Chapter One: Love is Over


"Why?" She asked him, her voice almost soft as the wind gently blowing in her face. She was just inches away from him, away from the boy who has always made her heart beat like crazy. At that moment, however, she felt as if her heart had stopped beating.


"Why did you say that?" She asked once again, this time, more firmly. The boy just stood quiet, seemingly ignoring her question. She hesitantly reached for his shoulder but when she did, she felt him shrug his shoulder a bit, as if he didn't want her to touch him.


Why, jagiya? Why are you suddenly like this? What did I do? Dara cannot find any possible answer to her question.


"Is it the fanboys? Is it about Wooyoung again?" She asked again. "Look, he just wanted to tell me that he watched my confession and he respects that I see you as my ideal..."


"Dara..." The boy started to speak but she was too engrossed in finding the right words to explain her side to even notice.


"... you see, he respects that I see you as my ideal guy and no one else. He said that he wishes us luck and..."


"Dara, listen to me." 


"... I promise I won't entertain any of those fanboys and will tell them that~~"


"Dara!" She was cut by the boy's firm voice. The boy looked at him and for the first time, Dara saw an expression in his eyes that she cannot decipher. Usually, the boy's eyes gave away his soul. His eyes gave away the happiness, the hurt, the excitement or the anger the boy was feeling. Looking at his eyes at the moment, however, Dara only saw a bottomless pit. 


"Jagiya..." was all Dara could say. Her lips trembled, not knowing what to make of how the boy was looking at him. She mustered all her courage to speak the words that came out of next.


"Why did you say that Sulli was your ideal girl?" She asked, saying those words as firm as she can, though her voice betrayed the hurt she was trying so hard to conceal. The boy heaved a sigh and held her shoulders. What once was warm and comforting to her felt cold and unwelcoming at that moment.


"I'm tired." He said simply, his voice void of any emotion. Dara looked up at him and started to speak, not quite sure she heard him right.


"You're just kidding, right?" She searched for the truth in her eyes but all she saw was coldness staring straight at him. She breathed deeply, determined to settle the issue once and for all. "If it's because of all the media hype on my confession, we all know that it's natural that people talk about it right? Sajangnim warned us about this already that we will have to endure~~"


"I know, Dara but I'm just tired. I'm tired of everything. The media, the fans' reaction." He said, exasperated. "The more you think about it, the more..."


"What?" She asked, her voice now rising in tone. "What are you gonna do about it?" She asked, surprised at how she managed to let out a challenge when she was on the verge of breaking down just moments ago.Do you think I'm not tired too? Don't you know how exhausting and disheartening it is to see comments from your fans that I'm not worthy of you? That they'd rather choose CL or Bom because they're more talented than I am. But those words were left unsaid. Those words were kept in her heart to rot into oblivion.


The boy looked at her intently. For once tonight, Dara understood what those eyes wanted to tell her. To understand. No, to accept. She looked at his eyes, pleading that what he was about to say would give hope to her sinking heart.


"I don't want to deal with it anymore." His words stung her heart. 


"Let's end this." His voice was filled with finality.


And just like that, her world came crushing down on her. 


Just like that, Kwon Jiyong walked away from her life.