Uncover

45.

"Haechan's here." Yuta whispers to Doyoung.

Doyoung takes a deep breath. But before he can make a move, Jieun reaches out and gently holds his arm. He gives her a look which is half confused and half relieved.

"Let me."

"Jieun no, I can't let you-"

"I want to. Please."

Doyoung isn't sure whether he is grateful for not being the one to deliver the news or guilty for making Jieun do it.

Jieun takes a deep breath before turning around to face Haechan. She parts her lips to say something but Haechan raises a hand to stop her. 

"I know. Which is why I don't want to lash out on you."

"Haechan, I'm so sorry-"

"This is not your fault." Haechan's face is unreadable and yet it is apparent that he looks not all pleased, even furious maybe. "

Helplessly, Jieun glances back at Doyoung. "But you don't know the news-"

"He knows Jieun." A different voice interrupts. Jieun's eyes widen a margin, and she looks past Haechan to see Renjun followed by Jaemin carrying in a battered and unconscious Mark with the help of Jeno.

Jieun stumbles back, tears lining up her eyes. "What?" Renjun tries reaching out to her but decides against it, last minute. Instead, Jungwoo holds her steady, relief and concern evident on face. "Is Mark...?"

Jeno and Jaemin gently lay Mark on the ground, against Taeyong's worktable. They nervously look between Renjun and Haechan.

"We need to get him to the hospital-"

Renjun cuts him off. "He's alive." He says, looking Jieun in the eye and she finally allows the tears she had been holding back to flow. She turns around in Jungwoo's grip and hugs him tightly. 

Jungwoo caresses the back of her head as his own eyes rake over Mark's figure. "Jieun said the house burned down."

Haechan shifts, putting the photo frame Yuta had stared at earlier, back in its place. He slowly approaches Doyoung, briefly patting Jieun's head as he walks past her, and engulfs Doyoung in a tight hug. "Hyung... he saved Mark. He saved us."

For a moment, no one says anything as the two detectives and siblings process Haechan's words.

"What do you mean Taeyong saved...? He's... he died in that blast-"

"He lied." Haechan weakly mumbles. "He lied to protect us."

All colour drains from Doyoung's face as his mind registers Haechan's actions. "Are you saying... he pretended to die but now he is actually-?"

"Mark called Renjun." Jaemin explains, knowing that neither Renjun nor Haechan wanted to be the ones saying it. "When we arrived, Detective Taeyong, Johnny and Jaehyun were already there."

Yuta silently closes his eyes, thanking that everyone was safe but also hoping the turn of events weren't going to be what he was thinking.

"Mark was already unconscious when we arrived but from the looks of it, it seemed the Detectives had managed to save him from the burning house in the nick of time." Jeno elaborated. 

"And then-" Jeno stops and glances over to Haechan. Jaemin puts a hand over Jeno's shoulder and gives a short nod. Gulping back the sadness, Jeno continues. "There were more assassins than the ones Mark had taken care of. They had been watching in hiding and-"

"-they captured us four and held Haechan at gunpoint." Jaemin continues for Jeno, rubbing his back soothingly. "Detective Taeyong got shot while protecting Haechan."

In the moment, with Haechan silently shaking in his arms, Doyoung felt like someone had handed him a lifeline only to cruelly take it away. His arms instinctively tightened around Haechan but his mind was far off, away from that room and its people.

"Where are they?" Yuta could barely force the words out. Renjun, without taking his eyes away from Jieun, answered him. "Neo Hospital. Detective Johnny and Jaehyun are with him."

Without a word, Yuta storms out and everyone watches him leave.   

Meanwhile, Renjun's gaze never leaves Jieun which catches Jungwoo's attention. He takes note of the blank-faced boy's tense figure and dread settles in the pit of his stomach. "It's dad isn't it?"  

A heavy silence envelops the room. No one dares to move or say anything. It's as if there's a fragile cloak of hope, regret, guilt and pain hanging in the air that can shatter with a single move.

"Shouldn't you answer him?" Amidst the heavy atmosphere, a soft but deep voice rings out. All eyes focus on the tall boy who was sitting up with a grim but tired face.

"Jisung, you were awake?" Jieun moves to sit by his side, sliding a hand up to his shoulder. Jisung nods. He brings his own hand, clasping it around Jieun's.

He looks between Renjun, Jaemin and Jeno, his expression sharp and voice stern. "Jungwoo hyung asked something."

Jieun's eyes also dart over to the boys, but Jeno and Jaemin look away, unable to face her. Renjun keeps his eyes on Jieun as he finally speaks up. "He succumbed to his injuries from the blast while protecting us."

Jieun lets out an audible gasp which makes Haechan pull away from Doyoung. Unsteady on his feet, he stumbles over to the Park siblings. He allows Jieun to break down in his arms while Jungwoo and Jisung look on, each silently wiping away their own tears. 

Renjun feels his heart become heavy so he turns around to leave. But he stops when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay. She needs you."

Without looking back, Renjun shakes his head. "I don't think so. I failed her. I couldn't protect her, couldn't protect your dad, couldn't do anything."

Jungwoo now grabs onto both of his shoulders and makes Renjun face him. "That's not your job. Despite that you tried your best, we all know it. She knows it." He pats Renjun's shoulders. "Besides, you brought Mark here first to reassure her, didn't you?"

Renjun shrugs off Jungwoo's arms. "Please. Haechan needed to be here, that's all there was to it."

Jungwoo gives a sad smile. "Dad would have approved of you."

Renjun clears his throat. "In his last moments, uncle Jongin was sorry for not being the father you deserved." He brings out a bloodied wallet from his pocket and opens it to show a number of pictures of Jungwoo over the years alongside a family portrait of him as a 18-year-old with arms around Eunbi and Jongin. It was the photo Jieun had forced them to pose for on from his eighteenth birthday. 

Renjun places the wallet on Jungwoo's hand. "Your dad loved his family till the very end."

Jungwoo's tears land on the film covering the photo as he looks from the photo to Jisung and Jieun. 

"I'll protect them dad, I promise. I'll protect our family like you always have."

Mark is alive you guys. Did anyone see that coming?

Jongin though 😭😭I had to compensate if I was going to keep Mark alive.

How we feeling about the story?

I am trying to not make this very boring (and I hope it isn't) but I wanted to show the emotional impact each character has.