Luminous • Jisung

74 • Scheme

• Chapter 74 •

The door to Jisung's office flew open. 

A loud bang, one last footstep and soon it went silent. 

The three boys inside the room went wide-eyed as they watched its entrance in confusion. A confusion that only grew when they saw who made their way inside. 

Yuta and Jisung smiled a the girl, whereas Taemin scrunched his nose. 

"Oh," Cho-a exhaled in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't know you had friends over." 

"We are here for work," Yuta explained quickly. 

The girl nodded understandingly. "Right. You guys only ever come here because of work," she agreed. "You should visit for fun then when you aren't that busy." 

Leaned against his desk lazily, Jisung watched his girlfriend closely. The way she stood impatiently and how she kept tapping her fingers against her thigh. 

Something was off and it was easy to tell. 

He glimpsed at his friends just before Cho-a suddenly hummed to herself. She gazed at Jisung intently, then took a tiny step forward before asking in a serious tone,

"Jisung what would you do if us meeting and becoming a couple and me becoming friends with your friends was actually just a grand scheme to get you to let your guard down so I can step in at the right moment and take your place on the throne?" 

There was a moment after that where all three of the boys just paused and tried to process what the girl had just said, while she just kept watching Jisung closely, patiently waiting for his answer. 

She was genuinely curious. 

Before Jisung got the chance to react, Taemin did. "I'd be impressed," he admitted which earned him a disapproving glare from the youngest of the boys. 

Jisung pushed himself away from his desk and took the couple of steps forward that separated him and the girl. He watched her wordlessly and let his eyes wander over her face before he gently put a hand on her cheek and used the other one to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully. The girl quickly nodded which calmed him down but led him to his next question. "Did Jaemin offer you some of his coffee again?" 

Cho-a shook her head. "He bought me a whole cup," she informed him happily. 

Jisung smiled warmly as he hummed. "I'll tell him not to do that again," he mumbled sweetly. It made her frown but she accepted it nonetheless. "So, about your question...?"

And Cho-a quickly nodded her caffeine-fueled head. 

"Chenle said it actually. He was like..." she began and then stopped. She cleared her throat and started a horrible, yet amusing imitation of Chenle's voice. "'Cho-a are you secretly planning to kill Jisung?'" 

To be quite honest, Jisung wasn't particularly surprised to hear that it was Chenle's idea. It sounded like him. 

Meanwhile, Taemin just shook his head in disappointment whereas Yuta seemed rather amused, smiling at the girl. And just like him, Cho-a was amused too. She grinned. 

"Isn't that a weird question?" she wondered. "Anyway, I said no and he said he was disappointed because he had a whole plotline ready for that and now it will go to waste." 

"I'm getting a headache," Taemin mumbled. It followed a quiet hum from the girl. 

"Me too," Cho-a said and let her head fall forward so that her forehead was resting on Jisung's shoulder. "I think it's the coffee." 

Jisung patted her head. His touch, voice, eyes all seemed incredibly soft and gentle. Something that the two oldest in the room were yet to experience from the boy as he only behaved like this towards Cho-a. 

"Are you really okay?" Jisung asked. 

"You've been busy all week and I didn't get to see you much," she mumbled. 

Reading the room, Yuta was already ready to leave when he asked,
"Do you two want privacy?" 

But Cho-a quickly shook her head. "I'll leave," she said, pouting a little. "Just don't talk too long. I'll go home soon." 

Which made the oldest two frown. They shared a confused look before Taemin decided to ask,
"You don't live here?" 

"No," Cho-a just said. 

"Really? But you are here all the time," Yuta noted. 

"I live with Kun and Renjun," she pointed out. She seemed a little tired, despite having way too much caffeine rushing through her veins. 

Caffeine that soon kicked in again when her expression suddenly turned happy. Eyes sparkling, she grinned, rested her arms on Jisung's shoulders and interlocked her fingers behind his head.

"Let's move in together." 

Eyes wide, Jisung watched wordlessly as Cho-a stepped a step closer, almost closing the gap between them. 

"All of a sudden?" Jisung asked. 

"You asked me to marry you out of the blue, I think I can at least ask this question," she retorted. 

She was right, Jisung thought. However, he didn't quite know if it was smart to agree. He didn't know what Kun would say and, quite frankly, he didn't want to get in trouble with him. 

Kun could be scary when he was angry. 

So he was somewhat unsure. And of course Cho-a noticed. So quickly, with her hands still behind Jisung's head, she indicated Yuta to help her. 

The older mouthed a wordless 'okay' and cleared his throat before saying that, 

"I think it's only logical. I thought you wanted to make sure that Cho-a is safe. It would be easier that way," Yuta reasoned. "Besides, you get to see each other more often, so she wouldn't feel this way." 

Taemin quickly huffed, crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"You changed sides really fast." 

Yuta shook his head. "I think Jisung also wants it, he just needs a gentle push." 

"Maybe he doesn't want to and you are pushing him," Taemin argued. 

The other one sighed. "Which of his actions makes you think he doesn't want to?" he asked, absolutely convinced that he was right.

Meanwhile, Taemin was convinced of the same thing. "I think you are wrong." 

"I think you are going to be really disappointed really soon," Yuta said under his breath before nodding towards Cho-a who was glimpsing up at Jisung with a smile. She looked adorable. Puppy eyes and puffy cheeks. 

Jisung sighed, glimpsed back at Yuta who gave him a reassuring nod and then looked over to Taemin who quickly shook his head. 

So, looking back at Cho-a, he found his answer. 

"Okay. Let's move in together."  

"Yay!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him more tightly, giving him a warm hug. 

With a dropped jaw and empty eyes. Taemin gazed at the youngest two. 
"Wow." 

Yuta leaned back, let his back press against the wall behind him. He hummed. 
"Shocking," he whispered sarcastically. 

• Scheme •

Chenle was ready for a plot twist 😌