~~~~~

Namjoo was annoyed and maybe that was what was driving her anger through the roof, but Jongin wouldn’t have it. So what if he put up a scheme? Namjoo fell for it just as he’d fallen for hers, he would admit that. He had been a fool and she was just as foolish as he. They were no different from each other, but two liars who had a goal in mind.

He could understand her anger up to a par because he had been just as upset when he discovered hers, but unlike two years ago Namjoo wouldn’t be walking out that door. Pressing lips into a tight line he turned after her and snagged her waist, forcing her to drop the suitcase. Tightly wrapping both arms around her he lifted her weight up against his to remove her feet off the ground. Namjoo kicked the air and clawed at his hands in her struggle. Determined, he backed up and tossed her onto the bed more roughly than intended. Namjoo bounced on the mattress before he managed to pin her down from above when she tried getting up.

There was a squeal as she her hand up against him in an attempt to throw him off. In the continuing struggle he fought to snatch her hands before pinning them down at either side of her head. Breathing heavily, she stared at him with all kinds of madness. The way she chewed her lips to bite back anger made his heart hurl against his chest. Whether angry or ignoring him she was still a mesmerizing beauty and he wished they weren’t doing this.

With a last cry she tried for a final attempt to make him release her but to no avail. “Get off me, Jongin.”

“Then what?” he asked. “So that I can let you walk through that door? And where are you going to go? To that lawyer?”

Namjoo’s eyes transitioned into a twisted block of rage and she pushed her wrists up into his hands to no avail again. “At least Kyung would never treat me like this. If I wanted to walk out, he’d let me walk out and Kyung, he would never lie to me.”

Kyung this, Kyung that! Jongin’s chest boiled with intense jealousy and anger.

“I,” his voice shook as he tightened his grip around her wrists, “for the last two years, every hour of the day, do you know what I did? I mourned for you! I grieved! More for you than my own father! Kim Namjoo! That man you so willing believe in, did he not know about the fire, too? He wouldn’t lie?” Jongin breathed shakily, burned his intense gaze into Namjoo’s unwavering eyes. “We’re all liars, Namjoo. But did he ever see you in that burning building? Did he ever have nightmares of you suffocating inside?! No, he didn’t. He took you from me! From mom, from Jaegeun! You tore apart their hearts, and you’re here to put it back together. Before I let you walk out that door, you’re going to apologize and mend what you broke! You owe us all of that! Because you started all of this.”

Namjoo twisted her hands into fists. Jongin deepened his gaze furthermore into her eyes to make sure she had them engraved into her memory before roughly releasing her. The very second he did Namjoo pulled herself up to push him away. Surprised by her unexpected attack Jongin grappled for her hands again but Namjoo was agile and made it difficult. In the end he toppled over her, pushing them both onto the bed. For a slight interval Namjoo stopped squirming and he feared he’d suffocated her. Slipping off to the side he listened to her catch her breath before kicking wildly again.

“Let go of me!” Namjoo resumed wrestling him again. Biting his lower lip he struggled to restrain her hands, again, to no avail. Giving up he s his arm around her in an attempt to pull her closer to lessen her area for fight. Namjoo clawed at him and punched his chest with several screams here and there before shifting onto her side to crawl away. Moving fast to fully wrap both arms around her waist he tugged her back, pressing her to his chest.

“Jongin!” she screamed frustrated and tried to loosen his hands tightly entwined at her belly. Another frustrated cry before she turned to look at him then quickly away when their eyes met. Giving up bitterly she lay there quietly. A long moment passed without Namjoo saying anything and he lay there spooning her, smelling the scent of her long hair to which his heart couldn’t get enough of.

A sense of tender happiness warmed him when he reassured himself yet again, that Namjoo was real. When was the last time he’d held her like this, slept peacefully with her? There had been less of these moments when he took over the company. Their short lived marriage was still a daunting pain that hung over him regretfully. If circumstances had allowed, he would have chosen to date her longer before abruptly tying the knot with her.

Had they ever had luck on their side?

When what felt like a few hours passed without him falling asleep he slowly leaned forward to confirm that Namjoo had slipped off into a slumber. Gently releasing her not to wake her he got up to turn the lights off. Quietly making way back to the bed he pulled the blanket out from under her and draped it over Namjoo before climbing in beside her. Moving close he wrapped his arm around her and buried his face into her nape as he snuggled against her.

This was perfect. This was dreamy. It was all he had ever wanted.

Jongin slept really well that night.

When he woke up that next morning Jongin felt regret wash through him, but a part of him became more alarmed over the fact that he had woken late. What next amazed him was that Namjoo was still sound asleep in his arms. Leaning over her he pulled the loose strands of hair that had gotten into her face away and watched her slightly budge. Jongin really wished he could just let her sleep longer, but he also wanted her to go to work with him. It was less dull and boring with her around.

“Namjoo, wake up,” he said, “we’re late for work.”

Her eyes fluttered open and looked around the room before side glancing at him. Her stare turned trivial and then filled with resentment from being imprisoned last night. Assuming that nice time was over Jongin moved away from her and sat up.

“Get dressed,” he flung the blanket over and stood, “we’re going to leave soon.”

“No, I’m going to shower. If you’re in such a hurry you leave first.” She would never hold back from being rude with him, would she?

Jongin ran his eyes over her in that pretty blouse before leaning forward onto the bed so that he was close enough for their noses to brush. “Just put some perfume on and no one will notice you never washed last night. At least I won’t tell anyone.”

Namjoo’s face twisted into annoyance and satisfied, Jongin straightened. “Hurry up. I’ll borrow Jaegeun’s bathroom, so you can change here without me watching.”

As he dug through his closet for a new outfit he listened to Namjoo slam the bathroom door. After changing he returned to the bedroom just as Namjoo stepped out of the bathroom with her hair tied up into a high ponytail. Today was her classic black and white day, but he hated the sight of her pencil skirt, especially how it accentuated her hips.

Namjoo wasted no time sending him a dirty glare as he walked over.

“What now?” she hissed.

Jongin stared at her through narrowed lids before grabbing her arm to tug her forward. The evidence of her jaw tightening as he did so told him that if she had heels on she would have no mercy on his feet.

“Don’t touch me,” she warned threateningly.

Skimming his hands down over the side of her legs he grabbed her skirt to tug it lower. “I thought you knew how to dress yourself.”

“Jongin,” she growled, prepared to violently wrestle him away.

“Don’t wear your skirt so high,” he muttered then let her go and turned toward the door. “We’re going in my car.”

“I don’t want to.” Namjoo refused. “I’ll just drive to the company.”

Halting, Jongin turned around to look at her. “Sadly, today you have no choice. Unless you want me to get rid of your car, you come with me.”

Namjoo stared back bitterly.

~~~~~

“What do you want?” Jongin asked when he drove up to a restaurant drive-thru. He could see black smoke flowing off Namjoo from beside him. Still fuming and upset with him. Without responding, Namjoo turned away to stare out the window.

Losing his patience he asked again, “I said what do you want?”

Temperamental, Namjoo turned to him irate, “I don’t want to eat! Why don’t you just worry about yourself?”

Today she was seriously aggravating his nerves. She needn’t behave so rudely if she was angry with him. It wasn’t like he’d crossed the line or invaded her privacy. Impatient and now angry with Namjoo he turned to order something for himself, eating greedily as sped down the road.

If she was any bit curious about where they were headed she said nothing. He was going to attend a construction site for a new mall to oversee the plans for it and to confirm whether the construction workers were following safety measures.

Gravel and stone crunched under the tires as he put the car into park and stepped out. The air smelled of cement, sweat, metal, cranes, and heavy machinery. A fog of grainy stones flowed amongst them and Jongin turned to protect his eyes from it before proceeding further.

“Chairman!” someone called out.

Raising a hand up to signal that he’d gotten the greeting he turned to Namjoo to see her unstably walking along the gravel in her high heels. If he had remembered the plans for today that early morning he might have told her to wear something more casual, but since he was irritated with her right now he didn’t care. Namjoo would just have to deal with it.

Without waiting for her he trudged forward toward the construction leader in a hard hat.

“We’ve finished constructing up to the fourth floor,” the man explained his hands gesturing toward the building that was far from looking like one. Right now it was in the stage of what looked like a bunch of heavy iron bars stacked atop each other with cemented walls and floors far from completion – what appeared to be an unsafe iron maze.

They remained under the sun the next few hours as the man gave them a tour of the construction site explaining every detail of the blue print and asking team leaders to come over and affirm their positions.

“I also have some more documents to look over with you, legal consultations actually.” The construction leader explained when they came back around to the front.

“Hand them to her,” Jongin gestured his head toward Namjoo. “I need to head back to the office for a meeting. She can look over the documents while I’m there.”

“No. You go ahead,” Namjoo called. “I’ll stay here to look them over. If there are any corrections that need to be made, it’s better to do it here with the construction workers than going back and forth.”

Jongin shot her a stern stare. Realizing Namjoo was doing all she could to avoid spending time cramped into some space with him made him all the more irritated with her behavior. Turning to nod at the construction leader Jongin walked off, silently fuming.

The meeting at work didn’t last as long as an hour so Jongin spent most of his time sitting in his office with fingers tapping noisily against his desk. He would let Namjoo wait until her heels got blisters, because good for her for acting this way with him, or until she called to ask him to pick her up. Jongin snickered at the thought of her calling.

Namjoo didn’t call. Not even an hour later.

Bored, he paced the office, stared out the window and went back to sitting. It was afternoon now and still nothing from Namjoo. If she was going to be this stubborn with him he’d make her wait longer. Give her a taste of her own medicine again.

As the clock ticked by Jongin felt more frustrated. Why was Namjoo doing this to him?! Did she hate being with him so much?! Why?! He had everything she wanted! Had her heart really changed when she walked out that door two years ago?

No, Jongin couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t believe it. Just what was running through that head of hers?!

Jongin turned when his phone rang. His heart immediately picked up and giddy that Namjoo was calling he answered without confirming that it was her.

A male voice spoke to his disappointment. “Chairman.”

“Who is this?” Jongin asked.

“There’s been an accident.” that was when Jongin realized the man’s voice was shaky. A second later he caught the eerie noise of a crying ambulance in the background.

“What are you saying?” Jongin’s heart slightly sped up. “What accident? Where are you?”

After giving his location Jongin felt his heart plunge all the way down to his stomach.

“The building collapsed and a water pipe is leaking,” the man explained. “I think you might need to come down.”

His entire mentality trembled. His chair backed up into the wall as he slowly rose to his feet thwarted by the shock from the news.

“My wife…” Jongin’s voice shook. “My wife…where is she?”

“Who…”

“Namjoo! She was with me!” he screamed into the phone. “Where is she?!”

He couldn’t hear what the man next said before he threw down his phone and dashed out the door the next second. His heart was running at an abnormal rate, his pulse shooting up through to the sky. Everything was spinning. God was playing another trick on him. This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t…

Slamming the door of his car close Jongin punched the brakes and sped down the road, swerving from lane to lane. The smell of a roasting fire, the sky drenched in smoke all rushed back to his senses as if he’d gone back to that awful day two years ago. Namjoo in that building, burning, suffocating. And he hadn’t been able to apologize before she died.

He had been upset with her this morning just the same.

Be safe, be safe and alive was all he could pray as he drove toward the site. Namjoo had to be ok and alive. If he lost her again…for real this time, he wouldn’t be able to live this time around.

Jongin was forced to park farther away from the site due to the firetruck and the numerous ambulances parked around. Dumpsters and cranes stood around like long lost artifacts of some ancient civilization. Devastation plunged through his entire whole like a knife when he witnessed the injured sitting around, heard them and crying. It was a smoke filled area with the air drenched in dust. He caught sight of firemen carefully lifting up huge pieces of concrete that had broken upon reaching ground. Despair that people were buried underneath them made his legs weak.

Namjoo…

Jongin merely tripped over boulders and rocks as he walked forth while his eyes scanned the area. He could only think of the worst. The echoes of the ambulances were starting to sound like ghostly cries in his ears. Emergency workers ran around him to reach the injured. The entire site was chaotic, a mess. There was blood, sweat, and tears. A phone was ringing, someone was calling home or maybe to the hospital for more help.

The wreckage nearly had him collapsing like the granite building. Jongin wanted to cry out. There were too many people around him. He couldn’t depict who was who nor could he see where his wife was. If she wasn’t there…was she under?

“Namjoo!” Jongin screamed.

The late afternoon sun was burning his back. It was still light out. Namjoo should be easily seen but why couldn’t he find her?

Wrought with concern and on the edge of crying, Jongin searched more desperately. “Namjoo!” he screamed before murmuring like a child whose candy was stolen, “Don’t make me grieve for you. You have to be alive…you have to…”

A long minute passed after he horridly watched firemen pull an injured man out from underneath rocks. Trudging forward whilst losing his balance he nearly tripped when he spotted a woman kneeling in front of a man, tending to his wounds. Her ponytail was loose, her hair tousled.

The classic black and white Namjoo had worn that morning…

Jongin merely fell a step forward but couldn’t bring himself to walk any further. He was afraid. What if he was mistaken? What if this woman wasn’t his Namjoo? He didn’t want to be disappointed.

“N…” his voice quivered. “Namjoo…” still quiet. Gulping, he forced himself to cry out more loudly. This time his voice came out more desperately, “Namjoo!”

He noticed the woman pause before turning around to look at him. Through the messy hair and dirt smudged face she still looked the same.

His Namjoo.

A sniffle escaped through his lips. He was so relieved. Jongin nearly wept before rushing forward as Namjoo stood.

***Jongin's worst nightmare indeed. They easily press each other's buttons this time around which means one thing, they're getting to know each other better but through their misfits and problems. 

***you guys thought the was it huh? Lol namjoo's not leaving yet