The Cold Curse | MarkHyuck

Chapter 8:

Suddenly, Haechan and Mark were walking around the ballroom. Haechan remembered those times he was dancing with different princesses when he was about fourteen to fifteen years old. Of course he remembered those since he did nothing much but dance with them on those occasions.

Mark, of course, remembered this room since he used to play hide and seek with Haechan.

"This is the ballroom, right?"
"Well, it was once the ballroom... Now, it's just a spare room for visitors... as if I had any."
"... Don't you have one now?"

Mark gives Haechan a cheeky smile, receiving a wide-eyed Haechan as a response. Haechan couldn't really get over these messy emotions he had that Mark's friendliness caused. He was being too nice, too happy, and too... lovely?

Haechan knew he had to just ignore them and not tell Mark about anything about it.

"... I suppose you are a visitor..."
"Maybe you don't remember this but when we were kids, you and I most likely played hide and seek in here..."
"... We do? How come I don't- Oh... Of course I won't remember..."

Mark thought that Haechan turned even more gloomy and he just wanted to cheer him up. Mark actually doesn't know what makes Haechan feel better because Haechan doesn't even know what makes himself feel better. It was up to Mark's "gut-feel" to make Haechan feel better about himself.

"Do you remember something here at least?"
"... I do... but only ballroom dances with several princesses..."
"... Well, at least you remember something! That means you still have hope in getting rid of this curse!"
"... Well... I guess so-"
"Do you like music?"
"Kind of? Why do you ask?"
"Does Jeno or his mother know how to play the piano over there?"
"... They both know how-"
"That's great! Because I think we can have a... a ballroom night!"
"That's kind of weird... We don't even have princesses to dance with-"
"You can dance with me!"

When Mark said this certain sentence, Haechan felt his heart drop. He really felt like there was something wrong with him. He felt like he was being interested in getting to know Mark but... in a completely different way!

It has only been ONE DAY and he's feeling like this!

"... I-I can WHAT?"
"I said that you can dance with me! It's not like it's gonna be any different from dancing with the princesses, right?"
"... Yes, of course! Sure..."

Haechan was definitely unsure about it.

~

"So, do I get out now?-"
"No."

Jeno was currently guarding Jaemin in the dungeon and he was almost giving up on Jaemin. He realized how talkative and how much of a complainer Jaemin was and he most likely regrets guarding him for almost two hours. The only thing that he liked about Jaemin was that he most likely talks about interesting things like how he loves herbs or how his life was before his family left him because he wanted to fulfill his dreams.

Jeno thought Jaemin was annoying although he also thought Jaemin was interesting.

"When do I get out?"
"Again, Jaemin. I don't know. I really don't know when. Please stop asking me about this-"
"HA! I was just joking, you know."
"... How is that funny?"
"It may be funny to me but not to you."

Jaemin says before laughing at Jeno's current state. Jeno really tried keeping all of his annoyance in but it already is near the limit. Jaemin just couldn't stop but annoy Jeno in every way possible.

That's how Jeno thought about all of the things he can do to get back at Jaemin.

He really hit Jaemin's shoulder with his palm "lightly".

"OW! That hurts!"
"That's what you get for being so annoying. You're so annoying!"
"Yeah, I am and I love being annoying! This is what you get for locking me up in this dungeon!"
"Well, can't you be glad that you're not dead?!"
"Believe me, I would be in a much happier place when I die!"
"You think heaven lets people like you go in?!"
"Well, bold of you to assume they'll let you go in as well!"
"YOU DAMN-"

Jeno was about to hit Jaemin once again but his mother stopped him.

"Jeno! Stop!"
"... I apologize, mother-"
"Will you two stop fighting? If Prince Haechan knew about this then you might see what heaven looks like, Jeno."

Jaemin really tried hard to not even smile at Jeno's current state.

"I'm pretty sure Jeno knows what heaven looks like."
"What? How?"

Jaemin smiles at Jeno before continuing to speak.

"He already looks like heaven. What do you expect?"

Jeno paused at what Jaemin said, being unable to think while his mother thought about it as a nice compliment for her son. Jeno thought that it meant something else as he completely shrugged it off, trying to not think about it. Jaemin smiled to himself, it definitely meant something else.

~

Not far away from the abandoned kingdom was Renjun's place which is just hiding behind the big, tall, and dark trees. Renjun most likely watches everything that's happening around him. New people coming in? He knows that. The prince wandering out of his palace which unknowingly happens? He knows that. The existence of Mark and Jaemin? HE KNOWS THAT.

But what does he not know? The cure. He does not know the cure for Haechan's curse. Renjun was already around a thousand years ago before Haechan even existed. He, of course, wanted to help Haechan but this curse has been around way before he even lived in this world.

Renjun really wanted to know how to cure this curse that it drove him crazy when Haechan's parents left their own son to "self-medicate". Renjun knew that Haechan or any other person CANNOT self-medicate a damn curse. Renjun knew that there was something about that man beside the queen.

Of course that was the king

As Renjun was only watching the safety of the abandoned kingdom, he never noticed that an unknown man broke in his place already.

"Pardon?"
"Where is Prince Haechan?!"

A tall man asked, definitely someone who is probably a tyrant.

"I apologize but I can never tell you where-"

Renjun collapsed on the floor while gasping for air as the tall man was draining all of his "golden aura" which contained half of his powers and the importance of... his life.

"If you don't tell me where that fool is, I will make sure you'll have no purpose in this world."
"Sir... Sir... Please-"

Renjun begs as he blacks out, weak from how his aura and how his life was literally sucked out of him.