A hard grunt echoes in the room. Something wriggles in the bed, under the white fluffy duvet. The room is dark but the heat from the Sun already pierces the room.
Sounds like deja vu, doesn't it?
Yeah, kinda... Sort of...
But, let's move to the main question for this chapter.
Who is the character mentioned above?
Let's hit the play button!
***
A hand searches for something on the side table. A phone is ringing just in time when the hand is still dancing on the surface. Finally, that very hand manages to grab the phone.
"Hello?"
"This is crazy..."
The caller doesn't even bother to reply to the greet.
"Hi... Morning to you too, Han..." Pan slowly opens her eyes. She sighs as she smacks her cheek once. Just to wake her up.
"Where am I? Take a guess..."
"I don't know. Too early for a guessing game, Han!" Pan whines. Her throat somehow feels dry and she feels like she lost almost 65% of her voice.
Han, the caller on the other side, glares at his side. He shakes his head in tiny.
"Too bad I'm shirtless! Or else, I'll open my camera, just in case you refuse to believe my story..." Han slowly lifts his upper body so he can wake up from his bed.
"TMI, huh? That sounds serious..."
"It's... Serious. Depends on how you interpret a news..."
"Definitely sounds serious. Just cut the chase..."
"I slept with Senior Kim last night,"
"What?! How???" Pan springs up from her bed once Han drops the news.
"I dragged him to the toilet after I accidentally spilled some drinks on his shirt, remember? From their things turned out messy. At least that's what I remembered..."
Pan sighs. Han is still on the other line, laying on his bed as calm as the wind in spring.
"Wait. When you said you slept with Senior Kim... You mean... Did you two do it in the toilet?" asks Pan, out of curiosity.
There's a silence from the other side. A dead, full of no air silence.
"Han?"
"You think I am that tasteless? Of course not! I chose the best place for that..." Han glares at the man who is sleeping soundly next to him. That man worked his ass off all night, for only Hell knows how hard it is.
"Did you two rent a room?" asks Pan.
"Nope. He's in my room," Han replies Pan in short. His fingers are playing with Kim's soft hair. It smells good, a stain of coconut with mint.
"Oh... Your boarding room..."
"Nope. My room, at my house," Han smiles. He still staring at the man. Kim is too tired, he guesses. The man still can sleep even though Han makes a good amount of noise while talking to Pan.
"House... You mean...?"
"My family house. My moms, they're probably downstairs by now."
"Ai shia..." Pan wipes her face with her palm. This is a shocking news. A 'good start' of the day.
"I can't wait for him to wake up. I just wanna see his reaction," Han laughs effortlessly.
Pan loss for words. Han is too brave to take some random man home and nail him in the presence of his parents. The best part is, both of his parents are the professor and the dean at their institute.
"Wait..." Han halts a bit. He checks his phone.
"Pan, there's an incoming call. From Yara," he says.
"What does she want at this hour?" Pan feels weird. The girl never for once called any of them in the morning. She loves her bed more than her friends.
"Did something happen to her, too?" asks Pan.
"I don't know. Let me drag her into our call..." Han connects Yara's call with them.
"Guys!!!"
Pan and Han can only hear a sob from the other line.
"Yara! What happened?" asks Han.
"I... I don't know how to explain..." the girl replies to Han, still sobbing between words.
"Where are you now?" asks Pan.
"Home. My brother picks me up..." Yara replies to her.
"Pick you up... From...?" Han waits for Yara to explain. The girl still sobbing from the other line.
"Uwaaaaa.... Pan! Han!!"
"She's crying again..." Pan gushes over the phone.
"Take a deep breath. And tell us one by one..."
"Okay... So..."
***
"You slept with a stranger?!" asks Han with a high-pitched voice. Then, he scrunches his nose and shuts himself when Kim stirs suddenly in bed.
"Yes..." the girl replies slowly.
"Sorry Yara... I shouldn't have left you alone last night," Pan sighs, how many times over the past hour while talking to her friends? She lost count already.
"We all know what happened to us last night? What about you, Pan? Why did you leave Yara alone?" asks Han.
"Yes! Where were you last night?!" Yara suddenly yelps at Pan. Maybe she is indeed still mad at Pan. But Yara denies it, afraid that she might lose a friendship with her.
"It's a long story. But, so far... Nothing weird happened to me. I'm home. Safe and sound," says Pan, smiling ear to ear.
"I hate her confidence!" says Yara. She crumbles her fists.
"You want me to jinx her?" asks Han, in a note of teasing.
"Ai sutt, you better not!" Pan warns Han. The man giggles and feels amused with the tease.
"Pan... Words..."
"Sorry, mae..." Pan replies between faint laughter. She slowly wakes up from the bed.
"So, what's for today?" asks Han.
"I don't think I wanna go out! I don't feel secure..." Yara whines.
"I might have to deal with something..." Han grabs his T-shirt from the floor. "Or, someone..." his eyes glare at Kim.
Seriously, is he sleeping or dead? I don't remember being so rough last night! He murmurs alone.
"What about you, Pan?" asks Han.
"Family matters, as usual..." Pan casually replies to Han. She walks towards the curtain and opens it in one swipe.
That's when she sees something that she didn't expect at this hour.
"Gu...guys... I... I call you back!" Pan immediately cuts the call. Her hands shake so badly. Her whole body is trembling.
"Finally, a good amount of sunshine..." the person stares at her while squinting those sleepy eyes.
***
Pan continues staring at the person casually lying on his side, propped up on his elbow on the soft, springy mattress.
"What are you doing here?!" Pan demands Zee in a sharp voice.
"Wow... You forgot what happened last night?" the person replies, sounding frustrated.
"Stop goofing around, Zee!"
Zee slowly rises from the bed and grabs his pants from the floor.
"Can I have my t-shirt?"
"How should I know where it is?!"
"You're wearing it..."
Pan looks down at her body and realizes the black T-shirt she's wearing isn't hers. Her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
"Turn around..."
"Seriously?" Zee gives her a bland expression.
"Just turn around!" Pan yells at Zee.
"Fine! It's not like I haven't seen you naked before..."
"Shut up! And don't peek!" Pan warns him. She quickly grabs clothes from her dresser, changes swiftly, and throws the T-shirt at Zee.
"Wear it. And leave."
"Wow, this is truly a nail and bail!"
"I don't care! Leave before everyone in this house wakes up," says Pan. She grabs her pants from the floor and puts them on. In no time, both of them are properly dressed.
"Wait..." Pan stops Zee from leaving. She bites her lip softly. It might not be necessary, but if she keeps it to herself, she might feel awkward around Zee in the future.
Zee looks at Pan. He knows what's on her mind. Knowing her since he was thirteen and having a relationship with her after that, even if it was in brief, taught him enough about Pan, inside and out.
"Don't worry. We both made a mistake last night. It's no one's fault. Don't overthink it," Zee says before Pan can ask.
"So, it's true?!" Pan looks devastated. Zee nods slightly.
"We couldn't avoid it. We're adults who were left alone and temporarily lost our sanity. Anything can happen," Zee says, grabbing his sweater.
Pan's body trembles like a leaf. She can't hide her embarrassment at learning the truth about what happened with Zee last night.
"Can I say something?" Zee's question startles Pan. She nods softly, waiting for him to continue.
"Even after four years, you still blow me away with your charm, Pan. If you know what I mean," Zee says with a crooked smile, making Pan blush hard. She grabs a pillow and throws it at him.
"Get out!"
Zee raises his hands in surrender and moves toward the door. He was about to grab the knob when...
"Mama! Are you awake?"
Both Pan and Zee exchange looks.
This is trouble!