Credits go to hungry- (from  affamé graphic shop), for this amazing poster.

[ Thirty Two. Proximity ]

She was falling.

It was as if everything was playing out in slow motion. Dara closed her eyes, knowing that she was heading for a painful collision against the ground but too paralyzed by surprise and the drunken state she was in to prevent the plunge from happening. Strangely, she did not feel any of the pain she expected even though she did fall down. Dara was in a daze as she felt warmness surrounding her tightly that protected her from the solid impact of hitting the concrete pavement straight-on.

“Are you out of your ing mind?!” Jiyong yelled furiously, and Dara slowly opened her eyes to see Jiyong’s indignant face. He was so close that if any of them moved an inch, their lips would touch. His wild apprehension was evident as he quickly inspected to see if Dara had been hurt from the fall. Luckily she seemed fine; he had been just in time, or else…Jiyong did not dare to think what could’ve happened if he was a minute too late. He made a mental note to avoid any situations that could lead to Dara drinking alone with Teddy in the future. The consequences would be deadly. “Did you hit your head? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lying limply in Jiyong’s strong arms, Dara shook her head hesitantly, incapable of speaking although she was fine aside from the initial shock of almost being hit by the motorcycle and/or falling flat on the ground. The lightheaded and dizzy feeling was ebbing away as she slowly grasped what happened. If it had not been Jiyong throwing her out of the way, she would have been hit straight on by the speeding  motorcycle. He had also used his own body as a shield, which is why she did not even have a scratch on her body after the fall.

“Are you okay?” Dara asked him worriedly as they both sat up.

“Yeah,” Jiyong replied, but winced when he experienced pain shooting up from his right wrist when he tried dusting away the dirt on his clothes. He tried turning it, but immediately stopped when the pain grew almost unbearable. Dara, who had been closely watching him, became alarmed.

“We have to go to the hospital.” Dara anxiously looked around to hail a taxi. The streets were empty, and she thought to run back to the restaurant to ask them to call another cab for them.

“No, it’s fine-“

“Don’t you dare tell me it’s fine!” Dara said shrilly, and their eyes met. Instantly, they both remembered the day they had gotten together, when Dara had gotten mad and cried when Jiyong did not tell her he was ill. It’s like nothing has changed since then. The first to look away, Dara sighed in relief as a taxi slowed down in front of them. The two of them slid into the car, and Dara quickly instructed for the taxi driver to take them to the nearest hospital, secretly glad that she stopped herself from saying any more than she did.

By the time Jiyong and Dara walked out of the entrance of the hospital, Dara was completely sober, but the burden on her shoulders of being the reason for Jiyong’s sprained arm did not disappear. Jiyong had been trying not to show how excruciating the growing pain was on the ride to the hospital, but Dara could tell he was hiding it on purpose. It drove her nearly mad that there was nothing she could do to feel the pain in his place. It should have been her in the first place. She was the one that acted rashly after drinking, but the one that gotten hurt was him. Fortunate for them, it did not take long for them to reach the nearby hospital, and they hurried to the emergency room to find out that Jiyong had sprained his arm when protecting Dara’s head from hitting the hard pavement. The good news was that, other than that and some minor scratches and bruises, he was fine, no damage to vital organs, and due for a check-up later that week.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. If it wasn’t for me-“ Dara began speaking, but Jiyong raised one arm to stop her from finishing.

“You drank too much. It’s not completely your fault. If we were really going to blame it on someone, it should be Teddy hyung. He was nearly forcing you to drink as much as he did. When he wakes up tomorrow, I’ll make sure to tell him that he is not allowed to drink with you from now on.” With that, Jiyong looked around, searching for cabs. “Where are all the taxis? Aren’t there usually a lot of them around hospitals?”

The dim streetlight cast a shadow over Jiyong’s face, and Dara studied the man in front of her unblinkingly. When she was lying in his arms, she had thought that the panic in Jiyong’s eyes must mean that he cared about her a lot, the discomposure showing his true feelings. Now she was not so sure. His mask of unfathomableness was back on, and the previous distance between them returned. Over the years he had become more and more like her, in a way. Annoyingly calm and cool, selfishly realistic, impossibly guarded, and topped with a mask of coldness that supposedly hid everything safely from other people. It anguished her. Was it my fault? Because I left? Or was it because it was the way life works, and people simply change?

“Dara, get in. Call me when you get home.” Reluctantly pulling from her thoughts, Dara caught sight of the yellow taxi parked in front of them. Jiyong opened the door with his good hand, waiting for her to get in.

“Wait. What about you?” Dara asked in confusion, not getting into the car.

“I’ll hail another cab after you leave,” Jiyong said impatiently. “You should go home first. It’s late.”

“No!” The strong protest that came from Dara’s mouth stunned both of them.

“No?” Jiyong repeated, raising his eyebrows at her.

Dara blushed in embarrassment as she tried to voice out something reasonable. “I mean, we can take the cab together. Besides, I want to make sure you get home safely. We should go to your place together first.”

Jiyong scrutinized her for a moment while Dara silently prayed that he would not see through her. She was truly worried about him and it would be good to see for herself that he got home without harm. But what was more was that she wanted to be able to spend more time with him alone. There, I admit it. She does miss him. Ever since Dara had joined YG, they have always been surrounded by the presence of other people, with the exception of their argument in front of the elevator, which did not go well. From the way Jiyong been treating her lately, Dara does not think that there will be much chances of them meeting up alone, let alone closing the gigantic gap spanning between them. She desperately wants to know if he has truly changed to the obnoxious, heartless G-Dragon, or if he had just gotten better at hiding his emotions.

“Fine,” Jiyong said finally, getting into the cab first and giving his address to the driver. Dara followed suit, and put on her seatbelt in no time. Jiyong, however, was clumsily wrestling with his using only his good hand.

“Let me help you.” Leaning towards Jiyong to grab his seatbelt for him, Dara did not notice their closeness until she looked up after clasping the seatbelt successfully. The two stared at each other for a moment, not sure of how to react. The top of Dara’s head had been directly under Jiyong’s nose, so close that he could even identity which brand of shampoo she use