SANCTUARY

chapter 9

"Ahyoung? What're you doing here?", Jeno asked. I visited the gym where Jeno worked at, hoping to relieve my stress there. "This is so sudden?"

"Remember when you told me back then that whenever I feel really angry or stressed, I can visit the gym?", I reminded him. "Well, today's that day. Haechan and I got into a fight."

"A fight? Like a serious one?", Jeno questioned as he wiped his sweat with his towel that was on his shoulder. Before speaking up again, he got a water bottle and chugged it down, emptying the bottle in one go. "How bad is it?"

"Really bad that Renjun had to separate us. To the point that Haechan divided our room into two using duck tape", I gave a brief explanation.

"Okay, I'll ready a punching bag for you", Jeno said without asking any more questions, respecting my privacy. "You have thirty minutes because I'm letting you do this for free. Hopefully my boss doesn't catch me."

"I'll pay for the fee, don't worry", I assured him. I brought out my wallet and handed him my credit card. "Here, I don't want you to get in trouble."

"If you insist", Jeno said, receiving the card and showed me the punching bag I could use. "I'll quickly take your card to the cashier to pay for your fees."

"Alright, I trust you with it", I told him.

I focused my attention to the punching bag that was in front of me. I took a deep breath and gave it a punch. I would usually use the punching bag in Jeno's room, but I didn't want to be in the same area as Haechan, not wanting the fight to grow even bigger.

Ever since I left Dan, Jeno invested his time in teaching me self defense. He would help me out big time. I recently stopped because he became busier than ever. Now, I'm able to repay him somehow.

"Wanna get some drinks after that?", Jeno suggested, handing me my card back. I received it and placed it back in my wallet.

"Sure, my treat", I agreed.

"Thanks, Ahyoung!"

⌨

"It's been two weeks, Ahyoung", Renjun stated. "Are you really going to hide in my room whenever he's inside your room?"

Two weeks filled with dead silence, stares and awkward confrontations. We followed the new rule, not trespassing the border. It was that intense that I couldn't sleep properly, especially with a heart full of worries and aches.

"Yes, I am", I answered, peeking over Renjun's shoulder to see the painting he's been working on. It was a sky painting, the clouds were shaped into two people. "Who's this painting for?"

"A friend of mine", Renjun answered. "Liu Yangyang."

"Oh, he has a girlfriend?", I questioned.

"No, this is for his sister", he replied. "He's still single, just like me."