Chapter 21
Storm RisingAs Jisun drove to the house, she thought a lot about what Zelo had said. It explained a lot but not everything. Not how he lost his memories to begin with or exactly who those two men in the coffee shop were. They had 'hurt' Yongguk and she immediately had thought of his wounds when she first found him but she a part of her wondered if the memory loss was connected to that. If somehow they were responsible for it as well.
She glanced over at Jongup as he reminded her on what road to turn on. He had stayed relatively quiet during the drive, content on staring out the window and smiling. Despite that, or maybe because of it, she didn't feel too awkward driving with him. Just like how she had felt comfortable so quickly with Zelo as she watched him eat his strawberry ice cream.
"So what is your name?" she inquired, breaking the silence. "The other one."
He blinked at her and reached up to his chest, touching the covered dog tags that she knew were there. It was an action that painfully reminded her for a moment of Yongguk doing the same thing.
"You want to know my name?" he asked.
She glanced at him in slight confusion before turning her attention back to the road. "Well, yeah." she replied.
He smiled brightly at her. "My name is Dadamato."
A smile formed on her face as well. "Dadamato." Then she curiously thought back to the other three names that she knew. "Do all of your names end with 'mato'?"
"Yes." he answered without hesitation.
She was a bit surprised considering how Himchan reacted to her asking him about the names. "What do they mean?" she chanced, seeing if she could glean any information.
"They're our code names as part of a secret organization bent on world domination."
Her eyes widened as she looked at him and then back to the road. "What??"
Suddenly Jongup burst out laughing. "I'm joking, I'm joking." he insisted.
Jisun glanced at him once more, completely confused. Then she let out a playful scoff. "Meanie."
He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Himchan-hyung will tell you when you're ready."
They came up to the road closure sign and she drove around it. "When I'm ready?" she questioned and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Yep." he nonchalantly said as he looked out the front window.
She pressed her lips together at that. They really did have a trust issue with her which only made her more suspicious of them. Glancing as Jongup though, she also wanted to trust them. Obviously Yongguk had trusted them otherwise he wouldn't have been with them before she found him.
"When I first met Zelo, he said he lived with his brothers. Are you guys brothers?" she asked, recalling the memory.
Jongup chuckled again. "No, just close friends."
"Close?" she thought. Then she asked, "How long have you guys known each other?"
He was silent for a moment as he bit his bottom lip. "Seems like forever." he answered with a little smile.
She eyed him curiously. Even though it was a smile, it wasn't the same bright smile that usually adorned his face. There was something else there. Then she remember to the tears coming from Zelo and a sudden thought smacked her across the face.
"I'm sorry." she hurriedly said.
He turned to look at her with his eyebrows raised. "For what?"
She swallowed and her lips. "Here I've been making a big deal about you guys taking him from my house and not letting me near him." She gave him a guilty look as she to the driveway. "And all of you have missed him too."
He nodded and smiled again. This time though there wasn't a hint of sadness in it. "It's okay noona." Then he added, "Maybe this means you'll trust us."
One eyebrow lifted as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Hmm... Maybe." He laughed again, causing her to giggle too.
She drove up the driveway and parked. She just got out of the car when another car came up the driveway and parked next to her. The boys spilled out as she opened the trunk. She reached for her suitcase but another pair of hands grabbed it first.
"Here noona." Jongup said and lifted if for her before carrying it to the house.
"Thank you." she called out and reached for the backpack. Only to notice that it was being lifted out of the trunk as well. Zelo offered her a little smile before walking towards the house with Daehyun and Youngjae.
"Anything else?" Himchan offered as he stepped next to her.
"No, that's everything." she answered and closed the trunk. She went to move but he grabbed her arm.
"Do you have any other questions about Yongguk?" he asked her.
She gaped at him in shock at the unexpected question. Then she blinked and shook her head. "About a million of them but I seriously doubt you'll answer them."
He stared at her thoughtfully before slowly nodding. "You're right but I know you're just going to continue pressing for answers."
She looked away, not denying it or admitting it. She did want to know more about what happened to him and what Suyun is doing to help him.
He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. "I know you don't like this but I can promise you something." he said. "If anything happens with Yongguk, if he gets his memories back, I will tell you."
Her eyes widened as she quickly looked at him.
"We only kept you from him because of the headaches." he continued. "Not because we don't want you two to be together."
That particular thought had never even crossed her mind so it seemed odd to her. "I never thought that." she told him. "I knew there had to be some reason but I didn't think it was that."
He softly smiled. "That's good." Then he indicated the house with his head. "Come on."
They entered the house and heard loud noises from the kitchen. Curious, Jisun followed Himchan through the doorway. They were greeted with a sight of one boy stuffing his face and two others fighting over a jar.
"I don't want you to eat it all!" Zelo exclaimed as he held the jar up above his head.
"Just one more piece." Jongup argued. "I'm not going to eat it all."
"What's going on?" Himchan demanded, gaining their attention.
Youngjae glanced at Jisun before hurriedly disappearing into the dining room with his piece of bread.
Zelo looked sheepishly at Himchan as he lowered the jar and held it out. "It's noona's strawberry jam."
At that moment, Jongup deftly yanked the jar out of Zelo's hand. He clutched it tightly while spooning jam out of it and on to a piece of bread.
"Hey!" Zelo yelled and attempted to take it from him.
"I can make more." Jisun piped in with a little giggle.
"Probably should." muttered Himchan as he approached the island counter. He reached across and grabbed the piece of bread. He quickly folded it in half, squishing the jam so it spread, and took a bite.
"That was mine." Jongup pouted.
Himchan his lips. "Zelo, share."
The youngest boy whined but stopped trying to take the jar from Jongup. Jongup hurriedly grabbed another piece of bread and scooped jam on to it.
Jisun rolled her eyes and went to the backpack that was on the floor. She lifted it and set it on the counter before pulling the plastic sacks out of it.
"What's that?" Himchan curiously asked as he peered over her shoulder.
"Vegetables from my garden." she replied. "I thought I'd contribute a little. Make a salad for dinner."
He grinned happily. "That's nice of you." Then he went over and opened the freezer. "I'll grill some chicken to go with it." he said as he dug through it.
She carried the vegetables to the sink and began to clean them while smiling as she listened to Zelo complaining under his breath about everyone eating his jam.
Later that night, Jisun helped slice the vegetables while Himchan cooked the chicken. Which meant she was subject to as many 'attacks' from the two youngest as Himchan normally was. When one too many slices were disappearing, she resorted to smacking every hand she saw. Some she missed, others she didn't which was met with a few painful yelps of surprise.
"You guys can wait two minutes!" Himchan yelled at them and pushed them away from her. "If you need something to do, set the table."
They both grumbled but started to gather up the plates and napkins. It wasn't long before the food was done and everyone hurriedly entered the dining room. Everyone settled in to chairs as Daehyun made his appearance. The only empty seat left was next to Jisun and he spared her a brief glare before scooting the chair away from her, causing her to roll her eyes. Then he sat down and piled some food on to his plate.
"This is really good noona." Zelo commented between bites.
She smiled at him and ate a piece of carrot. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Daehyun glancing between her and Zelo. "The vegetables are from my garden." she informed him politely.
He quickly looked down at his plate and narrowed his eyes. He picked up a lettuce leave and closely inspected it.
She stared at him in confusion with his weird behavior before lightly scoffing. "You're acting like I poisoned it."
He turned his attention to her and raised an eyebrow while giving her a pointed look.
She blinked at him for a few seconds and then dropped open. "Why do you think I poisoned it?!" she loudly shrieked.
The other boys jumped in their seats as they quickly looked at them.
"Wouldn't put it past you." he muttered as he pushed his food around.
"Daehyun." Himchan warned in a low tone.
Daehyun opened his mouth to say something but then he quickly closed it. Then he let out a disgruntled noise and started eating.
"." Jisun quietly mumbled to herself. Then she glanced around the table in surprise as she noticed there was one person short.
Daehyun rolled his eyes and bent over to look under the table. "She's not that scary."
She eyed him curiously but a second later, Youngjae poked his head up. "I.. uh... dropped my napkin." Youngjae stated while blushing and sitting back in to his chair.
She blushed slightly as well over her outburst and gave Youngjae a small smile. He returned it with a small smile of his own before resuming to eat.
She turned her attention back to her own food and side-eyed Daehyun at the same time. As comfortable as she was getting around Zelo and Jongup, it was the complete opposite with him. He also specifically said he didn't trust her so the feeling was mutual. The biggest thing she wondered about though was why he was like this.
She pushed him from her mind then and thought about everything Zelo had told her in town. Including one part that picked at her. "So," she said, breaking the silence, "Just how long were you guys watching me?"
Everyone froze and looked at her curiously.
She nodded at Himchan. "I know you saw me with him the night you took him because you were waiting for the right moment. But Zelo told me Yongguk was getting headaches like the one he had at my house. Except that was hours earlier." she reasoned.
They glanced amongst each other, as if they were silently communicating. Then all eyes turned to Himchan as if waiting for him.
The older boy stared at her thoughtfully as he took a drink of his water. "We were mapping the woods and saw the two of you outside." he answered. "He wasn't wearing a shirt and was covered in bandages."
dropped open in surprise. Not only cause she was given an actual answer but that they had been watching her since the very beginning.
"Something didn't seem right so we waited and watched." he finished.
She looked at each boy and they seemed just as surprised as her that Himchan let the information slip.
Himchan chuckled. "Zelo was the one that almost got caught. Should never have let him have a turn with that red hair in the woods."
She raised her eyebrow at that and turned to the youngest.
"I didn't get caught though." he argued. Then he pointed over at Daehyun. "Besides, he's the one that forgot to lock the car back up."
Her head whipped to the side but Daehyun ignored everyone as he continued eating. Jisun remembered back to the day in the parking lot of her work when she found her car unlocked. "Why were you going through my car?"
"To learn about you." Himchan explained. "We got your name and info from the car registration."
She let out a small scoff of disbelief and shook her head. This was a lot to wrap her head around. "When did you almost get caught?" Jisun asked Zelo.
"Uh... when you were at the strawberry patch." he confessed and lightly blushed. "I thought for sure hyung saw me."
"And then there was Jongup who completely lost you." Himchan said as he smirked at Jongup.
Jongup pouted a bit. "Well they took off running so quickly." he countered. "Hard running through the brush without making a noise. Had thorn cuts all over me."
Jisun gasped. "Oh when I..." She quickly trailed off. "Wait, you didn't follow us?"
"No." the boy answered. "I fell and lost you so I just waited till you came back. I heard you about the blackberries though and how hyung was behaving."
"Oh." she uttered and then pressed her lips together. That meant he didn't see her secret tree house she had shared with Yongguk. And she planned on keeping it a secret.
"That's when we started making plans." Himchan piped in. "Then we decided to do it that night when you said you were taking him to the hospital."
She nodded in understanding. Slowly but surely the pieces were coming together. Things being explained. She looked over at Himchan and softly smiled at him, silently thanking him. He smiled in return and nodded before eating once more.
She glanced around at the others before her eyes landed on Daehyun. He set his fork down to rub his temples a little as if his head was hurting him. She bit her lip, heavily debating with herself considering his attitude. But you attract more flies with honey instead of vinegar.
She stood up and made her way to the kitchen. She found her purse on the counter and dug through it before pulling out the aspirin bottle. She popped it open and dumped two in to her hand. Then she went back to the dining room.
She went right over to Daehyun and held her hand out. "Here." she offered.
He froze as he caught sight of the pills in her hand. Then he suddenly smacked her hand away, causing the pills to fly through the air. He stood up so fast that his chair fell backwards and he stared at her, shock and anger in his eyes.
"What the hell?!" she yelled as she took a step back.
"Daehyun she doesn't know." Himchan loudly proclaimed.
She turned to look at the table and noticed how everyone had stood up. They were staring so intently at the two of them, it was like they were about to vault over the table.
Daehyun glared at her one last time before turning and going through the doorway to the kitchen. A few seconds later, the back door slammed shut.
"What was that all about?" she demanded. "I was just trying to be nice. He doesn't have to be such an all the time."
Himchan relaxed a little as he sighed in frustration. "Just... Don't worry about it."
She raised her eyebrow but Himchan pressed his lips together and turned away. "Let's clean up." he said and indicated towards the table. "Zelo, it's your night so you go..." He trailed and looked at the youngest.
"Oh... ok." he said and set his empty plate back down. Then he left the dining room and he footsteps could be heard going up the stairs.
Jisun glanced between the remaining three but no one would meet her gaze as they cleaned the table. She rolled her eyes at their secrecy before helping.
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