Taste | Changbin

Chapter Sixty-Seven

"Where are we going?" Lennon asked as the two of them stepped outside of the hotel room. 

A bodyguard was dressed in a black polo shirt and dress pants behind them. Apparently, it wasn't supposed to be obvious that he was their bodyguard. Han shoved his hands into his pockets. "I've got to get more Gushers, but besides that, I have no plans. Do you want to go see anything specifically?" 

"I promised Hana I'd get her a souvenir, but I don't know what to get her." 

"A shot glass." 

"What?" 

"Hana collects a shot glass from almost everywhere she goes. When we were here last year, we were going from one event to the next with very little sleep. None of us had any down time to explore the city. Hana was really disappointed that she didn't get a shot glass. I tried to tell her she could order one online, but she insisted it wasn't the same thing as getting it in person." 

"Screw you!" A guy yelled at a bright yellow taxi. 

The taxi driver responded by blaring his car horn. 

"I've forgotten how much I enjoy this city and all its glory," Han mumbled to himself. "The good and the bad." 

A crowd of people was up ahead waiting for a stoplight to change colors. Lennon tugged the hood of her hoodie over her head lower. She had quickly placed her hair in braids before they left the hotel. She pulled the hood over her head and hoped that nobody would recognize her. 

"I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to break down crying and ruin the moment you and Felix were having." 

"Huh?" Han whipped his head towards Lennon. 

"I said I was sorry for earlier." 

"For what? Crying? Why are you apologizing? There's nothing to be sorry about. We all have shitty days and shitty things happen to people sometimes. You needed to be reminded that you're now surrounded by people that care for you and there's nothing wrong with that. We all have days where we struggle." 

"I know, but I feel bad." 

"You're totally going to love what Changbin has planned later." 

"What?" 

Han's eyes widened as he realized what he just said. "Nothing! Nothing! I didn't say anything! Please pretend you didn't hear that. I didn't say anything about Changbin planning a date I- shit! Fuck, I've gotta shut the fuck up!" He quickly covered his red face with his hands. "It was supposed to be a surprise." 

Lennon let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I can pretend to be surprised. How's this?" She opened her mouth in a wide O and placed her hands on her cheeks. Her eyebrows raised in fake shock. 

"Oh my god, if that's the best you have, Changbin is going to kill me. He's gonna murder me. He's been planning this for days and I ruined it with a single sentence." 

"Cheer up, I'll buy you more Gushers." 

"Really?" 

"Mm-hm."

The two of them joined the stream of people that were crossing the road. Han moved closer to Lennon. "I hate crowds of people. It almost feels suffocating here." 

"Tell me about it. Where would you like to go first? The grocery store or a gift shop?"

"What about the gift shop? I think that's one right there." Han pointed to a business across the street. "We've just gotta get over there." Someone bumped into his shoulder. He glanced over at a woman who glared at him. "I'm so sorry!" She rolled her eyes and hurried away. 

"That was incredibly rude," Lennon mumbled. 

"It's New York and we're not from around here. They must be tired of tourists being around all the time. Let's just hurry up and get to the gift shop. I'm sure it'll be less crowded." 

"Oh my god, you're Han Jisung!" A squeal came from the front of the crowd. "Oh my god, guys look!" 

"What do we do?" Lennon whispered. 

Han didn't skip a beat. "Who? Sorry, you must be mistaken. My name is Larry, I don't know anyone named Han." 

"Oh, sorry." A pale girl with bright blue eyes frowned. "I thought you were someone else." She turned back around and continued walking away. 

Han gripped onto Lennon's hand and dragged her towards the curb. "Gosh, that was so close. We've gotta get out of here away from the general public. I don't think it'll take her long to realize that I lied. Sorry for grabbing your hand, I'm nervous." 

"It's not a big deal." Lennon gently squeezed his hand. "Now, we can't lose each other." She looked both ways before starting to cross the road. Han followed along closely behind her. 

The two of them made their way to the front of the gift shop. Gift baskets filled with teddy bears and flower bouquets lined the front window. Lennon grabbed the door handle and swung it open. A bell chimed from the top of the door. 

"Let's hurry up and grab some souvenirs and get back to the hotel."