𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 [𝙴𝙽- 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙼]

Chapter 69

The rest of the day had gone by in a blur. My head was inside my books the whole time and the maknaes occasionally whined for my attention.

Niki tried to coax me out in various ways. Flirting, pouting, crying. And he sat there until either I made him do Jake's job of listening to my narration, which he absolutely hated or Jay threatened him to leave.

Sunoo was no different case. He sure made me feel guilty for not giving him attention. He religiously sat across from me with a big pout for 5 to 10 minutes every hour.

Jungwon on the other hand, wasn't too direct. He had a subtle way of looking sad and sulky and that made me want to kiss him if that made him smile again.

Now with 3 days for my exam, I had no idea how much I had studied or how much I had to study. I had so many topics left in almost all the subjects. But I needed to start preparing for accounts now. Thank goodness it was the first exam so I could allocate as much time as I wanted. And as my sir said, if you screw up accounts, don't bother attending any other exams.

Fortunately, I liked accounts and was good at it. I was planning all the chapters I needed to be done with when someone slammed their hands on the table. I kid you not, I jumped a foot in the air.

"My Lee, you've been studying for three hours straight. It's enough!" Sunoo started shaking my shoulders.

"Hey, you punk let her study in peace." Jay swatted Sunoo away from me. And stood between us. And Sunoo gave me the biggest pout I had ever seen in my life.

"You have your way of melting me, don't you?" I said to Sunoo.

"Lee I'll take care of him. You study."

Jay went to drag Sunoo away but I stopped him.

"Jay. It's fine. I think I could use some refreshment."

I closed my books and Sunoo flipped his hair at Jay. Jay looked skeptical but let it go when I reassured him.

"Fine then. I'm going to the studio. Sunoo, you're up for your segment after half an hour. Can I trust you two to behave well?" Jay narrowed his eyes at us.

"Of course we'll behave." Sunoo nodded vigorously.

Now we we alone in the house. Sunoo looked happy. Almost too happy.

"Come, my Lee."

I followed Sunoo into the bedroom.

"What is i-"

My words got caught in my throat when he pulled me back into him. He giggled at my reaction and pressed my back to his chest. His happiness was quite contagious. I found myself relaxing into him.

There was something in the air for the past three days that put me at ease when it came to my worries. Maybe it was their acceptance of it that they had started to show. Maybe it was when Sunghoon had called me love in front of everyone the day before yesterday. Or maybe when Jungwon had kissed my cheek before taking a seat on the dining table and no one batted an eye.

A few of them had smiled a bit when they saw my surprised expression. And I was more than surprised when Niki blinked lovingly at me after that. As shocking as that was, somehow it had put me in a more comfortable space.

"You disturbed me for a hug? Was clinging to my shoulder most of the time not enough?" I asked him Sunoo.

He hummed and swayed side to side with me. The content I felt with such a small gesture was absurd. I turned to face him and locked my fingers around his neck.

"Feeling bold, are we?" He raised an eyebrow.

"There's nothing bold about this, baby." I said with a casual smile.