ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬-𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡
─◌✰್ 𝖼𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖽
❝𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?❞

"Okay, but how annoying can Seungmin really be?" Robin's voice came closer to the kitchen door.

You grabbed Minho by the hem of his shirt, and dragged him over to the entrance, so you could listen. How many times was it now, that the two of you had gotten yourselves into this situation? And maybe more importantly, why couldn't you stop? Shrugging, you peeked around the edge of the door. Not your fault your friends couldn't keep their damn mouths shut when they thought no one was around to hear. You were just taking advantage of it.

"You don't know him like I do," Renee responded with a loud sigh. "Back home, he was always making huge messes, knowing that I would have to clean them up."

"Ewe, like that?" Robin asked. Based off the volume of her voice, they must have been right outside the door.

"Ugh, he would eat cheetos on JJ's bed, and leave the empty bag sitting there, crumbs and all. Or, he would wear his shoes upstairs, and track dirt all over the floor. And sometimes, he would even leave his dirty socks on the ground, and I had to put them in the laundry! Why was I doing laundry for someone who isn't even part of the family I work for??"

"That is pretty gross." You could practically see Robin wrinkling her nose. "So why do you like him, then?"

"I-I do not like him!" Renee spluttered. "He's- like I said, he's disgusting! I swear, men are pigs, like I told you and Tess last night. And Seungmin is the most 'men' of all men."

"Yeah, and I bet you looove every bit of man in him," Robin snickered. "And I know he feels the same way about you."

"He loves every bit of man in me?" Renee shot back.

"God Renee, you know what I mean. C'mon, have you ever seen Kim Seungmin go to such great lengths to spend time with someone? Anyone besides you?"

"I mean, no but... that's totally not what he's doing!" Renee insisted. "He's just a slob, a slob who's made it his life's mission to annoy the shit out of me."

"Well, does it result in you spending more time with him?"

"I mean, I have to clean whatever mess he's made. And it's usually in JJ's room, which is where Seungmin and she usually hangs out. So yeah, I guess?"

"I rest my case, girl," Robin laughed. "I'll bet anything that he's just being a nuisance as an excuse to see you more. How else could he hang out with you if you weren't cleaning? It's kind of your job."

"Okay, well how the hell would you know that he likes me?" Renee challenged. "You barely hang out with him, even though we're all from the same kingdom. You don't even know him."

The two stopped outside the kitchen door, and you and Minho practically broke your necks to catch a glimpse of them. There was no way that the girls would realize you two were still in there, so you could be a little less discreet than usual.

Than usual. You snorted at the thought. Had this become a usual thing between you and him? Snooping on your friends, trying to piece together whatever the hell was going on? You chanced a look back at Minho, and your heart rate picked up once again. He was a few inches taller than you, so he was watching your roommates from above your head. Your eyes floated down his angular jawline, across his strong, smooth neck, and over his prominent Adam's apple. God, he was gorgeous. You wished you could just stare at him like this for the rest of eternity.

But, typical you, you couldn't help but do a literal double-take at the next words that came out of Robin's mouth.

"Because I've seen him in love."

"Okay, what the hell does that mean??" Renee's shoes squeaked to a stop as she whipped around to face her friend. "You can't say something like that, and not expect me to ask you for details."

Robin crossed her arms and let out a heavy sigh, like she was about to share something huge. "He... was in love with me. Because I made him fall in love with me."

Renee frowned for a few seconds. Then, her eyes widened with sudden clarity, and realization spread across her face. "Oh my gosh. Your- your secret. You said that you gave someone a love potion. You... you poisoned Seungmin?? You made him fall in love with you? Why??"

Robin looked at her feet, arms still crossed. Her fingers were squeezing her arms so hard, it left indents on her skin. "I was hired to."

"Hired? By who?" Renee demanded, all hints of pleasant conversation or idle gossip gone. When Robin didn't respond, she snapped, "Tell me. Right now."

"I can't tell you," Robin said quietly, jaw clenched. "And please don't ask again. I shouldn't have told you anything in the first place."

"Well too late, you already did." Renee stared at her friend with a steely glare.

"You cannot tell anyone what I just told you," Robin pleaded, eyes wide with worry. "If you do, something really bad could happen."

"Bad, huh? What kinds of bad things?" Renee put a hand on her hip expectantly.

Robin ran a hand down her face. "Again, I can't tell you. Just... please, Renee. I know you care about Seungmin, but we're friends now too."

Renee studied the countess's face suspiciously, weighing her options. "Fine. I won't tell anyone."

Robin sighed, reaching out and squeezing her friend's hand. "Thank you, Renee. Really it means-"

"But you have to do something for me first."

Robin raised her eyebrows, throat bobbing as she swallowed thickly. "What?"

"You're going to tell me everything."

——————————

It had been approximately six hours since you listened in on Renee and Robin's conversation, and the two were still not speaking.

Neither you or Minho had been able to hear what Robin told Renee, because she had oh-so-conveniently decided to use volume control and whisper instead. But based off of Renee's reaction, she wasn't pleased with what she'd heard. On top of that, Alaska and Felix were off on their date, so the house was even quieter.

And now, it was your job to squeeze every bit of information out of them that you could. You were their roommate, afterall.

"Hey Robs, can I borrow your phone charger?" you asked, glancing at your friend.

Around half of the group was hanging out, the lounge filled with silence. Robin and Renee were sitting as far away from each other as possible, while Jisung and Changbin sat making a playlist on Jisung's phone. Jeongin and Seungmin were watching The Matrix on the tv, sharing a bowl of popcorn.

"Renee was using it last, ask her," Robin mumbled, not looking up from her phone.

Renee glanced up, grimacing at you. "Yeah, I can grab it for you. Thanks for asking, Robin."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, okay then, both of you can come look with me." You shot warning glares at them.

Robin rolled her eyes. "Fine."

——————————

"Okay, what the hell is going on with you guys??"

You slammed the bedroom shut and turned on your friends.

"What are you talking about?" Renee shifted uncomfortably, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"You guys haven't spoken to each other in hours. And I've seen the glares you keep giving, it's enough to freeze the entire mansion. Did you know frowns like that can give you permanent face lines?"

Renee reached up to touch her skin, then sighed. "You heard us talking, didn't you?"

You crossed your arms over your chest and glared at both of them. "Yeah, I did. And I need answers."

"What do you wanna know?" Robin asked, visibly deflating. "If you heard even part of the conversation, you know that I shouldn't have- that I can't share anything with you."

"Please, Robs. I need to know. It... it could be important."

"Why?" Renee questioned. "Why could something as stupid as this be important?"

You shrugged. "If you're both allowed to have secrets, then I can too."

Renee pouted. "Okay, I don't have any secrets! Why would you say that?"

"So your feelings for Seungmin, and why you won't do anything about them, isn't a secret?"

Robin snorted, and Renee's pout deepened. "Okay Tess that's just rude."

"You're probably right," you chuckled. "But I still wanna know."

"Well..." Renee hesitated. "It's really embarrassing, dumb actually."

Robin reached out, much to Renee and your surprise, and placed her hand on her friends shoulder. "Your feelings aren't stupid, Renee. Plus, anyone can see that Seungmin is crazy about you."

She nodded, hyping herself up to share. "I don't know about that," she began, "but I do know that I'm not good enough for him. I-I'm just a maid, and he's a duke, the son of one of the most influential families in the kingdom. All I would do is pull him down." Her shoulders slumped, and she stared at the floor.

"Renee, that's so not true," you exclaimed. "You are smart, talented, and so determined. You're actually probably the smartest out of all of us. You deserve so much more than being a maid."

"I know," Renee agreed, and your brows raised in interest. "I want more for myself too. But I'm kind of stuck, until I can save up enough money to get the hell out."

You paused, an inkling of an idea planted in your mind. "If you were to further your career, would you feel better about dating a guy like Seungmin?"

Renee paused. "I mean, I guess so," she replied. "I wouldn't be a burden anymore."

"You are not a burden!" Robin argued. "We love you Renee. And... I'm really sorry for how I've treated you today. I got scared, about what I told you this afternoon. But it was wrong."

Renee smiled. "I'm sorry too, I was really mean. I shouldn't have threatened to tell Seungmin about what happened. We're friends, we have to trust each other."

"Anyway..." you chuckled quietly at them. Of course they would make up. "I have some questions for you too, Robs. And you better answer fast, or the cameramen might run in and catch your whole confession on live tv."

She groaned, hurrying over and locking the door. "I guess we should get this over with. What's up, Tess?"

"Well, first off, I want to know why you poisoned Seungmin. You don't like him like that, I know it. So there must have been someone forcing you to do it. You told Renee, so you can tell me too."

Renee sighed. "She didn't even tell me who made her do it, actually."

"Okay well, I saw you guys talking. I know you told her something." You glanced at Robin expectantly.

The door handle jangled, and all three of you stared at it in panic. Robin's mouth sat frozen, half-open.

When Robin didn't respond for a solid fifteen seconds, Renee finally blurted, "she told me who she's going to poison next."

You frowned. "Okay, then who is it? And if you don't tell me, I'll go tell Seungmin that you poisoned him. I wasn't the one who promised you I would stay quiet. And as much as I love you, spill."

"Jisung," Robin murmured. "I'm going to poison him."

"And when are you doing that?" you asked. "Like, when we get home?"

Robin shook her head, glancing at the door nervously. "No. At our date. I have to poison him at our date."

laska's note —
oooooh! i'm sure you all have speculated, but it's confirmed: robin poisoned seungmin, and now she's going to poison jisung. i wonder why she poisoned seungmin in the first place?? i think we may know why she is going to poison jisung... but will she succeed? what will happen if she fails? and what about renee? she's clearly in love with seungmin, and her friends are trying to convince her that she's worthy of him, royalty or not. she might become a badass bitch, but will she ever come to terms with her feelings? and when will minho and tessa finally have their first date? it feels like they've really been making strides in their relationship! can't wait to share everything else that'll be coming 🤭 i wanna hear what you think about everything going down!

also i apologize for this late update i was out all day with my bf and forgot to post! but i hope you enjoyed the chapter and i will post on time next week!! 🥰

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟮𝟴 - 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲
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