Glitch [nct]

twenty-three

Jaehyun slowly woke up to the steady sound of the machines around him. He winced as he tried to move his body. He blinked his eyes in order to adjust to the lights inside his room.

"Hello?..." He groggily asked, wondering if someone was with him inside the room.

A sniffing sound was heard and he turned his head to see who it is. Mark was sitting there at the corner of the room, his hands covering his face.

"...Mark..." Mark, startled by Jaehyun's voice, wiped his face with his sleeves and stood up. He walked towards Jaehyun and smiled at him.

"Hey, finally you're awake."

"What happened? Where are the others?" Jaehyun asked, trying to sit up on his bed. Mark noticed his struggle and helped him out.

"The DREAM unit is one of the safe houses, Johnny is taking care of them. Kun, Ten and Lucas are on their way back from China. Winwin is fine, just a few scratches here and there but Doyoung and Jungwoo are severely injured." Mark explained, not looking at Jaehyun's eyes as he kept his head down.

Jaehyun scrunched his eyebrows, "What about Harin?"

Mark gulped, trying to think of the words that he can say without sending Jaehyun into shock.

"...Ummm... you see. She- she didn't make it. A-after Taeyong saved you, he said he went back to Harin but... but, the building exploded before he can get in and, um, save her." Mark had his head down. He heard Jaehyun breathe shakily and looked at him. Jaehyun was staring at the ceiling while a tear fell from his left eye.

[ a w e e k l a t e r]

"... the remains of a woman left on the building that suddenly exploded last week still remains unidentified. If anyone knows someone aged 20-29 years old, female, with a height between 167-170 cm please contact the police immediately for-" Jungwoo turned the TV off as soon as they started describing the girl. He sighed, ever since she died the atmosphere between all of them became cold. Some members hardly talk while some have their own ways of coping. Lucas, he thought, seemed to be enjoying more attention from random girls as he always go on a mission alone even if its overseas, especially China.

Jungwoo flinched when he heard a loud bang from upstairs. He ran to the direction and saw Johnny and Doyoung holding Jaehyun back while Mark and Taeil was holding Taeyong. By now, every member inside the house was looking at what was happening.

"You could've saved us both! Why-" Jaehyun shouted but Taeyong interrupted.

"You think I didn't try?! I tried! I fūcking tried! But I can't drag both of you out-"

"You can! She shouldn't be dea-"

"Don't blame me! Even if I saved her, it wouldn't matter because she already had a bullet on her head! That wouldn't have happened if you listened to my orders and waited for us to come!" Jungwoo wore the same expression as Jaehyun and other members. They didn't know she was already dead. Jungwoo saw Jisung and Chenle silently crying at the corner of the room while he backed out of the room and went to his own. He silently cried and soon fell to a deep slumber.

[ 1 y e a r l a t e r]

Unknown number: after seeing that you've been moping for too long here's a small treat for you
Unit 712 Mandarin Oriental Shanghai, China

Doyoung immediately bought Jaehyun a ticket after he barged inside the cyber room. Jaehyun was anxious, several thoughts were popping inside his head. What if this is a clue to his current mission? What if Key was in there and offers him another job? What if this was a trap? But at some point he didn't care.

The thought that he didn't expect was: What if she's still alive?

Jaehyun turned off his in-ear and phone. He didn't want Doyoung tracking him or Taeyong contacting him for some reason. He went inside the building, looking like someone who can afford things. With the designer shoes and expensive suit he stole from Johnny's closet, he walked to the elevator and pressed the 7th floor. Some women in the elevator looked at him and discussed among themselves. He got off on the 7th floor and peeked at the door numbers without looking suspicious.

He found the room and stared at the door. His gun was just beside him so he wasn't worried. He knocked on the door while gripping the gun in his pocket. Some man opened the door. Jaehyun bowed and peeked at who was inside the room.

(In Mandarin) "...Hello..? Wait, you don't have any pizza."

"..Umm.. Uhh..." Jaehyun didn't understand what he said. Suddenly he heard small footsteps and a woman's voice.

"Hendery, who is it? Is that the pizza deliv-" Rina's eyes widened as she looked at the man standing in front of her. Jaehyun wore the same expression. Just before Rina could speak again, Jaehyun pulled her to his body and embraced her. Hendery was about to pull her back but she hugged him too, that's when he knew that he should go back to his room.

"I- How did you-" Jaehyun shushed her and embraced her again. She put her head on his chest and did the same.

"I'll never let you go this time. I promise."

SOOO THIS IS THE END OF GLITCH
im so thankful to each and everyone of you who supported this story all the way to the end. REALLY