• cards | nct 2018 •

fifteen || repeat

hye ji crouches on the ground, pulling her knees closer to her. she stares blankly at the white tiles. never did she want to come here again.

the other ace members pace nervously in front of the surgery doors located in their headquarters, only waiting for news from blackjack's known 'medics', kun and jisung.

taeil stands right by the door, his arms folded across him. there was a tough look on his face.

operation auction, however, was successful. somehow within the catastrophe, they managed to claim the shard.

hye ji sighs deeply, digging her head deeper into her knees. her arms hug them tightly.

"it's all my fault, i failed to save him..." she murmurs, but renjun, being the closest to her, hears it.

"what do you mean...?" renjun asks, and grabs the attention of all the other members.

"i-i...i tried to save him with a second chance, but i failed this time; i can't turn back time a second time..." she shudders, tears pooling her eyes.

"i'm sorry, i could have saved him. i could have stopped this from happening." she says, closing her eyes as warm tears flow down her cheeks.

the members exchange glances.

she time travelled...to save mark?

renjun stands flustered, but someone behind him strides forward and gently pats her back slowly.

"it's okay, i'm sure mark's fine. you've done what you could." jaemin comforts, and hye ji quickly wipes her tears as the surgery doors open, revealing a tired-looking Kun.

taeil immediately averts his attention back to the door and pushed himself off the wall, asking kun about mark's condition.

"how is he?"

"he's fine. the injuries caused by the wolf's poisonous fangs are minor. fortunately, the poison didn't spread in his body. however, the injuries he sufficed from its claws were quite worrying, but we managed to heal them. he's just sleeping now, but you can visit him." kun assures, and it seemed like everyone's shoulders became lighter.

hye ji also breathes a sigh of relieve.

"there, see? he's perfectly fine. don't blame yourself," jaemin shoots a smile, and she found herself relaxing too. "i think we'll go back and rest now, he's fine anyways. you can visit mark hyung if you'd like." he says a little louder, as if purposely wanting to let the other members know to give mark and hye ji a little alone time.

"yeah, well, he's not dead or anything." donghyuk agrees with a shrug.

the other members simply shrug and agree, and taeil is the last to leave.

"you time travelled? to save him?"

"...yes."

there was a silence before taeil continued.

"i'm sure you know the consequences of time travelling. there's a reason why you can only go back to a certain time frame only once."

"i know of the risks, taeil." she pushes herself off the ground, walking towards the hospital bedroom.

taeil watches and murmurs, "how many other times have you time travelled and not told me?"

____________________

mark

i wake up, my eyes flicking open to see pitch black. i knit my brows in confusion as i notice translucent curtains surrounding me. it took me a while to realise i was lying in bed. my head throbs slightly, and i grimace.

as i try to adjust my eyes to the darkness, i see a silhouette behind the curtain. he, or she, draws the curtains open, and i could make out hye ji's face.

her eyes glistened in the moon light, and her dark orbs widens slightly as it met mine.

"oh. you're awake." she cracks a small smile.

"you were crying?" i managed a croak as her eyes widened in surprise.

she doesn't reply, and i take it as a yes.

"so you were. why?"

for some odd reason, i felt like i knew her for a long time as we converse.

but that would be impossible.

"i just...i'm so sorry, mark. i could have stopped this from happening. i...time travelled once, and this time, i wanted to save you completely."

i blink my eyes in shock. "what happened to me in that past time line that you had to..."

"...that previous time, you...left us. the poison got the better of you." she says softly, and i look away from her.

"i see," i try to absorb, then met her eyes again. "don't worry about it, hye ji. what matters is that i'm fine now. don't forget." i flash an encouraging smile, hoping that she would cheer up.

i wasn't very good at cheering people up.

"thank you, mark."

____________________

A/N: again and again again again, again and again again again, one, two, let's go!!

sorry for the crappy chap! :(
but...any guesses on the 'risks' of time travel? no? then you'll find out soon in the later chapters ^^

HINT: the song mark failed to guess in 'Dangerous Outside The Blanket' !!