Knowing Ms. Know-it-all (TXT Taehyun X Female OC X Enhypen Jay)

Ch. 27: Apologies and Something New

About the cover: Yeah, I'm sure you'll all find out who Jisoo is playing in this fic soon enough :D

...

Heejin's eyes are wide as she found herself in this sudden situation. There she was, close to breaking down after failing to find Jay where she thought he would be. And then the next few moments after that, here she was, in the embrace of the very boy she had been looking for. She was shocked... But she was more relieved.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Jay finally spoke after a moment of silence, not loosening his hold on Heejin even just a bit. "I made a mistake... again, and I ended up hurting you. Seriously, how could I even..." He mumbles, yet because of how close he was, Heejin could hear his every word clearly. And realizing this, Jay falls silent, before he starts over again. "Look. I'm sorry. I accused you for something so absurd, Heejin, and I... I knew you wouldn't do that, but I guess I just got carried away by my emotions. And I ended up yelling at you. And I ended up pushing you away. I just..."

He sighs, and then, he speaks again, but this time, with a slightly shaky voice.

"Please... Please don't hate me."

"... What?" Heejin whispers, but before she could even say anything else, Jay races her to it.

"Please don't hate me, Heejin. I don't... I wouldn't know what to do if you hated me... You're a valuable person to me, you know? And I can't imagine how I'd be now without you..." Suddenly, Jay lets out a quiet sound like a sniffle, and that makes Heejin frown.

"Wait. Are you... crying?"

And Jay quickly replies. "No! I'm just... My colds are just coming back."

"Ha. Yeah, right." Heejin rolls her eyes, before a playful smile forms on her lips and she raises her arms to hug the boy back. "Relax. You know I would never hate you for just a simple misunderstanding."

This time, Jay lets out a brief laugh, before he responds to Heejin's words. "Why does that kinda sound like you're attacking me with words, though?"

"Am I?" Heejin asks, her tone more audibly playful this time. And eventually, it didn't take long for Jay to relax, and feel reassured that he had been forgiven.

"So... who did it?" Heejin finally asks, seconds later when the two teenagers find themselves sitting on the rooftop floor and just watching the clouds pass by.

Jay, who had been sitting, only sighs before he lies on the floor, his arms behind his head. "It was my dad."

Heejin's eyes immediately widen, and she looks towards the boy with the same wide eyes. "Wait, you mean... The same one you were running away from that day?"

Jay nods, and Heejin replies with a disbelieving sigh as she looks away.

"Wow... I didn't think a father could ever do that to his child..."

"Well, mine would. And only to make me do what he wants to do."

"Which is...?"

Once again, Jay sighs. "Inherit the family company, I guess... And get me out of this 'decrepit' school."

Silence falls, but in the time it did, Heejin remained frowning. It's almost as if she just couldn't believe what she was hearing. "... So what did you do? I mean, you're still here, and your dad even drove you to school himself."

"I negotiated with him, of course." A passing cloud lets the sunlight pass it, and its glaring light hits Jay's eyes, causing him to cover his eyes with the back of his hand. He squints, and then he turns his gaze to Heejin instead, the latter of which looks back at him, waiting for his answer. Then he smiles. "I told him I'll only inherit the company if he lets me stay here... After all, how could I just leave this place without even telling you?"