Red ↠ JENYONG

XV

"Jennie! You did so well I hardly recognized you!" Ten exclaims happily.

I smile at him widely, my facade disappearing. It was tiring having to do all that.

"Right?! I was impressed with myself too. Oh, and when they started fighting! That was hilarious!" I express my feelings about that scene.

Yeah, I know it was pretty mean but still, it was funny. I only said one thing which was a complete guess and they pretty much outed themselves in front of all those elites.

It wasn't just Ten that complimented me though, everyone did except Taeyong. He was just as expressionless as ever. Seeing him made me recall how he was trying to comfort me earlier on, I blush slightly.

It wasn't just me who did a good job though. Ten had serious discussions with the presidents and prime ministers from overseas, speaking is several foreign languages, while Jaehyun discussed political matters with famous Korean politicians with Taeyong as the second in command.

"Don't make fun of me for standing out Johnny! You're the one who stood out the most with your insane height. You were like an adult giraffe surrounded by baby kittens," I tease the tall man.

Johnny and I also became friends really quickly since apparently he thought I was funny from that time I called Ten shameless in front of all of the members. He came as well because he's the businessman of the gang and while all members contributed, he is the one who is largely responsible for the success of Neo city. He can smoothly land deals easily, helping the NCT a lot in that aspect.

This scenario was completely different from the last time when I tried to escape but failed miserably. Before, it was so gloomy and depressing. Now, it was bright and fun. I feel like I judged them with the stereotypes set by the news of how scary and horrible they are when in reality, they were the opposite.

Maybe being with them isn't so bad after all.

I step out of the car as we finally arrive at the mansion. Just when I was about to go up the stairs to my room, Taeyong grabs my wrist, pulling me towards him.

"Your new room is finally ready," Taeyong informs simply.

He lets my wrist go and turns his back to me. I follow him to my new room quietly. I don't have to worry about the hassle of moving my stuff because I literally have nothing. I was never allowed to go home and pick up some stuff when I couldn't even talk to my parents without the call being monitored.

Yeah, I am good friends with some of them, but that doesn't mean they're idiots. I don't blame them, I wouldn't allow me to either if I was in their position. All of my necessities are provided by Jungwoo which he gives me every morning when he comes to wake me up.

We stop in front of a door which looks similar to my old room but the colour was lighter. I enter the unlocked room while Taeyong leaves me to explore the new space. This room was definitely larger than the other one. On the queen-sized bed, there was a nightgown folded neatly. There was a vanity table with shelves and drawers for my things and even an empty closet. Perhaps this means I'm finally able to purchase my own clothes.

To be completely honest, all the clothes Jungwoo has given me aren't that bad and are all something I would actually buy and wear, so I'm not complaining about it. Though it would be nice having a bit of freedom.

I have a decent sized bathroom now so I don't have to always go out into the hallways just to get ready and take a shower. One thing that does shock me though, is that I have a window now. It doesn't even have any bars. Surprising right?

A closet and window? Maybe they really are allowing me to finally have some freedom. My heart bursts with joy at the thought. I am a bit skeptical about the window though. A barless window seems too good to be true. I've only stayed here for a couple of weeks too.

I walk closer to the window, inspecting it. I notice that the window is locked and just nod my head. It's not like I expected it to be unlocked, that's practically giving me access to sneak out whenever and where ever I want, so I'm not disappointed. I take off my mask and place it on the vanity table carefully.

I exit the bathroom in the nightgown with my hair still damp from the shower. I jump back, startled when I see Taeyong lying down on the bed. I sit down, back straight and stiff, next to him cautiously.

He sits up and grabs my hand. He first stares at the back of it and then proceeds to rub it like it was dirty. He continued to rub it until my hand turned slightly red. The colour made him pause, reminding him to stop.

I look at him incredulously, stunned.

"What was that for?" I question, baffled.

"Why did you react that way when you saw Yoongi. Do you know him?" he ignores my question.

"No....he just reminds me of someone I know," I shrug off.

He looks at me straight in the eye, trying to see through and examine me. Trying to find out my thoughts. His scrutinizing gaze makes flustered as the soft pink creeps up onto my cheeks once again. Trust me, it's better for you not to see my thoughts filled with you. Can you blame me though? It's not my fault he looks good! I try to justify my impure thoughts and clear my mind.

He makes my poor heart flip while he gives me a small blinding smile. It wasn't a smirk or a grin but an actual soft smile. It was so soft my heart fluttered wildly. He ruffles my hair and caresses my cheek slowly.

"You looked pretty today..." he murmurs quietly.

I almost collapse from the amount of fluttering my heart is doing. From that one sentence, it felt like we were in our own little bubble full of only the very good things in the world. How ironic considering the first time I met Taeyong was when he was massacring a sea of people.

"Does that mean you didn't think I don't look pretty every day?" I broke the sweet atmosphere by throwing in a joke.

He widens his eyes before bursting into laughter. Don't get me wrong. I want to live in that sweet bubble for the rest of my life too, but my heart can't take it right now. I need time to mentally prepare myself. It was his fault for catching me off guard and showing me that world-shattering smile.

My plan of having my heart calm down to ensure I don't have a seizure has failed horribly. Taeyong's laugh only doubles the intensity and I get dizzy from seeing the scene of him laughing. No Jennie no! I have a boyfriend. I feel guilty for my heart pounding this hard when I already have a such perfect boyfriend.

I force myself to calm down a Taeyong starts to as well.

"Nope! You're never pretty. You only look pretty today because you're wearing my favourite colour!" he retorts smiling.

My face fell hard.

Excuse you! I know I don't look that great but no need to remind me!

I puff out my cheeks angrily. For some miraculous reason, this gives Taeyong the idea to squeeze the life out of my cheeks. I scowl at him and rub my red hot cheeks. From the squeezing or him? I'll never know.

He ruffles my hair once more, "Sweet dreams, princess."

~
Hope you enjoyed the updates which I worked my ass off for. I'm surprised you guys actually like this though. Unlike most authors, I'm making this up as I go since I just published it without thinking much so it's a bit messy. I have one more chapter coming up which I plan to post later since I wanted to release this as soon as I could as a thank you for 2k reads. Stay safe! Thank you for reading, voting and commenting.