I woke up the next morning and would have forgotten where I was if Chan hadn't been snoring so loudly in the bed across from mine.
I saw that it was still pretty early at 7 am and decided to go get a run in before he woke up. I tiptoed around the room and attempted to dress quietly. I put on my leggings and sports bra and threw a baggy t-shirt over it. I lazily tossed my hair into a ponytail and headed out with my running watch, phone, and AirPods.
It was a nice day outside and a quick 5k sounded like a good idea. I took off and enjoyed the alone time. I hadn't had any time to myself since Felix and Seungmin had picked me up. I didn't push myself too hard since I still had a bruised rib, but it didn't hurt much unless someone touched it. Running would be fine.
My watch beeped to let me know I had completed my first mile. I continued on and smiled when I realized I'd stumbled across the Capitol Building by mistake. I took a picture to share with my friends later. I wondered if any of the guys had seen it before. I assumed they'd been to DC many times on tours and trips before.
I looked at my mileage and realized I'd gone exactly half a 5k and turned back to run to the hotel at the Wharf. Luckily my phone was able to give me directions since I hadn't been paying much attention to the streets I'd turned on.
I made it all the way back upstairs before I realized that I'd never been given a key to the room. I knocked, but Chan never answered. I'd only been gone for half an hour, so he was probably still asleep. I pulled out my phone to try calling him but realized he'd never given me his number.
I tapped the door a few more times before giving up. I headed down to eat at the breakfast buffet they had set up instead of sitting in the hall hoping he would wake up before noon. But they did have a show to do tonight, so maybe sleeping in kept him energized for performances.
I grabbed some toast, eggs, and a coffee and headed to sit at one of the solo seats at the bar that overlooked the water.
I put my headphones in and listened to quiet, relaxing music while watching the boats that were docked as they rocked back and forth gently in the water. I found myself swaying with them as I ate.
Somebody tapped my shoulder, and I turned to see a man in his late 40s wearing a suit. I removed an earbud.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the seat next to me. I noticed that a lot of the breakfast bar was empty and felt a little unsettled that he had decided to sit right next to me instead of somewhere with more space but nodded my head. Maybe he just wanted to look out the window, too.
He thanked me and sat down. I put my earbud back in and pretended like he wasn't there. I went back to watching the boats. They were a nice distraction from what was to come later today.
It would be my first concert as Chan's 'girlfriend'. We would have to do more crowd walks into and out of the venue. This time, I'd also be wearing whatever ridiculous outfit Chan had chosen for me. I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't nervous.
I wondered how they managed to seem so composed and cool with all of the constant attention. Maybe it would grow on me over time, or maybe they were one bad crowd walk away from snapping.
The man beside me tapped my elbow again, and I turned to look at him. He was speaking but I couldn't hear him. I removed my earbuds.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" I asked.
His eyes scanned from my crossed legs, over my chest, and up to my eyes. "I was just wondering what a girl like you is doing here by herself."
My stomach sunk and my mouth felt dry. "I..." I stammered. I tried to remember what I'd seen about handling these situations. "I'm not alone," I replied. I knew that was the most important thing to make known.
"I've been sitting here for 20 minutes and was watching you for 10 minutes before that," he admitted. He angled his body towards me on his stool. "You sure do seem alone."
"I'm not. My boyfriend is upstairs." My heart pounded in my chest. I wanted to run but felt frozen.
"He let you come down here all alone? He must not care about you as much as I would," he put a hand on my thigh and moved closer to whisper in my ear. "If you were mine, I'd never let you out of my sight."
My eyes stung, and I felt paralyzed.
"I—He's upstairs," I stammered.
His hand trailed higher on my leg.
"Stop, please stop," I told him and tried to move my leg but he dug his fingers in.
"You don't need to play hard to get. I'll take you upstairs and fuck you right now," he growled.
No. No. No.
I pushed him off of me, and he nearly fell off of his stool. His arm went into his syrup-covered pancakes as he tried to keep himself from falling.
"Bitch! Get back here!" he shouted, but I walked quickly to the elevator. I'd just go sit outside of my room and wait for Chan. I wanted to be far away from that guy.
The elevator doors opened, and I jumped inside and slammed my hand on the button for my floor. The doors had nearly shut when the guy sprinted towards me and squeezed through. I gasped and moved to the side opposite of him, but everywhere I moved he followed.
He eventually cornered me. His eyes were merciless and black. He didn't seem like he had a shred of sympathy as he made me afraid. He put one of his legs between mine and put a hand on my side. I winced in pain, and he laughed.
"You enjoy being chased?" he snarled.
I pushed his chest, but he didn't move.
"Get off of me," I struggled. I'd begun to cry, and he put a hand on my cheek.
"Kiss me and maybe I'll move," he bargained. I grunted and shoved him away, but he stood there like a statue.
"Get off," I cried out again, and the elevator door opened. Suddenly, he was being ripped away and thrown to the ground. I didn't register what was happening, but, with him gone, I took off down the hallway. I heard punches being thrown but didn't dare to look back in case he was coming after me.
I made it to my door and knocked repeatedly. "Chan! Chan, please open up!" I cried. I sobbed against the door and heard footsteps approaching in the hallway. I looked around for a place to hide but was cornered again.
I braced myself to try to run past him since it was clear I'd stand no chance in a fight.
"Ella?" I heard and fell to the ground in relief. I covered my face with my hands as I cried.
Before I knew it, I was being helped off of the ground and Chan's arm was around me as he tried to console me. When we got into the room, Chan held me close and let me cry into his chest. He didn't ask me anything about what had happened yet. For that, I was grateful.
When I finally managed to compose myself, I just stood and headed off to take a shower. I didn't want to talk about it. I just wanted to wash it away and forget that it happened.
I put on my pajamas that I had left in here earlier from last night and headed back into the room. I debated sitting with Chan but decided to sit on my bed instead.
I hated that he probably thought I was weak. I hated even more the fact that I wanted to have him near me right now. He had defended me. He made me feel safe. But I didn't want to grow to rely on him because all of this was temporary.
So, I took a deep breath.
"I'm okay."