Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

022

I winced slightly as Hongjoong wrapped the crisp white bandage around my burned hand, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he furrowed his brows in concentration, careful yet experienced with every slight movement of his hand.

It was embarrassing how, after both trials, I had been the only contestant to end up in the hospital wing. None of the others had gotten hurt despite the brawl in the synagogue, Seonghwa had explained, watching Hongjoong finish up bandaging by hand as he told me about everything I had missed after fleeing into the streets of Budapest.

The kings of the North and Winter had been quick to offer their help, pushing off the others as I stumbled back from the trial, watching with detached emotion as the other contestants and champions took me in, eyes flickering across the group, searching for people that weren't there. I still hadn't found out who was missing, I realized, tearing my eyes off the King of Winter and back to my hand about to ask when a cold breeze fluttered past us, offering, even if only for a moment, a flicker of comfort and relief to my injured hand.

"How do you do that?" I asked, looking up at Hongjoong before turning my attention back to my now-bandaged hand as the King of the North cocked his head slightly in a silent question, "The winds, I mean, are they magic?"

"Winds?" Seonghwa questioned, furrowing his brows slightly as his eyes locked with Hongjoong's for a moment before both of them turned their attention to me, grey eyes of mixed surprise and wonder. "Well, it's more like breezes," I explained, curious as to why they seemed so astonished by my words, confused as to why I needed to explain it to them, "You know, every time you go into a room or snap your fingers or- or that time Wooyoung sent King Jongho a message when we were out hiking. All of you seem to have this way with the winds when-"

"Can you see them?" Hongjoong asked, cutting me off seemingly without meaning to as he immediately pulled back slightly, eyes searching mine, "Can you hear them?" Seonghwa asked, grey eyes of clouds and steel widening slightly with expectation, no, hope, I realized.

"No," I mumbled, "Sometimes, yes," pulling my bandaged hand back and clutching it to my chest, furrowing my brows slightly as I said, "I can feel them, always, and sometimes they sing to me, sometimes they whisper in my ears or caress my face, ruffle my hair, things like that."

Both kings fell silent for a moment at that, eyes swirling with emotions I found myself unable to decipher as Seonghwa suddenly got off the bed. "Where are you going?" I asked, needing answers, needing an explanation just as much as they had done, but the King of Winter brushed my worry off with a smile as he said, "We have a duty to go pay our respects to the fallen, to the lives that were lost in the trials," he paused for a moment, "I was barely present the last time but it's a responsibility I have to bear so I will go be with the others for a while. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you, Yuna," he smiled, "I'm very happy that you made it."

He bowed his head slightly at me, the golden crown of diamonds intricate details glinting amidst his ashy blond hair. I looked away before he made it to the doors, looking back at Hongjoong as he began to put away the bandages, failing to notice how the blond-haired male slipped past Wooyoung who was standing in the doorway, the King of Autumn stopping mid-step as he studied the two of us in silence, jaw clenching, eyes flickering.

"Will you please tell me?" I asked, reaching out to tuck away a strand of cerulean blue hair that had fallen into the King of the North's face, revealing grey eyes the colour of heavy clouds and threatening rainfall as he sighed, sadness flooding them as he said, "Byun Baekhyun from Sector 1, Moscow, and Kim Jisoo from Sector 6, Cairo" the weight of the two names making my heart ache as I let out a shaky breath, trying to comprehend what it meant.

Memories of the figure staggering back as the fight within the synagogue came to a halt, his blood coating the polished floors, seeping across the perfectly smooth surface as everyone's eyes had turned to me, the scream that had made my blood run cold, suddenly washed over me. Baekhyun had been murdered in cold blood, and I had simply fled. I guessed that either Jisoo's flame had been extinguished or burned out before she found the key.