Alone | NCT

Chapter 26

Renjun brushed his fingers along the wooden desk. He was in his room, the one he grew up in as a child. As he walked by his mirror, he saw his reflection.

Renjun was just barely five feet and three inches tall. He was short for his age, but his parent told him that he would grow quickly over the next few year. The calendar above his desk showed that it was almost his fifteenth birthday.

He made his way downstairs where his parents were sitting at the dinning table. Judging by the look on their faces, they seemed very disappointed.

"Renjun, if you fail another test, you're going to fail the grade." His mother said, passing him the stapled papers. Renjun took a look at the score. It was a flat zero.

What? Renjun thought as he quickly flipped through the pages, reading his answers. Half of them were obviously wrong and they other half were filled with doodles. He put the paper down.

"There must have been a mistake!" Renjun cried but his parents shook their heads.

"No Renjun, you've been failing all your tests every since we moved to the coven. Not to mention you haven't been keeping up with your spellwork either." His father told him.

"Spellwork?" The words barely croaked out of Renjun's mouth.

"Minjee's mother has been trying so hard to teach you but you can't get to get any spell right." His mother said, resting her head in her hands.

"Renjun, you should learn from Minjee." His father said, looking into his eyes.

"Minjee? Minjee doesn't do anything but fool around all day!" Renjun exclaimed but his father stood up, balling his fists.

"Huang Renjun, don't you dare say that. Kang Minjee is one of the best witches this coven has ever seen. She studies hard and practices her spells when she's not. I don't want to hear another word from you. Go straight to your room young man!" His father said, scolding him.

Renjun felt the tears falling down his face as he stomped his feet all the way up to his room. When he got there, he cried in his bed, shoving his face into his pillow. He curled up into a ball, crying himself to sleep.

...

"So Jinsol, your sister, wants me to be her mate?" Chanwoo asked. Jeno nodded, confirming his words.

The two were now sitting on a park bench, enjoying fresh hotdogs from the hotdog stand at the corner of the street. Changwoo had almost changed to his wolf form to attach Jeno but once Jeno had explained that he meant no harm and was Jinsol's younger brother and current member of the agency, he had backed off to listen to the boy's words.

"My father wants her to find one soon, and she doesn't like any of the wolves from the pack." Chanwoo scoffed at his statement.

"Typical Jinsol." Chanwoo said, rolling his eyes. Jeno stared at him.

"What do you know about my sister?" Jeno asked him. Chanwoo let out a small chuckle.

"Jinsol is an interesting one. She never wanted to stay within the lines." Chanwoo said.

"What do you mean by that?" Jeno asked. He had to admit, he barely knew who his sister was ever since she enrolled at the academy. Sure, they lived together but they rarely interacted since his father was adament on training her. He also spent most of his time at the academy.

"She's a rule breaker, always a troublemaker. It seemed that nothing and no one would ever be good enough for her." Chanwoo told him.

"Well she wants you." Jeno muttered but Chanwoo shook his head.