(Guide Us to) A Million Stars

44🎇

Thanks to jetlag, I woke up at 5am in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I had vague recollections of Tae returning to the hotel room late the night before. A soft "how do you feel?" and "do you need anything?" floated in my memory which I do remember answering with "fine" and "no, thank you." Hours later the heavy amount of sleep I had experienced worked to heal me of my headache and nausea. Annoyingly, though, I couldn't go back to sleep but tried to stay still in the bed lest I wake up Tae.

After ten minutes, my body restless, I itched to get out of bed and do something. I glanced at Tae, his eyes closed, his lips parted, breathing peacefully. Being careful, I lifted myself to a sitting position and swung my legs off the side of the bed. Then I padded out of the bedroom to explore the suite.

In the early morning light streaming through the windows, I discovered the suite included a living area, a dressing room/walk in closet and a foyer. I made use of the luxurious bathroom and freshened up. When I approached a small round table decorated with a tall chocolate replica of the Eiffel Tower, I found a pair of French doors and pushed them open. My mouth formed an "o" at the exquisite view of the Paris skyline and the real Eiffel Tower in the foreground. The morning chill in the air helped wake up my senses and I wondered how much this hotel cost a night. After finding my phone by my suitcase in the dressing room, I learned it cost $10,000 a night!

My mind couldn't wrap itself around that exorbitant amount of money, especially that early in the morning. But Tae deserved it. This was his first solo activity and he could spend however much he wanted to.

When my stomach growled, it reminded me that I hadn't eaten in 12 hours. After changing out of my dirty yesterday's clothes into a hotel bathrobe, I moved back to the small round table where I remembered seeing some water and snacks. The fresh liquid rejuvenated my weakened body and the croissant helped quiet my stomach. I sat there for a while eating and watching Stray Kids videos on YouTube.

Two hours later, the bedroom door opened and there stood Tae. He looked adorable in his brown plaid Vuitton pajama bottoms, his messy just-out-bed hair, his cutely swollen face and pouty lips.

"Hi. Did you sleep well?" I asked, putting my phone down.

He walked toward me and answered, "Yes. Did you?"

He sat next to me and put one arm around my shoulder, pulling me down to nestle into his arms. For the first time in Paris, I could enjoy his manly smell and his warm body against mine.

"I slept a long time. Maybe too long. I've been up for two hours. But I feel better." I looked up at him. "How was dinner?"

"Fun. I stayed out longer than I planned because you were still resting."

"Oh. That's good. I'm sorry I ruined everything. I was such a burden yesterday."

Tae playfully slapped my butt. "Hey, you're not a burden."

He gave me a heavenly smile and I returned it. It felt good to be in his arms again. I wondered if now was a good time to have a serious talk about us. Or would it be better right before I left in case I didn't like what he had to say?

"What are you watching?" Tae asked, glancing at my phone. I showed him my screen, then hesitated. I had heard of fans who only followed one group and looked down on multi-stans. What would Tae think of me being a Stay, a member of Stray Kids' fandom?

"That's Bang Chan from Stray Kids," I pointed out. Tae glared at the Aussie's face from the "God's Menu" MV. "Hey! Do you know him? Have you ever met him?"

He gave me a side-eye look and pursed his lips. "Yes. I met him a few times. Backstage at shows."

"This is a really good song." I pressed the play button on the screen and the MV continued. Tae raised his eyebrows and nodded to the music. Then a look of concern came over him.