Song : Mizuki Nana - Blue Moon

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Hyeomin's eyes grew wide as she tried desperately to look somewhere –anywhere- else. Her face must have been beet red for the heat in her face was so intense, she couldn’t feel it anymore.

“Oh, how cute,” the grandmother said as she laughed at Hyeomin. “You’re still so young and get so embarrassed when you see his body.”

“Uh… Umm… I…” Jong-In seemed to be finding himself short on words but the girl couldn’t find the nerve to look him in the face, if her eyes made it past his muscled torso.

Immediately, she mentally kicked herself for even thinking that. He was the enemy, a very bad boy that didn’t care about anyone but himself. And his family. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to ogle; it was wrong.

Finally, she heard the bedroom door slam and she felt relieved as she looked up again. Already, this apartment was a bad place to be. She had just merely walked through the doors and there he was, . Yeah, she definitely signed up for that when they made the deal… Not!

Shaking her head, she tried to rid the mental image of him standing there like that. As she did, she tried to make her way into the living area, trying not to get in the grandmother’s way. But she wasn’t paying attention to what was on the floor as she neared the couch. By the time she realized what it was, she found herself already falling forward.

The impact with the floor wasn’t hard, like she would have guessed. The fake wood outside probably should have hurt but she felt herself topple over something and even land on it. She was positive that she did because the minute the fall stopped, the breaking of glass could be heard. Her heart stopped as she tried to look around.

There was no pain to indicate that she had been the one to land in the glass. That part eased her. That is until her eyes rested on a small bag, the very thing she tripped over. It had toppled over itself and she was sure it wasn’t hers. No, it must have been Grandmother’s.

Quickly straightening herself, she realized how stupid she was. What had she done? She knew it was in the bag now, the broken glass. Frowning, she started to look in the bag, only to find a few things that didn’t contain glass.

She was confused. But Grandmother soon rushed forward and asked her if she was alright. Hyeomin nodded, not taking her eyes off of the bag. What had it been?

That was when old woman reached in and revealed a zipped up pocket. The shuffling of glass could be heard and before Airyn could guess what it was, a picture frame emerged. The glass had been cracked and broken, the little pieces stuck inside the pocket.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going!” Hyeomin immediately began to apologize but Grandmother held a hand out to her. It stopped the girl’s frantic speech almost immediately. Perhaps it was out of respect. Or was it out of fear?

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s just the frame. My picture is safe.” The old woman smiled as she took it to the counter to start cleaning the glass.

Rising, Hyeomin moved to her and asked as politely as possible, “May I help?”

Grandmother smiled and shook her head before nodding behind them. The girl turned, only to see Jong-In in his pajamas. His eyes were wide as he looked at the floor. Some glass pieces had fallen from the frame and left what looked like a crime scene.

“What happened,” he asked, moving toward Hyeomin. The way he treated her seemed different than in the café. But then again, that was to be expected. He had to act here rather than there. Still, the way he looked at her seemed to be more concerned than fake.

“I tripped over Grandmother’s bag and broke her picture frame. It’s all my fault. I should have been looking where I was going. If-“ She froze as Jong-In hugged her out of the blue. The sensation she had was different from getting hugs from anyone else. It kept shut and her heart decided to beat harder. What if he heard it? Would he laugh at her? “J-Jong-In ?”

“I heard the glass breaking and I was worried about you.” He was acting. He had to be. There was no excuse for this other than that.

“Oh, you two. Go to your room and I’ll get my things set,” Grandmother winked at Hyeomin, making the girl blush. After seeing Jong-In in a towel like that, she didn’t even want to think of the “claiming” the old woman thought of earlier.

Jong-In released Hyeomin slowly before shaking his head. “No, I can’t do that to you. I’ll get your things ready in your room, okay ? Hyeomin ? How about you clean up the mess and join me after getting ready for bed?”

She nodded, trying not to look at that warm smile he held. He was so good at this acting, it messed with her feelings.

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After things had finished and Grandmother had wished them “good night,” Hyeomin found herself stuck in the same room with Jong-In again. After last night, she thought she wouldn’t have to do this again. But here she was… with him.

Perhaps silence was just going to commence and she could sleep in the awkward atmosphere. Or was it just awkward for her?

“Hey.”

She jumped at the sound of his voice, pretending to merely turn down the covers. “Yes?”

“Why were you out with Minho today?” He didn’t look at her as he locked the door, putting his own things on the floor afterward.

Why did he want to know that? It had nothing to do with him. Could… Could Grandmother be right? Had he been jealous? Was he watching her in the café?

“I don’t see why that’s your business,” she said, her defiant nature returning slowly. It would have been more convincing if she said it louder. But at its low volume, it posed no threat.

Her eyes moved to him, in hopes to reaffirm her words. But as she looked, she saw him get closer and she immediately rose and tried to back away. That didn’t stop him as both of his hands shot out and landed on either side of the wall around her head. She had winced but still watched him as he pushed closer. What was he doing? No one was watching tonight. There was no excuse for the close proximity.

“You almost ruined the whole thing.”

“Like I was supposed to know she was coming?”

“You’re lucky that jealousy had been a reasonable excuse or we’d both be in trouble.” 

“But I-“

“No. Listen. As long as she is here, you do not see other men alone. I don’t even want to hear of it. I’m the only man you can be with from here on out, got it?”

She looked him over. Was he really mad? But why? Was it because his plan almost failed or was it-

“I’ll think about it. Minho is my lab partner. There’s probably going to be nights where we’ll be kept late into the night with a lab. So you’ll just-“

Suddenly, she felt something on her neck. Heat… and something wet. grew dry and her heart sped up to insane speeds. At first, she had no idea what it was until her eyes reopened. Jong-In was at , lips clasped around the skin while one hand pressed on her back. She gulped unconsciously.

W-What was happening?

The pulling at her neck felt good though and she found her hand moving to his shoulder. The warmth and strong feel of his torso, the same one she had seen just a few minutes ago, enveloped her hand. The second she squeezed at his shoulder, the pulling on her neck increased and he pulled her closer.

And just like that, it was over.

She slid to the floor, the minute he released her and looked up at him with wide eyes. He smirked down at her and chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d react like that. I’m only showing Minho that he can’t take you to dinner without my say so.”

He… He marked her? The only way that was possible was through biting or a hickey. She felt no teeth marks so it had to be the latter.

“Also, it will look convincing to Grandmother in the morning.” She kept her eyes on him and noticed him rub his shoulder. “You seemed to like it quite a lot. If you ask nicely, I might give you a taste for more.” He his lips in a taunting manner before laughing and turning back to his side of the room.

This was a game to him, wasn’t it? He just decided to take matters into his own hands and leave her to wobble through them to try and keep up. He did these sorts of things and yet seemed to be sickened by her later. Rising as she felt the anger in her rise, she moved toward him.

Before she knew what she was doing, Hyeomin heard a smack and was looking at Jong-In’s cheek. Slowly, it turned red. She noticed that her hand hurt and was suspended in the air. She had slapped him. She didn’t know if that was a good idea but she felt somewhat satisfied by it.

Him, on the other hand, looked shocked. Very shocked.

“I’m not your toy.” She took this as an opportunity to stand up for herself. “You can’t just do what you want with me without my say. This was something we both agreed on. As in, I have a say in this deal as much as you do. If I want to see Minho, I will. If I don’t and would rather play housewife with you, I will. As for marking and possibly making me look like a in my classes, ruining my image to my professors who could recommend me for multiple opportunities, refrain yourself. I’m in just as much power and I could tell them any day I wanted to about us. So, don’t think you just throw me around.”

Looking him over, she knew her face was stern as he met eyes with her. He didn’t flinch nor seemed to submit to her. Instead, he glared back in an almost “bring it” sort of way. Did he know she could never hurt his grandmother like that?

“Whatever. I’m going to bed.” He grumbled as he tucked himself into his sheets, almost like a child who just got a scolding.

But he didn’t respond to her at all and that just fueled her anger. She turned the lights off just before jumping into his bed and falling asleep. She just wanted this to end and fast. All the while of trying to sleep, her hand rubbed the mark on her neck.

Jong-In had marked her.

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“Oh dear… You two did fight.”

A voice interrupted Hyeomin’s dreams and she found herself groaning and putting the pillow over her head. She didn’t want to wake up from such a little amount of sleep. She would have returned to her dreams if she didn’t recognize the laughing at the door, followed by a cough.

Looking at room’s entrance, she saw the door open and Grandmother looking at her with a warm smile. Jong-In was still sleeping on the floor, snuggling his pillow as he did. It was an odd thing to see and she found herself worried about what was going on.

“Grandmother! I… Let me explain! We-“

“Had a fight. I know. But by looking at your neck, it seems he decided to claim you as well. Did I call it or what?” The woman laughed it off before turning around.

Looking at the door, Hyeomin remembered Jong-In locking it and wondered how she got in.

“Oh, and you might want to ask Jong-In to fix his doorknob. While I was lock picking it, I think I broke it. I’m sorry!”

And the woman left. Did she just say that she lock picked the door? What kind of grandmother was she?

A soft groan permeated Hyeomin’s thoughts and she looked to the clock on the stand. Yes, it was true she didn’t have anything to do on the weekends, but she liked to be early. It seems that her body didn’t agree now. It must have been so comfortable in Jong-In’s bed that she slept until ten.

It was time to get up and get ready for the day. Rising and making the bed, she looked at the sleeping boy on the floor. His cheek was up and she remembered the way she had slapped him. The shocked look on his face hit her hard now and she just wanted to forget it all. She shouldn’t feel bad for it. He should feel bad for giving her a hickey!

As she moved toward the door, she heard him moan in his sleep. There was a strange, foreign tone to it. It was something akin to sorrow. Moving closer to hear what he might be saying, all she could hear was “-in.”

“In,” what?

Pushing at him to try and wake him from whatever painful dream he was having, she saw his dark hair draped over his face. That soft expression was a lot more attractive than the one he gave her during the day. She almost wanted to reach out a touch it.

Suddenly, his eyes opened and their eyes met. Her face immediately heated up on being caught and she pulled back quickly, too quickly. She fell back onto her , her gaze not meeting his. She was such a klutz whenever she was tired. Yes, that was her excuse.

“You’re still here,” he asked with a yawn and a stretch. Great, he wasn’t very nice to talk to in the morning it seemed.

“Yes. I just woke up. Grandmother broke the door knob.”

“Again,” he mumbled almost instinctively, almost like an irritated parent. But as he cleaned up his stuff, the sound of laughter could be heard from him. Hyeomin cocked her head at him in time to see. He merely shook his head and said, “She really does feel better.”

That warm smile hit her and she felt the guilt over hitting him again. But she shouldn’t feel bad!

Trying not to think about it, she went to exit the room to shower and brush her teeth. But she was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. The memory of all the closeness she shared with Jong-In in his room hit her and she found herself not wanting to look back at him. What if he tried something, to defy her scolding? What if he was angry? She wasn’t awake enough to handle with either.

The hand released her wrist and yet, she was frozen to the spot. Something told her not to move.

Two strong, warm arms enveloped her. Although Jong-In's figure was bigger than her ,She  never he could make her feel so small, but it did. Her heart was no longer stuck in like the other times, nor did she feel frozen in place. Instead, she just felt like staying still was the best thing at the moment.

His chest pressed against hers and she felt his breath on her ear. Yeah, her heart had sped up but it wasn’t deafening. It was a low hum, something she found pleasant and painful at the same time.

Finally, he spoke as if he had a hard time picking his words. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m not sure what came over me. It’s just… We’re still stuck in a tight spot right now. I don’t want something to just walk in and ruin what we have together. We’ve worked hard on this, probably more you than me. I’m not good with feelings like you girls are. Actually, I don’t really show mine a lot. But… I am thankful for you. All of this? I couldn’t have done it without you and I know how I treated you last night was stupid and selfish. I was just worried, is all.” He let out a sigh, the air tickling her ear. “Think you can, you know… forgive me?”

His voice… was sincere.  She immediately remembered the slap and frowned. Perhaps she had gone too far, after all. The only time he seemed this down was when he told her about Grandmother. Turning around, making sure his arms remained around her, she looked him in the eye and nodded. “Of course. I know I handled things too harshly yesterday as well. I think I even hit you too hard.”

She pressed her hand on the offended cheek, feeling hot skin underneath. Did he have a fever?

“No, no… If you hadn’t, I might not have woken up to how I was treating you.” He looked down at her and offered a warm, thankful smile. His warm arms outstretched around her, she knew there was only one way to reciprocate the rest of this situation.

She wrapped her own arms around his waist and placed her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat and it seemed to be beating rapidly as well. Was he nervous?

“Jong-In… Be thankful your mother isn’t here or that camera would be going off like crazy.” The voice did not belong to Grandmother but to a now well-known man. Kim-Jung.

Turning around and releasing each other, the two noticed the suited man standing right in front of their –Jong-In’s!- room. Did Grandmother open the door for him? Hyeomin didn’t even recall hearing a knock or door bell.

Jong-In’s stepfather looked at the two of them before clearing his throat. “I… We have a favor to ask of you.” He bowed his head as if to show his shame for even daring to ask. “Young-ae and I will be taking Grandmother back for some physical therapy but we’ll be stuck there for a little while. If you don’t mind, could you two…”

He looked at them ask if to show his skepticism to such a request. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

Chapter 7 is here.

I'm quiet proud if this oe myself , Is it good  ? 

Yeah finally some romance . Expect much from now on C;

Oh about Mari Like mentioned in chapter 1 , she's Jong-In sister

Thank you readers and especially the ones who comments  !  ♥