Chapter 42: The Femme Fatale Plays with the Hidden Devil and the Nerdy Girl is Worried.
Amazingly, Naomi did nothing unusual throughout the day. Changmin was able to relax for once, but he recognized that tranquility was the precursor of chaos. There would be a night of terror. He knew that once he heard the shutting sound of the hotel room’s door that would signal the end of peace.

“So now that we can finally have some alone time,” Naomi announced. “We can celebrate the day with a well-needed drink.”
Changmin was sitting on the edge of the only bed in the hotel room. He knew he shouldn’t have listened to Ken and should have just booked a room with just two queen-sized beds. Changmin had informed Ken about how two guys shouldn’t sleep on the same bed and about how wrong it was to do so. Ken eased Changmin’s concern by asserting, “I’m not into guys and I’m not so desperate to fuck someone that I’ll fuck you, so just save some money and get the room with a king-sized bed.” Another lesson was learned for Changmin: don’t always be miserly.
“What drink?” he grumbled, looking baffled. He didn’t remember packing anything to drink besides some water bottles.
Naomi tossed her bag onto the ground and then opened the mini fridge. She reached in and retrieved a large beer can. Waving the prize, she smirked, “This. We’re going to drink this.”
Changmin jabbered, “And what if I refuse?” However, he swiftly adjusted his statement to be, “And what if we’re promoting the wrong idea to students?”
“There aren’t any students here are there?”
She chuckled as she opened the beer can. She added ice cubes into both of their cups before pouring the liquid. Then, she handed Changmin a cup of beer and sat beside him with a cup raised high.
“Cheers!” she shouted.
Her cup bumped his, which was still held tightly, unwavering. This whole scene seemed too well-rehearsed, yet he couldn’t determine what was wrong. He caught a glimpse of her already empty glass, and his instincts were telling him that that was the source of his problem. Maybe, he shouldn’t drink this.
 “Is something wrong? Why aren’t you drinking?” Naomi pressured.
Oh screw this, he thought before finally gulping down his share. “Anyways,” he muttered before getting up, “I’m going to shower now.”
This was probably the smartest move that he had made, which was to avoid her. Unfortunately for Changmin, it was too late. He also had to blame his metabolism. At first, he blamed the warm shower for making his body feverous to the extent where he felt like he was boiling in an oven. Then, he blamed the poorly-made shower taps for not adjusting the degree of warmness or coldness properly. When he felt his breathing becoming heavier and his chest pounding louder and louder, he almost believed that he was suffering from a heart attack. As he staggered out of the shower, he glanced at the mirror and saw his overtly red face and dilated pupils. I must be getting sick, he tried to calm himself. He didn’t want to think of the worse. He doubted that the worst possible outcome would arise, but once he felt tensing and pressure in a specific area, he knew that he had now become the prey. His other lessons of the day: always trust one’s gut feeling and never be impulsive.
Dressed in his pajamas, he opened the door, yelling, “What the fuck did you put in my drink?”
Naomi was now clad in an ivory white cut-out halter teddy with lace. Changmin felt his eyes popping out, completely mesmerized by her appearance. She noticed his expression and giggled. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Fuck,” he swore to himself.
He knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way, but his body wasn’t listening to him. He frantically wanted to push her over and claim her as his. What intensified his urge was when Naomi pressed her body on him, intimately embracing him. He desperately longed to clasp her in his arms. He was suffering from inner turmoil, perilously fighting his desires with his mind. He clenched his teeth to remind him that she was a devil, not an angel.
“Kiss me,” she ordered in a raspy voice. “And if you’re wondering . . . if I’m feeling it too, I am.”
If she drugged herself too, then there was a way out of this. He just had to be stronger, mentally and physically. First, he kissed her, somewhat pretending to be indulged in her arms. It was a moment to savour and also a moment to despise. What had begun had to end, and so he ended with a shove and some swear words, “Fuck you bitch!”
What Changmin did next could be considered cowardly, but he’d rather be a coward than suffer from the potential costs. He ran away.
There was never a resolute solution to an escape. With one barrier barely overcome, there was yet another hurdle to jump. This time, it happened to be Shiori. Who knew students enjoyed roaming at night?
“You’re past the curfew,” Changmin uttered from behind. “So, why are you out so late?”
Shiori was sitting on a bench, enjoying the view of the mountains at night. She turned around, relieved to find that it was only Changmin. “I know, but I just couldn’t sleep,” Shiori answered. “Why are you up?”
Attempting to mask his uneasiness, he sat cross legged and placed his hands on his lap. “I ugh . . . just needed some fresh air,” he lied.
Regrettably, the darkness did not entirely mask his vulnerable state. There was the moon that shone on his face, showcasing his flustered cheeks and his perspiring skin. Romantic, it was not. Embarrassing, it certainly was. With a concerned tone, Shiori asked, “Are you fine?”
“I-I just n-n-needed some fresh air,” he stuttered too sloppily.
“Are you sure?”
She touched his shoulder. Even a simple touch was hazardous and knowing what was probable, Changmin flicked her arm away and sternly cautioned, “Don’t touch me!”
His push was so forceful that she lost her balance and was falling backwards. Seeing what he had caused, Changmin instantly grabbed at her wrist and pulled her forward, but he had forgotten again that he didn’t have to use so much power. Being a person born with a slower reflex, she landed face first onto his lap, too close to where he had been shielding. There was the temptation to curse and the enticement to again gratify his needs. Luckily, those were only momentary for Shiori rapidly recovered and sat upright again.
“Sorry. Sorry, I’m really sorry,” she repeated.
“No, I’m sorry,” he finally admitted. “It’s not your fault. It’s this other person’s fault.”
“I d-don’t really understand what you’re trying to say,” she politely said.
Changmin too did not know how to explain everything, and frankly, he didn’t feel like explaining, “It’s none of your concern.”
“Is it Nishio sensei?”
He wanted to ask how she knew, but that would only complicate matters. “You’re a smart kid,” he decided to say.
“I can’t believe you continued the relationship,” she sighed.
 “You think I wanted to? She just keeps coming onto me.”
“Why don’t you tell your friend about her? It is his girlfriend.”
“No! Do you think I want him to know that his first girlfriend is a monster?” Changmin rebuked. “If I tell him this, he’ll never believe in love again.”
She added, “I thought you said there’s no such thing as love.”
“For me, there isn’t,” he clarified. “For him, there is and for him, if there isn’t love, he’ll be depressed. He’s the type that’ll go ‘I can’t live my life without her.’”
“Then what about me?” she posed.   
“I think you’re strong enough not to be depressed.”
“I hope so, but I still don’t think you should give into her,” Shiori cautioned. “There’s bound to be disaster.”
Laughing at her remark, he chirped, “Isn’t there already a disaster? I’ve already tried a lot of sh.it and they aren’t working.”
“Do you know what she wants from you?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “She seems to want me to be her boyfriend.”
“I still think you should tell you friend. It’s worse for him to find out by himself.”
She accidentally placed her hand on his shoulder again. It was one of her tendencies when attempting to comfort someone. This tendency proved to be too provoking for Changmin. The difference between this touch and the previous one was that Shiori was positioned in a way that made him zoom in on her lips. She was too close to him this time, causing him to yearn for a kiss on her small, delicate lips. They were puckered together out of astonishment.
Shiori was stunned by Changmin’s lustful expression and before she could flee, his arm bound her waist, caging her. He grazed his lips on her bare neck as if enjoying the catch of his prey. Then, he vehemently devoured her lips, insensible to the pain she endured. He could only think of satiating his lust. He had waited too long, suppressing his animalistic side. Once the other side of him had been unleashed, there was no stopping until he felt dampness blended with a tinge of iciness on his cheeks. It was a refreshing sensation, a moment of awakening. He realized what he had done as he pulled away from her.
“I’m so sorry,” he noted. “I didn’t mean to. I just . . .”
She shook her head in disbelief and glared at him. He didn’t want her to misunderstand him. For once, he cared.
“I was drugged!” he professed. “She slipped something in my drink.”
Now with a sympathetic look, she urged, “You have to tell your friend about her. This . . . This is getting out of hand. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back.”
She stood up and walked back to the direction of the hotel. Out of hand, it was. Changmin had also forgotten that people slept at different times, and so some were awake. Some could have seen what happened and some could have evidence of his actions. Only one needed to be alert and there happened to be one.