douces nuits froides

II

Two days ago, a mysterious man moved into the building. No one knew who he was but all everyone knew was that he was an idol. Multiple guesses were made but the lead one was Park Chanyeol.

Chaeyoung doesn't really care about celebrities and only watched for the performances which explains why even if she did meet Park Chanyeol, she wouldn't remember his face.

Park Chan is very similar to Park Chanyeol, seeing as it is just a shortened version of the idol's name. But whatever and whoever Chan may be and whatever he may do, it is none of Chaeyoung's business to intrude.

Chaeyoung stuffs the envelope inside her bag and walks to the only elevator in her floor that leads to the basement. Her floor is the 14th and the second she reached the 12th, a man with a mask covering half his face and a cap rushed in with a large crowd following behind him. He quickly shuts the elevator door and the second it does, leans on the wall and tries to catch his breath.

Always in an awkward situation ever since she moved into the celebrity magnet building, Chaeyoung hands the man her water bottle. "One of those Korean idols?"

The man nods slowly and Chaeyoung gives him a sympathetic smile.

"Take it. And take the C exit then make a left. When you reach the second corner make a right and you'll be on the main road. It was built for people like you. Don't worry, it's guarded."

Despite not being able to see the man's face, Chaeyoung knew he as smiling and took her water bottle before they reached the basement and went into their separate ways. Chaeyoung to her car, the man to a black van.

While Chaeyoung gets ready in her car, the idol's car follows her advice and takes the C exit. This makes Chaeyoung smile.

The drive was 15 minutes long and Chaeyoung parked at the tiny lot next to the church. She removed her seat belt, grabbed her bag, open then shut her door, and locked her car before entering the tiny chapel and taking a seat as the mass starts.

------

After mass, Chaeyoung drives back to the building and is greeted with multiple teenage girls with posters and signs that say 'Yeollie' and 'Channie'. She parks and the second she steps out, all the girls look at her. She bows at them then walks to the elevator.

"Whoever managed to sneak him out is such a bitch! He barely shows up in public and the second we get a chance to see him, he manages to slip through our fingers." A girl scoffs.

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes before entering the basement elevator and the doors close. Being a frequent basement parking occupant, she's gotten used to teenagers scrambling all over the place waiting for their idol's. Some smart ones manage to slip through them scratchless, some unlucky ones get caught the second their van enters. Chaeyoung may not like the whole celebrity world, but she's a good person who helps as much as she can.

It's only 11am and Chaeyoung decided to send the ice cream before eating her lunch so she could slip into her home clothes with nothing to worry about. The second Chaeyoung enters her house, she takes off her outside shoes and grabs a tote bag while putting down the one she had outside on her coffee table. The tote bag slings on her arm and she puts all the tubs Chan wanted. She puts on her outside slippers then exits and decides to take the normal elevator.

She pushes the 'P' button and after a few floors, reachest the Penthouse. A man waits for her with neatly styles hair and an all black uniform.

"Are you Mr. Jae?" Chaeyoung asks as the man nods after. Chaeyoung hands him the envelope and gives him the bag and once the man receives what he needs, he hands her an envelope.

Chaeyoung bows and leaves after taking one good last look at the place. She reaches her floor and enters her place, quickly taking off her outside slippers and falls face first into her couch, snuggling the blanket she kept on the couch whenever she felt too tired to sleep on her bed.

The second Chaeyoung got to comfortable, her phone rang. Chaeyoung releases a grunt as she digs into her bag to find her phone when the call ends on its own and a text message appears that say 'wrong press! sorry, boo!' from her friend Lisa.

While she dug for her phone, the envelope for Chan's payment fell out. Chaeyoung notices it and picks it up and opens it.

100,000 won fills the envelope and Chaeyoung's eyes grow wide.

This was more than the amount needed. Chaeyoung was about to put the money back when she notices a small pink paper inside the envelope.

Thank you, Chae.

-Chan

Chaeyoung smiles then shakes her head before putting the excess amount of money back into the envelope for her to return.

But fatigue got the best of Chaeyoung and when she put down the envelope, her body fell down on her couch and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

-----

Chaeyoung wakes up and realizes she slept for 10 hours. She skipped both lunch and dinner and now her stomach is angry for food.

The lights were off so Chaeyoung turned some on. She walked to her kitchen and made some pasta. Just noodles and sauce. Once she finishes preparing, she says grace, then digs in.  After washing the dishes and drying her hands, she grabs the envelope and winds up in Chan's Penthouse.

Chan's figure leans on the balcony rail, his hair in a much more neater style, his body clad in a long sleeve polo he folded to show his forearms and dress pants. His eyes are closed and Chaeyounh could see his breath due to the cold Korean night air.

The elevator dings and Chan's trance is abruptly disturbed but ultimately calms down when he sees Chaeyoung. She steps out of the lift and looks at him through the glass sliding doors and smiles.

"Hi."