The Untouchable Prince | A Norenmin FanFiction

四十八

Forty Eight
Updated: October 26, 2021

When his fiancés left to their own rooms in the midst of the dark night, Renjun was left alone in his room. He had company, his wolf-dog and the silent whispers of the wind outside. But, it was also what terrified him.

Being alone, he could think, and he could imagine. And, his imagination was great, don't get him wrong. He loved his imagination. Without it, how would he draw? How would the children at the orphanage live a good life? How would he do the things he loved? But, it also scared him, especially when he was alone, in the dark.

He couldn't sleep. The little noises outside and the little rustles of the bushes terrified him. It was so dark. The moon was not out, it was a new moon that night, so there was no light outside, nor any light inside. He didn't know why he blew out the candles when he couldn't sleep. He should've left them on.

He was alert and in pain. Every little thing had him flinching. The movement of his wolf-dog, the light sound of a leaf crunching under the paws of an animal, and the little squeaks of mice and rodents outside. His head was still mildly hurting, low throbs in the back of his head and behind his eyes. He couldn't see either, the darkness didn't make it any better.

What was he thinking about, you might ask? What he had said earlier. "It doesn't... bother... me..."

Why didn't it bother him? Why was he not shaking? Why did his anxiety attack not come? It's been hours already, he's been thinking about it for hours. He's been thinking about the warm feeling on his right hand, on his arm, for hours. Never once diverting his thoughts to other things. He's been expecting the attack to happen, to just hit him in the head, to knock him unconscious, but it never happened. It never came.

Why?

He only waited. Waiting patiently for it to come. He had even held a few stems of lavender in his hand already prepared for the intensity. Only, it never came.

Renjun thought about the warmth and the feeling of their skin on his. He wondered why. Why didn't he cringe? Why didn't he want to pull away? Why was it comfortable? Why did he want to do it again? What happened? Was it the poison? Did it do something to his brain? If he took the antidote, would this feeling go away? Or did he just not feel scared because he didn't notice it?

He didn't notice the bright orange light seeping through his rice paper windows until a knock could be heard from his door. He had flinched, waking Xiao Yue up from her slumber.

"Who is it?" He asked cautiously, turning to face the door, his hand consciously reaching for a projectile. The closest object he could obtain was a small teacup.

"It's Jaemin," said the voice outside.

Renjun placed the cup back, sitting up on the edge of his bed. "Come in."

The door clicked open, and a familiar prince dressed in blue stepped over the threshold. No one followed behind him. He glanced around, noticed the black-haired prince sitting on the bed, and rushed over. "W-why are you sitting up? You should be lying down, Injoon-ah."

"I'm fine," he urged, reaching down to pick up his shoes and slide his feet into them. "I don't need to lie down."

"You're still-"

"I'm fine," he repeated, a stern look on his face. He insisted on getting up, so that's what he was going to do. No one was going to tell him otherwise.

Plus, he'd had enough of lying down anyway.

Jaemin watched Renjun get up and noticed the dried stems of lavender left behind. He opened his mouth to say something, but Renjun had interrupted,