Rednegne ✅

Peal 14

[동주]

"What is this?" "I thought they hated each other." "Shh! You'll wake them." I slowly opened my eyes then noticed a familiar dingy white. I watched as he rolled over then held me. "Oh my god." "Keonhee, what should we do? Separate them?" "Obviously! How dare he get all intimate with Ju!" "You sound jealous." "Piss off." I slowly sat up then jumped as I felt something rub against my side. "Dongju! Are you okay?" Keonhee pried Geonhak off of me and Hwanwoong looked me over. "Hey, your scab. It's gone." I felt the spot then gasped. "He really..." I looked at Geonhak who had started to stir.

"Where's Youngjo?" "Sleep." "Anyway, that's not the problem here! Why were you getting so clingy with Ju!" Geonhak seemed confused. He had every right to be. "Last time I checked, I had fallen asleep away from him." They all looked at me. "I must've rolled my way over in my sleep. You know, my powers going awry." They seemed to buy it, but Geonhak didn't. "Just admit you slept next to me." "I..." I quieted down then heard them gasp. "Ju..." I watched Keonhee take off at top speed. "What a way to start a new day."

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We continued to press on after finding Keonhee and waking up Youngjo. I took out my star then covered my mouth. It m now had a noticeable glow. I quickly put it away then watched Geonhak's backside. Was it really him? I replayed my memories of yesterday in hopes I might've been wrong. "Fuck. Of all people..." Couldn't it have been Youngjo? I could tolerate him. I thought more on it then ran into Geonhak's backside. "Why'd we-" There was a huge ravine in between us and the other side.

"So, how can we cross?" "Ju." "If it's not Youngjo, then it must mean he doesn't have an element that balances mine..." "Dongju." My mind continued to reel, unaware of the four people calling out to me. "Dong. Ju." I snapped from my thoughts at the sound of Geonhak's voice. I looked up then stumbled back at his close proximity. "Wow, Geonhak has taken down the mighty Dongju huh?" "Shut up or else I'll break every bone in your body." I became fully aware of the situation then sighed. "Line up."

I purposely left Hwanwoong on the other side to get even for what he had said. "Hey! Don't leave me!" "Bye." I felt someone nudge me then point back. "Fine. Only 'cause you asked nicely Keon." We waited for Hwanwoong to catch up as the nowols pressed forward. I swiftly dodged Hwanwoong's kick and held him by his leg. "Behave next time, 'kay?" I released him and sent him stumbling back. "You're grumpier than usual..." I stopped and held them back. "Show me your stars." I could understand why they looked confused, but I needed to know which was Youngjo's balance.

"Woah. When did it start glowing?" I couldn't believe it, but it was also a relief knowing I wasn't alone in this. "Why isn't mine glowing? What the hell is this even for?" "Guys, calm down. I'll tell you. But let's catch up first." The nowols didn't even bother to check if we were still following them. Or they didn't care, in which they should.

We spoke in hushed tones as we followed behind them. "These stars are related to our balances. It shows our bond with them." I reluctantly revealed mine and watched their eyes go wide. "So, these two are our balances? Isn't there supposed to be a spark?" "I think it's because their powers are dormant, so that's why Mr. Lee gave us these." "Then I don't need mine anymore." "Wait-" I winced as Keonhee tossed his to the ground then set it on fire to melt. "Wait what?" "What the..." Keonhee looked down with us as the small sun was being enveloped by a dark matter.

We heard yelling up ahead as the dark matter continued to grow around us. "We can't just leave this." "I'll go ahead." I ran ahead and hoped everything would turn out okay on both ends. As I got closer, the yelling soon became loud sobs combined with Geonhak's name.

"Youngjo!" He was too focused on Geonhak who was unconscious. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "Dongju, do something!" "Calm down first then tell me what happened." He took a few deep breaths then sighed. "I don't know. It happened so fast. One moment we're just walking and the next I hear a yelp and a grunt. Then I see Geon knocked out and fused with this tree." I looked at the tree then placed my hand on it. I couldn't feel any waves coming from it, which meant a person or creature had done it.

I looked around for anything suspicious, even the slightest hint. "Was there any peculiar sound? Anything you think you saw?" "No." We heard rustling, but I kept Youngjo at ease as I recognized the waves. "So, Hwanwoong might've made things worse." "Huh?" I could feel strong waves coming from the direction of where we saw the dark matter. "Guys, we need to get him out of this. That dark stuff seems dangerous." Despite having said that, I didn't know what to do.

Just as I was about to suggest something dangerous, we heard a yelp. "Youngjo!" "I got you! Don't let go." "As if I would!" "Keonhee!" "I'm on it!" I pointed him towards a specific spot in the trees then watched as he sent a medley of small suns. Whatever it was fell out of the tree and Youngjo had been let go of. "Geonhak!" I looked to my side and managed to catch him before he hit the ground. "You guys saved us..." "O-" "We only helped because we still need you." It had come out harsher than it sounded in my head. "Right..."

I shook Geonhak until he started to stir. "You're-" "Let go of me." He pushed me off then stared down at me. "Is that how you treat someone who saved you?" "I didn't ask to be saved, especially by you. We would prefer if you three left us alone. Permanently." He gave me one last look before pulling Youngjo away from Hwanwoong. "Ju, I think he heard you." "No shit, Hwan..."