NOW

APRIL 2017

HOW can this guy be so sure of himself? Where does he get all this confidence – and just blurt things out without proper investigation? This is more ridiculous than Minhyuk hiding a secret lover.

Naeun thought the normal reaction after such bizarre accusation was to flip over some table and yell at him for being so ignorant, but then again - how much did Jongin exactly know about what happened at her wedding? And who told him that she ran away from her parents and that her mom didn’t eat anything substantial since morning?

“Who told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter who told me. What I know is that you shouldn’t be here, hanging around at some guy’s house and neglect your duties towards your parents and husband,” Jongin’s tone was surprisingly calm when he said that, and it made Naeun wonder if he himself was sure of what he just said.

 “Duty? Bull,” Naeun rolled her eyes, trying not to let her tears spills as he diverted her gaze and walked naturally over to the front door. “If you don’t know the truth then don’t pretend like you care, okay? Stop talking and stop being so smart over everything.”

“I was being considerate, Naeun. You cannot treat your parents like this. You cannot just run away every time you’ve got a problem with them-”

“This isn’t about my parents, Jongin!” Naeun burst out, finally, and she looked away quickly after noticing the change of expression in Jongin’s face. She bit down her bottom lip, disappointed, raking her fingers thought her hair and pulled her hoodie above her head. She reached for the knob and pushed it down. Before Jongin could even get up, Naeun had already left the house.

He could only stare at the door in despair, and let out a heavy sigh.

Then what is it about? Why can’t you tell me, Naeun?

NAEUN was literally punching the code to her apartment, but no matter what input she put in, she kept getting error.

‘Please re-enter your code.’

“THIS IS ING OUTRAGEOUS. I JUST GOT OUT OF THIS DAMN HOUSE LITERALLY 3 HOURSE AGO.” Naeun yelled right out, angry at herself for being in a total mess when she deserved to be feeling otherwise after what happened to her today. Jongin was being a jerk, true, but it was partially her fault for not being completely honest with him. And when she thought of Jongin’s calm face when he accused her of neglecting her duties, her chest exploded behind her cage.

“AND WHICH ED UP INFORMANT TOLD JONGIN ABOUT ME RUNNING AWAY I WILL RUN OVER YOU WITH MY BMW IF I EVER FIND YOU OUT!”

‘Your attempts are over. You are now locked out of the house for the next 10 hours. Please re-enter the code afterwards.”

“TEN HOURS- WHAT THE- MIGHT AS WELL LOCK ME OUT FOR 10 ING YEARS UGH YOU USELESS PIECE OF I WILL PUNCH YOU SO HARD YOU HEAR ME” Naeun then began pounding onto the machine with her first, repeatedly, until the machine made a beeping sound. When she removed her hand, the machine was showing a countdown in red flashing digit, and the beeping sound marked the start of the countdown.

09:59:13 – the number read, and Naeun shut in a line, cursing the machine endlessly in her heart.

This is why I should just use a regular lock. A key and a keyhole. No digital inputs. No remembering of forgetting passcode. No getting locked out.

Naeun turned his back to the door, leaned back with a soft thud as her back crashed to the door and she slid down the door, folding her two knees as her bottom touched the floor. She hugged them, burying his face into the cap of her knees and drifted her mind and focus slowly into another world.

This time she didn’t want to move around, looking for people who could ease her heart ache. She just wanted some time on her own, and removed any ties for now.

It was only for a while. Then only she would think of her next plan.

LANA mumbled something in her sleep and the soft sound alone has alerted Minhyuk from his nap. He raised his head, startled, and fixed his gaze onto her peaceful facial expression.

Oh. I thought you were awake.

Minhyuk couldn’t help but to grin, embarrassed for being so fidgety, and pulled the blanket close to her chest. He tucked the blanket in, just like how Lana always asked him to and swept the strand of her fringe sideway. He stared at the appearing crescent-shaped scar and ran his finger softly over it. He touched the flaccid bubble and hated himself even more for being so careless around her.

I can never make it up to you, now can I?

“SOME people deserve their own space,” Sehun said through the phone and his voice sounded tired. “You gotta respect that.”

“Yeah, but this time she invades my space first, so that doesn’t count in this matter.”

“She’s your boss. She can pretty much do what she wants.”

“Oh, okay.” Jongin frowned slightly, but the idea didn’t bother him at all.

“She probably has her own reason for keeping something from you. You should understand that. You keep from people around you all the time.”

“Okay,” Jongin said flatly.

“And maybe, instead of jumping to conclusion, you should be wise and not put any more pressure on her. I’m just saying.”

“Yeah, but she is married. That’s different. And I was being wise. I told her to go home and be with her parents if she had problems with her husband. She cannot just show up at my house. That’s not right.”

“Dude, do you even watch tonight’s news?”

“I didn’t have the time.  I was busy bickering with her, remember?”

“See, this is why no girls ever asked you out. You were too focused on one matter you forget to look at things from a bigger perspective.”

“Some girls did ask me, okay, Sehun. And what’s on the news that is related to our topic?”

“She’s not married to her two-timing fiancé, you face. Some anonymous has uploaded a video online from her wedding, and trust me baby, she has had some ty wedding surprise today.”

“What? Why? What happened?”

“Okay now you wanna be level-headed? Maybe you should start paying attention to the local news before making any stupid judgment, you useless ! Turns out some crazy woman attacked Naeun at the chapel stand and threw her down the stage. She didn’t get to say ‘I do’ I think and before we know it, everyone was panicking and began pulling the crazy woman off Naeun. I think she had pretty good bruises from the fight, and it was pitiful looking at how defenseless Naeun was. Then her fiancé came into the shot and grabbed something from somewhere and I don’t know, maybe injected some sort of medicinal liquid or whatever into his crazy girlfriend. Then the video ended, and before we know it, the video was taken down right after I was about to hit replay.”

“Oh God dude, Mina told me the same thing but she didn’t tell me Naeun was not married to that lowlife, jesus. It makes perfect sense now - AND WHY THE DID YOU WANT TO HIT REPLAY?!”

“I wanted to make sure she was actually Naeun.”

“You’ve never seen her face. How would you know what she looks like?”

“Dude, I know more stuff than you think.”

Jongin fell silent momentarily, digesting and processing real thorough what Sehun just told him. He sighed, again, feeling down and extremely guilty before deciding to end the call.

How could I be so dumb and useless?! Dammit!

“Yeah okay, thanks though. I’ll get back to you later, dude. I gotta to find her.”

“Good, and I don’t know how close you two acctually are since THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU EVER BOTHERED TO ASK ME ABOUT A GIRL, but maybe she went to your place after running away because she trusts you, because she’s comfortable being with you, and I just hope you don’t ruin your friendship over this matter. I’m just happy you start to make friends with people again, Jongin.”

“Don’t be silly. I have friends from my university.”

“Yeah but you took your entire 4 years in university to finally hang out with them. And this Naeun girl sounds a bit different. You guys got close less than a month. And that’s something else, okay?”

“It’s not something else, Sehun. Don’t try to be dramatic, okay.”

“Whatever, man. Just don’t do anything to ruin this friendship you have with your boss. I haven’t seen you be this normal since- ” There was a heavy pause midsentence that both Jongin and Sehun hated to break. The lingering pause was deafening, like a white chalk against a blackboard, and when Sehun realized the silence went on longer that he meant to, he cleared his throat to proceed with the talk, but was stopped by Jongin promising him something delightful.

“Sehun, I won’t make you worry over me anymore. I promise.”

“Okay,” Sehun was smiling like a child, despite knowing Jongin couldn’t see that. “Thanks, dude.”

MAKING plans in your head is always easy. To actually carry them out is another story. Jongin was fully dressed in a coat and snowcap to protect himself against the night breeze, but his actions came to a halt when he realized he didn’t know where to start looking for Naeun.

He didn’t know her exact apartment number, and he definitely did not have the access to the list of employer’s data like Naeun, and he couldn’t possibly be knocking on each door on level 21 just because he knew that much about where she lives.

This was a lot harder than he thought.

Jongin looked down instinctively to his phone and thought of Mina who had called him earlier.

“HAVE you found her?  Oh my God,” Jongin was rather surprised to hear the relieved gasp coming out from Mina’s mouth and it just hit him that everyone around Naeun was indeed worried of her.

“Not exactly,” Jongin said, cautious. "I was about to head to her apartment to see if she’s home. It has been some time since she disappeared, as you said, and maybe she finally returned home. And I just hope I won't be disappointed. But do you happen to know her house number?"

“Yeah,” Mina agreed right away. “Oh course. Her apartment number is 2109 and it on the left wing of the building.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Oh and I don’t know if this would help, but I cannot just give up hope, right? If you do meet her later, can you please persuade her to go to her parents’ house? I totally understand how upset she is right now with everything that happened, but Naeun should understand that her parents are just as hurt as she is. And they need each other more than ever in this kind of situation. Her parents actually did stop by her house after she ran away but they couldn’t make sure whether she was home or not because it seemed like she has changed her house passcode.”

“I got it,” Jongin said kindly. “If she’s around, I’ll be sure to talk her into it.” I hope she is.

“Thanks a lot Jongin.”

“How are her parents doing by now anyway?”

“Her mom, Sofa has settled in for the night but she still couldn’t stop crying for Naeun, but her dad told me that they managed to eat something before going to bed. He sounded so upset so I couldn’t hold conversation for too long. And he said that he will head downtown to the private investigation services to set up a team to look for Naeun. There’s no way he could sleep before finding out she’s safe sound, he told me.”

“I see,” Jongin nodded carefully. “Well then, I’ll be sure to contact you for any update.”

“Alright. Good night, Jongin. And thanks a lot for helping us out. We really appreciate it, despite you being only a temporary worker.”

“This is the least I could do for Naeun. Good night, Mina.”

HE had a back-up plan in his head if he failed to check whether Naeun was home or not, which he thought to drive over to the east side of Han river, in case Naeun chose to clear her mind at his favorite place. And he also thought of driving around the Jangmi Street in case Naeun wanted to feel the crowded atmosphere by amusement park they used to go.

And if he still failed to look for her after going to the places mentioned, he should first punish himself for letting Naeun slip away so carelessly before driving around every corner of Seoul. No matter what happen, he must find her.

He got into the elevator after pressing the open button, and headed up to 21^st level. His heart began racing at the number increased, and as much as he hated to admit, he is worried sick about Naeun’s condition, and he’s more worried of how to face her if she was home.

I probably should apologize too.

Yeah, I definitely should.

HIS feet naturally walked out and turned left once Jongin got off the elevator. Heart beat fast, hands curling into a small fist he tried to grasp the realm of the situation. He didn’t know he was so nervous, and after seconds of wandering around in front of row of locked doors, he found someone in a familiar attire squat down, heads down, just in front of 2109.

Don’t tell me that’s-   her?

Jongin carefully arranged his steps and walked over towards silent Naeun. She didn’t move a muscle, not even at the screeching sound of the Converse against the shiny floor of the walkway.

He approached her quietly and calmly, and squat down in front of her as well.

Is she angry?

Or course she is, dummy.

Jongin sighed, afraid to imagine what kind of respond or tantrum Naeun would surprise him with, and looked down momentarily to brace himself mentally. He clenched his jaw, and stopped to stare at her for a couple of minute.

Why is she out here? It’s dangerous.

His gaze fell onto the pitiful position of Naeun’s, and wished he hadn’t hurt her feelings with his blind accusation. He felt terrible to have hurt her after what she went through at her failed wedding, to think that he made her ran away after she was willing to meet him on her own, Jongin felt like his insides were set on fire.

 “Naeun,” Jongin called out gently, but Naeun’s slight twitch at her head showed that she didn’t want to be bothered by Jongin’s worthless explanation. But he was here, and he could not just back out.

“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to judge you. I just thought that it was wrong for you to leave behind your parents and act so childish. I didn’t know how badly you got hurt at your own wedding, and had your trust broken by your dickhead fiancé and me, of course, but I just want you to know that I truly regret to have done what I did to you.”

Silence.

“Naeun, I know you’re upset, but being by yourself isn’t going to fix the problem. C’mon, let’s get inside and talk, okay?”

Another moment of dreadful silence.

“Naeun, are you listening?”

Again, silence.

“Yah Son Naeun- are you sleeping?” Jongin couldn’t hide his frustration but he has somehow managed to raise his voice and startled the sleeping Naeun. Her shoulder jumped a bit, and she finally, very slowly, lifted her heavy head.

“Wha-” Naeun’s voice was drowsy and her eyes were red and puffy. But it was obvious the redness was due to lack of sleep.

“Yah-”

“Jongin,” Naeun mumbled something under her breath, and reached forward to grab him. She balled a first and gripped at his collar. “I’m…cold.”

Jongin was taken aback by her sudden ambush, but his stance was stable and he managed to keep balance. He looked down on Naeun’s rosy nose and cheeks and wondered how long she has been sleeping outside her apartment.

“Why didn’t you get inside?”

“I’m locked out,” she said, whining, and was close to break into tears too. “I reset my passcode before I left to your place, and when I came back, I forgot what number it was and I couldn’t get in after failing all 10 attempts. I’m locked out for another 10 hours, and it’s freezing, and I don’t know what to do or who to call. I didn’t have my cellphone with me because I left them at the chapel and I didn’t want to go back to your place because my female pride didn’t allow me. So I slept here, but it’s just so cold and I don’t know what took you so long to come look for me.” At this point of her speech, Naeun was already choking on her sobs and sniffling hard on her snot. Her face was close to Jongin, and he could almost feel her nose touching his chin. “Jongin – I’m so cold I thought I was gonna die.”

Jongin breathed calmly, pleased that Naeun wasn’t that angry at him. He grabbed Naeun’s hands that were sticking to his collar and cupped them for warmth.

“C’mon,” he said, helping her to get up. “Let’s head to my place. Is your female pride okay with that?”

“I guess,” she said, wiping her snot. Naeun forced her body up but she fell down instantly after trying. Her legs were numb from sitting in a squat for too long that they were still asleep.

“WAIT- JONGIN, I CAN’T FEEL MY LEGS. OH MY GOD JONGIN – I CANNOT FEEL MY LEGS!”

“Calm down will you, and keep it down, jesus christ,” he gritted through his teeth. Funny how foolish Naeun can be even under this serious situation. “Your legs are probably numb from squatting too long.” He reached down to massage her legs but the blood flow tickled her nerves so she shoved Jongin’s hand away.

“Don’t touch them,” Naeun was being wary. “I can’t help the tickling sensation. I might pee.”

“What the-” Jongin blinked a couple of time, shocked to hear such confession coming from an heiress’s mouth and helplessly shook his head. “You’re really something else.”

“I can’t walk.”

“Of course you can’t,” he pointed out the obvious and received a death glare from Naeun for being sarcastic. “C’mon, let me carry you up then.”

Jongin slid in his hand underneath Naeun’s thigh and settled another free hand behind her back. He lifted up almost easily, and without a single breath of grunt. Naeun was surprised, and it showed when he was looking at her. Their gaze met, electrified and Naeun quickly retreated behind her hoodie.

“Piggyback would be fine though,” Naeun mumbled soundlessly, but her soft voice couldn’t make it to Jongin’s realization. She couldn’t help but smile, and tightened her lock around Jongin’s neck as she carefully rested her head on his shoulder.

“Wow – I shouldn’t have bought you jjampong.”

“What the- how dare - I’ll kill you in your sleep tonight, Jongin. You just wait.” You bastard.

“Oh and how did you know I was gonna look for you?”

“Of course you would,” Naeun said quietly. “I trust you.”

*****

Hello :3

How are my favorite readers doing?

I hope this update will brighten up your gloomy day and will even light up your sunny day. I hope I don't sound like a weird hippie hahaha (sorry for the long wait tho hehe)

Okay. So, these days, while taking break, I have been reading a few awesome mangas and couldn't help but to feel aspired by it. I like the drawing so much, and I admire the mangaka's work at conveying the message of the story through drawing. I think it's amazing because not many people can convey it right, and when I come across some mangas that deliver a perfect performance, I just feel very lucky to have read them.

I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I like sharing with you guys what I have on my mind. Just some random thought I have.

I also wish to be a great writer who writes a great story that inspire and move people with the message I'm trying to tell, and wish that people would remember my work as on the best out there.

I know it's no easy road but I'm always trying to improve and I have your support with me, so I think I will be getting there real soon. I'll just have to preserve and make time and space for more improvements.

Oh and if you guy were wondering, the mangas I'm in love in with are Ao Haru Ride and Dengeki Daisy.

I almost teared up reading Dengeki Daisy and I have been a fan of Motomi Kyousuke's work since high school, and I think Dengeki Daisy is his best work to date. (but I'm still haflway the story muehuehue)

AND AO HARU RIDE IS MY FIRST MANGA SINCE I LAST READ THEM IN HIGH SCHOOL AND I JUST LOVE LOVE LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUTT THIS STORY HURHURHUR TT.TT It has a perfect amount of humour, angst, drama and friendship and I can only wish I make story like this in the future.

Pray for me :)

See you on the next update~

P/s : Do share with me some of your favorite manga if you have any ;)