Maya

I get dressed in a pair of jeans and an off-the-shoulder blouse on which I spent a disgraceful amount of money on one of my stress-relief shopping fits a few months ago. I know I should have worn something like this when I was younger. Nevertheless, I go ahead with it tonight because I just feel like wearing it today.

My hair is tied up in a ponytail, and I don't bother with wearing any makeup since it would be just Jae-Eun and I, and I don't care if he likes my face bare or not.

The bar is situated at the third level of the hotel, and I walk in carrying my small shoulder bag with just my phone, the keycard to my room, my credit cards and some cash.

"Miss. Harris, thank you for coming," Jae-Eun's voice sounds from my right, and I see him dressed in crisp formal wear, and approaching me with a big smile.

He looks as if he is ready to participate in some international peace convention of some sort.

"Just call me Maya, Jae-Eun. You're older than me, and we're off working hours now. So don't bother with calling me Miss. Harris. Plus, it sounds so odd at a bar," I laugh a little, and he nods, pointing towards a table in a corner.

"So, Maya, what would you like to have?" Jae-Eun checks with me, dragging his chair closer to the table while I flip through the drinks menu.

After oscillating between various choices on the menu, I decide to drink something alcoholic, and not just some fruit juice or mocktail.

"I'll have just one long island iced tea," I shut the menu and slide it aside.

"Okay. I'll have whiskey," he speaks under his breath and places the order for our drinks and a few snacks to one of the waiters who arrives at our table.

"Jae-Eun, the drinks are on me. I owe you one for Mr. Kim's recruitment," I send him a smile as I take a small sip of water, placing my shoulder bag in a corner of the table thereafter.

"Oh, come on. I had to fix what I screwed up. It really isn't a big deal," he smiles, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

"But still," I shrug a little.

"Is Mr. Kim related to you? I'm just curious," his shoulders lift in a small shrug.

"We've known each other from high school," I keep my details minimal and crisp.

"Oh, wow! So was he a crush from high school or something?" He suddenly turns curious.

But I smile and nod, not wanting to be too uptight and acting as if I'm made up of a wall of granite. 

"Yeah, a major crush from high school. He never knew about it though," my cheeks heat up when I begin talking about Taehyung.

"Maya, you're blushing," Jae-Eun makes fun of me and laughs as the waiter sets down our drinks and snacks on the table.

I cup my cheeks in my hands, trying in vain to hide the blush, but end up laughing along with him.

"Tell me about you, Jae-Eun. Do you have a special someone? Are you married already?" A few sips of the cocktail flowing through my bloodstream bring out the extrovert hidden within me.

"I was married, not anymore. We divorced two years ago," he says, taking a sip of his whiskey and pressing his lips into a thin line, nodding his head in appreciation of the punch offered by the drink.

"Oh!" My eyebrows lift in shock, and my eyes mirror the same. "I'm sorry to hear that," my voice lowers.

"Don't worry, Maya. It's nothing. It was a hard decision, but I'm a happy man now. She's happy too," he comments casually with a smile that seems a bit sad, at least to me.

I don't know what to say, and even though I feel like knowing more about the reasons for their divorce, I just stick to silence, focusing on my cocktail instead, taking relaxed sips of it. The effect of the drink slowly trickling down my veins makes me feel a little light-headed.

"What about you? Are you married?" He asks me after a while.

"I was too," I nod a little. "My husband succumbed to cancer many years ago," my eyes lower to my almost empty glass, as a veil of uncalled-for tears suddenly cloud my vision.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you're doing okay now," Jae-Eun sounds genuinely concerned, and I nod a few times, forcing my eyes to lift and look at him.

"I am. I've found my happiness and hope after many years, and I'm doing a lot better these days," I gulp down the last sip of my drink. "I think I'll have another one," I request sheepishly, and then Jae-Eun orders a repeat for me.

My second drink arrives much quicker than before, and since my nervous system is already loving the kick of the alcohol, I grab my glass eagerly and take a big sip out of it.

"It's hard when a marriage ends, and I'm glad you're moving on..." Jae-Eun loosens up, undoing the buttons on the cuff of his sleeves and folding them up to his elbows.

"Yeah, I never thought I would...but when the right person comes along, things just happen..." I'm smiling even as I speak, which could be because of the alcohol or because of thoughts about Taehyung—a combination of the two, most definitely.

"It's Mr. Kim, isn't it?" He asks, sounding almost sure of himself.

My eyes lift to look at him smiling, with a look of confidence on his face.

"How did you know?" I question him, leaning back as I finish my second drink, my vision slightly unclear at this point. The movements of my hands feel delayed, and even my eyelids seem to be functioning at a very slow pace.

I'm drunk, and I should stop here.

"It's not so hard to know, Maya. I've always seen you as a very composed person, but the way you lost your cool with Mr. Ki-"

"Taehyung. Just call him Taehyung. He's the same age as me," I am unable to stop smiling, and just saying his name makes my heart pound and flip within my chest, making me feel twitches where I shouldn't be feeling any right now.

Jae-Eun nods a few times.
"Taehyung's job... it was a clear giveaway. And I've seen you both together at restaurants around our offices, and once at the airport yesterday," he adds, laughing softly.

"Yeah, the job meant so much to him, and he means so much to me..." my own voice sounds alien to me, and I feel a strange sensation that makes me crave Taehyung's touch so bad.

Even though he's thousands of miles away, right now it feels as if his hands and lips are ghosting over my neck and my exposed shoulders, making my skin bristle with excitement, and I suddenly begin missing him badly.

"Maya, if you're free tomorrow, we can go to Oxford Street for shopping. I also have some friends living near Manchester who I'd be meeting tomorrow. You can join me if you would like that," to my ears, his words sound as if he is speaking from inside some deep underground tunnel. Or maybe I feel like my head is submerged underwater.

"I'd love that," I nod aggressively and realize it's time to leave the table and get back to my room before I knock out somewhere and make a drunk fool out of myself.

"It was nice spending time with you, Jae-Eun. I'll get going now," I grab my bag from the table, and stumble onto my feet.

"Maya, should I walk you to your room? You seem a little too drunk to go on your own," again, his voice sounds like a distant muffle.

"No, I can take care," I give him a loose hug before I stagger out of the bar and somehow manage to scramble my way to my room.

Locking the door behind me and kicking off my shoes to a corner, I drop my bag on the floor and pull my blouse over my head and throw it to the floor as well before I head to the bathroom and splash some chill water on my face.

I feel unsteady and sleepy, and definitely needy for some love—Taehyung's love.

My fingers unbutton my jeans, and I step out of them, leaving it as it is on the bathroom floor and stumbling back into the room to slip into Taehyung's T-shirt once again.

"Baby, I miss you," I dopily talk to his garment that's on my body, kissing it and wrapping it tighter around me.

"Should I call you now?" I talk without an audience.

Grabbing my phone from my bag, I'm shocked to see that it is a little past midnight already.

"How the fuck?" I rub my temples before typing out a text message to Taehyung.

Me:
Baby...need you now

Thank you all for 4k reads on Decoupled.
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I really don't know who's thirsty.
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Published on : 05/15/2022