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★・・・・・・★
A S H L E Y
We all settled into the spacious interior of the Genesis GV80 SUV. Ju Won was curled up on Jungkook’s lap, already drifting off to sleep like a little bunny burrito, while Jungkook kept his gaze locked on the passing city outside the tinted window—silent and unreadable, like always.
I stayed quiet too. Not because I didn’t want to talk. Honestly? I wanted to ask a million things. About Ju Won. About how he handled raising a child alone. About what kind of cereal Ju liked and whether Jungkook ever let him eat junk food. But this man beside me had the emotional range of a brick wall.
Still… I couldn't help it.
I turned slightly toward him, about to say something, but he beat me to it—his voice low, smooth, and way too calm for someone who looked like he could kill a man and then tuck his kid into bed right after.
“You want to ask about Ju.”
I blinked. “Do you just—read minds for a living?”
“No,” he said flatly, his eyes still on the window. “You’re just loud in the head.”
Excuse me?
“I—what?” I scoffed, half-laughing, half-annoyed. “You don’t even look at me and somehow know what I’m thinking?”
He turned his head slowly, and when his dark eyes met mine, it felt like my entire ribcage trembled. “You’re obvious.”
I didn’t know if that was an insult or not, but I still felt my cheeks heat. Embarrassing.
“I already know Ju Won is your son,” I muttered, crossing my arms. “And your wife is dead. I was just—” I paused, glancing at the sleeping bunny curled in his arms, “—gonna ask if he always sleeps that fast. Or if it’s your boring personality that knocks him out.”
He didn’t laugh. But he smirked.
That annoying, irritating, hot-as-hell smirk.
“Tired kids sleep fast,” he said. “Tired women… say stupid things.”
“Wow. So charming,” I rolled my eyes. “How did your dead wife ever cheat on you? You’re so delightful.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I winced. Crap. Too far?
He didn’t flinch. His expression barely changed, just a twitch in his jaw—and for a second, I thought he’d go silent again.
