hidden stars || kth. (discontinued)

chapter four

The unpleasant ear-splitting death knell woke me up from my lavish sleep. I reached over to grab my phone from the nightstand by my bed, pressing on the snooze function on the screen with my eyes still closed before tossing the phone to my side. Though I had to go for another job interview that morning, I didn't want to leave the bed just yet. The weather was perfect for one to snuggle under the covers and savour a good sleep. 

So I gently closed my eyes again, until unwanted knocking from the front door was heard. I let out a throaty groan at the rude awakening, tossing over to one side and grabbing a pillow to cover my ear, but I could still hear the knocks.

Annoyed, I swung my legs over the edge of my bed, getting up on my two feet before rushing out of my room. 

I swung open the front door with my eyes barely open. "What the hell do you want?" I snapped without realising whoever was at the door.

"Good morning, are you Miss Jung Eunhee?" A man wearing a white formal wear greeted me ever so politely, waking me up to my senses.

Then I realised he was such a beautiful looking gentleman, slim and muscular. His eyes were dark and beautiful, his nose was sharp and shaped perfectly and his lips were so plump I almost went forward for a kiss. Funny how I realised every little detail about him eventhough I only scrutinised him for less than seconds. 

At the same time, I realised how messy-looking I was, making me shriek internally. I wiped off my eye boogers and combed my hair back, attempting to look less ugly but it was just too evident that I just woke up from my sleep.

"Yes, I'm Jung Eunhee. Can I help you?" I made my voice sound as feminine as possible.

"I'm Yoon Jaeyoung," He handed me his business card which I took and immediately slipped into my pocket because I couldn't care less about it when I have the gorgeous man himself standing right before me. "May I enter your apartment to do some checking?"

"Sure, haven't been getting into some action lately," I smirked, but he quirked an eyebrow in return.

He entered my apartment, and my gaze followed him as he walked further in. 

"To the left is the bedroom," I said, kicking the front door behind me and came after him.

He stepped into my bedroom, looking around, "It's a little messy here."

"Well, it's 'bout to get messier," I walked closer towards him.

He turned to look at me, then he took out a clipboard from his suitcase, grabbing the pen from his pocket before scribbling down stuff.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I stared at him.

"I need you to sign here," he pointed to a corner of the paper with his pen, making me puzzled.

"So we sign contracts to have intimate sessions now?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Uhm, this is a letter of verification that you'll no longer own this apartment."

My eyes widened as I stared up at him, "What?!"

I dug out for the card he handed me earlier from my pocket, reading it this time. 'Yoon Jaeyoung, Property Tax Officer'.

"Nice," I chuckled bitterly. 

"A notification was sent through your mail, you're supposedly informed about this. Please pack your belongings and leave this apartment by noon," he said, smiling at me with his pearly whites as if mocking me.

I sighed, not believing the situation. Where else can I go to?

***

Although embarrassed, I mustered up enough courage to drag myself somewhere. 

Still dressed in my pyjamas, I went up the apartment building to the 7th floor, in hopes that he'll be nice to me or I might as well be a beggar in the streets. I walked up to his door and without hesitation, I rang the doorbell repeatedly, before he finally opened the door. 

Taehyung rubbed his eyes before scrutinising me from head to toe. "Woah, we're having a sleepover party?"

"Shut up, let me in first," I groaned.

"Sure. Nice monkey-print pyjamas by the way," he teased as I stomped into his apartment.

I dropped my bags that were filled with my clothes and belongings in a corner before plopping onto the couch, massaging my temples.

"What brings you here early in the afternoon? Miss me already?" He chuckled, sitting beside me. 

"Look, I have a problem," I told him.

"I'm not gonna help," he looked away and grabbed the television remote from the coffee table before he changed the channels, trying to ignore whatever I was about to say.

Angered, I scrunched up the collar of his shirt, grabbing his attention. "Please just freaking listen."

"Woah, okay okay, chill," he put his arms up to surrender.

I sat back, sighing. "The taxing authority sold my apartment to satisfy the debts I haven't been paying," I began quietly.

"I've got no money to spare, just saying," he folded his arms across his chest.

"No, I just, need a temporary accommodation to stay in, for now," I said, looking at him. "So if you don't mind, I'd like to stay here for a couple of weeks or months until I get a proper job to get myself a new place."

He blinked owlishly at me. "Well, not for free."

"Fine, I'll pay rental fees and do all the chores, just let me stay here," I plead.

He thought for awhile, before rolling his eyes. "Why me?"

"Well, maybe because my parents are dead and I broke up with my boyfriend and I have no friends to rely on?" I answered.

"Oh," he responded, "Anyways, my apartment is just that small so I've got one bedroom to myself. You can sleep in the living room."

"Wha- Ugh, fine," I sighed, "Where's the bathroom?"

"There," he pointed.

The moment I stepped into the bathroom, I was already regretting my decision on staying in this place. The pipes were leaking, empty bottles of shampoo and body soap were scattered everywhere and a used shaver sat on top of the sink. The bathroom smelled awful, and I wondered when was the last time it was cleaned.

This was it, the start of a horrible journey.