-CHAPTER XIV-

The next morning, Yong Hye decided that the best alarm clock for any human was waking up in a completely unfamiliar place.

Well, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar; it was the hotel room she had fallen asleep in—asleep that had come over her so fast that she couldn’t even remember getting in the bed.

Nevertheless, if someone, like Yong Hye, was expecting to wake up in their apartment, the alarm clock going off and their fiancé in the bed next to them, waking up in a hotel room, alone and in silence, the sun streaming through the windows, it could be quite the jolt.

In Yong Hye’s case, she had flung the comforter off of herself and was halfway out of the bed when the memories of the previous night came screaming back.

The call from Yonghwa.

The gang meeting.

Taecyeon.

Taecyeon.

Yong Hye had completely forgotten about him. He had said that he would sleep on the couch, but Yong Hye wasn’t sure she could trust him as much anymore because of last night. In fact, she had walked into the bedroom last night, closed and locked the door behind her, and was planning on staying awake as long as she could; just to make sure Taecyeon didn’t try anything. Obviously, Yong Hye’s body had had a different idea, and Yong Hye doubted she had even been awake in the bedroom for longer than a minute before she had slipped into unconsciousness.

She slipped out of the bed and tiptoed to the door, as though Taecyeon, if he really had stayed, could hear her moving in the bedroom and decide to scare—or even take advantage—of her.

She put her ear to the door, satisfied that she could see that it was still locked, and tried to hear if there was any movement in the hotel room.

She didn’t hear any, but waited a few seconds before opening the door anyway as she tried to come up with a plan of attack.

Eventually, she decided that it would be best if she just left, quickly and silently, without waking Taecyeon up.

She was still dressed in her clothes from yesterday, so she didn’t have to worry about changing and possibly making noise. She opened the door slowly, glancing around before stepping out of the bedroom, praying that the hardwood floor she was stepping on wouldn’t creak.

She glanced briefly at the couch as she passed it, and a multitude of emotions flowed through her when she saw Taecyeon draped across the couch on his stomach, feet hanging over the armrest, as he was much too tall for the couch, just as Yong Hye had suspected, his mouth open, and his arm was hanging off the edge, hand touching the floor.

As she looked at him, she was slightly scared, last night’s memories nagging her a little, as well as sad that he had to sleep in a place where he was obviously not comfortable. There was also happiness. She was happy that he had stayed, like he had said he would. The latter emotion confused her, as she had never been happy to see someone she was so afraid of. But Yong Hye was slowly learning that Taecyeon had that effect on her. She really couldn’t help but like him.

It was this thought that distracted her. At least until she got halfway out of the hotel room door. It was only then she remembered.

Her phone.

She had turned it off last night before she got to the café, afraid that it would go off while she had been conducting her investigation, and in all of the events following her being caught, she had forgotten to turn it back on. She had just tossed it on the bedside table before collapsing onto the bed herself.

And that was where she had left it.

Yong Hye groaned and turned back into the hotel room, moving a little less quietly than before, but still keeping the volume of her movements to the smallest possible.

She made it back into the bedroom and grabbed her phone, not bothering to turn it on just yet. She didn’t want the music it made during its start up to wake up Taecyeon. She was just slipping the phone into her pocket when a loud, female voice called, “Housekeeping!”

Yong Hye cringed. All that work trying to remain silent was wasted by that one, loud word. She heard a thud, and a sharp yelp from the housekeeper.

Yong Hye walked quickly to the bedroom door, and she saw just what she had been suspecting. Taecyeon, startled by the housekeeper’s cry, had woken with such a jolt that he had forgotten he was on a couch and had rolled over, and off, the couch. He was sitting upright on the floor now, rubbing the back of his head, the housekeeper, an older lady, fretting over him. Apparently, she hadn’t seen that anyone had been asleep on the couch when she had pushed open the hotel room that Yong Hye had forgotten to close.

“I’m so sorry,” she was saying. “Do you need ice? Food? Anything?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Taecyeon said, still rubbing his head, flashing her a smile. “Really. I’m sorry for startling you.”

The housekeeper smiled lightly, satisfied with both Taecyeon’s health and manners. “It’s quite alright,” she said. “I’m sorry for disturbing you. I’ll come back later in the afternoon to clean. When you aren’t asleep.”

“Afternoon?” Yong Hye asked involuntarily, making both Taecyeon and the housekeeper look at the bedroom door. Both of them looked surprised to see Yong Hye there, but, Yong Hye knew it was for different reasons.

“Oh,” the housekeeper breathed, flashing Yong Hye a small smile. “It’s a little after noon. I’m sorry for disturbing you, but when I saw the door open…”

Taecyeon glanced over at Yong Hye. He knew that she had to have been the one who left the door open. “Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere,” Yong Hye answered with a small sigh. “It’s noon?” she asked the housekeeper, ignoring Taecyeon’s disbelieving look as the man got to his feet.

“A little after,” she answered.

“,” Yong Hye spat, opening her phone, fumbling with it. If the housekeeper was telling the truth—and Yong Hye figured she was, since she’d have no reason to lie—she had been gone for nearly ten hours; too long for her to assume that no one would notice that she was gone.

“I’ll just come back later then?” the housekeeper said, headed for the door.

“No, it’s fine,” Taecyeon said, stopping the older lady. “We need to leave, anyway.” He grabbed Yong Hye’s arm as the girl was watching her phone power up, but immediately jerked his hand away, remembering their conversation last night. So instead, he said, “Let’s go,” and lightly touched her arm to encourage her towards the door, which she did walk towards, her eyes still on her phone.

“Oh my…” Taecyeon heard Yong Hye breath as they walked down the hotel’s hallway towards the elevators that would lead them back down to the lobby.

“What?” he asked her, glancing involuntarily down at her phone, hoping to catch a glimpse of what had surprised her.

“Two texts and one call from Taemin…and twenty texts and five calls from my mom,” Yong Hye said, shaking her head. “Does that seem a little backward?” They had reached the elevators, and were waiting for the next available one.

“I little,” Taecyeon chuckled.

“Taemin’s messages are just asking where I am, my mom’s…” Yong Hye scrolled through her mom’s texts quickly. “Crap! I completely forgot!” She looked up at Taecyeon, who was looking at her worriedly. “I have an appointment with a bridal shop to look for a dress today!”

“Where is it?” Taecyeon asked, as the elevator doors finally opened and the two stepped in. “I’ll take you.”

“Thanks, Taec,” Yong Hye sighed, grateful she’d have some company at least on the way to meet her mom. She quickly dialed her mom’s number, and, once she picked up, told her that she’d make it to the appointment in time. The conversation was so short, yong Hye was hanging up when the elevator arrived at the lobby.

She followed Taecyeon, this time calling Taemin, who answered on the second ring.

“Yong Hye,” he said, sounding happy, and a little relieved.

“Hey,” she said. “Everything okay?”

She heard him laugh. “I’m on my way to class. Everything’s been totally normal today, except for the fact that I woke up at seven to study, and you weren’t there.”

“Yeah, sorry, about that, I got lost last night and ended up staying at a hotel.”

Lie.

“Oh, okay,” Taemin said trustingly.

Silently, Yong Hye had hoped that Taemin would see through her lie and call her out on it, but she only felt that way for a minute, thinking about how much Taemin loved and trusted her. All of that could go right down the drain if he knew that she had not only snuck out, but stayed in a hotel room with Taecyeon. Sure, they didn’t sleep together, but Yong Hye still felt a little guilty.

“Are you coming home tonight?” Taemin asked, bringing Yong Hye back to their conversation.

“Oh, yeah,” she answered. “I have a late class, but I’ll be back later.” She left out the dress appointment, simply because any conversation about that would mean bringing up her mom, or possibly Taecyeon.

“Alright,” Taemin said cheerily. “See you then. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Yong Hye said, hanging up.

Taecyeon had walked ahead a little bit, giving Yong Hye some privacy on the crowded street. Yong hye watched him for a second, sighed, and jogged to catch up with him.

Thanks for reading/subscribing~!

Oh, I finally gave in. My Jay Park story, "Dance for Me," is up.

I'm horribly impatient, I know.