Color My World Joon

Chapter 20: Screwed Up

"Thank you miss," Haru told the receptionist before leaving.

She hopped back into her car and headed straight for the dorm. She knocked on the door and Mary answered.

"Hi Haru! What a surprise! How are you?"

"Where is Namjoon?" Haru asked, a little angry.

"He should be coming back from physical therapy any second now. Is everything ok?"

Right on cue, Namjoon stepped out of his chauffeur's car and headed to the front porch.

"Where were you Namjoon?" Haru asked him angrily.

"At my physical therapy session. You know that I go on Mondays and Thursdays at this time," he replied confused.

"Where were you really Namjoon?"

"Haru, what's going on? He said he was at physical therapy," Mary calmly told Haru.

"Oh yeah, then why did the receptionist at the clinic tell me he got dispatched and cleared from his injury earlier this year?"

Mary's face was overcome with shock at what Haru said and Namjoon avoided eye contact with both of them.

"Is that true Namjoon? Are you fully healed?" Mary asked him.

Namjoon sighed before speaking. He kept his head down.

"Yes. I got cleared a couple days after New Year's but I kept pretending that I was going to physical therapy for the past few weeks."

"Why would you lie to us like that Namjoon?" Haru asked him with her arms crossed.

"On Christmas, Mary told me she would go back to America once I was fully healed...meaning when I could dance again. When I was dispatched, I realized that Mary would have to leave so I faked continuing physical therapy so she could stay longer."

Mary raised her voice at him, "Namjoon! How long did you plan on keeping that up?"

"I don't know. I didn't think that far ahead."

"I'm not even mad that you lied to me. I'm disappointed in you because of the other members. They have been dying to have you perform and rehearse with them again and you're faking your recovery to stay with me longer? What about them? They need you Namjoon."

"I wanted to spend more time with you...I hoped that you'd change your mind about going back to America."

"Do you think I want to go back? No! I would love nothing more than to stay but I cannot because of my parents and my degree. I wanted to properly say goodbye to the country that has been my home forever and to my parents before moving on with my life. I could've gone back to school for the semester but I missed it because I was waiting on you! Now getting my degree will take a whole other year rather than just a semester!"

"I'm sorry Mary. I had no idea."

"Sorry won't cut it this time Namjoon. You messed with my life. This promise ring you gave me, means you promised your soul to me, to devote yourself to my wellbeing and for our relationship to thrive, but this...this was selfish."

Mary removed the ring and handed it back to Namjoon.

"Give this back to me once you promise to think about both of us and not just yourself."

She turned to face Haru.

"Haru, can I stay with you tonight? I plan to take the first flight back home tomorrow now that Namjoon is healed. My work here is done."

"Of course you can stay with me Mary, I will help you find a flight too," Haru responded.

Namjoon stayed outside as Mary walked inside to pack her suitcases to go back home. She packed for several minutes and nobody said a word while she packed. Once she was done, she rolled her suitcases to the front door and before heading out with Haru she turned to Namjoon.

"Goodbye Namjoon. Saranghae."

The following afternoon, Haru drove Mary to the airport and she flew back home.

*Time skip ahead one month*

Namjoon had started attending events, rehearsals, and performances again with the boys. His life was easily put back to the way it was before his injury since Mary left. Mary on the other hand had a hard time readjusting to her life. She was able to re-enroll for the semester but she missed so much material that she had to catch up with several weeks worth of work. She also had to find a new job and pay her month's rent. Even though her loans were paid, she took out more to help finance her new semester and to have food and transportation while she found a new job.

Namjoon tried to apologize to Mary and he constantly tapped his bracelet to tell her he missed and loved her along with multiple phone calls and texts but Mary never answered him or tapped him back. He felt terrible about the way they left things before she went back to America. It was preventing him from focusing on his work and the boys noticed that he was often lost in thought during rehearsals and he spoke less at interviews. His performance on stage was also less enthusiastic.

Manager Sejin noticed people commenting on their videos about Namjoon's sudden decrease in mood now that he was back on stage with the other members. Some fans were afraid that he had lost interest in the group since he had been away for several months. Manager Sejin decided to take matters into his own hands and scheduled a meeting with Namjoon.

"Namjoon, I've noticed your mood decrease ever since you returned to the group. What is going on?"

"It's Mary sir. She and I last ended on bad terms before she left and now she refuses to answer my calls or taps."

"I knew it had to do with Mary leaving. You were always so cheerful while she was here and when she was with you on tour. Come to think of it, she also somehow managed to keep the spirits of the others up too."

"Mary is amazing and I screwed up. She even gave back the promise ring."

He pulled out the ring box and looked at it in front of Manager Sejin.

"You carry that with you all the time Joon?"

"I have ever since she gave it back to me."

Manager Sejin pulled out an envelope from his desk and handed it to Namjoon. He opened it and it was a ticket to America.

"Take that ring and give it back to her, make things right, and then come back. I'll take care of everything here."

"Thank you Manager Sejin."

The following morning, Namjoon was off to America.