Friendships Desires and Secrets

Morning One, Lori Ito

Alex snuggled in beside Namjoon and had just laid her arm across his hip, when the sound of the doorbell startled her.

"Who the hel- did you order something?"

"No Joonah, it's too early."

The door rang again followed by the sound of a fist striking four times. It reminded Alex of the police. She felt a strange urge to hide but remained frozen in the bed, pulling the blankets over her nakedness defensively when Namjoon rose to check the door camera.

"Aish!" He cursed.

"I know you are in there lover!" Came a snarky female voice from the other side of the door. "You didn't call me, so I came by."

Alex knew that the only way to get into the secure building was with a code, so obviously this woman had one. Alex suddenly felt the world drop out from under her. Was this her biggest fear coming true and did she manifest this with her fear? When everything was on the edge of perfection, the house of cards, crashed down?

"Go away Lori!" Namjoon called through the door. I told you last year that we were over. You can't keep coming around."

So, he did know her, and they had been dating. Alex thought she might be sick. She remembered the name Lori Ito from a K-idol article and kicked herself not just for reading it but for also, not remembering what the article was entirely about. She got up and quickly got dressed, finding her panties after she put her pants on, and shoved them in her pocket. She was nearly hysterical by the time she locked herself in the bathroom and sat down in the tub. Alex tried taking deep breaths and working out a logical reason for this person to have not taken the hint about being broken up. She listened through her sobs, but the voices were far too muffled now. Like they were quieter, farther away...

HE HAD OPENED THE DOOR!

Out in the hall of the apartment, Lori sounded like she was trying to be coy at first then got more obnoxious after his repeated refusals. She could tell by his tone, that he was using his polite RM voice. Forced and flat. The woman, became louder then, Alex finally hearing her scream, "You have someone in there don't you? That's why you won't let me in!"

Alex heard Joon's firm "Leave. Now.", then the woman mumbled something. After what felt like 20 minutes of dead silence, Alex finally heard Joon's bare feet walk quickly past the outside the bathroom door. When he entered the bedroom and called her, she could hear the panic in his voice. She just sat there. Then her body began to shake all over, eyes widened and focused on an invisible point in her mind. She recognized the signs of shock as her hands and feet drained of blood and turned cold.

She heard him come back down the hall and try to open the bathroom door. It shook in its frame. "Baby please come out. Please, please don't be mad. I told her after I met you last year that we were done. I haven't seen her or heard from her until today. Baby, please come on and talk to me."

She heard the handle of the door wrenching free from the latch and suddenly the door flew open with great force and Namjoon rushed in. He was beside her, scooping her trembling form from the tub and taking her back into his bedroom. He sat with her in the center of the bed and cradled her in his lap until she calmed. He started a rapid-fire explanation. How she was not a part of his life and when she was it was toxic. She wanted to ride his coattails to her own sort of celebrity status. But he had told her from the beginning of their relationship, that he could never announce that they were together. She had become infuriated, throwing things at him and even trying to hit him. He had been so lonely that he had called her a few times after that, but he had always been left with a miserable and hollow feeling after and finally he tried calling it quits.

But it wasn't until he had met Alex that he saw what a real relationship was supposed to look like. How easy it was to be around her and to talk to her and be spoken to like a human being. And she had always put him at ease, that's why he wanted her to move in. He wanted her to be with him always. He wanted only her.