The Red of the Rose | Taeyong

24 | Restrain

The inn was a few minutes' walk from the café, located near the ocean side. The owner was a woman who was dressed too smartly for the late hour of the night and only after a brief introduction, she led them upstairs, aunty following behind closely.

The room was cosy, with light walls and a large window which facing the ocean. The innkeeper switched on the lamp, throwing a yellow shade across the room contrasting the blue outside.

'I brought you clothes you can wear for the night.' Aunty placed a pile of neatly folded clothes on the bed.

'Thank you so much,' Miah replied.

Aunty waved a hand.

The inn owner finished showing them around and giving instructions. 'If you need anything else, give me a call,' the woman said, leaving a number of their bedside desk before exiting with aunty, leaving Taeyong and Miah alone in the room.

The two took turns to take a warm shower and change into the clothes aunty had brought them. The clothes hung loose on their frames, with Miah's shirt drooping off her shoulder.

They placed their phones on charging and stood at the foot of the bed waiting for the other to say something. It was not that Taeyong and Miah have never been close before but sharing a bed was a whole other deal.

The moment Taeyong stepped forward the only lamp in the room went off. The inn owner had warned of a power cut earlier so they were prepared but given that it was the countryside, there really was no light even from outside, shrouding the room in complete darkness.

Miah gasped, flailing her hands in front of her as she called out in the darkness, 'Taeyong.'

Groping at air, Miah moved towards Taeyong till he caught her. 'I'm here. Right here,' he whispered assuring her, holding her by the shoulder. 'Scared of the dark?' He asked.

'A little,' she admitted.

Taeyong led Miah to the bed, sitting her down at the edge. 'Wait here, I'll light the manual heater.'

Turning on the flashlight on his phone, he walked across the room to light the other heater as the inn owner had instructed and brought it back with him near the foot of the bed.

The heater had managed to cast a light orange hue across the room and while it was still dim, it was not completely dark anymore.

'Is this better?' Taeyong asked and got inside the covers, gesturing Miah to slide inside the blanket too which she did.

He let her snuggle in his chest, wrapping an arm around her and placing a small kiss on her forehead, soon they found themselves drifting to sleep, letting the tiredness take over them.

Somewhere in the night, Miah stirred. It was still dark, and the manual heater was on, which means the electricity wasn't back yet. The temperature had dropped several degrees in these hours, making Miah shiver despite being covered in a thick blanket. Beside her, Taeyong was sound asleep on his back.

She lifted her legs slowly, trying her hardest not to disturb Taeyong, to pull the blanket beneath her feet. After successfully managing the manoeuvre, she lay there for several minutes, huffing warm breath into her hands and rubbing them on her shoulders but to no avail.

Another shiver ran up her body and she turned to the side, away from Taeyong, to let him sleep. But Taeyong was already stirring and with this last movement, he whispered groggily, 'What's the matter?'

'Oh.' Miah was startled. 'You're awake. I'm sorry.'

Taeyong's hand ran over the figure beside him, till it stopped at Miah's waist and rolled her over, close to him. 'Why are you not sleeping?' Taeyong's eyes were still closed.