Time stilled for a long second as he looked back at her. A split second later she pulled herself up and turned her back to him making sure to keep a hold on the towel so it wouldn’t slip.

“Sp…spider,” Namjoo managed.

“What?” Luhan asked rising to his feet.

Namjoo slightly turned to look at him before turning away flustered and pointed to the bathroom. “There was a spider in there.”

Luhan shot her a frown before walking into the bathroom and walked out a second later rubbing his hands together.

“It’s dead,” he announced. “Go get dressed.”

Namjoo rolled her tongue over her teeth before turning around without a word and walked into the bathroom. After dressing into her pajamas she walked out feeling embarrassed. Luhan seemed indifferent about it as he got up from where he’d been sitting.

“Your food is on the table,” he informed walking by.

She turned upon the closing of the door and walked toward the table on the other side of the bed. Taking a seat on the mattress she looked over the sandwich before grabbing the juice sitting beside it.

After taking a sip she commented satisfied, “Mmm…sweet.”

Then hungry she unwrapped the sandwich and ate it while gazing out the window.

#####

When Luhan later stepped out of the bathroom he saw Namjoo standing by the garbage drinking the rest of the juice he’d bought her. He watched her tilt her head back to gulp the rest of the contents and let out a satisfied gasp before tossing the can away. A half smile curved his lips upon knowing she’d enjoyed it before walking over.

Namjoo turned when she heard his footsteps and sat down on the bed.

“Thanks for the food.”

Luhan walked over to the window and peered into the night street before opening the window for some cool air.

“Is that all you have with you?” he asked looking at her backpack.

“Oh…yea. I’ll go buy some clothes tomorrow.”

Without glancing at her he walked toward the light switch and turned the lights off. Their only source of light came from the hue of the moon, which lit up a big portion of the room. Walking over to the bed calmly he lifted the blanket up before climbing onto the bed. He’d always slept on that side so even with Namjoo there he didn’t feel any bit uncomfortable.

As he lie down he glanced at her back. She was still sitting and hadn’t moved. Was she nervous or did she want to leave? It was practically their first time together again after a year of divorce. Now that he was thinking about it, not much time had passed since they’d been married. Nothing had really changed anyway, except for the fact that they were angry at each other for particular reasons. Thus that had distanced them making their relationship stiff and fragile.

After a while Namjoo turned and also slid underneath the blanket, but slept on her side so that her back was to him. That was right, she was still bitter toward him. Luhan didn’t think Namjoo would want to be spending much time alone with him even if she had come to look for him. She probably wouldn’t have done it of her own free will if it weren’t for Mi Yun.

Luhan glanced at her back once more before turning away from her and closed his eyes.

The next morning he awoke when he realized there was less weight on the bed. The shuffling of feet entered his ears before he sat up to see Namjoo dressed up and ready for the day. Alarm fluxed through him when realizing she was heading out by herself.

“Where are you going?” he immediately interrogated.

Namjoo turned to look at him before sticking some cash and her card into her pocket, “Did I wake you?”

Without answering his question she picked up her shoes. Walking over to the chair to sit down she began putting her shoes on.

“You’re heading out?”

“Of course, I need to get some necessities,” Namjoo answered before shooting him a look, “unless you want to buy me tampons and pads.” After another second she stood. “If you’re heading out what time are you going to be back? Might as well let me know so I won’t come back before you do.”

“Fine, I’ll buy you your stuff,” he unwillingly said getting up.

Namjoo half-rolled her eyes and let out a breath of dissatisfaction as she turned to look away. He’d won the deal. She wasn’t heading out by herself.

Slipping his shirt off and throwing it to the floor he asked, “So where are you going? 7-eleven? Lotus?”

She turned to look at him with a dark glare, “What are you up to?”

After pulling a new shirt on he turned to look at her, “You think those guys are going to let you off if they see you?”

“They don’t even know who I am or what I look like, mind you,” Namjoo stated. “Forget you. I’m not so weak as to need your guard.”

Namjoo turned to walk toward the door. Quickening his pace he followed and pressed his back against the door before she could reach for the knob.

“Move it.”

“You don’t even know your way around without getting lost.”

“Well I as heck don’t need you leading me around,” Namjoo refuted. “I got cash, there are cabs, and oh, the boyfriend too.”

“You’re really going to keep it up calling him your boyfriend?”

“Yea,” she blatantly replied.

Luhan let out a short laugh at her stubbornness. As annoyed as he was with her he couldn’t let her walk out by herself. Mario and his gang knew where to keep an eye out for him and they could be watching discreetly. All the street gangs of Bangkok would surrender at Mario’s feet if he fought with them. Luhan wasn’t going to risk going head to head with someone so dangerous.

Grabbing Namjoo’s arm he pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Snatching his toothbrush and putting toothpaste on it he pressed his back to the door as he brushed his teeth. Namjoo stared at in in disbelief and tried to make a reach for the doorknob, but he blocked it with his hand.

“Luhan!” she growled. “Seriously, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He held out a finger gesturing for her to give him a moment before he rinsed his mouth and opened the door pulling her along. Namjoo struggled back, but he used more force to hurry her along. Cornering her between his arm and the drawer he pulled out a fresh pair of jeans before kicking off his sweats. Luhan shot her a glance and saw her roll her eyes as she turned away.

“Seriously…”

Luhan turned away as he buttoned his jeans and started for the door.

#####

“Ugh…how annoying,” Namjoo mumbled underneath her breath as she followed Luhan down the street.

As they neared the corner she spotted an old man in worn out clothing sitting on the ground with a cup in front of him. His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in days and he’d been sitting under the sun so long it looked like his skin was also changing color. Namjoo felt an ounce of pity for him and slowly started reaching in her pocket for a few dollar bills, but Luhan slightly turned back to pull her forward.

“Forget him,” he told. “He’s just prying on your pity.”

Pulling her arm away she muttered, “How can you just assume that.”

“Fine, lose all your money while you’re here then,” he said with an angry tone before speeding up.  

Namjoo rolled her eyes again. How could she have fallen in love with such a jerk?

After a few minutes of walking they arrived at a small shabby restaurant with a long rectangular window. Three middle aged men walked through the door and started smoking in front of the restaurant. The smell made Namjoo want to gag. She watched them glance back at her as she watched and turned to look at each other whispering words she couldn’t hear.

“Hurry up, will you,” Luhan called out sliding the door open and waited for her.

Turning away from the men Namjoo blinked a few times before walking inside. As soon as they were seated they were greeted by a woman with a handkerchief tied around her head to hold her hair back.

“Good morning!” she greeted quite enthusiastically. “You’re not eating alone for once.”

Luhan smiled up at the woman.

“Your friend?”

Namjoo and Luhan shot each other a glance; Namjoo confused about what was going on and Luhan hesitating about how to answer.

“Ah…uh…” Luhan began before replying, “my wife.”

Namjoo’s eyes hardened with shock as she turned to stare at Luhan, but even if he realized he didn’t turn to look at her. Instead he kicked her leg underneath the table. She let out a small shout and watched the woman turn to look at her with a warm smile.  

“Oh…uh…” she started uncertain of how to play along.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the woman greeted, “I’m Kat, I run this restaurant. Your husband stops by a lot. He’s so nice. It’s really nice to finally meet you.”

Namjoo smiled and nodded.

“Then shall I get you two the usual?”

Luhan nodded and watched her walk off before turning to look at Namjoo.

“The hell was that?”

“I had to save myself,” Luhan explained, “she wanted to hook me up with her daughter.”

Namjoo let out a loud and short laugh, “Girlfriend hunting, are you? Good!”

“Don’t start with me.”

Namjoo let out a little laugh to mock him, “Oh, I don’t want to start anything with you.”

He narrowed his eyes at her as annoyed with her as she was with him. Namjoo turned away to look off elsewhere while waiting for her breakfast to arrive. They ate in utter silence and had a small argument about paying separately or together.

“Look, we’re supposed to be married here,” Luhan reminded with a deep tone.

“You’re playing your own game here,” Namjoo stated then slapped down a few dollar bills onto the table before walking toward the door.

She slightly kicked at the ground as she walked out and looked around. The path down her left led to more restaurants and the path to her right was a small alley with a dead end. Deciding to grab a cab Namjoo walked straight ahead toward the street bustling with traffic.

The cabs were of different colors and she forgot what each color meant. A Tu Tu dangerously drove near the curb and Namjoo stepped back just in time to avoid being run over. The one thing she hated about Bangkok was the streets. People who owned motorbikes always cut in between traffic and even drove on the sidewalks sometimes. Tu Tu cars were a thrill once in a while, but Namjoo always worried about flying out of the open car.

As she stood there flinging her arm out for a cab she thought she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Turning to look around she spotted men and women walking around; each tending to their own duties. An old woman was drinking from a bottle of water at the bench by the bus stop and a young boy seemed to be overlooking the tiny stream of water below the bridge.

No one seemed to be watching her. With a small frown she turned back to look down the road just as a pink cab came her way. When she pulled open the door Luhan grabbed it and gestured an apology to the driver before closing it. The driver shot them a stare, shook his head, and drove off.

Namjoo watched it disappear down the street appalled by what just happened. “What was that!?”

“The bus is cheaper,” Luhan told turning to walk away.

The surging amount of tolerance for him was reaching its peak and Namjoo didn’t think she could hold it in anymore. When she got on the bus she sat in the far back away from him. Compared to the days when they looked forward to each other’s company, Namjoo just wanted to shove a fist up his chin.

The streets were crowded when she got off the bus. There was a long escalator by the side that would bring them up to the bridge leading to the doors of the big shopping district MBK. A few street vendors were hot with business when Namjoo looked around. Hair accessories, phone covers, and key chains of popular artists were being sold.

Uninterested Namjoo started toward the elevator behind two girls. When she got on the bridge there were large posters of actors and actress and upcoming movies pasted on the walls. She spotted two young girls squealing over a poster before making her way forward. Down below she witnessed the early morning’s heavy traffic. The streets were cramped with cars and little heads of people.

From just looking at the busy city life Namjoo wouldn’t have thought about people shedding blood or people looking to kill. Everyone looked so occupied; so busy with their lives, and they were content and happy with how things were. It was a blissful sight looking down upon the city.

That was right, life could have been happy for her too if she’d made it that way. Her city life back in Seoul wasn’t too bad. There was the company of her parents, her lovely daughter, and friends.  Those free nights of being able to enjoy herself could have happened, but she’d chosen her daughter over the crazy.

Yet she would have chosen the crazy if it wasn’t for her daughter. It had always been the crazy for her when she still had her job in the agency. She had been so free, so independent once. Maybe she regretted spending those times with Luhan, but she didn’t regret having her daughter. Mi Yun was the most precious treasure she had in her heart and the only one who had accompanied her in the long run.

The honking of a car horn below brought her attention back. She could see Luhan out of the corner of her eye before walking away from the railing and toward the doors. A long winding hallway of silver brought them into a wide corridor. Just as it was outside, it was busy inside. Within these bodies of people who made up the thick crowds, she was sure she could lose Luhan if she tried.

Unfamiliar faces walked toward her and pass her. There was a large doorway in front of her where security was checking bags before allowing them through. She didn’t know how many floors there were in this mall or how many corners it had, but Namjoo only knew it was a large place.

After making her way through she found herself standing in another corridor with extending hallways in every which direction. Continuous racks of clothes were on display in front of her and countless women were out shopping. Namjoo thought to join them, but she wasn’t that interested in fancy clothing at the moment. Namjoo just wanted something casual and comfortable.

She walked along the hall shopping with her eyes at the bags, suitcases, purses, and wallets on display. All the signs announcing sales caught her eyes, but she didn’t know where to start. Everything seemed illuminated to her because of the bright lights in the ceiling.

A photography store caught her eye when she saw a picture of a model in a dancing pose framed on display. Namjoo stopped by to stare in awe forgetting why she was there in the first place. She only recalled she wasn’t alone until a second later when she felt Luhan pull her down the hall.

“What!?” she shouted almost tripping over her own feet and pulled her arm out of his hold.

She saw his eyes darting around the hallway behind her. Confused she turned to look around. The heads of men and women moving back and forth distracted her eyes until she saw a vicious gaze belonging to a bald man walking through the crowd. His eyes were flat slits gazing around the hall meaning business. He didn’t look very happy, but whoever he was looked like he was searching for something.

She almost tripped over her own feet again when Luhan pulled her forward. Namjoo wanted to fling her arm out of his hold and slam it across his face for being so hasty with her. It wasn’t like she didn’t have her own eyes or feet to follow him. 

Luhan searched the stores before quickening his pace as they turned the corner.

“There!” someone shouted.

Namjoo glanced back to see a group of four or five men begin to hurry down the hall.

“Who are they?” Namjoo questioned, but Luhan didn’t answer.

Instead he continued to pull her along before running into a clothing store and into the back where a few empty fitting rooms were. Sliding the curtain open he dragged her in after him. When he closed the curtain she looked up at him with a stark frown.

“What the heck is going on?” she demanded, but his pupils moved to the corner of his eye when footsteps approached.

“Check the fitting rooms, I’ll check over there,” a voice ordered.  

Namjoo heard the quiet breathing of a man as he slowly neared them. The sound of a curtain being pushed open rung in the air before those footsteps neared. Pressing her lips together Namjoo peered into the small crack between the carpet and the curtain.

Was someone after them? Or was this some kind of mistake?

“Close your eyes,” Luhan whispered.

“Huh?”

Those footsteps neared and a shadow loomed over the ground. Namjoo felt herself tense up. If it was the gang she thought she’d prepare to defend herself, but instead felt Luhan push her against the wall.

“Do it,” he prompted then slid his hands over her face before kissing her.

Namjoo felt her eyes go wide and spotted a hand on the curtain before shutting her eyes as the curtain opened.