I used the key card and pushed open the door to room 278.

The curtains were drawn tightly. The room was pitch-black.

An inexplicable nervousness crept over me.

Hadn't Z said he was already here?

My heart began beating faster.

I felt along the wall and found the edge of the light switch.

Just before I could press it, a hand reached out of the darkness and covered mine.

His palm was cool.

"Baby, don't turn on the light yet."

His voice was low and warm.

Without the slight distortion of my earphones, it sounded different.

And strangely familiar.

I didn't think about it for long.

I smiled.

"What is it? Are you afraid I won't like the way you look?"

"Yes."

His voice was very quiet, as though admitting something terribly difficult.

I was hopeless.

Seeing Z so insecure only made me find him more adorable.

"You know what's funny? You sound just like that annoying roommate of mine."

Beside me, he went rigid.

I lifted my hand and felt for his face in the dark.

Then I rose onto my toes and brushed a light kiss against the corner of his mouth.

"Does that prove I like you?"

I let go and smiled with my eyes curved into crescents.

"Whatever you look like, I like you."

He was silent for a moment.

Then, in a rough voice, he said, "Baby, I'm turning it on."

There was a click.

At the exact moment the light came on, his hand lifted to cover my eyes.

His palm trembled slightly.

I froze for a second, then laughed.

He was a grown man. How could he be this shy?

Through the gaps between his fingers, I slowly pieced together the person standing in front of me.

First his mouth.

Thin lips. Moist.

They looked very kissable.

Then his nose.

Straight. Prominent.

It would probably feel very—

Well.

My gaze drifted higher.

Finally, I saw his eyes.

His lashes were lowered. He wasn't looking at me.

Through his fingers, I could make out the familiar shape of those eyes, the color of his irises, even the shadows beneath his lashes.

My entire body went cold.

It felt as though the blood had frozen in my veins.

Why did Z have exactly the same face as Zachary Hayes?

I tried desperately to lift the corners of my mouth.

"Are you Zachary's brother? Or his cousin? You look so alike. Ha."

My vision blurred with tears.

Some tiny, completely impossible hope was still clinging on.

He lowered his hand, brushing his fingertips lightly beneath my eyes.

"Neither."

"I am Zachary."

The slap used every ounce of strength I had.

It cracked through the quiet hotel room.

His face turned slightly to the side.

A faint red mark slowly appeared on his cheek.

Tears filled my eyes until I could barely see him.

I bit my lower lip and forced the words out, one at a time.

"I hate you."

Then I turned and ran.