"I am sorry, let me drive you home."

Jiwon quickly released his hand from her wrist. He could see her brow furrowed. She must be confused by his sudden change in action. He continued to look at her until she lost from his sight. He stayed in his seat for a while and took a deep breath. He released a sigh, regretting his action. 'Coward,' he murmured.

'Soo Yeon, you're evil. Now that you have moved on with your life, can't you let me move on too? Can't you stop haunting me with the past?'

*****

"You did it? You did it, don't you?" Suwon who was on the phone with Jiwon was surprised when he received the notification from the restaurant. '160,000 KRW??? What the heck that they eat'?

"What? You really don't know me, don't you?" Jiwon laughed. He grinned in satisfaction. He thought he just got his revenge on Suwon for making a plan without telling him.

"Why do you guys eat so much? How come you both didn't have any conscience after everything I did?"

Suwon pretended to be angry, but deep down, he was actually curious. He wanted to know what happened between Jiwon and Dara, but he could not bring himself to ask. He knew Jiwon way too well. Jiwon will not let anyone interfere with his life, let alone his love life. He pondered many times when he decided to trick them into dinner. He knew the consequence that he would have to face, but he thought he should at least give it a try. 

As his closest brother, Suwon wished nothing but the best for Jiwon. He was there when Jiwon broke apart after the divorce. He knew how hard it was for Jiwon in the past few years. He might look happy outside, but deep down, he just wanted to drop down on the knees and cry all the tears he can possibly pour out. He remembered seeing him cried when they were drinking together. He knew how Soo Yeon meant a lot in Jiwon's life. She was his first love and now ex-wife with whom he shared his life with although it was just for a while. Their divorce did not only separate them but it also took Jiwon's confidence to love again. Now that Soo Yeon had remarried, what else stopping him from pursuing his love life? Will it be fair for Dara if Jiwon continued to act this way?

*****

That day, Jiwon woke up later than usual. He sat on his bed with his messy hair. He snoozed, taking his sweet time before he fully woke up. He took his phone to look at the time. It was 2.30 pm. His tummy was growling loudly, sending a signal to his brain to feed him something. He got up from his bed, yawning, then walked to his computer room to turn it on. He went to his bathroom to brush his teeth before he went to the kitchen.

He pondered in front of his fridge, thinking about what he should eat to fill his empty stomach. There was not much food left in his fridge. He still got unopened kimchi from his mom, but he was way too lazy to cook. He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. He could just have water for lunch, he thought. 

"Tit tit teet tit"

Jiwon was surprised when he heard his house's passcode was being entered. 'Who could be coming to his house?' He wondered. He did not recall having any appointment to meet anyone at his place today. In fact, he rarely invited anyone to his house. 

"Omma, why didn't you tell me that you're coming." Jiwon was startled as he saw his mom entered his house. He quickly walked to his mom to get the paper bags from her hands. "Why are you buying a lot of stuff?" He was shocked to see all the stuff she bought. It seemed almost like they were going to have a celebration.

"Ah, sorry. I was doing groceries shopping nearby, so I thought I just want to come. Also, since when do I need to ask your permission to come?"

His mother started to nag at him when she noticed Jiwon seemed to just wake up from his sleep but was interfered by the buzzing sound from the doorbell intercom. She then walked to the main door again and welcomed someone to enter his house. Jiwon was confused. 'Who did his mom bring to his house?' He looked behind her. His mom definitely did not come alone. He was startled to see the ever so familiar face entering his house. 

"Thank you, agassi." said Jiwon's mom as she took the paper bags from the young lady. She seemed surprised as well to see Jiwon who was still in his cartoon pyjamas with some of his hair sticking up. 

"Jiwon, I met this nice young lady at the groceries shop just now. She offered to help me to carry my stuff..." she explained. 

"Ah, so you are Jiwon oppa's mom." Dara finally connected the dots. Now that she looked at them, they both indeed had some resemblance. She did not expect to see him again today after what happened last night. 

"Ommo ommo you two know each other? What a small world." Jiwon's mom covered acting surprised. Jiwon could easily tell that his mom was just pretending. "Ah, no wonder you look familiar. Dara, right?" Jiwon's mom continued. "Jiwon-ah, isn't she so pretty? She is prettier than on the TV."

Jiwon nodded, pretended to act unbothered. He slowly fixed his messy hair. For a moment, a sudden embarrassing feeling was creeping to his head. 'How could he show himself in these silly pyjamas?' He quickly dismissed himself to have a shower. 

Jiwon's mom invited Dara to join them for dinner. She politely refused, trying to make an excuse that she had to meet someone but Jiwon's mom insisted. She told her she wanted to repay Dara for helping her with the groceries. Dara had no choice. She could not say no to her request. His mother is very nice and pretty for women of her age. She was shy throughout the dinner but thankfully, Jiwon and his mother helped her to feel welcome in the house. At times, Dara could not help but secretly glanced at Jiwon throughout the dinner. Who could have thought she would be having dinner with him and his mother in his house?

*****

After dinner, Jiwon walked Dara home. She lived just a few block away from him, he only found it out when he secretly followed her car from behind. Being a gentleman, Jiwon could not let her drive alone by herself. He thought he should at least do that considering that it was already late at night and the restaurant was far from the main city. 

"Sorry, my mom gave you a hard time, did she?" he asked, breaking the silence. 

"No, she's really nice to me." She shook her head. Jiwon's mother was exactly like him, warm and kind. 

He was still feeling guilty about what happened between them. He was afraid his words might wound her feelings. "Also, sorry. About what happened yesterday."

"It's okay, let bygone be bygone," she replied. "But... are you always feeling sorry? It seemed like you always apologize to me every time we meet. You better not because I might like you even more," Dara tried to make a joke. 

"I like you," Jiwon murmured, but loud enough for Dara to hear. She turned to look at him, asking for certainty. 

"I like you." He repeated. "But... I have no confidence." Jiwon looked away. For the first time, he built his courage to tell her about his feelings. All of sudden, he felt much lighter, as if the heavy feelings that had been burdening his chest all those while was taken away. 

Dara took his hand in her grasp. It must be hard for him to bear it all those while. 

"It's okay," she said. "Whether it is to get your confidence back or whatever. Let me help you."

Dara did not know what she was going to get herself into. In fact, she did not bother to care. All she could think at that moment was to help Jiwon to gain his confidence back, even if, in the end, she might get hurt if Jiwon could not like her as much as she liked him. 

*****

Jiwon lied in his room to take a break. He felt so tired but the whole filming was bearable because it was with the New Journey To The West casts, his other family in the entertainment industry. Jiwon, as always, would give his 200% in his works. Although it had a different format from New Journey To The West, he enjoyed the filming so much. He had a good laugh with them. Na PD even if he was dating because his aura was different. 

"Jiwon ah~ are you dating these days? Your aura felt different," said Na PD during the break time. He noticed that Jiwon looked brighter during the filming.

"100%," said Lee Sugeun while laughing. He did not want to lose this moment to . "Yah, it looks weirder when you did not deny it." Jiwon then playfully hit him. He was embarrassed when they .

"Hyung, can I borrow your phone for a while? My phone was dead." They could hear Kyuhyun shouting from outside of the room. Jiwon recalled leaving his phone charged outside. He suddenly panicked and quickly got up from his bed, running as fast as he could to get his phone from Kyuhyun.

"It seems like Jiwon is really meeting someone," Sugeun whispered to Na PD. Sugeun could read him like a book. He knew if there was something going on without having Jiwon to tell him. 

*****

Jiwon quickly took his phone away from Kyuhyun which made Kyuhyun flustered. This was certainly not the first time Kyuhyun borrowed his phone. Jiwon had never acted this way before. 

'Goodnight. Have a good time filming. See you tomorrow. Fighting!♡'

His lips curled into a smile when he read the message. He would definitely have a good sleep tonight.