Until You're Mine (A Kim Jonghyun fanfiction)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – The one who let's go first, loses

"Once upon a time, there was a boy. His name was Jonghyun" I smacked his arm and he winced. "Is this the time to tell stories?" I asked. "We should try to find the others instead" I added and he nodded, not seeming serious at all.

The only sound which was being heard was the noise of our feet's crushing the dead leaves on the ground. "I think we walked that way when we first arrived here" Jonghyun assumed as he pointed towards the other direction. "You might be right. Let's head there" I said and we continued walking.

After a fifteen-minute walk, it still seemed like we are in the middle of nowhere. "This isn't helping us at all" I sighed as I rubbed my legs. "What is this?" I heard Jonghyun say. As I looked closely, I saw a house, about 500 meters away from here. A smile suddenly came across my face as I looked at him excited. "This might be the house we were staying here."

Well, I had to force Jonghyun to walk faster, but soon we arrived there. "This isn't the house we were staying in" Jonghyun stated and I sadly had to agree. This house was way larger than the other and it seemed more old-fashioned. "Maybe, somebody lives here. They might help" I suggested. Jonghyun rang the doorbell and for some minutes we waited for somebody to open the door.

"Just as I thought, nobody lives here," he said. "Let's go" Unexpectedly, the door was suddenly pulled open and an elderly woman stood in front of us. Her height reached till my shoulders and her wrinkles and gray hair were evident even though it was nighttime. "Yes?" she asked in a low yet comforting voice.

Jonghyun and I looked at each other, not knowing what to say until I broke the silence. "We got speared from our friends and are lost now. Could we use your phone to call them?" I asked politely. She stepped aside, signaling us to enter and we gladly did. "I only own a landline, you can use that," I said and guided us towards there. At the very end of the hallway was a room and inside of that area, was a bed, some other furniture, and a landline.

After that, she walked out of the room, providing us privacy. At that moment, I noticed that I didn't remember the phone number of anybody from our friends. The only person, whose number I knew was from my uncle, who was in Japan right now. "Do you remember any number?" I hoped. "I don't think so," he said and I mentally noted that I should write down emergency numbers as soon as we find the others. "Wait. I think I know Onew's" he remarked.

Quickly, he dialed our last hope's number and we patiently waited for somebody to pick up at the other side of the call. "Didn't you say that he had to phone his brother because he didn't have his own phone with him?" I wondered disappointed. Suddenly, someone picks up. "Hello?" a female voice was evident, which made me wonder who it was.

"Hello. Am I talking to Mrs. Lee?" Jonghyun asked politely. I was literally glued on Jonghyun, trying to hear what she was saying. "Yes. Is it you, Jonghyun?" she questioned. "I am. Actually, I am in a bit of trouble. Would you mind calling Taemin to convey a message from me? I don't have his number with me right now"

"Of course, son. What should I tell him?" she agreed and somehow, I started to feel a bit better. "Could you tell them to search for a middle-sized house? They will find Mina and me there" he explained and soon the line cut. "We just have to wait here, right?" I asked and he nodded. "Let me ask the owner if she allows us to stay here," he said and left the room. For some minutes, I looked out of the window, hoping for them to appear anytime.

"She said that she doesn't mind us here unless we disturb her," he said after he entered the room again. He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall while I was seated on the bed, looking at the roof, bored. An hour has passed already but there was still no sign of them. "It's tiresome to wait," I remarked.

"I've been waiting for a long time" I turned my head towards him and scanned his eyes, trying to find any emotion. "Waiting for what?" I wondered. He didn't reply. I had thought that he didn't want to tell me, but just as I was about to lose hope, he spoke up. "Forgiveness. I know what I have done is despicable and I am definitely not worth it, yet like an idiot, I keep on begging for forgiveness"

Suddenly, somebody knocked on the door and I mentally groaned in annoyance. It might be somebody to pick us up, but the timing was undeniably wrong. He was about to tell me and the chance of him telling again might never come again. "I have brought some snacks for you," the lady said as she entered and placed a tray full of food on the table.

I somehow felt ashamed of myself for getting irritated at her even though she had brought food for us. I smiled and thanked her while both of us grabbed the pieces of bread. "Why don't you stay?" Jonghyun asked just bevor she was about to exit the room. It's kind of humorous how I was about to ask her the exact same thing. Maybe it's because she looked lonely and both of us can relate to that well.

"Oh, no. I shouldn't disturb the both of you" she said and showed us an appreciating smile. "Please stay" I persuaded her and she nodded and sat down on the desk. For the following hours, we got to know about her. She excited told us her story as if she hadn't had the chance to talk to anybody for ages.

Apparently, she was born in an honorable and wealthy family. She grew up like any other girl, but her life changed when she met a young man and fell in love. Even though her family was against the marriage, because he was not from a wealthy family, they ran away and got married. Soon, they moved into this house and two lovely sons accompanied them on their journey. Sadly, he left as a soldier on a mission, 20 years ago, and didn't return ever since.

"You should probably sleep now, I think your friends won't make it tonight," she said by 3 a.m. "Thank you for the pleasant chat," I said and she smiled gratefully. Soon she left and once again, we were left alone. I sat next to Jonghyun, who was still seated on the floor, leaned my back against the wall and stared at him, who was busy looking outside.

"Could you make it not so obvious?" he asked amused as he faced me. "Could you tell me?" I asked curiously. "Tell you what?" he asked. "What you wanted to tell me before we got interrupted" I stated and he chuckled. "That was just some nonsense. Forget about it" he uttered and I grinned my teeth. I knew it. I knew that he wouldn't tell me.

"Anyway, why don't we play a game?" he asked. "Why not" I permitted and he extended his hand. "Give me your hand," he said and I skeptically handed him mine. He grasped it tightly and I looked at him confused. Next, he closed his eyes and only the moonlight which was showing its brightness through the window allowed me to see him. "I thought this is a game"

"The one who let's go first loses," he said, keeping his eyes closed. "I definitely won't lose easily" he added. Should I remove his hand from mine, or not? If I don't, he could get wrong ideas, but oddly, I don't want to shove it away. I sighed, leaned back at the wall once again and closed my eyes too.

To say that I was a bit tired, would be an underestimation. My body was feeling way beyond exhausted and if Jonghyun wouldn't have wakened me up by 8 a.m., I surely wouldn't have woken up by afternoon. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was him looking at me as tiredly I was looking at him. "Is the game still on?" I wondered, after having noticed that he was still holding my hand. "Yes, until someone loses"

Some minutes later, we bided our farewell with the nice lady and were surprised to see that she actually looked gloomy because we were leaving. "We will come again" I promised her and her face brightened up a bit. "Please do so," she said and Jonghyun nodded assuringly.

After that, we walked outside and continued our search. "Walk faster," Jonghyun said and I looked at him tired. Since both of us were holding hands, if one of us was slow, the other one had to walk slow too. "If you want to move faster, you can let go of my hand," I advised, even though I knew that he wouldn't do so.

Suddenly, he let go.

He walked a few steps ahead of me while I stared at my hand, which felt empty now, in shock. He turned around and smiled at me, even though his eyes showed the opposite. "I guess I have to let go. Even if I don't want to."

End of Chapter 17