Credits go to kurogane, for this amazing poster.

[ Twenty Five. In The End (Part I) ]

Just as Jiyong was about to turn the steamy kiss into full-blown making out, Dara suddenly bolted towards the nearby park, pulling Jiyong along with her. The bike lay abandoned and forgotten on the ground behind them. Silence was all that could be heard apart from the crunching of the leaves under their foot and the sound of their heavy breathes. They could see their breath in the frosty winter air. It was around one o’clock in the morning, and not a soul was present except for the full moon watching over them. The moonlight that escaped successfully from clouds’ obstruction cast an eerie yet fantastical glow from the sky. A thin layer of fog draped over the treetops like curtains made of silk and satin, and somehow this surreal scenery reminded Jiyong of the stereotyped setting of frightening forests in fairytales and bedtime stories. The first story that came to mind was Hansel and Gretel, and the thought was so repulsive and ironic that he scrunched up his face in disgust. He cannot believe that, being the one so in denial over the fact that Dara and him were somewhat like siblings, the first fairytale he thought of was the one concerning two siblings running away from an evil witch. If Hansel and Gretel were running away from a cannibalistic witch, then what are we running away from? Jiyong assume that the answer could be Dara’s own embarrassment. From his understanding of her, it was highly likely that Dara was mortified over the hot kiss they just shared on the pavement, and by reflex, she wanted to run away from this humiliating scene…and him. Grabbing my hand was probably a mistake on her part, Jiyong decides dryly.

“Where are you going?” Jiyong panted as he ran faster to keep up with Dara.

The moment Dara whipped her head around to face him, Jiyong forgot about his question. She beamed arrestingly at him before answering, “I’m taking danger with me.” One smile from her was all it took for his brain and body to stop functioning. It took him a while to understand what her words were implying. I had told her I’m the real danger in her life, and she told me she’s taking me with her. Jiyong felt as if his heart was exploding from pure happiness. Dara means that she is not going to leave me behind. This exchange of words may not make sense to anyone else, but they were two people half-drunk on alcohol and full-drunk in love so it does not even matter.

They came to an abrupt stop in front of the square where the huge water fountain was situated at. Upon seeing the fountain, Jiyong remembered how much Dara enjoyed the water show at Banpo Bridge. “You wanted to see the water show?” But it was past the time that lights and music would go on for the fountain water shows, so the square was dark and motionless like every other part of the park.

“Not exactly,” Dara smirked playfully as she led Jiyong to the center of the fountain. She then dropped her hold on both of his hands and sprinted some distance away from him before turning around to face him. They stared at each other for a moment, Dara’s eyes winking mischievously while Jiyong’s were filled with bafflement. It was usually the other way around. “I wanted to see how danger copes with water.”

Before Jiyong could process what was going on, colossal streams of water burst from the holes on the ground around him. Bewildered, Jiyong was frozen to his spot as the water soaked him instantly. Here he was, dripping wet with icy cold water pouring on his body in the middle of the night, in the middle of winter. Clenching his teeth tightly to keep from chattering, he slowly walked his way out of the jungle of water, with the sprays of water now moving gracefully in sequence to make pretty patterns with the changes in formation. Upon seeing Dara, who was giggling openly at the sight of him, he was both irritated and pleased at the same time, which again does not make sense.

“That was the best fountain water show I have ever seen.” Dara grinned in satisfaction at her approaching boyfriend. The sight of Kwon Jiyong, who was the hero of Seoul University just hours ago, now resemble a drowning zombie. His blond hair was flat and damp against his head, the strands in the front blocking his eyes. It gave her some morbid sense of accomplishment that she had turned the tables on Jiyong for once. Most of the time, Jiyong is the active one of the relationship and Dara is the passive one that puts up with Jiyong taking the lead with everything. From the first day they met, Jiyong had been ruthless in getting his way with everything, including deleting her homework file, making a fool out of her publicly in front of her classmates, and intruding rudely into her personal life. This revenge is nothing in comparison to anything Jiyong has pulled off, Dara noted guiltlessly.

“Whatever makes you happy, jagiya,” Jiyong grumbled in a tone that barely concealed his annoyance, shaking around like a mad dog trying to dry itself.

“Oh come on, Ji, don’t be such a poor sport.” In spite of her words, Dara did feel bad that she picked the wrong time and weather to pull off a water prank. The low temperature is arctic even to her, who was protected by thick layers of dry and warm clothing, and here was Jiyong shivering uncontrollably, not a dry spot on his clothes. Wrapping her arms around Jiyong, she nuzzled his chin with the tip of her nose in a winning manner, looking up expectantly at her boyfriend with innocent, huge eyes. She knew perfectly well how vulnerable Jiyong was against her attempts at acting cute. Indeed, Jiyong’s face softened, but it did not change his determination to get even.

“Jagiya, didn’t I just tell you that you did not know what the real danger was? You should have listened to me.” Dara was taken aback by Jiyong’s dangerous tone and words. Scooping Dara in his arms, Jiyong ran back to the fountain despite Dara’s high-pitched screams and flailing arms in protest. Water came down hard on the couple, and Dara wailed in distress as the numbing liquid penetrated every layer of clothing she had on. Gloating, Jiyong ran around triumphantly. “Now we’re even.”

Fortunately for Dara, the water show soon ceased, and Jiyong carried her to a bench beside the children’s playground. Escape from the water was one thing, but the cold air that threaten to freeze the water droplets on them was another, and Dara’s teeth chattered uncontrollably. “T-T-T-This…is all y-y-your…f-f-fault…”

“Just fighting fire with fire,” remarked Jiyong cheerfully as he rubbed Dara’s sides with his hands, trying to warm her up. “Or should I say, fighting water with water? Haha.”

“T-T-Tch…” It annoyed her even more that she could not speak properly. Jiyong noticed this, and planted a kiss on her lips that were white from the coldness.

“D-D-D-Don’t you…d-d-d-dare…k-k-k-kiss…” Before Dara could finish her sentence, Jiyong kissed her again impishly, eyes twinkling in amusement. Argh, he is really getting on my nerves!

“I have to take responsibility for my actions, don’t I? Your lips are almost purple from the cold,” Jiyong explained coquettishly before tracing Dara’s lips with his wet tongue. Dara acknowledged the action being adorable on Jiyong’s part, but her exasperation also grew at her helplessness in the face of his aegyo (and iness). She suddenly darted away from him, clambering onto the playground.

“Yah, jagiya, where are you going?” Jiyong followed her, close at her heels. “How can you run away from me when I haven’t warmed up the other parts of your body?” The statement made Dara’s face flush with embarrassment even though there was no one there hear it. The two of them then engaged in a game of tag, chasing each other around like kids in the small playground.

“Baby, good night,” Jiyong whispered softly as he gently carried Dara onto her bed. He then went on to wrap the comforter snugly around the sleeping girl, making sure that she was warm enough. It was clear that Dara was completely exhausted, falling asleep on the ride home after they had their fun in the park. It took a lot of coaxing for Dara to get a hot bath when they got home; she whined like a little kid about how she didn’t want to wake up. One playful threat from Jiyong that he was going to peel off her clothes for her was all it took for her eyes to bulge open and race to the bathroom, not forgetting to call him a dirty ert before slamming the door. Jiyong took his shower after Dara, and when he came out, he found Dara sleeping soundly on her sofa.

This girl will be the death of me. He could not sleep at all. It was strange, because he should be feeling drowsy after drinking so much beer and exercise, not to mention nearly turning into an icicle in the cold. For some reason, sleep seems like a waste of time when he could stare fondly at the sleeping figure of the girl he loves. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of crimson, a contrast from the whiteness of her pale complexion. Like a strawberry with whipped cream wrapped around. his dry lips as his heart pounded hard against his chest, Jiyong inched closer until he was sitting at the edge of Dara’s bed. Caressing Dara’s brown hair with his hand, he sighed heavily to himself. He wish time would pause forever in this moment. This is perfect…she is perfect…more than I deserve.

Grabbing some paper and a pencil from Dara’s desk, Jiyong decided to convert the burst of feelings in his heart into words. Might as well do something productive while he’s suffering from insomnia. Tapping the pencil lightly against his forehead, Jiyong went through the songs he had finished so far. Aside from “Black”, most of his songs are upbeat, noisy, wild, and all over the place. Maybe I should try composing more songs like “Black”. After getting together with Dara, his recent songs are so sickeningly lovey-dovey that Tablo, who he was working the new recordings with, non-stop that he could see hearts sprouting from the microphone and cherubs appearing from the speakers. It was nearly impossible to write any sad or angry lyrics when he was so content in love.

Trying a different approach, he tried to imagine how he would feel if Dara broke up with him. Without realizing it, the hand that was fondling with Dara’s hair balled into a fist, clamping tightly around strands of the girl’s brown waves. Almost instantly, words came to him as if they had lives of their own.  

Love is painful, although love is painful
I repeat it like a fool, that’s what I always do
But pain is beautiful, same as you

Humming absentmindedly, Jiyong put the lyrics on hold once the melody came to him. His ability to write lyrics improved greatly, but he was better at coming up with melodies once the theme had been set, and then fitting the songs into words after. Besides, if he could not finish the lyrics, Dara could always help him. At that thought, Jiyong glanced at Dara the same moment Dara’s eyes fluttered open, awaken by the faint sound of Jiyong’s voice.

“Ji, why are you still awake?” Half-awake, Dara slurred her words. Their eyes met for a moment, and Dara saw how broken-hearted Jiyong’s gaze was and sat up slowly in confusion. “What’s wrong? Why do you look so sad?”

“Nothing,