Shadow | Huang Renjun

35

Quietly fiddling with the sleeve of her cardigan, Eunah watches Mark pace back and forth outside on the university's campus.

He asked to meet her this afternoon during a morning lecture, and she obliged despite Jeno, Miyeon and Renjun advising her against it at lunch. Donghyuck probably would've agreed with them, but he was busy recording something in the studios.

"Mark, what's–"

"I should never have let you make friends with them," he interrupts, pausing to stare intensely at her.

Her brows crease in confusion, head tilting slightly.
"Wh– but you wanted me to? You said it was fine?"

"Yeah, that was before I realised you'd make actual friends!"

"Is that not–"

"No!"
He huffs out a breath, rubbing his temples.
"I needed you to get information for me! Not actually make friends with them! Do you understand how dangerous your situation is?"

"Yeah, of course I do–"

"Clearly not!"

Eunah's frown deepens with frustration, her taking a slight step back at his tone.
"Mark, they're not evil. They're people just like you and me."

"I don't care what they are. I care that your wings could be taken for treason! This is a lot bigger than your stupid need to make friends with everyone!"

"It's not stupid–"

"Are you fucking blind?!"

"What– no–"

"Then what's so important about their friendship that you'll risk your wings and be branded a traitor?!"

"Because everyone deserves a chance!" she shouts, somewhat taking him aback.
"And maybe, just maybe, what we need is understanding and compassion instead of blind hatred and war! For an Archangel, you're fucking heartless!"

Mark falls silent, disappointment evident in the golden shine of his irises. Her expression is like nothing he's ever seen– filled with contempt and a type of barely-contained rage that he would only expect from Satan himself.

Eunah seems unaware of this, placing her shaky hands over her face and letting out a long, calming exhale.

"I refuse to spy for you anymore."

"Wh– but–"

"I'm done. You can figure it out for yourself."

~~~~

Looking up from her book, Eunah breaks into a small smile at the sight of Jeno sitting down adjacent. She marks the page with a folded sticky note, moving her flask out of his way.

"Hey, you okay?"

He shrugs, ruffling the back of his hair.
"As okay as I can be."

"What's wrong?"

"I tried talking to Mark..."

"Ah."

Jeno sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He has a bottle of water with him, which he sips from.
"This is a mess, isn't it?"

Nodding, Eunah leans against his shoulder with loose strands of hair tickling his cheek.
"I'm sorry I put you in the middle..." she hums.

"No, it's– it's not your fault. I should've seen it coming, really."

"You couldn't have known," she counters. "It's not exactly predictable, is it?"

"I dunno, you were against all this from the start. I figured if Mark pushed you too much, you'd snap."