Colors || Lee Jeno

Chapter 16 | "battle scar"

After an evening of dancing around with the guys, it was safe to say that Hyewon was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted, and she wanted nothing more to spend the rest of the night relaxing.

She settled into the couch next to Jeno, having been able to convince Kun, with the help of Lucas, to let her stay over. Of course, he thought it was with one of her cousins, not another gang, but what he didn't know wouldn't kill him.

Jaehyun had given her some clothes to borrow and all the dreamies were now gathered in NCT's giant theatre room, blankets, pillows, and mattresses piled all over the floor for a giant sleepover party.

"What's wrong, Hyewon?" Jeno asked as he noticed her constantly pulling her hair over her shoulder, the clothes Jaehyun gave her slightly too big.

"Nothing, nothing." She mumbled, quickly putting her hands back at her side.

"Is there something on your neck? Are you hurt?" He asked persistently, sitting up straighter while Mark cued up the movie.

"No it's just...." She sighed, seeing him staring at her with concern as she carefully pulled her hair away. "I got this scar a few months ago when a knife sliced through my mission suit and I hate it."

He turned her to face him, looking closely at the scar. She tried to stay still, hating the fact that he was even seeing it.

"It's one of the things I hate the most about myself." She said quietly. "Covering it up is just a habit."

"You don't need to cover it." He said softly, sitting straighter. "It's perfect."

She stared at him with wide eyes, stunned by his comment.

"I mean, I'm not going to force you to show it, and if you want to cover it, go right ahead, I'm just saying you don't need to. I think it's beautiful."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It makes you unique. It's like a beauty mark." He said with a smile. "I think it's pretty badass to be real with you. You've got your own battle scar."

She paused, unsure of what to say but unconsciously a smile made its way onto her face as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder, exposing her collarbone as the movie began to play.

She carefully shifted herself closer to Jeno, him quickly wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. She could feel his heart beat. His calm steady breath. She felt safe in his arms, allowing herself to fully relax into him.

Part way through the movie, she felt her eyes getting heavy, Jisung and Chenle already fast asleep on the couch next to her. Unable to fight off the exhaustion anymore, she allowed herself to drift off in Jeno's arms.

He looked at her, a soft smile on his face as he noticed her sleeping. He was thankful she wasn't awake and able to feel how rapidly his heart was beating.

"Cute." He mumbled, pulling a blanket over her.

She'd slowly begun to open up to him, no longer flinching when he touched her or trying to distance herself from him. He knew at this point, she was comfortable around him, and that made his heart swell. But he also knew that she was holding back. She never initiated much, and was very hesitant to fully pour her heart into him.

He knew she was still holding onto her ex. She was guilty. He could see it in her eyes every time something happened with him. And it hurt him, not because he was upset with her, but because he knew she didn't deserve to carry all that guilt all the time.

He was falling and falling fast. He only hoped that once she could get past Xiaojun, she'd feel the same.

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