“Seunghyun-ah… uhm… where’s Dara… didn’t see her since this morning…?”




After their outing… Sohee never left Jiyong’s side… she totally changed after what he told her about him breaking up with her… he couldn’t help but to blame himself for her sudden change… the once lively and trustful Sohee… somehow became paranoid of him leaving her…




Sad and at the same time getting scared of what she’s becoming… all he could do is to stay at her side… afraid that she’ll do something drastic against herself just because of his selfishness…




But thinking about Dara… the love of his life… is it really late to get her back…? He thought… but maybe it is… the once feeling that he could battle anything just to get her back became pointless for he realized its effect on the people around them… especially to those who love them…




Early this morning… Jiyong even had the hard time sending off Sohee to her work… her reason was because he’ll meet Dara at the office and may leave her… another frightening moment for him… but in the end managed to convince her… soothing her once again that he’ll never leave her side…



If now… just stealing some chances in order to see Dara… he would take any of its chance… for only being with her… seeing her calm face… just by knowing her existence… brings air to his lungs… blood for his heart to pump… keeping him alive till now…




“She can’t make it today… she has something to do…”




Seunghyun answered him with a monotonous voice… Jiyong who’s still oblivious that Seunghyun already knew everything didn’t noticed his friend’s frigid self…




“Why…? What happened…?”




Jiyong asked worriedly… for he’s now too cautious to her secret… still confused to what it is… connecting everything that he observed from their outing but still unable to grasp about it….




Seunghyun furrowed his thick brows… crease forming on his forehead… not that he’s mad at his friend but to himself… thinking why he should get between them all the time… always being the one who’s getting hurt and still letting them to do it to him… his own selfishness brought him his pain and he’s aware of that…




He turned his chair around to face his friend… now with a calm face as he used to have… trying to form a smile in order for him not to suspect anything.




“What’s with the sudden concern Jiyong-ah…?”




He asked him… Jiyong fidgeted on his position… realizing that he became too obvious…




“Uhmmm… nothing… I am just curious…. Coz… you know she’s just new here and now she’s taking absences… just… just because she’s close to you… that’s all…”




He stuttered…. Which earned a slight smile from Seunghyun… Jiyong’s not a good liar, he thought… Seunghyun then sighed… it wont hurt if he would tell him her reason… he thought once again.




“Well… she moved places today… she’s supposed to do it last weekend but we had an outing right… so I let her to take a leave today…”




He said… and a sign of relief began to paint onto Jiyong’s face…




“Oh… is that so… but then… I think she’s alone right…? How can she manage to move by herself…?”




He asked him again… and Seunghyun couldn’t help but to feel tired from all of his questions… but thinking that if he still don’t know what’s between Jiyong and Dara in the past, he would gladly answer his questions…. And again he forced a smile to his friend.




“She only got her clothes… and don’t worry I’ll head there after my work since there are only few things that I need to finish here…”




Seunghyun said… Jiyong then got silence… thinking of another way to see her…




“Oh… well then… let me help…”




He said… which made Seunghyun’s brow rose… he didn't really expect Jiyong to say that… he thought he would just drop off the topic but then he miscalculated… Jiyong’s really serious about seeing Dara today.




“But… don’t you have anything to do…? I mean are you done with your work… you’re not just my friend Jiyong-ah… you’re still an employee here…”




He said it seriously but Jiyong misunderstood it as a playful statement that he’s used to do.




“Technically I’m done… well… all I need is for you to check it…”




He said… Seunghyun dropped his shoulder in defeat…imagining what will happen later on… being with them… seeing them together while he on the other side is in pain…




‘Great… just great…’




Seunghyun thought…




“Okay fine… you can come…”




He said… bowing his head… pretending to read his files… hiding the disappointment in his face… while Jiyong… still oblivious… curved his lips into a slight smile for he could finally see her later… like a teen excited to see her date later at the prom…




--




“Ooooh… Tam-tam-ah… isn’t it great… having my own space… cooking my own food… waaaah… it’s been my dream to live alone… well of course the days we spent in the hotel is an exemption…. Coz this space is the sum of my hard work…!”




Dara talked to her toy proudly flexing her thin arms as if forming a bulge of muscles on it… pretending that her hard work all came from her healthy and strong body.




She and her toy just arrived at their new house… just a simple apartment having one bedroom and a toilet in it… the living room and the kitchen connected with each other… really enough for one to stay…




She’s lucky enough to have some appliances ready for her… all she needed is to tidy up the place…




“Hayyy… this is so tiring…”




She slumped on the sofa… totally exhausted just by doing an ample of sweeping and dusting… having a weak body made her do things slow to complete… it took her almost three hours just to clean everything… and now laying down at the couch… her eyes then slowly went off as tiredness took over her.




Until her slumber got interrupted as her apartment’s doorbell rang… she quickly sat up and looked over the clock hanging on her wall… it’s already six in the evening… she slept for almost five hours straight…




She panic a little… her sweat dried off on her clothes… hitting her head softly as she forgot taking a shower first before sleeping… she ran towards the door and opened it… revealed Seunghyun holding on some boxes… probably the kitchen wares she asked for.




“Oh my gosh Seunghyun-ah… I totally drowsed off… I forgot the time… that I-..”




Her voice went cut off as another man behind Seunghyun came to her sight… her eyes widen as she realized who it was… her gaze then turned to Seunghyun and then went back to Jiyong… Seunghyun noticed the uneasiness she suddenly gave out.




“I brought Jiyong to help… if you don’t mind… we also brought some foods…”




He tried to sound friendly as possible… but failed for she didn’t even noticed it… her eyes still locked with the man behind him… totally neglecting his presence… he gritted his teeth… suppressing the pain that is starting to inflict inside of him.




And finally Dara turned to him… trying to force out a smile.




“Ah… yes… don’t worry…”




She let them inside… still nothing could be heard from Jiyong… she’s just watching him… every of his moves… uneasy for what he could do… especially now that they’re with Seunghyun…




“What were you saying a while ago…?”




Seunghyun asked her as he and Jiyong were now sitting at the couch after they put the things they brought for her at the kitchen.




“Ahmm… I said… I accidentally went off to sleep without knowing… and forgot to take a shower... aigoo…”




She said shyly… which earned a slight chuckle from both men… she unconsciously pouted not liking being laughed at…




“I was tired after cleaning the place… I didn’t realize that I felt asleep on the couch…”




She reasoned out…




“Arasso arasso… we understand… then why don’t you take your shower now… we’ll prepare the dinner your highness…”




Seunghyun joked… trying to distract himself and just focusing to Dara…. While she continued to pout… too shy now to do it.




“Just go… while we also organize what we brought for you… you must be so tired until now so we’ll do it for you… come on... a shower could make you feel better…”




Jiyong finally broke his silence… smiling to her while Seunghyun stiffened on his seat… Dara’s pout then vanished… opening just to close it after… cant find a word to answer back.




“Ah… Y- yes….”




She finally managed to speak… she quickly stood up and headed to her room to get her clothes… then headed to the bathroom to take a shower…




The two guys then started to arrange her kitchen wares also arranging the dinner they brought… silence enveloped them until they finished preparing… such an awkward atmosphere when Dara came out and joined the two guys at the table…




Only the clicking of their utensils could be heard… how Seunghyun forgot his pretending… wishing that only the night would end quick… Dara broke the silence first as she too felt the awkwardness…. Wondering why Seunghyun’s acting like that…




“Seunghyun-ah… good that you’re not that busy anymore… it must be so tough for you handling all of them by yourself…”




Dara told him… he looked at her and just flashed a weak smile… if only she knows that it’s tougher dealing with his one sided love that those works in his office… that the stress his heart is giving him is tougher than the mind could give him… that if stopping loving her is as easy as signing a contract… maybe he already signed it back then… so that his pain and selfishness is not tormenting him now.




Dara and Jiyong would steal glances at each other... while Seunghyun would also steal glances at them... envious to what he's seeing... jealous and felt stupid at the same time... getting in between them... is this what he really wants...? he thought...




The dinner finally ended… and still Seunghyun is still at his dreary self… Dara couldn’t help but be bothered by it… while Jiyong on the other side is starting to wonder too…




“Seunghyun-ah… are you okay…? You don’t seem like yourself tonight…”




Jiyong finally asked him…




“Ah… yes… just thinking about something in work…”




Seunghyun said which earned a nod from his friend… Dara heard it and finally felt relieved.




Seunghyun’s car finally arrived… they used Jiyong’s car to get to her apartment… Seunghyun then called for his chauffer to pick him up as they two decided to go home… as much as he doesn’t want to leave the two alone for a while… he must do it… he must leave first to bring back his own self… maybe a sleep would make him feel better and may face them comfortably tomorrow…




He bid goodbye as he went inside his car… Both Jiyong and Dara waved at him… standing side by side each other… and when Seunghyun’s car finally out of sight… Jiyong then turned to his side and quickly hugged Dara tight which caught her in surprise…




“I missed you…” he said as he nuzzled his face onto her neck… another stolen moment with her that he finally got.