Half-Blood | NCT DREAM

Chapter 14

Haerin was doing a pretty good job avoiding Mark all day. Until dinner.

"Where have you been?" Mark asked as she sat down in her place beside him.

Chenle and Jisung typically skipped breakfast and lunch on the weekends, making instant ramen in the forge instead. It was all going great until she realized that the boys would actually be joining the others for dinner.

"Just helping at the forge." Haerin lied. Mark saw right through it.

It didn't help that Haechan was sitting there, talking to Chenle and Jisung as if nothing happened the previous night. Haerin was sure that the son of Apollo was listening to her whole entire conversation with Mark though.

"We're talking after this, I don't care." Mark demanded into her ear, making Haerin nervously gulp her food down.

He doesn't seem very happy.

...

"What did Haechan say to you?" Mark asked, hands on his hips.

For the first time, they were inside Haerin's cabin instead of Mark's, in her dark room. Haerin had turned her lamp on but it didn't help, only casting Mark's shadow on the walls.

"Nothing." Haerin said, biting her lip.

"You're lying." Mark replied, narrowing his eyes. "I can tell from your face and Haechan's been acting weird all day, so I know he did something."

"Haechan didn't do anything." Haerin said but she instantly regretted it as he stepped closer.

They played the game where every time Mark stepped forward, Haerin would take a step back until her knees hit her bed and she knew she couldn't get any farther away.

"Did he tell you to stay away from me?" Mark asked. "Is that why you've been avoiding me all day?"

"Something along those lines." Haerin muttered.

She was surprised when Mark let out a deep sigh, shaking his head. "Just ignore him, he's like that."

"Huh?" Haerin said as Mark moved beside her, sitting on her bed. He pulled her arm, forcing her down beside him.

"He's worried about me, he always is. Scared that I'll get close to someone and then they'll leave me." Mark told her.

"What do you mean by that?" Haerin asked, still confused. Mark took a deep breath before explaining.

"Being a demigod is great an all, but it gets hard sometimes. You lose a lot of people you care about, remember your grandmother?" Haerin nodded. "Well sometimes, demigods don't come back from quests."

Mark eyes were filled with sadness as he looked down into his lap. "And some of those quests were led by me."

Haerin reached out, placing her hand on Mark's arm. "It's not your fault, Mark."

"I know, I know, but I still feel bad. Like why did I get to live and why did they have to die?" Mark asked to no one in particular.

From the emotion pouring out of Mark's heart, Haerin could tell that he was talking about people more dear to him than the other demigods.

His parents.

That's when Mark's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he remembered something. "Why did you only live with the nymph, anyways?"

"My parents died when I was young." Haerin said before realizing who one if her parent's was. "At least that's what the nymph told me."

"Do you ever wonder where your mother might be?" Mark asked.