“JIYONG!!!” Dara jumped up from the seat when two pairs of arms pushed her back down. Looking around, she realized that she was still in the club with the girls – both Minzy and Chaerin glaring down at her and holding her arms to stop her from leaving. “So, it was a dream?” she asked them as if they knew what she was talking about.

 

She dreamed that Jiyong was really kidnapped by someone and he was in trouble. But she remembered a few hours ago that it was a prank call. That call really impacted her that it even chased her to her dreams.

 

Dara looked to both of her sides, to the girls who were still glaring at her. “What?” she asked in a small voice, frightened by their stares. “Ugh, my head’s aching. What time is it?”

 

“It’s three,” Chaerin answered curtly. “Who’s this Jiyong you’re talking about?”

 

Dara’s heart leapt upon hearing that. Did I talk about him? Oh my gosh. In an attempt to evade the question, she said. “Oh, it’s three. I slept that long? I need to go home.” She tried standing up again but Minzy, who was surprisingly strong, pinned her down again.

 

“Kwon Jiyong? G-Dragon? Is that why you were gone for so long? You’re not resting your soul or that , right? That’s made-up , isn’t it, unnie?” Minzy asked, not able to control her anger as profanities escaped her lips.

 

“Minzy baby, what are you talking about? He, he, he,” she asked awkwardly. “I really need to go home while I’m a bit sober.”

 

“No! Tell us first,” Chaerin ordered, gritting her teeth.

 

It scared her that she backed away. Hesitantly, she breathed out a sigh and looked to her side where Bom was still asleep, holding an unfinished corn on her hand. “But, Bom’s asleep. I need to tell this to every—“

 

“We’ll relay the message to her. Now, start from the beginning,” Chaerin ordered.

 

And so she did.

 

 

 

 

“KYAAAAA!” the two girls shrieked, almost waking the drunk soul beside them but Bom only stirred, muttering a list of her favorite foods under her breath.

 

“So, did you see him shirtless? Did he really have abs?” Minzy asked. “Or what he has shown so far in broadcast were drawn abs instead?”

 

“What?” Dara unbelievably asked.

 

“How is he off-stage? Off-camera? Is he kind?” Chaerin asked.

 

“Ha, kind his ,” Dara muttered.

 

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it,” Minzy gushed. “Why wasn’t I the one in your place unnie? Waa!”

 

“And you thought of keeping this from us until when? Huh, young lady?” Chaerin asked in that authoritative tone, but her fangirl smile was still intact.

 

“I’m sorry, I had to. It was part of the contract,” Dara said apologetically.

 

“But, still! We’re your best friends!!!” they said simultaneously.

 

“Ssh, keep it down. Bom’s asleep,” Dara said. She grabbed her purse and stood up. “Now can I leave? I have to check on him.”

 

“Aww, you really take good care of him so much, do you?” Minzy said, clasping her hands together and imagining how sweet and caring Dara was.

 

“I got no choice,” Dara said. “Bye,” she waved behind her and left the place, but not without hearing the girls gushed over what she relayed to them. She just shook her head. “I wonder if he’s already asleep.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Hesitantly, she stood in front of the door. She looked down on her feet as she remembered all the things he did to her tonight. She was angry, or at least supposed to be angry. What was she doing in front of his apartment?

 

She breathed out and entered the passcode. When the door opened, she stepped inside. She wondered why the unit’s lights were still . “Is he still awake?”

 

His bedroom door was opened and when she took a peek where she was standing, he wasn’t inside. So she took a few steps more to check where he was, slowly and carefully taking her steps towards his room in case he was already asleep. She put down her purse on the sofa and continued on towards his room, where she found a lady’s purse resting on his pillow.

 

“Excuse me?” a woman’s voice entered her ears.

 

She immediately her heels and saw a beautiful and tall woman coming out of his studio. She had a mug of a hot drink on her hand but what caught her attention was her dripping wet hair and the oversized shirt the woman was wearing. And Dara knew whose shirt it was.

 

“Oh, I-I’m sorry,” Dara said, bowing and carelessly running out of the apartment unit, tripping once or twice.

 

She didn’t stop running. She ran towards the elevator, outside of the building, and into the streets. She ran and ran as questions and thoughts of what might have had happened before she arrived flooded her mind.

 

Who was she? Why was she wearing his shirt? Why did she come out of his studio where I can’t even enter without his permission? Was she his girlfriend?

 

She had been running for so long until she got tired and stopped on her tracks. She bent down, her hands on her knees, and panted. Panted and cried. Tears didn’t stop falling from her eyes as she watched them fall to the snow-covered pavement.

 

Who was she?

 

The question repeated over and over again, not able to erase the image of what might have happened inside her mind.

 

When she straightened, she found herself in front of a place she never knew her feet would lead her to. And she was thankful for that.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“Couz, there was someone—“

 

“Who?” Jiyong’s head snapped and turned to her. “Has Dara come back?” he stood up.

 

“I don’t know. Who’s Dara?”

 

Jiyong stepped out of the studio and looked around but saw no one. He just saw her purse lying on the sofa where she used to sleep. When Jiyong realized it, his eyes widened. “Yuri, did she see you?”

 

“Yes,” she said, confused on the question but answered anyway.

 

“Oh, I’m doomed,” Jiyong said, covering his face with his hand. “She misunderstood.”

 

“Who? Who was she?”

 

“Stay here. I’m going to look for her,” Jiyong said, grabbing a scarf and a cap.

 

“But, it’s snowing hard,” Yuri said.

 

“All the more reason to look for her,” he said, determined.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

It was an hour before sunup when Jiyong returned to the apartment with no hope of finding Dara.

 

“Did you find her, Couz? Who was she? Your girlfriend?”

 

“Yuri, I think she thought you were my girlfriend. I think she misunderstood. What shall I do?” Jiyong said, slumping his shoulders as he dropped himself to the sofa. “I don’t want to lose her.”

 

“So, she’s your girlfriend?” Yuri asked innocently.

 

Jiyong stared at her and shook his head slowly.

 

“Well you two are acting as if you were a couple,” Yuri said. “Let her be. She’ll come back.”

 

“You don’t understand. We’re not a couple but she’s probably mad right now. Because she misunderstood,” he said, resting his forehead on his wrist.

 

“Does she like you then?”

 

“What?” he asked, taking a look at her.

 

“Or, do you like her then?”

 

He stared at her with a confused look on his face.

 

“Well, the way I see it, even though I haven’t seen the two of you together and how you act with each other. Just… this,” Yuri said, gesturing towards Jiyong as if he’s the explanation of it all. “You like each other and you’re both refusing to acknowledge that.” With the confused look still on his face, she went on. “I mean, she ran out of your room when she saw me, probably, like what you said, out of misunderstanding. And you ran out looking for her only to return hopeless and worried for her due to the misunderstanding. Based solely on that, I can say that you…” she cut herself off wanting Jiyong to fill in the sentence.

 

Jiyong returned to his position. “I…” he started but can’t even finish it. He stood up instead. “I think I know where she is.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“Here’s your coffee,” Dara said as she put down a cup of hot coffee on the table.

 

TOP stared up at her as she smiled down at him, but her smile wasn’t perfect like it usually was. Her smile missed to reach her eyes. Her smile didn’t light up her face.

 

“You still haven’t told me why you’re here,” he said.

 

“Just house-hopping,” she said and smiled once again. She returned to the kitchen and asked over her shoulder. “Do you want pancakes or waffles?”

 

“What I want is you to tell me what’s wrong,” TOP said as he stood on the doorway of his kitchen.

 

Looking down at the counter, Dara let out a sob she held in for so long ever since she knocked on his door.

 

“Jiyong…”

 

But before she can continue and actually tell him what was wrong, she felt his hand on her shoulder, willing her to turn around. And as she did, he enclosed her in a comfortable embrace as she continued to let out all of her cries.

 

He need not her words, but he knew, at least he thought he knew, that Jiyong just crossed the line and hurt one of the women who meant much to him.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Loud slams on the door were heard. “Open up!”

 

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Dara asked at the corner of the room, staying there as if she will be safe and won’t be seen by anyone. Fidgeting, she clasped her hands together and prayed it wasn’t him.

 

“Do you want to see him already?” TOP asked.

 

Dara shook her head. “I’m not ready yet. I don’t think I will ever be,” she said. “I don’t want to see him.”

 

“You know you need to,” TOP said amidst the loud knocks on the door.

 

Dara bowed her head for a while, listening to his pleas of opening the door for him, of wanting to talk to her. She then looked up to TOP. “Thanks for the few hours of staying with me.”

 

“I shall open the door then?” TOP asked, receiving a nod of approval from her. But as soon as TOP turned the knob, she immediately regretted allowing him to.

 

“What?” TOP asked as he opened the door.

 

“She’s here, isn’t she?” Jiyong asked as he pushed his way through TOP. As he did, she saw her on the corner of the living room as if afraid of him. “Dara… I have been looking all over for you.”

 

Dara’s mind was filled with the images of him and the woman last night and before she can break out in tears, she ran past the two men and out of the building. As soon as she thought she was far enough, her tears spilled out of her eyes and sobs rose from . She ran and ran until her legs grew tired and stopped in the middle of the empty street.

 

“Dara!” Jiyong called out.

 

She turned around, surprised that he ran after her and that he caught up. Maybe she wasn’t fast enough. Or maybe he was just too determined.

 

“Dara! Why are you running away?” Jiyong asked with pain evident in his voice. He caught her wrist and kept his grip tight so she won’t be able to run away anymore.

 

“Let go of me!” Dara screamed, her face turned away for him not to see her tear-stricken face.

 

“No, look at me! Listen to me!” Jiyong pleaded. “Dara, please.”

 

“No!” she refused but she can’t get his grip from her wrist. Giving up, she turned around, her head bowed, still refusing to let him see her face. “Why?” she asked. “Who was she?”

 

“Dara, look at me,” he said.

 

Dara shook her head. “Just speak.”

 

Jiyong stared at her bowed head. “We need to make our feelings clear for each other,” he said.

 

Dara’s sobs continued even though she wanted them to stop.

 

“You and I,” he started. “You’re being like this, crying for what you witnessed last night. Tell me otherwise if it is so, but there’s something right?” he said.

 

Still sobbing, Dara allowed herself to look up. She saw how miserable and stressed Jiyong looked.

 

“Your tear-stricken face, your pained expression,” he continued. “I don’t think this is just an employee-employer relationship. You wouldn’t feel this if it is so, right? You wouldn’t run away last night, right?”

 

“Stop,” Dara said, covering her ears. “It’s not this I wanted to hear.”

 

“Dara,” Jiyong grabbed her hands. “Tell me or else I wouldn’t know.”

 

“No, there’s nothing.”

 

“I don’t believe you. Look at me,” he said.

 

Dara shook her head, blocking him out by covering her ears but Jiyong raised her head to level her gaze with his.

 

“Fine,” Jiyong said, dismissing it. “But, just look at me. I want you to look at my eyes while I say this.”

 

And she did. She opened her tearful eyes and looked at him.

 

“I don’t think there’s other explanation for this – the way I worry about you, I care about you, I get jealous, the way I want you to be always by my side. I crossed the line last night with that prank call but it made me realize something,” he paused to cup her face in his cold hands. “I think I’m in love with you.”

 

Dara’s eyes widened. Her heart leapt with rejoice as she heard that and as a reaction, her face turned red.

 

“Yuri, the woman you saw last night, was my cousin. She arrived late at night from the States and didn’t have a place to stay for a while. She was wet with snow and she went to shower and borrowed my shirt because she didn’t want to unpack. It was just a misunderstanding. I searched for you everywhere last night but I couldn’t find you. You made me worried about you. You made me think of all the worse things last night. You shouldn’t have run away.”

 

Hearing his explanation, the only thing that came out of his mouth was: “Fool,” she hit his chest with her fist, not meeting his gaze. “Why wouldn’t I when I thought she was your girlfriend?”

 

Jiyong chuckled. “I think that explains well enough that you were jealous, eh?” He teased while willing her to look at him once again, but she refused.

 

Dara pouted and slammed her tiny fist on his chest once again. “Fool,” she muttered and sniffed, wiping away her tears. As she exhaled, she looked up to meet his gaze and a small and embarrassed smile drew her lips. “I think I feel the same way too.”

 

And before she knew it, he pressed his lips against hers.