motel | jjk

day four, one pm.

miyeon

i felt myself waking up, sleep still making my eyes burn. i hadn't slept for long, at least i didn't think so, but the sun creeping through the curtains so high in the sky told me otherwise.

i remembered working until nearly seven, when hana had arrived for her shift. i remembered lying on the couch, under the assumption that no one would be coming in or out of the motel at such early hours, and decided to take a nap while making hana promise she would wake me if she needed me.

and yet, as my fingers travelled the soft fabric underneath me, i recognized i was in my bed. scrunching up my nose, i reached for the clock on my nightstand and groaned when i noticed just how late it was.

turning to the other side, deciding i should sleep at least thirty more minutes, i noticed just how i was lying down. i was almost on the edge of the bed, nearly falling down from it. as i reached my hand out under the covers, i felt the warmth radiating from it. and then i smelled the cologne.

i wasn't one to notice or remember the cologne or perfume other people used, but given the situations we had been in recently, his was engraved in my mind. and then it clicked on my head; he had been there, probably slept there as well.

that would explain how i had ended up back on my bed, since hana was surely too weak to carry me herself. it would also explain the blurry memories that i couldn't quite decipher, and that felt more like a dream than reality. i remembered his voice, soft and low, telling me to go to sleep. his hands making sure i was comfortable. even my fingertips seemed to remember the skin of his wrist when i had pulled him back to sleep with me.

i felt blood rushing to my cheeks, coloring them a rather obvious shade of red. my teeth sank into my bottom lip as i traced the place where he once had been with the tip of my fingers, pulling myself more into the middle of the bed just so i could almost still feel him there.

and it was a strange sense of comfort, one that brought a giggle to my lips. only someone like me to pull something like that, and barely remember anything that had happened. and yet, it still felt right.

he was confusing, that was for sure. he was so hot and cold that sometimes it made me consider that i was the one imagining things. but i still couldn't get him out of my head.

and just like that, i deemed my sleep to be ruined either way, and decided to take a shower and get ready for my day.

***

"i should've known you had been the one behind it," i playfully pushed hana's shoulder as she giggled after i told her what had happened.

"can you blame me? i'm literally a month away from getting married, and jin doesn't exactly live close-by, so the least i can do is make sure you're taken care of," she smiles as she dusts off the counter.

i felt my cheeks heating up. "it's not like that, unnie."

she gave me a knowing look, shrugging her shoulders. "but maybe one day it could be. i see the dreamy look in your eyes when you talk about him."

i pursed my lips, chin resting on my hand. maybe one day it could be like that, but i wasn't even sure that jungkook felt the same way. and it wasn't exactly the time to think about a future with a guy i had barely met.

and yet, i felt like i had known him forever...

"in any case," i cleared my throat, hands reaching behind my back to make sure the knot of my apron was secure. "i should go thank him for his trouble. maybe offer him brunch or something?"

"great idea!" hana clapped her hands together, nodding her head eagerly. "i saw him walking upstairs a couple hours ago, so he should be in his room."

biting my lip, i tugged on my apron and skirt, fixing my attire before quietly thanking hana and moving upstairs so i could find him. as fidgeted with my apron, trying to figure out exactly what to tell him, i noticed something was inside the front pocket.

and then i remembered what had happened the previous night. and the men that had been looking for jungkook.

and just like that, the perfect excuse to talk to him came up. i would let him know that they had been looking for him, and maybe help him find them in case he wanted to. i would be doing a good deed, and at least i didn't have to use the excuse of thanking him for quite literally sleeping with me to talk to him.

as i reached the door to his room, i bit my bottom lip as i thought for a second. even though he had gotten to know each other, it didn't exactly mean that i should now be able to break his requests.

lifting my fist up, i debated on knocking or simply slipping the card under his door. deciding on a bolder attitude, i knocked on the door three times, the third knock just a bit stronger than supposed to.

to my surprise, however, the door was pushed back. the wind ailing from a semi-opened window in the corridor did the rest, opening the wooden door wide for me to take a look into his room.

and what i saw left my mouth opened in shock.

in a huge pinboard, a map and seven photos hung, connected through threads of different colors. they designed a pattern of what seemed to be destinations, on which the seven photos laid.

and what made my heart skip a beat was what i noticed next: four of the faces had big red crosses covering their features.

if i hadn't had what i would classify as a major in binge watching criminal minds, i could've probably drawn up a million of other scenarios. but in that moment, all i could think about was that they were his targets.

and to my luck, jungkook was standing right there, next to them.

"miyeon," his voice spoke, chilling my spine from the intensity and dark tone it carried. "what the fuck did i say about staying away?"