VII. Gummy Prince To The Rescue!
On A Rainy Day
Bang Yongguk
The dark sky sent a tremendous shake throughout the house, the walls shaking with its rambunctious noise that annoyed me. The storm outside raged with desire and complete wanting to destroy, something I knew too well. I turned my body to the other side, facing an empty bed and a simply creme colored wall. Something in me worried about Jung Mone. She was afraid of these horrible storms, as she told me on one of our many dates, it was one of her many flaws. Of course, being the gentleman I was, I mentioned nothing of that kind towards her. It would have been bad; I knew that much about women, that I shouldn't mention their flaws to them. I could remember how she trembled in my arms, how she cringed every time the thunder struck her ears. It was as if she wasn't just afraid, she was completely terrified of it. I guess I wanted to help her in some way.
I sat up from the bed, running hand through my hair as I faced the dark wall. I could scarcely imagine Mone at the moment, trembling and wrapping her cold arms over her chest, almost as the squeezing would stop the sound. I stood from the bed, slipping on a shirt on the floor and making my way out of the room. The house was dark and silent, almost like the many scary movies the boys and I spent watching almost every single night in the apartment. I took a careful step, hearing the wooden floor silently creek under my weight. The white door at the end of the hallway seemed to be calling for me, and I couldn't help but follow its every command. With every step I took, the rain seemed to go down harder and the thunder sounded louder. I noticed the white door to be ajar, which confused me a bit. I was sure that Mone would have been asleep already. Maybe she's downstairs, I thought to myself. She might be getting a glass of milk to calm her nerves. My hand closed around the golden doorknob, and stopped. There was a soft humming coming from her room, along with the shuffling of her comforter.
"When mother went to the island to pick oysters, the baby was left to go stay in the house alone," I heard her sing softly. "Ebb and flow of tidal waves sounds like lullaby. The baby fell asleep with his elbow as a pillow." I remembered the lullaby - A Child In The Island House. My mother used to sing it to me during the night, whenever there was a storm. I remembered hiding under her arm as she chuckled and told me that everything would be alright, that it was just a little storm that would pass by in a matter of minutes. I fell asleep to her voice before I could count the exact minutes till it passed.
"Noona," I heard someone say, interrupting my thoughts. I shook my head, moving a bit closer to listen to whoever was the person talking. "Are you also afraid of storms?" I realized that it was Zelo who was speaking. I forgot, he's afraid of storms. Mone chuckled, the sound of ruffling coming to my ears once again.
"Would it be bad if I said yes?" Mone answered. "You can even ask oppa if you want. The first time we met, I was in his room taking a shower since there was a heavy storm. I think I almost choked Yongguk oppa by how hard I was hugging him." I chuckled, remembering how I hugged her that afternoon. At first I was surprised that she screamed, and I thought it was something horrible that happened, but no. She was just afraid of thunder. I was glad it was just thunder, I wouldn't know what to do if it was something else.
"Ah," Zelo mumbled. "Jeongmal, noona, I never thought of you to be one to be afraid of this. You're studying to become a doctor, but you're afraid of storms. Noona is weird."
"Yaaaa!" Mone laughed. I could imagine her playfully hitting him on his arm, rolling her eyes then running a hand through his hair to calm him down once again. The sound of thunder hit pretty hard, and then a small whimper captured my ear. I sighed, running a hand through my hair before slowly opening the door. Mone and Zelo were huddled together on the bed, the blankets over their heads as if it could block away the sound. I couldn't help but chuckle as I took a step closer to them, and sat at the end of the bed.
"Ya," I began. "The two of you are supposed to be asleep." Mone pulled down the blanket first, followed by Zelo almost immediately. "You wont be afraid of the storm if you're asleep." Zelo stuck out his tongue, then laid down once again. Mone simply laughed, rolling her eyes and standing up.
"Oppa," she muttered. "I didn't know you would be awake." She bit her bottom lip and ran a hand through her short hair, looking down at her lap.
"I couldn't sleep," I informed her, looking around the dark room. In the light, the walls would look a pale yellow instead of the dark gray. The red sheets would have looked inviting and warm instead of cold and lifeless. There was something about the dark that bothered me, and especially since it reminded me of things I never wanted to be remembered of. I could faintly hear a scream in the distance, along with a gunshot. Memories. They are just memories, Yongguk, I thought to myself. Just take a deep breath. I did as I told myself, then looked over at Mone. She had a curious gaze in her eyes as they bore into mine, and I swore I shook.
"Oppa," she breathed, standing from the bed. She took a step closer to me, and I immediately shook my head and sent her a grin.
"I'm okay," I responded almost immediately. I surprised myself with my sudden outburst, but it was for the best. I didn't want her to come towards me and ask if something was wrong, I would have pushed her away or snapped, probably say things I never meant to say.
"Okay," she raised a brow, but took one more step towards me. She stopped, and turned her head to look back at the bed. I forgot that Zelo was in the room, but it surprised me to see him already asleep with the whole blanket over his head. Little sounds of snoring came from him, along with the blanket moving up and down on his chest.
"Oppa, can I sleep with you?" Mone asked out of nowhere. I looked back at her, surprised at her question.
"Bwoh?" I blinked a few times, hoping that my hearing would be wrong. "Do you just realize that you asked if you could sleep in the same bed as me?" I raised a hand to the back of my neck, feeling the heat rise from my cheeks to my ears.
"N-ne," Mone mumbled, fiddling with her hands. "Ah, oppa, mianhata. I shouldn't have asked yo-"
"Yes," I cut her of. "It'll be alright."
"Chincha?" she asked as we walked out of the room. I put my hand on the small of her back, guiding her to my room with a smile on my face. I hoped that she couldn't see the big smile that decided to appear. "Can I really?"
"I did say yes," I chuckled, opening the door. "It may be a bit cramp in the bed, since it's not so big."
"Then that means I'll be warm," she chuckled softly, and immediately got inside the blankets. I stopped at the end of the bed, just watching as she played with the dark colored blankets. She looked like a little girl trying to get her older brother to comfort her, and it somehow kept reminding me. "Bbali, oppa!" Mone laughed, interrupting my thoughts. I couldn't help but softly smile down at her as I got on my side of the bed.
"I didn't know that a short girl like you could be so annoying," I mumbled as I pulled the blanket over my body. "Anyway, sing me a song?"
"Ya," Mone pinched my arm, making a face while she tried to glare at me. "You think I'll sing to you after you called me annoying, and short? In your dreams, Bang Yongguk"
"Of course!" I laughed. "I know you want to sing to me. I want to hear you sing, just like you did to Zelo before he began to ask you questions."
"You're not afraid of the storm though," she muttered. No, but I am afraid of worse things. I moved to my side, and gave her my pointer smile. She looked away, mumbling something then laying down, putting the whole blanket over her shoulders. "Jaljja."
"Jung Mone!" I laugh, sitting up a bit. "Don't do this to me!"
"I'm tired," You're scared. "I'll sing to you some other time." Will I even be able to see you another time?
"Do you promise me that?" She turned her head, and nodded. What if the people we were running away from get to you before I do? What if I can't save you, Mone?
"I never go back on my promises, oppa. Never." In a matter of minutes and a few more talks, she was asleep. I looked down at her, my hand gently playing with the strangs of hair that fell over her face. Sometimes, Jung Mone reminded me of a little child that needed to be protected. Other times she reminded me of a strong woman who could do anything she desired. She was too much like- No! Bang Yongguk, stop thinking about it. I shook my head, and looked back down at Mone. was slightly open and her hand was just under her chin. I have to protect her, was one of the many things that ran through my mind.
I am sincerely sorry that I haven't updated in quite some time. Honestly, I had a bit of writer's block but I had some inspiration come to me now.
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