Uncover

46.

"Haechan here." Jieun holds out a can of cold coffee. Haechan stares at the can unmoving and expressionless. His bloodshot eyes travel up to meet the gentle expression on Jieun's face, though her eyes and nose were equally red, probably worse than him.

"What's with that expression?" Jieun sniffles a little as she sits beside Haechan and wraps his hand around the can of coffee. "Are you taking lessons from Renjun or something?"

Haechan still doesn't respond. But then after a silence of 2 minutes, he pops open the can and takes a big gulp of the cold coffee.

"I'm getting deja vu." He finally speaks in a low, rough voice. Jieun only hums in response, a knowing smile taking over her lips.

"And what is that?"

Haechan clears his throat and clasps the coffee can with both hands. "Just a week ago, you were sitting right here, and I was giving you this exact can of coffee to comf-" Haechan trails off, facing away from Jieun, a small pout forming on his face.

"To comfort me?" Jieun completes his sentence, a hint of amusement visible in her voice.

"If you know, why ask?"

Jieun leans her head back on the chair. "Because you knew but didn't tell me."

Haechan faces Jieun, a serious expression on his face. One could say his face almost mirrored Taeyong's in the moment. Jieun's eyes trace Haechan's face, her eyes tearing once more upon thinking about the detective who was still in the ICU.

"Jieun? Are you alri-"

"You could've told me we were cousins Haechan."

A storm of emotions cross Haechan's face. He looks away from Jieun, towards the doors to the ICU unit. 

"Who told you?"

"Does it matter? You wouldn't have told Jisung or me, not with the way things are right now."

"I wanted to but..." Haechan fiddles with the can. "...hyung thought it would be better this way. That it would protect you."

Jieun hums sadly. "Detective Taeyong has always been this way, hasn't he? Trying to shoulder everything alone."

Haechan sighs. "Yeah. And believe me no matter how much I or Doyoung nag, he just doesn't listen."

"Well, I could've helped, if I knew."

Haechan turns to speak but stops when he sees that Jieun's tears are freely falling now.

"Jieun why...?"

"All this while... all this time..." Jieun covers her face with her hands and that is unbearable for Haechan to watch. He pulls her in a side hug, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself silly. None of this madness is your fault."

"No!" Jieun pulls away. "All this mess began with my family. That killer was after my mother and then me and Jisung. So many people..." Her hands clutch Haechan's sleeves. "Dad... uncle Jongin... his son... Renjun's dad, my dad... Jungwoo oppa, Mark, Bomin, Jisoo, detective Taeyong... even aunt Eunbi... so so many people hurt..." She gasps for breath but her crying makes it more unstable. "None of this would have happened if Jisung and I had-"

"Don't even think about it." Haechan firmly cuts Jieun off. He wipes her tears though it is not of much help since fresh tears replace them instantly. "You and Jisung, make us believe that love exists. Do you know that?"

 "But-"

"No, listen. You need to realise." Haechan cups Jieun's face in his hands carefully. "Do you know how happy I was to find out you both were my cousins? I could've declared it to the world from a rooftop. I was that excited."

Jieun chuckles at the mental image of that. "That smile. It is our strength, Jieun. You keep us going."

"You have a prettier smile though?" Jieun blinks at him and Haechan rolls his eyes. "Obviously, but that's not why." He flicks her forehead. "I meant, because you always love everyone so unconditionally, absorbing everyone's pain and anger at your own expense that we want to protect that smile of yours."

Haechan holds Jieun's hands tightly. "All of us, even Jisung, cannot bear to see you in tears. We just can't."

"But others have sacrificed so much more-"

"That doesn't make your sacrifice any less significant." 

Jieun shakes her head. "Thank you for saying all that Haechan. Really, I appreciate it a lot. But I also know this is nothing compared to what everyone else has endured." 

Jieun reverses their hands so that now she is the one holding his hands. "You talk about pain, then what about you Haechan?"

"What about me? I haven't-"

"Don't think you can hide it from us hyung." A third voice adds.

Haechan looks past Jieun and sees Jisung approach them. "I see, you've started to eavesdrop now." He fakes a cross look, but Jieung sees through it. 

"Please hyung, stop trying to divert the topic. You think we don't see what you are doing?"

"What am I- Ow!" Haechan rubs the arm where Jisung punched him. He looks at Jisung incredulously. "You brat, did you just hit me?" 

"That, was for hiding the fact we're cousins." Then Jisung tackles Haechan into a hug, burying his head in Haechan's shoulders. "I'm glad it's you. Thank you hyun, for everything."

Haechan's eyes go wide, and he looks at Jieun. She smiles in response. "You are allowed to cry and feel pain when you are hurt Haechan."

Jisung's muffled voice agrees. "Hyung, you have us too now. We've got your back."

Jieun wraps her arms around her two brothers. "He'll come back to us. Taeyong oppa is a fighter." She puts her hand on Haechan's back and gently pats him.

"You, me, Jisung and detective Doyoung..." Out of the corner of her eye, she catches Renjun watching from the corner and nods at him gratefully.

"Together, we won't let each other fall."

Renjun hears her words and inhales deeply, his face a mix of relief, grief and guilt. He motions towards another corridor and starts walking away. 

Just before turning left, he pauses and looks back at Jieun still hugging the boys. His heart feels a tug at the sight of the almost peaceful expression on her face.

"I won't fail you a second time Jieun. I promise too."

I meant to publish this chapter earlier, in honour of Haechan's solo. But it got delayed because I've been super busy. 😭😭

I'm back! I know this seemed like a filler chapter but I really struggled a lot on how to make the reveal of cousins natural to Jieun and Jisung. I did not want another dramatic moment because let's face it, emotions have been running high the last few chapterd.

I thought this was a good breather before the coming chapters. And now that we're almost close to the end, I'll try to update more.

But let me know how you've found the story and the characters so far. Which is your favourite character and why or you could even tell me who you are rooting for the most. It really helps me.

Lastly, tell me if you think Taeyong and Mark are going to survive or not.

Till next time!