…you weren’t thinking, Moni. That’s the problem.
It was a mistake that can never happen again.
I sigh and wipe my eyes as my internal battle goes on.
The moment he grabbed me outside Dok-su’s bar and I realized who it was, it was as if all bets were off. Even as I tried to fight back against him, the second his hands were on me and his mouth was kissing me so hungrily, I was a goner.
He pinned me against the wall, and every rational thought in my head evaporated like morning mist.
My body betrayed my resolve, responding to him the way it always does, and before I knew it we were tearing at each other’s clothes like the weeks of separation had never happened.
Jin’s car is parked down the block—the same sleek silver Genesis G80 Sport he’s driven since I’ve known him. He opens the passenger door and holds it for me without a word, his dark eyes finally meeting mine.
But only for a fraction of a second. For the brief instant it takes to communicate how uncertain we both feel. Yet still enough to send a sharp shiver down my spine.
Then his gaze is sliding away, his jaw as angular and hardened from tension as ever.
I climb in, and he closes the door with a thud that sounds deafening in the silence. He settles behind the wheel, and we take off from the seedy neighborhood in Jangnim-dong, almost as though we both hope to leave what just transgressed between us behind.
It follows us anyway, thickening in the air and making it impossible to breathe.
The drive to Seomyeon feels long and suffocating; the city lights streaming past the windows in blots of bright color.
In need of distraction, I fuss with everything from the sleeve of my sweater to my phone. Jin grips the steering wheelwith more force than necessary, his knuckles large and rounded against the leather material. He glares out at the roads as if angry, but I know his thoughts are as jumbled as mine.
This is just as confusing and difficult for him as it is for me.
When we pull up outside my building, I grab at the door handle to get out, then realize he’s doing the same.
“You don’t have to walk me up. I can make it inside just fine.”
“You admit you feel like you’ve been followed. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Yeah, becauseyou’vebeen following me—you and Sang-cheol. If I’d known it was just you being obsessive and stalkery again, I wouldn’t have even been concerned.”
“This is more than just me and my habits, Tokki-ya. If you sense something amiss, then that means there are threats lurking.”
“Is this about Black Shell again?” I ask bluntly, then I scoff with a shake of my head. “You know, Jin, I’d hoped you’d get your story straight after so many weeks apart. Am I in danger or not? Is there a threat after me or not? Why can’t you just…”
The frustration boils over and then suddenly gives out, going cold all at once.
My rant about his poor communication and constant need to shut me out fades away as I realize it’s useless. It won’t change anything to tell him for the thousandth time that I just want… I just wished he’d open up.
…that he would talk to me.Reallytalk to me.
“You know what?” I mutter. “It doesn’t even matter anymore. This doesn’t change anything. You know that, right? We’re still… we’re not together. Which means you have no right trying to interfere in my life.”
As I push the passenger door open and get out, it’s immediately apparent he’s still following. He gets out on his sidetoo, making quick work of the distance between us as he comes around the car and joins me on the pathway leading to my apartment building.
“I’m walking you up,” he says resolutely, leaving no room for dissent. “I’m escorting you to your apartment. Then I will go.”
I sigh but let him, figuring it’s useless to waste the breath arguing otherwise.
We ride the elevator up to the ninth floor, and he walks me to the door. I turn to face him, my gaze flicking up to meet his.
“Thanks,” I say. “You didn’t have to… but thanks.”
His throat tightens with the swallow he takes despite his stoic and unemotive expression. “Tokki-ya?—”
