Hobi's Demands • JHS

Fifty One

When you reached the doors of the terminal you stepped aside and waited your heart pounding beneath your ribs. You'd made it all the way back to Korea and you suddenly had no clue what you planned to do. It had all seemed so simple in the middle of the night, book a flight, come back.

You needed to know why he'd written that on the lock. The timing was all wrong, the night he'd ordered it there was no way he was in love with you. He'd kicked you out of bed right after having sex with you for the first time just hours later.

You realized he couldn't have done it after the fact, the package was already at your apartment building when the blow up happened in Thailand. There was no way to get it engraved at that point. Had he called a few days later? You racked your brain to piece together the timeline, none of it made sense. Was it paranoid to think he'd switched the purses and had the concierge send this one instead? That seemed unlikely since it was still in its original shipping box.

What had he said about the lock? You lowered to a bench by the tall glass window taxis and happy families reuniting appearing in its frame. You thought about that moment, at the counter, wishing you hadn't spent so much on a flight and thought about it back in Osaka. You pictured standing there, could almost feel your fingers touching the leather, he'd leaned into you, whispered in your ear. 'Because I've locked you up' you could hear him saying it, and you'd assumed he meant as his sub.

But then he went and had it engraved, did he mean he locked you up with love? You flinched and shook your head, this was a manipulation. You would find him, get the rights back to your songs and go home to Japan. Tigers don't change their stripes, he meant he knew you were in love with him, and he'd caught you. That's all.

You took a cab to a cafe near Hybe and ordered a tea and some soup. You told yourself you were just tired from your flight but you were really working up the nerve to text him. When the food was gone there was no more delaying.

YN: Hey Hoseok, it's Y/N, I saw your interview. If you meant it I'm in Seoul and would like my songs back

You hit send, the blood rushing in your head with such a frenzy you had to squeeze your eyes shut for a moment. You sighed, wishing you'd done it before you'd ordered because now you'd have to wait for his reply.

When your phone stayed silent for fifteen minutes you paid your bill and dragged your suitcase down the street to a hotel. Before you could open the lobby doors you were overcome with a feeling you couldn't shake. You dragged your cell phone out and before the urge could pass sent another message.

YN: I'm in town, do you think we could talk? It's Y/N

You could feel tears starting when you hit send, the message to your stepfather flying away through the cell towers. Why had you done that? You knew coming back to Korea was a monumental mistake.

YS: Yes! I'm at work, you could come over here now or I'll come to you, just tell me where

His message came back so quickly the tears poured down your cheeks harder. You didn't forgive him, but you needed to see him, at one point he'd been the only thing between you and your mother.

YN: I'm at the Ibis, I'll text you the room number when I get checked in

You shoved your phone back into your pocket and went in. The cost was more than you wanted to spend but navigating around town from a cheap hotel on the outskirts of Seoul would just waste money on transportation.

Your stepfather showed up ten minutes after you'd text your room number. You figured he'd already called a car and was headed your way. He sat on the single chair and you took the bed, both of you awkward.