Luminous • Jisung

31 • Courage

Which as a statement was fine, however, it came across differently. Maybe Jisung misinterpreted it. Yet, considering the tone the older used, voice rising a little though he tried to keep it down and the ever so subtle judging feeling he held in his eyes, convinced Jisung otherwise. 

He clenched his jaw, looked away in irritation. "If she doesn't like herself you should be the one to change that, not reassure her in her beliefs," he argued. 

At his obvious annoyance, Renjun peeked over at him subtly before taking a deep breath, dropping the topic in order not to argue. 

"Now that I answered your question, I have one for you to answer," he said, order-like. Jisung didn't look at him but he nodded regardless. "On the one hand, you trust Young-hee not to be reckless and hurt Cho-a because it would upset you and we both know that Young-hee is lowkey obsessed with you."

Obsession put it too far, it was closer to a longtime crush or desperate unrequited love. However, Jisung didn't object. 

"So why did you seem so reluctant when Jaemin asked you earlier?" 

Do you really think she'll hurt Cho-a?

That, huh? Thinking further about it, Jisung never actually told anyone about what happened. 

He pulled the inside of his cheek between his teeth, bit down on it nervously, carefully. Looking to the side, he clearly spotted the eagerness in Renjun's eyes. 

"Actually, when I was younger, I never wanted to follow my father's footsteps," Jisung then mentioned casually, breaking the tensed mood between them. 

Renjun went wide-eyed. "Really?" He didn't strike him as the type to refuse such an opportunity. 

The youngest nodded. "I hated it. I just couldn't really talk to anyone about it because everyone expected me to just go along with it. It took some time but the only person I ended up talking to was Jaemin." 

Listening attentively, Renjun followed Jisung alongside the walkway as they checked the area, looked for hints to Cho-a's whereabouts and simultaneously hoped for any of their friends to text them that, maybe, they knew where she was. 

Opposite them, the dark sky had started to turn a faint, deep orange at its edges. The day was about to start. It felt like time was passing too fast. 

"Jaemin always told me that I didn't have to do it if I didn't want to," he recalled. There was a smile on the edge of his lips but it got drowned out by everything else that he was feeling. "He gave me the courage to say no."

"Look at you now," Renjun noted, almost proudly. But Jisung didn't feel the same way. It rather felt like betraying himself. "What changed?" 

"I realized that everyone who wanted a place on the throne instead was an immoral asshole so I figured I'd be better this way," he explained, exhaling deeply at the weight on his chest from the thought of it alone. 

Renjun nodded, even prouder now. 

"Anyway, back when I told Young-hee I wasn't going to be king she got super upset, started throwing a fit. She claimed that that's all because of Jaemin and Jeno and that they were manipulating me." 

At this point, Renjun had an eery feeling. Lump inside his throat, he listened though he had a hunch of what Jisung was getting at. 

And it made sense not to say it in front of Jaemin. 

"You remember that accident that they barely survived?" Jisung asked as if he could ever forget. 

Renjun paused, inspected the younger one with wide eyes. "You aren't trying to say that she-" 

"I'm not saying she caused the accident, no," the younger one interrupted. "But she ordered it." 

"So you are telling me," Renjun paused, collected his thoughts. "You are saying the kid that ordered for two boys to get killed is now with Cho-a?" 

Jisung stayed silent but his hesitation spoke for him. 

Renjun looked at the sky above, the soft tint of orange that had faded in with the dark blue looked scary to him. He let out a huff, pushed a laugh into it. 

"Great," he mumbled to himself. "Great." 

As if his breathless disbelief was a plead getting answered, the two boys suddenly stopped. They stood in the middle of the sidewalk, in front of them no other than Ten. 

He looked exhausted, made his every movement seem urgent. 
"I know where Young-hee is."

• Courage •

Sorry for the wait~! 

Stay safe <3