Erlebnisse | NCT

Chapter 3: Closed Off (part 1)

"It seems like she could use another one." Chaehee commented before meeting Mark's eyes. "Are you going to wait until I give you the key to leave or are you going to stand by your words?"

"I can wait until morning, don't worry." Mark said, motioning to Chaehee's room. "You should go back to your husband. Sungchan is probably waiting."

"Probably." Chaehee agreed but Mark noticed a moment of hesitation in her movements. "You know, Minsun's not going to forget about you that easily."

Huh? Mark thought, trying his best not to show his true thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"She may not be your real daughter but you brought her up." Chaehee said with a small smile. "And you should tell your sister that Minsun also isn't going to care that her mother had been absent for most of her life. Perhaps that will ease her mind a bit."

"Can you read minds?" Mark asked, curiosity getting the best of him. "How did you know about all of that?"

"I can't but my mother had very good senses. I suppose I inherited a bit of that." Chaehee giggled before her face became serious again. Mark watched as she brought her hand out, Ombra's key appearing in her palm. "Here, take it?"

"You're just going to give me it?" Mark was astonished, not knowing what to do as he stared at the key. "I thought you would take a lot more convincing."

"I've been on the fence about this for a long time." Chaehee admitted, gently extending her arm. "I have to admit, I was worried about this ending in the wrong hands but I think it's clear that your intentions are pure."

"I'm sorry about your mother." Mark said quietly as he took the key from Chaehee. He could immediately feel it's power filling him, needing to take a second to get used to it. How did Chaehee do this?

"It's not your fault." Chaehee said, returning back to her room. "There was nothing you could do about that. Now that you have the key though, I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Mark asked, wondering what Chaehee wanted as her eyes darkened.

"You must defeat Chanyoung at all cost."

...

Minsun stared at the eight keys laid out in the centre of the table, members of each realm around it as well. She knew picking the eight that would go close the door was a difficult task, one that required careful selection.

Some realms had too many options, and trying to narrow down on one person was nearly impossible. Others barely had any, with Jeno sighing deeply as he allowed Jisung to join the group despite the fact that he was no longer living in Erde.

In the end, it was decided that there would be eight people going with the addition of a few others to ensure that the door was properly closed. The rest would continue to make sure that their mission was a success by taking care of the creatures, keeping an eye out for Chanyoung as well.

The eight people were Aera, Jisung, Sora, Shotaro, Hendery, Jihyung, Xiaojun, and Xun. Minsun was surprised that they chose two of the children, but their parents were more than convinced that they were ready. Unfortunately, it seemed like some weren't too happy with their decision.

"Are you serious?" Grace asked, staring at her brother. "This is the door we're talking about here."

"You can still go if you want." Mark said, not really caring about the look Grace was giving him. "I'm not stopping you."

"Grace." Minsun heard Jungwoo say, placing a hand on her arm. There must have been something about Jungwoo's touch as Grace instantly backed down,

"I'll be going with Jungwoo." Grace announced, making Jungwoo's head perk up, surprised. "I need to see that the door is closed myself."