{ 24 }

Jiyong was restlessly waiting outside Dara’s house. He tried to drive around a while ago, but his efforts were futile. He had wanted to call Bom, but he doesn’t have her number. Sitting on the hood of his car while religiously waiting for Dara wasn’t the best plan ever, but it was all he could do.

Just then, a car pulled over in front of Dara’s apartment. He straightened his back and looked closely if it was Dara. A man emerged from the driver’s seat. His eyes squinted as he tried to remember who that person was. It all clicked when the man opened the passenger door and he saw a fragile-looking Dara sleeping.

The man was her colleague from the school where she teaches at. Jiyong strode towards them before Donghae was able to carry Dara inside her apartment. “Mr. Kwon?” Donghae asked.

He barely nodded. “I’ll take Dara inside.” He commanded.

Confusion crossed over Donghae’s face, but it was suddenly determined. “I was the one who brought her home and she fell asleep in my car. I don’t want her to think that I’d abandon her just because some random guy told me to.”

“I’m not a random guy,” he answered in a controlled voice. The night’s roughness was finally starting to take its toll on him, and the guy’s stubbornness surely wasn’t helping his case.

“Yeah?” Donghae snorted. “You don’t know her–”

He wasn’t able to contain himself. He held Donghae’s collar and slammed him against his car’s hood. “Don’t talk like you know everything. I’ve known her for six fucking years, and you don’t have the right to stop me.” He roughly shoved him again before finally letting his collar go. He grabbed her bag and scooped her up before walking towards the house.

Donghae stared at them in surprise. He thought that there was something between Dara and Mr. Kwon, but it never occurred to him that they had something different, like what Mr. Kwon was trying to get at. Dara drilled into them that they were friends and nothing more.

“Why don’t you make yourself useful and open the door?” Jiyong growled. Donghae walked towards them and fished the keys out of Dara’s bag. Jiyong was about to push the door open when Donghae stopped him.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you guys, but I hope you’d stop making Dee feel bad. We were all okay until you barged in her life like a fucking hurricane.” Donghae angrily spat and glared at him one more time before he walked back towards his car.

Jiyong didn’t bother waiting for him to start it up before he went inside. He gently laid her down on her bed and covered her with a blanket before lying down next to her and cradling her in his arms.

She whimpered slightly before welcoming the warmth from him. She tightly hugged his waist with her frail arms and whispered in her sleep. “Kajima...”

He felt his throat constrict before she embraced her closer. “I won’t be going anywhere, noona.”

--

Dara had a dream. An extremely pleasant dream where everything was perfect. In her dream, Jiyong loved her back, and she didn’t have to compete the five thousand other sophisticated women from his league to get his attention. In her dream, Jiyong stayed with her even though he already remembered. It was the most euphoric and most heartbreaking dream of her life.

She felt herself being snuggled closer, and that was when she woke up. She opened her eyes and found herself in the familiar arms of a man. She craned her neck and saw Kwon Jiyong, sleeping peacefully like a baby while cradling her small frame in his arms.

She would have rubbed her eyes repeatedly, if only Jiyong didn’t imprison her in his arms completely. This is it. I’m insane. God, Dara, I thought you’d do better! And worse, you’re even conjuring Kwon Jiyong’s hologram! Aigoo, you need to be checked in an asylum!

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hoping that Jiyong’s “hologram” will soon vanish. Yet, even after it took her five minutes repeating the same mantra, the “hologram” was still there, cuddling her.

“Jiyong-ah…” She muttered, and to her surprise, Jiyong’s “hologram” fluttered his eyes open. He smiled at Dara gently.

“Good morning, babe.” He uttered in his impossibly sexy morning voice. That was the only time when Dara realized that it wasn’t a hologram conjured from her overactive imagination– it was Kwon Jiyong. She was about to scream her lungs out when Jiyong suddenly buried his face on the crook of her neck, nuzzling his nose against her delicate skin. It sent shivers down to her spine and she felt like every nerve endings on her body had been woken up.

They stayed in that position for a long time, no one talking. Dara decided to break the silence. “Ji, why are you here?” She asked in a broken voice. “Why are you doing this?” Tears were on the verge of her eyes once again.

Jiyong sighed and sat on the bed while Dara did the same. Jiyong was staring at her but she chose to face the other side. “Noona…”

Her heart fluttered at the way he said it, as if they were back in the old days when they were just plain Dara and Jiyong. It made her remember the way his eyes crinkle when he laughs and how a side of his mouth upturns when he was amused. It told her stories how he used to stroke her hair lightly and how she made him sing “Because Noona You’re My Woman” to her so she could fall asleep. It reminded her of the unspoken communication which goes on between them, whether it’s something important about planning a surprise or something so trivial like picking the popcorn’s flavor. It allowed her to think of all the things that they could have been… but they were not.

“I remember it all.” He added silently.

For a split second, she thought she heard it wrong. No, actually, she prayed she heard it wrong. He remembers? Already? Tears spilled from her eyes. Then he doesn’t need me anymore, right? Why did he do this? To make up for all the lost times?

“Then I guess you’d be out of my life now.” She said in a low voice, trying her best to act nonchalant about it.

Fuck you, Kwon Jiyong. You’re so cruel.

“Dara, it’s not–”

“It’s okay, Ji. Wasn’t this what you told me? That you’d get out of my life as soon as you remember?” She stood up, and her knees almost buckled, but she did her best to act as if she was feeling great and not at all shitty. She slowly walked towards the bathroom door. “Bye… Mr. Kwon.” She opened the door and was about to go inside when Jiyong beat her to it.

“Damn it, Kwon Sandara, will you please fucking listen to me?!” He screamed, disbelief and frustration marked on his face and voice. He held both of her shoulders and stared hard at her. Dara felt herself getting hypnotized by his eyes again, and her only thought was that she wanted to run. She doesn’t want to confront Jiyong and break down in front of him. It’s all too much for her to handle.

She tried to run but his grip on her was steel-like. She tried to flail her arms but Jiyong was a lot stronger than her. Still, she didn’t give up. She kicked and screamed and flailed, but in the end, he only embraced her tightly. His face was buried in her auburn locks, and she could feel hot liquid running through her neck. “I’m sorry, Sandara. I’m so sorry I messed up.”

She froze. Even before, there had only been one time when Jiyong called her like that. Sandara. As if everything revolved around her and nothing else. He has that talent to make you feel like you’re the most special person in the world, when in reality, it was him. She remembered how he also called her name like that when he confessed to her. Sandara.

Her limp arms slowly made their way across Jiyong’s waist. She embraced him tightly; wanting him to know how she feels. No more words were exchanged, until Jiyong pulled away from her grasp and stared at her, taking her all in. His hands made its way towards her cheeks and he gently brushed it. He leaned toward her forehead and gently kissed her.

He looked at her once again, marvelling at her beauty. And then he said it. The magic words which were like a spell. They vanquished Dara’s pain and doubts for the past five years of their lives.

“Babe, Park Sandara, noona, Mrs. Kwon Jiyong…” He smiled tenderly. “I love you.”

His face slowly leaned down to meet hers, and she gingerly closed her eyes. As soon as his lips descended on hers, she couldn’t feel or see or hear anything other than Kwon Jiyong and the wild beating of their hearts. It was all magic, and for once Dara believed that everything will be perfect.

Because she has Kwon Jiyong.

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The comments felt great so here I am again kekeke ~ I hope more readers will comment

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