Elevator Love

Chapter 3

“Donghae?” The woman called which made him turn his head. Irene could see the annoyance in his face the moment he saw her. "Were you leaving?" She asked him. "No, I was about to go back." He answered. The woman stepped inside of the elevator and smiled at Irene whose smile couldn't directly be seen since she lightly moved her lips up. The elevator door closed again. The woman was holding and stroking Donghae's hand while they waited to arrive at their stocks. Irene felt more than uncomfortable in that situation and all she wanted was to run away as soon as possible.
Finally, the elevator door opened again. Irene immediately get off and walked to her apartment. She closed the door without looking back and sighed a breath of relief. What kind of a guy is he? She thought and held her face. How dare he can touch me? Irene turned around to see through the hole that they were entering his apartment. Irene rolled her eyes and went to Lola "I have something delicious for my babygiiiirl ~~" She smiled and showed her cat the can she was holding. Lola meowed and followed her to the kitchen. Irene placed her food on the ground and watched her eating for a moment before she stroked her and made her way into her bedroom.
Irene couldn't stop thinking of the occasion she witnessed earlier. She literally saw him taking money from that girl outside and he got almost violent in the elevator. The thought that a criminal lived near her made Irene feel uncomfortable. Lola meowed and snuggled in her embrace. Irene hugged her tightly and closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep peacefully at least that night.
The next morning Irene made herself ready to go out for a walk. She dressed in sporty, comfortable clothes and took a bottle of water in case she would get thirsty. The most important part for long walks was of course listening to music. Irene enjoyed listening to music and she never forgot to take her earplugs outside when she planned to have long walks. She waved to Lola with a bright smile who just stared back at her and closed the door. A sudden fear showed inside her body when she gazed to the new neighbour’s door. She quickly went to the elevator and impatiently waited for it to arrive before he would show up. 'Come on!' Irene repeated mentally. She shifted her eyes to both door and smiled when the elevator finally arrived. At the same time his door got opened which made her widen her eyes and quickly get into the elevator.
Donghae managed to be fast and stepped inside. Irene shortly gazed at him at the beginning, but then quickly moved away her eyes. She noticed that he looked different today. He didn't seem threatening anymore. He looked like an innocent guy with that simple look of black shirt and blue jeans. The elevator doors closed.
"I'm sorry because of yesterday." Donghae started. Irene prayed mentally that he would stop talking to her. "It's okay." She quietly said. "I behaved like a bad guy which I'm obviously not. How can I make it up to you?" He said as he scratched his neck. Irene unknowingly squeezed her bottle due her nervousness "Ah...you don't have to. Really. I wasn't affected at all." She said. Donghae turned his head to her "Are you sure?" He asked. Irene quickly shifted her eyes and nodded.
The elevator door opened again. Irene shot a quick smile to his side and stepped out of the elevator. Donghae bit his lip as he walked behind her. 'Is he following me?' Irene thought and frowned as she got out of her building. She walked to the right side where the park was, and he did too. At a certain point Irene felt uncomfortable and turned around "Excuse me, are you probably following me?" She asked. Donghae blankly looked at her "I'm meeting here with a friend." He said and pointed behind her "There he is." He said. Irene turned around and saw a male smilingly walking to their direction. She closed her eyes from the embarrassment and chuckled uncomfortably "Sorry, I got the sense you were following me." She said. Donghae smiled at her as he watched her actions. "Yo! Yo! Man!" The man gave him a hug. "Yo! Eunhyuk-ah!" Donghae called at the same time as he smirkingly looked at Irene who lightly bowed and moved away. She sighed 'What a strange guy...That was so embarrassing...'
"Did you get the money?" Eunhyuk asked. Donghae proudly showed him his bag he was carrying all the way. Eunhyuk smirked and congratulated him. "What will you do with it now?" Donghae shrugged "I have no certain plans actually, but how about we get some delicious, expensive food?" He suggested. Eunhyuk smiled brightly "I'm all in, bro. Let's go." He said.
Irene stretched herself after a full walk of 45 minutes. She loved walking in the nature and breathing the fresh hair. It was like a therapy for her. On her way home, she noticed that she has lost her earplugs and walked back to the park. She searched like crazy for her earplugs in every corner but couldn't find them. What she didn't know was that a strange man was observing her behind the trees. He secretly followed her every step and quietly walked behind her from an enough distance for her not to notice him. When Irene reached her building, the man waited for the opportunity to step in, too.
Irene whispered to the melody she was listening earlier and felt bad that she has lost her earplugs. That was so not her. She would never lose anything until now, but somehow the day had come. She stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button.
The man quickly went inside and was about to take the stairs, before Donghae held his shoulder and turned him around "Excuse me, who are you looking for?" He asked. The man got shocked and anxiously looked at him "I was going to visit a family member." He lied. Donghae didn't believe him, but played along "Who?" He asked. The man looked behind and then to him again "She's living here." He said. Donghae coldly chuckled and squeezed his shoulder harder "How about you never show up here again? Else, I have to report you to the police you got it?" He said as he looked threateningly into his face. The man repeatedly nodded. Donghae pushed him away and watched how he quickly got out of the building. "What a punk, lies about his family member... He was literally following her." He said to himself and turned around to press the elevator button.
Week-ends meant cleaning days. Cleaning the whole apartment helped Irene to sort her head out. It was an activity with two benefits. You got a clean home after, but also a clean head. She vacuumed the whole apartment, dusted everywhere, wiped the windows, kitchen sinks and the whole bathroom and was mopping the floors as a last step. Inside her bedroom, she discovered an old toy of Lola which she was searching for a long time. It was a present from her mother to her cat. She smiled brightly as she lifted the toy from the corner of her room "Lola!" She called twice happily and put the toy inside her pocket. As she was mopping the living room, she noticed that her front door was opened. "Huh?" Irene questioningly stared to the door "When did I open the door?" She asked herself and mentally face palmed since she forgot to close the door earlier when she took the cleaning tools from the rooftop. "I'm getting a weak memory slowly." She mumbled as she walked to the door to close it but widened her eyes to the scenario meters away from her apartment. Her new neighbour was kneeling and petting her cat while he was brushing his teeth at the same time. "What is Lola doing there? I'm going crazy..." Irene slightly panicked since she didn't know how to call her back. She was literally standing at her door and staring to their petting session.
"Come, let's get you to your owner." Donghae said with a smile and took Lola in his arms. Irene's face flushed red when he stood up. He must’ve gone of the shower since he wore nothing else than a towel around his hips. Irene's heart beat got faster and faster, the more they neared towards her. "Oh, look. She's already waiting for you." Irene heard him say on the hall. She felt her hands getting sweaty a little since she was too overwhelmed with the situation. "Excuse me, she rushed into my apartment when I opened the door to take the newspaper." Donghae said chuckling. Irene looked to Lola and forced a smile "It's okay." She said. Donghae handed her the cat. Irene took her cat in her arms and started stroking her. 'Why is he still standing here?' Irene's eyes were glued to the side as she waited for him to go away. "You were cleaning your apartment?" Donghae asked to which Irene nodded. "Mhmmm...smells good." Donghae said with a smile and waved to Lola "I won't keep you busy then." He said and turned around. Irene carefully moved her eyes to his direction. His back view was something different...He was indeed hot. Irene caught herself staring at his body and only turned her head when he was inside his apartment and smirked to her as he was closing the door.
Irene also closed her door and leaned against it. She blankly stared ahead and furrowed to the fact that her heart was still pounding heart. "You naughty girl. What were you doing in stranger's apartments, huh?" She scolded Lola and let her on the ground. Was it the first time she saw a naked male torso? No, it wasn't. She saw a few times in school when her classmates used to take off their shirt in summer. Was it the first time she got excited seeing a half-naked body? Probably. But why wasn't he even ashamed walking around like that? And what was the smirk before he closed the door? Irene inhaled deeply and turned around as she peeked through the door hole. He wasn't there. The door was closed, but she recalled the scene earlier and smiled to it. "Naughty cat." She said again as she turned around and continued mopping her floors.
When Irene was younger, she used to watch movies with her family every weekend. Every week it was a different movie, they'd watch it together and discuss afterwards about it. It was a habit she adopted and can't wean again. Even though, she watched movies by herself sometimes, she didn't enjoy them as much as she did when she was younger. Today, her weekends looked different. She had to study, study and study. Her major was not an easy subject, so she had to study hard for it. Studying at home was never a problem for her, until today. Or let's say, until her new neighbour moved in. Irene didn't know what they did but they were too noisy and loud. It was almost 11pm and Irene was at the peak to lose her nerves. Lola meowed and climbed up to her lap. "Even you are disturbed, aren't you?" She mumbled as she stroke her fury.
A sudden loud voice almost made Irene lose her tracks. She flinched hard "That's enough!" She said and stood up to teach them a lesson. She furiously walked to his door and knocked a few times on his door. She looked very pissed with her crossed arms and clenching teeth, but also very cute with her high pony tail, pyjamas and glasses. 'What do they do inside?' Irene wondered. The music and their voices were just too loud. Finally, a few minutes later, somebody opened the door. It wasn't Donghae tho.
Irene surprised looked at him and corrected her expression "Would you please turn the volume down? I'm trying to study." She said. "WHAT?" Sungmin asked as he was still dancing to the music and holding a drink in his hand. Irene put her hands beside her mouth and raised her voice a little "WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE VOLUME- AHHH! WHAT THE..." Sungmin ignored her statement and pulled her inside. "JUST ENJOY!" He told her and walked to the others while moving to the beat.
Inside was even worse, but that's what she expected. There were not lots of people, but their voices were so loud that one would think so. She looked around and searched for the owner with a nervous face expression but couldn't find him anywhere. Irene tried by asking someone. She poked someone’s shoulder "EXCUSE ME!" She shouted. The young man turned around. Irene recognized him. It was the same person she saw earlier at the park. "HEY! I'M EUNHYUK!" He shouted. Irene smiled in a thin line "HEY! WHERE'S THE OWNER OF THIS APARTMENT" She asked. Eunhyuk sipped his drink and frowningly leaned in since he couldn't hear her. "Where's the apartment owner?" Irene asked again. Eunhyhuk nodded "Oh, you mean Donghae? He must be over there." He said, pointing towards the living room. Irene looked to the direction and smilingly nodded him as a thank you.
'What the hell am I doing here?' Irene thought as she walked herself through the dancing group to walk inside the living room. She couldn't see him anywhere. There were a few people who played on a TV console and questioningly looked at her. "Who are you looking for?" The tall, handsome one asked. Irene forced a smile and slightly bowed. She corrected her glass "I was looking for..." And there she saw him. He was on the balcony, kissing some girl. "...the owner of the apartment." She finished her sentence as she frowningly stared to them.