Light rain tapped softly against the windowpanes, reflecting the quiet city lights. On the top floor of the "Paradise" hotel, Leona stood staring at the tissue box that refused to fit into the cleaning cart.
She swore she would quit tomorrow. But the truth? She wouldn't.
She had only been working for two months, on the night shift, moving between floors to clean rooms left vacant after parties or business trips. Life wasn't luxurious, but it was quiet... and that was all she needed.
She pulled the key for room 1703 out of her pocket.
"VIP Suite..." she read aloud softly, then sighed.
A VIP room meant... more mess, more worry.
She gently pushed the door open and stepped inside
The room was dark. The curtains were drawn. No sign of anyone.
Had the guest left? No report had come through yet.
She reached for the light switch, but suddenly... a voice came from inside:
- "Turn off the light."
She froze in place.
The voice was calm, deep, but firm.
Her heart started pounding
Had she made a mistake? Was someone still in the room?
- "I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was still here!
She stepped back, about to leave.
But his voice came again:
- "Don't go. Just... clean without the light. If you can."
Strange.
She hesitated but quietly closed the door again and entered.
Darkness covered everything, except for a faint strip of light sneaking through the window.
As she approached the table, she saw a half-full cup, an open medicine box, and a black scarf thrown over a chair.
Someone living in this room... didn't seem well.
Then she heard him move. He wasn't far - sitting in the corner on the long sofa, wearing a black shirt and sunglasses... at night.
- "Are you new here?"
He said in a low voice, without looking at her.
- "Kind of."
- "You don't look like you belong here."
She didn't answer. She didn't like personal questions.
- "And you? You look like you're hiding."
He smiled but didn't comment.
Seconds passed before he asked:
- "What's your name?"
- "Leona."
- "Beautiful name... Do you know who I am, Leona?"
Finally, she turned to look at him.
She couldn't see him clearly, but... there was something familiar in his voice, his posture, even the way he rested his hands on his knees.
Before she could reply, he continued:
- "Good. Don't guess. Let's keep this mystery."
She smiled despite the strange situation.
She finished cleaning silently while he stayed there, staring at the ceiling, as if its weight was too heavy to bear.
When she finished, she gathered her tools and turned to leave, and he said quietly:
- "Thank you, Leona. I didn't need someone to clean... but someone who doesn't ask."
When she returned to the lower floor, she opened her old phone and started scrolling through the usual trivial news. But suddenly she stopped at a notification on the front page:
[Breaking]: Famous K-pop singer "Tae Soul" has been missing for three months. His last appearance was at Seoul Airport before his world tour was suddenly canceled. An anonymous source says he is suffering from a "severe psychological breakdown."
She looked at the accompanying picture.
His black hair. His calm features. Those lips slightly curved downward... and the sunglasses.
Her heart started beating abnormally fast.
"No... it can't be..." she whispered to herself.
But her mind told her one thing:
Just minutes ago, she had been in the room of a person... who looked exactly like him.
.
___
To be continued
Hello, dear readers!
I recently came across a story in this genre, and to be honest - I loved it.
Normally, I don't write stories like this, but I decided to challenge myself and try something new.
This is Season 1, and it will include 10 chapters.
Five chapters are already available on my Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/c/caesar20/posts
You can copy it from the bio
Just pick the K-pop stories membership to access them.
Thank you for being here. I hope you enjoy the journey!