Overdrive | NCT ✅

5. Psycho

I look around. Everything's pitch black, but the place seems familiar.

"Jieun?" a weak voice calls out next to me.

"Sshh, Naeun, it's okay," I reassure the young girl.

I hear her breathe in painfully, and I gently rest her head in my lap. We both turn silent as Wendy's blood-curdling scream echoes distantly.

"You've only been here a while, but you've done so much," Nauen mutters.

"How?" I ask quietly.

"I haven't done anything. I couldn't stop Hyuna from hurting you, and I haven't been able to help heal you and Wendy properly," I add.

"But you have. You offered to go instead of me, that was really brave of you, and you tell us stories. Wendy's become slightly more hopeful since you arrived," Naeun explains in a soft voice.

She suddenly starts coughing harshly, the sound coming from deep within her throat.

"Nauen?" I ask worriedly, and her hacking cough continues.

I get her to sit up carefully, trying my best not to touch any of her wounds. She stops coughing, but I can feel her shaking.

"Jieun, I just coughed up blood," she says, sounding on the verge of tears.

My pulse quickens instantly, but I force my voice to stay level.

"It's okay-"

"It's not though. I'm never leaving here am I?" she says.

My chest aches at her words, because I've started to believe the same thing. The other two have completely lost hope, and I'm starting to lose it too.

"I knew it. I told you, nobody ever comes looking for people like us," she says shakily, and tears prick my eyes.

Stop it. You have to stay strong. Of course the others are looking for you, I think desperately.

"That's not it. I overheard Dawn talking to Hui, he said that this place doesn't even exist on the map. It was supposed to be knocked down years ago, that's why there's only half a warehouse left," I explain, trying to stop my voice from shaking.

Nauen starts wheezing and gasping, and I realise she's crying. I reach over and hug her gently. I tenderly hold her wrist, checking for her pulse. It's extremely faint and weak. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach. She's just about alive.

"Naeun, relax," I whisper, letting go of her.

"I want to leave," she cries.

"I know. Just lie down and relax," I say calmly.

Nauen rests her head back on my lap, and I stroke her hair.

"Can you tell me a story?" she murmurs, and I hum in assent.

"Of course. What do you want me to tell you this time?" I ask softly.

Naeun pauses, thinking slightly.

"The sunset," she whispers weakly.

"When I arrived in Korea for the first time, I was on a train and it was near sunset time. We were travelling on a bridge, and I remember looking outside the window, and you could see the entire city. It was my first time going to a city with skyscrapers, and I can still picture my first view of Seoul. The tallest buildings stood out from the smaller ones, but that's not what I remember the most," I describe, holding onto Naeun's hand. I try not to concentrate on the fact that her body is rising and falling less and less.