Noah and I walked upstairs, our steps echoing in the damp, musky staircase. I eyed the room key in Noah’s hands and gushed, “I’m so sorry, sir. I should have asked you before making that decision!”

“Ms. Rose.” Noah stopped at the first floor.

“I don’t know what came over me,” I blabbered nervously. “But they had a baby, and it was freezing downstairs. I understand this is not appropriate, and I’m sorry for the inconvenience—”

“Ms. Rose,” Noah interjected again. “Stop apologizing. You did the right thing.”

“Really?” I fidgeted.

“I should’ve suggested it earlier.” He sighed. “We might leave in an hour only, so don’t worry about it.”

Even after his assurance, the bunch of tight nerves in my stomach didn’t loosen. I followed Noah to our room. Our room. The phrase brought back my earlier words. This stuff only happened in the movies? Ha-ha… I could only mock myself at this point.

Noah unlocked the door and switched on the lights. My eyes almost bulged out as I stared at the room. Could it even be called a room? Even my cramped studio apartment looked heavenly compared to this rathole. The only decent thing in the room was the large, fluffy bed—which seemed to be their key selling point.

We stepped inside, and the door banged closed behind me. The reality crashed into me once again.

I was going to spend a night with Noah Jung.

Cold sweat formed on my forehead, and my nerves gave way. I backed up towards the door and mumbled, “Maybe I should wait in the lobby. That would be better—”

“Don’t be silly.” Noah sat on the sofa next to the window and took out his phone. “You’ll stay here where it’s warm.”

As if to give his words more credibility, thunder cracked outside. I shivered involuntarily. Did I even have a choice? I frowned and looked around. Except for the sofa and the bed, there was no place to sit in the room. Noah had already occupied the sofa. And I was not going to opt for the latter.

“I texted everyone about the flood,” Noah said. “They’ll arrive tomorrow because of the storm.”

“And Mr. Carter?”

“He has taken shelter too.” Noah put his phone away. “We’ll meet him tomorrow morning.”

Wait. So, are we still leaving in one hour?

Noah must have read my confusion because he said, “They predict the rain to go on for a few more hours. You should rest.”

Rest? Where? On the bed? I shuddered. To make matters worse, my stomach growled. I hastily kept my hand over it to dampen the sound. As if that would work. My stomach rebelled and roared louder this time. Noah looked up at me, and I gave him a sheepish smile. In a small voice, I asked, “If we’re going to wait… can we have dinner?”

Ten minutes later, I returned with instant cup noodles. Noah shifted to make room for me on the sofa. I hesitated, but with no better option, I sat next to him. “The restaurant was closed, but the receptionist had these in stock.”

Noah looked confused. He picked up a cup and read aloud, “Instant noodles?”

“Mm-hmm.” I arranged them and asked, “What flavor do you want? There’s Chicken, Thai, Chinese…”

“I’ve never tried them before.” Noah gave me a bashful smile.

My jaw dropped. That was the most scandalous thing I’d ever heard in my life. Instant noodles were the companion of this century, the backbone of our education system, the soul food of every student… and Noah had never eaten them? Which dimension was he from?

I shook my head. I had to fix this glitch in the matrix. Noah was lucky. He met me at the perfect time. Determined, I looked up and said, “I have a secret, sir.”

“Secret?”

“A secret skill I never told anyone.” I picked up the cup noodles and tore off the lid in one smooth move. My lips curved into a smirk as I expertly flicked the seasoning sachet. “I’m an instant noodles master.”

“Oh?” Noah raised his eyebrows, amused. I wasn’t bluffing. Years of stealing my mother’s secret stash of masala noodles had made me an expert.

“Seasoning first,” I said and added it to the noodles. “Then boil the water.” I poured a bottle of water into the electric kettle. With some fancy moves, I flicked on the switch and crossed my arms. “Now we wait.”

Soon, the water was bubbling and steaming in the kettle. Noah watched me pour it into the cups and asked, “Is that it?”

“Do you see the line?” I pointed to the small engraving around the cup. “Never fill that much.” 

He frowned. “But the instructions—”

“Listen to the master, sir,” I cut in and poured less water. “Timer for two minutes and forty seconds, please. That will give us the best noodles—not too firm and not too soggy.”

Noah’s mouth turned into an ‘o,’ and he set the timer. I settled next to him and opened the plastic forks. The timer beeped, and I removed the lids. My mouth watered as the tangy, spicy aroma spread throughout the small room. I shifted one cup in front of Noah. “Try the Thai sweet chili one. One of the best flavors.” 

That was a sacrifice I could make for his first time.

“I’m fine,” Noah said and slid the cup back. “You can have it, Ms. Rose.”

I almost huffed out in disbelief. How was he able to resist this? “Eat it, sir.” I pushed it back towards him. “You didn’t even have lunch.”

“I’m not sure—”

“Here!” I smiled and picked up the cup. “Just one bite! I swear you’ll love it.”

Taking some noodles on the fork, I offered it to Noah. I motioned for him to open his mouth when he didn’t move. The steam wafting off the noodles cleared between us, and I met his gaze. He inched an eyebrow up, looking between the noodles and me, and my smile faltered.

The reality dawned on me again. Why the heck am I feeding my CEO?!

I winced and turned my head away in embarrassment. What was I thinking? My hand trembled, and the noodles grazed Noah’s lips accidentally. I tsked and quickly pulled my hand back. About to drop the fork back into the cup, I took in a sharp breath when he suddenly leaned forward.

My lips parted as I watched Noah open his mouth and wrap it around the fork. He slurped the noodles, still watching me. His eyes seemed to say, let’s see if I love it or not. My gaze strayed over to his lips, stained from the sweet chili sauce, and he darted a tongue out to lick it away. 

I swallowed nervously and asked, “Do you like it?”