I no longer believe in proof-reading.

A sleepless zombie. That’s what Chaerin was.

So sleepless that she hadn’t missed the sound of Junhong getting up and leaving the room after some time in the middle of the night while she was thought to be ‘sleeping’. But how could she have possibly taken the time to rest her mind when that stupid drunken flag pole had stolen her first kiss! No. Not her second, or third, but her FIRST. Though she previously dated Chihoon a long while back out of what they confused as ‘love’, it only lasted a mere 24 hours before they decided through mutual agreement to break up with one another and not a single kiss was shared during that painfully awkward event. Not even a hug.

 Just thinking of how CHOI ing JUNHONG had stolen what was supposed to be reserved for her future mate made her blood boil and she was fully convinced that her conscience within the kiss was merely the heat of the moment and nothing more.

Well…she hoped that was the reason.  The tenuous burning in her chest whenever she thought about Junhong’s lips pressed against hers expressed otherwise.

“So, what happened?” Alice asked, having noticed Chaerin’s unusual behavior. Though she acted a bit dense at times, Alice always knew when someone was troubled.

Chaerin rested her head not-so-gently on the breakfast table of the hotel’s dining room, causing their cups to rattle. She didn’t want to think back to last night’s events, let alone actually talk about it.

“Does it involve Choi Junhong?” Alice questioned, continuing on with her guess when Chaerin didn’t respond. “Oh mon dieu! Did you two…do it?” She lowered her voice to a whisper at the last two words and Chaerin had to stop herself from nearly slapping the girl.

Chaerin mumbled something into the table, but Alice couldn’t quite hear her. “What?”

The younger girl lifted her head up in a pathetic manner before repeating, “We kissed.”

“That’s it?”

“Don’t say ‘that’s it’! I couldn’t sleep all night!” Chaerin’s face was burning.

“I can’t believe it. The -kicking queen, Hwang Chaerin, is blushing!”

“Shut up!” She hissed before burying her face back into the table.

“What was it like?”

Chaerin’s forehead creased at the question. She remembered feeling hot, aroused (to hell if she’d admit that), but more confused than anything. “Well…he’s a biter.” She opted to reveal.

A wide grin spread across Alice’s face, almost resembling a look of triumph. “I knew it.”

“Knew what? That he’s a biter?” Chaerin asked, but she knew deep down what Alice really meant, though she refused to voice it aloud.

“No, you dumb-dumb.” Alice rolled her eyes before she leaned across the round table to whisper, “You love him. You’re in love with him.”

Chaerin groaned out loud, and resisted the temptation of kicking her underneath the table. No. That wouldn’t solve a thing. She’d still be helplessly confused about her feelings towards that blonde idiot, but it probably would make her feel a bit better if she did.

The sound of a chair suddenly scrapping across the marble floor snapped Chaerin out of her thoughts and led her and Alice’s attention to the person now sitting at the table with them.

“Chihoon?” Chaerin frowned in puzzlement. “What are you doing here?”

“I am a customer of this hotel. I think I at least have the privilege to eat breakfast in the dining room.”

Chaerin made a small scowl at the blue-haired boy. As much as she missed Chihoon, that smart mouth of his wasn’t missed in the slightest. “Where’s Jaehae?”

“I left her behind.” He answered almost instantly. “I’m only here for business, so there would be no point in bringing her. My boss had an important meeting to attend to on this side of town, so we booked a few nights here.”

“And you left Jaehae alone?” Chaerin asked incredulously. With Doojoon and the rest of his crew over there, leaving Jaehae alone didn’t seem like a promising idea.  They were after her for whatever reasons and she had no doubt that they would use Jaehae to get to her if given the chance.

“Don’t worry about it; she’s staying with a friend.” Chihoon reassured and Chaerin let out a mental sigh of relief. She supposed it was alright if Jaehae was accompanied by a friend. “Now that I think about, she said she knew you when Jaehae brought you up in a conversation once—her friend I mean.”

Chaerin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, she honestly could not think of a face to match whoever he was talking about. She didn’t have very many ‘girlfriends’, she had at most, two, and those two were Jaehae and Alice………oh Alice!

Chaerin finally noticed the confused look on her friend’s face when she finally tore her attention from Chihoon and nearly face-palmed.  She had totally forgotten about her.

“Oh I’m sorry, Alice. This is an old friend of mine—Chihoon.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice.” Chihoon reached out and shook her hand with a small smile before bringing it up to his lips to plant a gentle kiss. “I wasn’t aware that Chaerin had such a beautiful acquaintance.”

Chaerin rolled her eyes up to the heavens. She had also forgotten how much of a female predator Chihoon was. “Don’t waste your time, lover boy. She’s only interested in, and I quote, ‘Handsome Busan MEN’, and since you’re neither one of those three, the chance of you being with her is slimmer than a strand of hair.”

“Oh, ha ha.” Chihoon sneered with a fist raised as if he were going to hit her with it. Key words: as if. “If you’re done insulting me, I have to get going.” He said as he stood up, checking a message on his phone. “My boss needs me, so tata. I hope we see each other again soon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chaerin muttered back and the blue-haired boy sent her a scowl.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” He scoffed. “I was talking to Alice.” And he sent the semi-French girl one last wink before finally taking his leave.

“Your friend is weird.” Alice spoke for the first time since Chihoon came to sit with them and Chaerin gave her a knowing look. “But he’s kinda cute.”

That statement, however; she did not agree with her on. There was nothing ‘cute’ about that blue-haired byuntae, and Chaerin was fully convinced that Alice needed some glasses.

“He left me a note when he shook my hand.” Alice took a moment to read the paper to herself. “Oh, it’s his number.”

Chaerin was dumbfounded. When he even had the time to write that was beyond her. There’s only one logical explanation for this:

“Yah, girly.” A deep voice sounded from above and Chaerin reluctantly opened her eyes, peering up at the tall figure standing over her. Looks like she wont be getting any rest on the ride back home either.

“What is it?”

Yongguk looked a bit stand-offish, not like that was anything new, but it was more than usual. “Where’s Zelo? Me and the others haven’t seen him since last night and he won’t answer his phone.”

Chaerin cocked an eyebrow. “Do I look like his keeper to you?”

“No,” His eyes narrowed slightly. “But I do believe that you’re his girlfriend—“

“I’m not—“

“—which is all the more reason why you should know.”

“Go away!”

“When you answer my question, I’ll be happy to grant your wish, girly.”

“I already told you, I don’t know!” Chaerin hissed irritably. “Last time I saw him was in our hotel room…”

“So he actually came back to the hotel?” Yongguk raised an eyebrow. “Did he say anything to you?”

‘Nothing I’d tell you.’ “No, he was angry and drunk. Not much was said.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He really hadn’t spoken much. Chaerin actually wished that he had said more, anything that could have possibly changed the outcome of last night. “All of his things were gone by the time I got up this morning and there was no note or forewarning as to where he went, okay?”

“I see.” Yongguk commented with a curt nod. “We’ll, I’ll be on my way then—“

“Wait.” Chaerin caught the tall male by the arm. “You said before that you and your little crew haven’t seen Junhong since last night and now that I think about it, you guys weren’t on the bus on the ride back to the hotel either.” She pointed out. “I’m guessing that you were with him when he suddenly decided to ‘disappear’, right?”

“Yes,” Yongguk answered straightforwardly. “Zelo asked us to ditch the haunted house exhibit with him to go hang out instead. How he ended up drunk in your hotel room is beyond me.”

Chaerin frowned in confusion. She clearly remembers Junhong telling her how he was so upset that he decided to drink himself into oblivion, but what she didn’t understand was why? Simply ‘hanging out with friends’ wasn’t nearly enough to piss somebody off to any extent. Something had to have happened last night before he came back to the hotel to make him like that.

“You guys didn’t have a fight, did you?” Chaerin questioned skeptically. “I mean, based off the information you gave me, Junhong got upset and ran off to get drunk somewhere before coming back to the hotel. Have any idea of what might have set him off?”

Yongguk was silent for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts before he replied, “Nope, not a clue. Some guy asked to speak with him in private, and he never came back after that.”

“Some guy? Chaerin furrowed her eyebrows. “What guy?”

“I don’t know, Sherlock, don’t you think I would’ve told you if I did?” Yongguk sneered in annoyance. “Why are you so curious as to what we did with Zelo last night? Something happen between you and him that you aren’t telling me?”

And just like that, Chaerin’s face turned a deep shade of red for the second time that day.

“Hey, girly.”

“H—huh?”

“You’re blushing.” A knowing smirk slowly began to spread across the tall male’s face. “Why is that?”

Chaerin sighed for the umpteenth time as she trudged down the long driveway of her new home with her suitcase close behind in her steps. That was the worse trip ever—if she had anything to compare it with—and she was going to make sure that she never attended one again. That is, if they ever decide to have another one. It’s not very often that you actually have to cancel a trip while you’re on it. Junhong made that possible this time with his sudden disappearance. 

‘Seriously, where is that guy?’ Chaerin fished the keys given to her by Ms. Choi the night before the trip out of her pocket and unlocked the door, entering the dark, lifeless foyer. By the looks of it, Chaerin guessed that neither Ms. Choi nor Hanuel was home at the time.

She didn’t bother to flick on the lights, wanting to finally be able to relax in her room as soon as possible as she made her way down the west wing hall, but paused with a hand over her doorknob at the sound of voices coming from the room opposite of her own.

Junhong couldn’t have been home, right? Chaerin curiously maneuvered over to the elder’s door and pressed an ear to it. The voices were faint, but she could still make out a bit of what was being said.

“You still haven’t told me why you’re here.” That was definitely Junhong’s voice, Chaerin noted, but why was he here? Wasn’t he supposed to be missing somewhere in Incheon?

There was a brief silence, soon accompanied by a low chuckle. Whoever it was apparently found humor in Junhong’s statement.

“I took time off my busy schedule to come see you. I thought you’d be happy to see me after so long.” An unfamiliar voice spoke, however; the ‘kindness’ in the seemingly older man’s tone was a bit unsettling.

“I’ve never been happy to see you.” Junhong spoke with malice in his tone that Chaerin had never heard him have before; even when she had pissed him off those times to the point of him ‘wanting to hit her.” Now she understood what he meant by there being a distinct difference between ‘a disliking’ and ‘hatred’. She could practically hear the hate he had for whoever he was talking to.

“No matter how great your resentment is towards me or the rest of your clan, this lifestyle, you cannot escape it. You know that, Zelo—“

“Mato Clan is not mine.”

“But it will be.”  The stranger’s tone dripped with confidence. Whatever he was talking about, he seemed to be 100% sure that it was going to happen.

Chaerin didn’t know how long the silence between the two males went on after that last statement, but she decided to finally take her leave. Eavesdropping was one thing, but getting caught in the act? That was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, especially with how serious their conversation seemed to be. However, luck was not on her side this time and when she slowly began to backpedal towards her room, momentarily forgetting that her suitcase was behind her, she bumped into it; the sound of her luggage hitting the hard wooden floor resulting in a loud ‘smack!’

Great. Eleven years later and she was still blowing her cover.

“Oh?” The stranger’s voice sparked with interest. “Sounds like you have another guest.”

No, no, no! . She had to get away, fast. Chaerin looked down at her suitcase lying on the floor. Should she bring it?

Only the sound of heavy footsteps answered her, and with that, she decided against grabbing it and quickly stepped over it, almost reaching her door knob when the door behind her suddenly swung open.

So close.

She didn’t move and she had half a mind to believe that her stillness was actually making her invisible, based off the silence, but she could clearly feel a pair of eyes burning holes in the back of her head, so all hope of that being true was soon discarded with.

“Chaerin.” The way her name rolled off Junhong’s tongue made her shiver and she began to dread having to look at the elder. She wasn’t ready for that yet.

It took the younger a little while of mental preparing, but she soon managed to turn around towards the elder, keeping her eyes glued to her suitcase on the floor. She never really noticed how nice it was until now.

“Chaerin.” Junhong repeated, but the girl kept her eyes trained on the suitcase.

It was a really nice suitcase.

Chaerin heard a few more footsteps before both of her cheeks were suddenly cupped in one of Junhong’s hands and she was forced to look up at the elder and the sight before her was enough to momentarily stop her entire respiratory system.

The blonde locks Junhong had been previously sporting was now straitened, some of it falling a little over his brow, but she’d be lying if she said that, that was what surprised her. What was really shocking was the color of it, now blacker than a moonless night. She’d also be lying if she said that it didn’t look absolutely y amazing on him.

“What are you doing here?” He questioned, breaking Chaerin’s train of thought. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Incheon right now?”

She didn’t answer right away, taking the time to better compose herself before speaking. “We were sent home early after some idiot decided to go ‘missing’. What are you doing here?”

Junhong wore a blank expression. “This is my house.”

“You know what I meant.” Chaerin huffed back. “Who were you talking to in your room?” She attempted to look around the elder to peek into his room, but he quickly tightened the grip on her cheeks, keeping her eyes lock with his.

“None of your business.” Junhong muttered and slowly began to descend closer to Chaerin’s face, making the younger inhale sharply.

‘Is he going to kiss me again?!’ She thought in horror, but instead of recoiling like she should have, she only squeezed her eyes shut and stood there as if her body were paralyzed.

Though that was most certainly not the case. She wasn’t paralyzed at all…she was waiting. Waiting for something, anything to happen and that fact was absolutely maddening.  What had he done to make her like this? Hell, what could she do to stop it?

“Chaerin…” She heard her name again, this time by her left ear. The elder’s breath was staggering and hot against her nape and she seriously wanted to yell. For him to stop teasing her like this; to stop making her feel the way she did. To stop confusing her and simply tell her how he truly felt. “I want you…” Had she heard correctly? Was there a possibility that Junhong was feeling the same way she was?

“…to leave this place and never come back.”

Sooo........

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Uh....how's it going?

*perspires*

I luv yoooou~! Just know lol Even if you probably hate me for updating like a decade late. *coughIhavenoexcusecough* Well....none that's good enough.

Welcome new readers! =D And thank Lorde that none of you guys unsubscribe! Like omg *claps*

True dedication right thar. (Unlike mine's towards this fic)

I'll try not to take so long to update next time. (dare I promise?)

I'm positive that I wont take nearly four months to update again though, that's for sure.

See you another time.

Peace~!