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"Jungkook!" Cleo calls, as she settles down on the stool.
"Jungkook? No sense of respect?" he raises his brows. He brings the glass of bourbon up and takes a sip.
"Oh," she pouts. "Should I call you oppa then?" she tilts her head. Her luscious...
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Please read the previous chapter to better connect and understand the current one. It's been a while so you might not remember it well.
"Absolutely not." Cleo turns around at jet speed and dashes out of the door from which she walked in. She finds the valet just coming back from parking the car and asks him to bring her car back. Iseul comes running behind her, almost tripping on the stairs. "You are better than this," Cleo says, not looking at her. Iseul walks in front of her and says, "Just come and listen to what he has to say. You have every right to be mad at him and I completely understand. But babe, for fuck's sake," she brings her hand up and squishes Cleo's face between her fingers in an attempt to make Cleo look at her. "Listen to him. It is important." Cleo knows Iseul very well. She can sense Iseul is not here to play around but she doesn't understand what is so serious. "I'm sorry, please take the car back," she says to the poor valet who just arrived with her car and gives him a few notes from her purse. The valet face lights up instantly as he happily goes back to his work.
"I'm walking out if he acts funny," Cleo tells Iseul who nods understandingly. Iseul is confident that this is a good idea, and she is proud of herself.
...
"I'm sorry, what! Are you fucking kidding me?" Cleo yells in disbelief as she looks at Jungkook, who looks a bit startled by Cleo. She looks at Iseul who was very proud a while ago for the decision she made but not anymore. "You! Whose side are you on? Do you both think I am 5 or what? Is this some kind of plan to make me stay with you? Ugh! I should have never saved you that day."
"Ok, Cleo. You should stop misunderstanding me. You really are in danger. You might not have realized but you are being wanted. Your every move is being noted. I'm sorry, I wish you never got involved in this, but for you to stay safe, you will have to live with me for a while. That is the only way I can keep a close eye on you." Jungkook tries to explain. "Oh, shut up, ever since I saw you, I have never had peace of mind," Cleo scoffs. "Thank you for caring but I am capable of taking care of myself. I don't want some grandpa to save my ass," she gets up from the table and starts to make her way out.
"Cleo," Jungkook calls, making her stop in her tracks, her back against him. "You can call me all kinds of names you want if that makes you feel better, but I feel responsible for putting you in this state. Please let me correct this for you," he pleads. Cleo turns around and looks him in the eyes. "Well, I will think this is a curse that I met you and I will suck it up. I respected your decision when you were not interested in me, and I would like you to do the same." Jungkook watches in defeat as Cleo walks away. "Thank you, Iseul, I think you should go with your friend," he says, trying to smile. "Yeah, she doesn't want me there now. I don't want to get punched," Iseul lets out a nervous smile.
"Who the fuck does he think he is?" Cleo scoffs as she descends the stairs. "Some kind of princess that needs saving?" Tears well up in her eyes as she desperately tries to blink them away. She remembers her mother's words. "You are not a princess that needs to be saved, Cleopatra. You should grow strong to be able to protect and take care of yourself. You don't need anyone. Do you understand?"
Cleo was only five years then and she needed a hug more than she needed a life lesson. She needed her mother to hug her and tell her everything is alright. Instead, every time Cleo got a lesson every time, she needed a warm shoulder to rely on.
She wipes her tears and mutters to herself, "I am strong. I can take care of this."
By the time she reaches home, the door is unlocked. She rebukes Taehyung under her breath for sleeping so carelessly. Dirty takeout containers on the table and kitchen faucet that's leaking water. Her patience evaporated seeing all these. She dashes into his room and slaps him awake. "What was that for," he says, jolting awake from the slap. "I hope you realize this is not a fucking garbage can. I have rules in here and if you don't want to follow you are more than welcome to leave. Understood?" She walks out before he could answer, leaving a stunned and half-awake Taehyung.
It takes a while for Cleo to fall asleep and when she does, she dreams of Jungkook.
Cleo walks into a cold dark room and suddenly there is a warm light at the corner of the room. She smiles as the warmth makes her happy. Her eyes grow wide as the fire quickly starts to spread around and now the heat is unbearable. Smoke quickly develops, suffocating her and she falls onto the ground to crawl out of the room. When she manages to reach the door, she sees a pair of legs at the door and looks up. There she sees through watery eyes, Jungkook with a sinister smile on his face. "No, No, Stop!" The door shuts off. The fire in the room gets large. She tries to open the door, coughing as she does. "Jungkook, you asshole! Open the damn door!"
Her eyes fly open. Her heart is pounding so fast in her chest that she feels the rhythms in her mouth. She gets out of the bed, rubbing at her aching temples and walks into the living room. She smiles as she notices all the mess is cleared now. Taehyung even made her some breakfast. He used to do this when he wanted to apologize for messing things back then. She checks her phone and there are a bunch of missed calls from Iseul and her employees from the garage. It's already late in the afternoon so she needs to get to work quickly. There are some pending things she needs to take care of. She sighs and walks to the door as she hears a knock. She opens to Iseul standing there with a cheerful smile. "Sorry babe," Iseul says. Before Cleo could ask why, she sprays something on Cleo's face. Cleo flinches away in reflex but soon feels dizzy and lands on the ground.
Hi guys, how are you all? I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry that it took a while more than I had planned. Please hang on. I have still not left this story and I am determined to finish it. Thanks for everyone who are still reading. As always, I am very grateful. Yours loving author Cherie.
