Trapped

40

"*Ang haba talaga ng buhok mo bakla! Sarap tapakan." Vice whispered to Dara. 

(Trans: *It's an expression meaning the person the speaker refers to is very beautiful. It's weird if I just translate it into: 'You really have long hair, so yeah ehehe. Sarap tapakan: Stepping on it is tempting, meaning he wants to lessen Dara's beauty by stepping on her hair. I think it's somehow related to Rapunzel, her hair and her beauty (I'm not so sure though).)

They were already seated and Vice was surprised after knowing that Donghae and Jiyong were the ones to actually cook the dishes for their meal.

"Let's eat?" Youngsoon grinned at all of them before grabbing portions of both Donghae's and Jiyong's dishes. 

Vice couldn't help but laugh. It was as if by eating either of the men's dish, they'd support that man as Dara's partner - though of course it was only in his brain. The latter also took small portions from each of both their dishes so it was no fun. 

Dara was enjoying her meal. The pasta really suited her tastes and the chicken was really delicious. She considered herself lucky for the chance to eat such delicious food, though she knew both Jiyong and Donghae were the cooks, she had no idea who cooked what. 

"How's the food Noona?" Chanyeol asked. He was sitting beside the woman and had noticed that she'd unknowingly smile every now and then after having a bite of her food. 

"I like it very much! It was as if they'd made it according to my taste." She laughingly said making Vhong and Eunhyuk choke on their beverages. 

They were - indeed, made for her. 

"Then what dish do you like more?" Youngsoon asked excitedly. Dara's answer could either make or break her plans. 

"I like them both though?" Dara was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. She didn't want either of the two to feel bad about their cooking. The dishes were all delicious and she liked them all very much so she couldn't see the point of choosing just one. 

"Eh~ In times like these, one dish always tastes better than the other." Kiwoong muttered before raising his glass to Dara, as if saying 'what I said is correct, right?'. 

Jiyong and Donghae just silently sat on their seats. They were like cooking show contestants waiting for the judges to pick who between them won the competition.

Jiyong acted nonchalantly. He just kept on eating as if it was nothing, but all his attention - just like everyone else's in the room, was darted at the end of the table where Dara was seated. 

The latter thought for a brief moment before smiling.

"Well, I like the pasta better." She carefully muttered with her head down. She looked at her cutlery like they were the most fascinating things on earth when in truth, she just didn't want to see everyone's reactions.

No one made a sound. They were all silent for a while before Kiwoong burst out laughing.

Dara immediately lifted her head to see everyone stealing knowing glances at Jiyong who appeared nonchalant on the outside but was - in fact, ecstatic in the inside.

Donghae sighed, then smiled - rather sadly.

Eunhyuk patted his best friend on the shoulder before shrugging.

"You win some and lose some. It's the way of life brother." He whispered before taking a sip from his glass.

"I know." He chuckled before staring at his plate with his half finished meal. "GD-ssi cooks really well."

Donghae had to acknowledge the fact that Jiyong's cooking skills were great. He had thought the latter didn't know how to even make soup but - with his level, he could actually cook a three course meal effortlessly.

He had to admit that his cooking skills were 2 levels below Jiyong's. 

It was a bummer though. He had thought Dara would choose his dish as he prepared fried chicken for her, but maybe he just didn't know Dara's palette that much. 

He couldn't possibly go up against someone who basically got to eat with her during company dinners and even some private gatherings between YG artistes.

Eunhyuk didn't say anything and just ate. 

He felt that it was about time for Donghae to let go of his feelings for Dara. 

~

The next day, Dara walked in one everyone having some sort of meeting at the dining area. 

Food was already laid out in front of everyone while they seriously discussed something. 

The mayor and his wife were forced to stay at home. Like Dara and the rest of the main cast, they have been stressed and busy as well but they still insisted on coming back to the inn to help with the chores even though there were practically no guests in the inn. 

Youngsoon had ordered them to stay home and relax for the day. And in order to persuade them, she promised to call them immediately if something came up. 

"What's going on?" She asked as she sat on the seat beside Chanyeol. 

"Ah. Vhong-ssi and Eunhyuk Hyung suggested we have a house warming." He answered after passing some food to Dara so she could eat. 

"A house warming? But it's almost 2 months since the inn operated. Isn't it too late to have a house warming now?" 

"We've never actually had one." Kiwoong who was listening in on their conversation butted in. "I think it's a great idea. We can invite the mayor and his wife over. The weather's great now so we can have a small party out in the yard."

"Oh! I like that Kiwoong-ah, let's do that!" Youngsoon happily uttered while grinning from ear to ear. 

"Let's make it even more fun!" Everyone turned to look at Ryan who was giving Vice a look that only both of them understood. "Let's all list 4 things we each like to see the others do - it can be singing, dancing, a dare or anything, and put them in a box. After dinner, we'd have to choose a strip from the box and do the activity indicated there."

"Yeah. It'll be fun. If it's fine with all of you, we can  set up a stage near that separate building up front." Vice added, making everyone nod their heads in agreement. 

"Then it's settled then. We'll hold the house warming party tomorrow night so that we'll have enough time to prepare everything." Wonshik said as he looked around to see if anyone wasn't satisfied with the arrangements. 

While everyone happily chatted with one another, Jiyong sat still in his seat. 

It seemed like he couldn't hold back anymore. 

He lifted his head to look at Dara who was happily talking to Chanyeol and Ryan and decided to talk to her after the house warming party. 

He had endured for almost 2 months. He wanted to test the waters but he overestimated his patience. He had thought he could last until the end of the show but it obviously couldn't.

 He had to talk to Dara.