Alone | NCT

Chapter 28

"How was your winter break?" Rena asked the group as she sat down at their regular table in the dinning hall. Her friends were quiet, all silently eating their food. Some looked up before turning back to their food, others simply ignored her. Jiwoo gave her a small smile but it quickly faded. She let out a large sigh before mumbling to herself. "Or not."

Renjun, Haechan, and Jeno have all been quiet since they came back, and Rena assumed it was from their solo missions. Jaemin told her that he was trying to focus on his grades this semester, which she didn't blame him for, ever since his mother had scolded him at the Vampire Castle. Jiwoo was on the quieter side as well, but Rena assumed she was probably tired since the girl had returned to the academy late last night.

Rena looked down at her tray of food, deciding to just stay quiet as well. For the first time since the group arrived at the academy, they ate their lunch in absolute silence.

...

Jaehyun laced his hands together, looking at the file that held all the information from Renjun's solo mission. Today, the three juniors would be debriefing and discussing their solo missons from the winter break. Since Jaehyun was overseeing Renjun's mission, he was also in charge of debriefing him.

The sound of someone knocking on the door made interrupted Jaehyun's thoughts. He stood up from his desk, opening the door for Renjun.

"Geez, when was the last time you slept?" Jaehyun asked as he saw the small boy in front of him. Renjun was already thin to begin with, but as he stood there in front of Jaehyun, he looked pale and sick, the dark circles under his eyes contributing a significant amount to the look.

"Good question." Renjun said, taking the chair on the other side of Jaehyun's desk. Jaehyun closed the door before taking a seat himself.

"How was the mission?" Jaehyun asked him.

"Good." Renjun responded, leaning back in his seat. Jaehyun raised an eyebrow.

"Was it like how I told you it was going to be?" Jaehyun asked. Renjun seemed to pause for a moment before answer.

"No, not at all."

"Interesting." Jaehyun muttered to himself, making note of what Renjun was saying. "What about it was different?"

"Everything."

"Like?" Jaehyun asked, leaning forward.

"Every. Thing." Jaehyun put his pen down. It was clear that Renjun was not in a good mood and Jaehyun wasn't sure if it was because of his lack of sleep or because something had happened during the mission. Either way, Jaehyun was starting to get fed up with Renjun's short responses.

"Renjun, I'm here to help you, not sabatoge you. We stand on the same side of the battle, but I can't help you if you don't give me more details." Jaehyun told him. Renjun inhaled deeply before letting it all go. Jaehyun leaned back in his seat, hoping that this time, Renjun will say more than just two words.

"Jaehyun, there wasn't a single riddle. Instead, it was all illusions, mind games. The Devil played with my head, making me live through some of my worst nightmares that continue to haunt me in my sleep." Renjun said, all in one breath.

Jaehyun looked down at his paper, tightly gripping the pen in his hand. It seems like the Devil is playing her games again.

"What exactly did you see?" Jaehyun asked the boy. Renjun looked towards the door before looking back at Jaehyun.

"Um..." Renjun's voice trailed off.

"Don't worry. I'll keep the details to myself. I just want to get an idea of what it was exactly that you saw." Jaehyun told him.