I had to put a hand over my mouth to stop any sounds from coming out, I had stayed hidden for this whole time. I was trembling.

 

“I am deeply sorry for causing your daughter pain Mr Park”

 

Don’t cry, don’t you are leak stupid eyes.

 

“I come here asking for your forgiveness” He said shamelessly, like a man with no pride left.

 

“I will be leaving first Mr Park, and when I leave this place I will leave Dara alone. I won’t bother her ever again, I will keep my distance and not hurt her again. I will let her go”

 

I bite my hand.

 

“Because I love her” The last sentence was barely audible.

 

I don’t know when I did it, but the next thing I knew was that I was standing on the other side of my father’s tombstone facing Min Ho. His face was a mixture of many things and I was sure mine was too. Remorse, shock, sadness. His eyes were wide and glassy, but he hadn’t spilt a tear unlike me. Though it was just a single drop running down my face, it meant everything.

 

“W-what are you do-doing here?” He stuttered.

 

I bent down to place my bouquet in front of Dad’s tombstone and froze up for a second. By Min Ho’s feet was a bunch of sunflowers too. I could tell which bouquet was my Mom’s for she always tied hers together with a pink ribbon. Min Ho’s were held together by cellophane, a flourist bunch. How he knew what type of flower to buy baffled me. I regained what little composure I had and left my flowers on the ground beside his.

 

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” I quietly retorted.

 

He didn’t answer, instead turning his head to the side. Fixing his gaze on a pile of pebbles while mine remained on him. We stayed like that for a few minutes, before he gave in and looked at me.

 

“I came here to pay my respects to your dad” He answered my question.

 

I nodded once.

 

“I thought you would’ve gone here earlier in the day” He mumbled.

 

“I prefer going in the evening. Did my diary not mention that?”

 

“No, it did not”

 

The sun was long gone. The sources of light were now a lamp post not too far away from us, the moon and the stars. The night air was unpleasant to be surrounded by, but I didn’t wince.

 

“You heard everything didn’t you?” He almost croaked.

 

“Yes” I rested my eyes on the epitaph of Dad’s tombstone.

 

There was a problem with what I thought Min Ho was capable of. You see, I believed he wouldn’t ever do something meaningful enough for me to forgive him, but I was wrong.

 

Yet again, Min ho proved me wrong.

 

“You never called” I muttered.

 

“I didn’t think you’d answer and I knew you would hate to see me in your apartment”

 

“I changed the pass code”

 

“You did?” He seemed surprised.

 

“Yeah I did. What? Your sources didn’t give you my new one?” I mocked him.

 

“I knew better than to check up on you after that night” He shook his head.

 

“I see”

 

“Would you have liked it if I had entered your place with the new pass code?”

 

“No, I would have hated it” I replied.

 

“My point exactly”

 

I rubbed the sides of my arms and pursed my lips.

 

“You’re wearing white” I commented.

 

“And you’re wearing black” He shot right back at me.

 

“Why are you wearing white? Black is the colour most people wear to funerals”

 

“Most people don’t know that white is the true colour of the dead” He countered.

 

I rolled my eyes and tucked stray strands of hair behind my ear.

 

“Have you been eating?” He questioned.

 

I smiled a bit.

 

“Yes. What about you?”

 

“Yep”

 

“Have you found someone new who loves you?” The question spilt from my lips though I knew the answer.

 

He furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side.

 

“Have you?”

 

“No. You should find someone who loves you” I softly said.

 

I peered up at him from under my eyelashes and our eyes locked.

 

“I have”

 

“You have?” I nervously popped, not wanting to know who it was.

 

Yuri maybe?

 

“She’s standing right in front of me”

 

My heart was beating fast like a jack rabbit sprinting away through the forest. I looked away from him, up to the stars. Twinkling in dazzling numbers.

 

“Dara?”

 

I turned to him again, to see he had taken off his blazer and was holding it out to me. I hadn’t noticed I was shivering ferociously until that moment. Hesitantly I took it from him and dipped my head in a small bow of thanks.

 

“Did you ever think we could start over again?” He sighed.

 

“No, I never did” I shook my head.

 

I watched him crumple on the inside and immediately my hand found his large, strong one.

 

“Not until today”

 

It was one of those moments where it didn’t matter what was going on around us or what time it was or how cold we may have been. I was staring into those gorgeous eyes that made my heart flutter and ache every time and that was that. His lips slowly descended on mine in a kiss as fragile as glass. He poured into me love, a million more apologies and a hope that would be inhumane to crush. I gave to him pain, love and a will to try that wouldn’t die any time soon. When that kiss ended and his soft lips left mine, I felt sad. For me, that kiss was one I didn’t want to end.

 

But his smile was worth it.

 

“My name is Sandara Park” I playfully whispered.

 

“My name is Lee Min Ho” He responded.

 

“And I love you”

 

In the end, after everything that we had gone through that was all that mattered. We would fight and cry and run away from each other. We would curse and try to end it all once and for all. But it wouldn’t work, because eventually we would come back together and utter those three stupid words ‘I am sorry’ and ‘I love you’.

 

Even if I said it wasn’t enough, in the end he would do something that would make it enough.

 

More than enough.

 

And the jerk, Lee Min Ho, would do it all for me.

 

No One’s POV

 

“Finally” He groaned as they sat down in the movie theatre.

 

“What?” She giggled.

 

“Finally, I get to be the one taking you in here” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer to him.

 

Dara laughed at his childish behaviour and shook her head with a bright grin.

 

“No stupid SHI-kiss or Kim Hyun Joong. Just me, the best boyfriend, Lee Min Ho” He dramatically said.

 

“Shut up” Dara punched him lightly on the arm.

 

“What? I’m just expressing how happy I am” He pouted.

 

“Weirdo” She rolled her eyes.

 

“Only for you” He cooed in Dara’s ear like a cheeseball.

 

“Better be” She growled.

 

They both broke out into a chuckle at that. The lights dimmed and the movie began to play, the audience falling silent. Min Ho nuzzled his face into the crook of Dara’s neck and huskily whispered into her skin.

 

“Only for you babe”

 

---

Writer's Notes:

Oh my God. It's over, I cannot believe it is over.
I hope you all enjoyed this, and if not well then I'm sorry- but not sorry enough. Thank you all for reading this/subscribing to it/commenting on it/ supporting it/being awesome/upvoting it. I cannot express how happy you have all made me while writing this story. It may have ben SUPER CHEESY at the end, but I needed a good dose of that after the drama that Daraminho went through. 
This came in at just over seven thousand words as a chapter and the story as a whole is nearly one hundred and twelve thousand words long. I am positive that this is longer than my previous story The Boarding House. I must admit, I've enjoyed writing this story the most and I am most proud of this one, despite it having less subbies than another one of my stories. I had a lot of fun with the whole Daraminho theme, but I probably won't be writing another story with this couple-  if I do it will be way, way later on.
If you guys have any questions put them in the comment section below and do feel free to tell me (or rant) about how you feel.
And if you haven't read my other stories here are the links (though I do think this one is the best):
- It's over now (for all those who like angsty stuff)
- The Boarding House (for those who love reverse harem)
- Cruel (for those who want to laugh at my first fanfic ever)
- 4 Days in Heaven (for my erts, because I know you exist)

Thanks for everything guys!
Lots of love,
xoxoxo,
HEARTACHES <3

p.s. don't forget to keep an eye out for my new stories which will start soon ^^