Chapter 5 (1/1)

Dara returned home the day after New Year’s eve after bidding her grandmother a fond, temporary farewell. Her parents wanted her grandmother to move in with them. She was getting older and they didn’t want her living by herself any longer. Her grandmother agreed to lease her house out for six months while she moved to Seoul to stay with Dara and her family. Dara’s father was driving down later that week to help his mother pack and bring her back. Dara though had to get back to Seoul since school was starting the next day.Dara reached home and reunited with her family. Her mother made them a special dinner and afterwards they went to the living room for dessert and watched as she opened her gifts from Christmas. It was good to be back home and she thanked everyone for their gifts. Afterwards she went to her room and she found there her gift from Jiyong and from Bom. Bom got her a really cool t-shirt which Dara loved. Afterwards she picked up her gift from Jiyong and sat holding it for a long time before finally opening it. It was a framed picture of her and Jiyong. He wrote on the top corner of the photo, “My favorite pic of us”. On the opposite bottom corner he signed it, “Your BFF ~Ji”.Tears stung her eyes as she read his words and she suddenly missed him like crazy. She fell asleep holding the picture frame against her chest.**                                                                               Dara wore her t-shirt from Bom the next day to school. She paired it with a pair of straight jeans, black high-tops, jacket, and the yellow beanie that Durami had gotten for her. She caught up with Bom on the bus and they talked excitedly all the way to school. Not long after they reached campus they ran into Jiyong and Chaerin. Dara swallowed the familiar feeling of pain she got whenever she saw the two together and instead smiled and greeted the two.“I heard you went to Busan for the holiday,” Chaerin said, smiling. “Did you have fun?”“I did,” Dara answered. She avoided looking at Jiyong as she continued to talk with Chaerin. “How was your holiday?”“Oh, the usual,” Chaerin said, and she looped her arm through Jiyong’s. “Ji gave me this beautiful necklace,” she told Dara and Bom, showing them the gold chain and pendant around her neck. “I got Ji a watch with our names engraved on the back.”Dara glanced then at Jiyong’s wrist and saw that he was wearing a new watch – but it wasn’t the one she bought him. She smirked and looked up to see Jiyong staring at her. “Very nice,” she said, then looked at Chaerin and over to Bom. “I’ve got to go see my homeroom teacher before class starts. I’ll see you guys around okay?”The moment she turned away the smile faded from her face as she continued down the hall toward her class. She wanted to check to see if there had been any word back from one of the scholarships she had applied for. This week she was also when she was expecting to hear back from the school in Boston that she had applied for. She really hoped she received both so that she could move far away after graduation. She still hadn’t told her parents that she had applied for school in the U.S. She wanted to wait until she was certain she had been accepted before she would break the news to them.Unfortunately there was still no news about the scholarship or the school in Boston. She turned and was about to head off to the library when she bumped into Yung Yonghwa, a friend of hers that also did tutoring. He was a little on the quiet side when they first met but through their tutoring schedule they got to know each other better and became friends. He too was there to check on a scholarship that he had applied for. The two commiserated together about there still being no word.“Have you eaten?” Dara asked Yonghwa. She had rushed out of the house that morning without eating and her stomach was growling. Yonghwa said no. “Do you want to go grab something to eat?” she asked. “I’m hungry and I need to eat something or I won’t be able to concentrate in class.”Yonghwa laughed quietly and agreed to go with her. They were walking down the hallway toward the cafeteria when they crossed paths with Jiyong and Chaerin, along with Seunghyun and Bom, Seungri, Youngae and Daesung. Dara waved at them as she kept walking past with Yonghwa.“Is noona dating Yonghwa?” Seungri asked, his voice filled with shock. Bom simply stared at Dara with wide eyes while Jiyong’s mouth tightened into a thin line.“I think they look good together,” Chaerin said. Jiyong walked ahead, not bothering to wait for any of the others.At the cafeteria Dara grabbed a yogurt and some fruits before joining Yonghwa at the table. They talked about the scholarship applications they had filled out, the schools they were hoping to get in to. Yonghwa also applied to the US but the school he applied to was about 2 hours away from the one Dara applied. “If you get accepted to Boston, will that be your choice of school?” he asked, and Dara nodded.“But don’t say anything to anyone,” she told him, and explained that she hadn’t told her family or any of her friends.Yonghwa nodded his understanding. “Good luck to you then,” he smiled and the two stood up to make their way to class. He walked Dara to her first period and said goodbye to her there. Jiyong had been standing a few doors down and spotted the two of them. He felt a twinge of jealousy that Dara seemed to find time to make new friends and hang out with them but she didn’t ever seem to have time for him anymore. Fine, he thought. If that’s the way she wants it then he wouldn’t worry about it anymore either.Later that day when he saw her walking in the hallway Jiyong walked past her without saying anything or looking at her. Dara turned her head to look at him, surprised, and hurt. Fine, she thought. This was what she had told him she wanted anyway. And so with that the two of them stopped all communication with one another. Days passed and then weeks and still the two didn’t say a single word to each other or exchange any glances or greetings. Their friends began to take notice and asked Dara and Jiyong what was going on between the two. Both responded along the same lines, “Nothing’s wrong,” they would say, and then continue on without speaking to each other.Dara heard back from her homeroom teacher that she had received the scholarship. A few days later she received her acceptance letter from the school in Boston. Dara was ecstatic but also saddened. Her plan had always been to attend college locally with Bom, Jiyong and the rest of the gang. Now all that was changing. She told her parents and at first they were against her going to the U.S. but Dara held her ground and they eventually gave in.  As spring approached so did final exams. Dara had already purchased her plane ticket. She was leaving two days after graduation with her mother. She was going to be staying with a friend of her mother’s while she looked for an apartment and a part time job. Dara had not even told Bom she was leaving until the night before. She called Bom up and told her over the phone. Her friend was understandably upset, even angry at her. “How can you not tell me something like this?” Bom complained. “You know, Jiyong is right. You’re a terrible friend. You say we’re your best friend but you keep all these things to yourself.”“I’m sorry,” Dara said. “I’m sorry I’m not a good friend. I guess I’m just cold-hearted like that.” She said her goodbyes to Bom and hung up.The next day Bom called Jiyong and asked him if he knew Dara was leaving that day. “What do you mean leaving? Leaving for where?” he asked.“I knew it,” Bom complained, feeling angry all over again. “She’s leaving for the U.S. to study. She got accepted at a university in the U.S. and didn’t tell any of us. She only called me last night to say goodbye.”Jiyong ended his call with Bom and quickly dialed Dara’s number. It went straight to voice mail and he let out a frustrated yell before he grabbed his jacket and car keys and ran out. A few minutes later he arrived at Dara’s house only to be informed by Thunder that Dara and his mom had left on the 6am flight out that morning.“She’s gone?” He stood there at the door, shocked and unbelieving. How did Dara and him end up this way when they were the best of friends from childhood?“You want to come in?” Thunder asked, and Jiyoung shook his head.“No… I…” He was at a loss for words. “What school is Dara going to?”Thunder told him the name of the university and informed him that Dara had told their family months ago when she had been accepted. He was surprised that Dara hadn’t told Jiyong.“That makes two of us,” he mumbled. He thanked Thunder and walked back to his car, head down, shoulders slumped. He was at such a loss. Tears stung his eyes as he got in the car and sat behind the steering wheel. She actually left.Not knowing what else to do he drove to Bom’s house. He called her phone and asked if she could come out to meet him. When Bom came out a few minutes later and made her way over to the passenger side of his car, he saw that her eyes were red and swollen.“I just came from her house,” he told her. “She was already gone. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”Bom sat silently, her lips pressed together in a frown. Another tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t understand why she did this, Ji.”“Neither do I. I’m so angry at her.” He paused, still in shock. “It hurts.”Bom nodded silently.