“God, I hate plane rides,” Krystal groans, rubbing the back of her neck. “They make me so sore.”

Luna cracks her neck. “Tell me about it. Hey, Sojin, how was the plane ride with Kai? He didn’t mess with you or anything, right?”

“Oh, well, he did at first, but then I went to sleep. So I didn’t really notice after that.”

“Why’s your face all red?” Amber observes.

“Oh, well, it’s just really hot here in Guam!” I fan myself with my boarding pass. “It’s about 12 degrees Fahrenheit hotter in Guam than in Seoul, I believe. Therefore my body has been placed under strain attempting to adjust to these conditions.”

“Yeah, she’s hiding something,” Luna whispers in Victoria’s ear.

I shake my head rapidly, trying to clear my brain. What is wrong with me?!

“Hey, do you guys know when we’ll arrive at our hotel?” I ask, trying to change the topic. “It feels like we’ve been sitting in this bus for a while.”

Sulli nods in agreement. “Yeah, where-,”

And her jaw drops.

“What?” I ask, and twist around.

And my jaw drops as well.

A soaring white hotel, lit by glowing lights, stands in front of us. Lush gardens of colorful, exotic flowers grow in front of the hotel, and an enormous fountain spits multicolored arcs of water into the sky. The smell of seawater wafts into our noses; the ocean must be only a mile or two away.

The resort looks absolutely stunning; and it’s night time right now. It must be breathtaking in the morning.

“Everyone come get your room assignments!” Mrs. Han announces as we all bustle into the hotel lobby. My friends and I hurry over and stand in line for our rooms.

“Park Sojin, Park Sojin...,” Mrs. Han runs her finger down the list and traces it over to my room. “You’ll be in the Presidential Suite, you lucky girl! Here’s your key.”

“Nice.” I smile. Wow, CEO Kim was really generous. “Will I be rooming with anyone, Mrs. Han?”

“Let’s see.” She scans the list again, and then blanches. “Oh no. Hang on. We have a mistake here. Assistant Principal Choi!”

“Oooh,” the students in the line chants, vicious grins on their faces. “Sojin’s in trooouuble.”

“What’s going on?” Victoria whispers in my ear, anxious.

Assistant Principal Choi strides over to us, takes a look at the list, and gasps. “Wha- how did this happen?!”

“How did what happen?” I ask.

“Kim Kai!” Assistant Principal Choi calls, and my stomach clenches. What does Kai have to do with this? “Follow me, you two,” the Assistant Principal commands, and leads us both to the corner of the lobby.

“We have a bit of a situation.” The Assistant Principal bites her lip. “I am so, so sorry, Kai, but the teacher making room assignments must have gotten confused when she saw that your parents were paying for both of your trips. I don’t know how I can make amends to this- this is honestly such a disaster-,”

“Just spit it out,” I snap.

Assistant Principal Choi rubs the back of her neck. “You two have been placed in the same room together. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to change this, because Mr. Kim paid the same amount for both of you: each enough for the Presidential Suite. We have no other suites open, either.”

I stare at AP Choi as the world collapses down on me in an apocalyptic manner.

“With all due respect, Assistant Principal,” I say tonelessly, trying not to betray my shocked emotions, “I believe this is-,”

“Miss Park, instead of complaining, you should be grateful you get to even attend this trip.” AP Choi sniffs. “But Kai, I promise we will compensate you for this. I am truly sorry.”

“Why? I’m fine with it.” Kai drawls, a content smirk appearing on his face. “In fact, I’m very pleased with this arrangement. Thank you.”

And he swaggers away, grabbing the room key as he leaves. “See you tonight, Sojin,” he winks.

“Sojin, what happened?” Chanyeol asks frantically as I walk back to Victoria, Krystal, Sulli, Luna, Amber and him in a daze. “Are you alright?”

“I’m rooming with Kai,” I rasp, my hands trembling. “And they won’t let me switch.”

Sulli claps her hands to in horror. “Oh my god!” she shrieks, causing everyone in the hotel lobby to look over at us. “I thought that a guy and girl rooming together was against school policy! How come they’re ignoring that now?”

“Kai was happy about it. And if Kai’s happy, they’ll do it.” I tell her miserably. “He’s going to make my life awful. I knew coming on this trip was a terrible idea.”

“Don’t worry, Sojin.” Amber tickles under my chin, causing me to crack a smile. “You can just hang out with us as late as you can, and then go back to your room. Kai’ll be asleep by then. And in the morning, get up really early. Boom! He doesn’t even see you!”

“That could work,” I speculate, scratching my head.  

“Wow, 26th floor, huh?” Chanyeol looks through the transparent windows of the elevator in awe, watching the beautiful island of Guam get smaller and smaller as we get higher and higher. “Your room will have a nice view, right?”

“I suppose,” I exhale, admiring the beautiful scenery. “To be honest, I’ve never been anywhere this nice. I’m going to try and enjoy as much as I can, because I know this kind of trip won’t happen again.”

“You never know.” Chanyeol smiles. “You might just go somewhere like this for your honeymoon.”

“That’ll imply that I’ll have a rich husband,” I giggle. “And judging by the way everyone hates me at this oh-so-wealthy school of ours, I don’t think I’ll have any luck in that department.”

“Not everyone hates you.”

The elevator dings, its screen reading 26. “We’re here!” he smiles.

The door to the Presidential Suite is right in front of the elevator door. “It looks like it’s the only room on this floor,” I observe in mild astonishment. “How big is it?”

“Behind this door lies a hidden world,” Chanyeol whispers in a mystical voice. “Its size is unknown, but confirmed to be bigger than Narnia and Hogwarts. Knock, Juliet,” he winks.

“Cheeseball,” I fake-cough, and both of us burst into laughter.

“Am not!” Chanyeol insists.

“Are too!”

The door flies open and a very pissy-looking Kim Kai glares at Chanyeol and I. “What are you doing here, Chanyeol?” he snarls. “This isn’t your floor.”

“I was just escorting Sojin to her room. No need to get your in a wad.” Chanyeol replies calmly. He exchanges glances with me, and I nod my head.

“Good night, Chanyeol.” I squeeze his hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Get inside,” Kai says in a low voice, and slams the door behind me.