Inside | HENDERY WAYV/NCT

9

Yun charged towards Hendery. He balled up his fist and was ready to punch the hell out of the younger one.

"For the love of, stop it!!!" Luna shouted and pulled Hendery away.

"Fuck off! He called me trash!"
"Well you call her pig."
"She is one!"
"So are you!" Hendery mocked Yun. He held Luna's wrist and dragged her out of the store.

"Run," he said and they ran away from the enraged Yun. "Over here!" Luna pulled him and they slid into an alley. The could hear Yun cussing them out as he ran passed them.

For a second they were quiet. They could hear their hearts beating in their ears.

"That was exciting," Hendery sat on the ground catching his breath. Luna sat beside him. "Never poke Yun. That's a good life lesson," she chuckled. Hendery turned to her.

Her eyes weren't special. They were dark brown and normal looking. Except, her eyes were full of unexplained emotions. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

"How can you be okay when he call you names?"
"I don't," she shrugged. "But I am living under the same roof as him. One of us needs to be the passive."

Hendery shook his head. "Still. If I talk like that to my sister, I won't see the sun," he chuckled. Luna laughed too.

*************************

Hala's throat was sandy. She sat down on the toilet seat. Lucas banged on the bathroom door begging her to open it.

"I'm not even angry. I just want you to be honest,Hala."

"I.... . I don't know, Lucas. Five long years and I still get butterflies at the mention of his name. I'm sorry I'm doing this to you," she apologised. Hala was confused. She couldn't understand her own feelings.

"Open the door Hala. We can talk this out," he persuaded her softly. She opened the door and Lucas opened his arm and pulled her into his embrace.

"I've known you for almost 10 years. I know," he cupped her cheeks and assured her that he was fine.

"Do we call the wedding off?" He smiled and asked her. Hala went speechless.
"Lucas..."

***************************

~ The sad song of the sea travelled through the air, telling his story of losing. He sat on the sandy beach and watched as the waves slammed the sand. His heart broke a little bit more. And they were deemed to not having hearts or souls.~

Hendery closed the book for the nth time. He often stopped at that specific point. He sometimes wished he had no heart or soul so he wouldn't feel the pain of disappointing others.

He stared at the fluorescent stars on his ceilings. "I wonder how would she finish the story if the pages are gone," he mumbled to himself. He turned to his book on the side table.

"And he traveled far and wide to find his missing gem only to be heartbroken upon seeing it. And he shall wondered 7 seas more to heal his broken heart for now, he owns a soul that withers," Hendery recited his favourite line from the novel.

"Yes, he is withering," he swallowed his words and allowed his tears to trickle down his cheeks. He was exhausted.

He buried himself under the covers.

"Hendery," Kelly sat at the edge of his bed. "Go away."

"Sorry, no can do. We made a deal, remember?" She pulled away the covers revealing him sobbing. Hendery got up and hugged Kelly. He sobbed on her shoulder.

"Aren't you my baby brother?" She teased him.

Don't we wish for the time to stand still?

************************

Lucas faced Hala. They were silent. Hala couldn't bear to look at him.

"Hon... I mean, Hala. What's your decision?"
"Lucas, we can't call it off just like that," she felt guilty. She shouldn't have contacted Hendery. She should've just let it be as it is.

Four years of being "in love" with Lucas, every time he mentioned Hendery's name she'd get butterflies. They were in the same circle in high school which made it so hard for her to let the idea of loving Hendery go.

He smiled softly, assuring her it was fine. "I knew you like him. A lot. I also knew you still think of him. But I also trust you. And it's okay if we don't proceed with the marriage. I'm fine. Really."

"How can you be fine, Lucas? How can you be so calm when your heart breaks?"

"I am not. I am sad, hurt, betrayed. Everything in the dictionary, I feel it. But if it's about feelings we're talking about, I can't force you. I can't allow you to love me when you don't, Hala. So, yes. You broke my heart. But it's okay. Love hurts," he reached for her cheek and pinched it softly like he always does when comforting her.

Inside, Hala felt her heart shattered even more at his response. All these years, she allowed him in and made him believe in the lies she created. They were do deep in her facade.

"No. I want to love you. Please allow me to forget him," she held his hand and kissed it. "Lucas, one more chance. Please I beg you."

~ it's a story of a blind man and a deaf woman. Learning how to live and love. It's bittersweet just like life is.~

*************************

Luna stopped at the ripped page. She sighed and closed the book. She turned to Yue's bed and watched her sleeping.

The clock struck midnight and she was wide awake. Luna sat on her bed and stared outside the window.

"Forever I shall be indebted to the moon for I now may walk on this bare land. To you whom I yearned for, I will walk this path of thorns and I shall swim another 7 seas. For my heart yearns for you and only you," she read the lines from the page slowly. Devouring word by word, getting lost into the world of the character.

She fell asleep after a while.

Hua DeLuna, will you hold on just a while longer?