Chapter 34

~*Dara’s POV*~

“Hey…”

...

“Hey!”

…

“YAH!” I suddenly feel a sharp pain in the middle of my forehead. “Park Sandara!”

“Aish!” I rub my forehead to soothe the stinging pain from Youngbae’s flick and glare at him, “Why’d you do that for?”

He points with his chopsticks at my untouched bowl of noodles in front of me, “You haven’t touched any of your food.”

“Oh…” I pick up my chopsticks and begin to pick at my food, hunger still hasn’t taken over me.

“Hey, what’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

An image of Jiyong’s face pops into my head in response to his question. I could still hear his words in my head… his grip around my wrist.

What was he going to say…?

“It’s nothing… just a bit tired.” I smile meekly at him before returning my attention to the food.

“C’mon. Really, what is it?” Youngbae persists knowing me too well for my own good as usual.

I take the time to chew and think of how to answer, “It’s…” I trail off regretting even opening my mouth to begin with.

“Jiyong?” I’m not shocked that Youngbae was able to finish my thoughts again and just nod.

He smiles and rests his hand over mine on the table, squeezing it reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Jiyong is a good guy… I’ve known him and been friends with him for so long. From what you’ve seen the past few days isn’t the usual Jiyong. Something has been eating him inside… something is making him act differently. But whatever the reason, it’s something big.” He smiles, “Just trust him.”

I nod but hold back the words that were screaming in my head. Why should I trust him when he didn’t trust me? Why would he think so poorly of me and jump to such conclusions? How can I believe in him when he didn’t? Why do I feel so much betrayal… more than from my own cousin? Why does he affect me so much?

“When you are ready and rested, you should hear him out. See what he has to say about all of this.” Youngbae’s words cut through my thoughts. I simply nod again at his suggestion. Hear him out…?

“Now,” He pulls back his hand leaving my hand feeling cold, “Finish eating. It’s already late and I’m not taking you home until you’re all done.” He smirks.

I look at him questioningly, “You’re taking me home?”

“Of course,” He focuses back on his food and smiles before taking another bite, “I am a gentleman.”

If this was a few days ago, I would’ve rolled my eyes, smiled at him, call him ‘Youngyang’ or ‘BaeTae’, maybe even be filled with joy at the thought of him taking me home. But I was too distracted. My mind was too busy wondering why, after everything that’s happened, I thought back to when Jiyong took me home… and missed it.

I don’t know why I decided to come so early this morning, after all practice wasn’t until later in the evening and I didn’t have any training. I stare up at the building that I’ll always recognize as the place that has changed my life. I couldn’t help but think of what is different since the first time I stepped foot here. I’m no longer a part-time dance teacher but now a YG trainee… I loved my younger cousin and saw her as a friend and a little sister but now we aren’t speaking… I greatly admired G-Dragon and never knew the person behind the name, now I know both but no longer know what to feel.

After Youngbae dropped me home last night I was sure of a few things. For one, I was angry. I was angry with Sohee for being so childish, lying, and acting that way that night… She said such hurtful things to me but I know it was just out of anger because she felt threatened by Jiyong and I being partners. At the same time, I shouldn’t have slapped her… My hand is still tingling from the feeling of my hand contacting her cheek… It felt horrible to hurt my family. But… how could she accuse me of such things?

I was also angry with Jiyong for not believing in me. I was angry with him for not hearing me out or giving me a chance. I was angry that I didn’t know why he would think of me in such a way so easily. I understand that everyone is on high alert due to the incident with the past backup dancer… but just like Youngbae, we’ve spent time with each other… we’ve danced with each other… and I’ve expressed to him my passion and dedication. Unlike the others, I’ve only ever spent time with them at practice… With Jiyong… we’ve gotten time to know each other… I thought we had a connection. Why couldn’t he see the truth?

So distracted by my thoughts, I fail to realize where my feet have been leading me. When I finally refocus, I see that I am now in front of the recording studio within the building.

Why am I here…? Panic begins to rise at the thought of running into Jiyong and I am about to run away but am stopped when I see him just a few feet away from me.

We both just stand there staring at each other, clearly surprised at how quickly we meet again after the incident. Not ready or prepared for the conversation we both wanted to have.

“Hey.” Jiyong finally speaks catching me by surprise at the simple greeting.

“Hi.” I manage to let out

Silence.

“You’re here for training?”

“Eh?” Training…? Does he…

“Youngbae told me.” He answers my thoughts

“Oh.” I nod wondering when it happened. “No, I just came early today.”

“I see.”

Silence again.

“Well, then. See you.”

Eh? He begins to make his way towards the door of the recording studio, no longer looking at me with a complete blank expression on his face. Why is he acting so polite…? Like we are complete strangers?

I am at a loss of words until I hear Youngbae’s voice in my head, ‘you should hear him out. See what he has to say about all of this.’

“Jiyong…” I call out just as he grabbed the handle of the door. He stops but continues to stare at the door in front of him.

“Yeah?”

“What happened…?” I didn’t know what was the best way to word my question. I wanted to know a lot of things about that entire situation but it seemed that ‘what happened’ was the best thing to ask. Judging from his silence, it seems he understood what I was asking too.

Finally, he speaks.

“Nothing.” The word leaves me hanging and unsatisfied, but thankfully he continues, “I misjudged your character and thought you were someone you aren’t. Sorry.”

My brows furrow at the simplicity of his explanation.

“Is that it?” I ask, dissatisfaction taking over my mouth and mind.

He turns his head to look at me, his face and eyes were blank and he nods, “Yeah.”

“What… what did I do to make you think that way about me? How could you believe that I would do such a thing?” My mouth rambled all the questions forming in my head. I no longer had a filter. My thoughts became my words because of my disbelief and confusion on why Jiyong made such a mistake. There must be something more.

“YG sajangnim told you my explanation right? Didn’t he tell you that Sohee is my cousin? Why would I do such a thing to my own family?”

“Is she really family?” He cuts me off with a glint of anger in his eyes.

“What? What are you saying?”

“Is she really family to you?” He repeats.

“Of course she is!” I respond, “Are you really questioning my feelings for my family? Are you saying my feelings aren’t true?” All the anger could be heard in my voice.

He stares at me again, studying my face with his eyes. He then sighs and shakes his head, “Nevermind. Prior to that night, I didn’t know she was your cousin. I wasn’t told that bit of information. Therefore, I made a wrong judgment. Sorry.”

What is this? Why is he being so brisk? There must be a better reason!

“Even without knowing she was my cousin, couldn’t you tell how dedicated I was? How my heart was in this for all the right reasons? I mean, we’ve danced and practiced with each other so many times couldn’t you—“

“What do you want from me?” He raises his voice. Silence spread through the hall once again, unsure of what it is that I wanted, until I let my heart speak.

“The truth.” I plead softly, and from there my mouth moved on its own “I want the truth Jiyong. I know there’s more to this… more that you aren’t telling me. We spent time with each, we got to know each other, we… I thought we made a connection… an understanding of each other.” I placed my hand on my beating chest as I felt blood quickly rush to my face. Saying such words to him made me so nervous, but I had to say it.

“I felt it… didn’t you?”

I didn’t know silence could ever be so loud, so much to the point that it was deafening. I waited and strained my ears to make sure I wouldn’t miss his answer.

“Don’t…” He starts. He bites his lips and squeezes his eyes shut, “Don’t be mistaken, Dara.” He opens his eyes again and turns to look at me with a serious expression.

“Don’t be mistaken that there was something more than something professional. We are dance partners but nothing more. That situation earlier… I saw it from a professional standpoint and made judgments based on the facts that were present before me. It’s true, I should have listened to your side of the story and I apologize for that… I also apologize if I gave you the wrong idea about us. As a current YG trainee, I am your sunbaenim, nothing more and nothing less. I am deeply sorry for any confusion I caused.”

Without another word, he disappears into the recording studio leaving me to think about how big of a fool I was to believe that we were anything more.

*BlueNote*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Woo~ an update! Hope you guys enjoy this one
Loving all the comments about stupid Jiyong. He is quite stupid
But don't worry, there's more to it! You will see!

Thank you again for all the comments and subscribers!
Thank you for being patient and understanding
I have 2 more exams in the next two weeks so almost free!
Love you all!

*If you are confused about layout/weird details that seem wrong+right at the same time, please read the story description!*