For Love's Sake || Jeno

15: Learn to fly

The two sat on the stairs of Naeun's apartment building in silence, with their joined hands placed on Jeno's thigh. It seemed that he wasn't quite ready to leave yet.

"Were you upset?" He asked after a long silence, "when you found out your mom wasn't your biological mother."

Naeun shook her head. "Not upset, just surprised."

"You're not upset with your birth mother for giving you away?"

She shook her head again. "I thought about it for a long time, why she would give me away. Maybe she thought that I'd have a better life away from her, in which case it would've been out of love, no? And if she gave me away because she hated me... well, I wouldn't want to live with a parent that scorned me."

Jeno nodded slowly. "Johnny told me that Doyoung's father will show up tomorrow at the Ring."

So this was happening, huh? "Will you be okay?"

"No."

"Want me to come with you?"

Jeno looked at her with pleading puppy eyes. "Will you?" Naeun's heart squeezed at the sight.

"Yes."

Just as he had promised, Jeno was waiting for Naeun by the school gates. Wordlessly, he handed her the helmet and the two got on. The atmosphere was too overwhelming for any small talk.

Behind the stage of the Ring, as Jeno was gearing up for his match, most probably his last, he beckoned Naeun closer. "Won't you wish me luck?"

"Oh, right." Naeun had been so nervous it had slipped her mind. She walked toward him and helped him put his hoodie on. "Good luck out there and don't get your pretty face rearranged," she said, "or your organs," she added as an afterthought.

Jeno chuckled. "Not that. I was thinking more along the lines of..." he leaned towards Naeun and tapped his cheek. She thought of pushing him away since he was only teasing her, but then stood on her toes and pecked him right where he had wanted it. Jeno's eyes went wide, he hadn't been expecting her to comply.

"Good luck," Naeun whispered again, a shy smile on her face. Jeno looked at her for a few seconds then cleared his throat and put on his mask.

Soon, King's name was announced.

Jeno grabbed Naeun's shoulders. "Look," he said quickly. "I'll meet him after the match and if I don't come back within half an hour, call Jaemin and go home."

Naeun's mouth went dry. Before she could utter a syllable of protest, Jeno headed out.

She clasped her hands tightly together, as she watched the fight unfold. Naeun had to occasionally close her eyes too when a punch looked especially strong or when she heard a yelp of pain. But in the end, Jeno was the last one standing.

The rest of the scene seemed as if part of a movie. Jerry ran up to Jeno and raised his arm, blood sullied the white bandages wrapped around his hand. Everything was so loud that Naeun had to cover her ears. Still, she understood the part where King was to meet the VIP. She moved further inside and waited because where Jeno was headed was no place for her.

.

Jeno never knew the Ring had such a place. One of the VIP's men escorted him through a well-lit corridor with a tiled floor. As they turned a corner, a large man blocked their path. He was at least a foot taller than Jeno and clad in a black tux.

"I'll take it from here," he informed the escort. "Follow me," that was for Jeno. The man led him to a small room. As soon as the doors closed behind them, he met with a punch to his gut. Jeno doubled over in pain and gasped for air. He doubted this was what the champion's reward would be.