Lee Changhyuk lowered his lids to peek at his phone. When he saw the caller, he slowly put his drink down and fixed his eyes on Shizu.
There was a moment of silence between the two where you could only hear the vibrating sound of Lee Changhyuk's phone.
Shizu was beyond lost that she forgot to blink but her face was demanding some explanation from him.
Lee Changhyuk remained calm, there was no change in his expression. He pressed the 'answer' button and slowly place the phone to his ear.
"Yes, Lee Changhyuk speaking." He looked straight into her brown ones.
"Are you... really the one who booked my place?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wasn't sure if I should."
Lee Changhyuk did not break his eye contact, his face remained composed and nonchalant as he spoke over the phone but the playful air that normally surrounded him vanished into a thin air. Shizu furrowed her brow and gave him a confused look. He eyed her telephone, signaling her to keep answering her phone.
"So you paid that much and wouldn't stay?"
"I will reconsider it if you will not run from me."
"Why would I run away?"
"Because it would be too problematic.."
The conversation was getting weirder so Shizu hung up on him then put her phone on the table. She looked at him closely.
"I don't get it. Why did you book my place if it was too problematic then?"
"That, I cannot explain." He put his phone back on the table then shrugged his shoulder. It was an honest answer. He had been asking himself the very same question.
Shizu stayed quiet for a few moment as she was trying to make sense of the whole situation. Giving up, she raised an eyebrow then took a deep breath.
"I will not run away from you. I will not force you to leave or to stay. You can stay if you want to. I get it if you don't trust me but are you really that scared of me?"
He was taken aback by that answer- Lee Changhyuk raised an eyebrow. As a member of the most powerful boyband in the continent, Lee Changhyuk was never afraid of anything.
He was a smart guy who always knew what he wanted and he was blessed with the talents, look and confidence that made things easy for him. On top of that, as the youngest member in GreenEast, he was used to having his hyungs figured out almost everything for him. Hardships did come his way but he could always overcome it.
Both privilege and the painful curse as a King Maker, Lee Changhyuk embraced everything that came his way. He knew that people would kill to be halfway of where he was, so if there was anything he should do to pay the price- he would gladly do it. And he did, a great price.
Nothing really mattered for him, as long as he could sing and write songs he would be ok with anything. He was still young!
He had never been afraid of anything. Yet before coming here, he was worrying non stop, fretting that the Milk Girl would run from him. The worriness didn't come from a thin air. He was imagining a handful of scenarios on why the Milk Girl would flee. With the power and privilege that he owned, came hundreds of other reasons why the Milk Girl should run from him. That's why he was really happy when the Milk Girl treated him warmly.
Why did he book all of her rooms? He wasn't even sure why. But there he was, having spent only a half day with her and got a little greedy. So to answer her question- Yes, he was scared.
GreenEast was worshipped throughout nations as the solid King Maker so everything was just business to them. However, Lee Changhyuk realized that dealing with a person as a human being was entirely a different thing. With that much power- you could always give orders and no one would say no to you. It was all business and business only. Being on the top- they had no choice but to distance themselves from the rest of the world. As one simple mistake could create a massive uproar. Unable to do anything but looking down on others... It felt lonely..
He would normally treat other people as a pawn on a chess board. If he did this, the other party would move here. If he said that, the other party would move there. But a normal human interaction?
Sitting on the throne for too long he forgot how to have a normal interaction with people. Not to mention that as the youngest member- he got famous at a very young age. What's normal anyway? He was always surrounded by his hyungs and other shining Stars.
His world was so big yet so small. The relationship between human beings was far more complicated than business. And the Milk Girl was definitely one of that riddle!
If she did run from him where would she run to? He probably would never be able to forgive himself if that happened. But yeah, why would she run from him? They're just friends! Lee Changhyuk liked his new friend so much that he overthinked, and that overthinking was somehow reflected on his actions.
'Stop thinking Lee Changhyuk! Come on, you didn't come all the way to Japan to make the Milk Girl feel uncomfortable! Be a gentleman!' He was scolding himself inwardly. Aah, it was not easy being a gentleman.
"Can I stay?" He finally asked.
Shizu furrowed her temple and nodded her head with no hesitation as an answer to his absurd question.
Did he not hear what she just said? Lee Changhyuk was a free soul! He could stay if he wanted to and she would refund the money if he wished to leave. In her head she was calculating the huge amount of money that RoomBnB would penalize him if he didn't stay. That would be a waste but she would never judge him.
"Alright then, I'll stay here!" The corners of his lips curled into a smile. That nonchalant face was turning bright as dawn on a dazzling summer day. You could see how it came from deep inside his heart to light his eyes and spread into every part of his body.