Chapter 18 – Stolen
Where the heck did this guy go? I pulled my blanket over myself and wiped out the tear which was about to escape from my eyes. Everything passed by so quickly, that I wasn't even understanding anything at all.
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"I guess I have to let go. Even if I don't want to. "For some seconds, there was silence. "What do you mean?" I finally asked, knowing that something was going terribly wrong. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand again and we started walking in no known direction. Jonghyun was leading the way and I was just being dragged by him. Soon, dusk started to fall rapidly and by now, I was so exhausted that I could barely walk, moreover I felt like crying. None of us had uttered one word since our strange last conversation.
"There you are!" we heard Daisy's voice. I turned around and saw that all of them were rushing towards us, some looking delighted and some concerned. Daisy jumped on me and crushed me into a hug, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to return her friendly gesture, because I was too tired.
"We searched for you guys for very long and since we couldn't find you, we decided to continue our search in the morning" Minho explained, but neither Jonghyun nor I were paying attention. "I have to go now"
Everybody looked at Jonghyun surprised. "What do you mean? We still have a day left" Jae Wan said and he shook his head. "Sorry guys, I have to leave now" Onew, Minho, Key and Taemin looked at each other, as if they were telepathing, and Onew nodded his head, leaving me wondered what they were actually doing. "I'll bring Jonghyun back with my car. The rest can leave later"
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I didn't see him again. Some hours later, we left for Seoul too, but after I came back home, he wasn't there. I phoned Onew and asked him where he had dropped Jonghyun off and he said, that Jonghyun had asked him to bring him back to the hotel he used to stay. I even went to the hotel; however, he wasn't there anymore. Unfortunately, nobody had seen him on Sunday, leaving me with another sleepless night.
It was already five a.m. and I knew that I won't be able to fall asleep, so I decided to use that time instead and clean up the apartment. I took a shower, made breakfast and left for school. My only hope to see him was in school, but to my disappointment, he didn't come there either.
"Mina, could you at least pretend that you are listening to me?" I finally looked at Daisy who was telling Jae Wan and me a story. "Sorry guys, I have to leave now," I said and packed my things. "It's only lunch time. Do you want to ditch the remaining classes?" Jae Wan asked, but I didn't answer because he knew what my answer would be.
I hurriedly walked to this one place, where I was sure I could get answers from. As soon as I was in front of that familiar house, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. The same women looked out of the window, probably confirming if it's not Jonghyun, who shows up here every day and after some seconds, she opened the door, looking at me with a friendly expression. "Yes, please?"
"I am sorry to disturb, but there are some questions I am curious about," I said and waited for her approval to continue. "I am sure that you know who Kim Jonghyun is" I started and suddenly, she shut the door, but luckily, I had put my foot in between, not allowing her to close, which had really hurt by the way, since she had slammed the door aggressively.
I swallowed the pain which was erupting in my foot and forced a smile. "It would be nice if you could answer me," I said and as she looked at me a mixture of sadness and annoyance was evident in her eyes. "Isn't that enough what he has done to us?" she asked frustrated.
"I need to know. He has been behaving very strange lately and isn't telling anyone why" I explained while I held the door tightly, not letting her close it. Suddenly, she pushed me and I fell on the ground. I was still wincing in pain when she let out another frustrated sigh. "He is the reason why I lost my son. Happy? Now you know the reason"
She closed the door and for some minutes, I was still on the floor, shocked about the statement she had just shared with me until I stood up and slowly walked away. What does that mean? But till date, there was no such incident mentioned from anyone, including Jonghyun's friends. Do they know further information? Should I ask them?
I lifted my head and looked around, at the people happily walking around but out of the nowhere, I saw a familiar person walking down the streets. He was wearing black jeans and a hoodie was covering his hair. He was wearing all black as if there was no other color left in this world to wear. I jogged towards him and as soon as he spotted me, he looked a bit taken aback. I smacked him on his arm and looked at him angrily.
"What is wrong with you?" I asked bewildered. "That hurts, you know," he said, ignoring my question. "Why do I always seem to spot you somewhere near here?" I wondered and he shrugged. No, this time I won't let him ignore my questions. "Is it because you have to meet a certain person?"
He looked at me with an indescribable gaze, as if he had seen through me and my intentions. "You knew about that" he stated and this time, I shrugged. "Anyway, could you tell me why you left?" I finally asked the question which was chewing me. "Well, you said I could stay with you until I find a place to settle. So now I did and now, it's time to leave"
"That's probably not the reason why. Where will you stay anyway?" I asked. "Onew told me that his uncle is renting an apartment, near the school and that he could rent it to me for a good price," he explained and I nodded. "You could stay with me instead"
For some seconds, we stopped walking and stared at each other shocked. What did I just say? I am such an idiot. Suddenly, he began laughing, showing me his full-hearted smile. It was the first time he had smiled for a long time. "I didn't know that you feel that way"
"I didn't mean it that way! It just slipped out of my mouth" I defended and he looked at me amused. "You know, I can't drag you into my problems. Otherwise, you will regret having met someone like me" By now we had reached the same park where I met Jonghyun. "You are such an idiot. You should know me enough to know that I would never think that way. Even if, after you found out about my struggles, didn't you think that I'd eventually find out about yours too?"
Suddenly, he stopped walking and I looked at him confused as the cold wind blew through my hair. "Don't get mad at me" he said and suddenly pulled me closer. The next thing happened so fast, that I hadn't even processed what happened. The only thing I felt was his lips on mine.
My eyes widened as I felt my heart pounding fast. Mint. It tasted like fresh mint. I didn't reply, but I didn't push him away either. Maybe it was because I was too stubborn to respond, yet my conscience didn't allow me to stop this. Several seconds seemed like an eternity. As he let me go, he looked straight in my eyes. "You are right. I knew that you'll somehow find out. I should distance myself from you but I always seem to do the opposite"
So, I wasn't the only one who thought the same, even if these thoughts, to distance myself, have already left, since I know that it won't work anyway. Right then, I realized what had happened. Shocked, I looked around to see whether somebody had seen us and was utterly embarrassed that a high-school girl had seen us and was gaping at us. "You ... You ..." Somehow, I couldn't come out with something to say.
I turned around and quickly ran away. Stupid I know, but that was the only way to escape. Yes, I just let him standing there in the park and I do feel a bit apologetic but I know that I can't face him right now. I panted hard as I reached my apartment and the next thing I did was to lay down on my bed. I noticed that my phone was vibrating at the other end of the room, signaling that someone was calling, but I didn't feel like talking so I decided not to pick up.
After laying on the bed for several hours, replaying the scene repeatedly, I decided to get up and get over it already. I wore an apron and started to cook. Strangely, I heard some noises coming from outside and because I was curious, I slightly opened the main door and peeked outside. My eyes widened as I saw Onew, Jonghyun and an unknown man standing there. They were far away, but not that far away that I couldn't hear them.
"So, you are renting me this apartment?" Jonghyun asked surprised. "Yes. What's wrong with it?" the man asked and Jonghyun shook his head while smiling. "I'll take it. Actually, Mina lives next door" Onew laughed and patted him on the back. "Such a coincidence. That's the weird connection you guys share"
Wait, he will be living next door?
End of Chapter 18