His heart had been testing limits since she’d vanished, evanescing like boiling water evaporating without a trace. 

Eyes flicker at the fluorescent rays peering through brocaded curtains, an incoherent groan and mumble departing from dried lips as he scrunches his nose together, turning over to see her. He manages to open heavy eyelids, leaning his body to take in the sight of Park Chaeyoung clad in a tight business dress, on her knees as she places a warm wash cloth over his sweaty forehead. It’s an impossible feat to censor the tender smile that wears across his lips. 

“Chaeyoung?” 

His voice is barely a whisper, fingertips weakly reaching for her arm only for her to pull away, getting up to take a couple of steps away as though she were too cautious to make further contact with him. Perhaps, he feels a little bit of satisfaction knowing how contradictory the words that hissed from her lips the previous night. She still cared and he knows, it’s something more than just her nature. He frowns, eyebrows clashing as he wipes his eyes with the back of his palms sluggishly before removing the warm washcloth from his forehead. She extends a brief gaze of concern, before averting her eyes away, taking a couple of breaths in before she begins walking out the door of the hotel room. 

“Why are you here,” he manages to cough out before she could disappear from his sight, slowly elevating his body up against the headboard. 

“Because you’re a sloppy drunk and I didn’t want to deal with the latest scandal on my first day of work,” she quickly adds, turning her eyes are she carefully looks to him, “… please don’t misunderstand. You threw up on my dress and I lugged you to my hotel room to protect my company, nothing more.”

“Not that,” he interrupts, “… why did you come back? You said you’d take over within the next two to three years and it’s nowhere near that time.”

He could see the pain in her eyes at his question, which she chooses strategically to ignore.

“I’ve got to get going, they’re announcing my appointment as CEO today. There’s water and medicine on your bed side table, drink it and wash up. I’ll organise a car to wait by the lobby, just text your manager when you’re ready—”

“What’s wrong,” he knows better, “… did something happen?” 

“Just worry about yourself, Kim Taehyung.”

***