The Mystic MCs

⭐Chapter 15⭐

⭐Chapter 15⭐

Juliana opened her eyes, her red hair fanned across the pillow above her. She regarded the unfamiliar room for a moment, trying to decide if this was how Mi-na felt the first time that she slept in Rika's old apartment. Probably not. Jumin's penthouse was not nearly as dusty and dark as Rika's apartment was.

With a groan she hoisted herself up and out of the bed. The scrape on her elbow still slightly stung, but it wasn't enough to hinder her movement. Rubbing a finger over the bandages, Juliana glanced around the room again. Jumin had given her one of his many spare bedrooms to spend the night in, and he even let her borrow his nightclothes to sleep in. She was far from a petite woman, going as far as to assume she was around Jumin's own height, but the clothes still swamped her. She frowned as she noticed a sleeve of the nightshirt hanging off of her shoulder. After adjusting it and tying up her hair to be a bit more presentable, she headed towards the kitchen to see what was available to eat.

The chef that had cooked their dinner was already preparing breakfast. "It will be ready soon, ma'am. Would you like to eat in the dining room or in your room?"

"My room is fine," she said, intensely aware of the fact that she was still dressed in Jumin's clothes. None of the servants would dare comment, but she still didn't want to eat where they could see until she got a change of clothes.

Juliana nodded to the chef and walked off. She meant to go directly to her room, but she found herself wandering through the penthouse, gazing absentmindedly out of the the window. She was supposed to have visited Mi-na yesterday, but the catnapping attempt interrupted that plan. Despite Jumin's promises to protect the rest of her friends with his bodyguards, he did not convince Seven to give him the apartment's location to give Mi-na that same protection. Juliana would likely have to argue for Mi-na to be placed somewhere else.

A meow broke through her thoughts. She glanced over at the room she just passed, but its door was closed. Another meow coming through it prompted her to slowly open the door. Inside was Elizabeth the 3rd, sitting in a cage. As Juliana approached, the cat's blue eyes looked pitifully up at her.

"Elizabeth? Why are you locked up in here?" Juliana reached her hand into the cage to pet her as she inspected the cage. There was only a simple latch holding it shut, so she undid it. Elizabeth slipped out, gratefully rubbing her legs.

"Oh, stop it, you. You're going to get fur all over Jumin's nightclothes." Despite her words, she stayed crouched on the floor to pet Elizabeth.

"What are you doing?"

Juliana jumped in fright. Behind her was Jumin standing in the open doorway. A small frown sat on his face as he looked at her and Elizabeth.

"I didn't expect you to still be here," she said, standing up. "I thought you would've been at work by now."

Jumin shook his head as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. "After yesterday's events, I've decided to stay here and watch over Elizabeth the 3rd."

"And you left all of your work to Jaehee, I'm sure," Juliana retorted.

"I offered to let her take the day off as well, but she refused."

Juliana gave him a withering glare, but he ignored it. Instead he crouched down to pet Elizabeth. Surprisingly, the cat warily sniffed him before she allowed him to pet her.

"You hardly needed to stay home to watch Elizabeth when she's been locked in a cage," Juliana pointed out.

He shrugged. "It was for her safety."

"What danger could she face in your house?"

"I need to know where she is at all times."

"But she looked unhappy being locked in here. You should let her roam around. The hacker won't be able to go through all of your bodyguards to get to her."