Let's Not Fall In Love

Chapter 8

It took a while for Dara to come to her senses. Even people going in and out of their row shuffled passed through her without her noticing. Minzy looked worriedly at her.

Two dates had already been auctioned and CL's turn was going to be next. CL was gesturing frantically at Minzy to snap Dara out from her trance. She was going to be auctioned next and she could see from the stage that Dara's soul had temporarily disconnected from her body. She was worried for her friend but at the same time worried for herself.

Minzy had been elbowing Dara for quite some time already. She got no response. It took the arrival of Bom with a steaming cup of buttered corn kernel to kick Dara back to her senses. Bom literally kicked Dara's booted foot as she walked by to get back to her seat on the other side of their friend. The sudden jolt shook Dara awake.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked Minzy as she munched on her corn.

"Fate just bit her in the ass. Kiko won the date with Jiyong Oppa." Minzy told Bom.

"Oh my Gaaawd!!! And I missed everything." She looked at Dara and saw their friend sitting seemingly calm by her side. She knew better, though, her repeated squeezing motion on the stress ball attached to her keychain was a telltale sign.

"Hey. Get a grip on your self. I know you don't feel good but CL's next after Heechul and you promised her. Worry about everything else later let's get CL's auction over and done with then we'll leave." Bom grabbed hold of Dara's hands and gave it a supportive squeeze.

Dara looked at Bom with heartbreak in her eyes. "Breathe, girl. If you so much as cry a single tear here, Jiyong might ask questions you won't be prepared to answer. So breathe and keep the damn show going."

Dara squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, took a deep breath and gave Bom's hand an answering squeeze. When she opened her eyes again she had pasted a smile on her lips and mouthed thank you's to both her friends. Then she looked askance at both her and Bom's hands.

"Crap! Where's my auction paddle?" She cried frantically after realizing that she no longer had it in her hands. "It was right here. I was holding on to them earlier."

She went down on her knees to check the ground and eyed the blasted paddle two rows upfront. Someone must have kicked it by accident. She stood up and hurried after the damn thing.

As she was about three seats away from it someone passed by and kicked it further away. She half crawled half duck-walked her way down the aisle towards it. Just as she was about to reach out for it the man sitting near it uncrossed his legs and accidentally kicked it further away.

She blew a furious breath at the cursed thing, impending heartbreak now momentarily forgotten. She muttered under her breath, "Those WINNER tickets better be worth it." She stood up and continued her mad scramble along the aisle on her feet, mumbling excuses at the people sitting on the row.

Sweat was already forming on her brow. She stooped down on the floor to get it. She hugged the precious paddle close to her chest and said,  "WINNER, my boys, don't you worry Noona's going to go and meet you soon!"

A bright smile settled on her lips as she allowed the thought of the upcoming concert to erase the bitter aftertaste of the harsh reality that she had just witnessed a while ago.

"Aja! Aja!" The lady seated in front of her looked curiously at the muttering girl and was subsequently startled when all of a sudden Dara jumped up from her squat and pumped her hands in the air while telling herself, "Fighting!"

Two rows back, her two friends groaned in embarassment at Dara's random actions. Their krung krung friend was back and she had just unwittingly won the bid for a date. A date that was definitely not CL. Someone was going to get her ass whipped tonight.

"Looks like we have a winner! ER Med's Park Sandara just won a date with our Chief Surgery Resident, Kim Heechul! Dr. Park, come up the stage please."

Dara froze as she heard her name. She turned towards the stage with horrified eyes. CL was staring daggers at her. If looks could kill she'd be dead by now. Jiyong looked back and forth at Dara and Heechul, a slight wrinkle forming on his forehead while Heechul the Ass grinned amusedly at the approaching but reluctant Dara.

"So Dr. Kim what can you say to the lovely lady who won a date with you?" The damned MC earned a warning glare from Dara. She then turned a threatening death glare at Heechul.

"Wow! Four thousand dollars, Park! I didn't know you loved me that much!" Her fist shot out before she knew it and an audible oomph from Heechul's lips was heard, amplified by the mic, as her fist connected with his abdomen. Scattered laughter and cheers were heard from the crowd. The night had just turned into a comic freak show.

"We haven't had our first date yet and you're already getting physical with me, Park!" The infuriating man turned towards her. "I'm starting to love your aggressiveness." He mocked roared at her.

She turned feral eyes at him in return. "Shut it Kim or it won't just be your stomach that's going to hurt. One wrong word and I'm going to kick you somewhere lower." She muttered under her breath.

The mic was still pointed at them so the chuckling crowd heard everything. "Any more words, Dr. Park?" The MC prompted Dara. The crowd listened in. The Dara-Heechul clashes at the ER were somewhat known at the hospital and this was an unexpected development.

She turned towards the audience and gave a bright smile, "I'm just doing a service to womankind and am going to save the rest of you from unnecessary torture. I'll gladly suffer for you and for the patients who will benefit from our refurbished wards in the future." She gave a mock bow towards the audience who cheered laughingly at their interaction.

Heechul, however, the attention-seeking ass refused to let her have the last say, grabbed the MC's hand with the mic and addressed the crowd. "I love kinky! She's already talking about torture, guys. Are we talking about the Fifty Shades kind of torture, Park?"

He turned twinkling eyes at the red-faced Dara who took a shot at kicking him in the groin. He, however, was able to intercept it with his hand causing Dara to outbalance. He caught Dara midfall and swooped her effortlessly up in the traditional bridal carry. "You're swooning for me already, Park?"

The whole audience cheered and yelled at their antics. Dara covered her face with her hands in embarassment while Heechul paraded her across the stage in his arms as he refused to set her down. Catcalls and yells of encouragement continued to come in from the crowd.

Someone started to yell, "DaraHee! DaraHee! DaraHee!" and the rest of the audience likewise followed.

Heechul energized by the crowd's chant, twirled with Dara in his arms causing Dara to involuntarily clutch at his shoulders for anchorage, which in turn earned excited shrieks from the ladies. And that there marked the birth of the hospital's newest Ship, DaraHee.