Royals

Chapter 52 - Reminder

"This is awkward, right? Or is it just for me?" He chuckles, his bunny teeth on display.

"It is. But definitely not more than the first impression I made on you" I shrug. I am past embarrassed now.

He lets out a laugh and his dimples peek through. "But you looked cute that day," he says and I scoff.

"Yeah right. You don't have to pretend to say nice things. It's okay" I dismiss the statement with a wave of my hands.

"No, seriously. I was taken aback sure. But you were cute. I wanted to talk to you then and apologize then as well but you ran away. Thank god I convinced the Manager to give me your address. Otherwise, I would have been guilty-" I cut him off before he continued.

"I know I was hysterical. I was extremely overwhelmed. I regret that you had been at the burned end of the stick when I was hysterical" I shrug at the memory and try to fight the embarrassing heat creeping up my neck.

I still want to crawl under my bed and not come out whenever he brings this up. It is a recurring topic of our conversation. But I feel like he brings it up knowing how embarrassing it is. If I act like it doesn't affect me anymore maybe he'll not bring it up either.

"Also, I kind of feel like we're going off-topic on why we were meeting here today" I raise an eyebrow at him and he forces a smile, his dimples showing up and his cheeks flush.

"Yeah, about that. I am really sorry for my actions. I don't remember all of the things. That night is just a mosaic of bits and fragments. But I do remember puking on you" Soobin looks down and then peeks at him, the hair on his forehead partially covering his eyes.

"I am really sorry about that. I was very drunk and even though I am not entirely sure about the entirety of our conversation, rest assured I want to formally apologize for any possible embarrassing things I must have said or done something that crossed the line or offended you" he bows his head.

I feel weird that he is being this formal so I try to lighten the mood a little.

"Nothing really offended me apart from you puking on me" I shrug and see him visibly flinch as he looks at me apologetically.

I am not sure whether he is aware but his apologetic look leads to a pout and standing in front of me with his sorry eyes and bread cheeks and pout, he looks like a very tall baby. The thought makes me chuckle.

"It's alright Soobin. It was nothing. I am just joking. And for what it's worth, I am sorry that I walked into you and your girlfriend. I hope everything is okay between you two" I try to ease the tension but it makes him stiffen more.

"I don't have a girlfrie-" he stops his word and his eyes widen as if remembering something right now.

He did not remember what he was doing before he saw me that night. How drunk was he?

He takes steps towards me and grabs both my palms in his hands. His eyes are wide and he looks embarrassed.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry. I am truly sorry you had to witness that. I just want to tell you that I am not like that usually. Actually, scratch that. I am not like that at all. I am so sorry. I am not some..." he is holding my hand and basically panicking and apologizing repeatedly with bright pink cheeks.

I try to calm him down.

"Soobin it's okay. I am not judging you and I am not going to say anything to anyone about what I saw and didn't see. Whatever you do is your business. It's alright" I squeeze his hands to reassure him.

"Yuri, I just - I didn't want to have that impression on you" he sighs half resolved and half agitated with himself. He squeezes my hand back, his head bowed as he stares at our joined hands.

I try to pull mine away but he squeezes them again. "I am sure, you must have heard a lot of things about me and my family by now." his admission is unexpected and it makes me stiffen.

It is no secret that people talk about the Royals. All five of them.

They are like celebrities around here. Some rumors are good. Some are bad. But at the end of the day, there are so many people who are talking behind their backs.

At first, it irked me but with time, I just accepted that this is a life they have and since they have been living this life for so long, maybe they are immune to it all.

But now, with Soobin standing in front of me, his head hanging low and his voice dejected, I am not sure my beliefs were correct.

I let him hold my hand we stood there like that for a couple of minutes. The wind is getting chillier in the evenings but his hand feels warm against mine.

I feel like if I say anything at all, it will not come out right. So I let him speak.

"I don't want you to have a bad impression of me. I am not as bad as people make me out to be" he whispers and feel the sadness in his voice. It stirs something in me and I want to console him.

He takes a deep breath again and finally looks at me. The vulnerability in his eyes is gone and the panicked expression is replaced with the politician smile I am familiar with.

I feel the loss of probably the first and only real conversation we've had.

"Do you want to get coffee or something? I feel abashed that I made you go through so much" He offers the act of the most genuine smile that I have seen him throw to so many people at school.

"Uh. Actually, I canceled my shift at the Hive so that I could watch San's competition. It's tonight" I shrug apologetically.

"Oh, Taehyun is participating in it as well. I should root for him probably" he smiles but it looks like he is disappointed at my decline of his invitation.

"Maybe we can hang out on the weekend? I am off after my afternoon shift. And I know this really great place for ice cream called Hive. Coincidentally it is also the place I work" I say.

I raise a finger to stop him from saying anything "But I assure you the ice cream is so good that I'll forget about the party altogether. Who knows maybe you'll forget about it as well" I offer and there is a peek of his genuine dimpled smile.

His smile makes me smile.

Royals or no Royals he is a nice guy and I shouldn't be so biased. Maybe knowing him a little more will make me see him in a new light.

"There's not much time left for the competition. We should head in" I suggest.

"It's good you're wearing your blazer. I left my jacket in my car. It's getting chilly. Let's go inside" Soobin says with a smile on his face.

I sober up from my daydreaming and focus on Soobin. It's like a bucket of cold water was poured on me.

He said jacket. Not blazer. The blazer is a reminder.

It reminds me that no matter how casual Beomgyu is with me or how friendly he acts, He in fact is a Royal.

It reminds me no matter how much I think I can take on Yeonjun and argue with him, at the end of the day if he wants he can easily ruin my life.

It reminds me that it doesn't matter whether Soobin is here because he truly feels sorry for his actions or if he doing it just for show, I shouldn't be here for longer than I am needed.

The blazer is a line. I wear it every day.

It reminds me not to cross it. 

A/N: I worked really hard on this chapter. A lot of things happened here. And I am really proud of the last two lines of this chapter🤌