Chapter 6:

Jaehyun gradually woke up from his nap to his dark, moon-lit bedroom. He groggily pulled his phone out from his back-pocket and checked the time, only to be astonished at how late it was.

“7:08???”

Jaehyun immediately jumped out of his bed and scurried outside his room to see what was going on in the rest of the apartment. He came out to a peaceful, dim living area, unoccupied and empty of people. He wondered if it was only a dream that the Princess came home with him. Right, it was only a dream, right? He thought to himself as he wiped his eyes. She’s not actually with me, right?

Jaehyun switched the lights for the kitchen on, illuminating the rest of the living area. Then he staggered over to the other bedroom, gently knocking first to see if anyone was actually in there. *knock, knock* No answer. He knocked a little louder. *knock, knock, knock* No answer.

Jaehyun’s sleepy self felt assured that no one was inside, so he swiftly opened the door to double check. As he entered the dull room, he was met with a shorter figure a couple seconds after he walked in. Sensing that there was someone blocking his path, he stopped. A few more seconds have passed and he could only sense warm breath, concentrating onto his chest. He felt for the light-switch somewhere on the wall beside the door and as the lights brightened up the room, he the two began to see clearly. Jisoo found herself staring up to the tall figure, only inches away from his broad chest, taking steady breathes. Jaehyun looked down to the smaller person, arching his neck downwards to see her face. Only a few inches separated the two faces from meeting. A short pause between the two had allowed each other to study each other’s stunning features. Jisoo was the first hitch her breath and step away from Jaehyun.

“U-Uhh-Umm…” She let out awkwardly as she tried to break the intense atmosphere.

Jaehyun, then, realized that this wasn’t dreamland anymore and cleared his throat. “Umm…”

Scratching the back of his head and swiping his hair back, he interposed, “I-It seems we both slept for a quite a while-- 10 hours, actually. It’s already 7 p.m.”

“Oh…” Jisoo timidly responded while hiding her flowing hair behind her ears.

“Let’s go get dinner,” Jaehyun offered with a slight grin, “I’ll go get my stuff and we should head out together.”

Jisoo beamed and agreed to do just that. Shortly, Jaehyun left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving her to get ready.

Jisoo recalled the close-look of Jaehyun’s handsome, young face from just a moment ago. She was left daydreaming about it until she heard his door close from the outside, snapping her back to reality. Quickly, she gathered all of the things she needed, including her envelope of money, phone, and ID,and stuffed it in her hoodie pocket before hurrying out the door.

~

The two of them decided to leave the car in the parking garage and simply find a dinner place as they walked through the neighborhood.

“I figured this would be a better way of getting you accustomed to the neighborhood.” Jaehyun explained as they walked side by side. “And I’m sorry for earlier.”

Jisoo glanced up at him in confusion, “Sorry? What for?”

“I should get to know you first, before I get annoyed at you for abruptly welcoming yourself into my life.”

“No, it was my fault. I tricked--”

“No, Jisoo. I’m glad I’m able to help you. It must’ve been hard being held hostage, although you lived in a castle. I’m glad I’ll be helping find a new life for yourself.” He explained as they kept walking. Jisoo paused to smile to herself after hearing his comforting words. “I guess I just slept on it,” Jaehyun continued, “I was just angry that I wasn’t informed of this ahead of time. I maybe would have prepared a bit more extensively.”