Decoupled • KTH : Book 1✔

Chapter 34

Maya

Downing two long island iced teas wasn't probably the best thing to do last night. I usually don't have such bad hangovers, but I guess my body is growing old, and its alcohol tolerance levels are sinking slowly.

I wake up with a throbbing headache, a parched mouth, and almost naked in bed. My eyes did try to open many times, but it all appeared to be part of my dream, and they just kept closing, hoping to see the dream again, if that even makes any sense.

Finally, managing to sit up in bed, I look around the room and try to figure out what kind of striptease I performed before blacking out. My blouse from last night is lying on the floor near the door, Taehyung's T-shirt is on the floor too, and I don't even know where my bra is. Not bothering about such petty things, I make my way to the bathroom and find my jeans there, lying almost like a floor-mat at the foot of the sink.

It takes me a very long time to brush my teeth, take a shower and get dressed, in between the numerous two-minute breaks that I keep giving myself after just lifting a finger to flush the toilet. That's how worked up my body feels.

Long island iced tea has to be eliminated from my list of permissible foods.

After what feels like an eternity, I finally manage to grab my phone only to discover that there are no texts from Taehyung. It is almost 4 pm in London, and so it would be past midnight in Korea. So I make up my mind that he must probably be sleeping after spending his Saturday with Areum.

My whole day has gone by with just me waking up and trying to do some basic survival tasks—next in the list being to get some food into my system since my stomach starts rumbling violently.

Heading over to the round-the-clock coffee shop at the hotel, I eat or rather gobble up a huge ass sandwich with sides and a large glass of milkshake at an astronomical pace.

I have faint memories of my conversations with Jae-Eun last night as I send him some texts to apologize for not showing up this morning. Much to my embarrassment there are so many missed calls and unread text messages from him from this morning. He must have thought that I probably fell into a long island iced tea coma or something.

Once I'm done with my meal, I take a taxi and head to the shopping area, Oxford Street, to buy something nice for myself and for Taehyung and for Areum as well because spending crazily is something that I perform like a ritual after a drunk night.

My first stop is the kids' store, and it feels absolutely amazing to be inside one and walk around the lines of pretty dresses and hair accessories, all of which would look super cute on Areum.

Ever since I met her at the airport, my mind is just stuck with the image of her cherubic face, and I keep thinking about the little cute moments that Taehyung and she would be having together.

Just thinking about them makes my heart melt like a blob of butter.

I have a hard time picking one dress for Areum, and I eventually end up buying four, along with a whole bunch of hair accessories. Her hair is so much like Taehyung's, and just about any accessory would look cute on her. So it was hard not to grab a big bunch of accessories to decorate her soft locks.

Next, I head to a leather store to pick up something exquisite for Taehyung. He has a nice collection of formal wear, and with casual wear, he always prefers to wear earthy and neutral tones rather than the bright and flashy ones. But seeing him in a leather jacket has been one of my weird fantasies, and, today, I intend to fulfill just that.

Checking out the display in the jackets section, I pick out a couple of them that look perfect to my eyes. I evaluate them carefully, literally hallucinating how Taehyung would slip his veiny arms into the sleeves of the jacket and pull it over his strong shoulders, combing his hair with his long fingers thereafter and giving me a teasing smirk.