Recovery

Chapter Seven: Sleepover

"Does Y/n usually hit you?" Gaeul asked as she plopped onto Chaewon's bed.

"No. That was a first," Chaewon replied. She brushed the last of her damp hair before joining Gaeul, "I guess it was my fault since he has told me he doesn't want me spouting the maid stuff around company."

Gaeul hummed, "I guess... I just didn't expect him to get violent."

"It probably means more than I thought," Chaewon sighed. "I'll apologize to him in the morning."

"Maybe he wants to try to live a life different from what he had back at home," Gaeul reasoned.

"Eung. I think so."

Gaeul scooted closer to the radish, leaning in, "What was he like before you guys moved here?"

Chaewon scoffed, "Why? Are you interested in him?"

"He's a little cute..." Gaeul mumbled.

The radish nested the back of her head on her palms, "He's all yours."

"Hey, I didn't ask for permission. I asked for what he's like," Gaeul pressured.

"Yeah, yeah," Chaewon yawned. "He's a good guy. He's going to make a lot of mistakes, especially if you two date, but that's because he's inexperienced. With enough time, and effort, I'm sure he'd be a good partner."

"What was he like with Minju?" Gaeul prodded.

"You won't be taking his first kiss, that's for sure," Chaewon chuckled.

"Oh... Minju took it," Gaeul nodded, "That makes sense"

"Actually..." Chaewon trailed, "It was me, but it was an accident."

"Really?!" Gaeul gasped, "What happened?? Were you two drunk?"

"He was dreaming, and kissed me while thinking I was Minju," Chaewon explained.

Gaeul scrunched her nose, "Wah... What a douchey move... Is he still a virgin?"

"That's a cherry you're free to take," Chaewon replied.

The two young women continued chatting into the night. Inside Y/n's room, he tossed and turned in his bed.

"You like what you see?" Gaeul smirked. She ran her fingers up her thigh, tugging at her leggings, "Why don't you come reveal more yourself?"

Y/n glanced toward Chaewon with a gulp. Her round hazel eyes peered deep into his soul with a magnetic innocence. His mind questioned if what he saw was real, but his heart felt encased in her grasp.

"What's wrong, Mr. Kim?" Chaewon asked softly.

Chaewon's gentle features tugged harder and harder at Y/n's heart. Her doe-like innocence urged him to take her and keep her forever. As he stepped toward his maid, Gaeul to turn his head toward her.

"Eyes on me," she growled.

Gaeul placed her hand on Y/n's crotch. With a teasingly gentle touch, she rubbed his shaft through its covers.

"How about we take this somewhere else?"

Y/n shot up from his bed, panting. A cold sweat bound his shirt to his back and neck, pulling him back to reality.

Ah... It was just a dream...

The door creaked open slowly, shedding thin beams of the kitchen light into Y/n's room. The opening widened and widened, allowing Chaewon to stick her head through.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Ki- Y/n?"

Y/n sighed, "Yeah, just a bad dream."

Chaewon frowned. Her soft features brought a skip to Y/n's heart; it served as a reminder of who she truly was as how precious of a friend he held her as.

Before she could give a response, Y/n opened his mouth once more. His heart sank as he recalled lashing out at her.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know what got to me..."

"It's okay," Chaewon assured. "We can talk about it when our guest is gone. Sleep well."

Chaewon closed the door, leaving Y/n in his guilt once more. The image of Chaewon's brief look of pain—a look that reflected not physical pain, but betrayal—seared itself into his heart.

A muffled longing to hear her refer to him formally pinched him like an irritating bug that wouldn't go away. He wanted her to say it, but also didn't.

She almost said it too...

Alongside his throbbing heart, Y/n's head throbbed, drawing his attention back to his dream.

He planted his palm squarely onto his forehead, rubbing his eyes with a sigh. "Fuck..."

"What was that?" Gaeul asked as Chaewon closed her door.

Chaewon slid back into bed, shrugging, "He woke up from a bad dream."

"A bad dream?" Gaeul snickered. "What did he dream about?"

"Beats me," Chaewon mumbled.

Gaeul glanced toward the radish maid through the side of her eye. She observed the minute changes in Chaewon's demeanor, bringing a heartfelt smile to her face.

"You care about him a lot, don't you?"

"In the end, he's still my best friend," Chaewon replied. She stared at the ceiling with dull eyes. "I can't help but worry about him."

Gaeul nodded before turning her back toward the radish, "I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."

With a hum, Chaewon resigned herself to her exhaustion. She imagined the two dating, stringing her attention to the difference between Gaeul and Minju.

The former appeared independent and confident while many saw Minju as a klutz. Gaeul sported long, waist-length black hair with blonde accents at the tip, potentially from a period of short hair where she dyed her hair blonde.

Chaewon pondered on the importance of hair. The bob cut she sported never seemed to catch as much of Y/n's attention as longer hair in her eyes. Minju, Gaeul, and even old images of her she fished from the internet before she went missing seemed to strike a chord in his heart.

Y/n frequently stole glances from Minju, and regularly mentioned how much he liked Chaewon's long hair. During their dinner, the maid even caught Y/n staring at Gaeul's.

I can't blame him... I'm jealous of how good it looks too. It's so... shiny and healthy.

She recalled Y/n's previous habit of playing with Yuri's hair as they laid together. Periodically, he fiddled with the pads of his fingers and wriggled the digits as if he were combing through long locks—even if his hands were far from anyone's head.

Maybe he just likes to play with people's hair.

The stark difference between the woman Y/n took interest in and herself tied a hard knot in Chaewon's stomach. She questioned if she had chosen the right hairstyle for herself. Minju, Yuri, Chaeyoung, Wooyeon, Gaeul, and Daeun all sported long, luscious hair—save for Wooyeon when she forgot to shower.

He seems like an average guy, so do other guys think the same way as him...?