Beyond This World / Moon Gang-tae & Ko Mun-yeong (On-going)

Chapter 21: I'm Gonna Give You More (Moon Gang-tae)

• Moon Gang-tae's POV

The battle in my head is too strong at the moment.

The only person...errr...soul...unique creation...I've been longing to see...is finally back.

For days, I felt like I was about to lose it. I don't know why I'm so bothered by her disappearance. I mean, I should be happy, right?

But everything just went downhill when she suddenly went away.

I'm torn between hugging her so tightly now that she's back or let her know that I was hurt by what she did to my friend Joo Ri.

You don't know what I'm experiencing right now. This tormenting feeling is eating me up badly.

I feel her slipping back to her habit of hugging me from behind. If there's one thing I like about Ko Mun-yeong, it's her unexpected sweet gestures.

But now, I have to fight it back.

"Let go of me."

Hesitantly, the arms that make me feel secure slipped away from my body. Coldness enveloped me after, making me regret right away my decision.

I walk towards the dining table. I hear her breathing.

"Ya! Moon Gang Tae!"

She's really back, and without remorse.

I don't allow myself to get distracted as I wipe the spilled beer on the table.

"Didn't you miss me?!"

Focus on the task at hand, Gang-tae. Look at the remaining droplets of beer and wipe it off.

"Ya, talk to me!!!"

I shake my head in disbelief. She has quite a temper. As if I didn't know about it from before.

"Tell me how long was I gone."

I get a mop and clean up the wet floor.

"How many days? Weeks? Months?"

I move the chairs and check if everything's dry now. She's still yapping.

The mop was grabbed from me and hurled itself on the floor.

Up until now, I'm still struggling to figure out what I'm feeling. But at the moment, giving her a lesson is my ultimate goal.

"Can you stop being childish, Ko Mun-yeong?," I tell her coldly.

"Who's not talking to me? You're the one being childish!"

I get the mop and put it back to the cabinet.

I grab the left over food from yesterday and reheat it in the pan.

"Okay, fine. What do you want me to say to you? You did a good job on pouring beer on my friend? You want me to say that? Bravo, Mun-yeong! Keep up the good work!"

"Gang-tae, I--"

"Are you the one who will go back to work tomorrow and will explain to her what just happened?"

"Well...umm..."

I'm not sure where she's standing exactly but I can picture how she looks right now.

"I have so many questions in my head right now but I find it pointless to ask."

"Ask me anything, Gang-tae. I'll...I'll answer your questions."

"No need. I'm busy at the moment as you can see."

"But we can talk while you're reheating!"

"That's one of my concerns."

"What is?"

"Your tone. Your mood. Your short temper."

"I don't have a short temper!!!"

I turn off the stove and guess where she's standing. I 'stare' at her and brought the food to the table.

"You should listen to what you're saying."

"But Gang-tae, you're confusing me. I want to talk to you! Don't dismiss me like this!"

"If you don't mind, I'll call Sang-tae now because we'll have our dinner."

"Please give me just a couple of your minutes, Gang-tae. I can explain..."

"I'm not asking for an explanation. Because why would I care right? I mean, what are we? We're nothing. We're just 'housemates'." I draw a big pair of quotation marks in the air. "There shouldn't be any explanation made by either of us. It's nonsense. For now, what you have to realize is what you did to my friend. That's foul, rude, and disrespectful."

I don't hear her voice anymore. But I continue my point. "I hope that after coming back out of nowhere, you realize that there are people here who just want to live a normal life, unbothered by anything or anyone extraordinary."

"Are you pertaining to me?"

"Yes, Ko Mun-yeong. It's you I'm talking about! You suddenly disappear then you expect me to be so darn happy when you come back? What is this, a guesthouse which you can just use anytime you want to? And who am I here? Don't you respect my own space, my friends, my plans?"

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Gang-tae. I didn't mean to--"

"Sure you do. You meant what you did. It's not accidental. Why did you do that huh?"

"Because...because..."

"Because what?"

"You're not supposed to bring a girl here..." Her words were demanding but she almost whispered it.

"And why is that? I can bring whoever I want in this house."

"Did you see how she looks at you? That girl likes you!!!" She's back to being a lion after a minute.

"I know she likes me."

There was a pause. She's digesting what I said.

"Okay, I got it."

I am taken aback by her reply. "Good that you got it."

"I'm sorry for what I did, Gang-tae. I really am. Please tell her that I am."

Gone is the feisty Mun-yeong.

"I'm not sure how I would tell her but okay."

"Gang-tae, please forgive me?"

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. One more...do you like Joo Ri?"

Suddenly, her voice is filled with sadness. Like she's swallowing a big lump in her throat.

I very much know the answer but I won't give it to her just yet.

"You know what, we need to have our dinner now."

"Gang-tae please..."

"That's for me to know already, arasso?"

"If you don't want to answer that, just this one--did you miss me?"

I stare at the food that's starting to get cold.

"Did you miss me, Gang-tae?" Her breathless, desperate tone is affecting me.

"Fine. My answer is NO."

Someone walked behind me and hit my head so hard.