Jiyong noticed that the usually noisy Dara was quiet throughout the ride. He would have thought that she fell asleep behind him but her arms wrapped around his waist was an indication that that wasn’t the case.

 

The moment they arrived at the alley where he usually drops Dara, he turned off the engine and straightened up. It seemed like that Dara didn’t notice though because her arms were still wrapped around his waist.

 

“Dara…” he called.

 

That was the time that Dara noticed and she quickly unwrapped her arms from Jiyong’s waist. “Oh, we’re here,” she said.

 

As Dara got down from his motorbike, Jiyong stared down at her. She was fixing her school uniform and when she lifted her eyes, she was met by Jiyong’s intense stares.

 

She shuddered. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

 

“What’s wrong with you? Are you alright?”

 

Dara bit his lip back and realized that he once again saw through her. But she stared up at him again and faked a smile. “Of course I’m fine! Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

Jiyong got down from his motorbike and walked towards her. Dara backed away until she was trapped on the wall. Jiyong’s face was so close to hers and he kept on staring down at her. She didn’t know what would happen next so she just closed her eyes tight for whatever was to come.

 

The next thing she felt was a flick on her forehead. “Ow!” she complained, rubbing her aching forehead. “What’s your problem?!”

 

“You think you can fool me? We’ve been together for seven years. I know every emotion you have,” he said, going back to his motorbike.

 

Dara was still pouting and rubbing her painful forehead. “I said I’m fine.”

 

“Do you want me to talk to TOP?” Jiyong said suddenly, his eyes casted down on the ground.

 

“What?! No!” Dara said, waving her hands in front of her. “It’s not about Seunghyun oppa.”

 

He lifted his eyes then. “Then stop pouting like an ugly child!” he said, motioning to flick her forehead again.

 

Dara ran away and stopped to see if he chased her. She stuck her tongue out and left.

 

“Dara!” Jiyong called again.

 

“What now?!”

 

“I won’t be able to fetch you later. I have a mission,” he said.

 

Dara nodded and proceeded to school. Their school was a few blocks away and until now, she still couldn’t understand why Jiyong had to drop her off in an alley instead of going together to school. She asks but she would get the same answer:

 

“My handsome face couldn’t take it when I’m with an ugly girl like you,” he would always say.

 

She frowned at the thought. “He thinks he’s really handsome eh?” she asked herself while she was entering the school.

 

Just in time, a fast motorbike drove past her and she knew who it was very well. She stayed on her spot and watched as Jiyong got off his bike and flocks of university girls started crowding him. She watched as he took off his helmet and the girls swooned over him. He was looking around him, ignoring all the girls crowding him and then his eyes caught Dara standing in the middle of the field staring at him disgustingly.

 

He lifted a smirk on his lips before turning away and leaving all the girls trailing behind him as if they were puppies. Before she could even lose sight of her brother, Dara saw a girl clung on to his arm as they walked together towards the school building.

 

Dara frowned at that. Here’s to another hell day. She never really liked being in school. She didn’t have friends and she was too introverted to approach other students.

 

She sighed before stepping into the school building.

 

 

 

 

 

Dara went home after a whole day of tiring lessons. She immediately headed to her room and took her notes out to do her homework. The house was empty and she assumed that everyone was out doing their missions. It wasn’t a first though so she didn’t mind. And besides, like always, she would always see them gathering in the next morning in the living room.

 

A few hours later of excruciatingly boring homework, she fell asleep. She would have slept the whole night when she heard something – or rather, someone stumbling down downstairs.

 

She quickly ran downstairs, expecting a usual scene to welcome her. And as soon as she reached downstairs, there he was, one of her brothers lying down on the carpeted floor, staining it with blood.

 

She didn’t panic like a normal girl who would see a bloody person on their living room would. Instead, keeping her cool, she helped Jiyong up and brought him to the couch. She immediately went to get the first-aid kit. She started tending to his wounds on his face while Jiyong’s eyes were closed.

 

“Were you doing your homework?” he asked, still with eyes closed.

 

“Sssh,” she shushed him as she continued tending to his wounds.

 

“If you’re too busy, you can continue your work. I’ll be fine,” he said, struggling to open his eyes.

 

Dara stared at him disbelievingly. “Shut your mouth Kwon,” she harshly said. If she could, she would flick his lips so that he would stop blabbering nonsense like he usually does to her forehead. “This is why I’m adopted anyways.”

 

“That’s not entirely true,” he said.

 

“I know. I’m also adopted to do the dishes, do the laundry, and clean the whole house. So just shut up and rest,” she said, not stopping from tending to his wounds.

 

Jiyong smiled at her remark. He only treasured one of those moments to be with her, to be able to be cared for under her hands.

 

“I wonder what happened,” Dara mumbled silently, thinking that Jiyong fell asleep because he had been silent for a while.

 

“I met one of the men of the enemy of my client. He tried to kill me to stop the mission. But I killed him first,” he said chuckling.

 

“Tch,” Dara clicked her tongue. “Look at you thinking you’re all that. Being proud that he killed an enemy but being beaten up to a pulp before being able to do that. Yeah! You’re such an amazing killer.”

 

“You should rest now,” he said.

 

Dara didn’t respond as she was finishing the treatment. She was now wrapping Jiyong’s wounded hand with bandage. And as she finished, she rested Jiyong’s hand on his side and stayed still.

 

She then stared at Jiyong while the latter still had his eyes closed. She decided to ask him about something that had been bugging her the whole day. “You’re still with Yoona?” she asked hesitantly.

 

Jiyong just smiled and peeked through one eye. “Is my rabbit jealous?” he asked as he tried to reach out to pinch her cheeks.

 

Dara caught his arm before he could even do that though. She pouted and looked down. “I am not jealous. I just don’t like her for you.”

 

“Yeah, right,” he said and turned to the side to hide the widening smile on his lips. When Dara didn’t say anything else, he decided to clear things up. “She’s a fling. Don’t worry.”

 

“Fling,” Dara repeated in a mumble but Jiyong caught it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dara decided to stay for a while on her spot. She just sat on the floor beside the couch where Jiyong was lying down. She decided to stay so that if ever he needed something, she could get it from him. She was just staring at his back when her eyes were slowly dropping due to sleepiness.

 

Jiyong turned around and faced her, realizing that it had been long since her last remark. He decided to check on her and as his gaze fell on her, he smiled.

 

Dara had her eyes closed with her chin resting on her knees. She was swaying from left to right, trying to balance herself on her spot. Jiyong sat up and just stared at her. She didn’t even notice that Jiyong already got up. Jiyong sat beside her and just observed her. After a while, she eventually fell to her side, towards Jiyong’s lap.

 

He brushed the hair off her face and smiled down at how peaceful she looked like sleeping. She had been having sleepless nights because of the nightmares she gets every night. It had been almost a week and because it was that time of the month, she had always been sleepless, trying hard not to sleep, afraid of the same haunting nightmare to creep by her.

 

In fact, the main reason why Dara always found Jiyong on her bed almost every morning was because he could hear her crying in her sleep. He would then sneak in to her room and accompany her for the night, to shush her. It was this month that she usually gets these nightmares but Dara would find Jiyong all year out. Well, the nightmares were just the main reason. Jiyong had many other reasons and that includes pissing her off early in the morning, the moment she woke up.

 

Jiyong smiled as Dara snored loudly – a habit that Jiyong hated because he couldn’t sleep because of it. But he also found that to be something that makes her adorable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dara woke up when she heard the water from the shower splashing on the floor. Her eyes flew open and shifted towards the bathroom. And she sighed as she realized that it was one of those mornings that Jiyong once again slept in her room.

 

Why would he be taking a bath? He should be resting. His body isn’t well yet, she thought, stretching her arms up. And then she realized something. She looked around and realized that she was in her room. She thought back from last night and remembered treating Jiyong downstairs.

 

How did I get here?

 

She realized that she fell asleep last night after tending Jiyong’s wounds. She was really tired last night, having to do all those homework which were still unfinished actually.

 

And as she realized the last thought, she jumped on her feet and headed towards her desk where all of her notebooks were left opened. She picked one of them and saw the math problems unanswered. She shifted her eyes towards the clock and it was almost seven in the morning. She only had an hour to finish this before school starts.

 

Without being able to comb her hair and brush her teeth, she focused her entire attention to her homework. She wasn’t able to notice the bathroom door opening and out came a half- Jiyong.

 

Jiyong noticed Dara being a busybody early in the morning and he found it weird. He put his hands on both sides of his waist and waited for her to notice him. He cleared his throat but she was too busy answering her homework.

 

Dara, on the other hand, slammed her fist on the desk and groaned loudly. “I’m not going to finish this on time!”

 

“I already did it for you, you airhead!” Jiyong said. “It’s already in your bag.”

 

Dara turned around about to thank her life-savior when she caught sight of him being half- with only a towel around his waist.

 

She felt herself reddened and immediately turned around. Why was she feeling embarrassed though? She was able to see Jiyong’s upper body every time she treated him. But it might be because of the fact that he was only covered with a towel and nothing else.

 

“Why are your cheeks tomato-red?” he asked.

 

“Aish, mind your own cheeks!” she said, still holding on her cheeks. “Just get dressed and get out!”

 

Jiyong chuckled and went on to pick up his clothes he intentionally left in her room in case he felt lazy to go back to his own room and change. Dara, on the other hand, was fiddling with her fingers, wondering what was taking Jiyong so long. She let her eyes roam around when her eyes caught the small mirror standing on her desk and the reflection of a half- guy smiling back at her.

 

She widened her eyes and covered her eyes immediately.

 

“I told you to get dressed quickly!” she shouted but her voice was muffled. She heard Jiyong laughing lightly behind her. She waited until there was silence.

 

Silence… but her eyes were still covered.

 

“Jiyong?” she called, eyes still covered with her hands. “Are you done? Can I turn around now?”

 

Silence.

 

Slowly, she moved her fingers from her eyes while the rest of her face was still covered. She shifted her gaze to the mirror and Jiyong wasn’t there anymore. Slowly, she decided to turn but without putting her hands down.

 

“Ahhhhh!” she squealed in surprise when she was met with Jiyong’s face close to hers. She almost stumbled back if Jiyong wasn’t able to catch her by her waist. She covered immediately while her eyes were still wide with how close their faces were. Her heart was beating wildly and she didn’t know what to do.

 

It turned out that Jiyong walked up to her and waited for her to turn around.

 

Jiyong smirked and scoffed. He flicked her forehead and said, “Sneaky little rabbit,” he said before turning around. “Let’s go downstairs. They’re waiting.”

 

With her face still red, she trailed behind Jiyong. She didn’t even notice that they arrived downstairs until she bumped into Jiyong’s back.

 

She stepped aside as she noticed that Jiyong wasn’t moving on his spot. She looked up only to see a smirk on his face while looking ahead. She followed his gaze and saw Teddy peeking from the kitchen with his usual apron and Kush and TOP looking up at them from the chess that they were playing. They had all these expecting looks on their faces and Dara wondered.

 

“What’s going on here?” she asked everyone.

 

And just then, both Teddy and Kush groaned. Teddy threw the pan of eggs on the floor while Kush pulled his hair in frustration and flailed his legs in the air. They then pulled out some cash from their pockets and handed them to TOP’s open palm. TOP was smirking evily by himself.

 

“Aish, Dara! You could have run downstairs shouting today too. Why did you stop it? I could have won!” Teddy said, complaining.

 

“Two more days! I could have won already! TWO MORE DAYS!” Kush complained too, counting the money that he would lose to TOP.

 

“He, he, he,” TOP just snickered while counting the money that was already on his hands.

 

“What’s going on?” Dara turned to Jiyong.

 

He looked down at her and smiled. “They bet on how many straight days you would be running down the stairs while screaming every morning. TOP won as he only bet on six. Teddy bet on seven and Kush, eight.”

 

Jiyong walked past them as he headed to the dining room to eat. Along the way, he high-fived with TOP. Dara was left on her spot, bewildered and mouth hanging open. She watched as two of her brothers were looking lonely and frustrated as they complained to themselves how they lost the bet.

 

Still bewildered, she headed to the dining room and sat on her usual seat beside Jiyong. TOP, who was already counting his money, and Kush followed too. Teddy went on to prepare the table.

 

“Do you always place a bet on everything I do?” Dara asked curiously.

 

“Pretty much. Last week we betted on how long you would snore on your sleep,” Jiyong said nonchalantly. “I tell you, we stayed up all night. But it was alright because I won and I collected almost $500.”

 

Dara widened her eyes and was about to hit Jiyong hard when TOP spoke.

 

“Oh, Kush-hyung, pay me $10 more. You lost our game,” TOP said, referring to their chess game a while ago.

 

Kush stared at him in shock. “WHAT?! That too?!” he cursed under his breath.

 

Just then, Dara noticed Jiyong signaling something to TOP. She turned to TOP as the two talked with hand-signals. Jiyong was showing three of his fingers while TOP was shaking his head and flashed only two of his fingers. Dara immediately realized that they were talking about money.

 

“Teddy-oppa! Kush-oppa! Jiyong and Seunghyun-oppa connived against you two,” she told.

 

Teddy and Kush stared at Jiyong and suspected that he deliberately didn’t sleep on Dara’s bed last night so that she wouldn’t be running downstairs screaming for the seventh consecutive day and therefore making TOP the winner of the bet. Jiyong stared at them with an innocent face.

 

Teddy removed his pot holder and hit Jiyong hard. “I could’ve won, you fool!” he shouted while hitting him repeatedly.

 

Kush didn’t have anything to hit him with so he picked up the eggs on his plate and threw them to him. “I could’ve had a chance! Aish! Pay me back my $50!!”

 

Dara laughed inwardly as she watched the poor Jiyong being bullied by their older brothers. Satisfied, she turned forward and started eating. She also caught TOP’s eyes looking at her and she smiled. She was glad when he returned the smile. They began eating by themselves while the three were still bickering.

 

“YA! Dara, you babo! I could have gotten my share from TOP-hyung!” Jiyong screamed while still being beaten up with pot holders and eggs. Dara ignored the seemingly pathetic damsel in distress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 thank you Marianations for this poster^^