7 - Her Sacrifice

“Unnie, are you serious?” Kiko asked Dara in disbelief. Kiko knew by Dara’s expression that she was dead serious.

“Unnie…I can’t…you know that Jiyong and I don’t really get along…” Kiko’s voice trailed off as Dara gripped into her hands, squeezing it as if her life depended on it. Dara pulled her and led her to the fire exit of the school building.

“Kiko please…you have to do this for me…he almost found me out earlier. I can’t let him know that I am Red Lotus.” Dara pleaded.

“But unnie you’ve always been able to handle him when he teases you.” Kiko urged.

Dara looked away. She didn’t want to admit to Kiko that the reason why she was so scared to let Jiyong find out that she’s the Real Red Lotus is because she’s afraid to see him so disappointed…disappointed that the Red Lotus he’s been chatting all day and night is just the plain old nerd Dara.

“You know he’s going to take revenge on me. You know how much I hate him. It’ll be a lot better for me if he doesn’t know who I am. And besides, he knows that you like Seung Hyun very much so it’ll be easier for you to push him away because you can just tell him you like Seung Hyun. Please Kiko…please do this for me…please…” Dara looked into Kiko’s eyes, sincerity and desperation evident in her brown orbs.

Seung Hyun…Kiko gave out a heavy sigh. She knows what she’s getting in to the moment she says yes. Kiko thought long and hard. If she pretends as Red Lotus, Jiyong will be off Dara’s back; Seung Hyun will have more time to be with Dara and so maybe he’ll be able to confess his feelings for her; Dara will be happy; Seung Hyun will be happy…sacrificing herself is just the price to pay. If she can’t have the guy she loves…she’d want him to be happy even if he won’t be happy with her.

“Okay.” Kiko slowly nodded.

“I’ll pretend to be Red Lotus.” Kiko said softly. Dara jumped in glee and embraced Kiko.

“Thank you so much Kiko!!!” And so they started planning on how Jiyong will be able to catch Kiko as Red Lotus.

*****

“Hyung have you seen Dara?” Jiyong asked Seung Hyun in a panicky voice. He wanted to see Dara right away. He couldn’t be mistaken, he saw Red Lotus’ twitter profile on Dara’s iPad.

“How many times do I have to tell you to leave her alone?” Seung Hyun asked and looked at Jiyong with frustration in his eyes.

“You don’t understand. I need to talk to her.” Jiyong raised his voice.

“I don’t know where she is, she’s either at the lagoon or the library. I don’t know.” Seung Hyun turned his back on Jiyong and left him.

Jiyong chose to ignore Seung Hyun’s disappointed look and started running towards the lagoon of the school. He doesn’t know why but he can’t help but feel happy and excited with just the thought that Dara is Red Lotus. He can’t hide the excitement that he felt.

Although at first he imagined Red Lotus as a beautiful, feminine and shy girl but the thought of having Dara, the strong minded, cute and nerdy girl, as Red Lotus brought more excitement in him.

He couldn’t find Dara in the lagoon and so he headed for the library. It was his first time to enter the university library. He couldn’t even find his way in that he had to ask someone for directions. He started searching on the first floor of the library but Dara wasn’t there. So he proceeded to the second floor and started his search but to no avail, Dara wasn’t there as well.

After hours of looking at the library, Jiyong gave up.

“Darn it, why didn’t I just get her number from hyung?” Jiyong scratched his head and walked out of the library. He pulled out his phone and called Seung Hyun.

“Hyung, I need Dara’s number.” Jiyong placed his mobile phone against his left ear as he walked through the corridors of the university.

“I’m not in the position to give away her number. She’ll be hella mad at me if I gave out her number especially to you.” Seung Hyun spoke over the phone.

“This is important. I need to talk to her now.” Jiyong was getting frustrated.

“I’m sorry Jiyong but you’re on your own.” Seung Hyun ended the call.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!” Jiyong shouted as he raked his fingers through his hair. His voice heard across the corridor.

He couldn’t quite understand why he felt the need to talk to Dara immediately. All he knows is that he wants to see her. He needs to talk to her.

“Jiyong will you please shut it?” Dara’s voice emerged behind Jiyong. He stilled, his eyes shone as soon as he heard her voice. He turned around and looked at her, frozen in his spot. He looked at her and smiled widely. Dara as Red Lotus brings joy in him. He could imagine teasing her all day and night…her cute annoyed face solely because of him makes him chuckle.

He walked towards her and slowly ran his fingers through her hair, the corner of his lips twitching up as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I’ve found you out Red Lotus.” Jiyong smiled down at her. Dara froze, he could see that she was taken aback by his comment…her pupils dilating and her lips quivering.

“Are you high on something?” Dara asked with a comical expression on her face. Jiyong chuckled.

“Don’t deny it. You are Red Lotus. If you’re not Red Lotus why did you run away from me earlier?” Jiyong challenged her. Dara took a step away from him and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Dara shook her head. Just then, Jiyong’s phone beeped. Surprise evident on his face. The beep was a notification that Red Lotus sent him a tweet.

“It can’t be.” Jiyong shook his head. Dara stood there with a bored look on her face, squaring her shoulders.

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