A laugh escaped his mouth, not even trying to throw Mari off of him. "Look, you got me. I'm letting you win how crazy is that." Wooyoung told her, batting his eyes patiently at her as a sign for her to get off of him. "It's been a whole week, Mari. I came to your rescue when you were drunk, took care of you when you were suffering from a hangover, and I've apologized over fifty times for leaving the way I did. I'm letting you win a sparring match even! What else do I need to do to make you accept it?" The girl snorted at his words, stepping off of him so that he could get up. Everything he was saying was true, but this was the second he had left her alone for the Underboss and something terrible happened.
Wooyoung slowly rose back up as Mari crossed her arms in frustration. "How am I supposed to trust you when you put the Underboss on a higher pedestal than me? We're supposed to be best friends that follow each other to the ends of the Earth. I can save you from whatever punishment that old man decides to give— Wooyoung! Put me down!!" Her friend quickly scooped her up in his arms, slinging her over his shoulder like a duffle bag. Mari tried to force herself down, kicking around to make him uncomfortable. Yet he only laughed like a child, parading around the room as if she was some sort of treasure. "Do I have to call you like a dog? Down! Put me down! Wooyoung!"
He giggled obnoxiously, trying his best to contain himself. He held onto her tightly as she faced him, tempted to shake that grin right off of his face. "You can't tell me you don't like being tall do you?" The look on Mari's face made him explode into another fit of laughter, earning himself whiny pout of defiance. "Okay, okay. How about this? Let's make a deal. You accept my apology, and I'll let you create whatever nasty alcohol disaster as payback. Sounds good right?." Wooyoung proposed. His offer was god awfully tempting. She almost replied to his deal without hesitation. No, she did reply without hesitation.
"Alright, deal." Mari blurted. He was taken aback by how quickly she had answered but honestly did it really matter? It was like payback for leaving her alone at Mingi's party and all she had to do was say she accepted his apology? That was a perfect deal in Mari's book! She could already imagine what the drink would be. To anyone outside of their little friendship, they'd think she was planning on killing him. Mari knew that just because Wooyoung was her best friend, she wouldn't go easy on him. What type of person actually lets their friends off the hook and pass such a good opportunity like this? "Okay Woo, I accept your apology. Now put me down so we can get started."
"You didn't let me finish," He quickly said, trying to get all his words out before Mari went any further. She gave him a questionable expression, he wasn't done? It seemed like he was done. Yet the girl did cut him off rather fast with her reply, she was a bit too eager for her revenge. Though with a mischievous glint in his eyes, Mari wondered whether or not she should really be hearing him out now. "You have to give me a kiss while accepting my apology. Anywhere on this face and is all yours Mari, I'm down with wherever you decide to kiss." Wooyoung exclaimed, pointing to his face like it was his most prized possession.
Mari immediately retaliated, pinching his cheek with a sneer on his face. "Haha, very funny Wooyoung. Now let's go make that drink shall we?" She asked him, smiling innocently at him. Though the boy didn't put her down so that they could leave. In fact, he didn't even move. He was just staring at her with pure mischief and intent as he waited patiently for her to fulfill her part of the deal. Mari's eyes widened in shock as it finally clicked in her head. "Oh, You're being serious? What— I'm not gonna do that Wooyoung. Who do you take me for?"
Wooyoung places her on the ground, flashing her a bright smile as he spoke. "I take you as my brash but smart friend who is willing to do one simple thing for me because I asked." When Mari didn't respond he quickly added, "It's not that difficult. You want to make me toxic drink that might possibly kill me right? It can a wholesome and nice peck on my forehead or cheek, or it can be sinful and right my lips. The choice is yours but I'm fine with either one." She rolled her eyes when Wooyoung leaned his head in, waiting for the kiss she was never going to give him.
Yet he seemed awfully set on receiving any sort of affection from her. All Mari wanted to do was make her friend chug an alcoholic drink, but it seemed like he wasn't going to let her do what she wanted. "Ugh! Fine. I'm going to make that drink knock you into the astral plane though." Wooyoung nodded his head, but it didn't seem like he was listening. She groaned at her friend sat there like a puppy waiting on its treat, excited yet refusing to move even an inch. She held his face in her hands, resisting the urge to flick his forehead as hard as possible. "You're unbelievable."
"And you're taking too long," Wooyoung warned, teasing the girl. She huffed as he started to walk towards her, making her back up to put space in between them. Though no matter how many steps she took back, her friend always closed the gap. Soon enough she was pressed up against the wall and Wooyoung was leaning over her. She was basically pinned up against the wall, and she didn't like the way this was going. "What? Is the big bad Mari scared? Do you think you're going to catch feelings? That's how stories go with best friends who have known each other for a long time you know."
"That's enough from you," Mari mumbled, balling her hand into a fist. Wooyoung gave her a confused expression before she sent him a blow to the stomach. The boy gasped, doubling over in pain and trying to cover his weak spot. She snorted at him as she flexed her fingers, her lunch could have been better than it was. It wouldn't leave a bruise-like the one on his cheek. "Why would you even try to do that? Are you stupid or something? Did San take the rest of your brain while he's on guarding duty?" She asked him, tapping her head as if to mimic that nothing was there.
She didn't even hear what he had to stay before the devil himself walked into the room. San peered around in search of the two before a bright smile appeared on his face. "Mari! Wooyoung! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" He exclaimed, completely ignoring his aching friend on the ground. She returned the same smile he had given her as he practically skipped towards them, as light as a feather on his feet. It was good to see him up and running again without being stuck to her mother's side. "I've come to say goodbye! I didn't want to leave without you two before I left."
Wooyoung stood up once more, rubbing his stomach to soothe the pain as he clicked into the conversation. Both Mari and Wooyoung wore the same lost expressions as they let San's words sink into their minds. "Goodbye?" Wooyoung questioned, trying to connect the dots while he still had time. "What do you mean goodbye? Where are you going? I thought you were supposed to stay by the Boss's wife until she recovered?" Mari nodded her head to Wooyoung's statement. It didn't make sense, her father would never let her temporary guards leave completely until she was fully recovered.
San gave them his signature smile that only they got to see, giving off a reassuring aura. "The boss's wife practically begged him to let her go on a mission again. She was tired of being cooped up in the manor with nothing to do. Of course, he caved in. So we're going to see the Chinese triad and our allies in the Yakuza to try and create an even bigger alliance against the Kim Faction. They've already gotten the American Mafia on their side, and that's a lot of power we have to counteract." San informed them, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. Of course, her mother was going to try and go on a mission, no one was going to stop her once she started feeling good.
"You've never been out of the country have you?"Mari asked him, her eyes widening at the sudden realization. "This is good for you, San! If this goes well you'll able to ascend the ranks no time. Since we already have the Yakuza on our side and... the boss's wife," She said carefully, trying not to let the word mother slip," everything will go well! I'm awfully proud and nothing has even happened yet. Good luck San, even though you probably won't need it." He smiled at her words, clearly soaking in all the encouragement she was giving him. He deserved it after all. With those two factors on his side, everything was going to be just fine.
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short chapter because
I'm SLEEPY I'm sorry ://
twelve ▋lost goodbyes
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