CHAPTER 31: IS IT BAD TO SURPRISE HER?

Everybody is busy preparing a surprise party for Dara – Bom and CL are laughing, making silly wigs out of the colourful paper decorations they are making. Dae, Minji and Seungri are busy too, eating the food CL just finished cooking while she is not looking! Everybody’s smiles are brighter than before… Bom and Ri have never prepared a party for Dara – not even once! This is the first time because of Youngbae’s brilliant idea. If it weren’t for him, this will not happen! He is the kindest friend they have ever met! He even paid for the cake and ice cream! All of them are just hoping that this will somehow lift Dara’s spirit and make her happy. They have never seen her smile genuinely for the past month... Maybe she’s still depressed because of Minho…

“YAH!! What are you eating?? Aishhhht!! Can’t you all wait? What are we going to eat later if you keep on munching our dinner?! The celebrant is not even here yet!” CL finally saw the three of her friends chewing her precious rice balls! She hit Seungri real hard as she felt angry…

“But Unni-jjang! This is mouth-watering! I can’t help myself!! And besides… They’re the ones who started it!!” Minji blurted, as she pouted and blamed Seungri and Dae.

“Haha. *smiles* is that for dinner? I thought you cooked it so that we’ll be snacking while working! *grins* Okay! Time to look for YB Hyung!” Dae said as he made an excuse for munching the delicious rice balls and potato pancakes. His eyebrows then creased, as he looked around… “Mmmm… Now, where did he go?”

Daesung grabbed Minji’s hand as they rushed outside. “Where are we going, oppa? Why are you in a hurry?” Minji asked.

“I don’t want to stay there. *chuckles* we ate almost everything on the table! I don’t want to be scolded again by Chae Noona if she sees that the pancakes and rice balls are almost gone! Hahahaha…”

“Oh don’t be afraid of her oppa! She’s kind!!! And she’s not older than you so stop calling her noona! *chuckles* Does she look old to you?” Minji laughed as she saw Dae getting nervous because of CL.

“Haha. I know that! But she acts like an ajumma to me and Ri! *chuckles* don’t tell her that or I’ll be sad!” Dae said as he pouted and made a cute expression! His eyes then finally found Youngbae. “Oh! There he is! *waves* Hyung!!” Dae called for him. He is standing outside the house, leaning on his car parked on the side of the street. Dae and Minji went near him, as they both heard him talking on the phone…

“Where are you now? ------- 3 blocks away from here? ----- oh ---- ne. I see… Okay. Be safe… bye.”

“Who’s that?” Minji beamed, as she leaned at Youngbae’s car.

“Err… T-That’s her… She’s almost here. Everything’s ready?” Youngbae asked as he smiled back at Minji and placed his phone inside his pocket. He hanged his arms on Dae’s shoulders as he smiled at him too.

“Ne, hyung! Uhmm… where did she say she went? I-is she really okay?” Dae smiled, but worry can still be seen in his eyes.

“Ye. She just… went to work to fix some things. Well, come on! Let’s go inside and inform the others.”

~*---*~

“I don’t need to ask. You already said it. At first, I thought it was a dream, but when I heard your voice this morning, I realized that it really did happen. *chuckles* Weird… but that’s the only thing I can recall from last night’s events.”

I can still hear him uttering those words… He knows that I like him too! That’s why I didn’t say anything during breakfast… well, what more can I say? He already knows! How can I cover that up? But what’s bothering me is… He didn’t speak either! We ate quietly, and then he handed me Bom’s car keys and my phone! I told him what happened last night, so he drove Bom’s car and brought it back to where his Ferrari is parked. He asked me if he can use my phone to call Youngbae, and after that, he just told me to go home and be safe! That’s confusing isn’t it? He knows that we have mutual feelings towards each other, but he didn’t ask anything about that. He’s more concerned about what happened last night!

Dara’s mind is still with Jiyong. She couldn’t process everything that happened this morning. The way she sees it, everything that happened is a dream, except for the fact that… she is wide awake! After that heart-throbbing confession, Jiyong never mentioned anything about it! Dara drove back home and finally parks Bom’s car at their garage… And then, she saw Bom standing in front of the car as soon as she stopped the car’s engine. She stood, posing like a model, wearing her usual mini dress, with hands on her waist as if she is pissed!

“You didn’t even bother to ask my permission? You just took my turtle with you without even waking me up? How’s Sarangah? Is she okay? *runs towards her car* Sarangah! Did this lady torture you? Are your parts still complete? Did you have scratches? Oh, Sarangah!” Bom pouted as she caressed her car.

“SARANGAH?! When did this turtle even had her name? And I thought this turtle is a guy! Green is a boy’s colour!” Dara paused, as everything Bom said finally sinks in her still-confused head! “YAAAAH! You are more worried of this rusty car than your cousin?! How can you be more insulting?”

“Ahh… I forgot! You’re here! How are you? Are you okay? *bleh!* Hahahaha…” Bom sticks her tongue out as she tries teasing her cousin! Dara doesn’t know that Bom and CL worried the whole time Dara wasn’t answering their calls! They panicked, their hearts feeling sick, as they called Youngbae early in the morning to help them find Dara. Youngbae just got home during that event, because he was with Jiyong, drinking in a club…

“Hmmm… yeah. I get it! You’re mad because of what I did… Mianhe. I was just in a hurry… You know ---- red alert?”

“Oh… so you have your period but you’ve forgotten to buy a girl’s essentials last week? As I recall, you went with Seungri to buy groceries last week! But you’ve forgotten about buying a napkin? Grrr. Fine! Forgiven! But I just want to let you know that I haven’t felt peaceful as soon as I didn’t see you sleeping beside me!!” Bom pouted and grabbed Dara’s hand. And then her eyes narrowed as she noticed Dara’s clothes… “Since when did you become a boy? Bonnet, red checkered polo, black vest, faded jeans and… sneakers?? Hmmm… I think I’ve seen that outfit before… ~Aioo, never mind! Actually, it’s not bad! You still look like my Tokki!” Bom uttered as she pinched both of Dara’s cheeks and patted her head. She then dragged her on their front door…

Dara glanced at her outfit. She flustered as she placed her hand on the button of the polo she’s wearing, and she was brought back to that moment when she is still inside that magnificent mansion…

[Flashback]

“Uhmm… I need to go now. Can I have my clothes back?” Dara shyly asked.

“Mmmm… That would be impossible right now. I think it’s still wet… Don’t worry. I’ll send it to your house as soon as it gets dry.”

“That’s not my concern right now. How can I get out of this place only wearing a robe?”

“I gave you a new dress robe.” Jiyong answered as he couldn’t hide his lips from smirking.

“And you’re expecting me to go home… looking like this?” Dara asked in confusion.

“You still look stunning no matter what you wear…” Jiyong whispered as he blushed and pouted.

“What?”

“Oh. Nothing…” Jiyong smirked as he grabbed Dara’s hand and felt sparks again! He then continued, “Come on. I’ve got an idea.”

Jiyong dragged Dara towards his room. Dara noticed it just now… His room is totally different from the other rooms! It is also clean, but it is colourful and a bit… WEIRD! It is double the size of the guest room! If an ordinary person sees this, they would think the same – this room is like an apartment already! No one can starve to death even if they stay inside this room for a month! There’s a small living room, a tea table, a fridge, a bathroom and a computer desktop! The walls are black, with red borders and a cream-colored ceiling. There are no pictures of him inside his room. The frames hanging on the walls are pictures of skulls, a cartoon version of Madonna, and some weird abstract paintings with a girl in it. There’s a wall dividing each area. They finally arrived at his ‘sleeping area’. His bed is unique – it is the only thing that is white… It has a picture of a man and a woman sleeping together, printed on the sheets. COOL! Jiyong then dragged her towards another door beside the bathroom door – a mall?! A mall inside his room?? Dara thought as she was astonished at how organized this man is! They both stopped as Jiyong grabbed a black remote control and pressed it. Suddenly, one of the glass doors opened, and the rack of hundreds of fashionable pants started to gracefully pop out and spin slowly! He then pressed another button in the remote control, and the rack stopped moving. He grabbed a pair of green jeans and placed it in front of Dara’s hips…

“No.” He then pressed a button and the rack started moving again. Finally, he found a pair of faded jeans and nodded. “Yep. This is the one.”

After grabbing those pants, they went to each glass windows of the ‘mall’ and Jiyong picked everything for Dara. He dragged her towards a small room that looks like a fitting room, and Dara went in without saying a word. She wore everything Jiyong gave him, and finally comes out with an anxious expression…

“Ahhh…” Jiyong uttered as he finally saw Dara. His eyes sparkled as he smirked, and then he uttered, “You look… beautiful.”

[End of Flashback]

He said he has never let himself fall for anyone until I came into his life. So that means… He has never been in love before? Or did he already felt that kind of feeling but he didn’t allow himself to fall hard? Hmmm… but if my instinct is right, how can he always know how to make me blush? He said he doesn’t know why he can’t formulate sentences whenever I’m around, but everything he says is like a symphony humming inside my ears! I can still hear them singing!! I feel like I’m in…

“SSSSUUURPRISE!!”

“What? W-W-Wae?” Dara asked as they entered the front door! Her mind flew from Jiyong’s dressing room back to their front door! Dara was too busy, reminiscing every sweet thing that happened today that she didn’t notice that she’s already inside their house! She looked around – the walls are decorated with colourful paper decorations, the floor is full of pink, white and green balloons and everybody inside the house are smiling from ear to ear! What’s happening? Did I forget someone’s birthday?? What date is today? Ughh… I can’t remember anything except for his smile!!

“Noona! What’s with the face? Didn’t you like it? Bommie and I didn’t go to YG ent just to prepare this! Chae Rin-ah closed the store just to cook for you! Minji and Dae cancelled their date today to help, and Youngbae hyung went here early to plan for this!” Seungri said as he ran towards Dara and held her shoulders. Dara looked at each and everyone’s smiling faces as they anticipate her reaction…

“B-But… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be asking this, but… whose birthday party are we celebrating?” Dara asked as her eyes squinted. Then, she heard all of them yelled…

“YOURS!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!”

“Is it really…. Oh my…*eyes twitch* Did I really… forget my own special day?? I-I’m sorry guys. *gulp* I just had a lot of ----- Ah-I think… I feel…” while everyone stood still, with smiles that are now stiffening because of waiting for Dara’s reaction, Dara suddenly felt her body getting heavier, her hands and feet turning cold, her head lighter than a feather and the surroundings started to turn grey and finally, her eyes loses sight – She fainted!

“OH MY GOSH!” Bom and Minji screamed in shock! Everyone’s smile immediately disappeared as they all hurried towards unconscious Dara!

“Noona! NOONA!!! Wake up!! ! Will somebody please, GET ME A GLASS OF WATER!! Come on! Noona… WAKE UP!” Seungri caught her body even though he felt his knees wobbling when he saw his sister fainted! Seungri almost felt like fainting too!

“OTTOKAE?” CL yelled as she held her forehead, thinking of the best way to get help! She then blurted, “Give me her phone. I need to call Dr. Psy…” Seungri grabbed Dara’s phone inside her pocket and handed it to CL. Meanwhile, Youngbae kneeled on the floor and assisted Seungri in putting water inside …

“WAIT! Don’t let her drink! It might get inside her lungs! Let me see what I can do…” Daesung stopped both of the boys and knelt down to pinch Dara’s finger… She’s still not waking up! He grabbed her arm and tried to pinch it hard, but Youngbae and Seungri suddenly reacted in unison…

“YAH!”

“What?? I know what I am doing! Err.. Fine! Just please… let me put pressure on her chest…”

“ARE YOU CRAZY?! She’s my sister!! And you want to hold her chest in front of me, while she’s passed out???”

“Dude! That’s not what I mean… Ughh… It’s very hard to explain! Well, do you want to help her or not?? I said I know what to do!”

“SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU! Dr. Psy said we’re all lucky that he is currently meeting someone a block away from here.. He’ll be here in 5 minutes. Let’s just wait for him okay? Calm down! Seriously!! You’re not 5-year-old boys anymore, for crying out loud! We need men… NOT BOYS!”

~*---*~

Dara’s eyes finally got the strength to open – it opened slowly, but everything is still blurry. She heard voices, and when she looked up, she saw a man’s big tummy blocking her view from the surroundings…

“She’ll be fine. She just had an intense emotional stress that’s why she fainted. It’s the body’s response to her way of coping with recent events that I think traumatized her.”

“So, is it bad to surprise her? Because doctor, it’s her birthday today and we planned to do a surprise party for her… and after that, she fainted!” CL uttered as a question mark was immediately painted on her face…

“Well, that kind of event is actually not traumatizing… I think, it just triggered her stress, but there is something deeper that’s been stressing her mind recently. Has she been extremely sad lately?”

“Aww… Poor Tokki. *pouts* she’s been busy at work, plus the thought of Minho keeps on bugging her!” Bom uttered as she pouted and leans on Minji’s shoulder.

“Mmmm… mmm…” Dara mumbled, trying to help herself stand up.

“Noona!! Stay still! Are you alright? What do you need?” worried Seungri immediately stood up as he saw Dara moving…

“Water.” Dara said in a hoarse voice. She suddenly felt suffering from drought. Her body is still weak, but she tried to speak just to show everybody that she’s fine…

“I’m fine Doctor. I was just tired and I have my menstrual period today, so…”

“Oh dear! *chuckles* no wonder! Are you always like this when you are menstruating?” Dr Psy smiled as he placed his palm on Dara’s forehead.

“I always feel dizzy, but this is the first time it happened. Thanks anyway Doctor! *smiles weakly* I’m sorry for ruining your appointment with Mr Yoo…”

“No. Don’t thank me! This boy right here – he’s the one who saved you! When I went here, your temperature is already back to normal. You’re still not awake, but you’re just sleeping…” Doctor Psy smiled again as he tapped Dae’s shoulder. He then asked, “May I just ask… how you knew that putting pressure on the chest will bring her consciousness back?”

“Err… *chuckles* I studied nursing before, doctor Psy. But I just couldn’t stand all the blood, and my dream is really to become a singer! Hahaha!” Dae said shyly, as he scratched his head and beamed, making his cheeks go red, and his eyes disappear!

“Noona, here’s your water.” Seungri uttered as he assisted his sister in getting up and drinking slowly.

“Tomorrow, please go to my office. I’ll schedule you for a blood exam, okay? I should be going now. Oh! Before I go back to Mr Yoo’s house, I just want to wish our Dara-ssi a happy, happy birthday! I was about to greet you today, but you were absent, so----” Dr Psy said, but Dara immediately speaks before he can even finish what he was saying…

“Thanks doctor! I’ll bring food tomorrow so we can celebrate with Gummy unni! Be careful on your way back there! Thank you!” Dara smiled as she reached for Dr Psy’s hand and held it as a sign of appreciation. He waved goodbye and Youngbae assisted him towards the door and outside the gate. CL and Bom on the other hand, looked at each other and gave Dara a meaningful glare…

“What?? Are you all just going to just stare at me? Let’s start the party!” Dara said, flashing a grin while avoiding CL and Bom’s eyes. She stood up and plugged her iphone on Seungri’s speakers placed on top of their table, and she started to dance crazily! Youngbae suddenly grabbed her arm…

“Don’t. you’ll get dizzy. I don’t want you to faint again…”

“I’m just doing this because I don’t know how to get their minds out of that issue… you know – why I didn’t go to work today!” Dara whispered as she continued dancing. Everybody else then went to the table and started to grab food to eat.

“Uhmm… I have something to tell you… it’s about my---” Youngbae uttered as he scratched his head.

“Oh. What happened today… let’s just forget that it happened. Don’t worry anymore! He didn’t do anything bad.”

“No. What I am going to say is… I li---”

“Noona! Don’t just dance there! You have to eat first! Here… Minji got you the biggest crab there. I cooked it for you! I know it’s your favourite!” Seungri suddenly butted in as Youngbae just looked down and felt a bit disappointed at himself.

“Aww… Thanks Ri! I love you!! Hahahaha.” Dara uttered as she smiled at her brother.

“Yuck! That’s too cheesy! You really are sick huh? Why say it out loud Noona!” Seungri felt embarrassed but Dara just sticks her tongue out and grinned at her brother. Her eyes went back to Youngbae who is now sitting alone at the sofa, while the others are busy chatting and laughing…

“Why? What’s the matter?” Dara approached Youngbae as she smiled and sat beside him.

“Do you like Ji?” Youngbae asked without thinking. He just sighed and placed a grape inside his mouth.

“W-Wae? I-Is he a bad person?” Dara almost choked! She coughed and cleared as she saw Youngbae’s reaction. “Is it just all a lie? The ‘I want you Dara’ blah blah blah?”

“What? He said he wants you?” Youngbae’s eyes suddenly had gotten bigger by what he heard. He suddenly lost his appetite.

“Oh. He didn’t tell you what happened? ~Omo! Isn’t that what you’re asking?” Dara asked. *sigh~ Me and my stupid mouth… Tshhhhh… Dara told herself, as she placed a big crab meat inside before another stupid word slips out of !

Youngbae froze! His eyes are still looking at Dara as he was shocked by what he heard. He then spoke. “Oh. Don’t worry about that. He already told me that he likes you. He also said that you feel the same.” Youngbae is telling a lie. When Ji called him through Dara’s phone, he just asked him a favour – to call the towing services and help him recover the keys inside his car. Youngbae just lied to Dara because he wants to know if Dara also likes Jiyong. If she reacts negatively, it means that she never said she likes Ji too… But if she agrees… I have to hold my piece, and keep this love for her inside my heart forever…

“Oh…” That’s the only word Dara can say. What to do?? That guy’s mouth is worse than Bom’s!! He can’t keep a secret, huh? He already told Youngbae about what happened this morning?? WOW!! Good job Jiyongie!! If you’re so proud of having mutual feelings with me, then why aren’t you making your move yet?? You are so weird! Dara thought as she couldn’t believe how that issue was immediately delivered to Youngbae! Who knows? Maybe he already spread it with all of his friends!

“Err… Don’t worry. Jiyong is a great guy. Just forgive him if he acts crazy sometimes. It’s just that… He has never been in love before. Actually, we both haven’t been in love before. Until a girl suddenly came into our lives and our world changed…”

“So you already found your dream girl? How fortunate! You and Ji… I think you’re both meant to be best friends!” Dara chuckled as she heard what she thought was a good news! “I have to meet this girl you are talking about! Is she pretty? Is she kind?”

“Yes. Jiyong and I – we both have… good taste.”

“Ahh! So you mean she’s as pretty as me? *chuckles* just kidding! I’m not pretty! That’s why I am wondering what made him like me! There are a lot of prettier and ier girls in your field of work! Why me??”

“You might not know it, but you are beautiful Dara. And kind, and caring, and you have this magical feeling that makes a guy feel happy…”

“Really? If I give that kind of feeling to guys, then why are you still frowning? Be happy! I won’t allow you to be sad because it’s my birthday today!” Dara smiled at Youngbae, without knowing that Youngbae is pertaining to her, being the same girl he and Jiyong are dreaming of having.

“Ye. I’m not sad. I was just tired because of work. Don’t mind me. I’m fine… I will be.” Youngbae smiled, as Dara smiled back.  Youngbae placed his hand inside his pocket and glanced at a thin box with a red ribbon tied on it. He sighed sadly, as he placed it back in his pocket, tucking it safely.

~*---*~

Hi! im going to post the next chapter soon! I'll just edit the pictures. ^^  

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