The Man Who Could Not Stop Time (Monsta X Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty One: Time to Talk

After meeting up with Changkyun, we were in the clear to leave. Minhyuk and his mother were at home cooking Sundubu Jjigae when we left. While back in time, I finally felt safe. I knew that Mr. Junseo was probably long gone by now. I hoped that the ex-stepdad was living a very unhappy life. He was a complete creep.

Now that that problem was solved, it seemed like I could focus on my new one.

The kiss.

I glanced at Hyungwon who now seemed cured of his hangover. He sat on the couch, watching television. As if on cue, he glanced at me and our gazes met. I looked away, not wanting to look at him.

"We should get some food." Changkyun suggested, coming to sit on the couch too.

With there only being three of us now, it felt empty here.

"Good idea." Hyungwon nodded.

I was finally feeling my appetite come back. "What should we eat?" I asked.

"Should we order in?" Changkyun suggested.

"We can pick up." Hyungwon suggested, standing up. "There's a fried chicken place around the corner. Areum and I can go grab the food. You need to prepare for tomorrow anyway."

"Huh?" I looked at Hyungwon, surprised that he was willing to go anywhere alone with me.

"Chicken sounds great." Changkyun sighed, "Make sure you guys get a lot."

Hyungwon and I walked awkwardly down the street towards the chicken restaurant. Normally I would be fantasizing about the delicious flavor of fried chicken, but right now my mind was elsewhere. I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss and whether or not he remembered it.

'Just man up and ask!'

I took a deep breath before stopping in my tracks and turning to face him.

"Hyungwon." I said firmly, wanting to sound tough.

"I know what you're going to say." He sighed, turning to face me. His facial expression was as unreadable as ever. He avoided eye contact, staring down at the ground, "You're going to ask me about last night, right? The kiss?"

'So he does remember...'

"Well... yes." I replied slowly.

"You want to know why I did it?" He asked, brow raised. He finally made eye contact with me.

"Well... yes..." I nodded. "But I think I know why, you were drunk, right?"

"Yeah, I was definitely wasted." Hyungwon nodded, laughing, "Otherwise I would have never kissed you, obviously."

I rolled my eyes, turning to walk away.

"I get it, I'm gross and way beneath you." I scoffed. I didn't want to talk about it anymore if he was just going to bash me. "It was no pleasure kissing you either."

"Really, you didn't like it at all?" Hyungwon asked, catching up with me.

Now it was my turn to mess with him, "Nope, not even a little. I wanted to vomit."

Well, that was definitely a lie. There certainly was something there. Maybe not a spark, but something like a spark. A fizzle?

"I didn't just kiss you because I was drunk, though." Hyungwon added as we stopped outside of the chicken place. The scent of salty and savory food wafted out of its doors. I was excited to eat. The busy sidewalk seemed to move around us.

He looked down at his feet before forcing the next sentence out of his mouth, "I guess I was... jealous."

I was shocked, stepping back.

Jealous? Was he messing with me?

Just a day ago Hyungwon was yelling at me for ruining his friend group and the sanctity of time travel. How could he possibly have been jealous now? He must have been pranking me.

"Don't let it get to your head." Hyungwon chuckled, "I just... I think it started with Wonho." I stared at him, eyes widened. Was he confessing to me right now? He certainly had an odd way of treating girls he liked, then, "When I saw you with Wonho, I started to get angry.  And certainly part of it is because I don't want you playing my friends. I watched you move on so quickly from Wonho to Shownu, and you're attracting guys from left and right like Hyunki and Yongguk. You certainly seem to be messing with my friends' hearts. But that includes mine too."

My jaw dropped.

"What do you mean?" I asked breathlessly. My heart was racing, unsure of what he would say next.

"I mean..." Hyungwon sighed, ruffling his hair a bit out of frustration, "I'm not good with this stuff. But just know that I have some sort of feelings for you. Do whatever you want with that information."

He coolly walked away from me, opening the front door of the chicken restaurant. I stood on the sidewalk, still shocked by his confession. Did he mean it or was he messing with me?

'What is this feeling?'

I put my hand over my heart, feeling it race.

Why was my heart fluttering for such a cold guy?