When Jiyong found out that Bom and Minji just had an altercation about Seunghyun and Youngbae, he tried his best to make the two stop.
He explained to them that taking sides is not going to help the situation.
The two girls apologized to each other after realizing what Jiyong said was right.


**********

Days after...

Seunghyun haven't shown himself to Dara because of the bruise on his face.
He doesn't want her to know that he and Youngbae had a little fit about her, this will definitely burden her.
Though he hasn’t visited her in awhile, he makes it a point to call her everyday and check on how she's doing.

Youngbae, on the other hand, visited Dara a day after his confrontation with Seunghyun.
It didn't surprise him that she doesn't know anything about what happened to them.
Knowing Seunghyun and Jiyong, they'd rather keep their mouths shut than make her worry.
 
Even if it’s hard for Youngbae and Dara to adjust to their current status, they still tried their best to act cool about the whole thing.
It may appear that they have somehow moved on smoothly, but to their friends' watchful eyes, they can tell that the two are still    in a process of moving on.

"Seunghyun-ah," Dara spoke on her cellphone.

She's in a cafe with the girls, Jiyong, Daesung, Seungri, and Youngbae.
They all decided to meet up after work.
Since Dara hasn't seen Seunghyun for awhile she called to invite him.
She put Seunghyun on speaker phone so everyone can talk to him.

"Ne?" Seunghyun answered on the other line. "Where are you?"

"Tea Tree Cafe." Dara answered.
 
"Seunghyun-ah, are you busy tonight?" Jiyong asked.

"Oppa, let's go clubbing." Chaerin chirped in.

"Let's go party, Seunghyun-ah." Bom said sweetly and cheerfully which surprised the guys on the table.

Bom noticed all of them were staring at her.
She frowned and mouthed "Mwo?!"

They heard Seunghyun laugh on the other line.

"I really want to join you but I got tons of work to finish." Seunghyun explained. "Mianhe."

"Seems like you don't have time for us anymore." Dara said sounding disappointed.

They saw Dara's expression changed.

Jiyong glanced at Youngbae and he glanced back at him.
Both knowing what the real reason was, Jiyong can't help but glare at the man who is responsible.
Youngbae ignored Jiyong and continued eating his sandwich.

"Dara, you know it's not like that." Seunghyun said sounding so sorry to Dara. "I really want to see you more than anything."

Chaerin and Bom giggled after they heard what he said.

Minji just rolled her eyes and glance at Youngbae who is acting nonchalant about the conversation.
Even Daesung and Seungri were looking at their friend's reaction.

Dara smiled and blushed when she remembered that Seunghyun was on speaker phone.

Obviously, her friends heard it.
She immediately glanced at Youngbae who was not looking at her.
He was busy eating his sandwich.
Seeing the others staring at her and waiting for her to response, she cleared .

"Arasseo, Seunghyun-ah." Dara simply replied. "Don't work too much. Hope we can all hang out soon."

"Promise I'll make it up to you guys." Seunghyun replied. "Oh by the way, you're at Tree Tea Cafe, right?"

"Yes, why?" Dara asked.

"My friend owns that cafe." Seunghyun explained. "So it'll be my treat then."

"Whoa, thanks Seunghyun!" Bom exclaimed.

Dara smiled and thanked Seunghyun on the phone.

After the cellphone conversation with Seunghyun, they continued planning on what to do that night.

Jiyong just kept his eyes on Youngbae.

Youngbae not knowing that he was being watched sighed and stared at Dara the whole time.

**********


Next day....

After work Dara and Cheondung went straight to the mansion.
Their parents had just arrived from their Asian tour.
Mr. and Mrs. Park were looking for a new location to expand their restaurant business.
They had their usual family chats over dinner.
After they finished, Dara told her parents that she's going back to her apartment.

When Dara started college, she begged her parents to allow her to live by herself.
It took months before she could persuade her parents especially her father who is very protective of her.
Though her father was against the idea, it was Mr. Park himself who looked for a safe place for her.
Dara was so thankful to her parents and she promised to study and work hard in return.

She did not fail them.
She graduated with good grades and is now diligently working and helping in their family business.

Whenever Mr. and Mrs. Park are out of the country, Dara stays at the mansion with Cheondung so it would be easier for them to manage the family business together while their

parents are not around.
Now that their parents are back she decided to return to her apartment.

"Are you sure you don't want Cheondung to drive you?" Mrs. Park asked while she hugs her daughter.

"No need omma, I'm fine." Dara assured her mother and gave her a kiss. "He worked so hard today, let him take some rest."

Dara went to her father who was standing beside her car.
Mr. Park opened the car door for her.

"Thanks appa," She hugged Mr. Park and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. "I'll come and visit after work so we can eat dinner together."

"Okay sweetie," Mr. Park said with a smile.

He watched as his daughter went inside the car.

Dara closed the door and opened the window.

"Get inside and take some rest." She told her parents.

"Are you sure you don't want your brother or me to drive you?" Mr. Park worriedly asked.

"I can call Mr. Lim to drive you if you want. Or you could just stay here for the night, sweetie."

Mrs. Park rolled her eyes when she heard her husband.

Dara chuckled and shook her head.

"Goodnight appa!" She said waving.

Mrs. Park lightly pulled her husband towards the house while waving to her daughter goodbye.


**********


DARA POV

Loneliness crept inside me when I entered my apartment.
I the light switch and was greeted by tons of mails on the floor.
Picking up the mails, I made a face seeing where they all came from and what they were.

"Wedding invitation, seminar, party, seminar, birthday party, business, engagement party...agghhh!"

I put the mails down on the living room table then looked around.
Everything's the same except for the lonely feeling.
For some reason, I didn't want to stay here.
But I don't want to stay in the mansion too.
I don't want omma and appa to see me breaking down every time I think about Youngbae.

Speaking of Youngbae, they still have no idea that we broke up.
I let out a big sigh.
I just want the night to end so I can go back to work and get busy.
As I was taking off my coat the phone rang.

'Who would call me here?' I wondered. 'Only my family knows I'm back.'

I dragged my body to the couch and picked up the receiver.

"Yoboseyo?"

"Dara?"

"Oh, Seunghyun-ah." I was surprised that it was him who called.

"So you're back at your place already?"

"Ne," I replied. "But how did you know?"

"Called you at the mansion and omonim said you went back to your apartment." He explained.

"Looks like you haven't mentioned to them that I came back."

"Uh... " I uttered then gave out an awkward laugh.”I forgot."

"It's fine." Seunghyun chuckled. "By the way, omonim and abonim invited me to join you for lunch tomorrow."

"Really? That's great." I said cheerfully. "So I'll be seeing you at the restaurant tomorrow?"

Short silence.

"Unfortunately, I have an appointment tomorrow with some important clients tomorrow." Seunghyun said.

I could sense the disappointment in his voice.

"Oh, I see." I quietly replied.

"But not to worry, Dara." His voice suddenly changed. "I told omonim that I'll arrange for this weekend so that we can go out with your family."

"That's great Seunghyun!" I exclaimed.

"I'm telling you in advance, so please keep your weekend free, okay?"

"Sure." I quickly answered.

"It's getting late Dara," He said. "You should take some rest, I'm sure you had a long day."

"Ne, thanks Seunghyun-ah." I replied. "You should rest too."

"Arasseo," He said. " Goodnight Dara."

"Goodnight Seunghyun."

Putting down the receiver, a smile still lingered on my face.

I was glad that Seunghyun called to somehow lift me up with his news.

END of DARA POV


Dara's parents adored Seunghyun from the time they first met him.
When they dated in college, Dara introduced him to her parents.
It surprised Dara when she found out that her father, Mr. Park, Mr. Dong, and Mr. Choi studied in the same university along with her mother, Mrs. Park and Mrs. Dong.

Mrs. Park likes Youngbae and Seunghyun a lot.
She told Dara before that Seunghyun reminds her of Dara's father, a matured and responsible man.
While Youngbae reminds her of someone she used to like during her younger days before she even met Dara's father.

Mr. Park however, is closer to Youngbae since he met him first before Seunghyun.
They bonded through playing golf with Cheondung.
Sometimes when Mr. Park and Mr. Dong are not busy, they play golf with their sons.

**********

Seunghyun just finished taking a bath.
He went to his mini bar in his living room.
He poured red wine in a glass and headed to the single couch and sat.
It's been three days since he last saw Dara and he misses her so much.
He ran his fingers on his bruised face.

'Just a couple more days, I'll be seeing you again.' He thought.

He rested his head and closed his eyes.

'Please give me a chance.' He whispered.


**********


The day came for Seunghyun to meet with the Park Family.
It will be the first time for him to see Dara again after his days of hiding.
He was feeling excited and anxious at the same time.
He arrived first at the leisure sports club where he invited the Park family.
He decided to wait in the lobby for them so that he can personally greet them.
Five minutes later he saw a familiar car arrived tailed by another.
He went out right away knowing it's the person he's been waiting for.

On the first car, Dara came out looking fresh.
Seeing her Seunghyun can't help but hold his breath from the beauty he's seeing.
He really missed her so much.
He quickly went to her and gave her a hug.

On the second car, Cheondung, Mr. and Mrs. Park came out.
He greeted them politely.
Mr. and Mrs. Park were happy to see him after two years.

After lunch, the three men played golf, while Dara and her mom went for a spa.
During their bonding in the spa, Dara opened up to her mother that she and Youngbae already broke up.
Mrs. Park was shocked because she knew how much Youngbae and Dara loved each other.
Secretly in her mind, she's anticipating that the two will get married soon.
Though she was curious of why Dara and Youngbae split up, she respected her daughter's privacy on that matter.
Mrs. Park was saddened because she can only imagine the amount of pain her daughter was going through.
As her mother she consoled her daughter and told her that everything's going to be fine.

It was already 6:00 PM when they finished their activities.
Mr. and Mrs. Park went home first.
Cheondung and Dara were supposed to go together but Seunghyun offered to drive Dara back.

"No problem, hyung." Cheondung happily said, waving at Seunghyun.

"Since hyung is gonna drive you home, can I use your car, nuna? I need to go somewhere."

Dara furrowed her eyebrows.

"And where do you plan to go, punk?" She asked, putting her hands on her waist.

"Bi mil." Cheondung replied with a wink as he closed the car window and drove off not even waiting for his sister to respond.

Dara just shook her head.

Seunghyun walked to her side.

"Shall we?" He said offering his arm.

Dara smiled and held onto his arm.


After dinner, Seunghyun and Dara decided to have a stroll at a nearby park.
While walking, they talked about how their days went these past few days.
When they saw an empty bench they sat down and continued with their chat.

"Dara," Seunghyun suddenly said.

Dara glanced at him.

She saw him staring at the night sky.

"Ne, Seunghyun?"

"I want to tell you something." He said quietly still looking up.

"What is it?"

Seunghyun slowly lowered his head then turned to look at Dara.

"What is it Seunghyun-ah?" She asked impatiently.

She noticed Seunghyun's serious expression and it was making her curious.

"Honestly, I really don't know how to start." He said with a sigh.

He looked away form Dara and rubbed his palms on his pants.
He was getting nervous.
Dara, seeing Seunghyun’s state made her worry.
She reached for his hands and gently squeezes them, trying to calm him.
He stopped moving and gazed back at Dara.

"What is it, Seunghyun-ah?" Dara asked with concern. "Are you okay?"

To lessen his nervousness, he took a deep breath.

"Dara, I know it's still not the right for me to be telling you this." He began.

"I know you're still in the process of moving on. But I just want you to know that my feelings for you are still the same as it was two years ago."

Hearing what he said made Dara's heart jump.
She knew his feelings about her two years ago, but she never thought that he was still same as now.

Two years ago, before Dara met Seunghyun; she was already in a dilemma.
When Youngbae started dating Angela, she started assessing her feeling for her best friend.
She was already used to Youngbae dating other women but when Angela came into the picture, she felt different.
The jealousy and awkwardness she felt when she sees Youngbae and Angela together were all new to her.
Their relationship made Dara release emotions that she never felt before.
Thinking it was just phase, she tried to ignore what she was feeling.

She was then introduced to Seunghyun by her friends, Jiyong and Chaerin.
After learning that they clicked together, Dara decided to date him.
He was the first guy Dara actually dated.

Seunghyun's existence made Youngbae uneasy.
Seeing his best friend dating for the first time drove him crazy.
It didn't take him a very long time to finally realize he was already in love with his best friend.

Youngbae later found the courage to confess his true feelings to Dara.
At that time, Dara found the answer to her question as to why she's affected with Youngbae and Angela's relationship.
She too has already fallen for Youngbae.
She was in denial before because she couldn't believe that she fell in love with Dong Youngbae, the famous player of their university.

It was a hard on Dara's part to admit everything to Seunghyun.
Knowing that he already confessed his feelings to her, she would definitely hurt him.
She couldn't bear to hurt the person who she cares about; still she had no choice but to tell Seunghyun the truth.

It was even more unbearable for Dara when he didn't show any resentment to her.
He even encouraged her and Youngbae.
Telling Dara that the most important thing for him is for her to be happy.

Days after their talk, Dara never saw Seunghyun again.
Jiyong broke the news that Seunghyun went to England to continue his studies there.
It broke Dara's heart but she couldn't do anything about it.
Even Jiyong lost contact with Seunghyun.


'Oh no!' She thought. 'Don't Seunghyun.'

She remained quiet. Dara knew that she's going to hear what she doesn't want Seunghyun to say.

"I'm sorry if I have to say this." He said looking away. "I was just hoping for a chance."

Dara was caught off guard.

"No Seunghyun," She suddenly said. "I'm the one who should apologize."

Short silence. Seunghyun realized that he was rejected again.

"Seunghyun-ah, I'm very thankful for all the things that you've done for me. You're always there when I need you. You make me forget all my problems and worries."

Dara's hand went to Seunghyun's face and she made him look at her.

Dara's eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm sorry but my heart is still not ready to open up." Dara said swallowing hard.

As much as she doesn't want to say it to Seunghyun, she knew she had to be honest with him.

She put her right hand to her left chest.

"He's still in here." Dara said as she burst into tears.

"I'm sorry. I'm really trying my very best to forget him, but it's so hard."

Seeing the woman she loves helpless and in tears, Seunghyun can't help but to set aside his feelings.

He cupped her face in his hands.
He gently wiped her tears away and leaned closer to give her a light kiss on her forehead.

"Don't cry Dara-ah, it's alright." Seunghyun softly said.

He pulled her closer into his arms.

"No matter how long, I'll wait for you." He whispered.

"I'm really sorry, Seunghyun." Dara sobbed as she hid her face against his chest.

"Shhhh..." Seunghyun hushed Dara while her hair.

"You did nothing wrong. It's me; I should have been more understanding."

"Stop saying that, Seunghyun," Dara protested.

She slowly pulled away from his embrace and looked at him.

"You've already done a lot for me. You're more than understanding."

"But still...” Seunghyun was about to speak.

"Seunghyun, please don't ever leave again." Dara cut him off. "I don't want to lose a friend like you."

'Friend’, the word echoed at Seunghyun's ears.

It hurts him that until now, Dara still wouldn't give him a chance.
But what surprises him is that it didn't matter to him now.
For as long as he’s close to Dara, even as a friend, he's grateful.
 
"I feel stronger whenever you're beside me." Dara continued.
 
"When I'm down, you always pull me up and make me realize that I can still stand up and smile.”

She paused for a while replayed in her mind what she was saying to him.
Delivering those words to him made her think.
But what she said to Seunghyun was definitely what her heart is saying.
That truth is she doesn't want to lose Seunghyun.
And in her heart, he still loves Youngbae.
Friendship is all she can offer now, not only to Seunghyun but also to Youngbae.

**********
 
DARA POV

I wanted to sleep but my mind wouldn't let me.
I think coming back here in my apartment was a bad idea.
Memories of Youngbae keep flashing in my mind.
I don't know how long I will keep feeling sad, lonely, and empty.
My tears started flowing.
I glanced at the empty space in my bed where Youngbae occasionally sleeps.
I reached for the extra pillow and hugged it close to me.
Youngbae's scent still lingered.
What began as quiet tears has now become uncontrollable sobs.

'I miss you so much Youngbae.' I thought. 'When will this end?'

END OF DARA POV

**********

YOUNGBAE POV

Staring at the cellphone in my hand, I was contemplating whether to call Dara or not.
I gave out a big sigh and crawled out from my bed.
I stood in front of the glass door that leads to my balcony.
The dark sky made me think of how lonely my night is.
I opened the sliding door and went out the balcony.
My whole body shivered from the cool air that greeted me.
I rested my arms on the railing and felt the cold steel touched my skin.

It's been more than a month now after the nightmare.
That's what I call the whole incident. Nightmare.
I'm still hoping that someday I'll wake up from this bad dream.

But here I am, wide awake.
I can't do anything but to accept the consequences of my stupidity.
I lost the one and only true love that I have.

"Dara." I whispered.

Looking at the stars and wishing that the night wind would carry my sorrowful voice to her.
If she only knew how sorry I am for hurting her.
If she only knew how I want to end my life because she's no longer mine.

"Dara." I whispered again and closed my eyes.
I felt the warm tears rolled slowly down my face.
The pain in trying to let go.

END OF YOUNGBAE POV