Royals

Chapter 40 - Close Proximity

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he cocks one eyebrow at me when I walk to dispose of his trash.

Why is he still sitting?

Shouldn't he get going?

"You didn't clean up the wounds on my face," he says casually.

Oh.

I look at his face. 

I study it. 

The wound on his forehead is deep but it has stopped bleeding. Dried blood is stuck to his head, making his hair stick to it. 

the wound on the corner of his lips has made his lips swell and it made an even bigger pout than usual. 

"I mean, you look better enough to go home so I guess you don't need it" I shrug.

Lie.

I would have to get much closer to him to clean his face and even though he looked less dangerous like this, I wasn't sure I wanted to be in that close proximity with him.

"Weren't you the one who was nagging about me passing out or dying?" he asks and tilts his head again to the side in a way that makes the hair on his forehead cover one of his eyes partially.

The wound on his forehead did look bad.

Should I dress his wound or not?

There were mainly two wounds on his face, the gash on his forehead and the busted lip.

How long was it going to take for me to clean it up quickly?

I look at the time on my watch and then back at him.

"You don't need it. You have been conversing with me for so long without anything happening to you till now so I am sure you can go home by yourself. You won't die" I start packing the first aid kit when he holds my hand.

"Dress the wound, please" he requests.

The pained expression he makes while saying please is enough for me to understand it is not a word he uses often.

And it is the word that makes me sit down in front of him again.

That damn word.

"Stay still. And if I think you're going to attack me or something, I will pour the antiseptic cream in your eye and run" I warn him.

"You're into some real kinky shit aren't you?" He smirks.

I look dangerously at him as I pour the antiseptic liquid into a cotton pad.

He raises his hands in air in surrender and smiles "Okay okay bee, calm down. I was just joking and I like my eyes. I have been told they looks exactly like my mother's"

This is the first time I am seeing him smile.

Not smirk or snarl but an actual smile is adorning his face.

And I want to wipe it off his face because the way he looks when he smiles is enough for me to forget how he has tortured me till now.

"My name is Yuri, not Bea. I am only telling you my name because we came to a truce of you not pulling a shit on me and getting me kicked out. I am still counting on it" I point my finger at him.

"I know your name. Beomgyu cannot stop talking about you. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he has a crush on you" he flinches when the cotton pad makes contact with the wound on his forehead.

"Stay still" I grab his jaw with my free hand to make sure he sits still.

I purposely don't make a remark on Beomgyu because we both know that is not true.

At the max Beomgyu probably sees me a pet dog.

Although he has been the one who is the most friendly in their group.

Not that I want to spend more time with their group anymore that I absolutely have to.

"Beomgyu was here tonight. So was Taehyun and  Kai" I say as I get up from my seat to stand closer to him. This way I get a better view of what I am doing to his wound.

I kept the lights off except a few stand lights because I didn't want people outside to think we were still open.

However, now I was rethinking my decision because now I was standing too close to Yeonjun trying to get a better look at his wound.

I felt Yeonjun tense under my hold and told him to tilt head to look at me. I dropped the hand that was on his jaw.

"So I guess Beomgyu does have a crush on you" he chuckled half-heartedly and I purposely press the cotton a little too hard on his wound making him hiss.

I do the mistake of looking at him and the deadly glare that he passes me is enough for me to take a step back and rethink my offer to clear up his wound.

"Just because I am playing nice doesn't mean you take my kindness for granted" he growls and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"I wouldn't dare" I don't even try to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

I sit back down, this time even closer to him, trying to study his busted lip.

How did he get this messed up?

What kind of accident did he get into?

Or a fight?

"They seemed concerned" I say after a while of quietness between us.

I only hear him sigh as his breath tickles my hand that is on his face. He opens his mouth to say something but I beat him to it.

"Before you tell me not to medel with your business, I want to specify that I just stated my observation. I never insinuated that they were concerned for you" I shrug.

Maybe it is the dim lights or maybe I pulled his lips upward as I was dressing th wound but I see him fight a smile.

"Okay, all done. Now you can go home and so can I" I get up and dust the imaginary dust from my body.

"I don't want to go home" something in his voice is raw.

Too raw for me to ignore and the words his brother spewed out at him play in fragments through my brain.

But then again I am in no position to offer him a place to stay.

"Look, I can't let you stay the night here. I am just a part-timer here. So if that's what you're asking then I am sorry, I will have to say no" I tell him honestly.

He sighs and gets up from his seat.

The movement is so sudden that I forget to step back and we stand, me trapped between my chair and him.

I suck in my breath holding it unconsciously with how close he is to me.

He is far too tall compared to me and as I see him bending towards me, I try to put all my flexible back muscles to use and move my body away from him.

The scene is almost comical.

His pink hair fall forward hindering his view a little but he doesn't let it bother him as he stares at me with his sharp eyes.

He studies my face for good whole minute before he steps away.

I finally breathe out.

I might have passed out if it were for a second or two long.

"Thank you bee" he ruffles my hair before walking out.

I just stand there flabbergasted.

A/N: as mentioned previously in chapter 38, I am going on a mini hiatus and will be back on 17.12.22. I hope you guys stick around and keep reading it when I am back.

How is your start of the last month of the year?