That's not the only thing she had done, however. While at the footbridge Mari basically had a mental breakdown on, she had venting as much as her mind would allow her to. Her problems flowing out of her mouth as if it was just a waterfall of worries. She had to be extra careful with everything she was saying as well. Mari couldn't count how many times she had almost said something she wasn't supposed to. Thankfully, her mind liked to double-check itself just before she spoke. Hongjoong was a surprisingly good listener. He'd hum softly to himself before he'd comment on something that seemed out of place in or he'd offer her small tips to help her take control of a situation.
Mari felt slightly uncomfortable just talking about herself though. She had a lot of secrets that were ready to be thrown out there for everyone to see the more comfortable she got with Hongjoong's presence. So she tried to get the boy to talk about himself as well. He kept protesting against it, that he didn't need any consolation since he had Seonghwa by his side. Yet she was very persistent. She didn't want to seem selfish, no matter how annoying Hongjoong proved himself to be. So instead of something person, she asked about the lifestyle he has chosen for himself. The badboy demeanor he tried to uphold whenever she wasn't around. It seemed foolish to her when the attitude was hiding all the actually good things about him.
The answer she had gotten wasn't any good either. He just flashed her a giggly smile while saying the eeriest of responses. "Some people just aren't worth my true self. Not just strangers, but family too." She would have tried to give him any sort of advice afterward, but he had already moved forward from what had been said. Hongjoong quickly progressed to why he and his trio of friends were the only ones deserving of his precious time. He then continued on with the idiotic reasoning behind his quickly formed bonds with the three boys as well. Hongjoong was an odd one, at the very least. So kind to her yet continues to shroud himself in mystery.
Suddenly the motorcycles began to slow down, but not because they were at their destination. In fact, Mari was almost one hundred percent they weren't even close to the playground set yet. They had suddenly stopped in the middle of the abandoned neighborhood as it began to be illuminated by the sun's light. "Shit," Hongjoong cursed, involuntarily parking his motorcycle on the sidewalk. "I guess I wasn't paying attention... I must have started running out of gas maybe an hour or so from now."
"Ha, stupid." Mari mocked, earning an annoyed smile from the biker. Though it's not like it didn't leave her worried. Not only did they run out of fuel in a creepy abandoned neighborhood, but they were also in mafia territory and Mari didn't know what mafia it belonged to. If it belonged to the Seo Faction Mari would be perfectly fine by the end of the day, though she couldn't say the same for Hongjoong. If it belonged to the Kim Faction, then they'd both be dead where they stood in a matter of hours. "No but seriously, what now?"
"We keep going while walking on foot," Hongjoong shrugged, not thinking much of the situation they were in. He slid off of the motorcycle with else, urging Mari to follow suit as he continued. "I'm pretty you want to go home now, right princess? I'll just leave my bike here and I'll take you back to the playground as we planned. And then I'll come right back and make the trek back home. It's as simple as that really." Mari's eyes widened at his solution, immediately thinking about all the bad things that could happen with his quick plan.
"You're just going to leave your bike here? In the middle of what feels like nowhere?" she asked him, her eyes darting from the boy to motorcycle several times over. Hongjoong thought about for a second before giving her a vigorous head nod, which clearly meant he was thinking at all. "Why don't you just... take the bike with you, even if the walk will be a little slower than you'd like. Normal people with common sense take their personal belongings with them when they're stuck somewhere. You know that, right?"
sixteen ▋my name is
Start from the beginning
