[Naeun pov]

She woke up due to the intense brightness, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Light was coming out of the large windows and the soft breeze blew the curtains gently. Still in a daze, she rubbed the linen and realized that this bed is far more comfortable than it usually is. Her eyes widen with realization that she was not in her own room. She looked at her clothes and was relieved that she was still clothed in yesterday’s dress. No one is sleeping beside her, the room seems to be terribly quiet. The silence intensified her hangover, she can feel a slight headache but it was tolerable.

She looked around the room and realized how surprisingly beautiful this room is. She glanced at the wall of books and trophies. Fiction and non-fiction, Taemin has read it all, these books were evidently loved. She pauses at a picture, a younger Taemin, 9 years old at least at a cathedral getting baptized. Next to it a certificate that states that his catholic name is Francesco.

Another thing in common, they were both catholic. Her catholic name, Marcella was given to her around the same time.

Interesting.

Across the room was a sofa facing away from her. She got out of bed and found her shoes right next to it. She approaches the sofa, praying that no one is on the other side.

Please please let it be no one.

As she approaches she closed her eyes trying to prepare herself for the worst. When she opened them, to her dismay she was met with a figure draped in a flannel blanket. Chest rising and falling, she couldn’t see the face of the owner. The figure then moved causing the flannel blanket to fall off his face. Lo and behold it had to be Lee Taemin.

He looked peaceful, not having any care in the world. As she focused more on his face she started to recall some of the memories that happened last night. Memories started flooding in, they played king’s cup, Krystal and Jongin were missing, she danced with Namjoo, he kept his word on not sharing the bed and then reality hit her, Her eyes bulged like saucers and she gasped aloud, “I asked Lee Taemin to have with me last night!”.

Her voice startled him and woke him up with a start.

“What happened?”, he said rubbing his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.

Naeun was in hysterics, she dropped to the floor and rested her head to the edge of the sofa. She was extremely embarrassed that she would ask him such a question. How can she even look at him normally again? How can she just ask him so nonchalantly? How can someone be so foolish? She grabbed her hair and tried to pull it out.

“Is it too late to move schools?”, she whined to herself. There is no way she can talk to him normally again, he would probably make fun of her until graduation. He didn’t even hesitate to reject her, how blunt of him.

“What are you talking about?”, Taemin asked groggily.

“Please don’t talk to me”, she said failing to meet his eyes.

“I’m not following”, he said, wearing a sleepy and confused look. 

Naeun lifted her head up, peering through the sofa, “You don’t remember?”, she asked with caution.

Taemin still groggy, stared blankly into space, trying to think about what happened. It took him a couple seconds for recognition to sink in to his face. He made small smile as he chuckled at a thought, he remembered.

“Don’t worry I didn’t think you were serious”, he smirked at her.  

Naeun grumbled at him, “This is so embarrassing, I’m going home”, as she tries to stand up and made her way to the door Taemin stops her.  

“Eunji is probably hungover, she drank a lot last night, she passed out cold on Kibum’s lap, the others are still passed out of their minds”, he told her.

Naeun can’t believe this, she has nowhere to go and is stuck here facing her embarrassing crimes.

“You know, I could take you, I’m not hungover, just sleepy”, he shrugged.

“No! I am not going to let you bask in my embarrassment in a 20 minute car ride”, she stopped him.  

“So, you don’t want to go home?”, he asked.

Naeun grumbled exasperatedly, she doesn't want to stay here any longer, “Why does it have to be you?”

Taemin gave a small sleepy laugh, and started to get up and dragged himself to the bathroom. Naeun’s gaze followed, he was in a loose white tshirt and grey sweats. As Taemin stretched, his tshirt rode up and gave her a peek at Taemin’s abs. This revelation made her look away, blushing at the thought.

Taemin took his time in the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up. He calls out to her, “Before we go can we eat first?”

Naeun slapped herself to get herself together, he’s just a guy, well a guy you just asked to have with, “Yeah, sure”

He got out with a small towel around his neck, face damp with a few wet strands of hair. He wore a pair of slippers and told her to follow him to the kitchen. If she were told to go look for the kitchen herself, she would have gotten lost in this maze of a house. They went through different hallways and doors that it’s hard to keep up.

“How do you get anywhere in this house? It’s like a maze”, she said in disbelief.

Taemin just shrugged, “Years of living in this house, you get used to it”

They made it to the kitchen, surprisingly it had a lived-in feel to it. Compared to the minimalist interior the rest of the house had, this was minimal yet cozy and homey in a way. Taemin opens the fridge and gets a container of something that looks like soup.

“My mom made kimchi jjigae yesterday, you want some?”, he asked.

Naeun was about to decline when her stomach started rumbling loudly.

“I’ll take that as a yes”, he chuckled. He grabs two bowls and ladles the stew into them. He puts them into the microwave and gets a bowl of rice.

“Do you cook?”, Naeun asked curiously.

“Not if my life depended on it, I tried but I’m hopeless”, he said light heartedly.

Naeun smiled at the thought, another thing in common.

“How about you, do you cook?”, he asked.

“I cook up a disaster, my mom won’t even let me touch a k