Sitter

6

"You're leaving?" Donghae asked after placing the chopsticks down on the table.

Nasa 'back' apartment silang apat. They were having dinner when Dara suddenly dropped the bomb of her departure without any warning.

"Yep. My grandfather wants me home."

Over the past weeks, Dara had become much better, kaso nga lang, she still has a lot to go. Hindi pa rin siya kumakain ng ganon karami, she just eats 2 spoonfulls and then leaves the rest. She still has trouble sleeping and she still zones out most of the time.

"Will we be expecting you back in Eldenwood next year?" Tanong ni Eunhyuk sabay subo.

Patapos na ang taon and Dara was leaving. If she returns for the next year, then great. But if she won't, they were sure to respect her decision.

Besides, the woman has given them her address in case they want to see her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe if you guys practice parachuting for a year or two, baka makita niyo ako sooner." Makahulugang sabi nito sabay tawa.

The men inside the room didn't understand the weight of Dara's words but they couldn't help but chuckle at her laughing face.

They enjoyed the night and when it was time for them to leave, Dara handed them a box each.

"It's a customized necklace. I drew the art on them myself." When she realized she was making it hard for everyone around her, she felt bad so she contacted an old friend and ordered some customized dog tag pendants. She also sent 3 drawings that she drew herself, one for each pendant.

"Then it must be ugly." Minho joked. Panglalait ang lumabas sa mga bibig niya but his eyes showed how thankful he was for it.

"Ewan ko sayo. Open them when you get back. Ay, teka lang Minho." She rushed back to her room and came back with another box. "Can you give this to CL?"

Minho smiled and nodded.

As soon as they left, Dara made the call that confirmed her return to her family's estate. 

The men had planned to open their gifts together so instead of going home, all three of them went to a nearby Jollibee and ordered some food.

As soon as they sat down, they placed each of their boxes down on the table.

Donghae's box was blue, Minho's was red and Eunhyuk's was brown.

"On the count of three, we lift the top. Okay?" He looked at his friends and when they nodded he started to count.

"1."

"2."

"3."

They opened the boxes and chuckled at what they saw.

They received silver dog tag pendants on silver chains. The pendants were relatively alike, the only difference being their initials engraved on the lower left side of each pendant and the art that was engraved on it as well.

Donghae's had a drawing of a compass. Sa apat na directions na dapat ay naka-engrave kasama ng compass, only the letter 'E' was there. 

Eunhyuk's had a drawing of shoes with music notes, Dara had seen him dance during their field trip and since then she hasn't stopped complimenting him, saying he reminds her of a friend. 

Minho had a soccer ball and a camera on it.

"She remembered." He mumbled.

He once mentioned that he wanted to play soccer as a child and be a professional soccer player kaso nga lang, his and his sister's circumstances were enough to stop him. She always said it was a waste that he couldn't do what he wanted as a child especially after hearing his sister brag that Minho was relatively good at the sport too. But now, his love for the sport wasn't as strong as before,  he was more into film as of the moment. Dara even gifted him a camera - which he tried to refuse but failed.