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darawonplease · 3 days ago

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« trauma. » chapter 13 – jump!

The final race takes an unexpected turn.

• chapter 13 – jump!

"Welcome back to Running Ace! Today we'll have our final race. Here we will determine which Team possess the synergy, body and spirit to cross the finish line and win their most longed prizes", MC Jaesook officially opened the final day of shooting with an energetic opening line.

MC Sook looked at the contestants diligently standing at the startling line.

"Since Team Minhyuk came first at the previous race, they will have a 10-minute advantage over the other teams."

The actors immediately proceeded with the obstacle race that awaited them at the huge park where the filming was taking place.

The dizziness added to the irregular breathing quicking picking up in pace made it especially hard to mask off that distress.

"Hyung said it only took 3 glasses of beer to take her home, can you believe it? One can't be so bad at drinking, she must be pretending only to cry victim after she realizes how easy she's been".

"N-no, that's not true!...".

Those words hadn't stopped chasing Dara all night.

"So... have you slept well?", Jiwon brought her back to reality with his casual attempts at breaking the silence between them.

"Well—", She exhaled deeply, "—I... actually had a hard time falling asleep, I don't know what's up with me lately".

"What do you mean?". His tone softened unexpectedly.

"I'm just... a little nervous!".

Lies.

She lied as she always did to divert people's attention from her inner world, the issues eating her from the inside.

"Hey— hey", he gently halted her nervous banter, "It's normal to feel a bit pressured. But we're doing well. Isn't it thanks to you that we managed to finish the race in time? You're half my size and still carried me on your back all the way through. You're crazier than me".

"Oh, the president is going to scold me for that, I can already hear him going 'Sandara! Why would you ruin your image on National TV!'".

The spot-on impersonation stole an earnest chuckle from him.

"Ack! Don't mind what that old man says, he only knows to complain and criticize", he continued, "It's easy to like you. You...make it easy".

Dara beamed an earnest smile and met his earnest gaze, one she still hadn't seen on his tsundere person.

Despite believing her, Jiwon sensed there was more to that.

"By any chance...do Min and Hyuk make you uncomfortable?".

The long silence proved his hunch right. Her smile seemed to dim every time they interacted with her, her expression would stiffen whenever Min insisted to make her drink. It was easy to overlook by someone who wasn't paying attention, but he was.

"I can talk to them if they are bothering you", he continued.

"That's thoughtful of you but that's no need for you to do that, I can speak for myself too", the young woman politely turned down the sunbae's help.

Jiwon quickly reminisced about all the times her frank words pierced right through him. All the times she stood up for herself. No matter how innocent she looked, she knew when to be fierce.

"I know you can...".

"Why do you even bother then?", Dara diverted her gaze, conscious of how cold she suddenly sounded in that moment despite his genuine concern.

Taken aback, Jiwon remained silent. He always had an answer to anything, but not to her.

"ATTENTION TO ALL TEAMS! A HIDDEN SUPRISE CARD HAS BEEN FOUND".

The loud intercom resounded all around the huge park.

"Us and the production didn't expect it to be found this early in the game, but I guess this race is full of surprises... This discovery might change the trajectory of the whole competition", Sook confessed.

"What's going on?", the celebrity cellist Goeun looked at the production team at the starting line for answers.

"Min found the SWAP CARD, this forces Team Min-Hyuk to swap partners with another of the competing teams".

Team Goeun-Jongwon and EunDara gathered around the small monitor that showed them Team Min-Hyuk.

"Min, go ahead! This will decide your fate!".

The young actor approached the wheel and gave it an energetic spin. Every segment showed a name of the remaining contestants.

The wheel kept spinning, feeding the suspense until it slowed down, the arrow hovering on each contestant's name.

"And the lucky partner for Min is... Sandara Park!".

"M—me?!", the realization dawned on the singer like heavy rain. It seemed as if destiny took a liking to

her misfortune. Like a trick of fate, she was paired with the last person she wished to be with.

Her eyes wandered around lost to find a producer's or writer's comforting gaze, anyone's.

"This is nonsense", Jiwon's expression tensed. He looked at her apologetically, as if he understood her discomfort.

"Will you be okay?".

Dara only replied with a forced smile, trying to shake the news off. She was a professional after all.

She hopped on a golf cart, quickly bringing her to her new teammate while Hyuk was escorted back to meet the others at the starting line.

"Sandara sunbae!", the curly-haired actor greeted her with the brightest of smiles and yet, she felt like a rabbit in the a wolf's cave. She just didn't know if he'd attack. They were at a variety show shooting, of course, he wouldn't act or say anything uncomfortable, or at least she hoped.

It wasn't too long when the other contestants started their own race to keep up with the team in the lead.

At each mini-game, Jiwon wouldn't fail to steal glances at the teammate stolen from him.

"Are you okay?", his eyes seemed to speak for him.

They were now competing against each other, and yet, Dara rejoiced whenever Jiwon managed to win against her.

It was mesmerizing to see in real life, how energetic and witty he was. No wonder he was dubbed the Variety genius. His experience added to Hyuk's quickness made them finish the mini-games way before her and Min and Jongwon and Goeun.

"Quick Noona! Get the boat before those two get to us!".

Dara pushed the yellow inflatable boat towards the artificial lake that distanced us from Jiwon and Hyuk at the top of the race.

They quickly wore life vests and sailed from the dock, checking the other contestants in the distance.

"Noona, after our win, we could totally go out and celebrate with a drink, I know a place nearby".

She hoped he wouldn't attempt until the very end. But unfortunately, his plan was already in motion.

Rage and disappointment mixed inside her, turning her into the disillusioned person she wished to never become.

"You know what Min?", she stopped rowing, a hint on iciness in her tone as she peered right through her new show partner.

"I heard it all yesterday, at the restaurant".

"N-noona?", the actor stopped rowing too, taken aback but the teammate's sudden confession.

"It's crazy how much fun bored people have when talking badly about others".

"I'm not following what you're saying", he denied, feeling caught.

Dara wasn't one to rejoice in other people's misfortunes, but Min's friend she used to date was accused of harassment and systematically shunned by the whole industry.

"You're such a rising star Min, don't risk your career like that friend of yours", she warned him with real concern for the colleague.

"So that's how it is" — Min chuckled nervously — "That's a pity Noona, I really wished to win those shoes with you but I guess it needs to happen before I plan to, it can't be helped".

"What are you talking about?".

"Oh you see, I'm the X-man so I won't need you anymore to win at the finish line".

Dara's heart fell to her stomach.

"Now that you know everything then you won't resent me for doing this".

The deep splash turned everyone's head towards the artificial lake.

"What was that?", the staff on-site questioned.

"SANDARA FELL FROM THE BOAT! I REPEAT, SANDARA MIN FELL FROM THE BOAT!".

You could spot an orange spot in the artificial lake, and Dara signalling "ok" with a hand, calming the safety guards ready to throw themselves in the water.

A satisfied smirk crept up the actor's lips. He quickly took Dara's paddle and vigorously rowed towards the other side of the lake, leaving the woman in the middle of the water.

"You're not getting away with this!", Dara managed to shout before Min distanced himself.

"Need a ride?".

Offering a helping hand, Goeun and Jongwon picked Dara up on their boat.

"The X-man has been revealed! You see, Min found a surprise card last time. The X-man is that special contestant that has the job to betray his own teammate to win the competition, which grants him a bigger prize at the end", MC Sook announced from the loud intercom.

"So he's the Spy huh, I guess there might be some benefits by competing as a single person instead of a team", commented Goeun.

"But who in their right mind would push their partner out of a boat?", an outraged Jongwon started rowing way more aggressively to take out his anger.

"He wanted to get rid of me to go after Hyuk and Jiwon since they're in the lead".

The three of them finally got to the dock connecting to the next section of the race, where Jiwon, Min and Hyuk were already dealing with a race course and obstacles.

"Thank you again for helping me out there", Dara hugged the duo with earnest gratitude.

"Don't mention it! And may the best win!".

Jiwon was sure a variety genius but he also recognized that he couldn't boast about his physical prowess anymore, slowing his team down and letting the others catch up to them.

"See you at the finish line", Min smirked as he got past them.

They were now standing at the top of a structure with an inflatable mattress beneath it to catch them from the fall. Hyuk jumped, quickly followed by Jiwon who, contrary to his younger teammate, stood up from the mattress accompanied by painful groans.

Dara was right after them, her experience in Real Man 300 sure toughened her, making her surprisingly more proficient at those obstacle courses. Yet the distance between her and the mattress below froze her body in place.

Jiwon turned around, sensing her hesitation.

"Dara! You got this, okay?".

"It looks... so tall", she shouted.

'll catch you, okay? On the count of three—".

"Okay, I'll just jump".

"What? Wait!".

The stability of the ground under her disappeared as she soared into the blue of that warm day.

Dara landed right in Jiwon's arms, knocking him down to the blue mattress.

Her mortified eyes found their way to his. Tingles spread right through her fingers, resting on Jiwon's chest. She melted in the splash of brown that were his worried eyes.

'are you okay?', he whispered

The intensity of their gazes made everyone feel like third-wheeling.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry", Dara immediately stood up from the close encounter.

"Don't be".

Dara just couldn't believe how cool and collected Jiwon was in the face of such episodes, ignoring his ears turning red as a tomato.

Hyuk sighed at the whole scene displaying in front of his eyes.

"Jiwon Hyung come on! We still have to get to Min!".

"Coming!", Jiwon fixed his now wrinkled tee and jogged to his teammate, not before beaming a soft smile to Dara.

The curly-haired actor was stalling at the next section which required the contestants to answer to random questions before being allowed to the last section of the race.

"Come on Min, just tell us "Hello" in another language", MC Jaesok encouraged him.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Hello, Konnichiwa, Ni hao...". He kept repeating those greetings, short of the last one to proceed.

Jiwon, Hyuk and Dara shortly caught up to him.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Hello, Konnichiwa, Ni hao and MABUHAY!" Dara quickly replied, resorting to her knowledge in tagalog.

Sechskies' leader couldn't help but smile, for how nervous she was about the show, she sure was doing great.

"What's the longest river in South Korea!", the MC proceeded with another question.

"Easy— That's Nakdong River!", Hyuk replied swiftly.

"Right! But since you're a team of two, Jiwon must answer another question correctly before you can pass through. The next person to reply correctly will be right after Dara to get to the finish line!".

Jiwon exchanged a daring look with Min, now more determined than ever to win.

"Next question! What was Lee Hyori's debut song?".

"How am I supposed to reply to that?", Min whined.

"What kind of question is that? It's 10 Minutes".

Jiwon responded in a relaxed manner. After all, that was right up his alley.

"Team Jiwon-Hyuk, you're free to go!", the two of them started sprinting towards the finish line, learning a scowl from Hyuk.

Dara was now followed closely by them and Min.

"AH!".

Jiwon tumbled down on the ground, painful moans escaping his mouth.

a.n. I deeply apologize for my absence but I'm finally at that point of my life where I can sit down and tend to all the stories I've left off on here. I just love how supportive Jiwon has become of Dara and found deeply satisfying how she stood up for herself (despite the betrayal right after). These chapters about the Variety Show sure have been daunting because of their "action" nature but we're near a point where we can exclusively focus on Jiwon and Dara's blossoming relationship. Enjoy!

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#2NE1 #Sandara Park #Dara #2NE1 Dara #Sechskies #Eun Jiwon #Dara x Eun Jiwon #Dara Jiwon #Fanfiction #Romance #FF #Kpop #Darawon

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