1805
Seeing the numbers engraved on the gold metal plate on the dark wood door triggered a series of memories in Jessica’s head.
The hotel was a top choice of rendezvous, away from the public eye. There were two hotels which Yukiko Takahashi preferred. They provided the privacy she wanted and ensured that her presence was treated with strict confidence. Besides the hotels, Yukiko frequented was a quaint sake bar in a quiet street away from the main hustle and bustle of the city.
A sense of excitement, anticipation and lust sent tingles throughout Jessica’s body whenever she stood in front of the door of the hotel room.
In the hotel room, their meeting always started off with a drink. Sometimes it was Japanese whiskey, other times it was Japanese sake. They sat on the edge of the bed, filling each other’s glasses before downing the cold liquid down their throats. They drank (mostly), they chatted (briefly), they touched (a lot) and they kissed (often).
On nights when alcohol flooded their brains and ignited fiery passions, both of them spent the night entangled with each other. It was all about physical satisfaction and about making each other reach her peak of ecstasy. There were hardly any honeyed words breathed, no emotions shared. Shortly after the pleasure was achieved, they would wash up before going their separate ways without a word of goodbye.
This time, standing outside a hotel room, Jessica could only feel frustration brewing inside of her. Taking a deep long breath to relax her tensed muscles, she pressed the doorbell.
It took a mere few seconds for the door to open, as if its occupant was expecting a guest. A familiar scent greeted Jessica before the actress appeared. Last time, Jessica found the actress’ smile seductive but not today. Her crooked smile appeared vile and repulsive.
Once the door was shut, Jessica was quickly enveloped in a hug. It was meant to be a friendly welcome hug but ended with a twist. As Yukiko broke apart from Jessica, she planted a light kiss on the latter’s cheek.
Jessica was caught by surprise and didn’t bother to conceal the displeasure on her face. Yukiko merely laughed it off and sauntered towards the huge king sized bed.
The hotel room was much bigger than the ones they used to meet in. Given that Yukiko was the main star of the event,it wasn’t unusual she was given special treatment and be given a more luxurious room. Lots of cosmetic, two hair dryers and a hair curler lined the dressing table. Various dresses lay across the two seater sofa and several fashion magazines were stacked on the small coffee table.
Yukiko tapped the edge of the bed and smiled over her shoulder. “Sorry, this place is a mess. Looks like this is the only empty spot left.”
Jessica had a feeling Yukiko created the messy scene in the room and by doing so, forced the consultant to share a space with her. It was obvious the bed was the only “empty” space available in the room. The actress filled two glasses of Hibiki Japanese whiskey and handed one to Jessica as she settled on a spot next to Jessica.
“It has been a long while, Sica chan,” Yukiko greeted, lifting her glass towards Jessica’s and making a clink sound when the glasses touched. “How have you been?”
Jessica took a sip, allowing the golden liquid coat her throat before she replied. “Better than ever.”
The corner of Yukiko’s red lips lifted, forming a lopsided grin as she strategically placed one arm behind Jessica’s back.
“Good to know,” Yukiko said softly, leaning towards Jessica. “I missed you.”
A thumb stroked the small of Jessica’s back. It was stirring up erotic feels but Jessica knew better than to fall for Yukiko’s seduction. However, Jessica moved away from the actress, creating a big gap between them.
Yukiko let out a crackle. “Aww…you are feeling shy after not seeing me for so long?”
The actress inched closer and leaned forward, causing one side of her silky sleepwear to slip off her shoulder, revealing a lot of skin.
Jessica looked away for a brief moment before she spoke. “Yuki san, to be honest, I do plan to look for you. However, it’s not because of the reason you said.”
“Oh? I am curious.” Yukiko crossed her leg and took a sip of the whiskey.
Jessica set the whiskey glass on the side table.
“I found my soulmate, the love of my life,” Jessica said very slowly but firmly.
Yukiko flipped her hair. “Yes, I can remember clearly how you were sprouting those cheesy love lines only meant for drama series. You’re so happy to find someone, your heart belongs to someone, blah blah blah.”
Jessica narrowed her eyes, feeling annoyed by Yukiko’s mocking comment.
Suddenly, Yukiko broke into a wild laughter as if someone tickled her funny bone out of the blue. She downed the remaining liquid in her glass and set it onto the side table. Waving her finger in the air like a magic wand while stepping forward, she closed the gap between them, forcing the consultant to back up against the wardrobe.
Jessica was stunned briefly and pressed her back as flatly onto the wardrobe as possible, attempting to increase the distance between the actress and herself.
When the laughter died down, Yukiko placed one hand on the wardrobe, right next to Jessica’s face while she wriggled her finger at the consultant, as if the consultant was a kid caught doing something naughty. She leaned forward, close enough to speak in soft tones.
“So, you’re sleeping with Taeyeon chan?”
Jessica was close to punching the actress in the face, hearing the actress’ sarcastic remark.
Seeing the angry growing in Jessica’s eyes, Yukiko knew she hit the right spot and quickly remarked, “Ah, how’s she in bed? Who’s on top?”
By now, Jessica could feel the pressure building up in her veins, her face was turning red with anger and her knuckles turned white as she clenched both fists hard. She wondered how it felt to punch someone.
“Ah, silence means I’m right. My my, what a small world,” Yukiko broke into a crackling giggle as she stepped away from Jessica. “Slept with one and now flirting with the other. It’s fate!”
A pair of arms shook Yukiko hard by her shoulders. The actress was taken caught off guard by Jessica’s outburst. She had forgotten Jessica was totally unlike Taeyeon; the consultant was one who would put her foot down and get what she wanted.
“Taeyeon and I are engaged. She’s mine. I’m here to tell you that, straight in the face,”Jessica’s fiery eyes glared into the actress’ ice cold ones.
Yukiko brushed Jessica’s hands off her shoulders. “Hey, no need for such an outburst right. It was a joke, just a joke.”
“It isn’t funny.” Jessica stressed on those three words.
“Oh come on, Sica chan, you lost your humour.”
“And you’ve turned into a comedian instead of an actress,” Jessica rebutted as she snorted imaginary fumes out of her nose.
Yukiko laughed, like a villain in a movie. “Oops, I am going to take my comment back. You have a wicked sense of humour, very different from when we spent our time together.”
“That was the past and it is history. I’ve made myself clear the last time and I’m certain the message got through to you. We’re all adults and we knew what we were in for last time.”
“Of course, of course. No hard feelings eh?” Yukiko patted Jessica’s arm lightly.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Riko announced her arrival and it was a signal for Yukiko to get ready for her next appointment.
“Stay away from Taeyeon,” Jessica warned. Then she stormed out of the hotel room, to the surprise of Riko, who was standing outside the room.
Still fuming about what had happened in Yukiko’s room, Jessica took a quick cold shower to cool off. The cold water from the rain shower washed away most of her anger and the citrus scented bath shower gel relieved some of her stress.
Coming out of her shower and feeling in a slightly better mood, Jessica wanted to check if Taeyeon had left any messages for her. She didn’t tell Taeyeon she was coming. She pulled out her phone from her handbag and realised the battery was flat. She dug into her handbag and searched every inch of her luggage but couldn’t find her charging cable. It dawned on her that she might have left the cable on the plane. Deciding she needed a drink to clear her mind, Jessica headed for the rooftop bar to grab a drink and see if she could borrow a charger while she was there.
The bar was relatively crowded and Jessica settled for a seat at the high table by the window where she could have an expansive view of the city with its twinkling lights and neon signs. The only blemish was that the bartender didn’t have a spare charging cable and didn’t allow her to leave her phone with him to charge.
As Jessica sipped her red wine, she wondered if Taeyeon was still angry with her regarding her past relationship with Yukiko. Words and sentences clouded her mind as she struggled to think of what to say when she meet the baker. That was, if she managed to charge her phone and contact Taeyeon. She knew the room number which Taeyeon was staying in but the floor had special access for card holders only. Due to security issues, the public wasn’t allowed to access certain floors as they were blocked out for event guests and crew.
Just as Jessica finished the last mouthful of wine, she heard someone say “excuse me” right next to her. She turned around and saw a youthful looking Japanese man with orange hair smiling at her.
“Does this shawl belong to you?”
The man held a neatly folded black Gucci shawl in front of Jessica.
“Oh yes it is,” Jessica quickly took the shawl from him. “I must have dropped it without me noticing. Thank you very much.”
The man’s warm smile still remained as he spoke. “May I ask if you are Jessica san?”
Jessica was surprised the young man knew her. The bar was quite dimly lit and she couldn’t make out his features clearly except for his orange spikey hair.
“I’m sorry but do I know you?”
The man frowned, shrugged his shoulders and answered with a sigh. “Guess I’m just not popular enough.”
Jessica was utterly puzzled by this man’s reaction. In her heart she had a feeling that this man didn’t had bad intentions but she couldn’t figure out why he gave that answer.
The frown turned into a chuckle. “I’m sorry. Don’t worry, I’m not some random Japanese guy who’s trying to pick up a beautiful woman like you.”
Just then, a gentleman stopped behind the orange hair man. He was much older and spoke firmly to the younger man.
“Hinata, don’t be rude.” Then he turned towards Jessica and greeted her with a slight bow. “Jung san, it’s nice to see you again.”
Jessica quickly got off her seat the moment she recognised the older man. “Suzuki san, it’s nice to meet you too. Good luck for the event.”
Suzuki nodded in acknowledgement, said his goodbye and left the bar.
Meanwhile, Hinata bowed and extended his hand. “I’m Shoyo Hinata, Taeyeon’s senpai. I’m pretty sure Taeyeon has talked about me before. She simply adores me, in a senpai way of course.”
“Ah, Taeyeon talks about you a lot. I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you earlier.” Jessica shook Hinata’s hand.
“It’s alright, I blame the poor lighting in the bar,” Hinata smiled brightly.
Jessica didn’t know if she could laugh at his corny joke.
“Taeyeon didn’t mention about you coming to the event.”
“Oh, I didn’t tell her.”
Hinata rubbed his palms together and grinned. “Oooh, a surprise!”
“Ah…yes…sort of…” Surprise was only part of the reason. The other part was to apologise to Taeyeon in person.
Hinata waved his special access card. “I’m sure Taeyeon would be overjoyed to see you. I’ll bring you to her room since your room card wouldn’t be able to access the floor she’s staying at. Let’s go!”
“Now?” Jessica felt very nervous and unprepared.
“Of course!” Hinata flashed a wide grin. He couldn’t wait to surprise Taeyeon, knowing how much Jessica meant to the her. He hoped things would go well between them.
Moments later, Hinata and Jessica were standing outside Taeyeon’s room. It felt like deja vue for Jessica, having stood in front of a room just hours ago. The main difference this time was her nerves got the better of her. She tried to calm down and put together proper sentences of what she intended to tell Taeyeon.
Hinata pressed the doorbell and announced his name in a formal concierge tone of voice.
“Kim Taeyeon san, I have a special delivery for you.”
A few seconds later, the door opened slightly. A sleepy looking Taeyeon peeked out from behind the door.
“Hinata senpai, it’s past midnight already. What are you up to?” Taeyeon rubbed her eyes sleepily. She was already curled up in bed, trying to sleep but yet feeling disappointed that Jessica hadn’t replied her messages in a while.
“It’s a SPECIAL delivery, so however late it is, I need to deliver it.”
“Alright, alright. What is it?”
“May I present….your gift.” Hinata stepped aside to reveal the woman standing behind him. Then, he moved like a ninja, disappearing into his room a few doors away so that the couple could be alone.
Taeyeon narrowed her eyes, trying to focus. She rubbed her eyes again and blinked twice. When she was about to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming, a pair of cold hands stopped her from doing so.
Taeyeon and Jessica stood eye to eye and held each other’s gaze without speaking.
“You’re not dreaming. I’m really here.”
A Time Traveller's Tales 