Be Mine

// s e v e n //

:: chapter seven ::

Jiyong sat on the couch as Dara went to the kitchen to grab Jiyong a drink and some of her freshly baked cookies. With a smile she placed the tray of lemonade and cookies on the top of their center table. Dara sat across Jiyong still smiling as she watched the lad stiffly grabbed the glass of lemonade as he took a sip on it. ‘I just baked the cookies. I just followed the recipe and procedure in the book... if it tastes awful. I’m sorry,’ she said fiddling her fingers. Jiyong then grabbed one cookie and took a bite from it. Dara was staring at him, watching his reaction though it never changes; patiently waiting for his comment.

 ‘It tastes good for someone who just learned how to bake,’ he said staring straight at her brown orbs as he finished the whole cookie. Dara smiled heartily to him as he faked a cough. ‘We need to go now,’ Jiyong said. ‘Oh,’ she said as she stood up. ‘I will just change my clothes,’ she mumbled as he nodded. She then paced to their stairs aiming for her room. ‘Wear jeans,’ he said as she snapped her head at him. She nodded as she continued walking completely disappearing from his sight.

He heaved a sigh, in reality he doesn’t have a single idea on why on earth did he go to her, on why he was now inside her house. He stood up and started roaming around. Her house was quite big and it has a very simple yet beautiful interior. It was bright and he found it very calming, an environment that she definitely needed and deserved. He then walked closely to a shelf with an array of photographs placed in different photo frames. He then grabbed a picture frame and stared at the photo, drowned in his thoughts. It was a photo of her wearing a hospital gown, white beanie, tons of tubes and machine connected in her hands, pale face and dark circles around her eyes and a bright smile in her lips.

He felt like he understood that she was someone who lived all her life smiling sweetly even in the face of death. He looked at her brown eyes; they seemed to be alive telling that she was not a bit mad about her fate, about every suffering she had to take. Her eyes, they were happy, full of hope, it was different from those whom he saw before. He used to come in and out of hospital due to fights, not ordinary fights. Fights which involved bloods, knives and sometimes even guns and sometimes even death. He was like that, he would be playing tag with death, and there were moments when he was even the one chasing it.

And from that he saw a lot of sick people. They looked awful, they’re pathetic and they pity themselves more. They talked as if there were no hope, as if no tomorrow would come for them when what they have at times were diseases which were curable unlike hers. He then gently placed the picture frame back as he roamed his eyes on the others. Just like a flash of light, like a shooting star across the night sky he suddenly found the answer to his question, the reason why he was there, why he just suddenly asked her to go somewhere. He was about to grabbed another picture frame when he heard her footsteps getting louder. He turned his head to her as she descended from the stairs.

She smiled at him as she went to the center table and grabbed the tray after placing the glass and plate of cookies on it; she then paced to their kitchen. He shook his head upon seeing her disappear. His lips pressed together contemplating how she looked beautiful even in simple clothes. She was wearing a white v neck shirt paired with black tight jeans and red converse. She doesn’t have make up either yet she looked stunning, breathe taking.

‘Shall we go?’ Dara asked him as he nodded and paced to the door without any words. Dara then closed the door and locked it as they walked out the gate, to his black Ducati. After closing the gate Dara stared at Jiyong who was riding his bike now and wearing a black helmet. She heaved a sigh, there were so many emotions building in her chest that she felt her heart was beating like crazy at that very moment. Jiyong looked at her as he handed her a black helmet. Dara smiled as she grabbed the helmet and stared at the thing contemplating on how she should wear it. Jiyong jumped off his bike and moved closer to her. He gently tucked her hair behind her ears as he carefully put the helmet on her. He locked it. Dara was not moving at that time and she was barely breathing. She was just staring at him, just watching him.  And that was the time she knew that he was gentle, he was holding her like she was someone who will break, like he was afraid to do something that might hurt her.