✧･ﾟ: * five *:･ﾟ✧

She wakes up confused for a brief moment before it hits her. She rubs her forehead thinking about the day before. She throws the thick, soft comforter off and reaches over for her backpack. She feels around for her phone, then finds the nightstand. Typically hotels have outlets near the nightstands, right? She runs her hand along the wall and finds one easily. Her phone had died before she even got off the plane.

She's memorized where every app is, so she taps the bottom left where she knows the phone icon sits. She finds her voicemail. She's not surprised to hear four messages from her mother, asking worriedly where she is. She left a note on the kitchen counter, but her mother doesn't mention it. Probably too hungover to see it.

She finds the messaging app next. Her mother hates when she texts her because replying is pointless. Madeline uses the voice option and speaks out a short and brief, "I'm safe, but I don't know when I'll be back." Maybe it's wrong of her, but she can't find enough strength to care.

She sets her phone down on the nightstand, then gets to her feet and walks towards the door. She doesn't hear any movement out in the mainroom. When she steps out, she hears Tae breathing deeply, undoubtedly still asleep. She should leave before he wakes up to avoid the difficulty of explaining it to him. She turns back into the bedroom and closes the door, grabbing her toothbrush and the only other clean clothes in her backpack.

She'll have to find a store sometime.

She hoists the straps onto her shoulders and exits again, letting one hand float freely at her side to feel for anything nearby. There were leftovers last night from the steakhouse. She'll find the kitchen area and take what's hers (or what she'll guess is hers), then leave and catch a cab for the airport.

She feels a counter in front of her, so she runs her hand along the side of it, following the sharp corner. She pauses to make sure Tae is still sleeping, then begins feeling around for a refrigerator handle. There's no way a suite like this won't have a refrigerator. Especially since she just found a stove and—a dishwasher? Really?

She smiles to herself when she finds the refrigerator, pulling it open as quietly as possible. The top two shelves are empty, but she finds the to-go boxes on the third shelf. Tae had leftovers as well, unsurprisingly, since he bought half the menu. She opens each box, poking her finger around. At least she's clean. She takes a best guess and grabs one, closing the door carefully.

Then she stubs her toe on the corner of the island.

"Ow, son of a—"

She claps a hand over her mouth before she can yell a string of obscenities, barely breathing as she waits to see if Tae stirs. She hears him shift, like he rolled over, but other than that his breathing is still even and deep.

She sighs in relief.

Then nearly jumps ten feet in the air when Tae says, "Maddie?"

Typical. A shout doesn't wake him but a barely audible sigh does.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Tae, I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"You're leaving?"

Why does her chest tighten with guilt at how upset he sounds?

She angles her face towards the ceiling with another sigh. "I have to."

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place." A silence. She shortens it. "I have to be somewhere else."

She hears Tae get off the couch and walk towards her. "But... you want to see the world."

Don't focus on how adorable "world" sounds with his accent.

"I can't see it," she admits, though it's still her dream. "There's no reason for me to be here."

"I will show... eh, describe it for you."

She sets the to-go box on the counter when he starts pulling her across the room. She hears a door click open. Must be a balcony. He ushers her out into the gentle breeze and places her hands on the railing.

"There is Eiffel Tower," he tells her. "It's straight, uh..."

"Ahead?"

"Yeah, yeah, straight ahead."

"Is it big?"

She's always wanted to see it in person, especially at night when it lights up.

"Oh, yes," Tae says. "It's very tall. It's in the sky. The sky is, uh, bright. Very blue. There are no... white?"

"Clouds," she says.

"No clouds," he corrects himself.

She lays her chin on her hands atop the railing, closing her eyes. "It must be beautiful."

"Very beautiful," he agrees. "You see it?"

"Tae, I can't—"

"In here," he says, tapping the side of her head. "You see it?"

Her chest gets even tighter. He's trying to give her a mental picture of it. Why does that make her feel like crying?

"Yeah," she whispers, picturing it clearly. "I see it."

***

She doesn't leave.

She really should.

However, somehow she let Tae convince her to stay and he promised to take her to the top of the Eiffel Tower. He told her he would tell her how beautiful it was so she could feel like she was seeing it for herself. She tried to decline but, well, declining Tae is difficult. Not only because he's adorable, but because he doesn't seem to take no for an answer.

He's currently in the shower before they leave. Madeline lays on the couch, her hair hanging over the arm of it, her eyes closed. She's listening to the music coming from Tae's speaker. There are a few English songs, but most are what Madeline assumes is Korean. She actually doesn't mind it. She finds herself tapping her fingers on her stomach to the beat for a few.

She hears her phone ring. She ignores it.

Then she hears a different sound—a very strange one.

Tae singing. But it doesn't sound like he's taking the karaoke too seriously.

She almost starts worrying there's going to be a phone call soon to complain, but the hotel phone never rings. It's an English song that's on, but it's one she's never heard. Tae knows some of the lyrics and shouts them obnoxiously. The ones he doesn't know, he mumbles along uncertainly, still loud enough for her to hear. She's laughing before she can stop herself.

The water stops soon after and the music cuts off when he opens the door. She has weird thoughts, then. Like, did he walk out shirtless with only a towel around his waist like guys did in the romcoms she watched as a teen? If he is shirtless, does he have abs? Did he leave just enough water dripping down his torso to run the trail of them? She feels her face flush as she gathers the mental images. There's no reason she needs to think that way when she literally doesn't know him.

Get a grip, girl, damn.

"Hey, Tae?" she asks, sitting up.

"Hi, Maddie."

"No, I mean... never mind." She sits up. "What was the music you were listening to?"

"Eh? My music?"

"Yeah, your music."

"You like it?"

"Yes, I do."

"Oh!" He sounds giddy now. "You like K-pop?"

So it was Korean. She turns and looks in the direction his voice is coming from. "I've never heard it until now. But yeah, I liked it."

"Oh, good, good! I will show you more," he says determinedly. He goes quiet for a minute, then says, "This is my, uh, fav-favorite."

She could barely understand what he said by the way he slurred the letters together. "Favorite," she says slowly, so he can get the pronunciation.

He repeats her like he always does until she praises him. Then the music starts and he tells her, "This is Black Pink. I like them."

"This is the one you played in the shower?"

"Yes, in shower."

She feels his hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Are you ready?"

"Yep," she says, standing and pulling her backpack on. She jumps when she feels something in her ear until Tae chuckles.

"It's okay. I give you my music."

"Your earphones?"

"Yeah, yeah, earphones."

"Are you ears clean?" She knows he just got out the shower, but still.

"I am clean," he assures her.

Uncertainly, she lets him place them in her ears, the music blaring but he's quick to turn it down. She pulls one out so she can hear him.

"Good?"

She nods. "Thanks."

He then grabs her hand, ready to lead her. She hates how used to the feeling she is already. It feels like she's known him longer than a day, if she's being truthful. She's way too comfortable around this stranger.

This adorable, broken-English stranger.

Once inside the elevator, Tae asks her to teach him more English so he can describe things better for her. She makes sure he knows colors, which he does, and then she isn't sure what else to say. He wants to know how to describe the city. She teaches him "busy," "crowded," and "overwhelming." Those are the first three words that come to mind when she thinks about a city, anyways.

She tries to go into opposites when they step off the elevator. She can sense Tae listening very intently, sometimes his gaze heating up the side of her face. She tells him "relaxed" is the opposite of "busy," and that opposite simply means different. She's not really sure if he gets it, because all he keeps doing is mumbling, "Yeah... Yeah... Okay."

"Your turn," she says when she feels the sun shining on her face after they exit the lobby. "Teach me Korean."

"Can you say annyeonghaseyo?"

"An... huh?"

Tae laughs. "It is 'hello.' An-nyeong-ha-se-yo," he says slowly. "Okay?"

She tries to repeat him, but she's one hundred percent sure she's only made him cringe instead.

But Tae gives an encouraging, "Good!"

"I don't think I said it right."

"You did well," he assures. "Try... again."

So she does, trying to match the way he says it. She feels quite proud with herself when she's finished. It may only be one word, but the fact that she pronounced it correctly really pleases her. She's horrible at speaking other languages. He tells her there's other ways to say hello depending on the situation, but she tells him one word is enough for now. She'll be proud of herself if she remembers it exactly.

Once inside the Eiffel Tower some time later, Tae gets very confused. He tells Madeline there's a lot of people and they are all going in different directions. (It took him a minute or two for Madeline to decipher he was trying to say "directions.") She tells him to find an employee. Surely there has to be some, right? Tour guides or something. Explaining a uniform to Tae is difficult, but he catches on fairly quickly and starts dragging her along in his search.

He finds someone soon enough, politely saying, "Excuse me?"

"Can I help you?" the worker answers.

Madeline steps a little closer to continue the conversation since the man speaks English. "Which way to the top of the tower?"

"You can take the lift over there," he says, probably pointing but she wouldn't know, "or you can take the stairs. The stairs offer angles from each level, but if you choose the lift, you'll have to switch lifts on the second floor to get to the top."

"Okay, thank you."

"Sure."

She tugs Tae away from the worker, but not too far since she hears the bustle of people all around them. "Did he point somewhere?" She gestures the action.

"Ah, yeah, yeah. That way?"

"Yes, go that way."

"Okay, okay."

"Then look for..." She doesn't know how to describe the lift to him. She doesn't know what it looks like. The ones in the hospital back home were always metal, but she knows some have different appearances. "Two doors," she says, holding up two fingers. "They slide open." She gestures again. "We need to go through those, okay?"

Tae gasps like he's had a realization. "Oh! Ellibeiteo?"

Madeline can't tell if he tried to say it in English or if it's in Korean, but it sounds close enough either way. "Yes, an elevator."

Her phone rings again. It's barely audible through the hustle of tourists, but somehow Tae hears it too. "Your phone?"

She fishes it out of her back pocket with the hand Tae isn't holding, knowing where the "decline" button is.

Tae is quiet before he says, "It said 'mom'."

"I know."

"You don't like her?"

She sighs heavily. "It's complicated."

"Com..." Tae trails off.

"It's difficult. Hard. Complicated."

He repeats her again perfectly this time, also mumbling "difficult, hard" as if locking into memory what it means. She admires his dedication to learning.

She wishes her mother would respect her decision to leave.