Mr. No || NCT || Completed

65 - Where promises are made

"The other may try to trick you but I won't. I promise."

Staring so closely into Chaeowon's glowing eyes made Renjun squint but he refused to take his eyes off her despite feeling like he was about to go blind. The golden fire in her eyes lit up her face and Renjun felt like he was faced with a supernova - all he could hope for was that he would find a way to protect Chaewon from the explosion.

The wolf was becoming increasingly uneasy over being pushed against the floor by Chaewon, and it searched for ways to surpass Renjun's self-control in order to fight against the girl who was grasping onto the lapel of his tux and pressing her knee against his lungs.

He refused.

"Tell me, Chaewon", he requested, deliberately ignoring how close to his neck her hands were. "Let me defend myself."

"You - you knew." Chaewon turned to look at the people who were still seated by the table. Her fists tightened against the black fabric of Renjun's tux.

"Don't mind us, Chaewon", doctor An spoke up. Renjun wanted to murder her.

"What did I know?" he asked from Chaewon instead of cursing at Dr. An.

The burning gaze returned to him. "You knew that I'm not a bad omen."

Renjun frowned. "I heard it today. Grandmother got back from China and told me that - "

"You're lying!" Chaewon interrupted him loudly. She took a better hold of him and he had to fight the wolf not to push her. "You knew about it!"

"Chaewon." Renjun stared up at her. "You know that I'm not lying. I found out the truth today. I tried to call you when grandmother got home because I wanted for you to be there as well but you didn't -"

Chaewon let out a frustrated noise and her eyes fluttered as if Renjun had sprayed her with water.

Renjun continued. "When grandmother met you, she had a suspicion that you weren't a bad omen but she didn't want to give you false hope. I should've told you anyway but back then it seemed risky. I didn't want to give you hope only to later take it away."

Chaewon's eyes closed and she leaned away. "That's not -" The sentence was left hanging. Her fists were shaking against Renjun's chest.

The wolf was still telling him to get further away from her. It didn't trust in his ability to calm her down.

"I'm not lying, Chaewon", he said softly. "Why would I lie about this? I don't have anything to gain from hiding the truth from you, especially after seeing what you're capable of when you're faced with injustice."

His words were cornering her and her labored breathing became shallow.

"You're not a bad omen", Renjun spoke slowly, following Chaewon's every movement while staying still on the floor. "Grandmother figured it out. You're a Xiezhi."

"Stop trying to manipulate me", Chaewon spat out. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat and her knee was pushing air out of Renjun's lungs as she shifted her weight on top of him.

The wolf was calculating different options frantically. It was becoming more and more difficult for it to accept Renjun's submissive attitude.

"You and I both know that I'm not smart enough to manipulate you."

For the first time, Renjun felt Chaewon's grasp falter and, for a second, her hold of him loosened. That moment of confusion was when the wolf finally pushed through his resolve, took a hold of Chaewon's arms and twisted her off him, slamming her to the floor and allowing him to breathe again. He cursed the wolf out for being so short-sighted but pushed himself on his knees, turning to look at Chaewon who was already on her feet, her entire body shaking. Whether it was stress, exhaustion or anger, Renjun couldn't tell.