❛ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ❜ | jsc

20

aera stood with one hand on the doorknob, her feet pointing in sungchan's direction but her mind still wavering. was it a good idea to talk to him? her talk with taeyong seemed to open her eyes and she wanted to at least speak to sungchan one last time if he was going to marry someone else.

she opened the door and stepped into the rather chilly night, her feet making crunching noises on the soft piles of leaves that indicated the arrival of autumn.

she found sungchan sitting under a tree, his head leaned back and his eyes set on the stars above. without meaning to, she found herself letting a small smile escape as she admired how truly handsome he was.

she sat down next to him without saying a word, her eyes also going up to gaze at the stars. they sat there for a while, side-by-side and in their own thoughts. sungchan had stopped watching the stars and instead had his head resting on one arm as he gazed at aera, taking in her beauty all he could.

"do you really have to marry her?" she asked softly, already blinking back tears.

sungchan felt her emotional pain. "i don't want to aera. i want to be with you."

"then why can't you?" she asked, almost pleading with him.

he reached out and grabbed her hands in his, intertwining them together. "i'm really trying aera, i'll figure something out."

aera took her hands away from him when she heard this. "have you really? i haven't seen you trying at all sungchan. if you did, we wouldn't have different soulmates."

sungchan shoved his sleeve up. "this? this means nothing to me. i don't care about this stupid soulmate thing anymore because it's not you. you're the one that i love and i believe that the marks will return back to the way they were. they have to, i can't lose you to someone else."

aera traced the dove on his arm. "i miss seeing this on my arm." she sighed. "i have a fox now."

sungchan didn't speak. he had seen a fox on a different boy and he was not happy. it seemed like even god was against him and aera and he hated it.

"when we leave tomorrow for the castle, ride with me." he requested.

aera blinked. "but renjun..."

sungchan's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the other boy. "please aera. do it for us, i'm trying to fix this. don't you love me still?"

aera didn't know what to answer. who did she love?. "i'll ride with you. it's getting late, i'll go to sleep."

as aera stepped back into the inn, sungchan knew that she was avoiding the question. he sighed, it was okay, he would make her fall in love with him all over again. but he didn't know that to everyone around him, it seemed like sungchan was greedy and wanted both girls.

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"where have you been?" renjun immediately asked when aera stepped into her room.

he had been in her room for an hour, wanting to talk to her and to hug her to sleep. he had been worried to death when she was with the bandits and wanted to keep her as close as possible for the night.

"oh..." aera wondered how mad he would get if she told him the truth.

"don't lie aera, i saw you through the window with him." renjun sighed. "why do you have to do things that will just get you hurt?"

aera sat next to renjun on the bed as he plucked a leaf out of her hair. "we're soulmates renjun, how do you feel about that?"

renjun didn't really expect her to ask so bluntly, "aera i've loved you long before the mark arrived. from the moment you entered my life i already fell for you."

"renjun-"

"don't speak yet. we're soulmates now and that means we're meant to be together. there's no other explanation. you deserve someone that loves you like i do." one hand of his rested on her cheek.

aera felt so confused with her own emotions. "renjun please give me time. that's all i ask."

renjun's hand fell. "what did he say to you out there?" he was almost yelling. "he's lying! he has to marry that princess or we're going to go to war aera don't you understand? he's being selfish by stringing you along. will you be happy being his side thing right up until the wedding?"

his words stung. "renjun stop."

"everyday since he broke your heart the first time, i've woken up early to go to you and make sure that you were sleeping and not crying. i held you in my arms and stroked your heart every time you cried. fuck, i did everything for you and yet you're still thinking about him? what has he ever done for you except hurt you over and over again?" renjun was hysterically, tears spilling out of his eyes.

aera immediately stood up when she saw his tears. "come here." she said softly and opened her arms. "i don't want to see you cry."

renjun stepped into her arms and hugged the girl tight, lifting her up and sitting on the bed so that she was in his lap as they continued to hug.

"i'm sorry." renjun said in a muffled voice since his face was buried into her neck.

"it's okay, i'm being unfair to you. i appreciate you more than you know renjun." she told him her hand running through his soft hair. "but love is a scary thing. i need to know for sure, let me ride with him tomorrow back home."

renjun sighed. "fine aera, anything for you."

aera smiled and moved out of the hug, lifting up her sleeves to wipe his tears away. "sleep?"

renjun nodded and they both laid down on the bed, renjun reaching down to cover both of them with the blanket. "don't let the bed bugs bite." he whispered as he felt aera snuggled against his chest.

he kissed her forehead before drifting off to sleep himself, ignoring the feeling in his chest that he shouldn't have let her ride with sungchan tomorrow.