Straight Circle | Winrina

CHAPTER 15

The warm air of the hotel has a pleasant sensation on me. We finally arrived but my heart sinks when I look at the surroundings. The wall is filled with tags and some splashes similar to dried blood. I can't explain the strong smell that emits the hotelkeeper but I'm pretty sure he didn't take a shower for days.

When I think about this hotel, creepy would be an understatement. I bite my lips as I stare at the moldy floor and rat that just passed by.

"I don't think it's a good idea." I tell Minjeong, hoping she will agree so we can leave this shitty place.

She shrugs and walks to the innkeeper. He's sleeping on the counter but when she hits the hotel doorbell, he straightens and looks at us in surprise.

"Gorgeous. Am I in heaven?" he says, admiring the blonde beauty who smiles.

"Funny. Do you have two rooms for the night?"

Even though the hotel is not the best choice we can make, it's just for a night. I should not make a big deal about it.

"Yes! We have plenty of rooms. Here's the key. It's on the first floor. Please let me know if you need my help," he smiles at us and lingers his eyes on Minjeong.

The pain on my shoulder comes back even worse. I wince a little and turns my hands into fists. Unfortunately after ten minutes of suffering in silence, it still won't go away.

"Are you hurt, ma'am?" he asks me with a worried look causing Minjeong to look at me.I fake a smile and shake my head.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," I grab my key and proceed to walk away.

I can feel Minjeong behind my back but I don't care. All I want is to find my bed and sleep as fast as I can. I try to ignore the wall filled with menacing words and blood.

"I'm calling a taxi at nine in the morning so don't wake up too late," I inform her, not waiting for an approval.

I insert the key in the lock and enter my room. It's small but I can bear with it. During my childhood, my parents used to send me in a summer camp where I was forced to sleep in a tight room for two months.

I sigh at the smell of alcohol and sweat overwhelming the room. I open the windows and take a deep breath. After taking a few aspirations of the fresh air, I close the window. I am not going to let it open. I'm on the ground floor which means everyone can jump out the window and be unpredictable.

I feel a pang in my chest when I hear the door of my room closing and footsteps coming near me. Realizing that I forgot to close the door with my key, I freeze on spot and start to panic. I hold my breath and turn to see Minjeong with a bag in her hands.

I let out a sigh of relief and put my hand on my racing heart.

"You frightened the hell out of me!" I shout as she puts the bag on my bed.The moonlight casts face, illuminating her curvy lines such as her plump lips. With each passing second, I grow more curious and impatient with her sudden presence. While I'm staring at her flushed and confused, she sits on my bed and looks into her white bag.

"I asked the guy at the reception a first-aid kit," she casually states before throwing a bunch of bandages and a disinfectant spray on the small bed. "Come here."

Even though her icy demeanor towards me is still there, I can see that she's starting to soften with me. I mindlessly walk to the bed and sit on the edge of the cold mattress. My heart skips a beat when she pushes my hair to the side so that my wounded shoulder is on display.

"It's going to hurt a little," she warns me before patting the deep cut with damp cotton.

I grit my teeth and let out a tiny squeaking. I grab the sheet and close my eyes. It itches so much but I can handle it. Her movements are slow and delicate. She's doing everything softly and I'm grateful that she didn't try to retaliate by pressing harder on my cut.

"Done," she says behind me after she applied a bandage.

I glance at her over my shoulder and smile a little. "Thank you."

With a slight glint in her eyes, she gives me another unreadable gaze. A part of me is hoping she would leave the room, and yet, here I am, hoping she would stay. We had multiples sleepovers but I feel like everything... has changed now.

Starting with the way we see each other.

"I... I should go," she says and gets up from my bed. Before she leaves the room, I speak up, "Minjeong!" She turns to me with sparkling eyes and seeing her so vulnerable shocks me. I thought that she was insensitive to me since I told her that I didn't accept her sexuality. I really thought that she didn't care about me but why is she on the verge crying? My mouth falls open but no sound comes out. There's a beat of silence but I'm pretty sure she can hear the beating of my heart.

"It's okay," she smiles at me and quits the room.

I inhale deeply and fall into the bed. The scent of her perfume lingers in the still air making me think about her even more. I don't know I'm always thinking about her these days. It seems like she anchored her face and all of her kind gestures in my mind. Gosh, I hate when she's being sweet to me. It making me like her even more. I sigh and run my hands through my hair. My mother told me to keep some distance from her but that's hard because through all the years we spend together, she has built a special place in my life. An omnipresent quietly and smoothly place like home.