Key woke up to an unearthly silence. Room 11 was bare of any luxuries: the bed was against a wall, furthest from a curtain-covered window; a sink and toilet was behind a dividing wall; and a plain wooden cupboard and table for his things was also provided. Key's sunglasses sat upon a pile of other knick-knacks he had gathered during his travels.

He stretched out his stiff muscles and rolled out of bed. He quickly splashed some water on his face and prepared himself for the day. Bright sunlight filtered through the gaps and small holes of the run-down curtains. He gave a disgusted look about the place and packed away his belongings. This was not a place he would like to stay for any longer than necessary.

The stairs predictably creaked as he made his way down into the inn's open space. It was achingly empty, a stark contrast to the crowd and joviality of the previous night. The piano was cloaked in shadows when Key passed by it, on his way towards the counter and the sleeping boy.

"Yah, Taemin," Key ruthlessly shouted and slammed his room key onto the counter.

Taemin jolted up from his chair and fumbled with the pieces of paper he had rested his head on. "What, wha...?"

"I'm checking out," Key said.

"Umm, but, but," Taemin continued to falter as he slowly began to wake up; "Onew!"

It was now Key's turn to jolt at the sudden shout and flashes of the man at the piano came to his mind. He pulled out his sunglasses and put them on, hoping to disguise a new uncertainty. 'No,' he scolded himself, 'You have to keep moving. You cannot stay.'

Key needn't have worried about Taemin catching any nervous signals from him; the boy was still coming out of the last cloudiness of his sleep. "... you can't leave now," Taemin continued.

"Why not?" Key asked, "I am only passing through."

"You're booked in for at least two nights," Taemin said. "House rules."

Key made an aggrieved noise and ran a hand through his hair. "It doesn't matter, just leave the room empty."

Panic briefly passed across Taemin's features and the boy nervously looked behind him and towards the kitchen. Key immediately paid half attention to the babble Taemin started on to entreat him to stay, and peered into the shadows of the kitchen. His sunglasses were not helping him out and he was starting to feel a headache come from all the squinting into that dark. He took off the glasses, rubbed at his eyes, looked up again, and made an involuntary step backwards at the definite outline of a person and Stetson hat. "I am going," Key cut through Taemin's monologue.

"No, wait!" The boy protested. He was standing up from his chair, his arm outreached towards Key. Just then, a brown mouse scuttled across the countertop. Key shrieked; Taemin sighed with relief. It was large and could have been mistaken for a rat; only that there was something domestic and kind about the animal as it moved with a piece of cheese in its mouth. The mouse ran to a small wire cage, a bird cage, at the end of bench and against the wall. It opened its door, went inside, and closed the door behind him. It then, sat on the floor, with the piece of cheese between its two hands, and nibbled away with happy squeaking noises. Key must've been staring, because two brown eyes looked up and across at him. He hastily put back on his sunglasses and looked away.

"Hey, Mister," Taemin interrupted, sensing that Key defences were down, "Would you like some pie?"

Key groaned into the nook of his elbow. He was face-down, on the table, his head in his arms, cursing himself for eating too much, again. The doorbell jingled and he stiffened in his seat. He shifted his head to the side and discreetly examined the newcomers. They were no one important, and he relaxed into his food-coma once more. A barmaid came to his table, a dirty rag in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other. "Mister," she drawled in a heavy accent, "some more water?"

Key nodded and prodded his empty cup towards her. He eyed at the room key that sat in front of him, next to the cup. Once the girl was gone, he heaved himself upright, downed all of the cup's contents, and slammed it back onto the table. Some liquid splashed up onto his sleeves but he didn't care; it was only water.

What he cared about, instead, was how he was stuck in the same town for two nights. Taemin had refused to take back the key, and Key could've just left without all this fuss. The problem was his deposit. He wanted it back.

Key sighed and scooped up the room key from the table and moved on out and into the warming sunlight. He began to realise how foolish he was last night. What was he thinking, giving up that item to Jonghyun?

The melody of the pianist's laughter filtered through his memory.

Key grimaced with the realisation. He hid his face with his sunglasses and moved through the thin crowd on the street. Since he was stuck in this situation, he might as well turn it to his advantage. And who knows? There may be some more entertainment later in the night.