Taste | Changbin

Chapter Fourteen

The bruise on Lennon's left shoulder was ugly. A plum purple had spread out near the top of her shoulder. It was only a few inches from her collarbone. Her fingers lightly traced it. She knew that when Changbin shoulder chucked her, it'd leave a bruise. She didn't think it'd bruise this badly. 

"I know you're showering, but I really need to pee. I swear I'll be in and out in a minute. I'll be so fast, it's like I won't even be here!" The door to the bathroom opened suddenly. 

Lennon's eyes widened as she looked at the open door. Felix stood with a similar shocked look on his face. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Usually, I.N showers at this time in the mornings. I forgot you were here, I didn't even think about it, I'm so sorry!" His cheeks flushed red. 

"It's okay. I thought I locked the door, but it must not work." 

"Yeah, Han broke the lock a few months ago. We haven't gotten it replaced yet. What's on your shoulder?" 

"Oh, this? It's nothing." She quickly unrolled the sleeve of her t-shirt. "I ended up running into the edge of a door the other day. I had forgotten about it until earlier. I was just looking at it, that's all. I'll get out of here, so you can go to the bathroom." 

"I'm really sorry!" Felix apologized again. 

"It's okay, at least, I wasn't on the toilet. Just knock next time, okay? I don't think the other members would have been thrilled if you walked in on them either." 

"Probably not," he muttered. 

He stepped into the bathroom. Lennon walked around him and shut the door behind her. She could hear him cursing himself in the mirror. She couldn't help, but let out a chuckle. If things would have been different, she would have been mortified. 

She walked into the kitchen to see everyone gathered at the table. I.N and Seungmin had finally gotten up to enjoy breakfast. Hyunjin must have still been asleep in the living room. Lee Know handed a plate out to her. 

It contained two pancakes and a few pieces of bacon. She thanked him and sat down in an empty chair. A few bowls contained diced up fruit. She grabbed the spoon out of a bowl of chopped strawberries. She shook it a few times to sprinkle strawberries on top of her pancakes; maple syrup soon followed.  

I.N handed a fork to her. She quickly took a forkful of pancakes and began to dig in. Apparently, Lee Know was texting Chan and asking him if they could leave earlier. I.N and Seungmin kept talking about all the arcade games they were going to play. Lennon quietly chewed her food in peace while listening.

"Which game are you excited to play?" After a few minutes of silence, Han turned his attention towards Lennon. 

She shrugged her shoulders and swallowed her food. "I've never been to a Korean arcade. Whatever looks good, I guess." 

"You're in for such a treat," I.N grinned. "The arcade is so fun. Sometimes we spend hours there getting lost in all the games." 

"I can't wait!" 

"Chan says we can leave when everyone is ready," Lee Know spoke up. "It's a half hour drive from our dorms."

"I should probably go back to my apartment real quick." Lennon scooped the last few bites of pancakes into her mouth. "I need to find a new pair of clothes to change into since these ones are from last night." 

"You can borrow some of mine. Han can too since he spent the night. Someone is going to have to get Hyunjin to get up. I.N, you can share your clothes with him, right?" 

I.N nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll go get him up and force him to change. Since I'm the youngest, he has a little more kindness in his heart when it comes to me." 

"You two, come with me," Lee Know pointed at Lennon and Han. "We'll go find clothes for you and then we'll get ready to go. Where's Felix?" 

"I'm right here! Sorry, I was changing in the bathroom." 

"Eat some breakfast and save some for Hyunjin." 

Lennon grabbed Han's empty plate and stacked it on top of her own. Seungmin followed along and placed his empty plate on the stack. I.N shoved a strip of bacon into his mouth and added his. 

"I'll get these, guys. You guys better change, so we can go." Felix picked up the stack of plates and put them by the sink. 

Lennon hurried after Han and Lee Know. They had disappeared out of sight while she was stacking dirty dishes. She found them standing in what must have been Lee Know's room. A bed sat in the middle of the room with purple sheets on it. A variety of different band posters were plastered to his walls. 

"Jeans or sweatpants?" He asked. 

"Jeans!" 

"Lennon?" 

"What type of sweatpants do you have?" 

He opened a drawer and unfolded a pair of black joggers that contained a white strip on each side of them. Small black buttons lined the white strip. "Those will work, if you're okay with it." 

He tossed them to her and continued digging through the drawer to find a pair of jeans for Han. After a few seconds, he tossed a pair of whitewash denim jeans at him. After slamming the dresser drawer shut, he opened the top drawer and pulled out two shirts. He handed one to each of them. "Get changed, so we can go." He left without another word. 

"I'll go change in the bathroom and you can change here." Lennon clutched the clothes tighter to her chest. 

"Sounds good, I'll meet you out in the living room." 

Lennon flashed him a thumbs up before she shut the door to Lee Know's room. She headed to the bathroom in silence. Anxiety had been brewing inside of her again. She knew it was stupid, but she didn't want to see Changbin again. She knew she didn't have to talk to him, but the thought of seeing him again gave her butterflies. 

No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, Changbin was attractive. From his dark brown eyes that caused her heart to flutter every time he looked at her to his muscles that could easily pin her down and trap her, he scared her. She was utterly terrified of Seo Changbin. 

And yet she was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame.