But I know I love you

Don't Know Much

Choi Seunghyun feels like he's dating different women at the same time while dating Park Sandara. He can never tell what her mood is or what she wants to do for dates and they've been dating for three years now. At first, he found it endearing thinking that he will never be bored of their relationship. However, as time passed, he found it exhausting. For their first anniversary, he bought her a bouquet of pink roses, he distinctly remembers them being her favorite for the month. But upon presenting her those flowers, she just smiled and thanked him. Not the reaction he expected from her. He found out the following day from her bestfriend that she now loves lilacs. He just shrugged and brushed it off, what matters is that Dara appreciated the flowers and didn't throw a fit like other girls did. 

As time went on, he got busier with his academic works while Dara was still cruising, hanging out with her friends and sometimes bothering her boyfriend. She doesn't intend to go to university, she figures that it's not her place. She doesn't see herself as a university student, for now. She now has her sights set on being an actress and she's trying out for different theater companies. She's always had a knack for theatrics so he supported her desire to be an actress, at least now she knows what she wants to do. Seunghyun thinks it's better than her always saying "I don't know, I just want to be with you." Because as sweet as it sounds, it's not very practical. They're still so young and even if Seunghyun loves Dara right now, they cannot tell if they'll be together 10 years down the line, especially since it's Dara we're talking about. 

They're a good looking couple therefore they're quite popular in their school. However as much as they look good together, Dara's been notorious for being fickle so no one is taking their relationship too seriously. They are one of those couples who are so relaxed with each other, if you didn't know any better, you would think that they're just close friends. More often than not, every start of the school year, both would get asked out by new students thinking they were both single. What's good about their relationship was that, even if they're not the obvious couple, they're both very committed to one another. They get jealous from time to time but nothing too serious that they would end up fighting. 

Stable as their relationship might be, it's not entirely supported by their families; Seunghyun's in particular. They've come from a long line of professionals along with it came the pressure of being "productive members of society." They take pride in their achievements though they might not be multimillionaires but they are wealthy in their own way. They disapprove of Dara not because of her economic background, Dara's from an old-rich family and has a net-worth more than their entire family twice over, but because of her lack of desire to succeed. They do not want someone mediocre in their family, her family's wealth has nothing to do with her as a person. The thing is, Dara's never acted like spoiled princess, on the contrary, she's so simple you would never think she personally owns properties in Gangnam (gifts from her grandfather). But she's not an achiever, they think of her as a freeloader and for them, people like those are dangerous. She will never amount to be anything in society apart from a pretty face and a fat bank account. They disapprove of their relationship and as a result, Seunghyun hides it from his family. He never invites her to family gatherings and never takes her on dates where he knows his parents would go to. Dara didn't really mind, she understood why they disliked her but she also cannot find it in her heart to try to please them. If there was one thing that her family ever taught her, it was to be always true to herself. All she wants is Seunghyun so if he's still with her, their disapproval didn't matter. As long as they still love each other and are still together, she's happy. It's not like Seunghyun was ashamed of her; all his friends know they're together, everyone in school knows their relationship and that was enough for her. 

They graduate high school and Seunghyun moved on to university. Dara worked at a local theater, not as an actress but as a stagehand. Everybody had to start somewhere and she was fine with it. The stage fascinated Dara, all aspects of it. She didn't find any shame in her work, she learned a lot from it and her colleagues were all very helpful. None of them know of her family background, she went with a stage name: Dara. No last name. She wanted to try doing this on her own and she knows for a fact that when they find out, everything will be handed to her on a silver platter, maybe even platinum. Being a worker backstage, her fickle mind didn't have the time to think, she was constantly busy; constantly moving and changing scenery. She thrived in this environment and everybody could see her change. On the contrary, Seunghyun has been buried under his books and university requirements. He was having difficulties adapting to the change in pace and environment, he was so used to being the best in his school that being around people as good, if not better than him, is taking a toll on his morale. He's happy for Dara, he really is but there are times when he can't handle her happy chatter about her day at work when he needs to be studying for his tests. He shuts her out and gradually, he drifted from her.

His first term as a university student isn't as stellar as he was expecting. He had a few average marks and average isn't and will never be good enough for him and his family. As a result, he buries himself more in his work. He cuts down his socialization time and more so his time with Dara. He's so busy that he doesn't even realize that he's pushing the woman he loves away. Dara, in all her fickle ways, has remained by his side though. She's waiting for him to adjust to his new environment, she keeps on telling herself that it's just stress and not because he doesn't love her anymore.

It was their anniversary and they go out on a simple date, they don't make a production of their anniversaries like other couples. Just a simple date, maybe they get dressed up more, but they don't do anything spectacular. Seunghyun buys her a necklace, simple and elegant; he can't go wrong with that and also what he thinks as Dara's current favorite flowers, lilacs. Dara didn't think much of anything, she just accepted the gifts and jokingly told Seunghyun that "lilacs were so last year." She happily smells the fragrant flowers but she unwittingly struck a nerve in Seunghyun. He slams his palms of the table, catching Dara's (and other patrons') attention. "I can't take this anymore! Could you please make up your mind?! I've been having problems in school, the least you could do was just be consistent for once in your life! I can't be bothered to keep track of what your favorite flower is or if you suddenly don't like steak any more! stop being a kid and grow up!" He takes a pause, Dara moves to speak but he stops her, "You know what?" He begins with a calm voice that scares Dara "I can't do this anymore. I can't stay with you and try to figure you out. You're too complicated and I don't need more complicated things in my life." And with that, without even letting Dara get a peep in, he stands up and throws away all their years together. He leaves her there, too stunned to even cry. After a few moments, Dara regains her senses and lets out a quiet tear. She can't believe he just ended it like that. All their years together, and he ended it without even letting her speak to defend herself. She drives herself back to her house, not her apartment, she needed her family right now. She should've listened to them when they said he would only break her heart. That a man like Seunghyun would only take advantage of her pure heart. She just didn't believe them. For her, Seunghyun might be ambitious but he was also pure. Not once did he approach her for money or connections, like most of the people around her. She believed that Seunghyun loved her for who  she is, flaws and all. How foolish was she? That night, she spent in her sister's bed, crying her heart out. 

It took a while but Dara got back on her feet. Her work helped her a lot in coping with the breakup, he found new friends and her acting career seems to be taking off as well. She landed her first role on stage as the protagonist's friend and she was so happy. She wanted to celebrate with her old friends and so she called for an intimate reunion; just her and her small group of friends. They've all been busy with school and work so they haven't seen each other for almost a year. She sent an sms to her best friend and told her to "please spread to the group! ^.^"

The trouble with having been in a serious relationship all throughout your high school years is that you also run in the same circle. She has moved on, yes. But she wasn't prepared to see Seunghyun with a date. She told herself that she's ok and that it should not ruin her day. She acted as if nothing was wrong and continued entertaining her guests. "This would be a great chance to test my acting skills" she told Chaerin, who had a guilty and worried look on her face. The night went surprisingly well, she barely cringed whenever Seunghyun's date would speak and her heart didn't break as much whenever she sees him lean over and whisper in her ear and the woman's hand would touch his bicep. The phrase That should've been me rarely crossed her mind when she would catch them sneaking an innocent kiss from time to time. 

She was hanging out with Chaerin in her room when she finally broke. "I thought he was having problems in school? That he couldn't stay in a relationship? How long have they been together? Were those words just his excuse? He just didn't want to be with me? Is that it?" And once again, her heart broke. Maybe it was never whole to begin with. Chaerin could only sit there and hug her. Chaerin also doesn't know what happened, after she found out what happened, she punched Seunghyun and never kept in touch with him. No use being friends with a bastard who broke my Dara's heart without even trying to talk things through. And just like the first time, Dara tried to mend the broken pieces that Seunghyun broke. That's all she could do because after all this time, she must still be in love with the man who broke her heart.

A week after, Dara found out that Seunghyun and the woman she met at the party broke up already. She felt slightly happy but also worried, was Seunghyun ok? She hoped that the break up didn't affect him so much. She was a fool for worrying about the man who hurt her but she can't help it. She mustered all her courage to send him a message to ask him about how he's doing and thankfully he was ok. He just said that he broke it off since she was being demanding and his priority would always be his grades. She felt a brief sense of relief but maintained her composure. She's just being a good friend, she can do that.

A few months later, he's dating another woman. It took her by surprise but she took the news better this time. Maybe this time, I really might be moving on? Now, despite Chaerin's disapproval, she maintained her friendship with Seunghyun. She tells herself and Chaerin that she's not hoping for anything else other than his friendship.

Seunghyun and the woman broke up again, 3 months this time. Another few months and he's in another relationship. Every time a different character that Dara doesn't even want to bother to remember their names or what they do. She's just his friend, not his mother. Seunghyun has changed a lot, seemingly a playboy with good academic background. He was nice enough not to have a bad reputation but at this rate, he might as well not say he's in a relationship and just flat out tell the women that he's playing the field. Focusing on his grades just became his convenient excuse to get out of a relationship that wasn't to his liking anymore.

It's been 3 years since their break up and Dara's career really picked up speed. She's now acting in her first leading role in a play and she's set to act in her first movie after her play. She couldn't be happier in her career. Her leading man, her love line in this play is one of her favorite actors and she's nervous to say the least. She respects him so much as an actor and she wants to impress him. She does her best in memorizing her lines and going over the scenarios in the script. She was jittery on their first read through but he spared no words in praising her. She was flustered and flattered at the same time. For the first time since Seunghyun, she felt her heart beat speed up and not because of acting or Seunghyun.

Kim Soohyun was like breath of fresh air for her. In most cases, dating between actors are discouraged but since the theater company knows Dara and what she's been through, and also they trust Soohyun, they pushed the two to go on dates and get to know each other. They played matchmakers, with the help of Chaerin, and guised their dates as practice for plays or sudden changes in scripts. Dara didn't seem to mind, in fact she was excited. She's not ashamed to admit that she has a bit of a crush on her co-star and that she's willing to give things a try. She appreciates everyone's efforts, she and Soohyun actually laugh at their cute attempts to pretend to have emergencies just to get them alone.

So far, they have been hanging out together a lot, now they don't need to pretend that they don't know what their friends are up to. They go out on lunches and movies together as friends. They haven't made anything official and made no move to make things more intimate between them. Things are progressing slowly, much to the chagrin of their clumsy cupids. Things are slow but very comfortable between them and they can't ask for anything more. Their characters suit each other well; both don't have set preferences for food or colors, both are very artistic souls and don't stick to one set of rules and they're both free spirits. In addition, both of them can't seem to move on from their past relationships. Soohyun, as it turns out, just came out of a 6 year relationship and is still trying to come to terms with the break up. They found solace in each other and at some point, Soohyun got to calling Dara Sunbae. They're close friends, and for most it's the best foundation for a lasting relationship.

In one of their friendly dates, Dara encounters Seunghyun at the mall with his date. Thinking nothing of it, she drags Soohyun to say hi to him. Things started off well enough, they were all pleasant to each other and even ended up watching the same movie. She doesn't remember who's idea it was to continue their little dates at a bar but they ended up in one and they were pleasantly buzzed. She forgot that Soohyun gets a little snuggly when he drinks and so she ends up with a giant baby halfway on her lap, She throws Seunghyun and Minah an apologetic look and pinches Soohyun to get off. She coaxes him as if talking to a toddler, it's so ridiculous to her that she ends up laughing when Soohyun snuggles closer like the baby that he is. Suddenly, Soohyun was yanked off her lap and was thrown to the floor by a fuming Seunghyun.

He goes on a tirade about respecting other people's boundaries. He was saying a lot of foul things that offended Dara; she was offended that Seunghyun would think that lowly of her and she was also offended for her date. Seunghyun might've held his liquor better this time but the certainly wasn't a gentleman when drunk and did far worse things than what Soohyun did. No longer wanting to stand there and watch Seunghyun act holier than Thou, she slapped him and told him to get lost. Fuming, Seunghyun dragged Minah out of the bar and left Dara on her own to tend to a drunk Soohyun.When morning came, so did Soohyun's senses. He apologized profusely to Dara and also wanted to talk to Seunghyun but Dara waved him off and told him it was fine. No harm was done and that Seunghyun would get over it, "He's not my boyfriend anymore, it shouldn't matter to him." To which Soohyun countered "It shouldn't matter to him, but from what I saw, it still does. sunbae." He ends it with a cheeky wink and a slight groan when he moved too fast. 

Some days later, Dara found herself in her room with a pacing Seunghyun. He went there to apologize to her and she already accepted but something still feels off. He hasn't spoken for 10 minutes and Dara's now annoyed. She needs to leave in 40 minutes for her rehearsal, she still wants to go over her lines but she can't because Seunghyun decided to get a bit of cardio exercise in the middle of her room.

"What do you want, Seunghyun? I need to be at the theater by 3."

"Will he be there?"

"He? Who's 'he'?" a slight pause "Oh, Soohyun? Yes, of course! He's the other lead!" She says plainly "Don't worry, he doesn't get drunk while working." She adds jokingly, to show that there are no hard feelings over the previous time they met. Seunghyun cringes but shrugs it off.

"So, are you two dating now?"

"Well, no. Not yet. I don't know. We're still figuring it out. He's a nice guy, Seunghyun. He just likes to snuggle. Don't worry about it. He's never been inappropriate with me, or anyone that I know."

"You're not sure? You're not sure if you're dating him? This is the problem with you, Dara! You're never sure about anything! You're not sure about your favorite color, your food that you order, or even your career path! When will you ever grow up and make up your mind?" Seunghun explodes and makes to leave the room but Dara stops him.

"Don't you dare walk out that door Choi Seunghyun! You cannot shout at me like that and then leave without letting me defend myself! I've changed! Yes, CHANGED! I'm no longer the girl that you can walk all over on! You tell me that I can't make up my mind and that I'm fickle and that I confuse you! You say that I'm confused and never clear about anything I want. That I change all the time! But guess what, Choi? People are meant to change! I'm sorry for not being predictable like your books and I'm sorry if my career path is not clear enough for you. But let me make things clear once and for all, because it seems that you forgot. I might not know a lot of things. I might not be as smart as you are or as professional as the rest of your family. I might change the color of my hair more often than the seasons change, but I have always been clear about one thing, and one thing only. I might not know much but I know my feelings for you. I have always loved you. but it seems that will never be good enough for you. You didn't take me seriously, you didn't take our relationship seriously because I don't have the same favorite flower for each anniversary. I'm sorry that you were so blind to see that despite changing my favorite flower, I still loved receiving them from you. That it doesn't matter if you didn't remember that I don't eat steak anymore as long as I get to eat with you. You might not have noticed but I was consistent in only one thing and that was my love for you. I'm sorry for not being smart enough to realize that loving you consistently wasn't enough for you."


Seunghyun was stunned beyond words, he felt so stupid for not realizing it sooner. Before he got a word in, Dara was talking again.

"By the way, you accuse me of not being sure of anything? How about you dating all those different girls after saying that you didn't have time for our relationship because you needed to focus on your grades? Don't make me laugh! You weren't confused because of my constant changes, you were confused of your feelings for me! You weren't sure of our relationship. It was you who didn't know what you wanted. Don't push the blame on me. For the longest time I blamed myself for not being consistent enough for you, for making you go through the trouble of keeping up with me when you had so many more problems with school. You made me hate myself, it took my a while to love myself again. It took me so long to get back up on my feet when you've already moved on to the next woman, and then the next. Don't accuse me of something you're guilty of. And to make things clear, I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore. I can't be your friend. Please leave my life."

With those said, Dara leaves for work. For once, she's the one walking out on him and he's the one stunned into silence. It felt so good for her to let those all out to Seunghyun himself and not just an internal rambling. It felt so good and yet so final. 

 

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A/N: Ok, so this was supposed to be a one shot but I'm gonna make this 2 chapters. the 2nd chapter will probably be a lot shorter than this. I want to finish it by tomorrow. Sorry for the disjointed paragraph, I'm writing this as I go...no drafts. >.< I'm just worried that if I put this in draft, I won't publish or write this like the other stories. 

 

 

 

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yuki_no_
SORRY! I didn't realize that the first chapter was on "draft" O.O

Comments

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XXvociferate
#1
Chapter 2: Love it!
The ending was implied but maaaaybe *plot twist* hahahaha jk tabi!
Scentedharmony
#2
Chapter 2: LUUUURVE THIS! Beautifully written <3
darafan82
#3
Upvoted! This story should definitely have more upvotes, imo...
darafan82
#4
Chapter 2: I really loved this. loved the pacing too Now days I'm not too much into long drawn out fics so this was perfect. I almost didn't see the last line though, lol! Glad to see it ended well.
ant12345 #5
Oh i love it! Esp the ending. We can just imagine the one we want.
chen_free #6
Chapter 2: I somehow felt tabisan ended with THE END. It sounded so definite :) I am happy though that she ended up with the one she loves, regardless as to who it might be.
kapoyani #7
Chapter 1: love this as im inconsistent as well ^_^
lightning_TabiSan #8
Chapter 2: He...he...he... Authornim, you are so sly TabiSan luvsies can think it's Seunghyun she walked with but then .......!

TabiSan for the win :P
GirliedeDios #9
Chapter 2: The three months rule apply for reassessment. In their case it took her three years.
tabitabi #10
Chapter 2: 3 years later, whos dara walking with??
*is it a silly question??