Chapter Eight

With her knees tucked under her chin, Naeun glanced towards the doorway. It had been almost twenty minutes since they ended the call, yet Taemin was yet to arrive. She wondered if he had somehow forgotten where she lives. 

'Should I text him?' she pondered, moving her gaze to her phone, which lit up when she raised it to her face. She had turned its flashlight feature off, intending to conserve battery. This left her sitting in the dark.

She wasn't afraid of the dark. Still, the experience wasn't pleasant, especially for someone so used to the convenience of the lights, including the comfort and brightness they bring. 

A minute later, the doorbell rang, its sound breaking the stillness of the room. 

Eager to flee from the darkness, Naeun scrambled to open the door. 'What took you so long?' she wanted to ask. However, the words never managed to escape her lips. 

"Hi!" Taemin, who was wearing an all-black shirt paired with sweats of the same color, greeted. His observant eyes ostensibly searched her face for any signs of distress. "The elevators were down, so I had to take the stairs," he added, explaining why it took him a while to get there. He was holding a paper bag, which she assumed carried the candles. On his other hand was a flashlight. 

"Hey," she managed to say, giving him a small smile. Then she stepped back to usher him in. “Come in,” she invited. 

“I hope this doesn’t happen very often,” she said lightly, walking them to the living area as Taemin illuminated their way using the flashlight. 

“Don’t worry. This is the second time this has happened,” Taemin assured as he put down the bag on top of the center table. He then started taking the candles out from the brown bag. “Sorry, I only have scented ones.”

An amused look crossed her face. “I didn’t know you were into scented candles,” she commented in a teasing tone. 

After setting the last candle on the table, Taemin turned to face her and gave her a playful look. “I especially like to use them when I’m soaking in the bathtub, along with rose petals and essential oils,” he said humorously and winked.

Naeun obviously knew it was a joke. Nonetheless, an image of Taemin leaning casually in a bathtub, his wet hair slicked back, flashed in her mind. 

Shocked, Naeun blinked several times before shaking her head to get the sinful image off her head. ‘Ya...Son Naeun, what was that?’ she silently berated herself. She didn’t know her mind could be this imaginative. 

Due to her lack of response, Taemin directed the flashlight at her. “You okay?”

“Uh-huh. I’m fine!” Naeun replied, her pitch slightly higher than usual. 

While she forced herself to gather her wits, she saw how Taemin frowned as he stared at her. Then he directed the light down her body, his eyes taking in every inch of the uncovered darkness, scrutinizing whatever was unveiled. It was as if he was curious about something. She watched how his expression quickly changed from inquiry to surprise before the light suddenly went off. 

Naeun stilled. “What happened?” she promptly asked. “Did it run out of battery?”

“No. I-I…” He sounded hesitant. “I turned it off.”

“Huh?” Naeun’s brows knotted. “You turned it off? Why?”

He was silent for a few seconds before he gave her a reply. “Just...just because.” 

‘Just...because?’ She repeated, puzzled. Taemin was not making any sense. 

Recalling how his expression changed, she wondered what he saw that might have surprised him. Enough to cause him to turn off the light and react that way. 

“Turn on the light,” she demanded. “Stop being silly.”

Naeun heard him let out an audible breath before he spoke. “Okay, fine,” he grumbled.

Coincidentally, as soon as he turned the light on, directing it to the side this time, a thought crossed her mind. And it was something which caused her thoughts to go almost haywire. 

‘Oh no, my clothes!’ her mind shrieked, her hands immediately moving to touch what she had on, confirming her speculation. 

It was then that she remembered she was wearing a low cut satin nightdress that reached midway above her knees. It was black, which was probably why Taemin didn’t notice earlier. 

Just then, another wave of awareness hit her. This time, it was more shocking than the first. ‘Oh, no. For goodness’ sake, I’m not wearing a bra!’ She immediately crossed her arms in an attempt to cover her chest. 

It all makes sense now—the sudden change of his expression and why he suddenly turned the flashlight off. 

In panic and embarrassment, she snatched the flashlight from Taemin. “Let me borrow this real qui