Time check, 4:30 pm.

Donghae lazily plops himself on the green temperate grass, like the usual. The wind blew his fringe away, creating a horrible hairline. He hastily raked his hand through his soft locks and trust me, he looked naturally gorgeous.

He stared at the sky, and I bet that this day was literally up to no good. No flock of birds flying around, soaring in great majesty against the cerulean skies. Not even a flying kite could be seen from east to west. The sun sadly disappeared because it was covered by the smudgy clouds. The horizon was simply empty and lifeless. Well, except for the dark clouds that rolled over the place and the miserable gray skies.

This kind of a gloomy state is nothing but completely predictable. Obviously, it's going to rain. Like a tear that swelled up at the corner of our eyes, it will eventually fall whether we like it or not.

Donghae himself was even aware that waiting for Dara to come  in this place is totally pointless, but he still chose to stay and wait for her amidst the sick weather. It's been three days since Dara didn't show up like what she usually promised. Or was it just Donghae alone who assumes that she's supposed to meet him, right on this spot, every afternoon?

Thinking how much he patiently waited for her these past few days through rain or shine, in sickness or in health, he finally realized how on earth he have made it. Waiting for someone with an uncertainty of coming is no joke. He couldn't even stand carrying his own girlfriend's shopping bags in just an hour but ironically, he's more than willing to wait for this girl named Sandara even if it took her forever to come.

The way he felt disappointed everytime Dara didn't show herself up every damn time that he patiently waited was really something. He was never been that disappointed in his entire life and it feels like his heart was literally ripped into two. But what's surprising was the fact that he's willing to wait for another day just in hope to see her again even if it means that he has to suffer another chapter of disappointment.

But reality was indeed ugly. As you try to examine them closely, nothing comes between them but this brittle thing called friendship. And to make the situation worse, they share a vague kind of friendship. They're friends but they don't go hand in hand to break the rules because instead, Donghae made the rules and Dara just simply obeyed to what she was told to. Well, that's how it's supposed to be. That's how they're supposed to be. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you try to think outside the box, they seem to act like idols; afraid to announce to the public what's actually going on to the both of them because it would only lead to a complicated dilemma and further fallacies.

But Donghae has his reasons for doing this. Firstly,  he's dating Jessica and even though he has been a bit resentful to their relationship right now, he would still stand firmly to his role as Jessica's boyfriend. Even if he eventually predicted that their relationship would fall not too soon, he still can't change the fact that he's still her boyfriend as of now.

Second, he doesn't want the world to know that he's been with Dara everytime he escapes his boyfriend duties because in that way, people will blame her for being the thirdwheel. It would be unfair that people will judge her and label her as someone who ruins their relationship because Dara is plainly innocent.

Third, he hates to admit it but the way his bestfriend Jiyong talks about Dara, admiration was clearly evident in his eyes. The way his bestfriend dreamily smiles as he recalled the memory of Dara, it's really something. And he doesn't want to upset nor ruin Jiyong's hopes for Dara just because he befriended her.

And lastly, he would be lying if he won't admit that he's happy to have Dara all by himself the entire afternoon. He's selfish?  Yes. He may be an angel to everyone, but even an angel has a shadow. He was aware that he's not in the right place to act possessive towards her, but even himself didn't know why he feels that way. Why feels that claiming her was right and satisfying even with all the circumstances around.

Call him an , a douche.. anything, for feeling this way towards a girl he barely knew but he himself can't help it too.

He denied it a couple of times that he didn't fell in a deep called love with Dara, but his heartbeat betrayed him. But this is just temporary right? He would still learn to love Jessica, right?

Donghae was almost at the verge of drowning in the abyss of his own thoughts but he pulled back to consciousness when he felt something wet that landed on his cheek.

He looked up and saw more tiny beads of raindrop falling. It was drizzling. The water fell from the sky, drip by boring drip. They were like tiny needles that pierced through his skin, but eventually, they came piercing like daggers.

The rain then poured down, and it was a heavy one. They hammered down like bullets, creating blurred lines. Endless drops of water trickled down his body but he still remain rooted on his spot.

His gaze fixed on the horizon, even if he's aware that the clouds wouldn't stop crying. He was badly soaked and his pants were splashed by smudges of mud.

But he didn't care because he's beyond willing to wait for Dara. Even if his subconscious told him to go because there's no way she would show herself up in this kind of weather, but his heart told him to wait, wait and wait.

He desperately sighed as he could feel the strong rain that lashed down on him. It's getting stronger every second.

He could see how the rain increasingly poured down. Judging from the slanted lines of raindrops, it's way way heavier. But what puzzled him most was the fact that he couldn't feel any traces of wetness that landed on him all of a sudden.

He looked up to see a yellow cloth hovered above him, and that's when realization hit him that it's an umbrella. Someone came to offer him an umbrella. His heart began to race fastly and hope began to ignite his cold system. He immediately turned around to meet the person who offered him an umbrella and..

The corner of his lips began to lift up. His face brightened by the sight of her.

Out of all people, she came.

Dara came.

The way Dara flashed a genuine smile made him smile too. Is that even possible? She was just enough to leave him breathless and the world to stop spinning. He was a guy who obviously used to laugh at the the poetic descriptions of the book, but he was astonished to find himself feeling the giddiness that run down his spine and butterflies that was creating a chaos in his stomach.

His hazelnut eyes sparkingly gazed at Dara's face and, he realized one thing.

She's beautiful.

She doesn't need to be fancied up to make her beautiful. She's beautiful in her own way. Even if her hair was terribly messed up and her forehead was glistened with sweat, she's simply beautiful.

"Will you stop smiling? You looked ridiculous. And.. you're terribly drenched." Dara said as she eyed Donghae from head to toe. Even though she told him how ridiculous he looked but she still can't deny the fact that he's drop dead gorgeous when he's wet.

"And why are you here? You know you'll get sick by this state! Are you insane, Donghae-ah?" She scolded as she searched for a face towel in her bag.

Donghae was surprised as soon as his name left Dara's mouth.

"What did you just call me?" He suspiciously asked Dara.

"I said you're insane."

"No. I mean, my name."

"Ahhh. Donghae~" Dara said in nonchalance, but as soon as realization hit her that she just spilled his name even when she's not supposed to, she instinctively covered .

"Say it again." Donghae ordered.

"D-donghae.."

"Again."

"Donghae."

"And again."

"DONGHAE!"

The rain has finally came to an end. The distinctive smell of wet grass filled the air, and rain residues were evident. It was a beautiful aftermath.

Donghae carefully tugged Dara's wet and muddy shirt, and led her to sit beside him. They were tired from their running saga and  all the chase and catch they did in the rain.

They were both in a sitting position and beneath them was the damped earth. Dara was about to stand up as soon as she realized that she's sitting on a muddy piece of land but Donghae hauled her fastly, telling her that it would no longer matter since they were already soiled and mucky.

Dara gently hugged her knees as she fixed her eyes on the golden horizon. The rain just stopped in time because they were still able to witness the sunset. Dara was fascinated by the marvellous sunset colors that streaked the twilight sky. slightly gaped open in awe.

Donghae set his eyes on the amazing sunset but he unconsciously transferred his gaze to Dara. 'She's most beautiful when she's marvelled by the little things.' He thought but eventually blinked in surprise by the sudden outburst of the thought. Even when he tried to stop himself from speaking in superlatives, it's just lamely impossible when it comes to Dara. Even if he tried to put a huge comparison between Jessica and her, Dara would always overpower in his point of view. Dara is really something. 

And this is what he feared most. That he starts to fall for her but he's committed to someone. In fact, it's so sad to belong to someone else when the right one comes along. Considering all of Dara's flaws, he would always find her amazingly and stunningly beautiful. But in terms of Jessica, he literally has no idea. He was lured by Jessica's goddess-like beauty. His eyes learn to fell in love with her, but his heart didn't. And this upsets him most.

He smiled bitterly. This is his fault so he must learn how to accept the consequence. He must not fall for her. He must not fall for Dara. Even if it means that he will have sleepless nights unrequitedly thinking of her and a lifetime to deny his feelings, he will do it.

He stared at her face then his eyes trailed on her wounded knees.

"Dara, what happened to your knees?" He asked, his voice was obviously filled with concern as he eyed the fresh bruises.

"O-oh. I just tripped over there but it was fine." Dara immediately wrapped her arms tighter around her knees and dipped her head down so Donghae won't see her wounds. But Donghae carefully yanked her arms away, reflexively making her lean her head back. He eyed the terrible wounds on her skin. Smudges of blood and dirt are present on her knees and just by staring at it, he could feel the pain as well.

He fished for a cloth on the pocket of his jeans and fortunately,  he found a white hanky. He immediately pressed it on her wounds. Dara winced in pain by the pressure of the fabric against her pained skin. Blood seeped through the white fabric, leaving a dark red patch on it.

"And you told me it was fine." He shot a look to Dara and Dara just pouted by her friend's strict and calm demeanor. 

Donghae squeezed her hand, and carefully lead her to stand. She just stood straightly like she wasn't wounded at all but actually, she was mentally cursing by the burning pain on her knees. Donghae stared at her. No matter how Dara suppressed the pain, he could still see that she was pained.

He bent over, making Dara stare in wonder behind him. "Hop in, I'll carry you home."

"B-but-"

"The sunset's over. I have to get you home so stop being so stubborn. Hop in or I'll kiss you again. But this time, on the lips."

As soon as the word 'kiss' escaped through Donghae's mouth, Dara didn't even hesitate to climb on his back. She doesn't want to have more sleepless nights in the future so that's why she just obeyed him this time.

She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck and Donghae immediately scooped the back of her knees, lifting her up.

"A-am I heavy?" Out of the blue, Dara asked. Donghae laughed at her ridiculous question and chose not to respond.

"I really thought I was heavy. Thank God I am not." She proudly whispered, taking Donghae's silence as a 'no'.

"Who says you're not heavy? It seems like you've been eating stones and rocks your entire life. You have similar weight to an elephant!"

"Yah!"

"Don't forget to change your clothes right away, okay?"

"Aye aye captain!"

"And don't forget to clean your wounds and apply disinfectant, okay?"

"Aye aye captain!"

"Sleep early, okay?"

"Aye aye captain!"

"And also, make sure to completely dry your hair before sleeping, okay?"

"Aye aye captain!"

"Good girl." Donghae remarked as he gently patted her head.

"You should go home too. You're badly drenched than I am, you know." She said as her eyes faltered at Donghae's damped clothes.

"Not until I see you heading straight inside." He stubbornly stated, causing Dara to sigh in defeat.

"Fine! After you see me getting in, you should go home too." She smiled one last time before she turned her back and head straight to the door. She twisted the knob, opened it, and stopped in her tracks before she could fully get herself inside. She sent a flying kiss to Donghae, and Donghae just laughed at her immature action. She has no idea how Donghae flushed by her flying kiss.

After Dara shut the door, Donghae turned his heel so he could walk his way home. As soon as he spun around, a familiar face standing two meters away from where he was rooted greeted him. It's the least person he expected to see.

"Jessica..."

Donghae's POV

 And this is it. I. AM. DOOMED.

Lee Donghae the suave romantic is nothing but doomed.

"So... would you care to explain to me what you're doing outside a girl's house?" Jessica calmy said, her voice was obviously filled with suspicions and doubts.

We're now sitting in a bench of the nearby park. Leaves were scatterred everywhere and some of them were floating on the muddy puddles. The natural scent of the rain aftermath was still lingering around. It was getting darker too.

I tilted my head to see Jessica. I fully expected to see something fury drawn on her face but I was kinda surprised to see her blankless expression. She looked pretty calm than usual but seeing her unreadable eyes, this alarmed me. She may put a poker face on but I could vividly trace that she was beyond mad deep inside. It might even be possible that she countlessly murdered me in her thoughts for being such a jerk.

"And if you are going to tell me that she's your cousin or a relative, sorry babe but I'm not as dumb as you think to buy that." She added, making myself curl in horror. And now, I am seriously cornered up in this whole predicament. Jessica hits the bull's eye. It seems like I was caught up red handed in a love affair with Dara and I plainly have nothing to defend myself.

"She's my friend, Jessica." I softly uttered in partial truth. Well, it would be valid if I say that Dara is my secret friend because we're friends after all but something in me still couldn't deny the fact that I started to see her as someone else, someone more than just a friend.

"And she's the reason why you've been ditching me these past few days." Jessica stated as a matter of fact. She knows too well that in this case, I having nothing to say nor to defend. She's right, I am wrong. This somehow made sense. If Jessica suspects, she's always right.

"Can't you see Lee Donghae, you cannot even call me 'babe' and to think I am your girlfriend. I am your damn girlfriend because I could still clearly remember the words that left your mouth, 'You're taking this friendship to the next level' exactly a month ago! Don't tell me that you mean it differently. And also, how can you not stand going with me every afternoon?  Because I am boring? Is that it? Or is it because... you've been flirting with someone else at the same time you're in a commitment with me? You're committing a taboo Donghae. If you find my words wrong, now tell me which part I was wrong." Jessica hissed. Her frustrated outrage is enough to prove that she starts to unleash her inner demon. She's mad, and it's evident.

I remained quiet and voiceless. I'm literally out of words. After hearing Jessica's words, I could only prove how much af an I was and I am basically someone to be blamed for putting this thing called love in a dilemma. Jessica has a point of getting angry and I, on the other hand, has practically no right to talk back.

But after all of these things, it's clear that Jessica was hurt. I hurt her. And it's also clear that I don't want her to witness how painful it really is to see our relationship breaking. I firmly believe that this relationship between me and Jessica will only bring us no good because until now, there's no spark that was ignited through out my system. I wasn't happy at all, and I would always end up hurting her, disappointing her.

I guess I was right. I'm too young yet too confused to love. If only I didn't rush things then things wouldn't get too out of hand.

Bottomline, I couldn't meet Jessica's expectations of a happy relationship. We're incompatible. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that I should love her, but at the end of the day I would still realize that she's really not the one as well as, I'm not the right one for her.

I'm nothing but a sadist jerk, a douchebag boyfriend and Jessica obviously doesn't deserve to be with someone like me. Out of all the handsome guys in Seoul, she chose me yet I couldn't reciprocate her feelings.

And this is the right time to officially end our commitment. The right time to end the Haesica love story- oh wait, was it even love? or just plain attraction?  Even if it takes the whole city to tell me how much of a dumb I am to let her go, I'm willing to do it for the both of us.

"Jessica.."

"Yes?"

"Can we end this? You and I, this whole relationship, can we please end this? Let's just be friends. This is for the both of us, you know." I said and I could see how Jessica bitterly smiled.

It took an eerie silence to envelope us in several seconds before she said, "No."

"But why?" I asked, totally demanding for a valid reason. How could she say no? I cheated at her. I was seeing other girl instead of spending time with her like what a boyfriend should do. This is her chance to get herself away from an like me. She could find someone else, way way better than me.

"Because I don't want to. I want us to be forever. Sorry if you're confused for now but I just couldn't let you go."

"Jessica this is for the best of us. I know, you know, we all know that this relationship isn't working. You'll only hurt yourself, trust me." I guarantee that I'm right but she just shrugged my own opinion like it's somehow nonsense or meaningless.

"We could work this out together, you know. That's simple." She suggested,  stubborn as ever. I should have felt so happy to witness her fight hard for our relationship, but something in me feels this wasn't right. Because I know that the aftermath of this forced relationship will only be a shattered heart.

I am tempted to slam her stubborn head hard on the ground so she will realize that I was right and she should obey my words. This is seriously getting in my nerves.

"Jessica..."

"You know what Lee Donghae, fine! I know you're itching to break up with me but sorry. Why? Because I am not letting you go, I will never let you go. Even if you hate it, I will never. If you want to think and sort out your feelings, let's just call this a truce. We're temporarily breaking up until you will feel integrated. And in the end, you SHOULD come back to me."

A truce? That sounds good but... I don't even think that I could drag myself back at her if that happens. It's way better if we should just totally end it and let fate decide if we should get each other back someday.

"A truce or I'll take it back?" She slyly asked me. Given by such worst options, I assume that she knows that I'll take the first option; a truce.

"If you won't answer me, then we'r-"

"Fine! A truce." I confirmed before she could totally take back her words. She snickered at my reaction but I just rolled my eyes at her.

A truce won't be bad right? And this is a chance for her to find someone else better than me.

And a chance for me to be with Dara.

Oh what the hell, why am I always thinking about her 24/7? She's really creeping me out. Dara's a creeper. The girl who loves to haunt me in my thoughts and dreams. She's invading my mindset and how I hope to get rid of all the thoughts and images of her.

"Just don't forget that you're mine, and always be mine,"

"You'll fall back to me not too soon, Lee Donghae."

No one's POV

 In a swift swing, the door slammed shut. Dara immediately leaned her back against the newly closed door, letting herself fall in a slow motion on the floor. The fuzzy warm feeling that she has been hiding the entire time she's with Donghae shot her back once again, but this time she can no longer suppress the giddiness. For the nth time, she smiled like crazy.

She dramatically clutched her chest like she was just recently lovestrucked, and let her facial muscles stretch to infinity. The scene of Donghae holding her, carrying her, smiling at her; it was like a broken cassette that keeps on replaying on her mind. From Donghae's facial features to his concerned expressions, this might be another reason why Dara turns out to be a nocturnal freak. There's no reason for her to sleep peacefully after all the things happened.

In a dreamy position, she could feel how her cheeks and her ears burned. It seems like the warm sensation that gushed through her drenched body made her dry. Her heartbeat aced fast like a rocket going into space.

As soon as the memory of Donghae kissing her nose flashed through her brain, she went pale but eventually flushed into a darkest shade of red. She madly stomped her feet at the same time, ruffled her messy hair. She looked particular no one but a crazy psychopath. 

Oblivious to her, a pair of eyes gaped open in total horror as he caught the sight of her crazy sister doing some weird actions.

"N-noona.. are you p-possessed?"

Dara's frantic movement came into a halt once she heard someone speaking.

Jesus, no.

It can't be... Cheondong!

Like she just mirrored her brother's reaction, she gaped her eyes open too but she just overdid it, making it almost fall out from its sockets. Her face slacked as her trembling eyes darted at the sight of her horrified brother.

Well, who wouldn't be frightened to witness your own sister acting like she was possessed by a ridiculous spirit?

"W-what are you staring at?! I was just practicing f-for our.. for our... stage play. Yeah! Stage play!" Dara nervously exclaimed, hoping that Cheondong will buy her lame excuse.

But God didn't favor her, because he didn't.

"Stage play? But why are you looking like a tomato? Your cheeks are redder than usual. You don't look normal at all, noona." Cheondong said as his eyes wandered at the visible crimson cheeks of her sister and her bacon red ears. He confusingly gazed at her muddy sister. Even with all the smudges of dirt on her face, the redness is still undeniably visible.

Instead of answering back her brother, Dara stood up and immediately scurried in large steps to her room.

She shut the door and paced with a terrible heart beat to the vanity mirror. As she glared at her reflection, her eyes immediately darted at the her perking red ears. And eventually she was aghast by the sight of something deep red on her cheeks.

She's blushing.

And here goes her heart beat dancing again.

The warm fuzzy feeling inside her.

The entire zoo on her stomach.

The nervousness... the excitement.

The giddiness brought by their countless memories during the numbered days...

"Could this be... love?"

A/N: Hello guys. So how do you find this chapter? I honestly have no idea how to improve my writing skills. It's kinda sad because I don't have a sense of humor. /sobs  I'm a boring yet a corny person, just so you know. Well anyway, even with all the homework, I was still able to find time to update. Yehet~

But as what I told you, I might seldomly update because college . I'm already a third year college student so.. yeah. More paperworks, more sleepless nights.

Thank you so much for reading guys mwa mwa ♥

See you next update!

-xoxo♥