Alone in bed, Dara was lost in her dreams. A smile curved on her small lips as the image of Jiyong invaded her dream. Whether she was awake or asleep it was always Jiyong who appeared in her mind. But unlike in reality, in her dream, both of them don’t feel any pain. Jiyong’s eyes filled with love and happiness as he looked at her. The world consisted of only her and him, and it was an unending flow of bliss. Warmth touched her cheek and she opened her eyes only to see the man in her dream looking back at her, only this time he was looking at her with sadness in his eyes. She could only stare at him, wondering if she was still in her dream and in the end she thought, she might be. She wanted to close her eyes again to erase the sad Jiyong and replace it with the happy one she saw just awhile ago.

But before closing her eyes, she whispered, “I love you.” And as soon as she closed her eyes, a happy Jiyong welcomed her together with their blissful world that composed of only him and her.

Morning came and as she opened her eyes, she found herself alone once again. Not even the sad Jiyong was there to welcome her. She almost wish she didn’t dream about such a happy dream for she had to endure a longer reality without him. And she couldn’t feel any emptier.

--

“Do you even take time to sleep?” Youngbae asked Jiyong, breaking the latter from his thoughts. It had been days since he talked to Taeyeon over the phone and he couldn’t contact her after that, didn’t even know where she was for apparently, she completely withdrawn from school.

“I can’t find Taeyeon.” He simply told his friend. Youngbae cleared his throat and looked away.

“I was able to contact her once and it didn’t go well. I know there’s something wrong going on with her right now especially that I can’t find her.” Jiyong added. Youngbae looked at him and raised a brow.

“What if she’s just lying to you? What if she just lied about her pregnancy just to cause trouble?” Youngbae asked.

“I already thought of that. But whether she’s telling the truth or not, it was still all because she’s mad at me. To think that she could make up such lie, she must really hate me.  And with her missing right now, it adds up to the guilt I’m feeling because I couldn’t help but think that I was the person who left her to face whatever she was facing right now alone. It eats me to think that whether she has my baby or not, she’s alone and we couldn’t even have a civil conversation anymore, couldn’t even tell me whatever she’s hiding. I feel so guilty thinking that somehow I’ve ruined her and her trust for me.”

“So all of this is because of your guilt?”

Jiyong stared hard at his friend.

“No. I just don’t want to run away anymore. I’ve been running away my whole life, selfishly taking the easiest way and hurting people along the way. I’ve hurt my wife once because of that selfishness and now I’ve hurt Taeyeon. For once I want to face the consequences of my action, heal the pain I’ve caused to the person I’ve hurt because I will never be able to move on knowing I’ve left someone who once needed me.” Jiyong said. Youngbae was startled for a moment before he cleared his throat and looked away from his friend again.

“But how are you sure that Taeyeon needs you right now? You couldn’t even contact her.”

“If she doesn’t need me, she shouldn’t have even bothered telling me that she’s pregnant. Even if it’s a lie just to hurt me and especially Dara. It’s her pride and her hate towards me that stopping her from seeking my help or anybody’s help at all.” Youngbae stared at his friend for a while before letting out a long sigh.

“So… what are you planning to do?”

“Find her.”

“And then what?”

“Put a stop on all this chaos.”

“How are you going to that?”

“I don’t even have a damn idea.”

Youngbae could only let out a sigh.

“I’ll be just right here to help if you need one.”

Jiyong could only smile at his friend, thinking he had enough help from the people around him. How could he be blessed with such people who wholeheartedly help him even though he hasn't done anything great for them? Warmth spread through his chest,  feeling so grateful of the people around him. He will end this chaos once and for all so that he could finally focus on repaying the people who did nothing but care for him.

--

"You'll come right?"

Even Chaerin's cheerful voice couldn't uplift her mood.

Chaerin's wedding would be next month and Dara couldn't be any happier for her friend's fate... but today she just didn't feel any of that happiness. She just wanted to curl up on the bed and wait until Jiyong comes back to her and takes her home.

"Chaerin-ah..." she started but her friend cut her.

"Don't you dare. You promised! You promised you'll be there! I want you there Dara-ah..."

Dara could only listen as Chaerin continuously talked over the phone. She hated herself for acting this way toward her friend, she hated that she couldn't control her emotion. Her lips trembled and before she knew it, she broke out in tears.

"Dara-ah, what happened? Are you okay?" Chaerin asked over the phone, alarmed. For a while, Dara only wept, overwhelmed with sadness.

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