“There they are!” Chaerin waved at Dara and Seungri who were about to enter the main entrance of the cafeteria. Dara has his hands on Seungri’s arms. They were walking with their bodies so close with each other.

“Hi!” Dara greeted them in a less cheerful voice. The guy beside her has his head bowed.

Jiyong stood up and meet them, smiling. He gave Seungri a light hug. “I’m happy for you, bro.”

Seungri glanced at Dara, not expecting a hug from Jiyong. His chest thudded but he tried his very best not to react on that transparently. He pulled back first and acted as normally as he can then sat beside Chaerin. A giddy smile arched on Chaerin’s face. Dara went silent and just attacked the food that Jiyong bought for her. Though she was physically in front of her friends, her mind was flying thinking of ways on how to tell Chaerin about Seungri.

“Here.” Chaerin pushed the plate of food in front of him. “I bought that for you.”

Seungri shyly looked at her. “Thanks but you don’t have to do that.”

“It’s okay. We’re friends now, right?” she said.

“Y-yes … yes of course. I owe my life to you.”

Chaerin smiled at him then to Dara and Jiyong.

“By the way guys, can I invite you this weekend in our house? Please … just for a night or a day.” Chaerin talked to them.

“Are you going to have a party?” Dara asked.

Chaerin shook her head. “Nope. I just want to hang out with you. And since our exams will be on next week, we can sort of ‘group study’ there too!”

“Good idea.” Dara agreed. “But I don’t know if I can come.”

Jiyong who was beside her gave her a peculiar look. Dara just ignored it and just continued munching.

“I’m not coming.” Seungri nonchalantly said.

Chaerin’s face went somber upon hearing her friend’s rejection. For the first time in her life, she never invited a single friend to her house; just this time. But it seemed like they’re not interested. She feigned a smile.

“It’s okay. Maybe some other time.” She added. “Anyway, my cousin is coming so I’ll be having company too.”

Dara looked up and smiled at her. “I’ll talk to mom first tonight, Chae. I’ll call you right then.”

Chaerin’s face lit up. “Really? I thought you’re not coming.”

“I never said that.” She denied then turned to Seungri. “You’re coming too, right Seungri!”

“Huh?” Seungri seemed to be absentminded.

Dara turned to Chaerin and smiled. “He said yes.”

“But ….” He interrupted. Dara eyed him. “Yes, … I’m com-ming.”

“Looks like I’ll be left behind if I won’t come. Can I?” Jiyong joked.

The three of them laughed except Seungri. He was like drained, still dazed about his confession. He’s not supposed to tell Dara everything but there’s guilt in him. For almost been months of having her at his side everyday, he guessed it was just right to let her know everything. The fact that he’s been suppressing himself for a long time, part of his brain told him that what he did was right.

A light pat on the shoulder drifted his mind back to reality. Three pairs of eyes met him when he looked up. He blinked twice, thrice trying to calm himself. “Hey, what are you looking at?” he asked them in a serious tone.

“You were serious there. Is something wrong?” Jiyong asked him, smiling. His boyish smile made his heart beat skip faster.

Seungri felt a bit dizzy with Jiyong gaze on him. The effect of it sent voltage of electricity through his nerves enough to make him melt. He blinked again, no words came out of his mouth this time. It was like his little world revolved around slowly, as in very slow. He doesn’t know why but he reacted that way. But despite that, he still managed to act casually. Unknown to him, Dara was observing him.

“Oh, nope. I—I was thinking about my dream last night. Actually it’s a nightmare.” He lied.

“What about it?” Chaerin asked.

“Uhm, it’s nothing … insignificant dream.” He kept his voice steady, trying to make them believe.

“Who’s in your dream?” Chaerin persistently asked again.

Seungri can’t seem to find a word to answer her. Chaerin was waiting for an answer. It was just a simple question though, but his mind can’t even process a single name. He was lying about it that’s why. A faked cough from Dara caught their attention at once. He received a friendly gape from her then. It was as if a cue to rescue him.

“Dara … it was Dara and some --- pumpkins.” He trailed. “I told it’s not important.” he shrugged.

“I thought it’s a nightmare.” It was still Chaerin who seemed not convinced.

“Pumpkins ate her.”

Chaerin and Jiyong laughed while Dara just smiled secretly to herself.

“OH! That was indeed a nightmare. Pumpkins do eat people now, huh.”

“Y-yeah.” He agreed then looked down on the floor.

The school bell rang which means, they needed to go back to their respective classes. Students started to flock on the hallway. They didn’t stand up immediately; instead they waited for the students to disappear first before them. Squeezing themselves into the crowd wasn’t a good idea at all. And besides, their next teacher doesn’t come on time always.

**********

It was weekend.

Seungri had been walking across his room for the nth time. He had been battling with his mind if he will go and join his friends at Chaerin’s place. It was like there’s a force inside him, urging him not to go with them. He felt that something not favorable to him might happen. And he wanted to avoid that. For sure, Chaerin would go wild if she’ll know that he was gay. Apparently, he’s not yet ready to face her. After everything that she did for him, he thought that it’s not the price that she’s expecting from him.

He slouched on the sofa and clutched his head. It was so hard for him to decide for himself. He took a deep breathe and took his phone. Right on time, it vibrated. He swallowed hard upon seeing the name of the caller. It was none other than his ‘special friend’, Jiyong. He waited for sometime before pressing the accept button. His chest pounded strangely again.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Seungri! Are you ready?”

“Huh?” His throat went dry and that’s all he can say.

“Be ready. We’ll pick you up at around 10. Just wait for us, okay?”

“O-okay.”

The line was cut off already. There it goes! A single ‘okay’ decided for him. He cursed himself for that.

He plopped down to bed again then let out a sigh. After few minutes, he readied his things and took a bathe.

Someone knocked on his door.

“It’s open. Please come in.”

His mother went in. “I thought you’re going to a friend’s house. Are you ready?”

He gave a sweet smile to his mom. The old lady hugged her son lightly. She patted his back like comforting him. “Don’t worry son. Everything will be back to normal. First reaction would be harsh. It’s just normal. Remember this, Dara didn’t get mad at you when you confessed and you should be grateful with that. I’m sure your friends will accept you for who you are.”

“But mom … it’s not that simple.”

“Trust your friends … trust Dara. Give them time and space. You know, it’s not that easy for them to believe and adjust.”

“Thanks, mom.” He said and hugged his mother back.

His mother knew everything about his ual preference. It was also hard for her to accept the truth, though. But later on, she eventually accepted it in the process. She loved his son above everything. The only thing why Seungri kept it was because of his father. Mr. Lee, wanted the best for his son and apparently as the heir of their family business, being gay was quite undesirable.

“Okay, enough of drama.” The old girl said pulling from the hug.

“You think they will accept me, mom.”

She smiled at him. “We’ll pray for that.”

Seungri’s face lightened. “Thanks …”

They walked down together and shared their breakfast.

**********

A hairy thing touching her nose woke her up. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see Jiyong inside her room.

“Oppa! What are you doing here?” Dara was surprised. Jiyong was sitting at her bedside holding a featherlike stuff and rubbing it against her face. She wrinkled her nose and looked at him with wide eyes when she realized something. She quickly grabbed her blanket and pulled it up, covering her body. She wasn’t wearing a bra and for some reason, she felt ashamed about it.

“It’s weekend! I just want to remind you, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“I know, right. Today is Saturday and … and it’s supposed to be my rest day.” She reminded him.

He furrowed his brows. “See that? Chaerin had been calling me earlier. She can’t contact you.”

“I turned off my phone last night because Seungri kept on bugging me on how am I going to tell you that he’s g—“She nonchalantly said. She cut herself in an instant as soon as she realized what she was about to say. Two letters left and she had slipped her tongue. Good thing she didn’t.

“Tell us what?”

“Huh?” She swallowed. “What happened to Chaerin?” she said instead.

He twitched his lips then smirked. “How could you forget? She’s been waiting for us since DAWN. Don’t you have any idea of how excited she was when you agreed to go to their house? Aisht – and you call yourself a friend.”

“Omigosh! Is it today, oppa?” she asked in surprise.

“Yeah, and that’s the reason why I’m here inside your room. Will you get up now?” he said then pulled the blanket off her but she pulled it back. Jiyong squinted his eyes and pulled it away for the second time. Unfortunately, he didn’t succeed.

“Yah!”

“Why?”

“Aren’t you going to get up there? It’s past nine already.” He demanded.

“I can’t …”

Jiyong crossed his arms on his chest and faced her. “And why is that?”

She looked away. “I—d-don’t have – you know. Uhm, oppa .. can please turn around?”

He totally got what she meant. A playful smile arched on his face. It’s been a while since Dara saw that. He looked so cute and adorable. Then he chuckled.

“You’re thinking too much there. It doesn’t make any difference whether you wear or don’t wear one. It’s still flat.” he blatantly said.

Dara’s eyes went big, literally big. ‘How could he say something like that?’ she thought. She raised her brows and looked at him. She was about to fire back but she melted. He still wore that smile. Her chest thudded for a while then her eyes wandered around. She can’t find her bra.

He bent down and picked up the piece of clothing on the floor. “You’re looking for this one?” he said waving the thing to her.

“Yah! Oppa , why are you holding that?!” she voiced out scandalized.

In just a matter of seconds, he threw it to her and it landed exactly on her face. “I’ll wait for you downstairs, be quick! I just called Seungri.” With that, he turned his back and headed to the door. Dara left with open.