Areum closed her eyes tightly as Joon gently pulled her towards him, bracing herself for what was to come. She felt her heart beating rapidly, as if it would jump out of her chest as she felt her head getting closer and closer to his until their lips almost touched.
But just before their lips would have touched, Joon's hand fell onto the bed as the soft sound of snoring filled the room. Reluctantly, Areum opened her eyes to find him fast asleep. She quickly pushed herself off the bed and looked at him, placing a hand to calm her rapid heart as she laughed slightly.
The first feeling which rushed through her system was relief that they hadn't actually kissed. But she couldn't push aside the small part of her which felt slightly disappointed. She shook her head as soon as the thought of being disappointed entered her mind, and continued to look at Joon as his chest rose and fell steadily while he snored. She couldn't keep herself from smiling as she walked back to him and placed a blanket on him.
She then walked to the washroom where she took her toothbrush and put some toothpaste on it. As she brushed her teeth and looked at the mirror, she found herself recalling just how close they had been to kissing.
"Stop it Areum!" she said to herself, placing her hands firmly on the counter as she leaned into the mirror.
"You are just two people on a trip. Nothing is going to happen," she continued to speak to herself. But as soon as she said that, the memory returned to her mind once again. She groaned as she forcefully turned on the tap and watched as the water ran into the sink.
And at that moment, she remembered what Joon had said just before he had began to drink continuously.
"I feel like I'm going crazy."
She began to wonder what he had meant when he had said that as she walked back to the bedroom and walked to the couch. She sat down and looked at Joon one last time before she positioned herself in the couch and eventually fell asleep.
---
Joon was awakened by the bright light which streamed through the curtains which they had not closed the night before. He slowly opened his eyes to adjust to the light and as soon as his eyes were fully open, he began to feel the throbbing pain of a headache. He held his hand firmly against his head as he sat up, yawning in the process.
The first thing he noticed was his shirt on the floor along with his shoes. He looked beside him to find that Areum wasn't there and immediately looked towards the small sofa in the room, seeing Areum as she lay in a hunched position, sleeping soundly. Joon couldn't remove the smile from his face as he stood up and picked up the blanket, walking towards her before placing it around her.
He walked to the bathroom and picked up his toothbrush, putting toothpaste on it before he started to brush his teeth. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he recalled what had happened the night before.
He remembered drinking too much wine and how Areum had helped him to get back to the hotel, which caused him to chuckle slightly while his brush was still in his mouth. And with that memory, followed how he had told Areum that she was pretty just before he had kiss─
As soon as he remembered that part of the night, he found himself spitting out what was in his mouth at the mirror. He watched as the toothpaste dripped down the mirror while his heart beat quickly at the memory.
I didn't actually kiss her, right?, he thought to himself as he tried to remember the rest of the night. But all he could remember was holding her face and pulling her closer to him. He swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the lump which had began to form in his throat as he kept looking at the mirror.
"Try to remember," he said to himself, trying to remember as much as he could. But when he couldn't remember, he threw his brush into the sink and walked out of the washroom.
"Good morning."
Joon flinched as soon as he heard Areum's voice when he returned to the bedroom. He quickly averted his gaze from her when his memory of last night returned to his mind.
"Good morning," he mumbled in return.
"How are you feeling?" she asked from where she sat in the couch.
"What?" Joon asked, still distracted by what had happened the night before.
"You drank a lot last night. Are you feeling okay?"
"Oh yeah. I'm fine─great!" He looked up just enough to see her looking at him with a curious expression.
Areum immediately noticed how odd Joon was acting and felt like asking him why he was behaving that way. But since she wasn't really sure of how he would react, she decided to keep the question to herself and instead, she stood up and began to walk towards the washroom.
As she got closer to him, Joon inched ever so slightly away from her, still unsure of whether they had actually kissed the night before or not. And although the urge to ask her was overwhelming, somehow he was able to suppress the question and allow her to silently pass by him.
When Areum was in the bathroom, he was finally able to release the breath which he didn't know that he had been holding. He walked to the bed and allowed his body to fall onto it as the same question played over and over in his mind:
Did they kiss or not?
He had been so focused on the question that he didn't notice that she had returned to the room until he felt the bed shifting slightly as she sat down. He slowly turned his head to face her and found her looking straight ahead.
Areum mentally fought with herself about whether or not to ask him about what had happened last night. And before she could stop herself, she heard herself asking,
"Why did you drink so much last night?"
And as soon as he heard the question, Joon sat up and looked at her, unsure of whether he should tell her. After all, they were only two strangers on a trip together. He looked away, unable to answer the question.
"Did it have anything to do with your ex?" was her next question. And when his head whipped in her direction, he didn't have to say anything for her to know that her guess was right.
"What did she do?"
"I don't know if I should tell you," he whispered, not intending for her to hear. But since it was only the two of them in the room, she heard his words loud and clear. And although she had half expected that he wouldn't be willing to tell her, she felt a pain reflecting hurt in her heart. But she quickly pushed that aside and looked at him.
"How much longer are we staying here?" she asked to change the subject.
"Today is our last day," he replied solemnly.
"Where are we going next?"
"Our next destination is the great white north," he replied, smiling slightly. And when she looked at him with a blank expression, he made his answer more clear.
"We're going to Canada." 554Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUNGVFYTvo
