POISONED YOUTH: TWISTED

CHAPTER 13

The moment they arrived, there was no time for questions.

Yoonoh had already prepared a room, knowing exactly what would happen if the two soulmates stayed apart any longer. Their bodies had both reached the point where stubbornness no longer mattered. Whatever Haechan had been trying to avoid, his own body had forced him to face it.

"Here, let him in," Yoonoh quickly said, opening the bedroom door wider so Jaemin and Jeno could carry him inside.

Mark's breath caught when he saw the girl already lying on the bed.

Yeoreum was almost lifeless. Her complexion was pale, her lips had lost their color, and her breathing was so faint that Mark had to look closely to make sure her chest was still moving.

She looked exactly like the boy in their arms.

Haechan let out a weak grunt when they finally lowered him onto the soft duvet. The moment his body sank into the mattress, his tense muscles slowly relaxed.

Yoonoh stood at the foot of the bed, staring at the two of them. His eyes trembled as he watched their weakened bodies lying beside each other.

For all his usual composure, seeing them like this was enough to make his chest tighten.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Mark asked quietly.

Yoonoh nodded. "As long as they're breathing, they're fine."

He turned and stepped out of the room. The others followed behind him, leaving the two soulmates alone.

The door slowly closed behind them.

For the first time since they had met, there was no distance between Haechan and Yeoreum.

Only the bond that had been pulling them toward each other from the beginning.

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Hours passed quietly behind the closed door. The room had become still, with only the faint rhythm of two people breathing filling the space.

Haechan's eyelids felt impossibly heavy. He slowly forced them open, but his vision remained blurred. Everything around him was nothing more than shadows and pale colors.

There was someone beside him. He couldn't make out who it was.

His body still ached, but something inside him urged him to reach out.

His hand slowly crawled across the mattress until his fingers found her face. He winced when he felt how cold her skin was. His shaky fingers gently traced her cheek before falling onto her hand.

Their fingers barely touched, yet even that small contact made something inside his chest settle.

For the first time, his body didn't feel like it was fighting him.

He closed his eyes again.

Morning eventually arrived, bringing warm sunlight through the curtains.

Yeoreum let out a low groan when the rays hit her face. Her throat felt painfully dry, and her lips were chapped. Even moving her face felt exhausting, and she could only manage a quiet whimper.