Number 9 |jaewoo|

2

A few hours passed, and Taeyong did the honors of showing Jungwoo around. They walked around the winding yet small facility that Taeyong moved to. It was a building in a far off hill, miles away from the city and he explained that Jungwoo would be safe, as long as he didn't follow the road. The building was surrounded by the woods and it had an orchard filled with fruit trees and solar panels enclosed by round walls. Taeyong reintroduced him to the rest of their friends. Jaehyun was nowhere to be found. They all welcomed Jungwoo with hugs, smiles, and high fives. The high five part confused him though, because Mark seemed to forget about the situation and had his hand up. He had frowned when he realized Jungwoo forgot what that greeting meant and went off sulking. And when Johnny said an old inside joke to him, Jungwoo didn't even laugh. And then two people were sulking.

Jungwoo requested to go back to the orchard, because something about it filled him with peace. Once they arrived, Taeyong let Jungwoo walk out of the door and explored the nature preserved in this huge space. He looked up at the orange sky and the vastness made him feel uneasy. Soon, he found a brown butterfly fluttering away from the fruit flower of a small tree. He followed it, determined to catch the strange creature, skipping over to the next row of trees where it flew. As he went further he lost the sight of the butterfly. Instead, he caught the sight of Jaehyun sitting on a rock.

"You again." Jaehyun spoke, hearing him.

Jungwoo said nothing.

"It's been a long time. Too long." Jaehyun sighed and watched the little flowers in the grass. "I thought I'd never hear your voice again. That day... those demons stole so much from us. Practically destroyed our pride."

"Jaehyun." Jungwoo remembered.

"So just know that... I'm watching everything that goes on here. Be careful."

"Why can I only remember your name?" Jungwoo asked, ignoring him.

"Huh?"

"When I saw you... I knew to call your name. I can't explain the feeling... I just knew. Why?"

Jaehyun faced the blond. "That... is a good question. "

"It's all so strange... when I see our friends, I feel as though I'm safe and sound without danger. But when I see you, it's more than that... I can't explain it and that scares me." Jungwoo felt his eyes getting damp again and touched them in confusion. Jaehyun observed him for a while, then hopped off the rock. He pulled out a small handkerchief from his coat pocket and gave it to Jungwoo.

Jungwoo blinked when he saw the gesture, but took it and wiped his eyes with it. "Is it okay to cry?" he asked between sniffles.

"Yes," Jaehyun sighed. "Look, I apologize for what I did... painting you out to be a monster. How idiotic of me... I should have known better than to see you that way. At first... when Taeyong introduced us to the idea of bringing you back, I opposed. Because, why would we want to put you through more suffering in a world that hates us? Why have you exist with that trauma? I did not get it. But to Taeyong... it was personal. He needed you. We all did, especially Donghyuck. God, he took it the worst. He wouldn't eat or sleep and would come here alone to scream at the sky. That's kind of why he scared you earlier." Jaehyun then chuckled at the memory.

Jungwoo chuckled, even though the thought of Donghyuck being so upset devastated him. "That's horrible. He is so young. He shouldn't have felt that pain."

"That's why I let Taeyong do it. Not only for Donghyuck... but for all of us. And here you are now. You really haven't changed a bit." Jaehyun finally smiled. For some reason, Jungwoo felt intrigued and reached his hand over to feel Jaehyun's cheek. It was soft and cool from the wind blowing.

Something clicked again. Jungwoo felt this feeling before. A memory flashed before his eyes, a chilling scene. He saw himself leaving some kind of exit, with Jaehyun there telling him not to go. There were noises of inaudible screams behind him, and the last thing he did before he left Jaehyun was touch the same cheek.

The memory was interrupted when Jaehyun held Jungwoo's chin up so he could see his face better. Jungwoo felt his own cheeks going up in flames for some reason. Gasping, he spun away from him. "I want to go back inside now," he said as he ran off, holding the handkerchief close. Jaehyun was left there, confused.

Little did they know, Taeyong had been watching everything from the glass door. He quietly went back inside before Jungwoo could notice.