Let's Not Fall In Love

Chapter 5

Two days before the auction, Dara had to go on duty for thirty two hours straight. She even had to stand in as the Senior House Officer for the last 12 hours of her shift. She was tired as hell and to boost her spirits she was sneaking some kdrama time on her cellphone. She already had a cup of coffee at the ER but it wasn’t enough to give her stalling brain a jumpstart. She needed an additional stimuli to perk her up and what better stimuli than a heavenly dose of Kdrama feels?

She was walking on the way to the doctor’s quarters from the ER, an ear bud stuck on her left ear her phone cradled in her hands. Hospital staff were used to seeing her like this every time she’s done with her shift and knew better than to get in her way when she was already in her zone. CL was one of the few people brave enough to disturb her when she’s like this.

CL had been walking along stride Dara for a few steps already but Dara failed to notice her. CL finally pulled the ear bud from her ear. 

“Yah!” Dara yelled at her. “I was getting to the good part already!”

“Better than this?” CL was fanning a pair of WINNER concert tickets in front of her face. “Front row seats, you like?”

Dara’s eyes rounded in excitement at the tickets. “Is one of those reserved for me, CL-roo? I’m your favorite Unnie, remember?” Dara dazedly asked CL, her eyes trained on the tickets instead of making eye contact with her younger friend.

“Could be yours...or not.” CL tucked the tickets safely inside her coat pocket. “It depends.”

“Depends on what?” Dara excitedly asked.

“On whether you agree to bid for me on the night of the auction.” CL told her.

“What? Are you out of your freaking mind? After the rumor of us being a lesbian couple has finally died down, you’re asking me to do this?” Dara exclaimed at her friend. “Besides you’re going to disappoint your admirers.”

“Exactly the result I’m hoping for. You know I've never given a damn about them.” CL said. “I overheard a couple of guys betting on who gets to win a date with me. I hate those guys’ guts. That’s why you’re going to bid on me. You’re not only going to get a chance of a lifetime to meet WINNER in the flesh you’ll also be helping me out and save me from an hour of torture. I might end up killing my date if one of those guys win the auction. Don’t worry because I’ll pay for the bid.”

“I’m not so sure about this.” Dara said hesitantly but her hands were unconsciously reaching out for the tickets that CL once again brought out from her pocket.

“Think about it, Unnie. I approached you first even if I knew that Bom Unnie would be easier to convince because I know you’d want the tickets more than her. All I’d need to offer her is corn and more corn and she’d most certainly say yes but I approached you first. Please say yes, Unnie.”

“Uhm. I’m not sure I might be on duty that day...” Dara’s voice trailed off.

“Unnie, please save me from a lifetime behind bars. My hands are itching to wring the necks of those guys. Imagine if I have to date one of them. I'd make headlines the following day for manslaughter. You’d be doing me a great deal of good.” CL told her. “And did I mention that these come with backstage passes?” CL smiled widely at her.

“Backstage passes!?! You should have told me earlier that I'm getting the chance to breathe the same recycled air as those guys...To feel how it is to be in the same enclosed space as them... I would have said yes sooner before you even said please. You’ve got a deal CL-roo.” Dara offered her right hand to shake with CL. After shaking hands, Dara held out her hands for the tickets. "Gimme! Gimme, CL-roo!"

“Oops! Not so fast, my friend. I’ll hold on to these until the day of the auction for security.” CL grinned at her. “To make sure you won’t forget about the auction. You might go in a Kdrama trance that day and forget to show up. I know you, Unnie.”

“Okay. I, Dara Park, swear on my ancestors’ honor that I will show up as promised on the charity event two nights from now.” Dara swore to CL. She then raised her hands to the sky and prayed in thanks to the heavens. “Lord, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet the guys of WINNER.”

“See you, Unnie.” CL smiled at her friend's crazy antics, pivoted on her heel and headed back to the Radiology Department no longer waiting for Dara to reply knowing the older girl would already be lost in her own mental bubble once again.