(NCT 127 - Road Trip)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7yRV4mhFGo

Pain shot through ShinAe's head and she jolted up. Clutching her head, she winced at the aching pain, *What the hell happened?* She clenched her jaw and looked around the room. There on the bedside drawer was a bottle of water. Snatching it, she hurriedly took a large gulp. Feeling the liquid travel down , she let out a contented sigh. Resting back onto the bed, ShinAe stared up at the ceiling. the small droplets of water sitting on her lower lip, she concentrated on recalling what happened the previous night.

*What did I do? How much did I-*

"You probably pieced it together, Jaehyun. Kai...he cheated on me with Yoojung".

"That's when he realised we were over. I didn't need to tell him. My absence was loud enough for him"

Jaehyun reached out and cupped her cheek. 

"..Just because you saw the good in people, doesn't mean you're naive or stupid. Doesn't mean your judgement is wrong. It showed what a big heart you have.
 

Snippets of yesterday returned to her. Gasping, ShinAe slapped a hand over . "No way, I told-" The bed shifted next to her and she froze. Slowly turning her head to the side, her eyes went to Jaehyun who was sleeping peacefully next to her. He snuggled into the pillow and pulled the blanket closer to his body. ShinAe was suddenly hit with a foul smell. Lowering her nose to her shirt, she caught a whiff of the alcohol that broiled horridly over the night; it made her want to throw up. Looking down at her clothes, the familar black jeans and fitted cardigan reminded her that she was still wearing yesterday's outfit. "Oh my God." ShinAe hissed at herself. She was mortified.

ShinAe couldn't believe what transpired the night before. From her excessive drinking to the heartfelt retelling of her past. Her right hand came to her lips and she nibbled her nails anxiously. Did she really just bare her heart to him? drunk?! To the one man she told herself to keep away? She wanted to bury herself underground and never face him, but she couldn't. It was inevitable. ShinAe was going to face him sooner or later. It could be the next minute or the next hour. She could not avoid it.

Imagining the moment had ShinAe scrambling off the bed and sprinting to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind her and leaning against the door, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was dishelved and it honestly looked like a bird's nest. Her clothes were creased and had specs of sand dispersed on random areas. *Okay, I got a bit drunk. I shared a bit too much but besides that chaos. How did I get back ?* She wondered again trying to recall what happened.

ShinAe stirred in her sleep. Her eyelids lifted slightly and she realised she was dangling off someone. Turning her head, she caught a glimspe of a familiar set of pink lips which were pursed together in concentration,*Jaehyun?* He tapped the room key and pushed the door open. *Why am I on Jaehyun's back?* She wondered, but did not have the energy to vocalise it. Not being able to stay awake, her eyes drooped shut. Without realising it, she nuzzled herself into the warmth that was his nape.

ShinAe's cheek flared up and she slapped her hands onto her face. She wanted to scream at the top of her lung, but she didn't want to wake Jaehyun up. *Why did I drink so much?*

Frantically, she rushed to the shower and turned it on. Slipping her clothes off, she stepped in and began to wash up. In the shower, ShinAe aggressively washed her face with the water, hoping that it would wash away her embarrassment, as well as the memories of her recklessness. What was she going to do when Jaehyun wakes up? Face him? She was dreading it. Coming out of the shower and wrapping the towel around her body, her heart pulsed loudly and dropped to her stomach.

ShinAe didn't bring a clean set of clothes to change into.

Knocking a fist softly on her forehead, she scolded herself quietly, "Stupid ShinAe. Idiot ShinAe." Then she remembered the set of pyjamas provided by the hotel. Holding onto the door, ShinAe was about step out of the bathroom when she felt a gush of air sweep across her upper chest. She gazed down at herself - somewhat and one layer away from being completely bare if something went wrong. ShinAe's hand tucked the towel around her tighter. *I'll be quick. He's probably asleep. I'll grab it. Run back in. Get dressed. Then I'll sort something out about getting clean clothes for the day.*

Taking a deep breath, she cracked the door open and poked her head out. Her eyes dropped on the figure sleeping in the bed. *Yep, still sleeping. Good.* Sliding her body out, she turned to the wardrobe that was next to the front door. Swinging the door open, ShinAe searched the shelves for pyjamas.

"Where is it? Where did I leave the damn pajamas?" She quietly questioned herself. She moved slippers and hangers around. She even opened the safe. Exhaling in frustration, ShinAe shut the door and turned to the side. She was about to take a step but she couldn't. Her body was frozen from the sight before her. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers and a tiny gasp escaped her lips. Goosebump s its way through every crevice of her body and she gulped feeling her heart pound in her chest. Jaehyun was standing next to the bathroom door. He had one hand in his pocket and the other ruffling his hair. He then rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying to recover from his sleep. He hadn't noticed her. Yet.

Jaehyun blinked the sleepiness away and felt a presence before him. Raising his head, he halted in his place. He heaved a heavy breath out of his lungs, *.* Jaehyun felt his heart beat in his chest, to his ears and down the area between his legs. Without realising it, Jaehyun's eyes travelled from her face and down the length of her body. Blood rushed to his face and his mouth went dry. ShinAe was standing there with only a towel wrapped around her. Her skin had a light sheen from her shower. Her hair was still damp and droplets of water from her hair, dripped along the side of her neck. Jaehyun gulped as he followed a water drop travel from the side of her neck down to her cleavage.

Alluring would be an understatement to describe her.

"Um..M-morning?" ShinAe tried to greet him but it sounded more like a question.

Her voice snapped him from his daze and he lifted his head to look at her in the eyes. "M-M-Morning." Jaehyun stuttered. He could feel sweat develop in the back of his neck and his hands became clammy.

ShinAe steered away from their eye contact and awkwardly stared at the cupboard beside her. "I..I was looking for the pyjamas. M-my clothes from yesterday were dirty."

Jaehyun brought a fist to his mouth and faked a cough. "I..um...I bought you some clothes. They're in the ...um.." He looked down at his feet and rocked himself on his heel. "..the bag there." He pointed to the bag near here.

"Oh really? Thanks." ShinAe immediately ducked down to grab the bag and straightened up. She hurriedly strided to the bathroom but had to stop infront of Jaehyun because he was in the way. Stealing a quick glance at Jaehyun who was plastered to his place, she pointed to the bathroom door. "I just ..need to get through." She uttered softly.

Jaehyun took a step back, feeling embarrassed. "Oh yes, yes! I'm s-sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck and spun around to face the bed instead.

ShinAe entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her. The bag fell out of her hand and plopped onto the ground. Pressing her back against the door, she placed her hand over her pounding heart. ShinAe saw it. She saw how his eyes ran up and down her, but the strange thing - she didn't hate it. Goodness, she liked it. ShinAe's hands came up and rufffled her hair messily, *What's wrong with you, ShinAe?* Crouching on the floor, she rubbed her face with her hands. ShinAe felt like a damn fool for being more aroused by the situation than embarrassed. *Forget about it. Just change into your clothes. It's nothing. Pretend it was nothing.* ShinAe removed her hand from her face and opened the bag. Pulling out the sweater and pants, she held it against herself. *He bought me clothes.* It was a small gesture but it was thoughtful. He noticed the small things and it made ShinAe's heart melt.

Dressing herself and drying her hair, she turned to leave. Stopping at the door, she held onto the door handle. It was happening. She was going to face him properly after what happened yesterday. Taking a deep breath, ShinAe opened the door and stepped out. Jaehyun was sitting on the side of the bed and calmly scrolling through his phone. Well, pretending to be calm. He heard her come out of the bathroom and he lifted his head, and straightened up. His heartbeat quickened. ShinAe was wearing the clothes he bought for her. She looked beautiful, like always. ShinAe approached him and he put his phone away. She stopped a few steps away from him and he had to tilt his head to look up at her.

ShinAe gulped and fiddle with the hem of her top. "I'm sorry for last night. I..I just-"

"ShinAe." He cut her off by calling her name. "You don't need to apologise. You don't need to apologise for speaking up about your feelings." He reassured her. It was true though. She did not need to apologise for speaking up about her struggles. Jaehyun was willingly to be her outlet for the end of time, if she allowed him. He will always be there for her.

"But I drank too much and passed out." She retorted with heated cheeks.

"And?", "And I should not have done that. It's not fair to you." ShinAe argued.

Shaking his head with a small smile, Jaehyun grabbed onto one of her hands. "Honestly ShinAe, it was nothing. Don't apologise. I'm starting to feel bad." With his other hand, he patted the top of her's.

Giving in, she murmured her grattiude. "Thank you." ShinAe thought it would be a lot harder but seeing those set of eyes, ShinAe felt the weight of worry lift off her. How was there so much warmth and sweetness in a simple stare? And his touch, good lord his touch made her tingle. ShinAe shuddered a breath and lowered her eyes from his to the sweater. "I'll pay you back for these." She pinched the material with her other hand.

Jaehyun softly smiled at her and shook his head. "It's okay, ShinAe. No need."

"No, you've done so much for me. I need to pay you back. I owe you." ShinAe whined in protest.

Jaehyun stood up from the bed, making ShinAe step back to give him room. Jaehyun stared longingly at her for a few seconds. He leaned forward and brought his face close to her's. "ShinAe, you don't need pay back anything. You don't owe me anything." Jaehyun paused for a moment, taking in her features like he was seeing her for the first time again. The sight of her pierced his heart and filled it with a sensation so good but so painful at the same time. Jaehyun would never get tired of looking at her. His eyes dropped to her lips and he exhaled a breath when temptation urged him to kiss her. Jaehyun straighted up and released her hand. He stepped to the side and picked up the bag on the floor next to the bed.

Hearing the door click shut, ShinAe brought a hand up to her face. It felt incredibly warm in the room.

-    -    -    -

Jaehyun turned to the mirror and his calm expression changed. He planted his hand on the bathroom counter and intensely gazed at his reflection. *, what was wrong with me? I keep wanting to kiss her.*

As ShinAe entered into the bathroom with the bag of clothes. Jaehyun slumped onto the bed face first. He noticed it. He caught himself checking her out. He was looking her up and down, and staring at her like he has never seen a woman before. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he hugged the pillow against him. What made him despised himself the most was the fact that the only thing that crossed his mind when he saw her, was he wanted to kiss her silly and press her barely covered body against his. Pushing the pillow back on the bed, he grabbed his phone from the bedside table. Jaehyun tried to distract himself by going through his dry phone.

Changing into a clean set of clothes, Jaehyun palmed his abdomen feeling a grumble emit. All he had was tteokboki and kimbap yesterday. If he was this hungry, ShinAe was probably just as hungry. Sliding the door open, Jaehyun asked ShinAe "Do you want to go get breakfast, ShinAe?"

ShinAe was on the phone with Eunhee. When Jaehyun suddenly spoke, ShinAe almost dropped her phone. Clutching onto it, she pressed it against her ear. "I'll talk to you when I'm home." ShinAe was about to hang up but Eunhee stopped her. "Oh my god! Who are you with? ShinAe..did you sleep with someone? OH MY, DID YOU HAVE A ONE NIGHT STAND?!" Eunhee shrieked on the