This Unbreakable Bond : 2 Summer in Seoul (Ch. 16)

   Eli acted like he was relaxing with a drink, but he was really looking for Val. She had run off, and he had tried to call her but no answer. He was really getting worried, mostly because he now looked like every guy a this party from behind. Especially with his shirt off. Damn him and his perfect physique. Maybe she'd recognize his butt out of everyone else's.

   Maybe.

 ["Eli-hyung!"] Jun came running at him, shirt billowing in the wind. Eli was surprised he actually OWNED a freaking shirt, let alone have one at a pool party.

[ "What?"] Jun came panting at his side, holding on to the bar counter. Eli saw the bruise under his eye and reeled back a second.

[ "Holy shit, man! What happened!?"]

 ["Don't...run by the pool." He chuckled nervously. "My slip will probably be on the news later." ]

["Damn...so what's wrong?"]

["I was coming to see if Val was with you." ]

["No, I can't find her anywhere."]

["...so it is true."]

["...huh?"]

["I heard from Kevin-hyung that she went home. She was really mad at you."]

["But I...I didn't...I thought"]

["GO GET HER! SHE DOESN'T KNOW THE WAY PROBABLY!" ]

["SHIT! Thanks bro!" ] Eli slapped Jun on the back and ran off in a flash. After he left, Jun grinned slyly and slithered over to where Val was sitting on the other side of the pool. She had been scanning for Eli, but too many people were in her way to see. Jun ran up behind her and hugged her hard from behind. Val squealed, thinking it was Eli, but when she saw it was Jun her heart sank a little.

 "Jun, where is everyon- OMG YOUR CHEEK!"

   Jun pouted hard, lip trembling. "E-Eli...he..."

 "Eli...hit you!?"

 "Mhm...it hurts, Val-noona."

 "Poor baby..." Val couldn't help but feel sorry for him, but something was nagging her inside. Why did Eli just haul off and hit Jun? Was he okay?

 "Jun, let's go get you some ice and some cool water. Where is the bathroom?"

--

   Alexander wandered around the lounge at the fourth floor of the building. Even from here he could hear the party thumping upstairs, and he didn't miss it at all. He was looking for Kiseop, who decided not to party tonight. He knew he was still sulking about Neko, but he wondered if there was something else. Those messages certainly weren't like him.

   He pushed a door open to a mini-lounge and Kiseop was there, reclined on a couch and staring blankly up at the ceiling. He sniffled loudly, the tell-tale sign that he had been crying. Now Alexander was REALLY concerned. He ran over to Kiseop.

 ["Hyung...? Are you okay?"] He asked gingerly. Kiseop shook his head slowly.

 ["My life sucks, man. It sucks hardcore."]

["What?"]

["First, I lose my temper. Then I lose my M-Virginity. Then I lose my girlfriend. NOW I LOSE MY PHONE! Can this night get any worse!?" ]

["Neko is really upset st-...wait, you said you lost your phone?"]

["Yea. I lost it back before the press conference. It was on my dresser."]

["...Before or after you sent Neko those messages?"]

Kiseop snapped up to attention. He looked at Alexander quizzically, the look he was hoping for. ["What messages?" ]

--

   Val and Jun had snuck into a men's restroom, locking the door behind them with Jun's access key so it could open from the inside, but not the out. Val had carried a few ice cubes with her in a napkin, and was getting cold water so she could make a compress and no one would take embarrassing pictures of Jun's slightly swollen face.

 "ow...owowow..." Jun moaned when Val pressed the cold paper against his face. He winced, making Val feel more pity for him.

 "I'm sorry. Jun...what did Eli say? Is he okay?"

 "I do not know. He said something about...you and some guy. In a white shirt."

   Val rolled her eyes. She had asked a casual waiter for a drink. The waiter was very polite, a little flirtatious, but nothing to be jealous over. "Oh my God! That jealous ass! But why take it out on you?"

   Jun sniffled, looking like he was going to cry. "I teased him. I tried to say 'hyung, you are too mean to her like that' and he just...pow!" Jun imitated a fist and whined again when Val pressed the cloth closer to his face.

 "He can be...such an ass! I give him NO REASON to be jealous! I told him, 'no jealousy between you and I', even when he gives me ALL THE REASONS to be jealous. Pretty backup dancers, touching and feeling on MY Eli. Who do they think they are!? Just once, I...I just..."

 "Val-noona? what?"

 "I just want one chance to make him REALLY jealous. So he knows how it feels. He shouldn't have punched you for teasing him over something stupid. I wish it was a bigger deal, like that guy giving me a back rub or something, hehe." Val chuckled, running more cold water over the napkin. Suddenly, warmth engulfed her back and warm lips rested on her neck.

 "Val...I feel better. No more hurt...you helped me."

 "G-great thanks, but um...what are you doing?"

   Jun's words came out slow and long, in a husky whisper. "Making...Eli...jealous..."

 "Jun..." Val flushed, not particularly enjoying this kind of closeness with him. How did this make Eli jealous anyway? He wasn't going to see it?

 "But...Eli isn't going to see it?"

 "It's okay..." Jun grinned mischievously, turning Val around against the sink. Val gasped, shocked and frozen to even move as she felt Jun grind slowly into her hips. "I can videotape it~" He held up a phone above them, putting it on top of a decorative plant mounted into the wall in the fancy bathroom.

 "Jun, NO! I can't do this!" Val shook her head, then quickly glanced at his phone again as it rested in the planter. A familiar charm dangled from the phone, NOT the one she had given him from the market. It was a Rilakkuma, swinging in the air.

 "Jun...why do you have Kiseop's phone!?" Just then, Kiseop's ringtone started to play, the phone vibrating in the plant. Jun flushed red, looking frantically from the phone to Val. Suddenly he grabbed the phone and darted out of the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind him. The phone clattered to the floor just before the door clicked, and Val ran over to bang loudly on the door.

 "JUN! JUN YOU LYING BASTARD! GET BACK HERE! JUUUUN!"

--

 "Dongho, where are you going?"

   Dongho sighed, thinking of the words as he put on shoes. "Out...um....find Kiseop."

 "Oh...okay. Be careful."

 "Hm?"

   Neko rolled her eyes and hugged Dongho again. "Thank you."

   He grinned a cute boyish grin, patting her on the shoulder. "No problem."

   As soon as Dongho shut the door, Neko felt so tired and suddenly thirsty. She walked into the kitchen, finding a jug of water in the fridge and gulping down a glass or two. It tasted tangy and sweet, and Neko put the jug back before suddenly stumbling to Kiseop's bedroom. If he came in, he had guts. She suddenly couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and crashed on the bed.

   Neko was stirred by a door opening and shutting to the bedroom, then someone crawling in with her.

 "You sure have a lot of balls, Kiseop."

 "Mhm."

 "I'm still mad at you. Where's your new girlfriend?"

 "Mmm..." He made a sound like 'I don't know', suddenly with warm lips on her jaw. He pecked lightly, then nibbled, and his arms wrapped over her. and pulled her close. Neko felt like she weighed a ton, and she wasn't even coherent enough to understand him completely or fight him off. Suddenly he was nibbling harder, and she blushed.

 "Um...Kiseop?"

 "Hm?"

 "I-I'm not sure if I'm ready to...take 'that step' with you just yet."

 "..."

 "Kiseop get off."

 "Mm-mm." 'no'.

 "Listen, asshole, I'm not prepared to fight you on this."

Suddenly, Jun's voice echoed in her ear. "Then don't."