OUR HEARTBEAT [BEOMJUN] ✅

nine

“This is Mr. Choi’s hotel,” I whispered to Arin half an hour later. We stood outside the metal gate that led to the pool and hot tub. “Are you trying to make him hate my family more?”

“You think Mr. Choi mans each and every one of his properties on a Friday night?” Arin waved her hand through the air, her big brown eyes sparkling with excitement. “Please. Besides, he owns all the hotels in town. So it’s not like we have a choice if we want to go hot tub hopping.”

“Mr. Choi doesn’t own Sierra Inn,” I pointed out.

“True,” Arin said. “And that’s why Sierra Inn doesn’t have a hot tub.”

A couple headed down the path toward us and Arin pulled me out of the way. “We forgot our key,” she said when they reached the gate.

They used theirs to let themselves in and held the gate open for us.

“See, easy,” she said under her breath. “Think of this as what Mr. Choi owes you for all the trouble he causes your family.”

I looked around. Lights strung overhead reflected off the wet, stamped concrete. The pool was lit a bright blue and the hot tub bubbled with white steam. Pine trees hugged the back side of the fence, like towering guards. The moon rested just above one, as if the tip of the tree had pierced it and held it in place. The whole atmosphere was gorgeous and I could see why people came to Lakesprings for honeymoons and family vacations and weekend getaways. What I didn’t understand was why anyone ever wanted to leave.

Arin and I stepped into the hot tub and I slid into a corner, letting the heat work at my muscles.

Arin nudged my foot with hers. “See, I knew you needed this. You should never question my plans. They are always perfect.”

That night, after Arin dragged me to three more hot tubs, I lay on my bed decompressing. As much fun as I had with my best friend, I liked my alone time, too. That reminded me of a text Taehyun had sent me months ago. I pulled it up on my phone.

It’s okay to gain your energy from silence, he’d written. Silence isn’t static.

I smiled. Taehyun got me. No, Taehyun obviously didn’t get me, because he’d stopped texting me ages ago. I should’ve just deleted all his texts and his contact info and unfollowed him on social media so I could stop torturing myself. But I didn’t delete anything.

My bedroom door was nudged open and Uncle Kyuhyun’s dog walked in. He was a big dog, some mix that included Great Dane. Of course he came straight up to where I was lying on my bed and stuck his nose on my cheek.

I covered my face. “No, CD.”

My cousins and I called him CD, short for Community Dog, because he spent so much time in all of our houses. I didn’t even remember what my uncle had originally named him two years ago.

“Come on,” I added, “you’re in the wrong house.” I rolled off my bed and stood up. CD followed me out my door, outside the house, and into the backyard. I walked to the right, stopping at my uncle’s back sliding door. I gave a cursory knock and waited ten seconds before I slid open the door, pushed the curtains aside, and directed CD inside.

My uncle sat at the kitchen counter eating a bowl of cereal. He looked up when I appeared and a smile lit his face.

“Gyu! Hey.”

“Hi, Uncle Hyun. CD thought I needed a friend tonight.”

“Ah, sorry about that.” Uncle Kyuhyun patted his leg. “Come here, boy.”

I’d started to leave when my uncle called me back.

“Do you want some cereal?” he asked.

“It’s eleven o’clock at night.”