Chapter 71 - Night Games

As Alice drove to the rehabilitation center, she felt a little apprehensive and knew awkward. Firstly, she had no idea why she felt a little bit nervous. It was not like she was meeting everyone the first time. Secondly, she had wondered again and again what she should take for them and Adam had been of no help and directly said that there was no need. Thus, in the end, she had simply prepared a few baskets of nutritional supplements for everyone. Thirdly, she did not want to be thanked. Last night, everyone's family had left back for their country once the boys had moved here. But before they went back, they had kept thanking her making her feel burdened. She had been thanked too many times that she now had no wish to hear any thank you.

While Alice was lost in her own thoughts, Adam was staring at her. He wanted to ask her not to go but he knew that would be overstepping his boundaries. He noticed the cute furrow between her brows and wondered when he would be able to kiss it away. What would she do if he leaned forward a kissed her forehead. Would she react angrily and hit him or would she just stare at him with rounded eyes of surprise like she did that night when he licked the crumbs. He had no idea. A tiny naughty voice reminded him that he had already stolen a few kisses from her in the past without being slapped but the nice voice prompted that they were not really close friends then. Now that he was firmly in the friend zone, he could not be that ambiguous again.

Sigh! He had thought being in the friend zone would be a good plan but suddenly it seemed that this was going to be an obstacle. This time he doubted his own IQ and brains wondering what gave him the idea of being in the friendzone! Well, since he was there now, he would simply have to change the zone...Before he could say something, they reached the retreat and the opportunity was lost.

He looked at the rolling plains of green on both sides and once again acknowledged that this was one of the best places for them to recover. From the medical team of doctors and nurses to the gymnasium, swimming pool, spa. It house everything one could think of. And the center had been about to be opened for business soon. He understood that by doing this for them, Alice had also sacrificed a huge profit for their company. His heart was even more softened and warmed. When he had been told yesterday that she had even arranged a music room for them with various instruments, he had been gratified beyond words. But when he had tried to thank her for this, she had simply refused to receive any thanks and simple added," It would benefit our future guests also."

And he knew it would. Because this retreat was not just for those with serious injuries, but also for those rich people who needed to hide themselves from the public eye for a while.

At the door of the retreat, Alice looked worriedly at Adam and knowing her glance, he assured," They don't know that you are coming over. They are in the game room, watching the final football game. 

The atmosphere in the game room was somber as it had been since the past few days. Even though they seemed to have turned with the flow and had maintained a good expression for their family, each of the boys had been fighting depression and uncertainty. Whether it was worry about Felix's voice returning or their own injury recovering enough for them to be able to keep up with their strong dance choreographies in the future. At least the worry of them splitting up had been dispelled by K even before they knew then needed to worry about it. However, each one of them still felt guilty and worried of dragging the team down. Thus, at present they were simply gathered around but unlike the other times when one or the other was joking or playing, there was a pensive quality of inner reflection. Not uncomfortable but not too comfortable either. The accident seemed to have made them loose something, though no one knew what it was yet...

It was only as someone cleared their throat near the game room that all eyes turned to Alice and K in unison. Various expressions of discomfort flitted across the faces as they looked from Alice to K. The accusation in their eyes towards K was clear to see. He should have informed them that he was bringing their benefactor to see them! They could have at least dressed presentably! To top it off, K had already warned them to not thank her because it would make her uncomfortable. So were they supposed to be ingrates and just not say anything? 

To break the atmosphere, Alice smiled a bit and then extended her hands which held the hamper," Hello, everyone. I am sorry for not visiting you at the hospital. I brought you these nutritional supplements. Please enjoy them. Also, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to let the staff know and they will arrange it."

In unison, everyone nodded their heads but the ambience did not change. Just as K was ready to roll his eyes and intervene, Gyeom broke the silence as he smiled his charming smile at Alice and said," Hello, CEO Faye. Please welcome. Thank you for bringing these to us."

Alice smiled back at the young boy and seeing his smile and shiny eyes in person felt that the girls who claimed that he had stars in his eyes were right. They seemed to sparkle. Instantly she felt comfortable and was thinking of some topic to discuss when Gyeom pointed at K and said, "This person here has told us that we are not allowed to thank you as you would be embarrassed but then we really cannot not thank you. But we also cannot make you uneasy, so I just want you to know that we are all thankful to you. Now I will change the topic. Did you both really spend the holidays together on a cruise?"

The question took not just Alice but also Adam by surprise. What did Gyeom mean by that? But Alice smiled at the gossipy tone and knew exactly what he was referring to. Because Ximin had been hounding her for this ever since K released those pictures. She was sure that Ximin had already prepared torture instruments to extract the truth out of her. After all she had carefully hidden this from Ximin also for this long.

Seeing the gossipy Ximin's reflection in Gyeom, she sat next to Gyeom comfortably and smiled wide as she leaned in close and whispered," Yes! And not just together but also in the same room."

She watched the interest and shock in the boy and even Adam was surprised that Alice would volunteer this information. He was actually prepared for Gyeom to be let down gently. But now...all eyes turned to him and he could feel the tips of his ears going red. But Alice simply smiled calmly, letting that thought sink in. Her mission here was to distract them. She had already noticed the state of these boys and knew that they needed something to get them out of the funk. And Gyeom had given her the perfect opening.

As they were all reeling from her brazen words, she decided to drop another bomb, "And do you know that we did not even sleep all night on the first night!"

Seeing the innocent Gyeom's reaction to this titillating statement, made her even more pleased. The boy's face was turning red and he was having trouble looking her in the eye. 

But behind her, K had turned redder than a tomato and was wondering if Alice had been abducted by aliens and this was an imposter! Why was she being so...brazen and naughty! Even though he already knew what they had done, he was still feeling abashed. Had he made a mistake in bringing her here? 

And then another bomb was dropped when Alice then asked Gyeom,"We played some games. Would you like to play them with me since you are curious."

Finally, Gyeom turned panicked eyes to K, having no idea if he was being hit upon and how to handle this. But before he could stare for a moment longer, Alice placed a finger under his chin and turned his face to her," I thought you are the best sportsperson in SKY? Are yo scared to 'play' with me?"

Dam* it! Adam felt his heart melt! She was being her naughty self! Even though he was happy that she was treating his brothers so openly, he still felt jealous enough that he wanted to break Gyeom's chin but before that he needed to use this opportunity...

Using her own tactics against her, Adam walked to her and leaned down, saying," Are you trying to take advantage of Gyeom to play games. Let me tell you, you will still loose. We can play together. Let Gyeom join us in the games."

This time Gyeom's eyes almost fell out of his head as he tried rein in the XXX rated thoughts through his head. Even the others were shocked and unable to find their voices. 

And they simply lost their minds, when Adam straightened and walked to a cupboard, pulling out a game and saying," Let's play."

They did not sleep because of....Monopoly?