CHAPTER 6

VI




She was not able to respond… voice suddenly became trapped in her throat as fear once again overcame every of her possible reaction…





‘It can’t be… he just came… it can’t be him…’






She kept repeating to herself as cold sweat started to form on her forehead… she managed to blink her eyes for a couple of times yet can’t tear her gaze away and continued to stare at his face…






He, as well continued to look at her… gaze wandered from her head to toe… scrutinizing the woman that he just taken nights ago… noticed that she had covered those marks that he purposely engraved on her… he could only smile to himself… yet despite the fact that he had already owned her… he can’t help but to once again feel the need to take her…






‘Patience…’






He reminded himself… and as his gaze landed on her face, his brows slowly furrowed… the smile on his lips slowly vanished and worry soon replaced the excitement that he was feeling just awhile ago… for it was clear in her face the fear that she was feeling at that moment…








And as much as he wanted her… he never wanted her to fear him… yet, as he reminded himself once again, if it was the only way to make her succumb to him… being a monster to her would be his last resort…







‘Can she remember me…?’







He can’t help but think, and as much as he wanted her to know that it was he who took her innocence… as much as he wanted her to remember every of their blissful union, it was not the right time yet… at least not for now…






And just then, he suddenly found himself reaching for her… couldn’t fight the urge of feeling her skin against his again… for the once that he had the chance to own her… she immediately became more than his addiction… more than the air that he needed, and even more than life itself… and being away from her now, even for just a couple of days was definitely excruciatingly unbearable…







Yet even before he could touch her… his brother came to the scene, making him to immediately retrieve his hand back…







“Oh there you are…”







Minho’s voice brought her back from her trance… immediately, she turned to her considered savior… very grateful that her lover was finally there, she quickly went to his side… wrapped her arm with his…







A bit startled with her sudden action, Minho looked down at her only to see the top of her head as she kept her head down… he then turned to Jiyong who continuously kept his gaze on Dara…







He cleared his throat, garnering the younger guy’s attention towards him… and for a while they just looked at each other… Jiyong’s face immediately turned blank… restraining himself from doing something irrational during that moment… yet as he continuously looked at the man he called his brother… his fist involuntarily formed into a tight fist… and rage immediately filled his entire being…








A slight smile formed on the older guy’s lips as he pulled his arm away from Dara’s grip only to wrap it around her shoulders… and upon seeing it, Jiyong’s jaw clenched… kept reminding himself that it was all just his brother’s game… yet thinking about it made him sicker and more enraged… especially the fact that it was Dara who his brother was using to get to him…








“Where were you…? I was looking for you at the arrival area…”








Jiyong took a while to respond… shifted his gaze on Dara who kept her gaze away from him…








“I went to the restroom…”








He plainly said as he reached for his sunglasses and finally took it off…








And upon doing it, Dara slowly lifted her gaze to Jiyong… gulped down the forming lump in her throat as she saw his eyes… and felt her heart skipped upon seeing the tenderness in it as he stared at her… her cheeks started to feel warm… and when she realized what she was doing… she immediately looked away from him…







‘What were you thinking…?’








She asked herself… felt absurd on how she blushed upon seeing Jiyong’s face clearly… confusion filled her mind… frustrated on why she kept on thinking it was Jiyong… and yet even she kept on telling herself it will never be him… she still can’t make herself comfortable around him just like before… there was just something in her that kept her from holding back…








Upon seeing her reaction, his heart immediately tumbled in bliss…that same blush on those pale cheeks the night he took her painted her face again… surely, he had seen bunch of women before who blushed once he laid a glance on them but only Dara could make him rejoice…for her attention could sway every confidence he had for himself… and with that, he restrained himself from dropping his guards down… he just looked at her in amazement… and noticing the odd silence between the two… Minho broke it as he spoke…









“Come on… let’s go… they’re all excited to see you…”








Minho eagerly told him, pulling off another great performance… Jiyong could only smirk in disgust… and wearing a smug look on his face, Minho took the younger’s guys suitcase as he took Dara’s hand with his…






She kept silent… started with her tracks when Minho started dragging her… was not aware on the tight grasp on her hand for all her attention was all directed to Jiyong who was behind, following them…







And he was once again; back from watching them… the amusement on his face was all long gone as he wore yet another blank expression… every memory of them, of him always watching them from afar came back to him. Those were the times he most hated himself… for just blankly standing there… pathetically watched the woman he loved the most be taken by the same man who took his identity…







And even how many years had gone by… how much change he had gone through… how much he knew it was all his brother’s game… and the fact that he had finally taken her… he still can’t help but feel the same insecurity he felt back then… frailty and sadness left him to just keep his distance and just watch… that same hate he had for himself was once again eating him whole… for once again, his brother had defeated him even before a battle could start…







“They also want to come with us in fetching you, especially mom… but you know she just got discharged from the hospital so we told her to just wait for you at home… she really missed you Jiyong…”








They were inside Minho’s car on their way to the Lee’s house… Dara still kept her silence as she seated next to the driver’s seat… Jiyong was watching her the whole time she had her gaze outside the window… but upon hearing what his brother told him, his attention shifted and another bitter smile slowly formed on his lip as he remembered Mrs. Lee…







She was the best friend of his biological mother and after the accident that happened which took his parents’ lives… Mrs. Lee immediately took him in… she had been patient to him during the times that he won’t welcome anyone to his life… she had been so good to him, truly treated him like her own son… that she never made him feel even once like he’s out of their family… yet it still did… can’t ignore the fact that he’ll forever be the ‘abandoned one’…







--







She stood silently beside her lover as they both watched Jiyong be enveloped in the arms of the old woman, Mr. Lee stood behind his wife, wearing a warm smile on his face… and upon seeing the blissful expression on their faces… she herself can’t help but to feel moved and happy upon the scene in front of her…







But that bliss was quickly got replaced by once again a feeling of uneasiness once his parents had already satiated their longing, he then shifted his gaze back to her… she immediately darted her gaze away from him… felt foolish once again on why she kept on doing that… yet her instincts kept on making her to do so…







Upon seeing her avoided his gaze again, he just let out another smile… her impulse was strong… but not enough to make her to completely avoid him… for those flushed cheeks… and those stolen glances on him were enough to let him know that she’s somehow curious about him…it wasn’t anymore the fear that he felt from her earlier… for it’s clear that she already concluded that it will not be him…







All throughout the dinner in the Lee’s house she continuously watched him.... can’t believe to herself how much he had changed… not just physically but especially socially… he was not the same nerdy silent guy back then for what Jiyong looked like that moment was like a model who just came out from a catalogue… wearing branded clothes; clearly they were more expensive than what she had in mind. He wasn’t wearing any eyeglasses anymore and he was definitely nicely groomed, for sure any girl that would see him will absolutely be attracted to him. The silent Jiyong was all long gone… probably it was because the culture in abroad had greatly influenced him... he was now so sociable, and would always wear that smile whenever he would talk… and that smile… she can’t help but be smitten… as if suddenly became enthralled by that simple smile…thinking to herself how come she wasn’t able to see that smile before…








“Jiyong-ah… you should have come home ages ago… we really missed you… “








Mrs. Lee grimaced a bit and Jiyong smiled at the old woman before he shamelessly set his gaze again towards Dara who was busy cutting her steak…








“I wanted to… but I was busy…”








The old woman’s frown deepened… the others around the table were all oblivious as to how Jiyong’s gaze was completely darted towards Dara…








“Well then, I just hope that your stay here would not be a short one… plus after all, your brother’s wedding would be by next month so that means you’ll be able to stay here for a long time, right…?








He lifted his glass to his mouth… smelled the scent of the red wine before he took a sip… just then, Dara lifted her gaze and immediately caught his… as if stuck, she couldn’t take her eyes off him… watched him as he drank his wine… how his throat moved as he swallowed… how he licked his lips… and the next thing she felt was something warm growing inside her stomach… and the wetness that began pooling between her legs…








“Since I got other business to do in here… I might really stay for a long time…”








She almost missed his words… too occupied with the uncomfortable hotness inside her. The way he look at her made her feel so anxious… she instinctively shut her legs tight, feeling ashamed about what’s going on in her body… could feel herself being taken in to somewhere deep that she couldn’t escape… what was he doing to her…? She kept asking herself.








The sounds of laughter brought her back… she looked around the table; everyone was busy asking Jiyong about his life in abroad. She gulped down, and looked down on her food. The warmth inside her still won’t subside that it was making her feel hazy… how could his presence make her feel unsettled…? She could only ask herself in frustration.







--







“My friend asked me to design the construction of her new project… I can’t say no, not that I would…in fact, I was a bit grateful she asked me that favor… I just needed more reasons to go back in Korea…”








Dara heard him before she exited the living room. For it felt like the more she could feel his presence, the more she felt something weird going on in the pits of her stomach…







She went outside… stood by the veranda and looked over the house next to the Lee’s…








It was their old house… slowly, the uneasiness inside her vanished as the memory of her and her family living in that house filled her mind… and how the Lees became a part of her life as well. She remembered how every morning she would go by the Lees to ‘fetch’ her boyfriend… how they would walk their way to school… how she would always look back and tell Jiyong to quicken his steps… Jiyong… the always ‘disoriented one’ as she labeled him before. She let out a slight chuckle from the memory. Maybe knowing him for who knows how long wouldn’t compare to the five years that he was away… for now… he had become a complete stranger…









Her thoughts trailed off as warm arms wrapped around her frame. She gasped in surprise… heart immediately raced as she almost thought of someone not before she realized whose arms it was…








A sigh of relief escaped her as she turned her head to the side to have a glimpse of her lover… a smile slowly curved on her lips as she felt secured within Minho’s arms…








“What are you doing here alone…? It’s cold…”







She just giggled as she felt him tightened his hold… yet the bliss lasted for a moment when they both heard the sound of his phone ringing…








His arms were immediately removed from her even before she could touch it… she turned around only to see him looking at her apologetically as he picked up the call… the smile on her face slowly faded…








“Yes… about the copies… wait…“








Minho looked at her… placed the phone away from him as he leaned down to Dara… he kissed her cheek before he stepped away.








“It’s important…”







He whispered, while she could only nod in response… and just like that, she was once again alone…









Another sigh escaped her… telling herself to be more understanding, yet it still won’t help her to make herself feel any better…







She looked up to the sky… the night was truly beautiful. She watched the stars as she wrapped her arms to herself and thought that it would be better if her lover would be there with her… arms wrapped around her as they both gazed on the stars… just that simple moment would be enough… and upon thinking about it, she realized that they had never done anything like that before… Minho was a party person… he would rather be surrounded with a lot of people than to be surrounded with celestial bodies, better yet doing a star gazing with her…








“They are like tiny diamonds sprinkled on the heavens... aren’t they…?”








Her thoughts were once again cut… she doesn’t need to turn her head to know who it was… just the way her heart pulsed uncontrollably fast… and the warmth inside her slowly burning her insides… she knew whose voice was that…






“W… what…?”








She whispered… finally able to turn her gaze towards him… a bit grateful that he was not looking at her, instead gazing up the heavens…








“The stars… it feels good sometimes knowing that we could admire something beautiful without costing us…”








She could only look at him… wanted to hit herself for doing so yet she couldn’t take her eyes off of him once again… taking in his beauty… was he always like this before…? She asked herself.








Slowly, he dropped his gaze to her… barely on his limits not to run up to her and wrap his arms around her to keep her warm… instead, he looked at her as well… would trade millions of chances of watching the heavens for a moment of gazing her… for diamonds won’t compare to her beautiful orbs… how it twinkled… how life reflected to it… how her gaze took his breath away…







“Yet sad at the same time that some beautiful things are just meant to be admired from afar…”







He whispered… and a slight gasp escaped her lips as she saw how his eyes fluttered with a tinge of agony in it… upon seeing it, something in her stirred…







A moment of silence passed and before she knew it, she was already wrapped in his embrace… her body being squeezed by his strong arms… shock filled her… she could hear her heart pulsing in her ears as his warmth consumed the coldness that was enveloping her body awhile ago.







“I missed you…”








Words stuck in her throat… as if she had something to say from the start… his voice brought shivers down to her being and it was completely making her mind drift away from sanity…








“Did you miss me Dara…?”








She blinked her eyes… about to speak when suddenly she felt something warm landed on the side of her neck… her eyes widen and before she knew it, she had already pushed him away from her. Her hand immediately came to cover the side of her neck… thinking, did he just kiss her…?







“What’s wrong…?”







He asked worriedly, hand came to touch her flushed cheek…







She looked at him incredulously before reality sunk into her… once again, she felt foolish for her sudden action…







‘Oh God what is happening with me…?’








She put her hand down… reminded herself again to forget about the ‘guy’… that it was not Jiyong… yet with his hand, now caressing her cheek… the thought won’t just fade in her mind…







“I’m sorry…”








She whispered… about to bow her head when his hand came to lift her chin up.







“It’s okay if you don’t miss me… you don’t have to push me away like that…”








A hint of playfulness can be felt from his voice… yet his words immediately raised worry in her…







“No Jiyong…! That’s not it… it was just… of course I missed you..!” She said dreadfully as she pouted her lips…







His eyes fluttered in bliss… forced himself not to push any further, he lifted his hand to rumple her hair…








“You haven’t grown even a bit…”








She shrieked and immediately caught his hand. Since when did he become so sociable like this…? She asked herself once again… she should be happy, yet the change in him was oddly bothering her.







Realizing that she was holding his hand, she immediately let go of it and cleared her throat…








“It’s as if you’ve grown yourself…” She snickered…







He stared at her for a while before he broke out of laughter…







“Yeah…but still, it won’t change the fact that I’m taller than you…”








Her eyes widen and pouted her lips…







“Why, you..!”







She was about to strike him when Minho came back and raised a brow to them.








“Am I missing something…?” he chuckled as he made his way towards Dara and wrapped his arm around her shoulders…







Dara slowly put her hand down… suddenly became cautious about her actions… she continuously looked at Jiyong and saw something unreadable in his eyes as he looked at her…







“Nah… I was just teasing her a bit… just testing if she still has a short temper… and sadly she still does…”







He smiled… she was supposed to do the same yet she can’t… not when he’s looking at her with those eyes again…








“Ah… you’ve got to get used to it... soon she’ll be your sister-in-law…”







And just right after Minho stated it; an awkward silence suddenly wrapped the atmosphere… Dara’s gaze didn’t waver… saw Jiyong’s expression became soft… his eyes were once again looking at her with a bit of sadness in it and she wondered why…







“Yeah…”







She gulped down… she could feel her brows starting to meet as something painful began to grown inside her and something started tugging her on heart…







“I better go… I still have things to work on…”








Jiyong started… finally broke his gaze from her as he looked at the older guy.








“Oh, you’re not going to stay here…? I think mom’s about to prepare your room upstairs…”








Jiyong shook his head… the last place he wanted to stay at was his room… it would just completely remind him of how miserable he was… how he confined himself in that room, satisfying himself with just watching her from his window… such shame…







“I already have a place to stay… I recently asked someone to buy me a unit here… I think it’s about time to do so…”







And once again, Jiyong turned his gaze to Dara, who until then just kept on watching him…







“Good to see that you haven’t changed a bit… except for the hair though… but, you’re still beautiful…”







He leaned down and kissed her cheek… which earned a gasp from her… and a tight hold of Minho’s arm around her shoulder…






“See you…”







Jiyong turned to his brother and tapped his shoulder… noticing their stiffened reaction… Jiyong immediately chuckled…







“Oh… my bad… I shouldn’t have done that, I forgot that I’m in Korea now…”







He turned to Dara who was still a bit shock… he lifted his hand and caressed his thumb over the part of her cheek that he kissed…







“There… sorry about that…”







He playfully chuckled before he turned around and lifted his hand as a goodbye.







Minho shook his head… slowly released Dara from his grasp.






“He really had changed so much huh…”







Dara could only look at to where Jiyong had gone… at least she was not the only one who noticed his change. Still the feeling of his lips where he had kissed her lingered... making her heart tumble uncomfortably… the hotness inside her body began to feel too painful to bear.





--







He sat on the leather sofa of his unit… one leg bent against his chest; he buried his lips on his arm that was resting on his knee…






Filled with lust, his eyes glued on the screen of his television; sounds of pleasure echoed around his room as he watched the two bodies twisting against its other, both slicked in sweat… both wanting to find heaven…








He closed his eyes… listened to the woman’s moans and scream of pleasure…








He groaned, felt himself began to feel hard… torturing himself to the unbearable pain brought by his arousal yet he continued to listen… he could remember how her body glowed from the ecstasy they shared… how her swollen lips parted to let out those sensual sounds… how their body became one as he impaled himself deep within her core.







His other hand clutched on the sofa… could hear the woman about to meet her release and it was slowly making him lose his mind… yet before sanity left his mind…







“Minho..!”







He heard that one name he loathed the most…








He quickly opened his eyes and saw how Dara’s body collapsed on the bed…








His brows slowly met… pain swelled inside his heart as once again reality hit him...








He reached for the remote control and turned off the TV before he collapsed on the sofa. Lying on his side, he fixed his gaze towards the TV… silence and darkness surrounded him… tears filled his eyes as he remembered how she felt in his arms… how her skin felt against his lips… yet at the back of his mind… couldn’t help but remember her smile when his brother’s arms draped around her… how she giggled in his arms… and how beautiful they looked at in each others embrace…








‘Some beautiful things are just meant to be admired from afar…’







“But I love you Dara… won’t it be enough…?”






He whispered… only for silence to swallow his words.