Carpe Noctem

Chapter 2

At midnight, Se Ri and Jeong Hyeok linger by the door of her apartment. It’s a waiting game for both of them: with her silently guessing his next move, and him…

Well, she isn’t really sure.

When he dropped an enigmatic remark back at the club, she was almost a hundred percent sure that he had something in store for them that evening. Whether it’s pure and clean fun or not, it doesn’t really matter. She’s an adult; she can decide what she’ll permit and what she won’t. And she is reduced to a jittery mess anticipating what’s to come.

However, what baffles her is that now that they have arrived at their building, standing three feet apart from each other at her doorstep, it appears as if all he ever planned for was to walk her home and bid her goodnight.

Soon enough, impatience begins to set in. She crosses her arms and leans back on the wall with her calculating eyes intently focused on him.

“So what you had in mind for tonight was actually a staring match between you and I,” she scowls at him. “We could have done this at Limmatstrasse too, you know? And there would be drinks and background music, at least.”

A corner of his lips turns up even as he follows along with her pretense, and he adamantly refutes, “Of course not.”

“What are you planning to do then, Mr. Lee?” she asks.

He breathes in, then opens his mouth as if he is about to share his ideas—only to close it again. His jaw clenches, and the crease on his forehead hints at his sudden indecision.

And just when she is certain that he is going to dismiss whatever he’s thinking and retreat to his room, he tells her, “I would like to spend the rest of my time here in Switzerland with you.”

She stops glowering at him and says, “Oh, okay. Sure. I don’t have anything planned for tomorrow anyway.”

“I was hoping we could start tonight. We can talk, or watch a movie. We can sleep all day. We’ll do anything you want,” he speaks to her meekly. “I’d like to get to know you better, and to take care of you for as long as I can—if you’ll allow me to.”

“Look—I know this is selfish of me to ask. But please…” his voice is hushed, and his cheeks are absolutely flushed. “Stay with me, Se Ri-ah.”

She blinks thrice before answering, “Okay.”

Then, she crosses the short distance between them and stands on tiptoes to press a soft kiss on his lips, taking him completely by surprise.

“Okay,” she repeats for good measure as she gazes up at him, wide-eyed. “I’m all yours until Tuesday, Jeong Hyeok-ah.”

“Okay,” he sighs, letting out a shaky breath of relief before kissing her for the second time.

Se Ri has been sitting in front of her vanity for five minutes. She should be out of her bathrobe and in her sleepwear by then, but the promise of that evening and the day after is distracting enough to hinder her from functioning like a sane human being.

Because a sane human being would not agree to this set-up, she mentally interjects. Two nights and one day with a man you met less than a week ago and will most likely never see again—what the hell were you thinking, Yoon Se Ri?

This should just be a fling—a one-time thing that I’m supposed to shrug off once it’s over, she sternly reminds herself. Now, why does it feel like it’s going to haunt me for a while?

Why does it feel like it’s going to hurt when we finally say goodbye?

She glances over her shoulder to check the clock on her bedside table; it shows 12:42. In three minutes, she is supposed to meet him at the door, and they’ll have some sort-of-a sleepover in his room until he leaves for North Korea on Tuesday afternoon. The conflict inside her is brewing, and she hides her face in her hands to somehow curb her exasperation.