Layover

8🎇

"Yeah. Hi. How's it going?"

A warmth washes over Suni hearing Tae's voice for the first time in about 10 months. "Oh my-" Her voice catches in her throat which she wasn't expecting. Enough time has passed where she can admit that he was the love her life at one time. "Oh, hi. How are you?" she asks, a bit more cooly.

"Fine. This is Han's phone. He's my bodyguard."

A quick glance up at Han, her eyes meet his and he gives her a nod. Tae continues, sounding a bit nervous. "Uh...so I was wondering...if you want...if you have the time...if you're not too busy...would you like to go with him so you and I can meet up?"

Suni pauses for effect. "Well...okay. Where is he taking me?"

"My hotel room."

She gasps softly. This was not on her Bingo card of ways to end 2021."How do I know this is all for real? We haven't seen or talked to each other in a long time."

Han seems to take this as a cue and slides his hand in front of Suni, opening it to reveal in his palm three brooches of different shapes: cloud drops, flower buddies, and faces. Her eyes pop, staring at the colorful metal ornaments, exactly the same design as Tae's drawings, art pieces he had hanging in his home.

Finally Suni stands up and asks the man, "Who gave these to you?"

Tae's voice speaks up from the phone. "I did. I had them made. They're for you."

Looking down at the brooches in the palm of her hand, then back at the bodyguard, she's curious and excited by the potential of a private meeting, not backstage with a bunch of other people. Curiosity may kill the cat, but Suni is prepared to enjoy the demise.

When she scans the area around her, a few lingering fans are still in their seats. The reality is she should be going home too. But if Tae wants to hang out for a bit, she reasons she can be civil and mature and spend time with him, like he's an old friend. Let bygones be bygones for this opportunistic night.

Her feet act on their own and take the first step up the stairs, Han gesturing to her to return his phone. In a daze she does, and realizes she has to text her step-mom an excuse. So she tells her she's going to hang out with some ARMYs first and Suni would call her later.

After half an hour, Han and Suni, riding in a black Hyundai Palisade, arrive at a nearby Los Angeles hotel. He leads her to a room on the 20th floor and tells her to wait for Tae then leaves. It's a simple hotel room, not overly elegant. A king size bed, a dresser, TV mounted on the wall, and a small round table with a single chair furnish the spacious room. She had seen glimpses of BTS' rooms in their V Lives before, tonight being concert day four. She decides to sit at the table and put her see-through plastic clutch down. Feeling terribly thirsty, she takes a bottle of water from a basket of snacks and chugs it. Her knee jiggles in anticipation wondering when Tae would arrive.

To pass the time, she pulls back the curtain and looks out the window, seeing some skyscrapers of downtown LA. Her hometown for now. She finds it weird that she and Tae would be reunited in America and not in South Korea as was the plan last year before her sickness and...well...the break up.

Suddenly the door clicks and Suni whips her head in that direction. Gratefully, she finds Tae standing there, his eyes lighting up upon first view. She smiles, relieved to finally see him, proving this is real and not a crazy kidnapping situation. Without fail, she's stunned by his beauty, in just a black hoodie and jeans, and it takes her breath away.

"Hi," Suni says, shyly, standing up to greet him.

"Hi." Tae walks slowly to her, looking like a dream. She notices how he checks her out and she's so glad she had picked out a simple white BTS merch T-shirt, a short black pleated suspender skirt, and over-the-knee socks as her concert outfit.