Seunghyun unlocked the door to the apartment and slowly opened it, peeping inside to see if anyone was still awake. 

 

“It looks safe, for now. I think everyone went to bed.” He motioned for me to follow him. 

 

The apartment was spacious with very little decoration. But it still felt like a home. I followed Seunghyun through the dining room and into the kitchen. He placed the bags on the counter and grabbed a pot from one of the cupboards and began to prepare my ramen. 

 

“There are bowls in the top right cupboard and chopsticks in the other drawer.” I nodded and grabbed some chopsticks and tried to reach for the bowls. Of course they’re on the highest shelf. Who puts these here?! Suddenly I felt a presence near me and turned to see Seunghyun, standing rather close behind me, grabbing the bowls for me. He looked down at me and smiled. “Here.” 

 

It felt like my stomach was riding a rollercoaster. Never had I been so captivated by a person I barely knew. I awkwardly took the bowls from him, nodding in thanks, and placed them on the counter. 

 

After a few minutes of watching him cook, I broke the silence.“So, what do you do for a living?” He turned his head slightly and looked at me slyly from the corner of his eye. 

 

“I don’t think I should tell you that just yet. How about another question?” 

 

I began to giggle and teased, “Why not? Is it a secret? Are you a spy??” 

 

He laughed and said, “Yes, I’m a spy. If I told you what I really had to do, I’d have to kill you.” 

 

“Ohh, you’d better keep that secret then. I don’t feel like dying tonight.” 

 

He smiled as he began filling the bowls with the ramen and cutting up the sandwiches and placing them on a plate. “Let’s eat!” 

 

We took the food to the dining table and began our meal. A symphony of slurping and clanking of our chopsticks filled the room for the next 10 minutes as we finished our food. 

 

“Waaaah~! That was good!” I leaned back in my chair and patted my stomach. “I’m so full!” 

 

“It was delicious, right? That’s the skill of a master chef!” 

 

“Yeah, the skill of a master instant ramen chef!” And we both broke into laughter.

 

We cleared the table and as I prepared to wash the dishes, Seunghyun stopped me. “No, guests shouldn’t have to clean. Let me.” 

 

“No, I’ll do it. You bought the food and you’re letting me stay the night. It’s the least I can do.” 

 

Defeated, he sighed, “Alright, but I’m drying.” 

 

So there I was in a strangers home, washing his dishes while he stood next to me drying and putting everything away. I felt something at that moment deep within me. It was a curious feeling; something that I had never felt before. Although we were doing the most mundane task, being here with him felt right. I was at ease and everything else except he and I melted away, as if we were the only two people in the world…doing dishes. 

 

I smiled at this thought and looked up at him. I caught his glance and smiled sweetly at him. For an instant, I saw a flicker of surprise in his expression which then, it seemed, happened to turn into a bit of embarrassment. After catching himself, he just smiled back at me and put the last dish back in its place. 

 

“OK, let’s get you settled in.” Seunghyun led me down the hallway to the last door on the left. “This is my room. You can sleep here, I’ll just crash on the sofa.” 

 

“What? I can’t let you do that. I can sleep on the sofa, really, it’s fine. I’d feel bad putting you out of your room.” 

 

He chuckled, “It’s fine. It’ll only be for one night.” He opened the door and motioned for me to follow him inside. When Seunghyun was busy pulling out clothes from his dresser, I began looking around. His room was simple: bed, desk, and computer. On his desk were small framed pictures of what looked like his family and friends. I smiled at this and turned to see Seunghyun holding some clothes in his hands. 

 

“You can use these for tonight, but they might be a little big. The bathroom is right across the hall from this room; you can use it first.” 

 

“Ok, thanks.” I took the clothes from him and went to take a shower. The hot shower relaxed every muscle in my body as I just stood there, letting the water beat down on me. After a few more minutes in heaven, I got dressed and couldn’t help but laugh at how I looked in the mirror. The sleeves and pants were a bit too long; I looked tiny in his clothing. But I felt comforted and safe. I tried to sneak out of the bathroom, but he caught me as he was walking down the hallway towards me. 

 

“Had a nice shower?” 

 

“Mmm-hm! I feel really relaxed. I think I’m ready to fall asleep.” 

 

“Good, you go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I’m going to shower. Goodnight.” 

 

“Goodnight.” We smiled at each other and prepared to go our separate ways when I suddenly tripped over one of the long pant legs. 

 

Seunghyun quickly maneuvered himself to catch me before I fell to the ground. Hearts racing, he helped me stand up. “Are you ok??” Still within his embrace, I nodded and gave him a weak smile. He nodded back in relief but never let his gaze leave mine. Realizing how close we were to each other my heart began to beat even faster. “You need to be more careful. I may not always be there to save you from trouble,” he gently teased. Slightly embarrassed, I playfully nudged him and we both laughed. 

 

Before breaking our embrace, he kissed me softly on the forehead. “Goodnight and sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

 

I nodded, “Goodnight…”

 

I retreated to the room and collapsed facedown onto the bed. Did that really just happen? I flipped over on my back and stared at the ceiling, placing my hand over my heart. It was still racing and felt like it was about to burst through my chest. After a few minutes I was finally able to relax and make myself comfortable under the blanket. His scent still lingered on the sheets and it felt as though he was lying next to me. I replayed the scene in the hallway once more in my mind and smiled as I slowly began to drift off to sleep…

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Hooray! Chapter 3 completed! I never thought my story would be this long, but it seems it still has a ways to go before it all comes to an end. :) I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far. I'll try to update again soon! Annyong~! ^^