The Newcomer

Chapter 6

AUTHOR'S NOTE
"Madrugada"  is the portuguese word for the period of time between midnight and sunrise. Since there is no such word for this period of time in english (There is the expression "small hours" I guess, but it's not especific enough for my taste), I decided to use this one.

--

Lay, Jin, Hyun and Chen arrived at the company's hotel. When they exited the car, Jin was approached by a guard.

 - Miss Dae-Jin, your baggage has already been delivered to your room. - He said.

- Thank you. - She replied.

He handed her the room's key and showed it to Hyun while they entered the hotel.

- Is this your room? - She asked.

- Yes! - Hyun said excited, hugging Jin. - I can't believe I have the coolest roommate.

- You're the cutest. - Jin laughed.

- We're heading to our rooms now. Call if anything happens. - Lay said.

The two girls bowed to their oppas, who bowed back before leaving. When Hyun lifted her head, she saw Chen smirking at her right before he turned away, which made her heart skip a beat. She took her hand to her chest.

- Are you feeling alright, Hyun? - Jin asked, looking at her.

- Ah, yes, I'm okay. - She quickly replied. - Let's head in. - She pointed at the elevator.

-- 

It was already late in the madrugada, and Dae-Jin was sleeping peacefully. Hyun, on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all. Her mind was wandering, so she decided to sneak out to the room's balcony.
All the hotel's rooms had balconies, which were connected but divided with short fences. She got out and looked up to the sky. She'd hope to see a sky filled with beautiful, shiny stars, like the one's she used to see from her home's balcony, back in Gurim. But all she saw was a black sky with almost no visible stars due to all of the lights in the city. After all, she's in Seoul now. Things have changed.

She suddenly heard a psst sound coming from her right. She turned her head in it's direction slowly, and saw Chen a few meters away, in his room's balcony. She smiled, a little bit embarassed as she realized they were both in their pajamas. He then started to gesticulate something. She tried to understand what he was trying to say.

- Can.... I.... Con- No, com... Come over? - She read in his lips. "Can I come over?" she repeated to herself.

Her heart thobbed with the thought of them alone in her balcony, but still she nodded yes to him. He smiled to her reply and began jumping over the fences until he reached her balcony and stood in front of her.

- Yo. - He said, looking a bit shy, putting his hands in his pants' pockets. - Can't sleep?

- Yeah... I don't feel sleepy at all. - She replied.

- Me too. - He said, looking up at the sky. - Ah~, the sky's looking pretty tonight. - He smiled.

She looked at him confused and then back at the sky.

- Oppa thinks this is pretty? I've never seen a sky this black in my life. - She replied.

He looked at her impressed.

- Where I come from, the night sky is as bright as all the city lights because there are so many stars in it. I used to spend my nights staring at it, laying in my balcony with Uk-yah. Those were great times... - She looked down at the floor. He stared at her for a few seconds.

- Who's Uk...yah? - He asked.

- Oh, he's just a friend from my hometown. I miss him already...

Chen's expression changed to a serious one. He looked back up at the sky and then at the floor, thinking. Then, his expression lightened up and he turned to her.

- I know this sky isn't as pretty as the one from your hometown... And I'm not "Uk-yah", but... But we can still watch it together. - He smiled.

Hyun looked at him with big eyes, surprised.  She hesitated, but then nodded with a shy smile.
They laid down next to each other, Hyun with her hands on her stomach and Chen with his hands behind his head. Hyun was feeling nervous. "Why do I feel so nervous whenever he's around? I don't even know him." she thought to herself.

- You don't think it's weird? - He suddenly asked.

- W-What? - She asked, confused, looking at him.

- We only met today, but here we are. It's weird, isn't it? - He turned his head to her, smiling.

"Were we thinking about the same thing...?" she wondered.

- W-Well... I guess so... - She replied. Both looked up at the sky.

She clenched her fists, gaining courage.

- S-Still, I feel okay... Being here.

Chen looked at her quickly, surprised by her words. He then grinned. He looked happy.

- Me too. - He said. He looked up at the sky once more, taking his hands from underneath his head and resting them on his stomach.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, simply admiring the night sky. Chen had an uneasy expression, while Hyun began to feel sleepy.
Chen started moving his hand slowly towards her, reaching out for her hand. He putted his hand on top of her's.

- You know, - He began to say. - when I saw you today, I thought that I'd never seen a girl be that brave in my life. When you turned around in tears, you looked so scared... Then, I thought, "I wish it was me comforting her instead of Lay.". You looked so vulnerable, I wanted to... Protect you. I don't know why, but with you, those thoughts came to my mind so naturally, I-- - He stopped talking as he looked at Hyun. She was fast asleep.

- I can't believe this... - He sighed, with a small smile. - Was I talking to myself all this time? - He took his hand to his face.

- I guess it's alright. Maybe it's best this way... - He continued.

Suddenly, Hyun, still asleep, turned her body to Chen, with one hand underneath her head and the other one holding Chen's, gently squeezing it. Chen felt flustered and happy at the same time. "She looks so cute.", he thought. He turned his head up, still holding Hyun's hand. Few minutes later, he fell asleep.