Chapter Six

HYOYEON

The combination of the heat illuminating from the sun hit window and the sound of soft footsteps woke Hyoyeon from his slumber. He groaned at the sheer heat, he had forgotten how hot Korea could get in October. Hyoyeon untangled himself from his blanket and was thankful he wasn’t in flannelettes at all. The brightness from the morning sun started to burn. Hyoyeon placed a hand over his eyes allowing his sleepy eyes to adjust.

Once his eyes became accustomed to the brightness of the bedroom, he became aware of where exactly he had woken up. Hyoyeon looked around the room to find that it was the complete opposite to what he called home back in Boston. Instead of a large TV on the wall in front of him was a large scenic view of Seoul covered by curtains.

He had never really paid close attention to the window when he settled for bed last night. He stared at the ceiling and noticed that the room had its original ceiling panels and detailed plastered rose fixtures on the corners of the ceilings.

Hyoyeon sat up and started to feel the heat and humidity in the air. Before he knew it a storm would approach but it was Seoul and it was to be expected. He grabbed the corners of his flung blanket and made the bed out of habit. He slept with plenty of women but that didn’t mean he had to be a slob and not make his bed. Once he had finished setting the pillows to how they were positioned before, Hyoyeon walked over to the window and drew back the pale blue curtains.

As he removed his hands from the curtains Hyoyeon was mesmerised by the view.

In front of him was the city skyline, the city’s tall buildings stood in front of a crystal blue backing and the old oak trees that lined the street added to the beauty of his view. Hyoyeon could certainly get used to waking up to this every morning. And the view would be costing Taeyeon a lot in rent, nothing a university student could afford alone.

Hyoyeon’s mind clicked at the thought of Taeyeon. He was in her apartment, sleeping in her guest room and she was attractive.

I’m screwed!

He was speechless over her presence and that didn’t sit well with him. Having her so close made him want to put that one loose curl behind her ear but he had to control himself. His inner demons were not going to be set free. He wasn’t and shouldn’t be thinking about Taeyeon in that way.

He stood there staring out the window, his hands on the sill. After a few minutes, the warmth from the sun started to make it too hot for him. Hyoyeon’s throat was dry and he could feel small beads of sweat forming. He was planning to go to the gym, work on some weights and run a few kilometers on the treadmill but it was far too hot for that. He mentally noted the need to call his high school best friends to tell them of his arrival back in the country.

The sound of his stomach pulled Hyoyeon away from the beautiful morning view. It was his second day in Seoul, yesterday he made it through an uncomfortable meeting with Taeyeon and now he faced his first morning with her. The sounds of the soft footsteps alerted him that she too was awake. Hyoyeon thought back to last night when he told her that he was here to stay. She was shocked and irritated but that was because he wanted to see how far he could push her. She wasn’t too pleased that he was here but she seemed to accept the fact that he was.

He let out a small laugh as he remembered her running to the kitchen to deal with the burning pasta. How anyone could stuff up a simple dish like pasta baffled him. But watching her curse under her breath was too good of a moment to pass.

Hyoyeon liked the way she looked when she became flustered. And he definitely liked the way her cheeks started to turn pink when his eyes stole a glance at her lips. If he could he would, it was that simple.

The equation became harder when Hyoyeon actually remembered his purpose here in Seoul. Both Sooyoung and Wooyoung instructed that Taeyeon was hands off. It was the little things Taeyeon did like staring at the floor when she was nervous or the way her eyebrows creased when she was irritated that was too annoyingly adorable. It was only Taeyeon that could make it so attractive and that annoyed Hyoyeon to hell.

I couldn’t break the rules but maybe I could bend them ... No!

Taeyeon was the little girl that held Sooyoung’s hand when she first started primary school. She was the little girl that liked toucan birds and that same little girl that wore small bows in her hair until she was eight. Hyoyeon had to remind himself why he didn’t like her, he was possibly attracted to her looks but she lacked the personality. He would have to pass on Choi Taeyeon.

⌘

Hyoyeon opened the door of the guest room and looked out into the lounge. She wasn’t here but he had heard her, she was around. He walked over to the kitchen and opened the stainless steel fridge, he remembered his throat was dry and needed to quench the thirst that started to drive his body.

He grabbed a carton of orange juice and contemplated drinking it from the carton but he remembered that this wasn’t his orange juice. He looked around the kitchen, he wasn’t sure where a glass was, he wasn’t even sure if he was a