(A/N): I am sooooo sorry for the super duper late upload!! I decided to finish major school works (especially our thesis) before updating. Now I am officially done with all that , I'll be updating as much as I can, especially this Christmas break. I am really sorryyyy!! Thank you to this fic's faithful readers. You are all truly appreciated. You are all awesome. I will really really really do my best to update asap from now on :3

Anyway, it's been sooo long since I last updated so here's the summary for the last few chappies and whatever you need to remember:

Jiyong and Dara are neighbors. After a long time of denial, Jiyong finally accepted his feelings towards Dara. The rest of the group namely Joohyun, Bom, Seungri (Daesung knew from the start) was beginning to notice the closeness between the two especially Joohyun. Dara, being the class representative and all, has been very busy with the school's upcoming festival. Dara also has a necklace with a D pendant which Jiyong is quite curious about but never had the chance to ask. Recently, Jiyong and the rest of the school soccer team had a match with Kwang Soo High (an all-boys school which Seungri used to study at and the brother school of Bae Hwa High, an all-girls school where Dara, Joohyun and Bom used to study at). Jiyong and his team won and the gang decided to have a victory party at karaoke. But before that Jiyong overheard two Kwang Soo High students talking about Dara and something about someone (Jiyong assumed it was her ex) being sad that they thought she already has a boyfriend which left Jiyong shocked at the revelation of Dara having an ex bf. Finally, at the last chapter, Joohyun confronted Jiyong and said she doesn't him for her because she's afraid she'll only hurt her feelings just as her ex did but Jiyong said he understood her point of view but will not give Dara up. In the process, he realizes that Dara was a victim too, just like him. When he was running away from Joohyun, he bumps into someone then suddenly Dara appears revealing that Dara and the guy knew each other. Before Jiyong knew it, his fist collided with the guy's face.

And so, that's where the story begins in this chapter. Forgive me for the spelling/grammar and whatnot errors cause I didn't have time to check em for I was in a hurry to update :P maybe some other time. Hahaha. And also, bear with me if this chapter would seem a bit rush. I have my reasons. Hehe. Thanks, y'all <3

***

"I don't know," I said gritting my teeth and feeling irritable as I answered Daesung's question as to why I did what I did.

It turned out that the mohawk guy was named Dong Youngbae or Taeyang as they (Dara, Joohyun, Bom and Seungri) preferred to call him. He was a friend of theirs. That’s right, just a friend. Not an ex or whatever.

Apparently, I punched their friend for no reason at all. I just thought he was Dara’s ex-boyfriend Joohyun was talking about.

Obviously Dara, who witnessed the scene, was shocked. She immediately rushed to him and asked if he was alright. I don't know what would've happened if Dara didn't appear when she did, and Joohyun as well.

Joohyun appeared a few seconds later and tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Surprisingly, she understood what happened and explained to Taeyang (and Dara who had a look of confusion on her face) that I was letting off some steam due to personal reasons. Thankfully, he bought it. When I apologized, he responded with a grin, "That was some punch."

He seemed like a good guy and it annoyed me more because I felt guiltier than ever.

Joohyun gave me a look that said, ”You owe me”  before turning to Dara and Taeyang.

That was almost an hour ago. Now, Daesung and I were waiting for the four of them as they "catch up" for a little while.

I rolled my eyes at how my victory party turned into a reunion. Daesung patted me on my shoulder that was meant to be a comfort but it earned him a glare from me instead in which he just grinned in reply.

"What's taking them so long?" I asked impatiently.

As if on cue, I saw them finally emerging from a booth with a extra cheerful Dara on the lead.

"I'm sorry you had to wait for so long!" she said when she finally reached us.

"Whatever," I muttered and began walking to the exit.

When we got there, the others said good bye while Daesung offered Dara and I a ride to our apartment. It was only a less than a 10 minute ride. When we got inside the elevator, Dara suddenly exclaimed, "I almost forgot!" before rummaging through her bag.

I looked at her curiously. She didn't find what she was looking for until we walked out of the elevator.

"Here," she said, handing me a small box.

I stared at it. "For me?" She nodded. "What for?"

"Didn't I tell you I'd get you something?" She said simply. "So here it is." I made no move to take it so she continued, "Come on, Jiyong. Take it. I didn't put anything deadly in there." She smiled at me.

Deadly? It echoed inside my head. My thoughts were nowhere near that absurd. It was just that it was my first time receiving a gift when it isn't even my birthday or whatever special occasion. I slowly reached my hand out for it.

"I hope you'll like it," she said in a hopeful voice when I held it. "Open it!" she demanded excitedly.

I lifted the lid of the box to see a blue cell phone strap, with a small "Ji" written at the center, and a metal soccer ball attached to it.

"I'm sorry if it isn't well done. It’s a rushed work. I would’ve sewed Jiyong but only had time to sew Ji," she shyly said with a nervous laugh.

My eyes widened. "You made this?" I asked, dangling it in front of my face.

She nodded. "I just thought that, instead of buying something, I'd rather make it since it'd be more meaningful that way, don't you think? But I did buy the soccer ball." She let out a small laugh.

I could feel my heart pounding hard. Only she had the power to make my heart do that. But, why? Why would she go all through all the trouble to make such a thing for me when she already has a lot on her hands?

"You don't like it?" she asked when I didn't say anything.

I shook my head vigorously. "I do. Thank you," then added slowly, “I'm very happy."

She heaved a sigh of relief before saying with a sweet smile, "I'm glad!"

I feel myself blush. I've got to stop this blushing and stuff. It wasn't me at all. But then again, it wasn't something I can control. Finally, we said our good nights.

---

When Monday came, l was surprised to see a message from Dara. I checked what time it was. It read 6:03am. I smiled at the sight of the cellphone strap before reading the text.

The message said,
"Good morning, Jiyong~ I'm sorry but I already went ahead ㅠㅠ I had to be in school very early for preparations of the Sports Festival! I'll see you later! Byong~ ^^"

"Sports festival..." I read out loud.

It was that time again.

The sports festival was considered one of the school events' students look forward to. It's about four teams competing with each other; red, blue, yellow and green. The members of each team was mixed amongst the whole student body and decided randomly. Each team gets to decide which students will represent them in games such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, swimming, badminton, cheering, and archery. Athletes have to join other sports so it would be fair.

There was a sports festival last year as well. But I didn't participate. I had no reason to. The teams were posted on the bulletin board this year. Bom and I were in red team, Seungri was in green team, and the rest (Dara, Joohyun and Daesung) were in blue team. Being informed about the teams made me less interested in participating. We were informed that each team will be having a meeting after the last class. I decided not to attend and stayed in the classroom instead.

Later though, I could hear Joohyun cursing angrily in the hallway.

"That ! I am so pissed off right now!"

"Calm down, Joohyun," I heard Daesung say softly.

Their steps became louder. Finally, they entered the room. I watched them curiously as they walked towards me with a scowl on Joohyun's face, while Daesung had an expression of confusion on. 

"You really need to go on an anger management therapy," I suggested.

Joohyun glared at me. "I don't want to hear that from you."

I smirked. It was true. I shouldn't be the one saying that to her. "Fair enough," I admitted in a whisper.

Daesung rolled his eyes and mouthed, "You are not helping."

I shrugged in response.

She continued glaring at me and folded her arms across her chest while saying, "I'm sure even you will get pissed when you hear about what happened."

I raised a brow. I was curious now.

"That InNa. She placed Dara in the relay."

InNa must be their team leader, I assumed. The idea of Dara in the relay was a surprise because of her athletic capabilities, if Dara even had some, but I found Joohyun exaggerating with her reaction. "And this angers you because?"

She turned her head towards me in exasperation. "You don't know?"

It was more of a statement than a question.

When she didn’t get a response from me or Daesung, she began, "Dara fractured her leg. It's okay now but it's very fragile... She can't run. Heck, she can't even walk for more than 10 minutes straight without getting tired and her leg hurting. What more in a relay?" She really sounded worried. 

It was the first time I’ve heard of it. It was the same for Daesung, I could tell. It was only then that everything was starting to make sense. It's no wonder she couldn't run from those guys that night, I recalled when the first time I saved her. And also during the times when she tries to catch up to me then in just a matter of minutes, she’d be breathing heavily. I've always thought she was just a slow runner.

"What did Dara say?"

I already knew the answer to that question but I still had to ask.

"She agreed." It was Daesung who answered now. "Joohyun tried to protest but Dara stopped her and said it was oka."

Typical, my mind screamed. I sighed. It was Dara. She won't change her mind after making a decision. That's just how she is. Stubborn. And deep down, I know she'll be able to pull through whatever. She's strong.

Before anyone of us could say anything else, the room started to get filled by students. Team meetings must be over now.

Bom informed me that I was assigned to be in the track and field, specifically in the relay, by Seunghyun hyung (turned out he was our team leader). I intended to turn it down but I thought of Dara. Yes, I've said she's strong but that doesn't I'll leave her by herself.

That was how I decided to participate in this year's sports festival.

-----

The week passed by so quickly. It was already the first day of the Sports Festival. The first day activities were men’s basketball and badminton which will be starting after lunch. It was only 11:30am so everybody had pretty much a lot of time in their hands before the games.

Everyone was in their varsity uniforms and differentiated by the four team colors. I had my red shirt on. There were random stalls around, both food and for entertainment. It was pretty crowded because the school grounds were open for anybody so even students from other schools were allowed to watch and whatnot. I was roaming around to look for Dara and Seungri who were originally with me but we got separated somehow.

I was about to give up when I finally found them in front of a hotdog stall. They were looking through the menu. I snorted. It’s no surprise that they’d disappear for food. I started to walk towards them when something caught my eye.

It was a bunch of guys in their Kwang Soo High uniform. With their uniform, they stood out from the crowd and being from an all-boys school wasn’t helping them from standing out. Most girls’ eyes were on them but they didn’t mind -at least some of them. The group were going from one stall to another. They seemed to be having a good time. I immediately spotted Taeyang.

However, I froze in my tracks at the sight of the guy standing next to him. He was the only one not wearing uniform in the group.

He was somebody I could recognize anywhere. And the he was the last person I ever wanted to see.

I felt a surge of anger boiling inside of me.

What the is he doing here?

As if his presence wasn't enough, I noticed the necklace wrapped around his neck. It was the exact same necklace as Dara's. The letter D. Soon, my anger was replaced with confusion. I was confused more than ever now.

Why does he have that? I mentally asked myself.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard Seungri calling, "Dara?"

My eyes darted to her only to see the hotdog she just bought on the ground and her eyes widened at the direction I was looking at just seconds ago.

***

A/N: Dundundunduuuuun! Who is this guy? I think it's quite obvious already but how come Jiyong knows him? And he doesn't seem to be very fond of him.. Haha. To be continued :P see ya next chapter :) <3