"Thanks, Cheondoongie!" Dara sweetly said. "I promise to buy you whatever you want."

After the phone conversation ended, she immediately put her cellphone back into her purse.
When she looked up she caught Seunghyun staring at her.

"What?" She asked, feeling conscious.

"Is there something on my face?" She took a napkin and wiped the sides of .

Seunghyun's lips formed a curve. He shook his head and sipped his wine.
Dara frowned and looked down on her plate.

"Cheondung is still working, huh?" He asked.

"Ne, he said he has some stuff to finish." She replied, slicing the meat on her plate.

"Has he eaten?" He asked sounding concern. "Let's bring him some food later."

Dara looked at him and chuckled.
She could tell that Seunghyun was feeling guilty for dragging her to have fun while her younger brother is doing all the work.

"Seunghyun-ah, he's a grown man." She said. "I'm sure he can handle himself."

She put a sliced meat on Seunghyun's plate earning a smile from him.
It reminded Seunghyun of the time when they were still dating.

"Ice cream later, my treat." Dara suddenly said winking at Seunghyun.


**********

A wide smile was printed on Yuri's face when Youngbae opened the car door for her.
Walking towards the restaurant's entrance, she slowly reached for his arm and held on to it.
She felt his body tensed up. Based from his reaction, she could tell that he's uncomfortable.

"Let's go oppa, I'm so hungry." She said, pulling him to walk.

It was a drag for Youngbae to go out and have dinner with her.
Even though Yuri is his ex-girlfriend and they shared good times together long time ago, the feeling is already different.

The two met in college at Seungri's birthday bash.
When they were first introduced, both were physically attracted to each other.
Kwon Yuri is a daughter of a wealthy businessman. She is beautiful and very popular in their university.
Like Youngbae, people of the opposite would do anything just to get her attention.
She also has the reputation of changing boyfriends from time to time.
Known to only go out with sons of business tycoons, she was labeled as a snotty prima donna.
But in Youngbae's opinion, she is just one easy prey.
At the party, he proved himself right.
The two went wild which led them to start a relationship.

After a couple of months of satisfying each other, things started to change.
Unintentionally, Yuri's feelings for Youngbae grew deeper.
Without her realizing it, she suddenly became a possessive and clingy girlfriend.

It bothered Youngbae because he thought that they were on the same boat.
From the start, they never really took their relationship seriously.
Now with Yuri's sudden change, he knew he needed to do something.

He got tired of her and started seeing other girls behind her back.
Rumors about him cheating spread like fire.
He knew that it won't be long before Yuri starts confronting him about it.
But Youngbae has already prepared some tricks up his sleeve.

To his knowledge, Yuri is not fond of his close friendship with Dara.
It bothered her on how special he treats her even when they are together.
He would ditch everything and everyone including her just for his best friend.
She sometimes wondered if the two have something special going on, but he assured her that they are just best friends.
Her jealousy when it comes to Dara is always the root of their arguments and misunderstandings.
With these reasons he knew that Dara is the answer to his freedom.

But it wasn't easy for Youngbae to convince his best friend to play a bold role.
Since Dara never had a boyfriend, she doesn't know how to act as a girlfriend.
After desperately begging her and assuring her that everything will be easy and okay, she finally agreed for the sake of their friendship.

=FLASHBACK=

"You owe me big time, Dong Youngbae." Dara muttered while checking her reflection in the mirror.

Dress... check!
Accessories... check!
Make-up... check!
Perfume... check!
Hair... check!
'Is this style good enough?' She wondered. She seems to be not satisfied with how her hair looks.

"Stop worrying unnie, you look gorgeous already." Minji said, lying in bed on her stomach watching her friend prepare.

"Yeah unnie, just sit down and relax." said Chaerin who was sitting beside Minji.

"Are you sure girls?" She confirmed. Her friends nodded their heads except for Bom.

She shook her head and clicked her tongue.

"It's soooooo ironic that your first date is a fake one." Bom scoffed. She was standing at the doorway, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

Minji and Chaerin rolled their eyes.
Seeing Bom through the mirror frowning, Dara can't help but let out a sigh.

"Bommie-ah, how many times do I have to explain to you that this is not an official date? This is just an act." She said fixing her hair.

"Pshhh..." Bom replied while rolling her eyes.

Chaerin stood up and walked towards Dara. "Oh c'mon Bom unnie, it's all good."
She helped Dara with her hair. "And besides, we can trust Youngbae oppa. Dara unnie is in good hands." She added.

"Good hands?! Helllloooo??!!!" Bom gasped. "Are you out of your mind, girl? Playboy and good hands DON'T MATCH! Do you know where the hands of a playboy travel??!!"

Minji snickered, understanding what her friend is trying to say. Bom instantly flashed her a glare.

Dara and Chaerin looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh.

"Even if Youngbae oppa is a playboy, he still IS Dara unnie's best friend." Chaerin reasoned out. “I’m sure that you'll agree when I say that he treats Dara unnie well. And not only her, but us too." She paused for a second and glanced at Bom's reflection from the mirror. "Remember the time when you broke up with that cheater, Lee Junki-sshi?" Chaerin said looking at her friend through the mirror.

Bom's eyes widened and fell open. One thing she doesn't like is being reminded of her ex.

"Remember who taught Lee Junki a good lesson?" She continued, still fixing Dara's hair.

Bom pursed her lips knowing she just lost the argument.

It was about a year ago when Bom ended her nine month relationship with a senior in their university.
She was devastated when she found out Lee Junki was cheating on her.
Youngbae and his friends, Daesung and Seungri, found out about it and decided to settle the score with him.
Although Lee Junki was a senior student in their university, Youngbae didn't hesitate and taught him a lesson that he'll never forget.
That incident earned Youngbae and the boys some minor bruises on their faces, but it caused Lee Junki to stay in the hospital for about a month.
This made Bom see Youngbae in a different light.
Bom was thankful for what he did, but his playboy image hasn't completely vanished from her mind.

They suddenly heard the door in Dara's apartment opened and then closed. Footsteps can be heard in the living room.
"Da-raahh~!" A familiar voice called.

"In my room." Dara replied.

"Youngbae oppa's here." Minji said excitedly as she rolled out of her friend's bed.

She was jumping up and down on the floor while giggling. Chaerin joined her.
Bom sighed and rolled her eyes when she felt Youngbae's presence.
She moved away from the doorway and went to sit on Dara's bed.

Youngbae looked around the room and greeted everyone.

The three girls saw how Youngbae gaped at the sight of Dara.

"Y-you look.." He was standing behind her, staring at her through the mirror.

Dara checked herself out in the mirror for the last time then she gave him a nervous smile.

"How do I look?" She asked uncertainly. "Is this good enough? Or do you want me to change?"

He reached for Dara's shoulder and turned her around to face him.
She was always pretty, but tonight he sees her differently.

'Maybe it's the make up or her clothes, or maybe her hair.' He thought. 'Whatever it is, she looks stunningly beautiful.'

"Y-you look wonderful." He said quietly with a smile.

'Is wonderful the right word?' He wondered.

Dara smiled shyly.
Chaerin and Minji were holding each others hand and giggling.
They heard Bom coughed.
"I think we better go now." She said, standing up from Dara's bed. "And I think you guys should too." She added looking at the two.

"Shall we go?" Dara asked Youngbae who was still staring at her.

"Yoohoo, Youngbae-ah?" Waving her hands in front of him.

He blinked and looked away.

"Oh-yeah-sure." He said quickly with a laugh.


At the restaurant....

Youngbae was sitting beside Dara with his arm around her shoulder.
It made her feel extremely weird that they have to be a lovey-dovey couple in front of Yuri.
Youngbae just acted cool and kept pulling her closer to him.

"No! This can't be true." Yuri wailed in front of the two. She hung her head down and started crying.

Youngbae glanced at Dara who was using her eyes to talk. She was urging him to do something.
He blinked and removed his arm around her neck.
He was about to reached for Yuri's hands that were on the table when he heard Dara cleared .
Loud enough for his gaze to fly back to her.
She was shaking her head, signaling him to refrain from holding Yuri's hands.
His brow furrowed not knowing what she wants him to do. But just like an obedient boyfriend, he followed.
Oblivious to what the two were secretly discussing using their eyes, Yuri kept sobbing.

"I'm really sorry Yuri-ah, but I wasn't expecting this. Honest." Youngbae softly said to her.

Tears were still flowing from Yuri's eyes when she looked at them.

Seeing the pain in her eyes, Dara felt sorry for her.
'Aigoo Yuri-sshi, please forgive me for this.' She thought.

"How did it happen Dara-sshi?" Yuri asked, sniffling. "I thought you said you only see him as a friend... a brother... a family member. You said you'll never fall for someone like him. Not in this lifetime."

'Oh yeah... I did, didn't I?' She wondered. She recalled the time when Yuri cornered her and confronted her about Youngbae.

Hearing what Yuri just said, Youngbae quickly turned to Dara and raised an eyebrow.
He gave her a 'Did you really say that?' look.
In which Dara replied a 'Hehe' look.
His small eyes turned into slits.

"Dara-sshi," Yuri sobbed.

Their staring battle was cut short.

"I can't believe this. How can you fall for him? He's your best friend." Yuri continued sniffling.

Dara froze in her seat. She felt like she had committed a sin.
She didn't actually prepare herself for the question and answer portion with Yuri.
Deep inside, she wants to strangle Youngbae for getting her into this mess.

Youngbae nudged her leg with his. She took a deep breathe trying to compose herself.

"Uhm.. Yuri-sshi. I'm really sorry." She carefully said. "But believe me; I never wanted this to happen."

Yuri cried even harder, hiding her face with her hands. Dara started to panic but Youngbae just signaled her to continue talking.

"Who knew that I would fall for a guy like him?" She began saying out of the blue. "I mean, Dong Youngbae? Pshhh... I'm sure I'm not the only girl on his list. But hey, I'm stupid. I still like him and I think that is all that matters."

She suddenly felt a light kick under the table. Dara glared at Youngbae who was mouthing "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dara with eyes widened mouthed back "I have no idea."

Yuri suddenly stopped crying.

"I thought you're different Dara-sshi." She said wiping her tears with the handkerchief Youngbae handed to her. "You know you'll suffer too, just like me and the other girls he dated." She added.

Youngbae's creased his forehead after hearing what Yuri had just said.
Dara wanted to laugh but she restrained herself.

"Yuri-ah, I'm really sorry for hurting you. But you knew from the start that I'm this kind of guy, right?" He reminded her. "You don't have to say that to Dara. You know that she's important to me and I won't do anything to hurt her. I'm willing to change just for her."

Listening to his words, Dara couldn't help but take a glimpse of her best friend.
'Way to go, playboy!' She thought.
To Dara's surprise he suddenly glanced at her, flashing a cunning smile.
She felt herself blushed so she immediately looked away.

"Do you love her, oppa?"

Both were alarmed with her question.

"Dara-sshi, do you love oppa?"

'Dong Youngbae, you are so dead after this!' Dara thought.

Nobody answered. The word love is something they weren't able to tackle. It wasn't even in their script.

"If you tell me you love each other then I'll be glad to give up my feelings for you, oppa." Yuri said looking intently at Youngbae.
"As much as I want to believe you, I really can't digest this. I mean, you are Dong Youngbae!!! Falling in love was never in your list." She managed to smirk but the bitterness was there.

“I love her, Yuri. What else do you want to hear?" Youngbae suddenly blurted as he stared straight into her eyes.
He doesn't know why he said that but Yuri's words had an impact on him.
He can feel his face heating up.

Dara glanced at his best friend. She knows how difficult it was for him to say that.
Youngbae never said those words to any of the girls he dated and that include Yuri.
At that time, he had no choice. Now she realized how badly he wants to get rid of her.

She saw the tears in Yuri's eyes glittered. She then knew that Yuri got the message.
But to make sure that she really did get the message, Dara prepared herself.

"M-m-me too... I.. I-love him." She suddenly said. "And I always did."

She felt Youngbae's eyes on her. She turned to him and gave him a faint smile.

Yuri saw how the two gazed at each other. If her eyes weren't betraying her, the view was enough for her to stop asking for signs.

"Okay then, it's settled." She said wiping her tears as she quickly stood up.

Before making a step, she turned to face Youngbae who was like in some sort of trance.

"Oppa, I always knew you had issues with your feelings for her. Now that I've confirmed everything, I wish you two well." Her gaze went to Dara.
"Dara-sshi, forgive me for being a mean-spirited lady to you before. That is just me being jealous. I knew then that I have reasons to get jealous of you."

She bowed and hurriedly left the restaurant, leaving the two in an awkward atmosphere.
The play was a huge success but their thoughts were severely rattled.

=End of FLASHBACK=


**********

The restaurant host turned to face the customers who had just arrived.
His eyes lit up when he recognized their long time customer, Dong Youngbae.
He gave him a welcoming smile and greeted him politely.
He noticed that he was not alone.
An unfamiliar woman was beside him, clinging on to his arm.

"Table for two." Youngbae said, noticing the puzzled expression on the young man's face.

"Right this way, please."

Yuri's eyes wandered around the restaurant.
It was Youngbae who suggested the place and it's going to be her first time dining there.
The restaurant was slightly crowded but she noticed that there is a particular area that is not.
She couldn't help but gaze at the people who were sitting on that side.

Youngbae felt her sudden grip on his arm. He annoyingly turned to her. "Why?"
He saw her gazing somewhere but he didn't care enough to check.

"Can we sit over there?" She asked the host, pointing to the table near the people she was eyeing earlier.

Youngbae turned to the host who looked uneasy all of a sudden.

"Is that area reserved?" Youngbae asked.

He reluctantly shook his head.

"Good! We'll dine there then." Yuri said.

"Ah.. S-sure, madam." The host escorted them.

While walking, Youngbae felt the presence of people who were settled near their table.
He can hear them laughing while talking from a distance.
He suddenly stopped on his tracks making Yuri, who is behind him halt as well.
Their laughs and their voices were familiar to him

Seunghyun and Dara were done eating. The two sat for a while to talk about the adventures they had that day.
"Aigoo, I still can't believe you made me wear that couple shirt and the bunny headband." Dara said covering her face while laughing.

"Well you made me wear that reindeer headband too." Seunghyun chuckled.

"But it did look good on you, though."

"You mean cute, right?" He corrected her while winking.

"Crazy!" She grimaced.

They both laughed.
While laughing Dara's eyes shifted behind him.
Seunghyun saw how her expression quickly changed.

"Dara-sshi?" He heard someone called.

He turned his head to see who it was.
Youngbae and Yuri were walking towards their table.

"Annyeonghaseyo!" Yuri greeted them with a wide smile.

She was standing beside Youngbae, still holding onto his arm.

Seunghyun could sense the tension erupting.

Dara quickly forced a smile. "Oh, Y-yuri-shhi." She replied with a slight bow then she made a quick glance at Youngbae.

Before Youngbae could open his mouth, Seunghyun stood up from his seat and greeted Yuri politely.

"What a pleasant surprise. You're here for dinner too?" Yuri asked.

Dara didn't answer. She couldn't ignore the sight of Yuri's hand holding Youngbae's arm.

"Actually we're about to leave." Seunghyun broke the silence, glancing at Dara.

Yuri pretended to be disappointed. "Awww too bad. Maybe next time the four of us can have dinner together."

"Yeah. Maybe nest time." Seunghyun repeated, shifting his gaze from Dara to Youngbae.

"Yah, Youngbae-ah!" He called his attention.

Youngbae broke his stare at Dara and turned to Seunghyun.

"So this is why you can't come with us?"

Youngbae gave him a puzzled look.

"You could have told us, man. We would understand." Seunghyun teased, then he turned to Dara. "Right, Dara?"

"N-ne." She replied quietly.

"Oppa is really hard to invite these days. He's always busy." Yuri said. "I'm glad he agreed to take me out tonight."

Seunghyun chuckled. "You said it. I thought he was hiding from us." He joked.

Yuri was the only one laughing.

Dara suddenly checked her watch. "Hate to cut the chat short but it's getting kind of late. We have to go." She said looking at Seunghyun.

"Late?" Youngbae suddenly spoke. "You're going somewhere? Don't you want to join us even just for dessert?"

Seunghyun and Yuri glanced at each other, confused.

"I'm sure Yuri wouldn't mind. Right, Yuri-ah?" He said without looking at Yuri.

Yuri was dumbfounded.
'Dessert?' She thought. 'He knows I haven't had dinner yet!'

"Oh..." She uttered.

This isn't exactly what she had in mind. The disappointment in her face was visible to Dara.

Dara took a deep breath and met with Youngbae's eyes.
"Maybe next time, Youngbae-ah." She suggested with a fake smile.

"Enjoy your meal with Yuri-sshi. It seems like she's looking forward to this." She said as she stood up and excused herself.

"We'll be going now." Seunghyun said when Dara went to his side. "See you around, Yuri-sshi."
The two bid goodbye and went on their way.

Like an instinct, Youngbae's feet were about to follow were the two were heading.
He can sense that Dara misunderstood something. He wanted to explain.
He wanted to tell her that he was just forced by Yuri and that he has no intentions of going out with her or whatsoever.
After a couple of steps he felt a hand grabbed his arm tightly.

"Where do you think you're going, oppa?"

Youngbae sighed and turned to Yuri.

"I'm sorry Yuri; I'm not feeling well tonight." He said apologetically. "Let's do this next time."

"I'm not that dense, you know." She snapped. "Do you really think I'm unaware that you don't want to go out with me?"

Yuri couldn't contain her disappointment. She let go of his arm and crossed her arms in front of her.
Youngbae lowered his gaze.
He didn't really want to act rude but his emotion is taking over. He feels sorry for Yuri.

"Yuri-ah---"

"Let's compromise." She interrupted.

"Huh? Compromise?" Youngbae said creasing his forehead. "What do you mean compromise?"

"Let's just continue the dinner date." She said. “And I promise you that this will be the last. I won't bother you again."