When Taeil had taken out the managers for dinner right after reaching the hotel, Taeyong had been too tired to even see the amount of winking and nudging that was going on between the members of “Jaeyong Drama Resolution” club. When Winwin suddenly started sneezing and begged Taeyong to get him some meds for his allergies, he had wanted to say that he had no idea about the shops here and seeing that Yuta was the local here, shouldn’t he…but looking at Winwin who was in what appeared to be huge discomfort and a worried Yuta clinging to his arm, Taeyong decided to go buy the meds without even having set foot in his hotel room.

It was when he returned and was told through the door that Winwin was asleep and Yuta wasn’t opening the door because there are ghosts around, hyung, that Taeyong started to wonder if s were going crazy and whether he had been the victim of a prank. He was on his way to getting well and truly upset when he knocked on his own hotel room only to be informed by Doyoung and Johnny that they had locked themselves in and wouldn’t open because there are ghosts, huge horrifying ghosts in the corridor and maybe this one just sounds like Taeyong?

“You little s, where am I supposed to stay?” Taeyong banged the door again.

“Just go to Taeil’s room,” Johnny had suggested.

This was how Taeyong found himself in the present room, except the bathrobe-clad figure in front of him was definitely not Taeil. It now dawned on him what the other members had planned and how easily he had been tricked.

Rubbing the back of his head that he had banged against the door when he had jumped back on seeing Jaehyun in the room, he ignored the way Jaehyun had looked up at the noise, towel still on his head and let out an, “Oh.”

Before Jaehyun could add anything to that oh Taeyong fished out his earphones and plugged them in, choosing to not indulge in an awkward conversation with this guy who obviously didn’t like him. He could imagine how the conversation would go. Jaehyun would coldly enquire what Taeyong was doing in his room. What would he reply to that? If he told him that he had been tricked by the other members would Jaehyun laugh at him? Worse still would Jaehyun believe him? What if he thought Taeyong was just using the opportunity to get close to him after the fight?

No, it was better to not have any conversation. It was just a matter of one night. He could handle that. Several phone games later, his phone’s battery was dying and he was forced to sneak a look at Jae.

Jaehyun was lying as far away from him as was possible on the double bed, his face lit up in the dark by the light from his phonescreen. He was texting someone, his expression changing from a frown to a slight smile as he typed back quickly and frequently.

Taeyong felt so far away from him and when he remembered just how close they used to be, sticking to each other’s side as Jaehyun would read aloud to him from whatever latest book he had picked up from the airport bookstands while he would complain that the narration was disturbing his game.

Who was he talking to? He felt disappointed at himself the second the thought floated in his mind. He switched off his phone and turned away, closing his eyes.

A very selfish part of him wished he had never met Jaehyun, wished he didn’t have a million confusing feelings for him, wished he didn’t look so soft and beautiful, wished he didn’t miss his loud laughter, wished he could be unbothered and smiling at his phone screen instead of playing farm games but mostly he wished Jae would say something, just anything.