The hot water shower feels so refreshing, but it doesn't make me feel any less filthy. The idea of me letting a stranger touched my body, kissed my skin & saw my most private parts repulses me.
I want to scream, to cry, to slap that guy for making me suffer, but more than anything else, I wish I could turn back time & not come to Vegas at all.
Guilt keeps stabbing at my chest.
What if Jin finds out? Will he break up with me? Should I be honest to him?
The image of his disappointed expression fills my mind.
No, he doesn't have to know. I need to stay calm & take care of this quietly like Seoyeon said.
"Y/n ah, are you done? You better be hurry!" Seoyeon knocks on the bathroom door & shouts.
"Yes! I'll be done in a sec!"
I quickly wipe my body dry with the towel & proceed to the sink to brush my teeth.
"Omg!" An involuntary gasp escapes my lips when I see my own reflection in the mirror.
My chest is peppered with purplish hickeys, an irrefutable proof of my infidelity.
"What's wrong?" Seoyeon suddenly barges in through the door.
"Nothing.." I quickly pull the towel higher to cover up the hickeys.
"Did he leave any marks on you?" She asks.
I nod in silence as tears begin to glisten in my eyes.
"Lee Y/n, listen to me. That's the least of your problems now, you can easily cover that up with foundation. The most important thing to do now is go to the courthouse & check whether you're really married to that guy. You need to get yourself together." Seoyeon firmly grabs my shoulders & sternly says to me.
"Y-You're right. These will be gone in a few days. Huh.. Ok, I'll be out in a minute." I brush my tears away & force a smile on my lips.
Ignoring the marks on my body, I get ready in a hurry & leave for the courthouse with Seoyeon.
My heart races as the lady behind the counter checks my name on her computer.
"Yes, you & a Mr. Jeon Jungkook were registered for marriage last night at the Graceland wedding chapel."
My whole body feels weak in an instant. I expected that she would say such thing, but hearing it out loud shocks me to my core.
"Can she annul the marriage? She wasn't in her right mind when she got married to the guy." Noticing my complete silence, Seoyeon asks on my behalf.
"Well, you need to file some forms & provide proofs that your marriage is voidable. Then, you need to serve your husband the papers & settle it in court." The lady explains matter-of-factly, like she's heard it so many times before.
"How am I supposed to find proofs when I don't even know the guy?! Isn't that proof already in itself? I didn't even know that I was married until I woke up this morning!" I scream at the lady out of frustration. I want to punch her in the face for being so indifferent towards my misery, even though I know that it's no one's fault but mine that I'm trapped in this mess.
"Ma'am, please calm down. The first thing you need to do now is find that man & discuss this with him. If this marriage is truly invalid like you said, he should agree to the annulment without any problem. Then, the process will be quick & easy. If you have any other questions, you can seek the advice of a legal attorney." The lady says.
"Y/n ah, I think you should get yourself an attorney." Seoyeon whispers to me.
"No! I'll try looking for him first. Then, we'll decide."
"Ma'am, remember you only have 30 days to annul your marriage starting yesterday. Otherwise, you'll have to go through a divorce. Good luck." The lady adds.
"See? You don't have a lot of time. Besides, how are you supposed to find him? You don't even know the guy!" Seoyeon exclaims in exasperation.
"I know his name is Jeon Jungkook & he's staying at Encore. Let's start from there." I grab my purse & walk briskly out of the courthouse.
Right then, my phone rings.
"Jin? Shit. What should I tell him?" Cold sweats begin to form on my forehead as I immediately go into panic mode.
"Relax. He's in Korea. Just say that you're having lunch with me." Seoyeon suggests.
I take a deep breath & answer the call.
"Hey, what's up?" My cheerfulness sounds fake even to my own ears.
"You're staying at Bellagio, right?" He asks.
"Uhm yeah.. Why?" I feel like a bad omen is coming my way.
"I'm at the lobby. Can you please come pick me up?"
"You WHAT??!"

-•-

I can see Jin's tall figure from afar as I run towards him.
"Ah, you're here. Did I interrupt your lunch?" He turns around & smiles at me.
"No.. It's ok.. We-" I pant, out of breath from the running.
"I miss you so much." He abruptly pulls me into his embrace, cutting off my sentence.
"I-I miss you too." I hesitantly reciprocate his hug, scared that the stranger's smell still lingers on my skin.
"I- I thought you were in Seoul. How did you get here so fast?" I ask as I push him gently away.
"Actually, I was on the plane when I called you earlier. I missed you so bad so I thought I'd surprise you by coming here." He grins.
Guilt consumes me seeing his innocent expression.
He would be devastated if he finds out the truth.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me?" A slight frown forms in between his brows.
"Of course I'm happy to see you. It's just that- Well.. I was just surprised. Haha." I struggle to cover up my inner turmoil.
"Damn you ran so fast. Oh hi, Jin." Seoyeon arrives beside me breathlessly.
"Hi." Jin coldly replies her & I can sense Seoyeon's displeasure.
"Anw, don't mind me. You can continue with your plan, just give me your room key so I can work in the room." Jin focuses back on me & opens up his palm.
I instantly freeze.
"Y-You want to stay in my room?" I stutter.
"Well yeah of course. Otherwise, where else should I stay?" He chuckles.
"Uhm.. Yeah.. Haha.. Of course." I glance at Seoyeon nervously & luckily she gets my hint right away.
"Uh uh. This is Y/n's bachelorette's party. You're not supposed to be here in the first place, so you need to book your own room. Besides, I'm sharing a room with her. Do you want to sleep in between the two of us?" Seoyeon steps forward & comes to your rescue. Although I'd prefer if she phrases it differently, her remark does the job as a horrified expression surfaces on Jin's face.
"What? Are you crazy? Of course not! Alright I get it. I'll book my own room." He glances at Seoyeon in annoyance & steps away.
"Thanks." I mouth to her & she replies with a thin smile.
"Jin, how long are you gonna be here? Not that I want to rush you or anything. But didn't you say that you had a lot of work to finish before our wedding?" I cautiously ask as I follow him to the receptionist.
"You're leaving in 2 days, right? Maybe I'll take the same flight as you." He nonchalantly says.
"Oh. Ok."
Shit, when can I find that Jungkook guy & get the annulment if Jin's going to be here all the time?
"Y/n ah, is something wrong? You seem off. Do you resent me for interrupting your bachelorette's trip? Would you like it better if I leave now?" His slightly accusing tone pokes at your insecurity.
"No no, not at all. Sorry, my brain is still not functioning properly because I got drunk last night." The sliver of truth slips out of my lips before I could stop it.
"You? Got drunk? Really? I thought you said that you didn't like drinking alcohol." His eyes widen in surprise.
"Well, I still don't, but the girls-"
"It must be Seoyeon, right? Did she force you to drink? I've told you that she's a bad influence & you never listen to me." He clicks his tongue in disproval & throws a side glance at Seoyeon.
"Jin, please. She's my best friend since forever. I thought you guys had started gettin along with each other. Why the sudden hostility towards her now? Did something happen between the two of you?"
"W-What? Of course not! Why would anything happen between us? That's ridiculous. Anw, the room is ready. Let's just go up." He looks completely flustered, so I can only sigh & follow him.
"Where are you going?" Seoyeon asks as she sees us walking towards the elevator.
"I'm going up to his room." I mindlessly answer, but then she pulls me to the side & whispers in my ears.
"Ya, remember the marks on your chest. You don't want him to find out, do you?"
"Oh shit. I almost forgot. Then what do I do now?" I can feel Jin's gaze on my back & that makes me even more anxious.
"Go find that Jungkook guy. You don't have much time. I'll help you distract Jin."
"Really? But how?"
"Don't worry, I have my ways. Just go." She squeezes my shoulder & gives me a reassuring smile.
Both of us abruptly turn around & face Jin.
"Jin, Y/n has just remembered that she left something at the restaurant, so she needs to go back & get it now, right Y/n?" Seoyeon says the lie with a straight face.
"Oh. Yeah right, haha. Silly me. Sorry, but I'll be back in a second. I really need to go now, see you later!" I rush to the exit without even waiting for Jin's reply.
As I get into the cab, my phone vibrates inside my bag. Jin. I stare at the caller ID & contemplate on what I should do.
"Where to, Miss?" The taxi driver's question breaks my daze.
"Encore, please." I say as I firmly push the reject button on my phone.

-•-

1:30 PM.
Hopefully he hasn't checked out yet.
I dash towards the receptionist & wait impatiently in the line.
"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" The young woman with the most perfect set of white teeth I've ever seen greets me with a huge smile.
"Hi, I need to find my friend, Mr. Jeon Jungkook. Can you please tell me which room he is in?"
She looks me up & down as if gauging my identity, making feel extremely self-conscious.
"Please wait a moment." She taps into her computer & the clicking sound only further agitates my nerves.
"I'm sorry Miss, but he's already checked out an hour ago." My heart drops to the ground at her announcement.
"What? Can you please check it again? Maybe there are 2-3 guests with the same name?" I inquire in panic.
"Yes, I'm sure Ma'am. There's only one guest named Jeon Jungkook in our system."
Fuck, what do I do now?
"Can you please give me his phone number?" I hold onto my last string of hope.
"I'm sorry, but we can't do that. Our company policy forbids us to give out our guests' personal information to other people. If there's nothing else that we can help you with.."
"Ok, thank you." I force out a faint smile & dejectedly walk away.
Tears of frustration well up in my eyes as I collapse onto one of the lobby sofas.
How the fuck am I supposed to find him now? How am I going to tell Jin about this mess?