Thank you to my wonderful bestie chanbaeol for her advice on this chapter.
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Daera felt horrible. After her talk with Seulgi, she wasn't sure if her impulsive reaction of running away from the Lee residence was okay or not. She felt really sorry about running away before confronting Donghyuck about it. She had acted like a coward. A childish coward that ran away from her issues instead of trying to fix them. She wasn't sure if Donghyuck was disappointed in her. Did he even want to stay with her after something so stupid?
If she was hurt about his behaviour she should have approached him and told him how annoyed she was. But instead, she acted rationally and ran away like a child.
She couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her bed until she gave in, turned on the lamp on her bedside table and grabbed her phone. The lockscreen was glowing and showing a super cute selca of her and Donghyuck—Donghyuck was kissing her cheek and has scrunched his nose cutely while Daera was red all over her face.
She loved her boyfriend. She loved him way too much to let stupid jealousy ruin it.
She quickly unlocked the phone and tapped on Donghyuck's name to call him. It rang twice and she bit her lip. "I knew I shouldn't have called... oh shit! Ehm, hi!" She rambled when she realised her boyfriend had answered the call.
"Daera... I'm... hi!" She heard Donghyuck breath out and sighed quietly. Just the sound of his voice was sending warm shivers down her spine. She loved him too much to leave him. She loved him too much to be cross with him.
"I think we need to talk", Daera started and rubbed her temples. "I understand that you want to talk, but let me—" - "Please, Hyuck. Let me go first!" The girl butt in and the boy on the other side of the line sighed. "But... if I let you go first, you're going to break up with me and I can't live with that thought." Donghyuck's answer made a pang go through Daera's heart. He was afraid she was going to break up... This thought hurt even more than the jealousy she felt when Sora-sshi was in Donghyuck's arms.
"I said it once, and I will say it again. Will you please let me go first?" Daera was stubborn and kicked the quilt off her. Donghyuck sighed and finally said, "Go on. Please talk to me."
It was quiet for a while. Daera thought about the words she wanted to say and took a deep breath. She remembered Seulgis words about a relationship being a two-way thing. She bit her lip and sighed.
"Listen, I'm... I'm sorry for leaving that day. It was a stupid, rational reaction and I regret it so much. I am aware that I owe you a big explanation for everything but that day I just flipped and ran away because I felt that you treated me unfairly." Daera took a deep breath. "I never ran away from Sora-sshi. And I know you won't want to hear these following things but, she kept calling me 'Dori' and made fun of me. She called me names until I freaked out and cursed. And then she said we don't belong together. But the worst was that she pushed me." Daera felt tears prick in the corners of her eyes. "And then she walked away. I never ran away from her. I stayed with her, even though she kept calling me names and was behaving rudely towards me. I know she doesn't like me and she wants us to break up, but I'm seriously SO done with everything."
And there it went; Daera started sobbing, big tears were dripping down her face and she wished she could turn back time to the day where she met Donghyuck for the first time. But sadly this wasn't possible and now Daera had to face her first fight with her boyfriend.
"I'm so sorry, Daera."
The girl flinched by Donghyuck's voice and held her breath. "If I had known how mean Sora-noona had been acting, I would've interfered. But I forced you to apologise to her when you were the one acting more grown-up than her." Daera looked down and pressed her lips together. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, Donghyuck. I acted like a stupid child."
"It was your right to act the way you did. I wouldn't know what to do if a cousin of yours would continue calling me names and mistake my name." Daera could hear her boyfriends voice. It was shaking. "Donghyuck, don't be sad, okay? All we need to remember is that we love each other and that we need to talk to each other. It was stupid of me to run away." She sighed.
"I miss you Daera." Donghyuck started. "It was so nice when you were in Jeju with me. Every single minute seemed happier and much brighter. And now I'm lazy, munching on junk and watching sappy dramas. I miss you so much."
Daera bit her bottom lip. "I miss you too. So damn much. I already started missing you, when I boarded the plane back to Seoul." The girl looked down on her knees. "Don't be sad, Daera-yah. Forgive and forget, okay?" - "I'm trying. It's just not that easy."
"Listen, princess" Donghyuck chuckled in the background, "two more weeks until I am back in Seoul. I need to record my parts for the new Japanese album and I have to participate in our Seoul concerts. I make sure to invite you over or head to your dorm for a sincere apology. I should've realised earlier how Sora is treating you, okay?"
A smile spread on Daera's lips. "Thank you so, so much. I love you Donghyuck. So damn much." She blinked twice and sighed. "You're the best boyfriend ever!" Daera grinned when she heard Donghyuck whine on the phone. "What do you mean with best? Did you have other boyfriends before me? Choi Daera! Answer me!"
"I love you, Donghyuck." She giggled and hung up, her heart finally feeling lighter.
