The Cold Curse | MarkHyuck

Chapter 39:

Jaemin wakes Renjun up from his sleep as he is currently panicking. The reason for that was because Haechan went outside all by himself again as he silently regrets not paying attention to Haechan for a bit. Jeno was worried alongside Areum.

Basically, everyone was worried for Haechan and Mark's safety.

"... What- What is it, Jaemin?!"
"Haechan IS NOT HERE and he must've gone somewhere ALONE!"

Jaemin alarms Renjun loudly, causing Renjun to cover his ears from the loudness of Jaemin's voice. Renjun knew that Haechan was "going to handle" Mark's situation but he didn't know that he went alone again. Renjun sighs, feeling dumbfounded because it was supposed to be a natural instinct that when Haechan gets worried and angry, he has to go with him and watch Haechan's every move.

Renjun sits up from his bed, squinting at Jaemin as his vision is already blurry.

"..."
"... I know that he's outside, Jaemin... Can you hand me the bag over there?"

Renjun points to the bag, his hand being noticeably shaking. Jaemin wondered why Renjun's hand was shaking but he immediately handed Renjun the bag. Renjun placed the mirror shards on his bed instead, having not enough energy to even get up from his bed.

Renjun looks carefully at the mirror shards as he sees Haechan helping Mark walk with him.

"Goddamn- What did that bastard monster do to Mark?"

Renjun curses as he notices that Haechan was already just a few steps away from them.

"He's near here. Open the door for him."

Renjun says as Jaemin nods, walking out of Renjun's room as he opens the door for Haechan and Mark. Haechan enters the room with Mark, carefully placing him on the couch as Jaemin rushes to Mark. Jaemin's first ever best friend was Mark and he was terrified with how Mark looked.

Mark had bruises and wounds all over him as it almost made Jaemin cry.

"Mark, do you feel alright? Do you feel alright, buddy?"
"... I-I'm feeling alright, Jaemin. You don't have to worry."

Despite the pain, Mark never failed to give Jaemin a sincere smile. Haechan wipes his tears away, hiding his sadness from everyone as usual. He crouches down to talk to Mark, trying hard to keep all of his tears in.

"M-Mark..."
"It's alright, Haechan. You don't have to worry... You saved me now-"
"I'm so sorry, Mark... I'm so sorry for being too late. I even let you get hurt like this- I'm so sorry."

Haechan bursts into tears, burying his head into Mark's chest as Mark rubs his back. Mark was in so much pain but he didn't hesitate to comfort Haechan because that's how selfless he is. Mark loves Haechan the most and to him, seeing Haechan being disappointed with himself hurts him even more than those bruises Jisung gave him.

Renjun surprisingly walks out of his room by himself, his heart beating faster.

Chenle places a cup of water on the table for Mark to drink as he notices Renjun staring into the distance. Chenle tilted his head and frowned, wondering why would Renjun just stand there and stare into the distance with no reason. Then, it hits him.

'... Is he feeling something painful?', Chenle thought as he observed Renjun's actions first.

Renjun couldn't see anything clearly, his heart palpitating as he felt that his body was turning lightweight. Renjun puts his right hand on the left side of his chest, rubbing it gently since he knew he was feeling something painful. Renjun suddenly felt dizzy, losing his balance and collapsing unto the ground.

Chenle was the first to rush to Renjun as he was the only one who noticed Renjun coming out of his room.

Chenle knew that something wrong was definitely going on the moment he knew that Renjun lost his energy to do basic everyday activities. He knew that it was because Renjun lost half of his golden aura. To elves, their golden auras are very important to protect as they need it to basically survive.

Since Renjun isn't completely resting, the rest of the aura that was left for him was slowly decreasing everyday.

"Renjun? Renjun?! Can you hear me?!"

Chenle asked but Renjun was already unconscious, causing Chenle to check his pulse. Luckily, Renjun's pulse was still there as they brought Renjun to his room.

Haechan even wondered why Renjun suddenly collapsed without showing any symptoms.

It turns out that Renjun was hiding the symptoms from them as Chenle was the only one who figured out what was happening to him. Jeno was worried as he knew that Renjun truly and willingly helped them in solving the situation completely. Areum was extremely worried because she knew Renjun put their lives FIRST before his.

Since Jaemin treated Chenle as a friend rather than a colleague, he asked him what was happening to Renjun.

"... Do you know what was happening to him?"
"... I think I do... but I don't want to think of it."
"... Alright..."

Jaemin responds, rubbing Chenle's back as an act of comfort.

After a while, Renjun wakes up to see the six of them grouped in his room. Mark, who's clearly injured, was even in there as he was sitting on a chair to not feel pain from standing. Renjun frowned at them, even if he cannot see them clearly.

Of course, Renjun's sarcastic attitude had to get into the way of him being actually emotional and serious.

"... What are you dumb rocks doing in here?... No, I'm not talking about Mrs. Areum. Just the five of you all are dumb rocks-"
"What's happening, Renjun?"

Haechan asks, feeling guilty once again since he didn't know Renjun was somehow feeling internal pain. Renjun sits up from his bed, giving the six of them a sad smile. Chenle tried to keep his emotions in, assuming that Renjun was about to say his condition.

"... It's none of your business, Haechan. My health is none of your business. You don't have to worry about me because I'll end up fine-"
"You collapsed out of nowhere, Renjun. Just tell us what's going on! Aren't we your friends, too? Because I treated you like mine."

Haechan had enough of Renjun's attitude towards them, treating them as people he only needed to protect. Renjun felt guilty because he didn't even have friends throughout his life on Earth. Therefore, he doesn't even realize that Haechan treats him as one of his priorities.

Elves were only treated as guardians... but never as friends. That's why it was easy for Jisung to hurt him without respect because they were like animals to him. That's what he felt most of the time. He felt like he was only a pet that needed to do their job.

Chenle was still young so he didn't feel that type of humiliation yet.

"... I... I'm near it..."
"... Near what?-"
"I'm close to dying, Haechan. I'm so close to dying and I can die at any second. I'm afraid of not doing my last mission well. This was the last mission given to me so please... I just want to do my best at it... I don't even know when I'm going to die but I can feel the pain everywhere around my body... I just want to die knowing that I've done great, Haechan. This is why I didn't want to feel emotionally attached to all of you... because it hurts! It hurts to leave the only people who cared for you. It really hurts."

Renjun cries, clutching his chest because of how it hurts him. At that moment, Chenle saw how emotional Renjun was for the first time. It got to the point where Chenle had to exit the room because he didn't want to see his only elf friend in pain. Jaemin notices this as he goes after Chenle, ready to comfort him anytime.

Chenle cries outside of the house as Jaemin follows him.

"... Chenle. It's alright. You can tell me-"
"I don't want him to die yet, Jaemin! What would my purpose be without him?! I can't live without him, Jaemin... He's my hero. He saved me from dying in the hands of Jisung... Without him, what am I?"

Chenle cries, not wanting Renjun to leave him ever.