Elemental Heirs

Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11: Jinyoung's POV

The moment I open saw Mark hyung slipping away from our group while we were walking down the street, I already knew something was wrong. But we all know that Mark never really tells us what's bothering him unless we force it out of him so I didn't bother asking him too. I let him trail behind us for a while and figured out he'll tell us what was wrong if he wants to. To my surprise, the next time I looked at him, he was already slumped on a bench, hands on his chest and he seemed to be having hard time breathing.

I approached him immediately. I was too worried I forgot about our other friends so I lost them among the crowd. The moment I got near Mark, I saw that he was sweating profusely. I asked him what was wrong and he said he's fine.

Tsk. What a liar.

He was obviously not fine! Then I noticed his hands were trembling, chest heaving trying to breath in as much oxygen as he can but he just couldn't.

He was having a panic attack. I was certain of it. I can tell because there's this kid from my foster home before that would have panic attacks every time he gets trapped somewhere dark. I wonder what has caused Mark's though.

Despite of his constant protests, I managed to get him to agree that I'd come home with him. Yes I'm still embarrassed about the kiss we had but I'm sure as hell Mark needs someone to help him right now. Also, I was worried of what would happen to him if I let him go alone. He might faint and hit his head hard somewhere, or what if hunters would suddenly attack him? He wouldn't be able to defend himself well in his current state! Oh my god, I need to stop thinking about it! Just the mere thought scares me.

Moments after we finally got home, after he has taken his medicine, I told him to take a nap. He looked really tired and wrecked and not to mention he was still quite trembling. I lay beside him, stroking his hair to help him relax, and not even ten minutes after his back hit the mattress he was already sleeping.

I don't know how long I stayed there just staring at his sleeping figure. He still looks damn gorgeous even when his eyes are closed. His hair was so soft I can't stop myself stroking it. He's flawless, in every single way, in every single aspect. I just hope he would learn to open up his worries and problems to us. Keeping everything to himself is his specialty but I need to find a way for him to openly talk about it coz I know it's stressing and bothering him a lot.

I slowly shifted away from him when I was sure he was in deep sleep. Only then did I manage to look around his room. It was tidier than what I expected. A few clothes scattered on his desk and chair but aside from that everything else was neat.

I stood up and took the now empty glass of water I brought earlier and that's when I noticed his parents' portrait beside it. It was the same portrait he was hugging the night I saw him crying on the veranda. I stared at it. No wonder he looks freaking good! His mom and dad were also beautiful. There was another picture on the table. This time it was all four of them – him, his parents and Yugyeom. Yugyeom was still a baby in the pic and the rest of them look so happy. Even Mark was smiling brightly.

Part of me was jealous with the fact that Mark was able to spend time with his real family, jealous that his parents wasn't scared of him and love him enough to keep and protect him despite all the risks. But seeing how sad and hard it is for him to remember their death and knowing that it was his fault, though not directly, could I still consider him lucky?

-

The groaning started about two hours after Mark has fallen asleep. I was sitting beside him reading a book when suddenly he whimpered. At first I thought he was just dreaming and it would eventually stop but then he started groaning like he was in pain again. I put my book down and leaned closer to him and I was surprised to see him crying.