Chapter 27

Everyone had left for rehearsals. The groups did not exactly need Samantha so they allowed her to relax. She was anything but relaxed. Dongwoon and Ailee could not leave her alone without assuming she would see him. They were like her parents but worst. Her parents allowed her to go out as long as she checked in with them. “I’m 22 years old,” Samantha told herself. “I believe I’m old enough to make my own decisions. That means I can go out and do as I please. It shouldn’t matter who I’m meeting.” No one could stop her, not even Ailee and Dongwoon. Time was running out and this was her only chance.

She waited until the coast was clear before finally sneaking off. This was supposed to be an exciting trip, she was happy to know that the Wave Concert was here. All she wanted was to see Jeremy again. They both left off on a bad note before she decided to talk to him again. However, the communication has been lacking for the past few days and Samantha had started to grow worried. Since everyone was off on their schedules, Samantha would use this opportunity to find him. The others would not notice she was gone.

He had announced on his Facebook that he was at a fight with his friend, Ben. He had made the mistake of checking in at his location so it was easier to find him. She knew she was being a stalker but this was her only chance. She needed to take advantage of this before it’s too late. Prior to sneaking away from the hotel, she decided to look nice for him. Even though she worked in the industry with idols, knowing they deal with beautiful people anyways, Samantha didn’t care much for looking nice unless it was a special occasion. This occasion, however, was special to her. She applied a bit of make-up, did her hair (she curled it), and wore the orange dress she bought when she was out with Peniel, Ilhoon, and Sungjae. This was the perfect time to wear it since the weather was nice and the sun shone. Maybe, she thought, he’ll notice the effort she was making for him.

Samantha looked around hoping no one would see her but as she turned to finally leave, she came face to face with a suspicious Peniel. Crap. She thought.

Despite his anger with her, he still worried about her. Narrowing his eyes, he asked with a tone of suspicion. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Good thing it was him and not Dongwoon or Ailee. “I’m going sightseeing and probably grabbing something to eat by the beach,” Samantha grew uneasy.

“Looking like that?” He turned his attention to her outfit. She looked beautiful, he thought, but immediately snapped out of his reverie. “For someone going sightseeing, you sure are dressed up for the occasion. You barely look like that when you’re with us. Seriously, it’s just sightseeing, Sam, unless you’re meeting someone…”

The older girl swallowed hard. “So?” she looked up trying her best to appear brave. “So what if I’m meeting someone? I can meet whoever I want, there’s no rule against it.”

He stepped forward causing the petite girl to step back. Leaning forward inching towards her face, he spoke, “Is this particular person, Jeremy, by any chance?”

She swallowed hard then looked away, “Maybe…”

He sighed, knowingly. It wasn’t anything new to her. Every time she mentioned Jeremy, Peniel was always annoyed. What he said next took Samantha by surprise. “I’m coming with you.”

Her eyes widened. “WHAT?!” she exclaimed. “NO! You are not coming with me. I won’t let you. This is my situation and I would rather handle it myself than bring you into it. And besides, I don’t wanna get you in trouble. Your managers and the guys would kill me if they find you gone…”

“I’ll make up an excuse,” he persisted. “They’ll understand.”

“I can’t,” she hesitated.

“Well, I don’t want you to get hurt,” he insisted. “You have no idea how much it hurts me to see you defend someone who’s hurting you.”

Immediately, she spoke up. “He didn’t hurt me—“ she stopped herself before admitting defeat. “Okay, you’re right. He may have hurt me a little but still…”

“That’s why I’m going with you,” he continued.

“No—“

“If you make me stay, I won’t hesitate to tell Dongwoon or Ailee,” he challenged her.

She swallowed hard. If both of them knew, they would be stressed and upset which would affect their performances and Samantha did not want that. She would blame herself if something went wrong. Worst of all, they’d have her head on a platter and no one could save her now. After a long moment of thought, Samantha decided to comply with his wish. “Alright, fine. Let’s go,” she sighed as they left together.

Little did they know, Jihoon opened the door to his room and peered down the hallway as they left. He had heard Samantha and Peniel’s entire conversation. Soon, he would become conflicted as to whether to let the others know or not. He did not want to be the instigator in her situation. She hurt him but he realized he could not stay upset with her for long. Samantha was still his friend and he did not want her to get hurt. He had to tell Ailee and Dongwoon. “Ailee?” he said into his phone. “There’s something you should know. I’m gonna need you to get a hold of Dongwoon too.”

Soon, Dongwoon and Ailee met up with Jihoon in the lobby. “Do you know where they went?” Dongwoon asked as he was trying to catch his breath.

“I don’t know for sure,” Jihoon sighed. “I just know that she went to see him and Peniel went with her.”

“Where could she have possibly gone?” Dongwoon asked as he paced back and forth. “Do you have any idea?” he turned to Ailee.

Ailee, on the other hand, was deep in thought as to where Samantha’s whereabouts were. “I’m trying to think as it is,” she replied as she called Samantha’s cell phone. It kept going to voicemail which irritated Ailee to pieces. “She said something about some boxing match not too long ago.” She finally said remembering a conversation she had with Samantha a while ago at the café.

“That’s right!” Dongwoon exclaimed taking out his phone and searching all the possible events going on in Bangkok at that moment.

“I’ll call us a cab,” Jihoon announced as he took out his phone and dialed.

A/N: Another boring update. Sorry for the disappointment. The next update will get better and I am starting it at the moment. Enjoy!