Your feet dragged as you made your way across the hotel lobby and towards the elevator. Your pencil skirt ran up your legs with each step, the zipper on the back twisting to the side as the waistline dug into your body uncomfortably. The Mary Janes you’d bought for the occasion had bitten the back of your ankle enough to tear away at the skin. You limped out of them as you pressed the elevator’s button.

“It’s not working,” a fat man by the ice machine said. He looked you over, rubbing his fat stomach. “Broke down just two hours ago.”

You gave him a pained look. Without so much as a word of thanks (because erts like him didn’t deserve anyone’s gratitude), you pushed your way through the emergency staircase’s door. Looking up, up, and up, you sighed heavily. Why had they given you the fifth floor?

Eventually, painstakingly, you made it to your room. Half of you wanted to slump onto the carpeted floor beside the door; the half that longed for a cold shower and a bed won out. You fumbled around in your bag for a while, searching for the key.

“Aha,” you deadpanned. You prayed that it had not been demagnetized throughout the day. Just the thought of walking down the lobby and back up made you whimper. Thankfully, the little green light granted you entrance.

With a grateful, heartbroken sigh, you staggered into the room, dropping like dead weight on the bed. The sheets smelled great. They had this spicy scent that slowly became tender. It tickled your senses, relaxing you. It reminded you of one of the new colognes you’d stopped to admire at the department store. The fact that the name escaped you made you deflate just a bit more.

After a few minutes, you heaved yourself out of bed, reaching behind you to the damned skirt that had been bothering you all day. It was as the darned thing crumpled onto the floor and you stepped out of it that you heard the bathroom door open.

You had been so absorbed in your exhausted misery that you had not heard the shower running. Or, if you had, you’d blamed it on the neighboring occupants. You stood frozen, praying that you were asleep, dreaming a nightmare.

A man stepped out into the hallway, a towel wrapped around his waist, another draped over his head. His tanned, muscular arms were raised, his hands rubbing the towel against his wet hair. Without meaning too, yet with full intention, you released a loud scream.

The man answered with a deep scream of his own. He jumped several steps towards the front door, holding his arm over his head as the towel he’d been using to dry his hair fell around his shoulders.

He caught sight of you, of your exposed legs. You screamed a second time, pulling the bedspread from the mattress to hide behind.

“What are you doing in my room?!” you shouted.

“W-what? Y-your room?! I was here first!”

“I checked in this morning! My bag is in the closet!”

You watched as he wrenched the closet open. Your dark bag sat in the darkest corner of the closet, awaiting your return. It was then you noticed his silver hard case luggage resting beside the TV stand.

“Oh my gosh.” You pressed your hand to your mouth. Tears welling in your eyes.

“Aw, damn, I’m sorry about that Miss,” the man said. He wrapped the second towel around his torso, hiding his body as much as he could. “I swear I don’t plan to do anything. There’s been a mix up with our rooms, it seems. I’m going to grab my suitcase real quick, okay?”

You gave a slight nod, watching him approach you. He gave you a tentative smile as he grabbed his luggage, retreating into the safety of the bathroom. You heard the soft click of the lock falling into place. It made sense; he didn’t know who you were any more than you knew who he was, how could he trust you wouldn’t ually assault him?

Blinking away your tears as much as you could, you pulled out your Harry Potter sweats, the one’s you’d gotten at Hot Topic while in college; slipping into them felt like coming home. You’d never wished your Hogwarts letter had come as hard as you did in that moment.

Your dress shirt felt suffocating, itchy and uncomfortable after a full day of use. Your bra stabbed and bit you mercilessly. It took all of your willpower not to bite your nails. The expensive shellac manicure you’d gotten for the job fair would be ruined if you did.

He emerged from the bathroom all clothed in black. The wide, black rimmed eyeglasses he wore swallowed the major part of his handsome face. His blond hair had been combed back with his fingers; the slightest hint of black roots showing.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he exhaled. “I am very sorry about this, Miss. Let’s go get this sorted out. My stuff is kind of heavy, is it alright if I leave it here while I get another room?”

Taking a deep breath, you nodded. “I’m sure it was all just a mix up,” you smiled your prettiest smile, the one your mother said reassured even the most desolate souls. “No hard feelings on my end.”

The man tilted his head slightly, a mysterious smile tugging at his lips. “Nor on mine.”

He held the door open for you, slipping his room keys into his back pocket. “Let’s try not to make this awkward. It’s not like we saw each other .”

That made you laugh. A precarious thing, seeing as a knot had taken up a near permanent residence in your throat for the past couple of days.

“My name is Kim Jonghyun. What’s yours?”

“_____.”

“That’s such a pretty name. _____. I like it. Are you in the city for business?”

“Something like that. What about you?”

“Definitely business. Do you know the job fair they’re having downtown?”

You laughed dryly. “Yeah, I think I do.”

Jonghyun looked at you curiously, his eyebrows drawing together slightly. “I’ll be there tomorrow. Where you there today?”

“Yup. It was packed.”

“What field are you going into, if I may ask?”

“Communications.”

You paused to pull the too long sweatpants up over your feet. This startled Jonghyun so much he almost missed a step. He stared at your bare feet momentarily before looking at you. A cute, playful smile broke through his handsome features. Never had you ever seen such a beautiful smile.

“I think those fit you a little bit long. Boyfriend’s?”

“Short girl’s,” you replied. “They didn’t have my size, but I really wanted them.”

“Those are ridiculously long,” he laughed, a dorky laugh that was honest and cute. “You should at least pull up the hem.”

“I really should, but I kind of like them this way.”

Jonghyun continued to make small talk all the way down to the lobby. You were grateful that he had not been one of those people that had gotten angry at you for a mistake that wasn’t even yours to begin with. Whatever mix up had happened had happened down at reception. You hoped that it could be resolved quickly so that the evening’s events could become a crazy, yet fun memory you could daydream about later.

There was also the fact that something about Jonghyun’s voice soothed you down to your core. Whatever he said sounded like silk brushing against your skin, your ears. It was a familiar voice, a comforting one. You wanted to listen to his voice forever. It just made everything seem like it would be okay.

However, the slight peace you had achieved in the short trek to the lobby was shattered when the receptionist informed you that you had both been booked into the same room.

“We kind of noticed that,” Jonghyun said with a smile. “There’s no need to make this huge, just give me a different room. Ms. _____ had the room first.”

“I-I’m sorry, sir, b-but there are no more rooms available. W-we just booked the last one for the night.”

You both stood there, shocked for a good while.

“Let me get this straight,” Jonghyun leaned into the counter, resting his elbows on the granite, pressing his hands together. “You booked us both in the same room, and now you have no rooms to spare?”

“I-I am terribly sorry.”

“No, no, that’s fine. I’ll go spend the night elsewhere. I have friends in the area.”

“You can give him a full refund, right?” you quipped. “Since it was a mistake on your side and all.”

The receptionist bit her lip. “I-I can’t give you a full refund s-since there are maintenance fees. Y-you could come back in the morning. O-or we could try finding you a room in another of our locations.”

Jonghyun sighed. “On a weekend like this one? It was hard enough to book as it is. I’ll just come back in the morning. Do you mind if I get your information? Just so that your manager doesn’t think I’m scamming anyone.”

Without thinking, you gripped the side of his shirt between your fingers. “Where will you stay?”

“I have a friend that lives in the outskirts of town. I’m sure he won’t mind me crashing there.”

You shook your head. “You stay here. I’ll go.”

“What? _____, are you crazy? It’s nearly 10 p.m. The city is dangerous at night.”

“I’ll just go back home. I already spent a full day at the job fair. You have to be up early tomorrow to get to the good employers first. I’ve pretty much run out of resumes either way. I’ll just call it a night and go home. I don’t even need a full refund.”

Jonghyun stared at you for a long while before smiling at the receptionist. “Would you excuse us for a second?”

He took you by the hand, pulling you along until you were safely inside the emergency staircase. Instead of releasing your hand, he gripped it tighter.

“Are you insane? How far away do you live? An hour? Two?”

“A-about four.”

“Four?! You want to start a four hour drive right now when you’re clearly dead on your feet? Does that make sense?”

“It’s not like I haven’t made the drive before. I’m a great driver. I’ll stop by a rest area after a while.”

Jonghyun’s eyes grew wide, his mouth hung open. He ran his free hand through his hair. “Are you serious right now? _____, that makes no sense! Just say in the room.”

“But you have to go to the fair tomorrow! I’ve already tried my luck today. There’s no need for me to go another day!”

“Yes, there is!”

“No, there isn’t! Just keep the room!”

“No.”

“I’ll give it up whether you want it or not.”

“Dammit, _____!” Jonghyun pulled you back as you tried to make for the door. “Are you always this unreasonable? I’m all for the equality of the genders, but the truth remains that it would be much more dangerous for you out there than it would be for me. Because the world is still ugly, still stuck in old, backward behaviors.”

As if to accentuate his point, the man you’d seen by the vending machine peeked through the door’s thin window. His eyes gleamed when he spotted you. Instinctively, you stepped closer to Jonghyun just as he hid you behind him. He glared at the man until he left.

“See what I mean?”

“I can’t leave you without a room. It’s just as dangerous for you out there. You could get mugged, or assaulted.”

Jonghyun grunted in exasperation. “Fine! If you’re so worried about it then let’s share the room!”

“Fine! Let’s share. It’s not like we saw each other or anything.”

He stared at you with his mouth hanging open. He did that a lot, it seemed. You noticed how heavier his bottom lip was compared to his upper, how straight and white his teeth gleamed.

“I could be a psychopath,” he said.

“So could I.”

“What if I’m some weirdo?”

“What if I am?”

“So, are we both taking a risk here?”

“Seems like it.”

“You’re stubborn.”

“So are you.”

After informing the receptionist that two people would be occupying the room in question, she told them that she would void out Jonghyun’s reservation and refund him entirely the following morning when the manager was present. Jonghyun carried the extra blanket and pillow up to the fifth floor while you called in a large pizza.

By the time you got out of the shower, feeling refreshed and relaxed, the pizza had arrived. Jonghyun, you noticed, had not waited for you to start eating. He sat before his laptop with the corpse of a crust dangling from his lips.

“You couldn’t have waited for me? Rude!” You chucked a small cushion at him.

Jonghyun dodged, badly. He said from around the crust, “Inspiration struck.”

“And that’s why you ate first? What inspiration?”

You took a slice of pizza, making your way to see what he was up to. A music program was open in the background. It was so foreign to you, but it drew your interest. Jonghyun closed the worn journal that was on the table, hiding the messy scribbles from view.

“You’re a musician?”

“Yes.”

“Can I listen?”

Jonghyun’s eyes glowed, as if he had been waiting for you to ask. “My friends asked me to write the lyrics for this a while back, but I had not quite yet found the inspiration. I’m not finished, but I’ll let you listen once I have the finished product.”

“What a bore!”

You were about to jump into bed when you caught a whiff of the same scent that had relaxed you previously. Without much thought, you leaned into Jonghyun’s neck, inhaling.

Jonghyun didn’t move. He didn’t startle or call you a creep. He simply allowed you to breathe in his scent as much as you wished. Because he seemed so accepting, it took you a full minute to realize what you were doing.

“O-oh my gosh, I’m sorry!”

“Are you sensitive to scents?”

“E-eh?”

Jonghyun smiled. “I’m the same way too.”

Speechless, you munched on your pizza as an excuse not to speak. You sat on the bed, cheeks burning, nose still tingling from his amazing cologne.

Suddenly, Jonghyun kneeled before you, taking your foot in his hand. “Hold still.”

“W-what are you—?”

“I noticed you were limping earlier. Did your heels tear your skin?” Even as he asked, he turned your foot this way and that, checking for any sign of abuse. “There it is.”

He set your foot down carefully as he set out to retrieve a first-aid kit from his suitcase. He was about to open the case when he snapped his fingers, said a hurried “Ah!” and rushed to wash his hands.

When he returned, he grinned at you. “My older sister had this phase before. It took me a while to convince her not to wear heels every day. She got so many blisters, too.”

Blushing, you let him treat your small injuries. “Do you get along with your sister?”

“Of course! I absolutely adore her!”

And just like that, you spent the greater part of the night talking. He listened while you told him about your misadventures in college, your struggle to find a job, how your mother expected you to accomplish great things before your twenty-fourth birthday (which really wasn’t that far off now), claiming that you had not spent so much time and money to get a degree only to end up working as a waitress somewhere.

He listened to you complain about how awful men in the workplace were, always thinking they could do whatever they wanted to the women employees because they were men and they were women.

Jonghyun ardently agreed with you, sharing his own ideas and views on how and why society was the way it was. You learned that he respected women because his life revolved around his mother and sister. He treasured them, listened to them, learned and grew because of them.

He confessed that he’d been afraid of pursuing music because of how society usually shot down anyone that strayed even the slightest from the norm. Jonghyun even shared how his dream was to one day release an album that would tell the stories of the people that tuned into his radio show.

The last thing you remember is resting your head against his shoulder, your back against the end of the bed. His spicy scent followed you into your dreams.

The following morning, you awoke to the sweet sound of Jonghyun singing. You didn’t remember climbing into bed, or tying your hair back for that matter.

“Good morning,” Jonghyun said merrily. He’d changed into another all black outfit, the only difference in this one being that his shirt was a short-sleeved graphic tee. He’d styled his hair to the side, taming it under a black snapback with the number twenty-three printed in white.

“G-good morning.”

“I have to head out earlier. Errands and stuff,” he bend over to clean up his makeshift bed on the floor, throwing the pillow at you playfully. “Do you have any resumes left?”

“Just the one.”

“Cool. Dress comfortably, okay? You wouldn’t like it if your blisters worsened.”

“Okay.”

He smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. He held up a folded piece of paper between his fingers before tucking it inside your hand. “Stop by this booth around noon.”

Without saying anything else, he left the room. You sat there stunned, wondering if the previous night’s events had really happened at all. It wasn’t until after you’d washed up that you heard the door unlock.

Fearing that another mistake had been made, you peeked from around the bathroom door carefully.

“Boo!” Jonghyun shouted.

You screamed bloody murder while he laughed his dorky, endearing laugh. You smacked his arm several times, laughing along with him while calling him all sorts of names. Jonghyun eventually won you over with a cinnamon roll.

“You’re checking out today, right?” he asked suddenly.

“Yeah. I’ll leave my bag in my car while I’m at the fair. Why?”

“Just asking. Come lock the door behind me. I’m about to go speak to the manager before heading out.”

You did not hate admitting that seeing him leave made you sad. You had spent the night with a charming stranger; if you could do that, why couldn’t you ask him for his phone number? Or maybe give him yours?”

“Jonghyun, I—”

“Thanks sharing the room with me,” he said. “You took a great risk, you know that, right?”

You nodded. “I know.”

“Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

Before you knew it, he’d cupped your face in his hands and started kissing you. His lips were warm, soft, tasting of the lip balm that he had applied before leaving. Your heart jumped to your throat then did a freefall to your stomach. His scent intoxicated you, made you dizzy, giddy.

He gave your bottom lip the tiniest of as he drew away. You used your entire willpower not to yelp or whimper. His eyes locked onto yours as an unsure smile spread across his face.

“Since we won’t be sharing a room tonight, I hope this doesn’t make me a creep.”

“N-no.”

Jonghyun laughed a smile. “Good! I’ll see you later, okay?”

He was gone before you could agree.

One of the things you hated about job fairs was how dressed up you had to be. Every business formal outfit was like a mask, some better put together than others, and while they were meant to make a good impression, everyone was still judged by how well or badly dressed they were.

In your case, you’d make your finest appearance the day before. Hair styled to perfection, skirt and shirt pressed smoothly, one hundred percent wrinkle free. Your blazer had been tailored to your exact measurements, a gift from your late great-aunt. You’d done your absolute best to make a good impression, but you knew none of those employers would ever call you for an interview. Your resume always ended up forgotten at the end of a table or at the bottom of a larger stack.

After spending a night in Jonghyun’s company, listening to him talk about his dreams, you’d started wondering if what you’d decided to do so far had been in pursuit of a stable job and not of happiness. He made you wonder what you really wanted to do, and after much probing, he’d gotten it out of you.

“I’d like to work in a radio station. Maybe have my own radio show. It’s not much, but I’d like to soothe someone across radio waves someday.”

Jonghyun had given you a very strange look then, his smile wider than ever. He’d said, “I’m sure you’ll make it one day.”

So, with his words in mind, you’d dressed down. Your bright red shorts made heads turn, your white tee with the Rolling Stones’ logo plastered across the front, and your black high top Converse made a statement that no employer liked.

You were young, determined, strong. And while life may not work out exactly like the adults around you wanted it to, you would claim your youth and enjoy it to the fullest.

“Are you _____?”

A young woman in a light summer dress asked you. You blinked at her, wondering where she could have learned of you.

“I’m right, aren’t I? You’re _____. Do you have your resume?”

You realized that you stood by the booth Jonghyun had instructed you to stop by. You figured he’d wanted to tell you something before you hit the road, which is why you’d stopped by in the first place. You never imagined that someone besides Jonghyun would be expecting you.

“Jonghyun told us you’d stop by. He said you’d make a great DJ. Could you wait here while I go get the boss? He’ll probably like to listen to your voice.”

“Um, yes, of course.”

“Oh, wow! You really do have a magnificent voice! Jonghyun knew what he was talking about!”

The girl sprinted away, shouting for a Mr. Choi, leaving you standing there with your world out of orbit.

“_____!” Jonghyun came jogging at you, his smile brighter than ever. “You came! I’m so glad you did!”

He threw his arms around you, swinging you in a circle. He set you down carefully, his hands on your shoulders, holding you at arm’s length. “Let me look at you. You’re not wearing heels, right?”

“No, they’re in the car. Jonghyun, what’s going on?”

Jonghyun only smiled. He asked you to wait for a while when a girl stopped by and handed him her resume. She also timidly asked for a selfie and an autograph.

You looked around, searching desperately for a clue as to what was going on. Upon the table clothed in black were several bumper stickers, among them a beautifully illustrated logo of Blue Night, the most popular radio show in the midnight to two a.m. slot.

Your jaw dropped. You pointed to the stickers, to Jonghyun, and back again. Jonghyun watched you piece it all together.

“Oh. My. Gosh. You’re the Jonghyun?!”

“The Jonghyun. I kind of like the sound of that. Maybe I’ll start using it.”

“Don’t get cocky.”

A man smacked the back of his head. Jonghyun laughed, charming his way out of any possible scolding.

The man turned out to be the directing producer of Blue Night and the overall producer of the radio station Jonghyun worked for. He asked you to say several phrases, listening closely and carefully despite the cacophony that surrounded you.

“Hmm, she might need to attend some classes, but I think she’ll do just fine.”

“Awesome!” the young woman from before cheered. “JjongD never fails!”

“Hush up and clean up,” Mr. Choi said. “And make sure to bring the new kid along with us. We need her to fill out some paperwork.”

The woman cheered again. “Welcome to the show! I’m Anna, Mr. Choi’s general assistant and one of the writers for Blue Night. I’m looking forward to working with you!”

“I look forward to working with you, too,” you managed to stammer.

Anna left in a flurry, which you would soon come to learn is how she always came and went.

You managed to close your mouth after a while, turning to find Jonghyun appraising you yet again. His eyes burned intently, intrigued and alive.

“You could have told me you were JjongD.”

“I didn’t want to give you any false hope. Though I kind of knew the boss would end up liking your voice.”

“You told him about me?” Your face quickly reddened. “You told him? D-did I just get the job because of what happened?”

Jonghyun laughed. “I didn’t tell him. And you got the job because the boss said so.”

“Not because you did?”

He closed the distance between you, leaning in close. “Don’t worry,” Jonghyun whispered, his lips brushing your ear. “I’m simply an employee, not the boss. And by the way,” he drew back grinning widely, “there are no rules against dating a coworker at the station.”

He winked, leaving you standing there with red, red cheeks as he hummed something about a white T-shirt.