“KYAAAAAA!” Dara continued screaming, shutting her eyes tight, afraid of what she might see.

 

“Shut up, will ya? You’re giving me a headache,” a guy’s voice entered her ears.

 

Dara immediately opened her eyes, as the voice seemed eerily familiar. She looked behind her, at her captor, and saw a man covering his ears with his fingers. As she whipped her head to the owner of the voice, she screamed again because of the weird get-up the guy had, a scarf and a pair of glasses even though he was inside a van.

 

The guy turned to her and covered with his gloved hands. “SHUT UP!”

 

Dara stared at the stranger with scared eyes as she stopped screaming for her life. They locked eyes. Well, at least that was what it looked like in the guy’s perspective because he was in dark glasses so Dara couldn’t see his eyes.

 

“Ah, finally!” the manager exclaimed, interrupting the guy’s intense stare at Dara.

 

The guy leaned away from her and Dara didn’t continue screaming anymore.

 

“Who are you?” Dara asked with her voice filled with fear.

 

The guy removed his mask and sunglasses. When he did, Dara’s eyes widened.

 

“YOU!” she exclaimed, pointing her finger at him. The guy just sat there as if uninterested. Later, Dara burst out laughing, even dramatically clutching her stomach. “How’s your… HAHAHAHA… did it hurt? BWAHAHAHA,” she laughed maniacally, her eyes directed to his private part.

 

“This is not a laughing matter!” the guy said.

 

Dara wiped an imaginary tear. “Really, who are you? And what are you doing kidnapping me like this? Are you going to make me pay at what happened to your… to your… BWAHAHAHAHA!”

 

“I told you this is not a laughing matter!” the guy said and flashed his iPod to her, making her read on what was on the screen.

 

“G-Dragon, injured after having his last stage,” Dara read. Her face turned grim after reading the title. “G-Dragon? What kind of name is that? And who is this G-Drag—OH!”

 

“Yes, you’re right. You are looking at the great G-Dragon,” the guy who was her captor interrupted. She assumed he was his manager or personal assistant. She couldn’t care less anyway. “And yes, you’re right. You are going to pay on what happened to his leg.”

 

“You are the celebrity that the groom was friends with, right?” Dara said suddenly, ignoring the other guy’s remarks.  She then looked at Jiyong’s face, scrutinizing every detail. Their faces were so close to each other that Jiyong could feel her breathing on his face. “Psh, you’re not good enough to make Bom and the other girls your fan,” she said, sitting back on her seat.

 

“What…?”

 

“Bom likes someone who seems to be able to take care of himself. Looking at you, you even forget to shave and I can see some stubble,” she said, pointing at his chin. “Minzy likes muscular men and I don’t have to explain why you don’t qualify right? As for Chaerin, she likes someone manly and looking at your preferences in clothes…” she trailed off and shook her head.

 

“You!” Jiyong exclaimed, his fist already in the air only to be stopped by the other guy. “Why are we even talking about those… who are those people anyway?”

 

“My friends, they’re—“

 

“Ugh, enough of your gibberish talks!” Jiyong snapped. “I injured my ankle because of the first injury you gave me when you stepped on my foot. Look!” Jiyong raised his leg to show to Dara.

 

“How is that my fault? You were the one who was careless injuring yourself.”

 

“I wouldn’t have twisted my ankle and sprain it if not for the pain I felt from the wound you gave me, idiot!”

 

Dara raised her chin. “It was your fault anyway. I had to what I had to do.”

 

“Ugh, stop being so stubborn and just listen first.”

 

Dara rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

 

“I know you are in need of money nowadays, so I—“

 

“How did you know?!”

 

“Investigations…” he said briefly. “Anyway, in exchange for the injury you gave me, I’m offering you a job.”

 

“I told you, it wasn’t my fault so—“ she cut herself off when the rest of his sentence registered in her mind. “What did you just say?”

 

“I’m offering you a job,” Jiyong said.

 

“A job?” Dara repeated.

 

A smile spread on Jiyong’s lips seeing her reaction.  “What do you say?”

 

But Dara didn’t respond. She was just staring at him… or on the space above his head... or somewhere else. He couldn’t really say.

 

“Miss? What do you say?” he asked again.

 

Dara didn’t respond again. What Jiyong didn’t know was what was running through her mind during that time.

 

“If I say I’ll accept the job, it’ll look like I’m admitting to whatever happened to his foot. Anyway, it wasn’t really my fault. He was being a ert. I was just defending myself. But, it’s really convincing. That job, I wonder what that be. Would he pay a higher pay than what I earn in the restaurant? Maybe it would be even higher than my restaurant pay and gigs pay combined, maybe even the individual playing in the streets income. But, nah! I don’t think so. He might earn much money but he’s a taxpayer too. But, ugh, I want to agree to his offer, but it’ll be like admitting to whatever happened.”

 

Jiyong was already leaning on his seat and when he realized that she wasn’t going to stop staring into space, he couldn’t take it anymore. So, he sat up, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Oh, please. It’s not like it wasn’t your fault. Just accept the job offer! I know you’re pretty tempted.”

 

Dara blinked rapidly, staring at him. “You read minds?”

 

Jiyong couldn’t believe that she was really having those thoughts. He buried his face on his palms before saying, “Yes! I can! Now be careful of what you’re thinking because I’ll know.”

 

Dara’s eyes widened and she covered . Seeing her reaction, Jiyong wanted to just rip his eyeballs for him not to witness the stupidity of the idiot who was in front of him.

 

“JUST ACCEPT THE JOB!” he screamed.

 

Dara furrowed her brows. She then turned around towards the door. She pulled it open but it was locked. “UGH, why.is.this.not.opening?”

 

“Oh come on, are you rejecting it because you’re afraid—“

 

Dara whipped her head towards him. “I don’t want a jerk like you as my boss, thank you very much,” she said and then turned back to the door. “Unlock this right now or else I’m going to add another injury on you.”

 

Hurriedly, Jiyong’s manager went forward to unlock the door and out was Dara in the fresh air. She walked away, stomping and huffing. After a while, she heard running footsteps behind her.

 

“Miss!” he called.

 

Dara turned around to see that it was his manager. “WHAT NOW?!”

 

The manager almost fell back but he remained on his feet. "GD said to contact him when you thought about it already. Here’s his number,” the manager quickly reached out a piece of a slightly crumpled piece of paper. “Keep this carefully. If he’s giving you his number, it means that he trusts you not to give it to his sasaeng fans.”

 

“Sasaeng fans?” Dara mumbled, not having the slightest bit of idea what that means. She was about to ask but the manager was already scurrying off to the van. “But I don’t have a phone,” she said before looking down at the messy handwritten number. “I wonder how much I could earn from selling this to my friends.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

As Dara reached the run-down apartment where she lived, a sight immediately welcomed her. The landlady, with her hair rollers on her hair and her hands on her waists, had her raging eyes focused on her. Dara was tempted to step back and run away from the impending danger but it was clear that the monster was already zeroing in on her.

 

“Good afternoon, Mi—“

 

“ARE YOU NOT GOING TO PAY AGAIN THIS MONTH?!”

 

Dara covered her ears and ducked a little. She then straightened up and flashed a peace sign. “I gave my paycheck to my friend recently because she needs it the most.”

 

“WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR PAYCHECK, NOBODY ELSE NEEDS IT MORE THAN ME! YOU’RE ALREADY FIVE MONTHS LATE ON THE RENT, MISS SANDORA.”

 

“It’s Sandara,” Dara mumbled.

 

“DO YOU WANT TO BE KICKED OUT AND TO LIVE IN THE STREETS LIKE ALL THOSE STREETCHILDREN, HUH, MISS SANDORA? YOU’LL HAVE NO WHE—“

 

Dara reached on her bag to her wallet. She pulled out a couple of bills. “This is only for one month, Miss Lee. I’m sorry. But please let me stay here for a while. I don’t have anywhere else to go and my paycheck in the restaurant cannot even pay half of the rent so I had to work extra with my band. I was supposed to send this little amount of money to my family back in Busan but I guess they can wait. Also—“

 

“AHHHH!” the landlady suddenly shouted after snatching the money from her hand. She then turned around and faced away. “I am a landlady who is only swayed by money and not pitiful stories of a young lady who lives away from her family. In the count of three, I want you to get lost in front of me or else I am going to change my mind. THREE!”

 

Dara was quick to run upstairs. She arrived in her small and dirty apartment. She closed the door behind her, as if it could be closed. The knob needed repairing and she always forgot to buy the necessary tools. She threw her purse to the small and dusty sofa she had and she was about to go to take a shower when she heard a squeak and little feet running across her feet.

 

She let out a shriek as she jumped towards the sofa. She saw two mice running under her bed. She grabbed a broom and went on to a scavenger hunt as she waited for them to come out. When they did, she chased them, occasionally trying to hit them with the broom. She always failed but she didn’t give up until half an hour later, the mice were able to escape through the open door. She quickly blocked the door with a chair. She looked for something to block the small space under where the mice could pass. She put a piece of rag to cover it so that the mice couldn’t enter.

 

When she finished, she sat on the floor, wiping her sweat with her hands. She looked around her and said, “Pests… I need an exterminator but I don’t have money anymore,” she said and lied down. “AHHH! I’m sick of living like this. Can’t a simple girl like me live comfortably?”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“I have to skip your paycheck next month okay?” JjangMae told his workers. “We need to fix our kitchen and the leaking. It’ll cost much. I hope you understand.”

 

Hayi stared at her senior on her right and she immediately felt sorry. However, Dara didn’t show any traces of regret with the manager’s news.

 

“No problem, sir. But we’ll be expecting double next month, alright?” Dara joked. “Now, let’s go back to work!” she exclaimed.

 

As she cleaned the table left by the previous customers, she overheard something from the other table.

 

“Have you heard? G-Dragon oppa really is good-hearted. He just donated to that charity organization. He’s really awesome!” a high school girl said.

 

“Yes! He’s really good-hearted! I wish he could also help me. I’m in need of money too,” her friend said and they laughed as the other one pushed her friend.

 

“Don’t be silly. You need to be extremely poor with little to no source of income. You need to be either homeless or is living pathetically away from your family,” the other said and another round of laughter came.

 

Dara side-eyed them. “Did I hear them right?” she asked herself when she went back to the kitchen. “Why do their words seem to be just right with my situation?”

 

She then just stood on her spot as if work wasn’t waiting outside. Unconsciously, her hand went to her pocket where she felt a piece of paper. She pulled it out and looked down at the untidily written numbers on it.

 

As if on cue, a familiar noise came as the front door of the small restaurant opened.

 

“Unnie! Your friends are here,” her co-worker said.

 

A smile spread on her lips. She then ran outside, towards them, while she screamed, “Bommie! Let me borrow your phone!”

 

 

 

 

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