----- Chapter Eleven -----

Dara’s POV

                I didn’t know how to describe my feelings that time. It felt like everything was just a dream. But no, I’m very sure it was real. I could still feel Kris’ warmth lingering on me. I could still feel his touch and his scent was still there. Everything kept on replaying in my head, and I was certain that I’ll never get tired of it.

                I returned back to the dorm, still with a smile plastered on my face. I skipped my way in and greeted my members energetically. With all those puzzled look in their eyes I knew they must be thinking that I was going crazy – well in fact, I was already.

                “What’s wrong with you?” Bom raised her eyebrow as she eyed me. CL and Minzy did the same.

                Instead of verbally answering them, I just replied with a grin – a wider one. When I couldn’t contain my feelings anymore, I broke into a hearty giggle.

                “I guess you’re asking the obvious,” CL told Bom as she made her way towards me and grabbed me by hand. I didn’t dare to resist anymore because I knew it would be useless. Instead, I let myself get dragged by our adorable leader. She pushed me to a seat and then I realized I was already being surrounded by the girls.

                “So…mind telling us what happened?” Minzy couldn’t hide her excitement. They were all staring at me, and it’s kind of uncomfortable but anyhow, I knew I had to tell them.

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                The boys returned to their dorm. As usual, they were all tired but they all had a great time. The CF filming was a different experience for them, especially the fact that they all had that rare opportunity to work with Dara. They can now confirm that Dara was not just a beauty, but also of morals. She was kind to them, well, it might be a little awkward at first but eventually, they got along. They couldn’t help but fall in the long list her fanboys as well.

                “…And then she said I was cute! She called me cute!” Minseok excitedly narrated what happened earlier when he had a talk with 2ne1’s visual. He felt giddy and kept on smiling.

                “But you’re always being told cute by like, everyone,” Sehun retorted bitterly.  

                “But it felt different when she said it!”

                The boys settled themselves in the living room as some of them prepared the food they bought along their way home. They kept on blabbering about the girls they just worked with, mostly about Dara. They sounded excited, and it was a first for them to talk about a female idol so eagerly.

                “I really wanted to work with Dara-noona! And I wanted to be in Luhan-hyung’s place that time!” Kai cried as he pointed at the elder. The others nodded in agreement.

                “Yeah! Did you see how close he was with noona? That was unfair!”

                “Too much skinship! I’m jealous!”

                “I could’ve died right on the spot if I were in that position!”

                Luhan just chuckled at s’ jealousy. “Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Good things are always in my way,” he playfully smirked, earning glares from everyone.

                “But too bad for Lay, he could’ve been the luckiest guy on Earth!” Baekhyun carelessly stated, earning a lot more glares than Luhan had. Lay blushed at his statement. He brought his head down in embarrassment. “What?” Baek faked an innocent look when he felt glares on him.

                “I do think the ending was way better without that supposed-to-be kiss scene,” Sehun nonchalantly replied as he rested his back against the couch.

                “Couldn’t agree more,” Tao nodded as well as the others.

                “But you know, I wasn’t expecting Kris-hyung to do that,” Baekhyun brought up another topic once again, shifting the boys’ attention to Kris who was silently sitting in the corner.

                “Yeah, me too. And his ‘I-thought-it-was-cool’ thing, what the hell was that?” Chen scoffed, eyeing the duizhang intently. The others laughed at his statement. Kris, on the other hand, scowled at them.

                “I’m not buying that though,” Kyungsoo butted in as he prepared the table with Suho.

                “Me too! I mean, who would believe that?” Kai mocked the M leader further.

                “Bastard,” Kris muttered under his breath.

                “I bet in reality he just wanted to stop the kiss scene and have Dara noona for himself!” Chen blurted out, not realizing he was already digging his own grave.

                “BASTARD TROLL SHORTIE!!” Kris mentally cursed the younger. He threw his ultimate deathly glare at him, with one of his eyebrows raised.

                “How greedy of you, Kris-hyung.”

                That was it. Chen was seriously getting in Kris’ nerves. He could’ve already strangled Chen to death. But if he did then it would only prove them right. He needed to cool himself down – and it was damn hard because of the fact that he was kind of guilty. He didn’t want to see Dara kissing another man in front of him, even if it was only for work. But he did not expect to actually do what he did there. But it’s not like he regretted it though.

                “Just accept that it was cool,” he answered bluntly instead. They all laughed at him.

                “Seriously, hyung?” Sehun mocked, raising an eyebrow.

                “Actually, no.” Kris retorted back. “Let me rephrase that. Just accept that I am cool.”

                The boys groaned at their Chinese giant’s narcissism. Some of them even literally face-palmed themselves. Kris sighed in relief that somehow, he was able to get himself out of trouble again.

                Soon after, Kyungsoo and Suho called the rest of the members for dinner. The food was already beautifully placed on the table. The scent invited the boys to the table in no time.

                “Chanyeol?” Baekhyun was on his way to the others when he noticed that the K rapper was still sitting on the floor, not moving an inch. Chanyeol did not even react to his call, so he went closer to the rapper who was seemingly spacing out and tugged him by the shoulder.

                “H-Huh? O, Baekhyun, what is it?” Chanyeol finally came back to his senses.

                “Seriously?” He scooted back a little closer and sat in front of Chanyeol. “Hey, what’s wrong? You’ve become dangerously silent. It’s scaring me…”

                Chanyeol faked a chuckle. “Really? Heh, is that bad or good?” He attempted to joke around to ease the tension. Baekhyun just sighed and gave him a ‘stop-fooling-around-and-just-tell-me-what’s-wrong’ look.

                “Come on, nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little bit tired,” the rapper replied, with an uneasy expression. Baekhyun scowled at him.

                “I’m not that dumb you know. I know you too well,” Baekhyun then gave him a reassuring smile. “But don’t hesitate to tell me when you’re ready.”

                Chanyeol’s spirit was finally lifted up that he was able to give him a genuine smile. “Thanks,” he uttered as he took Baekhyun’s hand and went to the table for dinner.

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                “OH MY GOSH! REALLY?” The girls couldn’t help but squeal at their visual’s story. Dara just hung her head low, her face was deep red. She then shyly nodded to confirm it.

                “Just, WOW!” Bom sank in her seat, fanning herself to get relief from the inexistent heat. Minzy felt so giddy that she shook her body while giggling uncontrollably. CL was still in daze.

                “OMG unnie, I can’t believe it!” The maknae excitedly grabbed Dara’s both hands and squeezed them lightly. “Unnie what if, he actually likes you?!”

                Dara’s mouth hung open and her face turned even redder. She then shook her head violently in disapproval.

                Bom sat straight up immediately. “NOW THAT’S ACTUALLY POSSIBLE!” She smiled widely as she grasped Dara by her shoulders and shook them. “What if he actually did that because he likes you?!”

                “Wh-what? No,” Dara stuttered. She knew that would be too good to be true, too unimaginable.

                “Oh my gosh, okay, stop shaking her! Let’s talk calmly,” CL was obviously trying to calm herself with all the things going on. Minzy and Bom then behaved themselves, breathing in and out, composing themselves.

                “Now that everybody’s calm…” CL then shifted her attention to the innocent fake maknae.

                “Did you just say that he grabbed you into a hug and it wasn’t even scripted?” The baddest female started to interrogate her.

                “She already said that!” Bom exclaimed. Chaerin just rolled her eyes. Bom was running out of patience. She wanted more details about the CF filming.

                “So he really did pull you into a hug though it wasn’t even in the script?” Bom just groaned as CL repeated her question.

                Dara shyly nodded in response.

                “OH MY GOSH.”

                Bom rolled her eyes on their leader and then looked at Dara. “So, happened next?” Bom and Minzy squealed ahead.

                Dara bit her lower lip upon recalling all the things that happened during the day. Her heart was beating uncontrollably and she knew her face looked so ridiculous right now. She took a deep breath before spilling everything out.

                “WHAT?!” the three girls exclaimed in unison.

                “What? ‘I-thought-it-was-cool’, who was he kidding? What a lame excuse!” Bom pouted, shaking her head in disapproval.

                “I admit, it was a poor excuse,” Minzy supported. CL nodded as well.

                “N-no…” Dara disagreed. She knew Kris had no interest in her.

                “What if he actually likes you, and then he just did that because he was jealous.”

                “Wow, Bom-unnie, I never thought you could be a good fanfic writer,” Minzy joked.

                Bom just rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She looked at Dara once again. “You know it’s possible.”

                “No.” Dara insisted. She hung her head lower. Her small smile turned into a full frown. “I know he has no intentions like that. Throughout the day, he didn’t even spare a glance to me. He looked bored, uninterested, like someone who was just dragged into the set for work…” She sighed heavily.

                They all fell silent. CL elbowed Bom with a worried face. Minzy just brought her head down in sympathy. The silence went on until Bom faked a cough.

                “A-at least you had a great scene with him, right,” Bom stuttered, attempting to lift the mood, giving off a teasing smile.

                Dara shot her head up, and her face once again turned red. “Y-yeah,” she smiled shyly, and her heartbeat started to get wild again.

                The girls giggled at the sight of their flustered Dara.

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                Chanyeol carelessly threw himself on his bed, not minding that he was still wearing his shoes on. He was the first one to finish his meal and then went straight to his room. His face was unreadable, as if he was in a deep thought. He placed his hands behind his head, providing a spot for his head to rest on. He stared at the ceiling blankly. Not a long while after, he heaved a heavy sigh.

                “Dara noona…” he muttered under his breath.

< FLASHBACK >

Chanyeol’s POV

                “D-do you like Kris-hyung?”

                I swear I saw Dara noona’s eyes widened in surprise. Seeing her reaction, I knew that she was definitely startled with my question. I didn’t know how I managed to gather courage just to ask that to her. But deep inside, I knew I had to.

                There was a brief moment of silence that descended around us. And with that, I was able to observe her every move. She still had her surprised look, with slightly opened, and, erm, it was still very cute. Then out of the blue, I felt a sharp pang in my chest. I suddenly felt sad – even sadder than I already am that moment. With one last look on her, I suddenly realized that I did not need her to respond anymore – because I think I knew the answer already.

                “W-what’s with that question, Chanyeol-ssi?” She suddenly asked me, as she chuckled nervously. I still can see the uneasiness in her eyes.

                Of course I did not want her to feel pressured and all, so I faked a laugh as well. “Nothing, noona. I’m just curious! Hehe.” I tried to lighten the atmosphere somehow. I slouched a bit to relax myself, before I went on.

                “Seriously, noona. Do you like Kris-hyung?” I repeated. I tried to make an innocent ‘just-curious’ face so that she would not get crept out.

                “N-no. No, not at all…really,” she waved her hand ‘no’ as she gave off a shaky laugh, trying her best to convince me.

                Pang.

                My heart clenched, as if it was being chained tightly, then hammered a thousand times before it was torn into pieces and then thrown away. Well, that was just an understatement of how I truly felt.

                “R-really, noona? Because from what I see, you seem tensed when he’s around.” I knew my voice started to sound a little bit shaky.

                She blinked several times, and I saw her fingers fidgeting.

                “S-seriously, Chanyeol-ssi?” She stuttered once again. “I honestly felt tensed because…because he looked intimidating! I mean, his aura was strong!”

                Pang.

                I’m now thoroughly convinced that Dara noona is indeed an angel – because she’s such a bad liar.

                “Hehe,” this time, I was the one laughing so nervously. Damn, it’s hard pretending to be happy when in fact, you’re not. Now I know.

“You know, you can just tell me! And I might be able to help you,” Crap. Did I just say that? Oh. I just did. And it pained me big time.

                I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before I look back at her – and I regretted it, because when I looked back at her, I saw her flustered face. She was red. She was blushing.

                “What are you saying, Chanyeol-ssi? I swear it’s not like that!” She defended herself as she violently shook her head in disapproval. She’s very cute when she’s being defensive. I tried to laugh again.

                “Then noona why is your face so red?” I though it pained me.

                She gasped before she brought her palms to cover her face. She kept on mumbling, denying all my accusations to her. It was an honor to see such a gentle and beautiful person like her to get this flustered over someone – too bad that someone wasn’t me.

                Before I break down into tears, I decided to stop. I knew if I continued teasing her, she might end up crying and I might end up like that as well. I stood up and went closer to her, tapping her shoulder and whispering an apology for teasing her.

                “Don’t worry noona, your secret is safe with me,” I assured her. I felt my heart just stopped that I couldn’t breathe anymore.

                Her eyebrows curved upwards and looked at me with teary eyes. Her lips formed a cute pout. Surprisingly, she kept mum, got tired of denying perhaps. I chuckled, and tapped her shoulder once again, consoling her and telling her to trust me. After what seemed like hours, she finally calmed down and gave off a small smile. Seeing her smiling made me feel like I was in cloud nine. It was heavenly. But it’s sad to think that those smiles will never be for me – ever.

                She finally admitted that she liked Kris-hyung – and my whole world shattered into bits. She did not give any more details, perhaps, because she was too embarrassed. And I thanked her for that, because if she did then I might end up sobbing.

                She kept reminding me not to tell anyone. And of course, I promised her so. She grabbed both of my hands and squeezed it softly, muttering her ‘thanks’ to me. I gasped at her action. She held my hand. She freaking held my hand. Too bad those hands of hers were never meant to be with mine.

               I faked a smile before I bid her goodbye. Wow, I couldn’t believe how many smiles and laughter I just faked this day. I felt terrible. My heart felt terrible. But I could not do anything about it as of now. I kept my tears from falling as I made my way back to where my members were.

                And oh, there’s one more thing that I just realized this day – it’s that Kris-hyung is such a lucky bastard.

                Ladies and gentlemen, cheers to Dara’s ultimate fanboy, Park Chanyeol, who just got his heart crushed a million times today.

< END OF FLASHBACK >

----- End of Chapter -----

< Author's Note > Okay, it's quite dramatic and angsty. Sorry. Anyways, I'm so sorry for this super duper late update. It's been over a month already. I'm quite lazy and then there's stupid school so I was not able to write. But anyways, I'm sorry for such a short update and I will really try my best to write longer chapters next time. ^.^