So Eun’s POV

What the hell was I thinking? Leaving Myungsoo oppa…

I needed to find a place to stay for the night… >< Wahhh…

No silk bed covers… no warm hour-long shower…

I slung my bag over my shoulder and sighed.

No one to go to… since I started dating Myungsoo… no one talks to me anymore.

I checked the amount of money I had on me… and groaned.

It was going to take time to rent an apartment… and I needed a place to stay tonight.

I sighed and leaned against the wall of a building, staring up at the sky.

I have to live on my own, I tried to tell myself convincingly for the hundredth time. I have to become more mature and now that I accidently told Myungsoo’s friends I live with Myungsoo… it’s best if I quietly move out before the school finds out…

I picked up my bags, planning to head to the bus stop to stay the night when suddenly, a fancy sign picked up my eye.

HOTEL DE LUX

Hotel? Since when did the Hotel de Lux look that fancy? It’d always been just a cheap, broken-down inn to go to when one ran away from home…

But now the building seemed to be an elegant castle, all white and glass with red roses and ivy climbing the pillars…    

It’s going to be too expensive, the practical side of me answered.

My desire for a night in this seemingly fantastical castle crushed my practical side.

I entered the hotel through the rotating glass and gold doors.  

Omo! Is that Park Shin Hye and Jang Geun Suk in front of the fireplace?!

They were both speaking and bowing to someone in front of them.

Trying to brush off my feeling of being totally star struck, I moved to the front desk to ask for a room.

“Kim So Eun?”, someone said, grabbing my arm from behind.

I turned to look- WooHyun!

“WooHyun-sshi… why are you here?”, I asked, startled.

“I own this hotel… I was busy overlooking some renovations and I had to meet with the director of a movie… that aside, why are you here?”, WooHyun asked me, seemingly confused.

Well, of course he’d be confused. He thinks I’m living with Myungsoo.

“I-just-uh- wanted to see a friend who said she was staying here…”, I said lamely, not looking into WooHyun’s eyes.

WooHyun smiled crookedly.

Crap, he knows I’m lying.

But all he said was, “Don’t stay here too long, let’s not be framed again.”

I nodded in agreement and then said hesitantly, “I’m really sorry about that, by the way. I… I really didn’t know it was your café, and I didn’t realize so many people were interested in us.”

WooHyun looked at me with a weird expression. There was a moment of silence before he said, “Shouldn’t you be saying this to Myungsoo instead of me?”

 What? Totally disorientated, I watched numbly as WooHyun waved to me and walked out.

“Ma’am, may I help you?”, the clerk at the front desk called to me.

I sighed and walked out of the hotel. Guess I shouldn’t spend the night here then…since it’s WooHyun’s hotel. But there aren’t a whole lot of hotels where I live… Where should I stay?

I found myself at the park and sat on the park bench, wondering what I was supposed to do.

I was still thinking when the sun set…

Looks like I’m staying here today…

 I took out my sweater from inside my carry bag and pulled it on, enjoying the warmth and fuzziness. Warmth… warmth… The warmth of my own bed, the bear hugs my Dad always pulled me into, the soup my Mom always made in the mornings, the warmth of Myungsoo’s gorgeous smile, my home, my family…Mom…Dad… Myungsoo…I miss you all very much.

I stared up at the sky until I felt my eyes start to slip…

Tonight is very cold.

~

I woke up to streaming sunshine and water droplets everywhere. The mist of the morning and the ice that had frozen overnight had all been melted away by the burning rays of the risen sun.

I sat up, wincing at the stiffness in my back. But an unexpectedly heavy weight fell off of me. Confused, I looked around me. My carry-on bag was there from yesterday… but a heavy quilt that I had not brought with me had fallen off me and onto the cement. I picked it up and noticed a cup of coffee next to my bag. It was still steaming and a Post-it note was on it. It said: You forgot your schoolbooks, idiot. >//<  Get to school on time; they’ll be at your desk!

School!

I gathered everything, drank the warm coffee in one shot, and was down the street, sprinting.  

Gah… my back hurts…

~

I barely made it in time, racing into the classroom after having shoved the huge quilt into my locker and changing messily into my school uniform.

I sat at my desk, panting heavily. A pile of papers and textbooks were already at my desk. There was my math and chemistry homework… that I’d never gotten around to…

Myungsoo must have finished them for me…

I felt disappointment and frustration… So I’m still a kid he needs to look after…

There was another Post-it note on my History textbook that said: Sleep well on that log of a bed? There are hot patches in your locker. 

Gr… Stop taking care of me!

I pouted slightly as class began.

Myungsoo Oppa…I’m not a kid… I’m not.

But I couldn’t resist the urge to turn back to see his beautiful face.

My back cracked loudly as I tried to turn around quietly.

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I swear I saw Myungsoo smirk.

My heart jumped happily for a moment at seeing his smiling face, but then I realized what exactly he was smirking at… me.

Jerk. T^T

~

When class ended, I got out as quickly as I could, ignoring the whispers about the state of my tangled hair and wrinkled clothes.  

“I heard her dad’s in jail for gambling… That’s why they’re totally broke.”

“No… I thought it was because her dad cheated on her mom, so her mom disowned her!”

“She looks like total crap. You think her dad beats on her?”

“Oh my god! Does she not have a place to live? Poor girl…”

Grit your teeth and walk past it. That’s probably what Mom and Dad are doing right now.

~

After school, I grabbed my stuff and headed to who-knows-where when I spotted Dongwoo near the gates. I’d been meaning to talk to him since…

I walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.

When Dongwoo turned around and saw it was me, his expression became skeptical and annoyed, “What? Want another favor? ”, he asked me bitterly.

“No”, I answered shortly.

“Then what?”

“I wanted to ask if you were the one that told Myungsoo I went to WooHyun’s café.”

“No, I didn’t tell him where exactly you went. I just told him you weren’t home”, he answered, and started to turn away, but then he stopped, looked directly at me and said, “But as soon as I said you weren’t going home, he knew where you went. Which goes to show exactly how little he trusts you or WooHyun.”

Ouch.

“Right. Thanks, Dongwoo”, I muttered and got the hell out of there before Dongwoo could say anything more hurtful…

It hurts because you know it’s true that Myungsoo oppa never trusted you.

~

I did my homework while eating dinner at a small diner downtown. The food was gross, but I at least had a place to sit indoors and do my work. I’d tried the library, but too many people recognized me.

I’d finished all my homework and was now searching through magazines looking for a job.

I need a place to work… preferably close to school so I won’t be late all the time…

WooHyun’s café kept popping into my head as an ideal work place, but I shoved that disastrous thought away.

Look what happened last time.

I sighed deeply, gathered my stuff, and left the restaurant.

The evening air was already brisk and chill.

Where am I going to stay tonight?

Ow… my back.

I’d left Myungsoo’s quilt and hot patches in the locker out of hurt pride…

Looks like it’s back to the park.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed toward the park again.

Mom, Dad. I miss you. And I miss everything you gave me. Like homemade food. Or a king bed with silk blankets. Or a big fat teddy bear. Or a hug. Or… a kiss.

I remembered being kissed by my parents after we’d all eaten breakfast together. Both my parents would head to work and I’d walk to school with Myungsoo…

Their kisses always had the light scent of coffee because that was what my parents liked to drink together every morning- coffee.  

Mother liked black coffee, very bitter, but fresh.

Father liked a latte, very sweet, very foamy.

Coffee… such a lovely thing… My parents always made up after talking about their problems over a warm cup of coffee…

I sniffed. Was that a scent of coffee in the air?

Mom… Dad… Myungsoo… I miss you.

a/n: :D growing up hurts.