(Taemin)

Finally, after eating, it’s time to take some good rest. We have two weeks to go places here in Rio so right now, the best thing to do is to sleep since it’s really a tiring 24-hour trip.

I look at the two doors in front of me. They are the bedrooms. We already saw the bigger one, the room on the left, since it’s where Nelson took all our luggage when we arrived. I decide that I should just give that room to her and take the smaller one. It won’t matter anyway. I think it’s still as comfortable as the bigger room.

She quickly finishes washing the dishes and finally joins me in the master’s bedroom. I’m about to take my bags. “I’ll just have the other room. You can stay here.” She nods though she doesn’t say a thing so without further conversation, I leave the room and proceed outside.

However, as I’m about to open the door, I realize it’s still locked. “What the…” I take some more tries to twist the knob open, but it doesn’t work. From the other room, Rae In peaks, “I didn’t know this is still locked. Did he give you the keys?” I ask her.

“Yes. It’s here, wait a minute.” She disappears and comes back after few seconds bringing with her a set of keys Nelson gave her.

There are more than 20 keys and I don’t know which one is the right thing. Consuming the rest of my patience, I just try each of them to see which fits. She stands behind me, watching as I struggle to change from one key to another as I can’t seem to find the right one. “Gotcha.” Funny, it’s the last key that fits. The door opens and I’m done with the ty metals. I hand it back to her.

“You look like you’d die if you don’t open that room.” She speaks and I’m curious at the kind of tone she uses.

“Well, where would I sleep if it’s not here?”

She looks back at me, not even blinking. She looks like she’s studying my reaction, my expression. I tilt my head a bit, distracting her unbroken gaze. “There.” Rae In utters and strikes a glance towards her room.

Is she telling me I should just sleep there? With her? Together?

I initially thought she’d want a separate room for herself, so I volunteer to take the other one. But if it’s okay with her that we sleep together here as well then, with all my pleasure I’ll say that I’m very okay with it.

“Fine. I guess you don’t want to sleep with me.” She shrugs herself and turns to go back to her room.

“Wait, Rae In, I-“

And she shuts her door closed.

Song Rae In, don’t you know no other woman has closed her door on me? They open it widely for me to come, and it’s not only the door that they spread widely, but you are just so brave to shut me off by slamming the door while I’m trying to say something.

I’m just about to say that I was just thinking about her. She had no choice but to occupy my room back in our house because Dannie would think it’s weird if we sleep separately. But now that we’re by ourselves and there’s no one to actually guard us, despite her claim that she’ll help me open up my heart and do all this sort of controlling me, I thought maybe she’d want some privacy for herself, too. After all, she’s still not the typical type of girl I know.

But again, it all lands down to the fact that she’s unpredictable. I’m wrong to predict she’ll like the idea. I’m wrong to assume about it.

Should I knock? Should I apologize for offending her? Should I ask to just sleep together? But what if she hates me now? What if she slams the door back again?

But then again, she’s unpredictable.

Without thinking, I just do whatever I want to do: knock and say what I should say.

She opens it right away. “I’m sorry.” I utter.

“You know I like you.” She confesses, and my eyes just have to get bigger than usual. I’m always surprise with sudden words like these. “And after hearing your thoughts that night, I started to believe that you like me, too. I don’t know how much, but I believe it’s kinda the same way as how I look at you.” Rae In speaks calmly, as if she’s negotiating for something. “Honestly, it’s not just because you ask me to help you that I’m doing this. Actually, I don’t want to regret not trying. I’m afraid to get hurt, yes, but I’m afraid to let you slip away as well.”

Her words are mind blowing. It should be me saying this. I can’t speak.

“I don’t know if I’m giving myself too much, or if you’re starting to look at me as an easy girl. Maybe you started to realize that I’m like the other girls you’ve dated.” She swallows, and then lets out an embarrassed chuckle, “Well, not as physically attractive, though, but maybe the same mentality. Maybe I hated those girls because I’m just like them. Maybe in time, you’ll get tired of liking me because you’ll realize that there’s nothing special about me, that I’m just the same desperate type of woman who would want to date you. But really, just let me try.” She says, her tears about to fall down her face. It hurts me, but makes me happy at the same time.

“Rae In-ah…”

“I want to be stronger and be able to control you, but I don’t think I can do that. Right now, the bravest thing I could do is this… to confess, and tell you what I really feel.”

That’s actually the bravest thing in the world, Song Rae In: to be able to speak your mind and your heart. I always admire you for that.

She has some magic. Those words were like the set of keys I’ve waited long enough for my heart to open. Before her tears fall, I pull her gently for a hug. She lands in my arms and I embrace her a bit tightly, but still giving her room to breathe.

“Am I your first love then?” I don’t really know what to say. All the words I want to tell her are stuck in my throat.

“You want me to get more embarrassed.” She said while she’s in my arms. I chuckle. “Yes, if that’s what you want to hear.”

“People normally fall in love during teenage years.”

“I was busy hating my first love during that time.” I laugh. She’s referring to me. “Have you had your first love during your teenage years, then?” She lifts her head a bit to meet my eyes. I shook my head.

“I was busy hating on her, too.” I say in which she smiles.

“And you were busy looking at other girls, making them cry.”

“Because I wanted to make girls cry, but I don’t want to do that to the one I’ll love.” I sigh, wipe the remaining tears on her cheeks slowly. “But I made her cry.”

“Do you want me to get big curls?” Suddenly, we switch to a whole new topic which has me stopping for a while. I look at her in amusement and when I realize she’s serious about it, I burst out laughing. Rae In laughs along with me after a while. “What’s with the big curls that you really like them?” She asks, and I laugh again. How did we get so random?

“Believe it or not, it’s just purely coincidence, or maybe it’s my subconscious.” I smile, wrap her around my arms again and kiss her forehead. She looks really adorable and sweet. This is another whole new side of her. “But you don’t need to get those curls. I love you more than your hair.”

“Ha!” She gasps and points at me with her index finger, like she’s really surprise. “You said it! You said you love me!” Her smile widens even more and she almost jumps at me in happiness. It’s overwhelming that I just laugh. “You said you love me in front of me!” For once, she suddenly sounds like how Dannie would be when she’s really happy.

Then she suddenly yawns, and I chuckle because she yawns in front of me.

When you finally admit that you love the person, does it make the person you love appear cuter? Because suddenly, she looks different. She looks very cute, and adorable, and lovely. Not that she’s not like that before, I think she just got a bit more showy and loose of what she feels.

And she’s not intimidating now, she’s not also someone I want to control. Suddenly, Rae In becomes someone I want to take care of, to treasure, and to love fully. It’s crazy that I can think of these cheesy things in my head, but really, that’s what I want to do right now.

Her smiles melt the ice in my heart, and I’m curious if this feeling can grow even deeper than this. “How about we catch some sleep now?” I say and she nods immediately, remembering that she’s actually tired.

“Can we just take a nap and then have a walk later? I really want to go to the seaside.”

“Sure, now why don’t you go to bed first, I’ll just get my things I left outside.” She nods sleepily and I release her from the hug so she could walk back inside.

When I return in the room with my bags, she’s already lying comfortably on the bed, sleeping soundly. She probably dozed off the moment she felt the smooth fabric. I slowly lie beside her and make sure she won’t wake up, but as if she’s aware of me, she pulls herself closer so I could hug her.