Chapter 66

My mouth and throat were dry as I stared at the words on my computer screen with only one name burning into my mind: Kiko Mizuhara.

Did… did I hear correctly? Was that… a woman just now?

“Yoboseyo?” The female voice rings in my ears again as if answering my question.

Maybe I dialed the wrong number… that must be it. I tried to think positively, but deep down knew I was just fooling myself.

“Ah, yoboseyo. I’m sorry… I think I have the wrong number?” I meant to say as a statement but instead my voice betrayed me.

“Who is it that you’re looking for?”

“Um… G… Kwon Jiyong?” I answer, so frazzled that I wasn’t even sure of what name to use for my own boyfriend.

“Oh, no you have the right number. I’ll get him for you.” The woman says simply as my heart drops for the second time this morning. So it is the right number… but… she could be anyone! Maybe it’s his stylist in Japan!

But even in my head, I could hear how desperate I was getting for any answer but…

“Jiyong! Phone call for you.” Her voice sounds as if she pulled the receiver away from her face.

“Who is it, Kiko?” says a distant voice that I instantly recognized, even if he was several feet away from the phone. It was indeed Jiyong… and she was indeed…

Kiko.

At the sound of her name, I hung up and pushed my phone away.

Kiko… she’s there… she’s at Jiyong’s house… My eyes darted to the time on my computer to double check that it was early in the morning, as I last recalled. It’s 7 AM… why… why would she be there?.... Unless…

I brought my shaky hands up and ran them through hair. My breathing was erratic now and the shaking spread to my entire body, my mind filled with static that didn’t make sense.

“Don’t…. jump to conclusions, Dara…. Don’t.” I said to myself but even my voice was weak.

I brought my knees up to my chest, with my heels resting on the edge of the chair, and arms wrapped around my legs as an attempt to try to calm down. There could be several reasons why she’s there. Maybe she got drunk and Jiyong let her stay at his place? Or maybe she is a part of some sort of promotional work? Or…

But the more I thought about her, all the rumors of the two, and how very little I knew about her personally… the more sick I felt. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, but bitterness felt like it was filling my lungs instead, choking me.

I trust him. I trust him.

The ringing of my phone makes me jump and awaken from my trance. I stared at it for a while, before checking the caller ID. And just as anticipated, it was Jiyong.

I feel myself rip in two, one part of me wanting to pick up the phone and demand answers to my several accusing questions… the other not wanting to even hear his name let alone his voice for fear of what would become of me. As I continued to stare at my phone, I finally decide to go with the latter option and watch it until it was silent.

There was no point in speaking with him in this state of mind… we were already in a fight, and I didn’t even know if he was still angry from last night.

I took in a deep breath, closed my eyes, let myself drown out everything, and began to mentally prepare myself. Still a bit shaken from the series of unfortunate events that had occurred since last night, I took things step by step to sort them out.

First, I cannot jump to conclusions without facts. All that I am aware of is that Jiyong and Kiko are friends, so that is what I’m going to stick with until I speak with Jiyong himself… Until then, what I need to focus on now… is the upcoming filming for Gummy sunbaenim’s music video… and that’s what I’m going to do. This is the life I chose to live in… full of questionable articles, scandals, and uncertainties… and I’m just going to have to deal with it.

I repeated this step process in my mind and could feel my body and mind somewhat relax. Although my heart still pinched at the thought of Jiyong and Kiko, I was still able to get myself under control. I let out a long and heavy sigh, as if to expel the poisonous thoughts and fears from my body, and slowly opened my eyes.

The article’s words on the computer screen no longer burned my eyes, the constant ringing of my phone no longer sounded like alarms to my ears, and instead of distraught, I felt tired, but hopeful.

I glance back at the caller ID on my phone, just as the call ended and see instead that it was Bom who had tried to call. Feeling slightly relieved that it was her calling, I take my phone and gasp at how many missed calls there were: five from Jiyong and now two from Bom.

Just when I was going to dial her number, my phone comes alive again showing Bom’s name on my screen. I don’t hesitate to pick up.

“Yobose—“

“YAH! What took you so long to pick up, you PABO?!” Bom’s voice cracks through the phone making me wince at the high pitch of her voice. “Why haven’t you been picking up?”

“Sorry, Bommie-ah… I was… preoccupied with something.” I decide to word my almost breakdown. “What’s happening?” She doesn’t say anything and I can almost hear her contemplating on whether she should continue, allowing me to guess what the topic must be about.

“Jiyong called me in a panic… saying he couldn’t get a hold of you after you called him this morning…” She says clearly troubled. Hearing his name hurt a lot more than I expected it would.

“Oh, yeah. I just don’t feel like speaking with him right now…” I say honestly and trace my finger in a figure-8 motion on my desk.

“Did you… see the article then?” Bom hesitates a little.

“Mm…”

“Dara-yah…you know that it’s not true though right? Jiyong and Kiko are not like that, and I can vouch for it!” She said animatedly, but surprisingly her words do me no comfort. I guess it really had to come from Jiyong, but I was still not ready to speak with him just yet.

“I know, Bommie. I know.” I say and explain to her my horrible timing of reading the article and then finding out that she was there with him this morning, and possibly all-night too, “I already decided to not jump to conclusions, but I need some time to clear my mind. I’m just a bit taken aback, that’s all.”

“Aish… arrasso…” Bommie pouts and seems more frustrated than I was, “Take as much time as you need. I’ll tell that pabo to give you time to think.”

“N-No.” The word slips my mouth before I can stop it. “I’ll do it. I’ll tell him, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure? Well then… I’ll see you later today?”

“Mm.” I let out a little smile, “Thanks for checking up on me.”

“Anytime.”

I place down the phone and stare off into space before picking it back up again, opening a new message to Jiyong. For some reason, in this situation, it seemed like this was the best thing to do.

Bommie called. Sorry for calling you so early in the morning. But if you can, please don’t call me for the next few days. There’s a lot I need to think about and focus on, and I’m sure you do to. Let’s just think of this as a little break.

I read over the text a million times before pressing the send button. This is what I needed right now. Not Jiyong. Not Bommie. Not anyone else but just myself to think and reason. I will believe in my boyfriend… in time. But right now, there are more important things to be taken care of.

~*Jiyong’s POV*~

“!” I curse and throw my phone across the room in anger. Dara’s text burns into my eyes and mind. A break?! What is that supposed to mean?! I can’t call her or text her or anything? I run my hands through my hair in frustration, “Why is this happening to us, Dara-ah?”

“Jiyong…?” I turn to the door and see Kiko with a guilty look on her face. “I’m so sorry… about everything… If I had known those articles… I wouldn’t have—“

“Don’t be sorry.” I say with a sigh and walk towards her, motioning her to follow me back to the guest room, “I was the one who asked you to answer the phone and those articles… are just bull.”

“Is Dara mad? Is she worried?” Kiko asked with a frown, clearly bothered by the whole situation.

I shake my head and give a bitter smile, “She’s probably just mad at me about last night… She’s not one to jump to hasty conclusions. If anything, she should know how bad jumping to conclusions are from me.”

Kiko gives me a confused look but I shake my head, wanting to change the topic. “So, have you called him yet?”

Her eyes widen but she slowly shakes her head as she sits at the edge of the bed in the guest room. “I… don’t know how to tell him. Especially when we’ve broken up…”

I sigh and cross my arms over my chest, “You’re going to have to tell Brian. Are you planning to have this baby without the father?”

“I know… I know… It’s just nerve-racking… having a baby was never planned… what about his career… what about… mine?” Tears begin falling from her eyes again as she buries her face in her hands.

“It’s okay, Kiko…” I say with a sigh, my heart pulling for her as I place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Everything will be okay. Call him when you’re ready… and I’m sure he’ll be willing to listen.”

~*Dara’s POV*~

“Eh?!” I stare wide-eyed in shock at the person sitting in one of the empty chairs of the meeting room, “What are YOU doing here?”

“Me?” TOP points at himself before standing up from the seat, “What are YOU doing here?”

“I’m the actress of Gummy sunbaenim’s MV!”

“Well, I’m the actor!”

We both stare at each other with open mouths and wide eyes before eventually bursting out laughing.

“Omo… how did this happen! I didn’t know you did acting, TOP.” I took the seat beside him.

“Yeah, I’ve been practicing. I’ve actually featured in some small stuff like MV’s or commercials but nothing big. It was Director Lee that asked me to star in this MV, apparently he’s seen a lot of my stuff.” TOP says with a humble grin on his face. “Then what about you! I mean, I should’ve considered that you’d be picked, but how did you get this part?”

“The director from ‘Breathe’ and ‘I Need A Girl’ had referred me to Director Lee. So of course, I couldn’t back out.” I try to say without thinking too much about Jiyong.

“Ah, I see…” TOP nods but I spot him wanting to ask something, “Speaking of Jiyong… have you… talked to him lately?”

I smile and look down at my lap, pretending to flick something off my jeans, “So you’ve heard?”

“From Bom.” He replies guiltily, “Sorry, if I wasn’t supposed to know.”

I shake my head, “No, there’s nothing to hide. I mean, the article was shocking to say the least but everyone keeps telling me there’s nothing to worry about… So, there’s nothing to worry about!”

TOP remains silent before asking quietly, “Is that what you really think?”

I glance at him, surprised that he saw right through my act. But before I could say anything else, the door swings open revealing Gummy and a fairly chubby man with glasses and black spikey hair.

“Ah, you both are here. Good, so we won’t have to waste time.” Director Lee mutters while walking to an open seat. Both TOP and I stand up and greet both superiors before we all take a seat.

“Seunghyun.” Director Lee nods towards TOP before glancing at me, “And you must be the troublemaker of the company.”

My heart sinks a little at the comment but I manage to smile politely and bow my head once again, “Yes… I’m Park Sandara… please take care of me.”

Director Lee eyes me a little and lets out a small grunt before looking down at the pages before him. “Gummy-sshi, do you approve of the troublemaker being a part of your MV?”

I try not to blink as I look towards Gummy who had been staring at me since she entered the room. Her look was not friendly but not cold, as if she was just observing me.

“As a troublemaker, I don’t approve of course… But as an actress, I’d like to see what she’s got.” She says icy cold before turning back to the director. “Let’s go over all of this quickly so they can both prepare for tomorrow.”

“Understood. Well then…”

“Well. That was awkward.” TOP finally broke the silence. Director Lee and Gummy had already left, and it was just us left in the room.

“Yeah… sorry about that.” I let out a deep sigh. “I guess there’s just a lot I need to live up to now, especially for Gummy sunbaenim.” I nibble on the bottom of my lip as I try to remember everything that was said at this meeting. I look down at the pack of papers consisting of the rough outline of each scene for the MV and furrow my brows.

“You’ll be fine. Trust me. I’ve seen you act in both Jiyong’s and Youngbae’s MVs and you were great.” TOP says as he opens the door for me.

“I don’t know…” I sighed again and shook my head, “It’s going to be very different this time… I can just feel it.”

“Well…” TOP stops in front of me to grab my attention, “if you have time, we could run over the scenes tonight. That’s what I always do, anyways. Try to imagine how it’d go, how’d the director will want it. That way you aren’t caught by surprise tomorrow?” He says while sticking his hands in his pockets.

I stare up at him in awe at his offer, “R-Really? You’d do that with me?”

“Of course.” He says with a wide smile. “On one condition.”

I laugh and roll my eyes, “Of course, there’s always something. What do you want?”

“Treat me to dinner.”

“Seriously?” TOP sits down with a tray of food in front of him, in courtesy of YG’s cafeteria, “This is you treating me to a meal?”

“What?” I say with a mouth full of food and point at his tray. “It’s good stuff.”

“Yeah, but not what I was expecting…” He pouts and moves his food around with a spoon reminding me of a certain someone I had brought here before.

“Well maybe you guys should stop telling girls to treat you to meals. This is what you end up getting.” I say without looking up from your food.

“Guys?” TOP gives in as he takes a bite of his rice, “Who else has asked you to treat them? Jiyong?”

“Nope. Youngbae.” I reply and grin at him, “Please, do you really think Jiyong would ask me to treat him to dinner?”

TOP smirks and rolls his eyes, “Oh I forgot, he’s completely whipped when he’s in love. But then again, maybe that’s why he has a girlfriend and we don’t.”

“Who doesn’t have a girlfriend?” Youngbae suddenly sits next to TOP with his own tray of food.

“You and me.” TOP responds while giving Youngbae a pat on the shoulder, “Since we keep making girls treat us to meals.”

“Oh! So SHE brought you here too?!” Youngbae points his chopsticks at me accusingly, “Well at least I know you aren’t just stingy with me.”

“Yah! You’re calling ME stingy?” I gaped at him and looked at TOP for confirmation, which he agreed with immediately. “Aish! You two are horrible!”

“It’s like were made for each other,” TOP grins ear to ear and hangs his arm around Youngbae’s shoulder, “Right, Youngbae-ah?”

“Yeah right, hyung.” Youngbae tries to push his arm off but it doesn’t budge. The two of them spend the next few minutes discussing their compatibility if either one of them was a girl or who would they pick out of their friend’s to date as I watch in awe and amusement, wishing this carefree moment could last forever.

But of course, all good things come to an end sadly as I trek my way back home from practicing for several hours with TOP on tomorrow’s shoot. My nerves had only decreased a little, but the more I envisioned tomorrow the more I worried.

To top it all off, as soon I saw my apartment, instead of seeing it as a safe haven, I was just further reminded of the situation I was in with Jiyong and the fact that I hadn’t talked to him all day.

I wonder if there will be a rose here today… A tiny part inside of me hoped there would be. Maybe he still missed me, maybe he still wanted to do something small and corny for me. But by the time I reached the landing of my apartment, I knew I was just kidding myself.

There was no rose and no letter. But I was surprised to see a familiar figure standing in front of my apartment instead, with keys in hand ready to open my door.

And just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.

“…Sohee?”

*BlueNote*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I can't believe I have the nerve to show my face here with such a short update after MONTHS.
;_; I'm terribly sorry that I had left you all

To be very honest, I had lost motivation and inspiration
Once I knew how it was going to end, I couldn't bring myself to write well
As you can probably tell from this chapter, it's very quick/brief and may be a little rushed
I'm so sorry to all of you!

Because I can understand the pains of an unfinished story
I will try to finish LSR and not leave you guys hanging
It will probably end in less than 10 chapters to go.
So hopefully I can finish up and set you guys free!

I'm sorry again and hope you can forgive me?

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