Chapter 18

She found herself following someone, a man. He led her down a hall and went through different doors leaving her confused. “Hey! Wait Up! Where are you going?” she exclaimed.

He turned around to face her. “Stay back, Sam!” the familiar voice had said. It was Jeremy.

“Jeremy?” Samantha called out to him. “Why are you running from me? You can’t leave me alone in this dark room!”

“You can’t be here!” he yelled out. “Go before it’s too late!” He said then disappeared into one of the doors and locking it.

Samantha struggled to open it. “Wait, Jeremy!” she yelled frantically knocking on the door. “I don’t know where I am! Help me! Please!”

“You must leave, Sam!” his faint voice could be heard.

“Jeremy, I’m scared!” she cried. “You can’t just leave me alone like this! Help me, please!”

It was no use, she had to give up. She needed to get out of there and fast. So looking around, she found a faint light from afar and decided to follow it. As she drew near, she saw a figure from a distance. When she got closer, she realized it was Peniel reaching his hand out to her. “You found me,” he smiled.

“Peniel,” she breathed. “You have to get me out of here.” She took his hand and he led her away from the dark room.

As they walked, they entered what appeared to be another realm. “Where are we?” she asked turning to him.

“You’ll see,” he smirked as he led her further. The scenery was beautiful, she thought. It seemed as if they were on a beach of some sort. He led her to a cabana and motioned for her to sit down.

“What is this?” she asked admiring the breathtaking image around her.

“This is what you wanted,” he answered kneeling before her. “I don’t want you to think about him anymore. I hate seeing you cry over him. You deserve so much better, Sam. That’s why you should be with me.”

She gaped at him. “What?” she became flustered. “How did you know?”

“I can see the hurt in your eyes,” he pointed out, placing a hand on her chin. “I promise I’ll never hurt you like he did.”

She was still registering what was happening. Is Peniel confessing to her? This dream was just weird, she thought. Before she could respond, he pulled her face close to his and kissed her.

Samantha had woken up that morning in her room, neatly tucked into her bed. She didn’t remember how she actually got to her bed the night before. All she could remember was making dinner last night, talking about her family, and then watching a scary movie despite her protests. Her eyes started to feel heavy last night and then she drifted off to sleep. She couldn’t have fallen asleep on that hard wood floor, she thought. So she must have fallen asleep on someone, the question was who?

Getting up out of bed, she went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Knocking out had definitely left her feeling parched. She shuddered upon realizing she had a weird dream about Peniel last night. What the hell did it mean? She wondered then decided to brush it off. It probably doesn’t mean anything anyways. She heard the shower turn off and soon someone opened the door to the bathroom. It was Jihoon, wearing nothing but a towel. Gasping, Samantha turned away. “You’re up,” he said smirking as he was drying his hair with another towel.

He walked over to the coffee machine past Samantha to pour himself a cup of coffee. With that same towel he used to dry his hair, he put it around his neck and took a sip of his drink. “Would you like some coffee?” he offered. “I made it myself. It’s not too bad.”

“I’m fine,” Samantha stiffened, trying not to ogle at him. “Thanks anyways.”

“Did you have a good sleep last night?” he asked.

“Yes, I did actually,” she answered in a high-pitched voice. “However, if I remembered correctly I thought I fell asleep in the living room. I don’t exactly remember going into my room last night…”

He chuckled. “You really don’t remember, don’t you?” he stood before her.

“Remember what?” she looked at him in confusion.

“You don’t remember who put you to sleep last night?” he asked. She shook her head. “That would be me.”

“That was you?!” her eyes went wide.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You sure like to snore and drool in your sleep. I hope you weren’t dreaming about me…” he mused with an adorable smile.

“,” she said looking down then decided to try to change the subject. “Where did everyone go?”

“They all went to work,” he answered. “They tried waking you but you wouldn’t wake up. Seeing how peaceful you were, they decided to let you sleep in.”

“What about you?” she asked curiously.

“I’m actually about to leave after I get dressed,” he said. “You’re welcomed to tag along if you’d like.” He offered before going back to his room to get dressed.

Samantha could not help but admire his figure as he left. “Snap out of it,” she shook away those thoughts then decided she did want to tag along after all.

“Is that one of your back-up dancers?” Samantha couldn’t help but ask when they entered the building. Jihoon was greeted by one of his dancers. As soon as the dancer left, she grew curious.

“Yes,” he narrowed his eyes at her. “Why do you ask?”

Samantha looked away shyly, “No reason. I’m just curious.”

“Let me guess, you think he’s cute,” he feigned a giddy expression.

She playfully shoved him. “Actually, now that you mention it, yes,” she smiled. “I do happen to think he’s cute.” She giggled.

Jihoon gave her a disgusted look. “Really,” he scoffed. “Well I’d hate to break it to you but he has a girlfriend.”

“Just because I think he’s cute does NOT mean I’d try to date him,” she said. “I’m not that desperate. And besides, I actually have someone I’m interested in…”

He grew curious but decided to brush off the subject knowing he had to get to practice. “Whatever you say,” he said. “I have to get going. Will you be okay alone? I have to make sure you don’t get lost.”

“You know, I’d actually appreciate it if you don’t treat me like a child,” she glared at him. “When you think about it, we’re the same age so I demand you speak to me like an equal.”

“Why should I? When you’re just too cute to resist,” he pinched her cheek as he smiled prompting her to slap his hand away.

“Just be glad, I’m not gonna beat you up at the moment,” she threatened him.

“A short person like you would beat a guy up who’s twice her size?” he sized her up. “I’m so scared.”

“You better be,” she smirked. “Now get to work before I really open a can of whoop-!”

“Okay, okay!” he held his hands up and proceeded to walk off, “Someone’s so bossy!” he muttered as he left.

“I saw that,” a voice startled her causing her to jump. It was Dongwoon smirking at her as he walked over to her and crossed his arms.

A/N: Here's another update for you guys... It feels a little short today lol. Actually, it is kind of short but I wanted to get it out of the way. Anyways, I have to work this weekend so I'm not sure if I can update but I am working on the next one. I want to finish the story as soon as I can while the ideas are still here so I won't have Writers Block... There are a few brain farts here and there but I've managed to overcome them. As you can see, the dream sequence tells you that Sam seriously needs to let go of Jeremy (it's obvious isn't it?). Peniel doesn't know the situation yet but the dream implies that she would have to tell him soon so he can understand her. Samantha is obviously blind to the way he feels about her. This fic didn't go along with what I originally planned because there are less scenes with Peniel than I'd like because I'm writing what my mind allows me to write. So sorry those who expect this to be a Peniel focused story. He is a main character but I'm still unsure about the significance of his character quite yet. Jihoon's character, however, is the scene-stealer as he actually takes initiative to try to get Samantha to confront her feelings. So she is obviously very confused about her feelings at the moment.

Spoiler: Samantha does happen to see Peniel a little differently after her dream despite his shy and quiet demeanor. (Just because I wrote this as a spoiler doesn't exactly mean I plan on including it in the next chapter. This is still a work in progress) Enjoy! I'll be going to bed now. G'night!