{Chapter 9}

“So you’re doing it? Ah, so cool! Is she hot?”

“Haven’t you been watching the show? And is that really all you can ask?”

“Sorry…But no, I haven’t been watching, since asking my bunkmates to tune into a show like that won’t exactly make me a lot of friends around here,” Dari scoffed sarcastically, chewing on some of the food Day Day had brought him.

Usually, Dalmatian would come as a group to visit Dari when they could, but right now, between filming, writing, recording and their own lives, the only one who could manage to find time to visit was Day Day, who wanted to talk to Dari more than anyone else in the band.

At this point, Day Day was pretty used to filming We Got Married, but he still felt a little awkward with Livia, and he didn’t know how to breach it. Inati did his best to make the two comfortable, and he had helped Day Day quite a bit, but Dari was, unfortunately, an objective party right now, since he was in the army, and almost completely out of the loop in terms of Day Day’s relationships.

“Whatever,” Day Day said, waving Dari’s explanation away. “But what do you think? How did you, in your relationships, make things less awkward?”

Dari chuckled. “Man, I’ve been with girls, but I’ve never been with a girl while cameras were filming.”

Day Day sighed. “You’re saying the same thing as Inati, and honestly, that piece of information doesn’t really help me at all.” Day Day slumped back in his seat. He was trying to be quiet, since there were other people visiting friends and family in the army around them, and he didn’t want to bother them, but his frustration level was rising and making it difficult to not yell.

“Well, have you tried meeting her outside of the show?” Dari asked, not bothering to look at dAy Day as he continued to gather as much food in front of him as possible. “Maybe take out for coffee or something; nothing serious, or anything, but just enough for you two to talk, outside of the show.”

Day Day watched his bandmate stuff his mouth full of food, a little unnerved by the brilliant idea that Dari had come up with so simply. Why hadn’t anyone else thought of that?

“Stop staring, people will get the wrong idea,” Dari told Day Day, still not looking up from his plate.

“Does the army not feed you?” Day Day asked, ignoring his friend’s request. “Or is the food just that bad?”

“Actually,” Dari said. “The food’s not bad, but it just gets old after a while. You start missing outside food. Bring me more next time.”

“Next time, I’ll bring everyone with me,” Day Day told Dari, smiling. No matter what the group did currently, Dari’s presence was missed; not just on stage and in their songs, but at home as well. Though even without Dari, the five boys managed to make just as much noise, and just as much mess, he was still missed. His rapping, personality, and style were all a part of the group—and the subsequent family bond that had formed between the guys.

“Next time, bring your girl,” Dari corrected Day Day. “I’ve seen the young ones enough to last me a lifetime.”

“Hey…!” Day Day cried playfully, shoving Dari, who was chuckling loudly.

-           -           -           -

“I’m so sorry to bother you,” Day Day told Livia as he sat down across from her, handing her the cup of coffee she had ordered at the same time. “I know you’re really busy.”

Livia shook her head and held tightly onto the paper cup. The heat from the coffee helped warm her hands from the bitter cold of outside, which Livia had finally realized that she would never get used to or like feeling cold, no matter where she lived. “Today’s actually pretty slow…” Turning the questions on Day Day, she asked, “What about you? Aren’t you busy?”

Day Day shrugged. “We’re still working on stuff for our comeback.”

“When?” Livia asked, a smile spreading over her face. Inwardly, she couldn’t wait to watch Dalmatian promote. She had heard some of their songs, watched their official music videos, but hadn’t had time to really do her research on the group and what shows they had been on.

“Soon…” Day Day said, deliberately ending his answer so it sounded like a question. “I really can’t talk about it too much,” he added. “Not because I don’t trust you, but because right now, our group’s sort of going through a period of nothingness out of respect for Dari.”

“Ah…the member in the military, right?”

Day Day nodded. “It’s sort of funny, because Dari’s actually gotten close to refusing to let us visit him if we don’t come back soon.”

Livia laughed lightly, and Day Day could feel the atmosphere become more comfortable. He had no idea if this meeting would be considered cheating in the show’s eyes, but he didn’t care. He was glad he had taken Dari’s advice. “This might seem like a weird question, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to ask a fellow musician, I just haven’t gotten a chance….who inspires you the most?”

LIvia smiled and answered immediately. “My step-dad. I’m closer to him than my real father, and honestly, besides the fact that we look nothing alike, if my mom had told me I was my step-dad’s real daughter growing up, I would have believed her. I really can’t put it into words, because I know my entire family supports me, but my step-dad has always been a step above them all. I can just tell he pays more attention to me than the others; making sure I’m okay, whether it’s personally or career-wise. He’s just there.”

Day Day listened to her intently, a smile on his face as she watched her talk. She was off in her own world, recalling the instances that her step-dad had proved to be her inspiration. Day Day could tell she was being sincere, which was more what he was after than her answer, though he ended up liking both. Up until she had answered his question the way she had, Day Day realized that the problem he had wasn’t that they were awkward with each other, but that neither knew how deep the other was willing to go with their relationship, however fake it was.

Before, Day Day could feel the atmosphere lightening between himself and Livia. Now, he could feel each of their walls coming down. They might still be a little awkward with each other, but now they knew that they could overcome it. They could trust each other.

Thanks for reading/subscribing~!

I'm sorry for not updating as much as I said I would over the summer. And I'm not going to come up with something to make it seem like I was busy, because it wouldn't be true. I just got lazy.

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