Shizu was running with all of her might. She opened the door to her house and immediately shut it off. She was so in a hurry that she dropped the grocery bags off her hands.
CRACK
Lightning blinded her eyes for a split second followed by a loud sound from the sky that sent chills to the back of her neck. It almost sounded like an explosion.
Water dripped down her face. It was raining heavily and she forgot to bring an umbrella. She closed her eyes and took a deep sigh of relief.
"I'm home!" (1) She joyously shouted, but after a while there was no answer to her greeting.
The inside of the house was dark. She reached the switch to turn on the light.
Those big eyes were twinkling as they tried to spot Lee Changhyuk. She turned her head to the right and left. There was no sign of human activity, all she could hear was the sound of the wind and the rain that was pouring outside.
"Did he go outside?" She mumbled to herself and took off her shoes. She bent to arrange the shoes and put on the white bunny slippers.
What a terrible weather. Being wet from head to toe, she needed a warm bath. She must not get sick, especially not when the filming schedule was so tight.
She looked at the wet grocery bags that were lying on the floor, next to her shoes. Taking a bath could wait, she thought. If she got everything done then she could take an even longer bath! So she carried those bags and went straight to the kitchen.
Bread, flour, tea bags, toilet paper. She put them on the shelf and meticulously arranged everything, she took pride on the super-host-badge awarded by the guests on RoomBnB. A smirk appeared on her face- she bought two cans of banana milk for Lee Changhyuk!
Nope, he didn't ask her to buy milk. In fact, Lee Changhyuk never asked her to keep a supply of milk but Shizu always stocked her fridge with flavored milk because... he enjoyed them!
Every morning she would make breakfast for him (cause breakfast was included in the contract). During the first day they had breakfast together, Lee Changhyuk who had a habit of checking on the fridge before breakfast was surprised when he found three cans of strawberry milk in the fridge with 'Lee Changhyuk's name sticked to it.
"They are for you. I specially got them from the market this morning." She told him with sparkling eyes.
She remembered the surprised look on his sleepy face. He still looked so handsome despite looking so confused. He took them out slowly from the fridge and put them on the dining table.
"You woke up early to get them?" There was a frown on his face, if you saw him you would think of him as a sleepy kid who pouted cause he didn't get enough sleep.
The milk girl nodded her head as if she just won some nobel prize. Those beautiful big eyes were looking at him sincerely- he knew he would never be able to refuse her.
"Well, I guess they are mine?" A mischievous smile formed on his handsome face as he opened the 3 cans and finished all of them in one go.
CRACK
The lightning blinded her eyes once again and brought her back from the dreamland.
Where could he possibly go in this kind of weather? Shizu took her phone then scrolled over the contact list until she finally stopped moving. She didn't have his number.
The milk girl bite her lower lip as she fell into deep thinking. Did he bring an umbrella? He didn't faint out there or get caught by some fans, right?
She opened her RoomBnB app and called Lee Changhyuk from the app.
Doot.. Doot.... Dialing...
After waiting for quite some time, she put the call on speaker then carried the two banana milk to the fridge. One beer was missing. Did Lee Changhyuk drink it?
"But he said he didn't drink beer?" She raised an eyebrow. That's also why she bought the milk.
The announcement this morning, by Han Ryeowook was huge! GreenEast was terminating their contract with StarLord Entertainment. She wanted to celebrate it but she hadn't had the chance to talk to him.
Since they didn't get a table at the lobster restaurant, the two went straight home. They took taxi and didn't talk much about StarLord Entertainment during the trip to the house. Lee Changhyuk was back with his where-is-waldo game. He pointed every single billboard or advertisement that showed his face.
The RoomBnB app stopped dialing. There was no answer from Lee Changhyuk. She started to get worried. A train of thoughts started to run in her head.
"Tadaimaa.." (1)
A familiar voice from the entrance stopped her thoughts. It was like a switch button that sparkled delight on her beautiful face. She put down the phone then ran out of the kitchen while answering his greeting.
"Okaeri!" (2) Her sweet voice was clear as she welcomed him.
Lee Changhyuk was all wet. He didn't wear his disguise nor did he bring an umbrella. He was holding an unopened beer can.
He pulled his wet hair back and you could see the rain did justice to those sharp jawlines and high-bridged nose. His white shirt turned see-through, it did little cover to those well refined abs and broad shoulders. With a figure like that, he didn't need a lot of photoshop- it was like a real life advertisement.
A smile appeared on his handsome face as he saw the milk girl, but the milk girl did not return his smile and ran somewhere else.
Lee Changhyuk raised an eyebrow and ignored the milk girl's antique as he tried to pat himself dry. The rain was definitely bad.
5 seconds later, the milk girl returned hurriedly with towels. She put one on top of his head and dried his hair.
"Why didn't you bring an umbrella? You're on holiday, you should not get sick." She nagged.
A playful smile appeared on his face but he said nothing as he let the milk girl dry his head. He remained quiet for a few moments then gradually lowered his body so that the milk girl didn't have to stand on her heels.
If you looked at Shizu, you would think she was trying to mess his hair. But she was actually being very gentle, it was how her mom dried her hair when she was a kid.
Lee Changhyuk was looking down the floor then raised an eyebrow as he saw water dropped from her skirt. His dark eyes tried to catch a glimpse of the milk girl in between the towel. He caught her hand to stop her.
He tilted his head and found the floor behind her was wet, all the way to the kitchen. It was obvious what caused it.
Shizu gave him a confused look, asking for an explanation but Lee Changhyuk didn't say anything. He gave her a wink as he took another towel from her hand and started to dry her head.
"How did you do it? Is it like this?" He tried to copy her.
"I'm fine." She looked him in the eye as she tried to assure him.
A realization came to her mind, she turned her head to look at the floor behind her, then bite her lower lip apologetically.
"We'll clean them together." That carefree voice was as comforting as always.
He cupped her chin gently like she was a porcelain doll, and turned her to face him. Smiling, he continued to dry her hair.
He was doing a bad job. He was being too careful that he didn't put any pressure on the hair. The end result: Her hair was still wet and it turned messy. The milk girl remained quiet while Lee Changhyuk was messing with her hair. Her brown eyes were twinkling with mirth. How could she stop him when he was just trying to help her?
"Aah, I'm doing a crappy job, aren't I?" He didn't sound sorry, but there was a slight guilt on that playful face.
Shizu did not have the heart to respond so she just giggled. Then they decided to take a shower.
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(1) Tadaima means "I'm home" in Japanese.
It actually is a shortened version of the original expression "tadaima kaerimashita," meaning "I just came home." The literal translation of tadaima is actually "just now."
(2) Okaeri means "Welcome home" in Japanese. It is used to answer "Tadaima."
The two greetings are very common in Japan.