Her lips fell apart and the weight of her heart became heavier inside her chest. She watched Luhan step out of the car and walk toward them, feeling more nervous by the second. When he stopped in front of them Namjoo tilted her head back to glance up into his face afraid of what he had to say, but he was only glaring at Sehun.

He grabbed the hand in Sehun’s grasp and stared right into his eyes, “I think you’ve got the wrong woman. Go look for yours elsewhere.”

With a tug Namjoo’s hand dropped free from Sehun’s grasp. Surprised, he made another grab for her hand, but Namjoo twisted it away and clasped onto Luhan’s turning her face away as well.

Securely placing a hand at her back Luhan walked her toward his car with a, “Lets go.”

The drumming of her heart was still echoing loudly within her body as if it were becoming one with it. The walk to his car seemed to take forever before Luhan opened the door for her. Once she got into her seat he closed the door and turned to shoot another stare at Sehun before getting behind the wheel.

Namjoo fought hard to keep her eyes from meeting with Sehun’s longing eyes while she waited for them to head off. She was honestly afraid emotions would seep out of her eyes if their eyes met. If Sehun saw anything it would be it a bad, bad move on her part. At this time, she couldn’t afford to make any mistake.

At last they drove past him two seconds later. The ride to the restaurant was a slow one due to traffic and she assumed there was no escaping Luhan’s questions. If she were in his shoes, she’d want answers as well.

To her surprise he didn’t ask about Sehun. It made her feel guilty for some reason.

“Are you ok?” He sounded genuinely concerned.

Namjoo turned to glance at him.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “You know nothing has been particularly happy on my part.”

“What are you saying?” He asked.

“You can ask me anything. I’m ok, I can answer.”

Luhan smiled as if flustered by her suggestion.

“Actually,” he began, “I do have a question for you. I just need you to say ‘Yes.’”

She frowned.

“What?”

“Next time though,” Luhan joyously smiled. “Lets just enjoy lunch. I want pizza today, so we’re going to the Pizza Buffet.”

Lunch was utterly peaceful with Luhan has always. They talked happily about his co-workers and incidents with customers, stories about his parents, and predicted Ki Hoon’s future; of where he would go to school and who his friends might be. They’d have disagreements and agreements about Ki Hoon, but they still talked happily.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you to get Ki Hoon?”

“I’ll be fine, go on back to work,” Namjoo unbuckled her seatbelt. “We’ll be over for dinner as usual.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Luhan told.

With a nod she stepped out.

Sehun didn’t show up the rest of the day and she was glad he didn’t. Namjoo was certain she’d enjoy the rest of the day in peace and calm, but that was until she was barely a block away from the Day Care when a car suddenly swerved in front of the cab.

+++

Boisterous anger wept through Sehun when he watched the car drive off. He was infuriated with how Namjoo had taken that man’s hand; how she even went with him. He definitely came to Namjoo before that man had, and Namjoo still chose that person?

Why!?

He was angry Namjoo wasn’t acknowledging him. He was upset that Namjoo had kept Ki Hoon to herself. He was overwhelmed because she looked content without him while he was stressed and depressed without her.

It wasn’t fair.

Sehun wanted to talk, but Namjoo didn’t.

Why was that?!

Why was she avoiding him like he was a stranger?

She was his Namjoo and she knew it, so what was with this game of pretension?

Determined by his anger, he decided he wouldn’t quit until he got what he wanted. He always got what he wanted.

It suddenly didn’t matter that Namjoo had gone with that man. He’d find her no matter what. He’d make her look at him and say his name. He’d find her and he knew where she was headed next.

Just a block from the Day Care he caught sight of her in the back of a cab after a two and a half hour wait. Sehun didn’t consider this to be kidnapping. He wasn’t going to harm her anyway.

After five seconds he put pressure onto the accelerator and drove forward, instantly braking. Sehun was ready to sacrifice his car if a crash happened; it didn’t matter much to him anyway. He just had one aim; it was to get Namjoo.

To his expectation, the cab immediately stopped. The sounds of the brakes screeched against the concrete, echoing through the air. Climbing out of his car he strutted toward the cab; the driver staring at him as if he were crazy and Namjoo’s eyes hardening when she saw him.

Good, she was looking at him. Good.

Pulling the door open he reached in for her arm to drag her out.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing?!” Namjoo shouted, trying to pull out of his hold again.

Sehun slammed the door shut and started toward his car. No matter what it took, she was going with him.

“Hey!” The cab driver screamed, poking his head out of the window.

Stopping, Sehun pulled out his wallet and took two steps back to throw it into the cab before heading back to his car.

“Let go of me!” Namjoo demanded.

Either she had gotten weaker or her energy was nowhere to be felt at all. Namjoo wasn’t pulling away as hard as he thought she would.

“Let go of her! Miss, do you need help? I’ll call the cops,” the driver stepped out of his car.

Pulling the passenger’s door open Sehun turned back to glare at the man, “I’m taking my runaway girlfriend back. I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

The driver stammered and Namjoo caught worry in his face before Sehun somehow shoved her into the passenger’s seat. He even made sure to put the door on child lock before closing it. Namjoo’s mind raced for a solution, but no idea came to her rescue. He was already back into the car before she knew it.

“Put your seatbelt on,” he ordered.

“Why? Who do you think you are?” Namjoo questioned. “Let me out of here.”

An amused snort befell his lips before he reached over, pressing himself into her, and pulled the seatbelt over her. He shot her a victorious stare before putting his seatbelt on and started the car.

While the car raced down the street Namjoo stared at the life passing by. She didn’t know what to do. Perhaps she was getting in inescapable trouble after all.

A few minutes later Sehun harshly braked at an empty area near the Hangeng River. It was where they’d often gone on dates after studying. Sehun had once surprised her with a picnic setup once, even going to the trouble to keep candles lighted while waiting for her. Namjoo realized he’d probably chosen this place on purpose. He wanted to instigate her feelings, but she wouldn’t comply. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, and she didn’t want to.

Not anymore.  

She refused to turn to look at him when his eyes landed on her. Turning the engine off he unbuckled himself before reaching over to unleash hers. Grabbing her shoulders he forced her to turn to him.

“Look at me, look at me!” He demanded.

Namjoo raised her eyes up into his face without word.

“Say it,” his voice was hushed into a low growl. “My name, Namjoo, say it.”

“If you tell me your name, Sir, I’d say it so you’d leave me alone.”

His fingers pressed deeper into her skin and Namjoo felt the pressure from it.

“Why are you doing this!? Why!?” He shouted in frustration, shaking her a little. “Stop pretending you don’t know me!”

She just stared into his face and it made him angrier.

“You ran away because you were pregnant, was that it? Were you afraid I wouldn’t take responsibility for you? Or was it because you didn’t love me anymore? Why did you leave me!?” He screamed shaking her.

Namjoo felt her head bob back and forth uncontrollably, but she didn’t speak.

A bullet hit his chest again and he felt all his pain erode through his body again. It was an awful feeling. It squeezed his pulse, sliced him up, and killed his will. He was confused about who was really before him. What kind of Namjoo had this person become? Who had taken his Namjoo away?

“Can you let go of me?” Namjoo broke his thoughts.

Sehun became angry again with her pretense. She had no right to do this to him. She had no right to make him ache so much. When she left him first, why was he the only one hurting? She had no right to hurt him like this. She should be hurting; she should be the one in pain!

Shifting his grasp from her shoulder up to her face he forced her toward him, clamping his eyes shut as he forcibly kissed her. He had to wake her up, he had to!

Instead, her fists landed against his shoulders in an attempt to pull away from the kisses she once loved so much. And it hurt him when he felt that she didn’t want them.

A scream left her lips when she turned her face away and tried to escape, but he forced his lips back onto hers. His insides screaming for her to return the kisses he was offering, but he could only feel her fighting to be free. Sehun wanted her emotions, he wanted her intimacy; he just wanted her.

Namjoo continuously tried to shove him away when he ate at her lips, and finally having enough of her struggle slightly shoved her back; his hands back on her shoulders. He listened to her back hit the door, but she only glared at him.

“Say it!” He ordered. “My name.”

He watched her stare back angrily, pressed her lips together before releasing them, “I don’t know your name.”

“Fine, so be it,” he muttered.

Instead of forcing her toward him, he leaned forward to kiss her again. He’d make her admit it; he’d make her remember everything this way then because she was being so stubborn. Sehun would do it before she could go back to that man his son liked as much as his mother.

He grabbed the bottom ends of her shirt to pull it up, but her hands rushed down to put up another fight with him. Before he could win over, there was an anxious knock on the window. When he turned he spotted the cops standing outside.

To his dismay, the cab had notified the cops of his car after all. They stood outside with time spent in open interrogation while they separated Namjoo from him. A blanket had been wrapped around her with a female police officer’s hand on her shoulder.

“So what’s your relation to her and what were you two doing?” The bulgy officer asked.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Sehun stated, “we were just arguing. You have a problem with that, Officer?”

“Really? That’s not what we were told,” the officer said before calling his partner over. “What did she say?”

Sehun peered at Namjoo from the corner of his eye certain she wouldn’t let him get dragged to the police station. Namjoo had never harmed him and he didn’t think that would change even now.  

“She says she doesn’t know him.”

Immediately staring at them he felt his lips fall apart in utter shock at the act of betrayal.

“You’re going to have to come with us,” the officer reached for his handcuffs.

“No!” Sehun shouted and turned to look at Namjoo. “Namjoo! Namjoo!”

She didn’t turn to look at him even when the officer handcuffed him.

+++

Of course she felt guilty. She felt awful, but she needed to teach Sehun that there were limits now unlike before.

While she waited for Luhan to come for her she could still feel herself shaking. Sehun had never harmed her, he would never harm her. Namjoo always trusted him and she knew he was just being foolishly desperate earlier. Sehun wanted to scare her, so that she’d say his name. She knew through the kisses that they were just his cries in expression.

Through those 3 years she’d never let his name roll off her tongue as if it were poison. Namjoo had come to believe there was no such thing as a soulmate after all. They hadn’t been meant for each other. Love was just a form of communication that people believed was destiny. It was something only meant to comfort the soul that longed for a space in time it would never have on Earth.

What really awaited her at the end was nothing.

“Namjoo!” She turned at Luhan’s shout when he opened the door.

Love was a foolish thing people were only meant to trick themselves with.

Namjoo stood up and took a step forward, but he rushed toward her to pull her into a hug.

“Stupid,” Luhan name-called. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you.”

People were only taught to love because it was better than hate.

The living was just greedy because it always longed for something that didn’t exist.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized.

“Are you ok? What happened?” He released her, but placed his hands on either side of her head while looking her over.

“I’m not hurt,” Namjoo told. “I’m still in one piece, right?”

“Idiot.”

She felt him smooth his hand over her hair before hugging her again as if to reassure himself it wasn’t a lie.

Love existed, but not in the forms the living wanted, so people were always greedy.

It was hard to believe in anything when she had had none from the start.

Dreams, illusions, and masks were the best forms of lies anyone could experience. Namjoo had experienced all that herself. It was time she rested now, but why did it feel like her dream had never found an end?

A small smile fell upon her lips when she turned to snuggle her face into his neckline where safety beckoned for her. 

***Sehun's upset, he's very upset; even more upset with Namjoo's betrayal. Here, we have it that she's afraid and hasn't gotten over what made her leave him.

***Love doesn't come in the best form. Namjoo doesn't quite believe anything anymore. They're all troubled and sad ;A;