Half-Blood | NCT DREAM

Chapter 21

Haerin didn't cry often but she was crying when Penthus returned her to current time, where the other demigods were.

Even though the tears made everything blurry, she could tell that the mist had disappered, the mountains and valleys in sight again.

"Haerin!" Mark exclaimed as she fell on her knees, overwhelmed from the sorrow of her mother's death.

This is what Mark was talking about.

Haerin felt strong arms wrap around her body and hands running through her hair. "I'm so sorry Haerin, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

Haerin could only continued to sob into Mark's chest as the image of her mother's dead body burned through her head.

Through her cries, Haerin could hear Penthus telling the others of their next steps.

"In a cave, two mountains north, contains the Oreah Echo. She is the one that has captured Dasom's group. You will need to take care of her before you can retrieve your friends." Penthus said before pausing. "But be warned, you might not get much from the nymph."

Before they could ask any questions, Penthus disappeared through a shadow, leaving the group on their own once again. Haerin heard Mark tell the others his plan for the night.

"Let's set up camp here."

...

Mark had stayed by Haerin's side until she was calm once again. By then, the others had set up the camp so he guided her into one of the tents.

"Do you want me to leave?" Mark asked the girl.

Do I?

Haerin slowly shook her head and Mark nodded, sitting beside her on the sleeping bag.

Mark had a way with calming her down, slowly rubbing her back in small circles as she leaned on his shoulder, not wanting to show him her face that was puffy from crying. Thankfully, Mark didn't seem to mind.

"I saw her die." Haerin informed the male. "I saw my mother die, protecting me. And it was all my fault."

"It's not your fault." Mark said, patting the girl's upper arm.

"How would you know?" Haerin asked him. Mark shrugged.

"Why do you think that it's your fault?" Mark asked back.

"Because if I wasn't born, Persephone wouldn't have found my mother. And maybe my mother would have been alive and maybe that nymph that pretended to be my grandmother to protect me would be too." Haerin told him.

"So Persephone killed your mother." Mark stated.

Haerin nodded her head. "Then it's not your fault, those gods and goddesses are uncontrollable with their anger. The ones you've met on this quest are the calmest ones I've ever seen in my life."

"I don't know." Haerin muttered, tracing her thigh with her fingers. "I feel like being a demigod is a curse."

"It's not." Mark said, surprising her. She was certain that out of everyone, Mark would be the one person that would agree with her for that.

"It's not?" Haerin asked. Mark shook his head.

"It's not a curse, it's just different. We live our lives dangerously to protect the world from disorder and sometimes, that requires sacrafice. For example, the death of my parents had to happen for me to be here. That might seem very heavy but at the same time, how many battles have we avoided because of the quests I've completed?"