Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 91

Midnight in the City of Lights

​The descent into Hong Kong International Airport was a silent, surreal ballet of light.

​Aen pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the jet’s window.

Below them, the vast, dark waters of the South China Sea were suddenly shattered by the glittering, neon-veined sprawl of the metropolis.

Thousands of brilliant lights climbed the sheer sides of the mountains, reflecting off the harbor like scattered diamonds on black velvet.

​"It’s beautiful," she whispered, her voice thick with the remnants of her nap.

"It looks... electric."

​Yoongi, who had been quietly closing his laptop, moved to the window beside her.

He didn't look at the city; he looked at her expression—the wide-eyed wonder he had been waiting seven days to see.

​"Wait until you see it from the ground," he murmured.

"Hong Kong doesn't sleep, Aen-ah. It just glows."

***

​The transition from the tarmac to the hotel was a blur of humid air and polished leather.

​By the time the black suv pulled up to the grand entrance of The Rosewood Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui, it was nearly 3:00 AM.

Despite the hour, the city felt alive, the air thick with a warmth that was a sharp, welcome contrast to the spring chill of Seoul.

​The staff at the Rosewood greeted Yoongi with the same quiet, rehearsed discretion he required everywhere.

They were ushered through a private side entrance and straight into a dedicated lift.

​"I thought you said it was eighty degrees, Yoon," Aen teased as the elevator climbed.

"The air feels like a warm hug."

​"It’s the humidity, Jagi," Yoongi said, his hand resting at the small of her back.

"It makes everything feel a bit more intense."

​When the doors opened to their suite, the
lights were dimmed low, but the wall-to-wall windows were wide open to the harbor.

​Aen stopped in her tracks.

​The entire Victoria Harbour skyline was laid out before them—the towering skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island shimmering in shades of violet, gold, and teal.

The iconic Star Ferry moved like a slow, glowing beetle across the water.

​"This is our 'home' for the weekend," Yoongi said, walking over to the marble counter where a bottle of chilled champagne and a bowl of fresh lychees waited.

​He didn't turn on the main lights.

He preferred the city to be their only illumination.

​"Your first time in Hong Kong," he noted, turning to look at her as she stood by the window, her silhouette framed by the skyline.

"So what’s your first impression, Jagi?"

​Aen turned back to him, her eyes bright.

"It feels like a dream I didn't know I wanted to have. Thank you for lying to me all week, Yoon."

​Yoongi let out a soft, tired laugh and held out a glass of water.

"Drink. Then sleep. The Darry Ring appointment is at 2:00 PM later. We got plenty of time. I want you to be fully awake when you see what I've picked out for you to choose from."