- - - -  CONTINUATION OF CHAPTER 23 - Picture Perfect (Part 1)

 

= FLASHBACK =

Years ago...

 

"Go Youngbae oppa!"

 

"Go Daesung oppa!!"

 

Girls were cheering and screaming on the sidelines of the university’s outdoor basketball court.

 

"That was a great game, hyung." Daesung patted Youngbae's back as they headed to the bleachers.

 

Seungri was sitting in the bleachers and talking to some girls.

When he saw his friends coming over he whispered something to the girls.

The girls glanced at the two guys who were approaching.

They smiled at Youngbae and Daesung and left, giggling.

 

"Yah! Instead of pimping there, why don't you sweat with us?" Daesung said, passing the ball to him.

 

Seungri caught the ball and smirked.

 

"Dude, my body is for romance. Not bromance." He said throwing the ball back.

 

Daesung sneered at Seungri.

 

"So who is it this time?" Youngbae asked while taking out a towel from his gym bag.

 

"Since you're done with Eunbi-sshi and Jinae-sshi, which reminds me by the way, lemme commend you with Jinae-sshi. One week??!! “Seungri exclaimed with admiration.

 

Youngbae winked at him. "What can I say? I get bored easily."

 

Daesung shook his head in disbelief. "You really are the MAN!"

 

The boys laughed.

 

Seungri checked his cellphone. "Do you want to hook up with Sunye? I heard she's got this major crush on you."

 

"I'll pass. She's too dull for me." Youngbae declined. He sat beside him wiping his sweat.

 

"Can I have her then, hyung?" Daesung teasingly asked Youngbae.

 

"No." Seungri quickly replied. "I have someone for you. Her name is Suzy."

 

Daesung's eyes widened. "Oh, okay. So when do I get to meet her?"

 

"On my next party." Seungri said with a sly smile. "Friday night."

 

"Alright!" Daesung and Seungri high-fived while Youngbae chuckled.

 

"Yah! You better find me a girl or---" Youngbae's voice trailed off.

 

A girl passing by caught their attention.

Their eyes followed her to wherever she was heading.

They watched her sat on a bench near the court and pulled out a book from her bag.

She elegantly crossed her legs as she opens her book.

 

"Park Sandara." Seungri sighed dreamily, putting a hand on his left chest.

 

"You know her?" Daesung asked.

 

Seungri stared at him in disbelief, then he nudged Youngbae.

 

"This guy doesn't know who Park Sandara is." He snickered, pointing his thumb up at Daesung, who was standing by his side.

 

Youngbae stared at him expressionless.

 

The smirk on Seungri's face was totally wiped out when he realized that he doesn't know her too.

 

"Park Sandara....Park Dara for short.. Daughter of Park Sun Young , owner of PARKSan Restaurant." Seungri told them. Then he turned to face Youngbae.

 

"Hyung, you even called her gorgeous, remember? At the cafeteria? Weeks ago?"

 

Youngbae glanced back to where the girl is.

 

"So that's her name." He whispered.

 

"Yah! You can't blame us. We just started college three months ago." Daesung reasoned out. "How can we know all the pretty girls here in the university?"

 

"Hyung, she's not just a pretty girl." Seungri rolled her eyes. "She is from an elite blood lineage. Like us."

 

"I heard about Park Sun Young's daughter, but I never thought that she was this beautiful." Daesung said gazing to the girl who was sipping her cup of coffee while reading a book.

 

He looked at Seungri and smiled. "Can you hook me up with her instead?"

 

"In your dreams, hyung." Seungri chuckled.

 

"Why?"

 

"She's a hard fish to catch."

 

"Meaning?" Youngbae asked, still not taking his gaze off the girl.

 

"Let's just say that she's not the type of girl that we usually date."

 

Youngbae turned to him and cocked an eyebrow. "Your point?"

 

"Hyung, she's conservative. She may look hot and goddess-like but she has a mind of an ajhumma." He said.

 

"For all we know, she could still be a ." He added.

 

Youngbae whacked Seungri's head with a towel.

 

"How the hell do you know that? Do you know her personally? Have you talked to her?"

 

"Uh. No." He answered while scratching his head.

 

"Let me guess." Youngbae studied his friend. "You had her investigated." He concluded.

 

Seungri smirked. "No, hyung. I got the information with no effort." He proudly said.

 

"Is that the only information you have? Pshhh.. And to think you're the most sociable among us."

 

Daesung chuckled at Youngbae's remark. He ruffled Seungri's hair.

 

"Tsk tsk tsk. Seems like our maknae is losing his touch." He teased.

 

"I'm not finish yet!" Seungri said, slapping his hand. "There's more."

 

He straightened himself up.

 

"She's the same age as you," He said, turning his head to Youngbae. "Maybe a couple of months younger. She's also taking up Business Management, like us. She hangs out with her best friend named Park Bom, who is in the Veterinary Medicine department, and this guy... what's this weird guy's name again... " He paused to think. "Oh yeah, Jiyong, Kwon Jiyong. I think he's also in one of our classes."

 

"The flower boy?" Daesung asked in disbelief. "The guy with the weird sense of fashion?"

 

Seungri nods his head in reply.

 

"Um, where did you get this information?" Youngbae asked.

 

"Ahh.. That, hehe." Seungri proudly smiled at himself. "Remember my cousins birthday party that was held in a club two weeks ago? I invited you guys but you didn't show up. Well, Dara-sshi and her friends happened to be there. That's where I met one of her close friend, Lee Chaerin. She wa--"

 

"Hold it!" Youngbae interrupted. "You said she's a CONSERVATIVE girl with an AJHUMMA mind."

 

Seungri slowly nods his head, wondering if he said something wrong.

 

"Have you ever seen an ajhumma type hanging out in clubs, Seungri-ah???!!!"

 

"Uh... " Seungri uttered, looking around. "No, but from the way Chaerin-sshi described her friend --."

 

"Aishhh!!!" Youngbae hissed as he raised his hand in front of Seungri's face, telling him to shut up.

 

"Is Lee Chaerin-sshi studying here too?" Daesung curiously asked, he sat beside Seungri. "I bet she's as pretty as Park Sandara-sshi."

 

Seungri wrinkled his nose. "Are you kidding me? She's fierce, man! Hot, but fierce. Lucky she's not here in this university yet. Thank God! But she will be next year. Most of the time she visits Dara-sshi and Park Bom-sshi here. I'm guessing Dara-sshi is waiting for her friends right now." He narrated.

 

Daesung stared at him in amazement. Even Youngbae couldn't believe how detailed Seungri was.

 

"For the first time Seungri-ah, I'm speechless." Daesung chuckled. "Do you take down notes when you mingle with girls? Or did you just have a blast with this Lee Chaerin?"

 

"Lee Chaerin??! Hell no! Like I've said, she's a fierce one and you don't wanna mess with her." He glanced to where the girl was sitting.

 

"I was actually eyeing Dara-sshi that night." He clicked his tongue. "But after chatting with Chaerin-sshi, I changed my mind. Park Dara and , don't match."

 

After saying his piece, he looked at Youngbae seriously. "Why are you so interested about her anyway?"

 

A smile crept on Youngbae's face.

 

Daesung eyes widened. "Nooo. Don't tell us--."

 

"Shut up!" Youngbae hissed at him.

 

"I don't think you should go for her, hyung." Seungri said shaking his head. "She's the serious type. You know -- the scary ones. No matter how gorgeous she looks like, she will definitely wear you off."

 

"Who says I want her for a girlfriend?" He innocently asked.

 

"I'm just saying - -" Seungri blurted.

 

"Remember the girl I was telling you about?" He asked his friends while looking at the girl's direction.

 

"What girl? You talk about a gazillion of girls everyday." Seungri asked.

 

Youngbae shot him a glare and whacked his head again. "Babo! The girl who I used when I was breaking up with Eunbi."

 

"Ohhhhh..." His two friends said at the same time.

 

"That's her."

 

"Ahhhhh..."

 

He glared at them.

 

They were interrupted by a bunch of screaming girls running towards them.

 

"Oppa, oppa." They called and handed bottled water to each of them.

 

"Drink this, oppa." One girl said to Youngbae. "You were incredible during the game, oppa."

 

Daesung and Seungri had their share of fan girls too.

 

Youngbae glanced back at the girl who was sitting on the bench.

 

He took another bottle of water from the girl who gave him one.

 

"Can I have this too?" He asked her, giving her his sweetest smile.

 

She smiled widely and nods her head non-stop. "Yes oppa, yes."

 

"Kamsahamnida." He said patting her head.

 

The girl shrieked with delight.

 

Seungri and Daesung saw their friend leaving the scene and followed him with their eyes.

 

 

**********

 

 

Dara was reading her book peacefully when she noticed a dark shade hovering over her.

She looked up from her book and saw a guy standing in front of her smiling.

 

"Hi." He said.

 

"H-hi." She hesitantly replied.

 

He offered her bottled water which surprised her.

 

"No, thanks." She politely declined.

 

She grabbed her things and stood up.

 

"It's not poisoned." He said, still offering her the bottle.

 

"I'm not thirsty, thanks." She was about to leave when he blocked her way.

 

He opened the bottled water and sipped on it.

 

"See, it's not poisoned." He winked at her.

 

"Eh?" Dara cocked an eyebrow at him.

 

He reached for her hand and placed the other bottled water he was holding into her hand.

 

"Take it or I'll follow you wherever you go."

 

"Huh?!" She frowned. "Excuse me, but--"

 

He chuckled. "I'm sorry; I was a bit strong there."

 

He smiled warmly and offered a handshake.

 

"Dong Youngbae-imnida."

 

She just looked at him weirdly and accepted his hand.

 

"Ah ye, P-park Dara-imnida."

 

Moments of silence.

 

"So you're reading that too." He asked eyeing the book she was holding.

 

"Uh... this?" Dara asked, holding the book up.

 

She gave him an awkward smile and nodded her head.

 

"I have one too. As a matter of fact, I'm done reading it. Do you want me to tell you the whole story instead?" Youngbae asked with a grin.

 

"No!" She quickly answered with her eyes widened.

 

"Hey, I'm just kidding." Youngbae chuckled at her cute expression.

 

She felt her face getting hot.

 

A group of girls passed by looking at them. Dara noticed that they were whispering while looking at her.

 

"Uhm.. Youngbae-sshi--"

 

"Drop the formality, please." He said with a smile. "Call me Youngbae."

 

Dara blushed.

 

"Y-Youngbae, I-I think I should go now." She was about to walk away but again, he blocked her way.

 

"By any chance...” Youngbae said while tilting his head.

 

He was trying to get her to look at him. She's looking at the ground most of the time.

 

"Do you happen to remember me?"

 

"Ne," Dara nods her head still not looking at him.

 

"Oh," He uttered while scratching the back of his head.

 

"Sorry about last time." He apologized and bowed. "I must have shocked you."

 

She slowly looked up and stared at him.

 

Dara actually knew who Youngbae was.

The day that she stepped into the university, she already heard so much about him.

A lot of girls were eyeing him and Dara never understood why.

According to her friends, Chaerin and Bom, he is one of famous playboy in the university.

She was also informed about his best friends, Kang Daesung and Lee Seungri.

Three rich playboys with prominent family background.

 

Knowing that, she vowed never to get involve with him or with any of his friends.

It was never an issue actually since she only hangs out with her best friends and her newly found friend, Kwon Jiyong.

She was pissed when she first encountered Youngbae, but for an unknown reason, her feeling suddenly changed after talking to him.

 

'At least he had the decency to apologize.' She thought.

 

"So..." Youngbae cuts her thought. "Am I forgiven?"

 

She looked at him and smiles a little. "Well yeah, I think so."

 

Next thing the two knew, Daesung and Seungri had already joined them.

They formally introduced themselves to Dara.

Seungri didn't waste time in telling her that he already met her friend, Lee Chaerin.

 

"So it was you." She gasped.

 

"At your service, Lee Seungri-imnida." He winked and reached for her hand.

 

He was about to kiss the back of Dara's hand, but Youngbae and Daesung quickly removed her hand from him.

 

She was surprised. The scene was too funny for her so she gave out a chuckle.

 

"Yes, I remember that she was talking to someone in the club. But unfortunately, I didn't get a clear view of who it was." She said. "Even Chaerin couldn't remember who you were because she was so wasted that night."

 

They all laugh except for Seungri who felt like crawling inside a hole.

 

"Aigoo, our Seungri here really needs some pointers on how to make a lasting impression." Daesung joked.

 

They continued laughing.

 

Dara couldn't believe that she was enjoying their company.

But she had to remind herself that these guys she's talking to are the notorious playboys of their university.

 

A cellphone ringing interrupted their conversation.

 

"Uhm, I gotta go now." Dara said after answering her phone. "It was nice meeting you." She bowed politely to the guys.

 

"Hey hey hey." Seungri suddenly said waving his two hands. "Drop the formality, please."

 

Dara laughed.

 

"Alright, Seungri-ah." She said with ease. "Annyeong."

 

She waved at Daesung and Youngbae. "See you around."

 

"Take care, Dara."

 

They watched her run towards the parking lot.

 

Seungri wrapped his arm around Youngbae, grinning.

 

"Take care, Dara?" He repeated with a hint of tease in his voice. "You like her don't you, hyung?"

 

"Babo!" Youngbae said pounding Seungri's chest. "I just want to make friends with her. Is there any problem with that?"

 

"Yeah, right." Daesung retorted.

 

He smiled widely to Youngbae while waving his cellphone.

 

"What's that?"

 

Daesung showed him a picture of him and Dara face to face with smiles on their faces.

 

It was taken while they were discussing something. That was before his two friends showed up.

 

"Yah! Why do you have to take a picture of us?!! Delete that!" He said snatching the cellphone from him.

 

Seungri and Daesung were laughing seeing their friend's reaction.

 

They suddenly stopped when they saw him transferring the picture to his cellphone.

 

"Ah hyung," Seungri said, raising an eyebrow. "What did you just do?"

 

Youngbae showed them the copy in Daesung's cellphone and pressed the delete option.

 

"Deleting." He gave them a mysterious smile.

 

"What about yours?" Daesung asked.

 

"This?" Youngbae showed his cellphone screen that now has the picture displayed on it. "It might come in handy."

 

He winked at his friends and walked back to the bleachers.

 

== END of FLASHBACK ==