Taste | Changbin

Chapter Forty-Three

Lennon knew she couldn't avoid Chan and Changbin for the rest of her life, but she could try. She stayed locked in her hotel room until it was time to go to the concert venue. She made sure she left a little later than the time that Han said they were leaving. She knew they'd be waiting for her, they couldn't leave her behind. She was just hoping that the two men she wanted to avoid wouldn't be there. 

Thankfully, she was right. She came downstairs and found a car waiting for her free of them. She hopped in the back seat and sat beside I.N. Felix sat on the other side of him. Lee Know fiddled with his phone up front joking that she was late. Lennon apologized and blamed the problem on her black eye. 

Her eye was still swollen from greeting Chan's elbow. It was so puffy and swollen that she couldn't open it. The blurry vision, that she had disappeared completely. Not wanting to bother applying makeup, she had walked down to a pharmacy down the street and purchased a cheap black eye patch. 

She felt a little silly wearing it, but she didn't want fans taking photos of her black eye and posting about it online. If they had a photo of her wearing the eye patch, she'd be able to brush it off as an accident. It was almost an accident, just not quite. 

Their manager had already asked about it and after confronting Chan and Changbin, she had to come clean about it. It was easy to say that he was less than thrilled to find out the oldest member of the band he was managing beat up a younger member because of a girl. They promised nothing like it would ever happen again. It was only a cause of miscommunication. 

The car ride was filled with excitement from Felix and I.N. Lee Know added his own commentary here and there. This was their last show in Georgia and the band was thrilled. In less than twenty-four hours, they'd be on a beach in Florida soaking up the sun. The weather had been warmer the past few days and the guys were eager to experience the warmth after a chilly spring. 

Lennon leaned her head up against the glass window and closed her eyes. She tuned everyone out and focused on her own thoughts. How was she going to talk to Chan and Changbin? How was she supposed to look Changbin in the eye knowing that she was the reason why his face was scratched and bruised? Just the thought of it made her feel queasy. 

Han had insisted they weren't mad at her nor were they mad at each other. However, that didn't make her feel better about the situation. She couldn't shake the guilt that she felt. If she had insisted on telling the guys that she and Changbin made up, it wouldn't have happened. It bothered her so much that she had chewed her nails down to stubs.

"Lennon, are you awake?" I.N gently shook her shoulder, "we're here."

Lennon opened her eyes to see a large gray building in front of her. "I guess we are. Thanks for getting me up." 

"No problem." 

She opened her door and climbed out. By the time she reached the trunk, Lee Know was already walking towards the venue with her makeup kit at his side. She hurried over to him. "I can take that if you want me to." 

"That's okay, I've got it." 

The two of them started into the venue side by side. After a few seconds of silence, Lee Know spoke up. "I hope you're not still thinking about what happened last night. I hope you know that they're not mad at you." 

"And so I've been told. I guess that just doesn't really help with the guilt, you know? It makes me feel like shit." 

"I know it must feel shitty, but they both really do care about you. We all do, even if it doesn't seem that way." 

Lennon nodded and placed her gaze on the concrete. The two of them were quiet as they entered the building. A worker led the two of them to a makeup room. They thanked her before she left the room. Before Lennon could set up her supplies, a knock came from the door. Chan and Changbin stood in the doorway. 

"I'll take that as my cue to go. I'm pretty sure Han said there was going to be food somewhere for us and I haven't eaten since breakfast. I'll see you guys later!" 

Changbin and Chan parted to the side and let Lee Know pass them. Feeling flustered, Lennon turned her attention back to the makeup in front of her. Since the main color of the tour was purple, she had been playing around with different dark shades of the color. Plum, violet, eggplant, amethyst, the list went on and on. 

Chan cleared his throat, "can we come in?" 

"Of course you can." 

Footsteps became louder and the door shut. Lennon continued laying products out on the table. Maybe if she kept acting busy, she wouldn't have to look them in the eye. Maybe they'd realize she was busy and they'd leave. She didn't have to put on their makeup yet, they still had a few minutes before she had to start working. 

"Is your eye really that bad?" Chan blurted out. "I mean I know I hit you pretty hard. I didn't mean to, I swear, I was just so angry. I didn't realize it was you behind me, I thought it was one of the guys." 

Lennon's shoulders slumped. She turned around and removed the patch covering her eye. Chan's eyes widened in horror. A hand flew over Changbin's mouth. The skin around her eye had faded into a mix of ruby red and deep purple. She quickly moved the eye patch back over it and shrugged. "You don't have to apologize, I get it." 

Chan and Changbin shared a look. 

"Who's getting their makeup done first?" 

"Me, I guess," Chan started towards the chair. "Can I...?" He trailed off. 

"What?" 

"Can I hug you?" 

"If you want to." 

Chan walked over with his arms spread out. He wrapped them around her waist and she returned the gesture. "I really am sorry. I swear I didn't mean it." 

"It's okay," Lennon insisted, "just don't do it again. Did the stylist see your bruises?" 

She pulled away and gently lifted Chan's hand to her face. His knuckles were similar to her eye; bright red and purple. "She did, but she wanted to know your opinion on it. She didn't know if she should give me gloves or if you could put makeup on them." 

"I can put makeup on them, but it'd be easier to place you in gloves. It might irritate them a bit, but it'd be better than me having to blend all the makeup out." 

"I'm fine with whatever you suggest." 

"I guess you're getting gloves." 

"I guess you're right." 

Changbin cleared his throat. Chan glanced over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to go see what gloves the stylist has." He left without another word. 

"So it's just me and you now," Changbin started. 

Lennon pointed to the makeup chair. "Can you sit down? I haven't seen your face up close and I have a feeling we've got a lot to do."