Chapter 2 (1/1)

“Ah…” Dara nodded. Her heart twisted painfully and she had to look away to hide the hurt in her eyes. Taking a deep breath she said, “Have you talked to her?”Jiyong proceeded to tell her all about his feelings for the new girl and how he wanted to ask her out. He didn’t notice how Dara was only nodding her head and didn’t meet his eyes. He was too caught up in his own thoughts. When he finally finished saying all he had on his mind Dara turned to look at him. “You should just ask her out,” she advised him. “What’s the worst that could happen? She’ll say either yes or no, either way you’ll have your answer and be able to move on from there.”“What if she says no?” he asked, looking worried. “She might think I’m some kind of idiot.”“You’ll be an idiot if you don’t ask her,” Dara told him, beginning to feel irritated. “It’s not like you to be a coward. Just do it and if she says no then its no. Her loss. End of story and you move on.”Jiyong was silent a moment, staring at her. “Are you mad?” he asked, and she sighed.“I’m just tired,” she mumbled. She forced a smile on her face and turned to look at him once again. “Look Ji, don’t feel so nervous. You’re a great guy, you’re popular, handsome – just ask her out. Chances are she’s probably already noticed you and will be thrilled.”His eyes searched hers, confidence restored and smiling. He leaned over and hugged her quickly. “Thanks Dee. You’re the best.”**After returning home Dara trudged up to her room. She grabbed her towel and went off to shower. Only then did she allow the tears to fall. That idiot Kwon. They’d been friends forever – couldn’t he see how she felt about him? Didn’t he know he was the reason she turned down all those guys who asked her out? He was the reason she was earning a reputation as a cold hearted girl.Afterwards in her room she sat in front of her dresser and stared at her face but all she could think of was Jiyong and his confession that he liked the new girl in her class.Well no more. She now had her answer to whether her and Jiyong had any future of becoming something more than best friends. She knew too what she had to do in order to protect her own heart from being torn to pieces. She would set Kwon Jiyong away from her heart and distance herself from him. She would still be his friend but she would definitely need to distance herself from him.Over the next weeks Dara began implementing the changes she had been determined to make. Jiyong had asked Chaerin out, and like Dara had predicted, the new girl had been thrilled. Now Jiyong spent most of his spare time with her. Dara began spending all her spare time in the library doing homework and doing research as a way of avoiding Jiyong and his friends. She used the excuse that she was preparing for the upcoming science project that she was part of. And after that, much to the surprise and pleasure of her math teacher Dara signed up as a tutor for underclassmen. She spent an hour and a half twice a week tutoring freshmen and sophomores after school. There was a record number of young men that signed up for tutoring – and they all strangely could only be tutored on the days that Dara was tutoring.Jiyong called her up one evening out of the blue as she was lying in bed reading an assignment. She glanced at the called id, debated whether to answer or not, and then with a sigh decided to take his call.“Hi Ji.”Jiyong smiled to hear her voice. “Hey! Wow, it’s been so long! Where have you been?”“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes back on her reading assignment.“I never see you around anymore,” he said. “Even Bom was complaining today at lunch that she never sees you anymore. Are you okay?”Dara gave a short grunt. “Mmm. Why shouldn’t I be? Besides I still see you guys. And hello, I see Bom on the bus every day.”“I think she meant that you don’t hang out with her any more. Or with us for that matter. You’re always so busy these days,” he said. “What’s up with that?”“I don’t know,” she said. “Aren’t we all busy? It’s our senior year after all. I’ve been applying for several scholarships and preparing for exams.” She heard him laugh on his end.“Dee, if you weren’t so beautiful you’d definitely be considered a nerd.”“Can’t nerds be beautiful?” she asked, her voice irritated. “Hurry up and tell me what you want. I’ve got a lot of homework to finish.”She heard him sigh. “Alright fine,” he said. “The gang’s going out this weekend to celebrate Seungri’s birthday. We’re going bowling and then grab something to eat afterwards. You want to join us?”She missed hanging out with her friends but she knew Chaerin would be there with Jiyong and that was enough for her to make an excuse and turn his offer down.“Come on, Dee,” he said. “You never hang out with us anymore. Just a couple of hours for your friends? You said yourself this is our senior year. After this year we’ll all probably be going our separate ways. Don’t you want to spend some time together with us before that happens?”Dara rolled her eyes and gave in. “Fine. I’ll stop by but I don’t promise to stay long.” Jiyong gave a victorious shout on his end, causing Dara to smile. “I’m hanging up now,” she told him. “Stop bothering me.”“Goodnight Dee,” he told her, a smile in his voice. After she hung up Dara sat thinking about him for a while, her heart aching. She hadn’t told him that one of the places she’d applied for was a school in the U.S. She’d wait to see if she got accepted before she would tell him or any of her other friends.