(Guide Us to) A Million Stars

16🎇

Was I nervous about Tae sleeping over tonight? Yes, yes I was. Did I make sure I was wearing a cute/sexy matching lacy purple lingerie set under my pajamas? Yes, yes I did.

As I flitted around my bedroom, tidying up and changing the bedsheets, I talked to my sister, Addy, on the phone. "Addy, why are you calling so early?" I asked, as I threw more things into my closet. "I mean early for you."

"I thought I'd catch up with you while I do my morning workout. I figure you'd still be awake," she answered, a familiar whirring sound of a treadmill in the background.

"I am. But I can't talk long actually. I'm...there's...someone..."

"Suni?! It's 11pm there. That can only mean one thing. Is someone coming over? Is it that Korean guy you were telling me about?" Her voice was accusing yet excited.

I confirmed that her suspicion was correct. That Korean guy, which I secretly named Hyunjin to conceal his true identity from my sister, was coming over but nothing was going to happen tonight. Just a slumber party as far as I was concerned.

"Whoa! You've only been there four months and already...well, you were always the risky, daring daughter."

By the end of our talk, I was in the kitchen putting the dry dishes away. Tae had said he would be really late this time. So I put on some music and vibed to the crooning of Kenton Chen.

"'I know it breaks your heart...'" I sang as I put leftovers in the fridge.

"'Moved to the city in a broke-down car, and...'" I side-shuffled to the sink.

"'Four years, no calls. Now you're looking pretty in a hotel bar...'"

I twirled around to get a towel and jumped in surprise. Tae was standing there with a designer overnight bag in his hand. I had given him the code to the apartment door and didn't hear him come in. He gave me a big smile and put his bag down.

"'I-I-I can't stop,'" he sang, as he held out his arms.

"'No I-I-I can't stop," I sang back, as I copied his moves and sauntered over to him.

We continued singing, holding each other and swaying to the retro rhythm of the music.

"'So, baby, pull me closer...'" we sang together as he squeezed me toward him on "closer."

"'In the backseat of your Rover...'"

I was completely lost in the musical moment. His warm, lean body moved so well with mine. The way we had such good chemistry, made me wish we could dance with each other forever. When the song ended, I stuck out my lips for a kiss. He gave me a quick one. "Thank you for singing with me," I said, leaning my forehead against his cheek.

"You sang with me when you saw me in the snack room," he reminded me. "So I sing with you."

My eyes met his. "Oh! That was the first time we met." My mind flashed back to when I first saw Tae in person, singing "Fix You" and joining him in the song. "If anyone asks, that's our 'meet cute' story."

"Too bad you were hoping for Jimin." He pushed his tongue against his inner cheek and smirked.

I playfully hit his upper arm. "Hey, every good story has a twist."

"Ah...okay." We shared a laugh. Then he let go, picked up his bag with one hand, and took my hand in his other. He gestured toward my bedroom and that told me it was bedtime.

I followed him around observing his nighttime routine. In the bathroom, he placed a toiletries bag on the counter and we brushed our teeth, standing side by side, smiling at each other in the mirror. We compared skin care products and he generously shared some of his more expensive ones with me. He checked himself in the mirror to make sure every drop of lotion was absorbed. I helped with a spot he missed by rubbing an area by his ear.