The Truth Hurts [exo]

12

On the way back, I thought of all the possible ways Jongin could have gone. Would he go back to the pond where the bears lurked? Or perhaps he trudged back to the village and asked for Wu Yifan's help in finding me.

All I knew for sure was that I needed to find him soon. With his speed, he could be miles away in just a few hours. Where in the world would I go if I didn't find him? I couldn't stay with this couple for the rest of my life nor could I survive in the woods. I wouldn't even know which way to walk.

"Oh, looks like we have a guest." Joonmyun noted when he looked at the array of shoes on his porch. He wiped his boots along the welcome mat and stepped in. "Come on in."

I rose my hands up and shook my head. I didn't want to abuse their generosity. "I shouldn't disturb you guys when you have guests over. I'll be on my way." I took a step back but Joonmyun grabbed my arm.

"No no, it's no bother."

I couldn't say no when I felt the warmth of the kitchen hit me in the face. The smell of more food made my stomach growl and I almost didn't notice the figure sitting on the chair.

Almost.

If Joonmyun and Sookyung weren't there, I would've launched myself at the dark-haired boy.

"Oh, you two are back," Sookyung wiped her hands on her apron as she approached us. "Look who I—"

"Jong—"

Jongin pushed his seat back and came straight for me without a sound. His arms opened at the last second to envelop me. He held me tightly against his body and I relished the warmth as I slowly closed my arms around his waist. I heard Jongin breathing heavily and whispering some incoherent words but I was just glad to see him again. It was only when I heard Joonmyun clear his throat that I pulled back.

"So is this the brother?" he asked.

I nodded and saw Sookyung smiling. "It must be good to finally see your kin again." Her usually big eyes got a lot smaller when she smiled, indicating she was expressing genuine happiness for us. "I found him wandering around our cottage and he had told me he was looking for his sister."

I looked over at Jongin with a bright smile, delighted that we had told the same lie, but the smile faded when I saw his complexion. He was staring at the ground and, though this time he wasn't sickly pale or feverish red, he didn't look like the Jongin I knew.

I was beyond happy to see him but not in this state.

"We'll leave you two to catch up. Breakfast is at the table." Sookyung took off her apron and grabbed a basket from beside the table. "I need to head off to the market."

As Jongin and I sat down, Joonmyun told us he was going to be reading in his room and it'd be okay to call him if we needed anything. An awkward silence filled the kitchen when the couple left.

"They're nice, aren't they?" I began while cutting a little bit of the pancake. "They've offered us food and a place to stay."

Jongin merely nodded and stared at his plate. It was odd seeing him with a bunch of untouched food sitting right in front of him. Usually, he would've wolfed down the entire thing already.

"Could we stay here for a night? They've got extra beds."

He only nodded again as a response.

I put down my utensils. It seemed like a bad time to be eating. "Or...I could go ask Joonmyun if we could leave now. I don't think he would mind."

After a long moment of hesitation, I got an answer out of him. "No." Jongin finally looked up. "Eat. We'll take a rest here and then leave tomorrow."