Taste | Changbin

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Before anyone could ask what happened, Chan silenced the members of his band. Lennon didn't know how he did it, but she was grateful. The group checked into the hotel and it didn't take long before Lennon found herself in a hotel room. 

Not up for a shower, she tossed and turned in her bed. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but it didn't work. She waited for sleep to overcome her. She had been tired until she went sprinting across the hotel yard. Sprinting mixed with flashbacks caused her heart rate to skyrocket. 

After a half hour of laying there, she decided to get up and go for a walk. It was better than tossing and turning with sleep nowhere in sight. She was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a maroon t-shirt. There was no point in changing, she'd be back soon anyway. 

The hotel was quiet at two in the morning. Most guests had settled into their rooms and were sleeping. When they first arrived, there was quite a bit of chatter. With the band and their supporting staff, JYP Entertainment had gone ahead and booked a variety of hotel rooms. 

They were supposed to be here for a few days. After two concerts, they'd be packed into cars again and taken down to Florida. Lennon was excited for Florida. Florida had always been known for its beaches. She was excited to experience one of them firsthand. 

Instead of taking the elevator, she found herself tiptoeing down the stairwell. She had yet to encounter a single person. Not knowing where she was headed, she turned right at the bottom of the stairs. Silently, she moved past closed hotel doors. She should have asked what rooms the band were staying in, but she hadn't. 

The moment their manager gave her a key card, she hurried towards her room. Too eager to get away from everyone and have a moment to herself, she hadn't bothered asking. It never crossed her mind. A glass door, at the end of the hall, caught her attention. 

Picking up her speed, she approached it. A small sign on the door announced that it was closed. A large indoor pool sat behind the glass. Enclosed by cement, the water sat still in the room. The faint scent of chlorinated water tickled her nose. Holding her breath, she jerked the handle. 

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Internally, she had been hoping that the door was unlocked. She didn't want to go in the water, but it reminded her of her mom. On the weekends, her mom used to take her to the community pool. The two of them would play around in the pool for hours. 

She'd throw multicolored rings and Lennon would dive underneath the bright blue to retrieve them. They'd spend hours together getting scorched by the sun. Her dad used to catch up on his sleep during the weekends. Her mom never wanted her to be a bother, so they went out to do things together. 

It was rare, but sometimes, after the pool, they'd go out for ice cream. Lennon would get cookie dough while her mom got strawberry. They'd quickly lick their frozen treats before the sun could start melting it. 

By the time they'd get back home, Lennon was exhausted. Her lips would still be sticky from her ice cream. Muscles exhausted from swimming for so long. She'd end up showering to rinse off the chlorine. Her mom would come in to tuck her into bed. She'd give her a kiss on the forehead before leaving her room. 

An open door to the side caught Lennon's attention. She walked over and peered inside. A large mirror wrapped around the whole wall. Dumbbells were lined up from least to most heaviest on a shelf. A large basket in a corner contained a few yoga balls. A variety of exercise equipment was scattered around the room. 

Glancing down the hallway, Lennon realized she was still alone. All she had was time to kill. She could work out a little and afterwards, she'd have to go back to her room to shower. Maybe that would make her exhausted enough to sleep. 

Pondering over what exercise to do first, her eyes lingered on the weight bench. A bar hung overhead with a large weight on both sides of it. Before she could walk over to it, footsteps caused her to glance up. 

Changbin's eyes met hers at once. He grumbled something underneath his breath that she couldn't hear. He ignored her and headed over to pull two dumbbells off the shelf. She watched him place air pods into his ears and begin performing curl ups. His muscles swelled as he slowly lifted the weights up and down. She could hear rap music blasting from his ears. 

She forced her attention back to the weight bench. She slid onto it and rubbed her hands on her sweatpants. Sweat had begun to form on her hands. She hadn't been expecting Changbin to appear. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Han told her that their dorms had been split up based upon who went to bed at what time. 

She gripped the cold metal bar and eased it off its post. She hadn't checked how much the weights were on either side. She had figured that they looked small, so she'd easily be able to lift it. She couldn't have been more wrong. 

Her arms slightly trembled, but she continued moving the bar anyway. She lowered it towards her chest before she shakily pushed it back up. She did it again and again and again. Her muscles screamed at her to stop, but she kept going. 

She repeated this a few more times before giving up. Still shaking, she started to reach up to place the bar back on the rack. Without warning, her arms gave out. Her fingers, coated with more sweat, slipped. The metal bar started to fall. 

Before it had a chance to crush her windpipe, she quickly regripped the bar. The bar sat on her neck and her hands shook. If she couldn't move the bar up more, it'd slip and crush her trachea. Changbin had put his air pods in, he wouldn't be able to hear her call for help. 

Panic engulfed her, she was going to die. Changbin was going to find her corpse. Stray Kids would have to cancel their tour or quickly find another makeup artist because she was going to get her throat crushed. Her fingers slipped more. She felt more weight on her neck. 

She was too afraid to kick her feet, too afraid to try and call out for help, too afraid to do anything. All she could do was wait for the bar to crush her. Her chest shook from a shaky breath. Her fingers slipped again, a strangled cry forced its way out of her mouth.

All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and wait for her inevitable death.