Jiyong can’t find a word to answer her mother. He was speechless. He was caught off guard. It was like his throat was blocked. He just realized it when his mother patted him.

“It’s okay, son. It’s just normal.” She smiled then walked towards the kitchen. Jiyong was left dumbfounded.

“Dinner’s ready!” His mother called out.

He just scratched his head on how he acted in front of his mother.

The three of them shared the table. His father was out of the country because of business matters. Though the table wasn’t complete, the family spirit was still there. Only that, Jiyong was avoiding his mother’s gape.

Seung Ho kept on asking if his noona had left already. Mrs. Kwon didn’t disappoint his son from answering all his questions. And from time to time, she was giving Jiyong a teasing look. The latter pretended like he wasn’t interested in the topic.

**********

Dara charged her phone first before joining her parents to dinner. She decided to just call Chaerin before bed.

“Hi, dad!” She greeted her father when she saw him settled already on the dining table.

“How’s school?” Mr. Park asked.

“It was alright, dad. I scored high in our Math exam.” She boasted.

“Really? that’s great! How about in your other subjects?”

“Oh, can we just talk about Math?” She joked.

They both laughed with her lame joke. Her mother then joined in the table. Dara took three glasses from the counter and poured water on it. She gave them to her parents before settling herself.

“What took you so long there, dear?” Her mother asked.

“Sorry, mom. I was on my way out but auntie invited me to sit on the couch. We chatted for a while. I told her I was busy with school stuff that’s why I wasn’t able to visit there.” she relayed.

“Ah … I thought you wanted to change that habit?”

“Hehe … yeah, but … I changed my mind.” She answered with a full mouth.

“Okay. So you’ll be going to a party tomorrow. I won’t see you the whole day. Do you really want to go there?”

“Mom, … don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl now and besides Jiyong oppa is with me. He will take care of me.”

“I know that, dear.  And we all know how you act sometimes. Don’t make it hard on Jiyong’s part. You know, he sometimes loses his temper on you.”

Dara gave her mother an assuring look. “I promise, mom. I’ll behave.”

“I agree with our daughter, hon. She can handle herself already. Right, baby? How old are you by the way?” He told his wife then turned to Dara and .

“Daad …”

He laughed then smiled. “Of course I know. How could I forget that?”

Dara laughed with her father. Her mother joined them too a little later after absorbing the humor of their lame jokes.

They were a picture of a perfect happy family. The Park parents were supportive to their only daughter all the time. Mr. Park always cracks his humor in between a serious talk. Maybe that’s the reason why he hadn’t had a serious fight with his wife. Mrs. Park worries about her daughter too much. Though Dara had already transformed into a young lady, there’s still a part of her that’s incapable of.

Dinner time was over. The whole family proceeded to the living room and continued chatting. Dara sat in between her parents with her head leaning on her father’s shoulder. The old man was brushing her hair with his hands. Her mother just smiled at them. Nothing has changed between the two.

After an hour of spending time with each other, they separated. Dara went up to her room. She checked her phone and dialed Chaerin’s number. It rang but after a while the line was cut off. She threw herself on her bed and dialed again, still no answer.

She tried several times unfortunately, she didn’t succeed. With that, she freshened herself instead. She took a quick hot shower. When she was done, her phone vibrated. There was a message from Chaerin.

Chaerin: Thank u so much 4 d concern. I appreciate it. Don’t worry about me. I’m okay now. J

Dara quickly pressed the keys of her phone. There was smile on her face knowing that Chaerin was okay.

Dara: We were worried about you. Wen r u going back to school?

Chaerin: On Monday … I missed u all.

Dara: WE missed u too! Btw, SEungri was asking if ur okay. J

She put on her undergarments then wore her sleep dress. It’s been like five minutes with no reply from her friend then her phone rang. She quickly answered it without looking at the caller ID. She’s sure that it was Chaerin. She might have pissed her off by mentioning Seungri’s name.

“SEungri was bugging me this morning about you. He’s worried too. I’m just relaying what he said” Dara told.

“Worried about who? …” The voice on the other line said.

Dara figured out it wasn’t Chaerin. It was a male one. “Hello? Who ---”

“It’s JIyong …”

“Jiyong oppa?” She asked in surprise. How come she wasn’t able to recognize his voice? Then it sank into her. It was really him.

“Oppa, you called. Do you need anything?” She asked in total giddiness. A different feeling enveloped her hearing his voice over the phone. His tone was strange to her ears though she heard it everyday.

She lay to bed with her stomach, knees bent upward with her toes twirling.

“I just want to remind you that we’re leaving before lunch tomorrow. In case you’ve forgotten.”

“It’s already on my list, oppa. I’ll wake up early tomorrow. I’ve packed my things. So no worries.”

“Okay … Good. That’s all ---.” There was a pause before he finished his line. “Sleep well.”

Dara’s smile widened. “You too, oppa. Good night.”

The line was cut already.

She rolled to her bed but the grin on her face can’t seem to be erased. She doesn’t know but his voice made her happy.

**********

A persistent knock on the door waked Dara up. With a bit of annoyance, she covered her ears with a pillow. She drifted back to sleep. After a while, it knocked again.

“Mom! I’m already awake.” She yelled under the blanket.

The door swung open. It was her mom. “Jiyong is waiting downstairs, aren’t you going to the beach?”

She snapped open her eyes. “Oh noooh!”

“Be ready. I’ll tell Jiyong that you’re awake..” Her mother walked out of her room then.

She hurriedly ran towards the bathroom. She was already fully awaked when she heard that Jiyong was waiting for her downstairs. She blamed herself for being such a hard sleeper. She did alarm the clock but why in the world she didn’t hear it. With just a splash of water, she went out of the shower room. No time for her to dressed up properly. If only Jiyong hadn’t called her last night and was told to sleep well, she’d probably not in the state of cramming right now.

A pair of skinny jeans and a tee was the first that she grabbed from her closet. Too tight that she wasn’t able to pull it up to her hips so she pulled another one from her pile of clothes. In a matter of ten minutes, she was done. At last! She went down, sweating. Ironic, she had just done taking a shower.

She found Jiyong leaning on the sofa with eyes closed. “Good morning, oppa!”

“Oh, hi … You wake up early. Excited?”

Dara glanced at the wall clock and it’s only seven in the morning. Her shoulders dropped. “Mom!”

“Oh, you’re done? That was quick.” Her mother approached her.

“I thought I overslept …Mom, look at me. I’m sweating because I was in a rush.” She complained. Jiyong and her mother burst out from laughter.

“I didn’t tell you to rush. I just informed you that Jiyong was waiting.” She said in between laughs.

“You look great!” Jiyong complimented her. She’s not sure if it’s a real compliment or an insult. But whatever it might be, as long as it came from Jiyong, she’s glad.

**********

The ride towards Jiyong’s friend house was silent. Dara who rushed herself, still can’t get over it. She blamed herself for responding abruptly to her mother without even checking the wall clock. Jiyong on the other hand was sleeping. Actually, she’s not really sure if he’s sleeping or just pretending to be.

They reached their destination after long hours of road trip. The car halted in front of a two-storey beach house. Jiyong went out of the car and stretched his arms. He was sleeping the whole ride and they haven’t had the time to talk with each other.

“We’re here. Come on, now.” He ordered Dara who was still fixed on her seat.

“Is this your friend’s house?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Jiyong answered shortly and walked towards the gate. Dara immediately moved and followed him leaving their things in the car.

“Oppa, wait for me.”

Jiyong pressed the button. A loud bark of a dog from inside the house scared Dara. Like a magnet, she hid on Jiyong’s back while holding him in his arms tightly. He too was frightened a little but what made him more frightened was when she held him. He was like electrocuted. Her grip went even tighter when the bark went louder like it was approaching to them.

“Oppa, let’s get out of here!”

“Relax … it won’t bite you.”

“I’m scared!”

JIyong chuckled then faced her. “Don’t worry. Just trust me.”

“O-okay …” She then loosened her grip.

A middle aged man opened the gate. Jiyong bowed at him. “Good afternoon Mr. Kim.”

“You’re late.” Mr. Kim said with a smile on his face. He’s one of the caretakers of the house. “Please come in.”

“Oh, thanks.”

JIyong went in. Dara hesitantly followed him. The house was ten meters away from the gate. Based on its perspective, it looked like an old house. Dara got goose bumps while on their way inside. That didn’t escape from Jiyong’s gape. He waited for her then laid his arms on her shoulders. Eventually, that soothed her.

A tall guy with deep eyes noticed them. He walked towards their direction. He was smiling but it seemed like not to Dara’s eyes. Dara elbowed Jiyong when the guy was already near them.

“Hey, Jiyong! What’s up man?”

“I’m good. How about you?”

“Oh, you got a pretty lady beside you. Mind to introduce me to her?” The tall guy joked.

“Oppa, is he your friend?” She whispered. Jiyong just smiled.

“This is Dara … my friend. Dara, meet Seung Hyun aka TOP.”

TOP offered his hands to her. Without any choice, Dara accepted it with a fake smile. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Dara.”

She thought for a while. Does he know her? “Jiyong mentioned you before.”

“Oh.” she timidly replied.

They walked inside and were welcomed by a loud sound coming from the speakers. Dara looked at Jiyong. She never expected that this was the party he was talking about. What caught her attention even more, the people inside. They were like gangsters.

“Oppa, I’m going home. This is not what I expected.” Dara shook her head in disappointment.

“Be cool. They’re my friends and they’re harmless. Don’t worry.” Jiyong assured her.