Luminous • Jisung

56 • Bar

ik this is a Jisung ff but look at Yuta 😔

• Chapter 56 •

Jisung leaned against his desk lazily with his arms crossed before his chest. Opposite him stood Taemin and Yuta who watched the youngest patiently. 

He tilted his head back, stretched his neck. "So Young-hee noticed you and then came to find me?"

Jisung had asked the two to keep an eye on Hyun-joo to figure out what she was up to. Knowing that she was going after him and Cho-a, and actually knowing her plans were two very different things. That's why he wanted to know more. 

However, whilst Hyun-joo didn't notice them lurking around, her daughter did. 

"Yeah. It was probably a coincidence that she found Haechan and the others instead," Yuta noted, tilted his head from side to side. "That meeting didn't go very well though, so that's to our disadvantage." 

"What do you mean?" Jisung asked. 

"Young-hee came here on her own without letting Hyun-joo know. She wanted to talk to you to figure things out but then had that argument with Cho-a instead," Yuta explained. "Usually she holds back on doing dumb things as to not anger you. But I think that won't work this time." 

Taemin agreed and quickly added that, "Before we left, someone mentioned that Young-hee was seen at her mother's office." 

It was unusual for them to meet there. They weren't too close and neither Young-hee nor Hyun-joo were interested in seeing the other person more often than necessary. 

It wasn't an unfamiliar dynamic for Jisung but it made it all the more worrisome. 

If Young-hee told Hyun-joo about Cho-a, then...  

"Jisung," Yuta said strictly, ripping the youngest out of his thoughts. Upon looking at the older one, Jisung immediately noticed his judging glare. 

Yuta had never been scared to speak his mind or scold Jisung when he felt it was necessary. He didn't stop because of Jisung's title or position. So his almost lecturing tone didn't sound unfamiliar. 

Actually, it felt rather comforting to know that Yuta was invested in it. To know that he wouldn't let Jisung ponder over this alone. 

"You will have to take Young-hee more seriously now. Cho-a and you made her angry."

Taemin raised a brow. "She's just an entitled brat, what can she do?"

Yuta agreed - before he disagreed. He didn't take his eyes off Jisung.

"She is strong-willed and probably a little bit insane too," he noted, then frowned at the lack of agreement. "She tried to get two kids killed when she was in primary school," he reminded them both.

Taemin wasn't quite sure though, making Yuta sigh and shake his head.
"You got your bar set way too low."

"I gave up on setting it in the first place," Taemin replied with a happy smile.

"That explains a lot." 

Ignoring him for a moment, Yuta put his attention back onto Jisung. He took a deep breath, hesitated to talk for once. 

He was usually not worried to cross the line. His criticism or comments were never baseless and never too private. But this time, the topic was hovering closer to personal than usual. 

"I know you have your reasons to keep it a secret," Yuta eventually decided to say. "But if you want the other's support when fighting against Hyun-joo, then you might want to tell them who Cho-a really is." 

Taken aback, both Taemin and Jisung looked at him in shock.  

"You know?" Jisung asked baffled, trying to hold back his surprised expression. Yuta quickly nodded, almost confused by the reaction.

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You really think I wouldn't notice?" he questioned.

Jisung knew that this was, in fact, a trick question. So he just shrugged as if he didn't quite know what the older was talking about - which, he actually really didn't know.

"For the majority of sensitive tasks you ask me for help. You tell me to look into things for you and ask me to work on it to clear everything up," he explained. "Now, suddenly we make it public that there is an evil, cold-hearted individual out to get you. And what does our king do?"

Yuta was amused and his sarcasm was easy to pick out. 

"Nothing - you did nothing. You didn't ask me for help. You didn't ask me how much I knew about it. You didn't ask anyone about anything." He shrugged. "The others didn't find it suspicious because they don't help you that much but I am not them."

Linking his fingers behind his back, Yuta mockingly bowed just the slightest bit before he said,
"With all due respect, I'm not dumb and you're not that slick."

Taemin laughed but tried to cover it up with a cough. He leaned closer to Yuta.
"You didn't have to say it like that," he whispered. 

Yuta shrugged and focused back on Jisung. "I mean it. It's best if they hear it from you so there won't be any misunderstandings. So if she is okay with it, you should let her introduce herself properly." 

It wasn't like Jisung hadn't thought about it before. However, he had been hesitant mainly because she had kept it a secret for so long. He didn't want her to feel pressured into doing it. 

"I don't know but it sounds exhausting to pretend not to be oneself," Yuta then added.  

Taemin agreed, nodded quickly. "Besides, you know the others. If you are on her side, then they will be too." He put his arm around Yuta. 

"I guess you are right," Jisung said reluctantly, earning two cheeky huffs in return. 

"Of course we are," Taemin and Yuta retorted quickly. 

• Bar •

for some reason I feel like this chapter is really messy hahaha 

also, it's a little short but that's why I made sure to upload two at once 💚