Sylvania || jjk

7

Eun dipped her fingers into the silver ointment jar like she’d done it a hundred times. I flinched anyway when she brought them toward my face.

“Hold still,” she muttered. “You act like I’m about to stab you.”

“You’re not exactly gentle,” I grumbled, but didn’t pull away. The ointment was cool, almost icy, and soothed the sting that still lingered around my eyes. My skin twitched under her touch, but I forced myself to stay still.

Once she finished with the ointment, she held up the glowing golden tincture and raised an eyebrow. “Mouth.”

“Are you enjoying this a little too much?” I asked, opening my mouth reluctantly.

She smirked. “Oh, I am.” A drop fell on my tongue, warm and sharp. I swallowed with a grimace.

“There,” she said, capping everything and setting it neatly beside the candle. “Done.”

I leaned back against the pillows and sighed. My head was heavy, and my body was begging for rest—but my thoughts were already sneaking toward the terrace.

Jungkook.

The meeting.

Shit.

“I just…” I began slowly, trying to sound casual, “I feel a little stuffy in here. Might step out for some fresh air.”

Eun didn’t even pretend to buy it. She tilted her head, arms crossed. “Fresh air? You mean Jungkook?”

I instantly straightened up, alarm flashing through me. “No! What—? I’m not meeting Jungkook!”

She raised an eyebrow so high it could’ve touched the ceiling. “Uh-huh. And I’m the Queen of Eldoria.”

“I’m serious!” I snapped, a little too defensively. “I’m not sneaking out to meet him. Why would I even do that?”

Eun snorted. “You think I don’t know you two have been meeting up on the terrace lately? You’re not very mysterious, Chaeng.”

My jaw dropped. “You’ve been spying on me?”

“No, genius, I just notice things. Like how you disappear after dinner. Like how you suddenly come back all flushed.” She narrowed her eyes. “You think I’m stupid?”

I threw my hands up—instantly regretting the movement as pain throbbed behind my eyes. “We’re just talking! It’s not like I’m out here eloping!”

“You almost went blind today,” she said, tone sharp now. “You’re not going anywhere. Not to him. Not to the terrace. Not even to the damn hallway.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

“You’re not. And Jungkook can wait. If he actually cares, he will.”

That shut me up.

She tucked the blanket over me again, this time more gently. “Sleep. Rest. If you sneak out, I swear I’ll drag you back by your hair.”

I let out another sigh, this time more defeated. But Eun wasn’t buying any of it. She stood up with that infuriating, all-knowing smirk and dimmed the candle.

But my mind was already working.

I waited.

Listened.

The room sank into silence. The soft rhythm of Eun’s breathing eventually settled, slow and even. The occasional rustling of her blanket told me she had turned away.