DAYLIGHT | taehyun

10

THIRD.

Akira didn't realize that she had snoozed off some time during the two hours she sat there in the darkness. She wakes up with her head leaning against the cabinet, still on the floor, but someone else's blazer is on her lap.

She flutters her eyes open with a frown, rubbing them as she sits upright and releases a set of hushed grunts and sighs. Somewhere inside the dim room, she hears distinct sounds of a lock being fumbled with. It took her a few moments to realize that Taehyun was no longer beside her.

With squinted eyes and a creased forehead, Akira surveys the room through its unilluminated state, wondering where her only company went. Only to discover him down on one knee in front of the door, with his sleeves both rolled up, seemingly trying to lock pick the knob.

"What are you doing there?" She groans with a coarse voice, it's quite evident that she's just woken up.

"Oh, you're awake." Taehyun spares her a glance before he continues with his business, Akira couldn't tell what he was attempting to open the door with, but it appeared small in size, "I'm trying to get us out of here with this office pin."

"An office pin?" Akira rises to her feet from the cold surface of the floor, holding his blazer, "Will that get us anywhere?"

"You know, you don't have to thank me but at least have a little faith in me."

"I'm not doubting you, I just want to be sure you know what you're doing." She walks over to where he is, inwardly observing him pick the faulty knob with a deformed office pin.

"When have I not?"

'That sounds like something I would say.' Akira scoffs as she thinks that to herself.

The pair hears a faint click emit from the knob itself. Taehyun stands up and gives the door a little push, smiling to himself when it finally cracks open after a long night of being stranded in a room with nobody near to rescue them. Akira gasps and swings the door open to its maximum capacity, the sight of freedom standing before her felt surreal, the girl was convinced she was actually going to have to sleep there.

"Thank God, finally! About time!" Of course, the first thing she does is step outside, not realizing that his blazer is still hanging from her hand.

"You and Beomgyu are going to have to do something about that door," He demurs, following Akira in her steps outside, before he carefully, cautiously, asks her, "Do... you still want me to accompany you to your car?"

"No, not anymore. I need to get home right away if I want to wake up early for tomorrow." She takes a brief glimpse of her wristwatch, unsuspecting of the way Taehyun's face vaguely gloomed down.

"Oh... I see..." He purses his lips, "Are you really sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Akira arches a brow, "Did your made-up story about the student dying in a locked room get to you, Kang?"

"Natomi, when will you stop answering my questions with even more questions?"

"And the joke just wrote itself!" Akira fires back with another one of her ripostes, Taehyun doesn't answer anymore and only responds to her with a conspicuous eye-roll.