𝑅𝑒𝒹 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈-ᴄʜᴇɴʟᴇ

Sunshine~68

-
Only one that I give my time, 'cause I only got eyes for you
-

Rin wrapped a towel around her thin, petite figure, and turned towards the door- cracking it open.

Her eyes fell towards a small pile of clothes that was folded neatly just outside of the room, and she quickly bend down to grab it, pulling it inside before closing the door yet again.

Rin hastily threw it on, eyes hitching on her reflection in the mirror.

As if she had been caught in a storm, small droplets of water lined her eyelashes, rhythmically falling to stream down her cheeks, yet she hadn't bothered to wipe them away, nor had she taken the time to dry her hair.

Trapped in a soft breeze of chilled air, Rin shivered subtly as she inhaled a quivering breath, but she made no advances to warm herself up, merely ignoring the uncomfortable coolness of the room.

She was drowning inside of a hopelessly oversized, black shirt, accompanied by extremely baggy sweat pants that loosely clung to her body- hair dripping with water as she watched herself.

She almost looked normal.

Rin seemed like any average teenager; not the soulmate of a gang leader, not the victim of a kidnapping, not a person who had lost all contact with the outside world, and definitely not someone who's experienced more death than any ordinary human on earth would ever want to.

But she simply smiled, and blatantly ignored it all- trying to convince herself that nothing was wrong.

Her stomach swirled with anxiety as she noticed how excruciatingly common she appeared to be, and it sent shivers creeping up her spine as she took a quivering step back, eyes trained on the silhouette of herself.

Upon first glance, she looked so okay; so unremarkable that no one would ever be able to distinguish her as a victim of plentiful crimes, and that put her on edge.

Soon, she began debating within herself why it felt so wrong for her to look alright as she rhythmically insisted inwardly that there was no solid reason for her to not be fine, despite the constant pounding of her heart, the chaotic, pessimistic raging of her mind, and the petrifying, harmful memories that flooded her brain.

Perhaps somewhere she knew that something was wrong, but she didn't show it in the slightest- acting as if her life was just as perfect and just as happy as anyone else's, even if she had gone through numerous traumas.

Maybe, just maybe, as she stood there staring at her reflection, she was beginning to realize that she was, in fact, unordinary.

Lips pressing into a thin line, the girl wheeled around, fingers grazing over the doorknob before she creaked open the door, and began to stroll down the hall towards the living room.

It was strange how casual she was.

Rin didn't live there, and she hadn't been brought there willingly; she was NCT Dream's captive, not a visitor, a guest, or a friend, like she had somehow convinced herself.

The human mind really is astonishing. If you religiously feed a brain a lie, no matter its legitimacy, the brain will eventually believe any falsehood, and would cease to ask any question that surrounded the topic, blindly putting all forms of faith into a untruth.

For Rin, the lie that she had forced herself to believe was that she was happy, safe, and unharmed by the dangers that surrounded her situation, falsely thinking that nothing was wrong with the premise of her circumstance.

Nonetheless, she sauntered languidly towards her soulmate- or rather, her captor- without a moment's hesitation, and gave him a bright smile once he had come into her eyesight, ignoring the uneasy feelings that tugged at the back of her mind.

Chenle leaned lazily upon the counter as he waited for the girl, scrolling nonchalantly through various forms of entertainment on his phone as she briskly bounced towards him- catching his eye as she approached.

"Are you ready?" Chenle muttered lowly, dark eyes trailing down to the small girl before him.

Bouncing on her feet as she walked, Rin wore Chenle's clothing due to NCT Dreams lack of female clothing, and a strange feeling bloomed in his chest as he watched her disappear within the folds of his oversized shirt.

Oblivious to the mental war she had waged within her mind, Chenle was unaware of the conflicting feelings that ravaged the girl, but, in reality, Rin was torn between her natural instinct to run from NCT as a whole, or to continue pushing everything she hid inside and remain with her soulmate.

Rin briskly nodded, clasping her hands together as her cheeks began to ache subtly from smiling, and she was dangerously desperate to see her father, but she couldn't quite tell if she despairingly needed to see him because she simply wanted to see her father, or because she wanted to leave the house she was trapped in.

Ignoring the ladder thought, Rin tugged at the hem of her shirt as she shifted on her feet, stomach swirling with a sense of anxiety that she vigorously attempted to suppress.

"Of course!" She cheered, her excited tone sounding slightly forced.

Chenle's eyes suspiciously narrowed at the girl, but he didn't comment upon the subtle, unrealistic happiness that dripped from her tone, halting for a mere moment.

"Great," He mumbled in a monotone pitch, turning towards a hall that took them closer to the wondrous outdoors.

Followed very closely by Rin, Chenle began to saunter towards the door that hid with the dozens of rooms and confusing hallways that turned the large house into a maze, but easily reached the exit- glancing behind him.

Rin's eyes were wide with excitement, yet a strange, almost inhuman blankness created a void within her orbs as her smile remained plastered upon her face, giving her a rather unnatural appearance- causing Chenle to hesitate as his fingers grasped the doorknob.

As her soulmate, Chenle could feel her nervousness, and a uncanny feeling of utter nothingness that consumed her end of their shared emotions, and it sparked a glimmer of concern within him, but, after observing her unmoving figure for a second longer than necessary, he reluctantly opened the door.

Perhaps it was then, when Rin saw freedom right in front of her, that the reality of her conditions became apparent.