Chapter 3

Mona’s POV:

I was still trying to figure out why Seungho wanted to meet up with me. After yesterday’s events, I simply thought that meeting any of them was impossible.

…But then again, I was only angry at one of them.

We had decided to meet, even though it was really early, in a café, not far away from the MBLAQ dorm. It was that fact that made me wary. Because meeting a certain conceited idol would probably result into the death of one of us.

“Seungho-sshi…” I began, “why did you want to meet me? How did you find my phone number?”

Seungho shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I found your number through the mall’s staff, and I wanted to see you because I have to…” he trailed, before getting up and bowing deeply. “Please accept my sincere apologies from Joon’s part. He is a member of my group, therefore my responsibility, and I ask your forgiveness on his behalf.”

Jesus, those responsible panda-like leaders…

“Seungho-sshi, please stand up straight. There’s absolutely no reason for you to apologize.” He stood up, still debating on whether to continue or not.

“If it’s not Joon’s apology, then I don’t need it.” I said. Wow. When did I become so cold? Would the Yang leader freak out and give me one of his famous gl-

“Joon is a bastard.”

…Wait, what? Did Seungho just say that?

Anyway, I could only agree.

“He is. Or at least, he acts like one.” I affirmed, and Seungho smiled, adding: “He’s not called ‘idiotic muscles’ for nothing.”

I laughed, despite the tightening feeling in my stomach that had appeared since the first mention of Joon’s name.

It was too soon to talk about him, to even think about him. Yesterday, I had quickly written my feelings on some sheet of paper, trying to find some comfort in that action. But today, sadness had given its place to anger. Because it was the only way to survive. And yet, despite all those resolutions, every mention of his name affected me still.

I absolutely needed to give an end to this.

“Seungho-sshi… Thank you for going out of your way to meet me. I truly appreciate your efforts, and it’s obvious that you’re a great leader. But you don’t have to take care of everything.”

Seungho smiled proudly, thanking me, and adding that he soon had to go, before the other members woke up.

Just the thought of Joon, that idiot, sleeping peacefully while I had spent the night awake, unable to sleep made me furious. Not only that, but it was also Seungho that had woken up earlier to apologize for something that he had done. Like, what the hell?

This guy… Seriously, I wanted to teach him a lesson so badly, before cutting all ties with him.

“I’ll be leaving this afternoon. I’m going back to my country… So, please, can you give something to Lee Joon-sshi when you see him? I would be grateful if you could do this for me.”

Surprise flashed in the Yang leader’s eyes, as he took in what I had just said. “You’re leaving… today?” I nodded affirmatively.

“Is it because of us? Is it because of him?”

“No, I had made my reservation before.” I hurriedly said, trying to ease the apparent guilt that showed on his face. “But Joon certainly makes my departure easier.”

Seungho’s eyes hardened for a split of a second, before he asked me teasingly: “So, what is it you want me to give to him? I hope it’s not a bomb or something…” I let out a small laugh, as I took out the note that I had wrote yesterday, scribbling a little PS note before handing it to him.

…At least, it wouldn’t go to waste.

Seungho got up, preparing himself to leave, and so did I. It obviously was the last time that I would see him, or any of MBLAQ. I sighed, and smiled sadly at the thought. I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to any of the others.

“Mona Lisa… Don’t look at me with that kind of smile…” Seungho recited MBLAQ’s song, the song that G.O had decided to link with me. I laughed heartedly, knowing that even if things didn’t turn out exactly as planned, it still was one of the most interesting points of my life.

“Say goodbye to the others from my part, please.” I said, thinking about the way that I danced in Thunder’s arms and the approving looks that Mir had given me during my entrance at the club.

“Even to Joon?” Seungho asked teasingly, as he took my hand in his, shaking it firmly.

I remembered the confused look on Joon’s face, when he saw me in the club. I remembered his words: “I want more than that.”

And I remembered his body close to mine, with his lips on my own.

“Yeah… Even to Joon.”

 

Joon’s POV:

“Joon-ah! Wake up!”

I groaned, only opening my eyes enough to see G.O standing beside my bed. My head was killing me, and I stumbled when I tried to get up. If it weren’t for G.O, who easily caught me and steadied me, I would have probably fallen.

“Someone drank a bit more than he should have yesterday…”

“Yesterday?” I struggled to remember what had happened. Images came to me as flashes: Mona arriving to the party, Thunder dancing with her… I could remember nothing after that.

G.O sighed and told me to hurry and come have some breakfast. I nodded absentmindedly, furrowing my eyebrows in concentration, trying to remember the rest of the night’s events. I gave up after a while, realizing that all my efforts were useless.

When I walked into the kitchen, everyone was there. However, as soon as I arrived, every conversation came to an abrupt end. I looked around, confused at the sudden silence.

Mir coughed uncomfortably.

Still half asleep, I sat down on my usual place, next to Seungho, ignoring the obvious tension into the room. My gaze suddenly falling on Thunder, I couldn’t help but ask:

“So… did anything happen between you and Mona last night?” I tried not to let the interest slip into my voice, but the thought alone of Thunder and Mona upset me for some reason.

Seungho looked at me incredulously, anger and disappointment visible in his eyes. I was startled by that look on his face. It was very rare that Seungho would give us that look. Angry, he often got, but disappointed, almost never.

He suddenly got up, storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I stared questioningly at the rest of my members.

“You really can’t remember what happened last night?” Thunder asked quietly.

Had I done something to Seungho? Well, the answer was obvious, since he was so pissed. Pissed enough to leave his breakfast behind, that is. I suddenly got terrified. I hastily excused myself, running after Seungho.

“Seungho hyung!” I called after him.

“What is it, Joon?” He asked tiredly.

“I’m sorry. For whatever I did last night. I was drunk, I wasn’t in my right mind-”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to”, he cut me off.

I didn’t understand what he was talking about. My confusion must have been obvious in my eyes, because he quickly brought out something from his pocket. He gave it to me.

It was a note.

“For Lee Joon-sshi” it read. I stared at him blankly. Was he so angry that he needed to convey his emotions onto the paper? That didn’t sound like him.

“Mona wanted me to give you this…” He explained.

Mona?

I suddenly remembered everything: leaning in to kiss her, her surprised yelp as our lips collided, the warmth of her lips on mine, and… her hands on my chest, pushing me away. What was I expecting? But then… although the details were a bit blurry, I was pretty sure I had said the worst thing I could have come up with.

«Well, Mona, see? I gave you your chance, the one you practically begged me for. Too bad your kissing skills are even worse than your balance ones.»

What the hell was wrong with me? I mentally face-palmed myself. Why had I even said that?

I quickly unfolded the note, afraid of what I’d read inside. My knuckles turned white as I read its context:

 

“Joon, you idiot.

‘I don’t want you to be my friend’, you said. ‘I want more than that’, you said.

Well, you know something, Lee Joon?

…I wanted more than that as well.

I wanted to kiss you, I really wanted to. But I wanted it to be real, and not just a kiss that you would forget the next morning while it had meant everything to me…

Because, after all, that’s what happened: you erased that kiss from your memory, didn’t you, Joon?

Was it really that much, wanting more than that?

Joon, you idiot… In the end I’m the most idiotic one.”

Mona

 

Somehow, those few lines were enough to break something inside of me. How could I have acted like such an ? Playing with one’s emotions like this, I couldn’t have done anything worse than that. It suddenly didn’t matter that we had collided that day. It suddenly didn’t matter how awfully I had felt that morning. All that mattered was that I had hurt Mona’s feelings and I could never make it up to her.

Just then, something caught my eye: a little note, obviously added the last minute:

“P.S. You don’t kiss that well either.”

Ouch. What was that supposed to mean? Did she really mean that? My eyes widened and I couldn’t help but stare at those six words, until Seungho cleared his throat, signaling he was still there.

“She’s leaving today”, he said. His eyes had softened. Was regret visible in my eyes? “Make this right, Joon. You can’t let her leave like this”, he added.

I knew he was right. Damn, how could I ever face her again? It didn’t matter. I had to fix this. And no matter how much I pushed the thought away, deep down, I knew that this one kiss, had meant everything to me, too.

 

Mona’s POV:

Packing surely was a pain in the .

My trip had been a small one, and I hadn’t really bought anything while in Korea, except of that dress… pff… why didn’t my clothes just fit in the suitcase, as they were supposed to?

I tried again and again, secretly glad that I could pay attention to something else than Joon… that idiot.

It was impossible to fit all of the items in here, but it made absolutely no sense. I had already done it once, so why was it so hard to do it again? Was it because of the dress? The dress I had worn at the afterparty?

That dress had a whole new meaning to me: it was a memory, something to remind me of my meeting with MBLAQ, and me hanging out with them.

…Should I simply leave it here?

But why leave it behind? It just reminded of MBLAQ, that’s all. It had nothing to do with a certain member of theirs that acted like an idiot, and, as Seungho had said, was a bastard.

No, it had nothing to do with him, I decided, as I shoved roughly the dress in the suitcase, pushing the lid down quickly and sitting on top of it, to close it properly.

Yeah, it had absolutely nothing to do with him…

…

I took the bus and reached the airport. How many times did I think about cancelling this flight? How many times did I say to myself that I could stay here, and try to make things right between Joon and me?

Right now, my willpower was weak, and I knew it. If someone appeared before me, if someone asked me to stay, I probably would. I he asked me to, I certainly would. With no second thoughts.

Yeah, I was that stupid.

“What’s wrong with you, Mona? You’re supposed to refer to him as ‘that idiot’, remember? What are you doing all of a sudden, praying for him to come after you?” I said to myself as I checked in. I decided that I would hand in my luggage later, convincing myself that there was no reason for that. Yet, I knew it was simply because I didn’t want to leave, because I still had some hope left somewhere…

What could I say? Hope dies last.

It was then that my phone rang, and I looked at the ID before picking up. It was none else than my friend, the one that had broken her leg, offering me the chance of my life.

“Ooi, Min Hye, how are you? How’s your leg, are you feeling better?” I said, making my voice as cheerful as possible.

“Yah! Mona, you dummy! How could you do this to me?” I was speechless. Had I done something wrong?

“How could you do this? I’m still not completely healed, and I can’t go back to work! Did you really think I needed you just to cover up for me for one afternoon? I still have two weeks before going back to work!” Min Hye screamed over the phone, and I flinched at the volume of her voice.

“Oh…” I said, too startled to say anything else.

“Don’t ‘oh’ me! Are you still at the airport? Are you back to your country already? I couldn’t care less. Just get your back here, because you owe me big time for being able to see MBLAQ…” she trailed off, lowering her voice in the end of her sentence, something that I was deeply grateful for.

Recovering from the shock, I hurriedly said: “Yeah, I know… I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding, but I really thought that you needed me only for MBLAQ’s event, since it was packed.”

“Well, no. Come back, and go present yourself at the mall tomorrow morning… The boss will be waiting.”

“Okay, copy that. I’m really sorry for that, Min Hye…” I repeated once more, wondering why, why was I so stupid. Couldn’t I do anything right?

“Yah, Mona-ah… It’s okay, don’t worry. You’re still at the airport, aren’t you? Just cancel your flight and come back… If you need a place to stay, my apartment is big enough for both of us…” Min Hye said in a caring way, with a soft voice she rarely used.

“Thank you, Min Hye… I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.” I reassured her, and hang up after we said goodbye to each other.

…And now, what? It had been a dream coming true, me being able to stay in Korea some more… But I wanted to stay only for a reason… And that reason, I had promised to myself, couldn’t know that me staying had been because of him, deep down.

It was then that I decided to leave the airport, and take a look around the city that I had thought I needed to say goodbye to, moments ago. As I made my way towards the exit, I froze.

Some meters away from me, Lee Joon was looking for someone.

And just then, I realized that someone up there, whoever was the one controlling the world and its creatures, must really, really hate me.

Because Joon turned to face me, making it obvious that it was me, the person he was looking for.

 

Joon’s POV:

I ran towards her, not missing her startled expression.

“You didn’t leave”, I said breathlessly, relief rushing over me.

“I am now”, she answered, quickly recovering from her original surprise. She hastily turned to leave, not meeting my gaze.

“Wait”, I told her. She froze and slowly turned again, her fierce glare finding my eyes this time.

She was more than angry. I guess the note only showed a small part of her emotions. Would I have even come, if I was aware of how pissed she was? I waved the thought away, not really wanting to know the answer to this question.

“What do you want, Joon?”

I seemed to be hearing that a lot lately. I hesitated for a while, not sure about how to treat her rage. I wasn’t really used to dealing with people hating me. The fact that she was just staring at me hatefully was making me nervous.

“Do I kiss that badly?” I blurted out randomly. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts.

“I mean, I read your note”, I corrected myself. Her cheeks were flushed. Was it out of anger or out of embarrassement? I couldn’t tell. I waited for some kind of reply, but none came. Mona stared at me wordlessly, an unreadable expression printed out on her face.

“So…” What should I say next? “I was drunk last night, this morning I couldn’t even remember what had happened.”

I only realized my mistake after hurt filled her eyes and she murmured to herself: “Just like I had predicted.”

Why was it that whenever I was trying to talk to her I ended up messing everything up? I cursed myself silently, praying that I hadn’t just destroyed my last chance. I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

“Yesterday, I acted really… irrationally. It’s just that… I couldn’t control my actions because I was so drunk.” God, why couldn’t I just get to my point already? The next thing I knew she was talking to me, her voice and expression a pack of ice:

“Listen. I have a flight to catch. I don’t have all day. So, if you have something to-”

“I’m sorry”, I cut her off, my voice quiet. Now she really looked surprised.

“What did you say?”

“I’m sorry. Last night my behaviour was inexcusable and I came here to apologize”, I said before bowing in front of her, my eyes meeting hers for only a moment.

“Do you think that you can just go around, hurting other people’s feelings and then, suddenly appearing to apologize? What do you expect? That I’ll go back to being a quiet fan and never think about this again? I thought my note was clear. Seems like I was wrong.” By the end of her speech, her voice had reached an almost hysterical tone and her eyes were a bit watery.

Well, that wasn’t exactly the response I had been hoping for.

“I didn’t mean it. When I said your kissing skills are bad. Okay? Are you satisfied now?” she yelled. Did she really mean that? Warmth spread all over my body, and I smiled despite myself. I looked back at Mona, who was now glaring incredulously.

“Please forgive me, just this once. I… don’t want you to hate me”, I said pleadingly. Since when was I begging for forgiveness? Red bells rang inside my head, but I ignored them completely, only focusing on the girl in front of me. I prayed my intense look would make her realize my true intentions and she would at least think about forgiving me.

Why had I even come here? Why was I suddenly so interested in what she thought of me? Why did I need her forgiveness so desperately? All those indications were perfectly clear now. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out earlier.

“I’m sorry, Joon. I just don’t think I can right now.”

Her words were like a stab on my chest. I simply stared down at the floor, suddenly too embarrassed to face her.

“I’ll leave now. Goodbye Joon”, I missed her expectant expression, too busy trying to pull my thoughts together. I looked at her one last time, as she disappeared somewhere where I couldn’t see her anymore.

… What I had really wanted to say was just one word: stay.

 

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Ah, the drama...

Hello guys, how are you doing? Once again, we are sorry for delaying the update of this fic, but we still hope you enjoyed it despite the monstrous delay. We are just both really busy right now, with other fics going on and life never stopping to let us catch our breath; and we are now 3500 km apart, since I moved out, so it's a bit harder, deciding on the updates (I miss you so so much sis...).

Still, we hope you haven't lost your interest in Mona, Joon and their adventures (as well as their their total lack of basic human communication). As this is a mini-fic, next chapter will be the ending of this story; we just can't thank you enough for subscribing and reading it, and for generally putting up with us; you guys rock :)

We will see you all very soon,
Signing off,
SilkyGreen.