|Chapter Sixteen|

"Mone-ah.. are you mad at me?"

Mone her lips. She should've figured Jong-in would show up to her house that night, given that she didn't reply to any of his seven texts messages or call back to any one of his ten missed calls. She should've known how persistent this boy was. "Yah.. a piece of advice: don't speak when you don't know anything," she snapped. She leaned against the door frame, preventing in from making any action to further inside her home. "You should just leave," she sighed.
She wasn't sure if she was mad. It was just this morning they were caught intimately lip-locking, and it was just this afternoon that things spiralled out of control because of Dani. 

"What do you mean?" Jong-in huffed exasperatedly. He shoved his hands into his jeans' pockets, averting his attention elsewhere, not wanting to face Mone's glowering eyes.
"Nothing, I mean nothing," Mone argued. She was about to shut the door when Jong-in caught her wrist. "Let's go out.. talk it over."
"There's nothing to talk over," Mone persisted stubbornly.
"Mone-ah," Jong-in spoke firmly. He eyed her sternly. "I don't want us to be like this. Not now... not ever. Let's fix this and get it over with.. and go back to being like how they are in the movies," he whispered sincerely.

Mone shut her eyes, contemplating her decision. She looked back to find Myung Dae lazily lounging on the couch, watching his Star King re-runs. "Myung Dae-ah! Tell umma and appa I'm going to go on a late-night snack run with Jong-in oppa real quick, araseo?"
"Ne!"
Hearing her younger sibling's soft approval, she diffidently made her way to Jong-in's car, sending him an apocryphal gaze as he held open the car door for her. "You're still my girlfriend," he confirmed. "I'm not going to drug you, okay?"
Mone rolled her eyes, slumping into her seat.

"The Han River's usually really pretty this time at night," Jong-in murmured, waiting for his car to warm. The soft purr of the engine was barely audible over his constant chit chat as he drove to the small river. He talked about meaningless things, as if it would ease or tone down the intensity thickening the atmosphere.
It was when he came to a stop, parking by the river bank  that he suddenly stopped his chattering. He met Mone's eyes desperately. "Please," he pleaded her. "You've ignored my texts and calls, you're pushing me away.. just please," he breathed. "Just talk to me, Mone."
He swallowed the large lump in his throat when Mone didn't say anything, when she simply shrugged and looked out the window.

"Smile?" he suggested submissively. "Laugh? ..Kiss me?"
"Yah, do you think this is a joke?" Mone inquired suddenly, seeing that he was heading into the humorous route. "Do you realize what you precious dongsaeng did to me today? Do you realize how easily you were fooled by this girl?"
"She's just a kid," Jong-in tried to explain. "Do-"
"Yeah, just a kid," Mone barked, poison dripping with each word. Jong-in winced, and this egged Mone on to carry forth with her declaration. "So much of a kid that she would dare slap her unnie across the face and tell her to back off of her precious oppa? So much of a kid that she dare look down on me and treat me as an equal? So much of a kid that you wouldn't even bother to clarify what happened with your girlfriend? Is she really that innocent to you, that you think whatever she says is true?"

Jong-in blinked at Mone, not wanting to believe that his younger was actually acting the way his girlfriend was insinuating. "That's not that Dani I kno-"
"No. It's not the one you know because that isn't the Dani that's shown to you," Mone snapped. She let out an exhausted, irritated breath. "Ah, you spoil my mood so badly," she complained.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car, taking in the fresh, cool air.. "I don't care who you believe," Mone confessed. "Just don't start saying random things when you don't actually know what's going on. You can believe what you want," she bellowed. "Just don't side with her without knowing anything, don't scrutinize me when you don't even know what happened."

"Mone-"
Mone swat Jong-in's hands away, preventing from hugging her. "Take me home," she demanded.
"Mone-"
"Jong-in shii, take me ho-"
"Mone!" Jong-in took a rough hold of Mone's shoulders, speculating her seriously. He suddenly let his eyelids shut and he heaved deep breaths in order to calm down. He pressed his forehead against hers lightly. "Please," he begged her. "Talk to me, let me know everything, how you feel, what happened, what I should do about Dani.. please, just don't yell at me. Please.. jagiya."
He submissively wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder. "Please," he whispered redundantly.

"Do what you-"
"Don't tell me to do what I want," Jong-in interjected, facing her again. "I want to know what will make you happy." He caressed her cheek gently with his thumb. "What will make you happy, Mone?" he whispered. "What do you want me to do?"

Mone's mind swirled. All she heard was his heavy breathing, and his deep, husky voice ringing in her ears. The yelling children in the background seemed to fade away when he inched closer to her. The whishing sound of the river seemed to slowly vanish into nothing as Jong-in caressed her waist. Mone didn't reply; all Jong-in received in response was her quivering breath.
She was conflicted and she was making no effort to mask it.

"Forgive me then," Jong-in pleaded. "I was stupid, a pabbo for hurting you.. give me a day, though, Mone, to make it up to you. Just one day to be yours.. one day," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers.
The feathery touch was subtle but enough to send mad shivers down her frail spine.
"I cna't give you one day," she whispered.
Jong-in was awe-stricken. "Mone-"

"One day won't be enough," she interjected, smiling gently. She bit down on her lip, running her hands through his thick, black hair as he pushed her back up against the side of his car now.
"Then how many days are you willing to give me?" Jong-in panted, leaving small trails of kisses across her porcelain skin. He kissed her lips once. "Tell me."

His lips trailed to her chin now, making their way slowly, teasingly up her jawline. "Tell me," he whispered, coaxing her proddingly. His voice was husky, almost out of breath from the intimacy. "Tell me, Mone."
"I'll give you as many days as you need," Mone breathed. She courageously wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him into a kiss.
He instantly responded, running his hands softly up and down her waist area, letting a small groan escape the back of his throat and she gripped small tresses of his hair. Pulling away, Jong-in bit down on his lip, unable to contain the happiness welling up inside of him; he could hardly stifle his grin. Once he decided he's received a substantial amount of oxygen, he grinned, pulling Mone back into another lingering kiss. He cupped her cheek lightly, smiling into the kiss as she gladly melted into his touch.

"Then we can just start today," he murmured softly against her lips. He smirked broadly into it. "Starting today," he muttered in between soft kisses. "I now.. pronounce myself.. officially Kang Mone's property."