𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 [𝙴𝙽- 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙼]

Chapter 70

"There's nothing left to argue about, Sweetheart. Your exam center is closer to the hotel than it is to your house. So staying here should be the first thought in your mind."

Jay simply went and sat on the couch. Showing that he wasn't at all interested in hearing me say anything.

"But Jay traveling from my house to here and then to the centre every day is going to be a huge task. A waste of time even." I said.

"We're not asking you to make multiple trips every day." Sunghoon shook his head.

"Umm hmm. You'll stay here till your exams finish." Jake chimed in.

"Preferably till your parents come back," Jungwon said.

"Boys I can't stay here that long." I huffed.

"Give me a valid reason then." Jay finally looked back at me.

I shuffled my feet to think of something. Why didn't I want to stay here? I just think it was appropriate. Was this an excuse I could give him? No.

"Uh well...for starters I...can't stay here."

One look at Jay and I knew I lost. He was smirking triumphantly.

"You have no real reason other than the fact that you think it's inappropriate." He smiled.

Did he read my mind?

"I did not read your mind." He waved me off.

"When the fuck did you turn into Heli?" I was flabbergasted.

I could see Heeseung's smirk from where he was filling a glass of water. He winked at me and lifted the glass to his lips. I averted my eyes and looked at everyone. And to my annoyance, everyone had already concluded that I was going to stay here no matter what. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Seriously? Does anyone even care what I want?" I asked.

It was Heeseung who responded.

"Of course we do. And we know deep down you want to stay here as well. You want to be polite but you're reducing yourself to a mere guest." He said.

"Exactly. I'm tired of telling you sweetheart that you're our girl now. And you have every right to stay here." Jay gave me a small smile. Leaving me wondering where would being 'their girl' take me.

***************************

I flipped over the pages making sure I've covered all the chapters. A few topics here and there were left out either because they were a waste of time or because they bounced over my head. Thankfully it wasn't many and I could handle it.

My eyes drooped a bit but I willed myself to stay awake. Everyone was already in their beds and I decided to stay up a little longer despite multiple protests. It was about 1 AM and Jungwon and Sunoo were asleep in the bedroom. Joining them in bed was a little too tempting. However it was mostly due to the prospect of finally passing out after studying for eight hours straight. Maybe just a glimpse of the adjustments in financial statements and prudential norms of banks and I'll be done for tomorrow.

I felt his presence before he made himself known. I turned to the corridor to see a bleary-eyed Sunoo walking towards me. His groggy face and messy hair made me giggle.

"When are you coming?" He asked in an oh-so-deep voice that made me swoon.

"5 minutes. Go and sleep I'll be there before you know it." I said.

Instead of leaving, he dropped into the chair beside me and put his head down on the table.

"I'll wait." He mumbled and yawned.