Plan: Make Suzy fall in love with Jiyong, distract her so she loses her role and Dara will have the lead role back.

Dara stopped in her steps upon seeing Jiyong waiting for her at the door of her final class for the day.

She looked at him questionably but then quickly realized something.

Right.

She told him about her plan...

But not on HOW to execute it.

Argh.

And one of those would be him not being seen with her.

She sighed at the sight of him waiting patiently for her by the front door.

A lengthy conversation must happen today.

Yawning, she approached him. The temptation to sleep immediately upon reaching home was strong after last night's lack of sleep, but she needed to discuss the plan with him first.

Jiyong observed her face closely as she stood in front of him, suppressing another yawn.

"I suppose I should take you straight home so you can rest. You seem like you could use a good night's sleep," he said teasingly, pulling her close to his chest.

She breathed in his masculine scent as she murmured words against his chest.

"What?" He asked, amused, as he pushed her away slightly so he could hear her.

She let another yawn. "I said, let's go to your place. I have to talk to you more about my wish."

He liked the idea that they were going to his place instead. The wish talk not so much. "Sure. Let's order pizza for dinner?"

She nodded. "Sounds good."

The classroom was empty and it's obviously tempting so seeing no issues, Jiyong pushed Dara back to the room and kissed her hungrily on the lips. They almost stumbled to the floor, but he managed to steady her, seating her on the desk before leaning down to kiss her more deliberately.

When she groaned because of the kiss, it was almost maddening that he deepened the kiss. He couldn't get enough of her.

"Someone might see us..." she moaned when he started to kiss her on the neck.

"No one's here," he assured but then paused, "I don't see any issues if someone's indeed here." He stressed as he trailed kisses on her slender neck. She smelled really good there.

She almost argued but then he is good at distracting her right now. His scent has an unexplainable effect on her. Or she's just sleepy she wants him close. "You smell good," she whispered to his ears.

He paused as he straightened up to look into those sleepy brown eyes of hers. He smirked as he brushed her lips with his fingers. "Funny, because I was thinking the same thing. You smell really good."

She smiled as she looped her arms around his neck. "Let's go home."

Home.

He smiled. He liked the sound of that from her lips.

He nodded as he easily carried her in his arms. "Let's go before you insult me by dozing off while I'm kissing you."

She laughed softly as she snuggled closer to him, quickly drifting off to sleep.

He chuckled as he kissed her hair. "Good night, sleepyhead."

--

"I want Suzy to miss after-school practice, and I need you to distract her. I want her to skip most, if not ALL, of those practice sessions so Mr. Jin will have no choice but to give me back my role."

Dara discussed her plan with Jiyong as they arrived at his place. They sat on the gray couch, with her laying out the specifics of her plan, and he appeared to be listening closely.

He nodded while taking a bite of his pizza. He could pretend to be interested in her plan, but the truth is he could listen to her talk about any topic all day.

"Starting tomorrow, I won't join you for lunch and I'm sure once I'm not with you, Bae Suzy will approach you to start a conversation. You will talk to her. Invite her for coffee or something after school. Make her think you're interested." She sighed the next words knowing he would dislike them. "I don't want you to be seen with me until we reach our goal."

He stopped eating at the hear of the last part. He cocked his eyebrow. "Seriously?" He asked.

She nodded while sipping her melon Fanta juice, acting nonchalant. "It would seem suspicious and unrealistic if you were showing interest in Suzy while being seen with me too. She might catch on."

He abruptly stopped eating, placing his slice of pizza back in the box. He looked at her and realized she was serious. "I'm starting to not like this wish of yours," he remarked.

She averted her gaze, grabbing another slice of pizza and taking a bite. When he continued to stare, she sighed and met his eyes again, attempting to smile away his sour mood. "It's just four weeks, only an hour a day. Theater club practices are that short." Setting her pizza down, she moved a bit closer to him on the couch. "Please? You already promised."

He scoffed. "I didn't promise anything," he corrected, yet he pulled her waist closer, nearly having her on his lap. "What do I get at the end of this goal?" he inquired.

"Me," she answered with a grin.

He fought back a smile as he leaned closer to her face. "I don't mind helping you get your role back, but what I dislike is not being with you," he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently playing with his hair. "I've already explained the reasons," she reminded him.

He shook his head. "I still don't like it."

She prevented a smile from showing. "I'll see you here and be with you so you can report to me."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Now, I have to report to you?"

She grinned. "Yes. Everything."

He shook his head. "You're impossible. Is it really hard to be with you?"

She laughed. "Yes!"

He kissed her to shut her laugh but she still giggled in between kisses, so he had to bite her lower lip playfully. She gasped which was a mistake as he easily darted his tongue to deepen the kiss.

She moaned as she held onto his hair tightly. He is really good at kissing.

They parted for air a minute later but only briefly as they kissed again.

"Only for a month." He said in between kisses.

"Only for a month." She repeated as she kissed him back.

--

After making out and finishing their pizza, they lounged on the couch. Dara was flipping channels on the regular TV with the remote, seemingly not finding anything interesting there, began browsing streaming channels and eventually settled on Netflix.

Jiyong checked the nearby wall clock – it was almost 9 pm. Seeing Dara comfortably nestled in his arms under a cozy beige throw blanket, he concluded that she probably wouldn't be heading home tonight.

Despite enjoying her here, he couldn't help but be concerned of something else.

"Is everything okay at your house?" He asked with a serious tone, his hand gently massaging her shoulder.

She briefly glanced at him before shifting her attention back to the TV. Lost in thought, she scrolled through Netflix, contemplating something.

"Hmm. I was curious about the shows you watch, but your profile history is empty. Meanwhile," she switched to her account, "many of the shows I watch are in mine." She gave him a questioning look.

Meeting her gaze, he attempted to overlook her trying to evade his question. "I don't watch TV," he simply answered.

She looked surprised, showing him back to the home channels on his TV screen. "Yet, you have all these streaming channels from Hulu to Paramount+ to Netflix. Even Disney! Why did you even have these?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "I bought them for you. I know you like watching shows."

She widened her eyes. "You shared your accounts with me for two years." she stated matter-of-factly. "You really liked me that long?"

He only grinned at her.

She shook her head at him. "You should've told me sooner."

"Well, I didn't know you liked me too," he winked playfully.

She laughed, pushing him slightly. "And here I thought no man likes me."

He fell silent. He couldn't tell her the men he threatened when they tried to court her. She's gonna crucify him, especially considering the times she questioned if something was wrong with her. He almost felt bad.

He cleared the lump in his throat. "You're too focused on your theater plays and part-time jobs to entertain suitors."

She nodded in agreement. "You're right." She drifted into her thoughts. "I can't believe I'm finally graduating next year."

He smiled as he pulled her closer. "A few more months."

She smiled weakly as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "If only I could get my lead role back before graduation, it would make my year perfect."

He kissed her on the hair. "You will get your role back."

She agreed right away. "Of course."

She would not take things otherwise. Determined to take the lead in a play, graduate, secure a job, and eventually find a new place, she had a distant look on her face for a while before turning her gaze back to him.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked, smiling a bit at him now.

He studied her face. Despite her attempt to conceal it, he sensed something was wrong. However, after years of knowing Dara, he recognized when not to push the topic.

"Of course," he answered, grabbing something from the side table and surprising her with it. "Now, you have a spare key to my place. You can stay, sleep, whatever, and whenever you need a place to crash, and you can call it your home too. But," he looked at her with seriousness.

She met his gaze. "But?"

He brushed her lips with his finger as he whispered, "You gotta tell me if something is wrong under my roof."

She meekly nodded as she couldn't promise that.

--

In the middle of the night, Dara began tossing on the bed, sweating and uttering some words. Jiyong, lying beside her, quickly realized something was wrong.

She's having a nightmare.

She was even reaching under the pillow, appearing to search for something and growing frustrated when she couldn't find it.

"Knife..."

"Knife..."

"No..."

"No please..."

Jiyong slid his right hand under the pillow, and as Dara grasped onto his hand, she held onto it tightly, placing them against her chest. Finally relieved, she drifted back to sleep.

He enveloped her with his other arm, pulling her much closer against his chest as he kissed her nape. Despite being in a deep sleep, she moaned in delight.

"Sweet dreams, my love. You're safe with me." He whispered to her.

He watched her sleep for a bit longer, and once he was sure she wasn't having nightmares anymore, he drifted off to sleep as well, hugging her tightly. With a promise, he would investigate about something.

--//--//tbc

a/n: How was it? Thanks for reading. I tried to put Suzy and Jaejoong in this chapter but nah, they can wait in the next chapter instead. Don't forget to share your thoughts, vote, and comment. Any feedback are ❤️