She’d forgotten all about him. As their eyes locked she could read all the annoyance he had with her. The anger he had packed in his scornful face didn’t speak in words, it didn’t have to speak in words for her to know it.

Luhan tightened his jaw sharpening the outline of his face. His eyes were narrow slits, his brows stern and heavy on his forehead. For a second she thought he would say something scornful toward her, but he turned away. Snatching his wallet up from the table he walked passed her leaving a trail of cold wind. The door opened and closed before she turned around to stare at it.

He was gone during the long evening only to return when the sky was black and she was lying in bed – her side of the bed. To her un-expectation, Luhan didn’t join her and instead chose the couch.

When she woke up the next morning he was gone from the room.

#####

Just thinking about talking to Namjoo, telling her about how upset he was that she’d set him up set fire to his nerves. Even if the urge was strong, part of him knew that Namjoo would refute him without taking his words into consideration. It’d be her way and she’d walk out on him when their argument got too heated. And he hated that the most, so it was only best he keep to himself.

Looking at her would just flare his anger up again.

“Here alone?” Kat questioned setting a plate of fried noodles in front of him.

He gave her a kind smile.

“Enjoy your meal first,” she said, “I have a gift for you.”

Luhan watched her walk away and about 10 minutes later returned with two tickets in her hand.

“A good friend of mine sent them in the mail,” Kat explained when Luhan took the tickets from her to look at, “but managing this restaurant doesn’t offer me the time to have a vacation. My daughter’s too young and doesn’t have a boyfriend, and since your wife has saved us before; why don’t you take this?”

They were tickets to a one night – two day cruise.

“Since you two are away from home, why don’t you two go? Share an experience and spend quality time together. This is a high quality cruise, I recommend it.”

“But…”

“Just take it,” Kat pushed his hand toward him. “I’d very much like to do something for you two.”

Quality time…spend time together, Luhan wanted to laugh spitefully, but he couldn’t in front of Kat. It was rude of him, so in the end he walked out of the restaurant with the tickets in his pocket. If he didn’t use it, it would be a waste of her kindness; yet at the same time how was he supposed to talk to Namjoo about it?

She wouldn’t, he knew for sure, go on a cruise with him. A couple going on a cruise sounded too romantic for what they were. He and Namjoo were closer to arc enemies than a pair trying to rekindle feelings for each other.

Plopping down on a random bench he watched traffic come to a stop and back to life in front of him. During the meantime, he could only loiter around. Going back to the hotel to see Namjoo there might strike out another argument and what a waste of energy that was. And even if she wasn’t there, he was bored alone there.

Later that evening when he returned to the hotel, Namjoo was folding her belongings into a suitcase. He had assumed she’d bought it to store her stuff so they were no longer just sitting around. Without question he grabbed some clothes and stepped into the shower.

Namjoo was lying in bed sprawled in the middle taking up as much space as possible when he walked out. It was as if she’d assumed he wouldn’t take his spot, so she’d decided to taking the bed to herself. Annoyance struck him and he wanted to purposely get on her nerves by telling her she was greedy and for her to scoot over. But he just stood there biting his lower lip.

The worst case scenario was them tossing pillows back and forth at each other before their neighbors might complain. And how stupid it was how they could get so angry with each other, but he couldn’t give a care at all about it. Not unless Namjoo stopped first would he.

They were stubborn idiots like that.

So he slept on the couch again that night. The next morning Namjoo was gone before he woke up. He barely saw anything of her the next two days nor did they trade any words. Even if Namjoo was in the room they minded their own business. Neither giving the other the eye nor stealing a glanced at the other curiously. If either turned toward the other’s way, it’d be like losing the all-out war and neither of them was going to forfeit first.

#####

“Ugghhhh!!” Namjoo groaned and ruffled her short hair into a complete mess on the bench she was sitting.

It’d been almost four days now that she and Luhan had been at their cold war with each other. Just the thought of it made her frustrated. In the long run, it would make her even more bitter and stubborn. It’d been this long and yet Luhan hadn’t had the guts to apologize to her. Namjoo would only stand her ground determined to wait for as long as possible so that she could win.

“Why, what’s going on with you?” Sungjae’s voice made her look up to see him imitate her then laugh. “Is that what monkeys do when they’re angry?”

“Is that funny to you?” she questioned irritated.

Sungjae laughed and sat down, “Yes, it is.”

He handed her a bag of shrimp flavored chips. Instantly opening the bag she tossed a few into and chewed loudly.

“We’re going into a village tomorrow morning,” Sungjae mentioned. “Two of our foreigners have decided not to go, so we have some empty spots on the van. Do you want to go?”

Namjoo turned to look at him interested.

“We’re going to be visiting an elephant farm,” Sungjae further explained, “and ride the elephants. If you’ve never rode an elephant before you might want to take up this chance.”

It was tempting. She wanted to ride an elephant and go back home to tell Mi Yun about it, but the thought of leaving Luhan behind made her hesitate. What if something were to happen to him while she was gone and she wouldn’t even know? Who would help him nonetheless go to his rescue?

Then on the other hand, why should it matter to her? Luhan had ruined her chance of garnering more information on Mario. Her revenge on the gang for him had been futile, so who cared? Leaving Luhan behind to deal with his problems sounded all right. Besides, he wasn’t a child, but an adult. He should deal with his own problems.

“Yea, I’ll go.”

Another smile jumped onto his face, “Great! I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

Luhan’s eyes were greedily glued to a magazine when she returned. She stared at him with a glare from the doorway, looking at him as if he was the most detestable creature on Earth. Then without further ado, took out everything from her pocket, and set them down on the bedside table before heading into the bathroom with her towel and pajamas.

#####

Lifting his eyes up once the door closed he set the magazine aside on the table before getting up. Walking over to his drawer he took out the two tickets Kat had handed him and stared at them. The cruise would leave dock tomorrow morning and he still hadn’t talked to Namjoo about it.

If he told her that it was out of Kat’s goodwill and they shouldn’t let it go to waste, would Namjoo go with him? Part of him highly doubted that she would, but the quiet voice at the back of his head was telling him to give it a shot. Because who knew, Namjoo might just agree.

Pressing his lips together he thought he might give it a try when she finished showering. As his thought finished processing he heard a loud beep from the phone Namjoo had set down on the bedside table. Luhan's head turned its way before he glanced toward the bathroom door.

Namjoo would take some more time before she walked out, so should he or should he not? She would be angry if she knew he touched her phone again…but she wasn’t here to see it. Luhan lightly bit his bottom lip and stared at the phone. It was tempting; the phone seemed to be calling for him.

The quiet voice in the midst of the silence beckoned him toward it. Pausing by Namjoo’s side of the bed he stared down at the phone and picked it up.

It was a message from Sungjae: “I forgot to tell you we’re stopping by the floating market tomorrow too. It might get a bit windy, so bring a jacket. I’ll come get you an hour early and we can grab some breakfast before the van arrives. I’ll see you then.”

Floating market? Tomorrow? Just what was Namjoo planning to do tomorrow?

Luhan stared at the smiley face at the end of the sentence becoming angry at why it looked so happy. He reread the message over and could hear the water running from inside the bathroom. A flood of negative energy entered him.

Where the heck was this Sungjae planning to do with Namjoo tomorrow? Just because they were having a war didn’t mean Namjoo could go about doing whatever she wanted without his knowledge.

Those guys were still out there and he was sure they’d be watching closely. That person wouldn’t be able to protect Namjoo if anything happened. It’d turn ridiculous if Namjoo had to protect that guy instead.

Luhan felt himself spout a jumble of spiteful complaints before deleting the message on her phone. Placing it exactly just as he’d found it he returned to his seat and waited for Namjoo to walk out. His eyes were again narrowed slits and his brows deep down on his face, quietly warning her inside his head.

When Namjoo finally walked out with damp hair he watched her drape her towel over her suitcase and crawl onto the bed without turning to look at him.

“That’s right,” he quietly thought, “don’t look at me. I have your plans figured out tomorrow, you won’t even know anything.”

In the middle of the quiet night when Namjoo was deep in her dreams he opened his eyes. Namjoo’s back was to him and she hadn’t moved for a long time. Deeming it safe he got up and rummaged through her suitcase cautiously. Pulling out some of her clothes he tucked them into his backpack along with his clothes.

Moving as swiftly as a thief he returned everything into place and sat back down. With one more glance Namjoo’s way he finally leaned against the couch and closed his eyes. All he had to do now was wait for daylight.  

A few hours passed on by before he heard Namjoo moving around in the morning. He’d barely slept waking up at random hours in the night just to make sure the sun wasn’t up yet. Being a deep sleeper gave him disadvantage in waking up in time. Honestly, he was somewhat worried and nervous. If he slept too well, he’d miss the chance to stop her that morning, so being too anxious he hadn’t slept as well as he liked.

Anyhow, Namjoo spent some time preparing herself that morning. So as not to give her any suspicion that morning, he got up without looking at her. Even when brushing his teeth he cautiously leaned against the door to listen to Namjoo move around in case she walked out without him realizing.

Namjoo was debating between two blouses when he stepped out and turned away from him so that he wouldn’t be seen through the corner of her eye. He wanted to choke on his breath when the urge to ask why she wanted to look good for just a trip bit him. What was so good about meeting up with Sungjae that called for her to beauty up?

Clutching the now chosen blouse to her chest she brushed passed him into the bathroom. Upon hearing the door lock he walked over toward the window to peer outside. There was currently no car parked on the side of the street, which all but meant that Sungjae hadn’t arrived yet.

Good, that was good.

After another 10 minutes, Namjoo finally opened the door and walked out. Luhan quickly picked up his backpack and walked out as well.

Namjoo was looking through her phone when he walked out. He peered down the road for a car that might look like Sungjae’s before starting forward. Suddenly grabbing Namjoo’s hand he pulled her around and stuck an arm out for a cab.

“What the hell…” Namjoo first uttered before seeing him and began to diligently pull back. “What are you doing!? Let go! Let go of me!”

“No, you’re coming with me.” he urged her back toward his way.

“What is wrong with you!?” Namjoo twisted around, trying to ground herself back all the while fighting to pry his hand off. “Luhan! Seriously…”

He felt his fingers sliding off her skin and his hold become loose before Namjoo immediately swerved around, running out of his clutch. Quickening his pace he chased and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind. Smiling spitefully about how he had to keep going after her so pathetically he twisted her around then took hold of her hand again.

“Leave me alone!” Namjoo shrieked grabbing his arm to use him as a leverage to pull herself away.

He listened to her helplessly stomp her feet frustrated and continuously tugged back and forth.  

“You frigging jerk! What are you up to!? You’re not letting go?” Namjoo raised her voice. “I’m going to scream if you don’t let go!”

“Do it!” he encouraged turning around to look at her and peered at the taxi coming toward them with a breath of relief.

Namjoo almost quieted and glared back at him. Another shout of surprise belted out of her when he pulled her forward to the taxi. She let out a desperate cry as she tried to pull back, which almost made him give in to her. He loosened his hand around hers before clamping them back securely.

“Wherever you’re going, I don’t want to go with you,” Namjoo said, “can’t you let go?”

Luhan stared straight into her glossy eyes. Of course, he also wanted her to enjoy herself, but he didn’t want that joy to be shared with Sungjae. Anyone else, but that guy.

Turning away from her eyes he opened the door to the taxi and pushed her in before joining her. Namjoo reached her other arm out for the opposite door, but Luhan quickly wrapped his arm around her to prevent her from doing so. Once the cab started down the street, Namjoo swung around to stare out the back window. Sungjae’s car was just approaching the hotel and she stared longingly at it.

When it was finally out of sight Namjoo turned to him with an angry glare and shoved him off.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” she screamed. “You bastard…”

Her brow fell down her face before she scooted away from him and turned to stare out the window. Luhan felt sorry, but he felt like he had no other choice. He wanted to go on the cruise. He wanted some time alone with her. Was it so hard to ask for without having an argument?

When they arrived at the dock Namjoo refused to move from her seat. Luhan turned to look at her from the open door before reaching in for her arm, which Namjoo quickly pulled back. Her eyes were focused on the window of the opposite door and wouldn’t turn to him. In the end, he grabbed her arm and literally lugged her out.  

“I said I don’t want to go with you!” throwing his hands off Namjoo yelled so loud that the others around them turned to stare. “What part of that don’t you understand?”

She stared at him sternly then turned to walk away from him, but Luhan twisted her around.

“Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me!!” Namjoo threw his hand off and shook her head with every word. “You ruined everything! Why can’t you just leave me alone and disappear!?”

At last his eyebrow twitched having lost patience with her. Grabbing her arm he tugged her toward him so that Namjoo had to crane her neck back to look up at him.

“Are you going to shut up or do you want me to shut your lips for you?” he asked in a lowered voice. “I’m not scared of displaying public affection right here, right now.” He tugged her toward him again, “You want to try me?”

Namjoo continued to glare at him before moving her face back. Sliding his hand down her arm to grab her hand he led her toward the ship. 

***HAHAHAHA