c l i m a x

c l i m a x // XVII

“Hey, D. Jiyong’s still outside.” Bom said as she stared out of the window to Jiyong who is leaning on his car, waiting for Dara to come out. “And he really looks like a mess.”

Dara gulped. No, she can’t waver now. It’s almost a week since she and Shin Yong left Jiyong alone in their house and Jiyong has been constantly waiting for her outside of Bom’s house. It was hard, God knows how much it pained her to walk away from him. But she needed this even though her heart is breaking into pieces every day.

“Let him. I never forced him to do that,” she said in a fake cold tone. “He deserves that anyway.”

That night she left him, Jiyong followed her all the way to Bom’s. He was frantic; he was crying and yelling at her to come home. He even slept the whole night waiting outside in his car but Dara never did come out. Dara resist the urge to go out and give him a blanket. So, she spent the night tossing and turning on the bed with Jiyong running in her mind.

“What about all of these flowers and gifts?” Bom asked again, pointing at the present resting on one corner of the room. “He left another one earlier.”

“I don’t know. I—I don’t care.” She forced the words out of her mouth. Bom just sighed and rolled her eyes at her. “What?”

“You were never a good liar, Dara.” Bom said to her in a matter-of-fact tone. She smiled at Dara and left her on her own. Dara puffed a sigh when Bom is finally out of sight. Guess she can’t really hide everything, even her emotions, from Bom.

Bom’s right, she was never a good liar. But for once, she wants to pretend she is. Saving her already broken heart is better than losing it completely. Dara walked towards the window pane and parted the curtains slightly, just enough to steal a little glance at Jiyong.

He is still standing in front there outside, his eyes searching for her inside. His neatly brushed brown hair before is now in complete disarray. His crisp white long-sleeves earlier are now messily rolled up just above his elbow. Her heart ached once again as she saw the dark bags under his eyes and the crease in his forehead.

“We need this…we both need this…” she whispered in the air as she stares at his beautiful figure amidst the dark night. As she was about to close the curtain, Jiyong’s eyes caught hers and before she knew it, their eyes were locked in each other’s gaze. For a moment of what seemed to be eternity, they stared at each other until Jiyong moved and stepped a little hoping that finally Dara will talk to him. Dara surprised by his sudden actions, hurriedly closed the curtains and moved back.

“Dar—“ Jiyong tried to call out for her but she closed the curtains and disappeared from his sight. He closed his mouth and dropped his shoulders in distress. “I wish you could give me a chance and listen to me, Dara. How I wish things never became like this and never lost you.” He whispered as he now let the strained tears fall freely out from his eyes.

--

“Jiyong!” Sohee shouted as she came bursting inside Jiyong’s office. Jiyong closed his eyes as the angry clicking of her heels invaded the silence in his mind. Click, click. The sound of her heels stopped and Jiyong knew that she’s in front of him. And still, he didn’t open up his eyes. “Yah! Jiyong!”

He opened up his eyes slowly and stared at her emotionlessly. Her lips are red, her catty smell filled the whole room, her angry eyes staring down at him. She was no Dara. She was nowhere near Dara.

“What…do you…want, Sohee?” he asked in an exasperated tone. “I made things clear between—“

“And you honestly think that I will just let that happen? That everything between us is over?” She scoffed. “No, Jiyong. We’re not over. I won’t let you go.”