The Cold Curse | MarkHyuck

Chapter 20:

The next day, Renjun and Chenle were both awakened by the loud opening of the gates. Jeno and Jaemin entered the room as they were about to ask the elves questions for the exact reason why they visited. Basically, Jaemin helps everyone in the palace.

Jaemin sees Renjun looking annoyed in their situation.

Plus, he knows who Renjun is as they've already interacted before.

"Hey, Renjun."
"... What?"
"Don't try and whine about it. I was held captive in here, too. Just cooperate and it won't be much of a big deal."
"... And do you have any proof that you're not a prisoner anymore?"
"... This man beside me is gay. I'm gay. We're both gay and we're much in love with each other, thank you very much."

Jaemin says as he rolls his eyes, ready to interrogate one of them. He picked the nicer elf who was still trying to sleep even if both him and Jeno were already inside of the room, about to ask questions. He gently wakes up Chenle, shifting him too gently that it doesn't have an effect.

Chenle squints his eyes as he gets up from his deep sleep, half-awake.

"Are you awake?"
"Mhmm... What are we going to-"
"I'm going to ask you questions. Cooperate well, okay?"

Jaemin knew that he's going to have fun with the nicer elf. Meanwhile, Jeno and Renjun were having an argument two minutes into the conversation already. Renjun was complaining about the necessary "locking up in the dungeon" when they were trustworthy elves. Jeno was complaining about Renjun's many awful and never-ending complaints.

"Look, Jeno. I need to see the prince! I have to see him or you are all in danger!"
"What danger?!"
"SOMETHING THE PRINCE SHOULD KNOW!"

Renjun yells at Jeno as he rolls his eyes, walking upstairs to Haechan's bedroom.

"Your highness?"
"Yes?"
"Can you please speak to the elf? He's testing my rarely rising temper."
"... Alright."

Haechan answers and sighs before going downstairs with Jeno, entering the dungeon. Mark was in the kitchen with Areum while they experimented with different types of herbs that were good for memory loss. Haechan enters the room in the dungeon, banging the gate in annoyance.

Haechan just wants to rest for once and this elf is already annoying him.

"Alright, what do you want?"
"You are in danger."
"... What danger exactly?"
"Goddamn, why do you ask these questions?-"
"Are you swearing in front of me?!"

Haechan was indeed offended at how Renjun just swore without a care.

"It's just a word-"
"IT'S DISRESPECTFUL."
"... Okay, your highness. You're being ridiculous. Do you-"
"And I'm ridiculous? Really, huh? Can't you be thankful that I'm not that much of a cold-blooded prince?"
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH?!"
"You're not even apologizing!-"
"Shut it, your highness. You're literally in danger and if you don't listen, then you're going to have to face danger unknowingly!"

Haechan sighs at Renjun's attitude. Both of them were really a bit of a "bitch" and when two of them collide, it's not much of a good result.

"Look, there's a new prince, who will become king soon, in the kingdom... The rumors about your father cheating on your mother were all true. If that prince finds you, he will most likely kill you. He's evil. He's even got my golden aura which contained... the most special abilities I have and also... your curse which was inherited from your father..."
"... What? I'm going to have to think about this. I'm sorry."

Haechan was having a headache as he left the dungeon. Clearly, Jeno hasn't heard their conversation because he was enjoying his time with Chenle and Jaemin. Haechan's footsteps were so loud that Areum and Mark heard them.

Clearly, Haechan was absolutely frustrated at how he was going to think his decisions through.

This time, at least he has Mark.

"... Mark?"
"Yes, Mrs. Areum?"
"... I think it's time for you to talk to him..."
"... Oh... Alright."
"Goodluck, my dear."

Areum smiled at Mark as he smiled back before leaving the kitchen, walking upstairs to Haechan's bedroom. There he sees Haechan, sitting on the foot side of his bed while he stared outside of the window. Mark thought that he was probably thinking about what Renjun told him.

Mark leans on the side of Haechan's door frame, observing how Haechan copes with whatever bothered him.

"Haechan."
"..."
"Haechanie."

This nickname he gave Haechan definitely alerted him. He looked at Mark with a surprised look, wondering why would Mark call him like that at times like this. Mark gives Haechan a smile before asking how his day was.

Mark knew that Haechan would most likely blurt out everything and he likes that since Haechan can let out the emotions he doesn't know when he talks to him about situations like this.

"How's your day going?"
"... Can't you see? It's awful. I hate it!"

Haechan answers with an annoyed tone, rolling his eyes at Mark as he turns his back at him. Mark quickly pouted before coming closer to Haechan, lying on his bed beside him. Haechan was clearly shocked again because he knows Mark doesn't know about his feelings for him.

Mark sits up and shifts a bit so that he's sitting beside Haechan.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"... Fine... Everything is a mess! I hate that my days of having fun will come to an end! There's this new prince who apparently wants to kill me and is actually my half-brother, I found out that my father DID CHEAT on my mother, and I found out that both my father and my half-brother HAD THE SAME CURSE AS ME... What did I do to deserve any of this?"
"... Maybe it's your purpose, Haechan."

Then, Haechan thought of what Mark said. Maybe it really was his purpose.

But what should he do?

"What should I do?"
"... Well, I don't know but I think you should rest from all of this. You're stressing yourself out too much and you're still not complete with your medication. Maybe you should just calm down a bit and we'll talk about this sometime but not very soon. Is that alright, Haechan?"

Mark asks with a calm tone, wanting Haechan to calm down.

"Alright."

Haechan sighs, lying down on his bed. He started taking deep breaths to calm himself down as Mark listened to the way he breathes. Mark was literally obsessed with everything that Haechan is. Mark loved everything about Haechan.

This time, it's not just "like" for Mark anymore.

It's also the same towards Haechan but he doesn't trust his way of thinking. Haechan knew that he had to heal from his curse before starting a relationship since he can't really base love from his emotions. It was still true though.

The both of them were already in love with each other but it was mostly up to Haechan's decision because he's been dealing with a lot of emotional problems.

Mark finally stares back at Haechan, wanting to kiss him but he doesn't want to make Haechan feel uncomfortable. Mark thought that Haechan wasn't feeling the same for him but their feelings for each other were so the same they could just date.

"... You know, you've got me thinking about things."
"Really? What things?"
"... We're really destined to be together, aren't we?"