Chapter 26

Han Jisung

After hugging Minho for half an hour, trying to calm him down even a little bit, we stood up and walked inside the mansion.

I could feel Minho's nervousness beside me. He was trembling so I took a hold of his hand, rubbing the back of it with my thumb to try and calm him down.

"I-I can't do this, J-Jisung... I don't want to hurt him more..." He mumbled hesitantly beside me making me look at him.

"Come on, Minho. You need to tell them now or you're just gonna hurt him, either way, the more time you take. I'm with you. We're doing this together. You and me."

"We're doing this together. You and me. Okay... Okay." He breathed out, finally calming a little bit.

Minho pulled his hand away slowly, making me nod. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay..." He mumbled. I glanced at him, seeing him with slightly pink cheeks.

"Where were they when you left?" I asked him. My lips can't help but curve up into a small smile.

"They were in the dining room. They were still eating. None of them are talking though, the tension felt so tight in the chest so I had to leave." He mumbled softly, sighing.

"I guess our outbursts and the drama around us haunt them too..." I sighed too, tilting my head.

"You know what? I feel like I've been kinda nice around you. I never chuckle, laugh, or even smile in front of people. Even Felix doesn't see me like this." I couldn't help but mumble the words that I wanted to say.

"Well, maybe I got an effect on you?" He looked at me making me look at him too. He flashed a sweet smile which made me smile a little.

"Come on. Let's go to them. I see you've calmed down a lot." I smirked, chuckling quietly.

He sighed before nodding his head."Fine... Don't leave my side." He mumbled softly before starting to walk slowly.

He wants me beside him.

I couldn't help but think about that.

This is all wrong. You shouldn't be like this especially at this time. They'll use him against you.

A small voice in my head said. I sighed very quietly before running my fingers through my blonde locks, biting my lower lip.

"Of course. It's not the right time. It's always not the right time..." I whispered to myself, rolling my eyes.

Minho turned to me, probably hearing even my whispers.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You heard me. I was talking to myself." I sighed, remembering one of our very short conversations. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm not a cat hybrid, I just have a keen sense of hearing!" My eyes widened at his words.

Okay, how the hell did he heard that?! Is he a freaking cat hybrid?!

I made sure to whisper so silently but he manages to hear it! What the hell?!

That's what I called him at that time!

"What? Aren't there cat hybrids too?" He looked at me, confused by my reaction.

"Yes, there are. They're common..." I answered quietly, gulping as I shook my head. I'm overacting.

"We should go. They're probably at yours and Changbin's room since we took over ours." I mumbled softly, walking first.

Get a hold of yourself.

———

"Changbin? Felix?" I called for them, knocking on the door softly. I tapped my foot on the ground, waiting patiently for them to open the door.

I took a step back when the door slowly opened, revealing Felix with his damp hair disheveled and his lips a bit glossy.

His shirt was unbuttoned down to the third button, revealing a bit of his chest.

"Are we disturbing something?" I smirked a bit, tilting my head slightly to the left.

"N-no! You aren't! I just got out of the bath!" I could sense that Felix got nervous when he saw Minho behind me.

"Are you gonna let us in or you're gonna left us standing here in the hallway?" I raised one of my eyebrows, knowing that he's lying.

"Just a second. Let me fix myself." He closed the door. I can hear rustling inside and Felix's voice saying 'fix yourself' very quietly inside.

I sighed before shaking my head. Felix. You shouldn't play these kinds of games.

"What's wrong?" Minho's sweet voice mumbled behind me. I looked back at him, smiling softly.

"Nothing. Felix was not used to people seeing him like that after he took a bath. You know, because we avoided being close to anyone." I shrugged and tries covering the fact that I don't believe Felix.

"Oh, okay! I've never seen Felix look like that. He's always conscious about how he looks and always tries fixing himself especially when we were around him." Minho chuckled softly, loosening up a lot.

"He's always like that at home. Trust me. He told me once that he doesn't need to look good in front of me since I won't even spare a glance at him even when he's talking to me." I smiled a bitter one, letting a deep chuckle out.

"You look at him a lot, am I right?" I looked back at Minho before smiling softly and nodding.

"Of course. He's my brother. He's special to me. How can I not look at the person I'm trying to protect with my whole life?" I mumbled softly, sighing.

I stopped talking when the door opened again, revealing a more presentable Felix than before.

"Come in, brother. Sorry about that Minho. I thought it was only my brother." He bowed a bit, opening the door a bit more.

I sighed before shaking my head a bit, making Minho go inside first.

Don't go to the same way I did. It's either you hurt him or you hurt yourself.

And for me, I hurt both of us. Fool.

But I don't regret it. At least, I got him beside me. At least I got him to pick me over him. It's alright, right?

Of course, it's not alright. It'll never be alright. I destroyed their future, dragging them into this mess. There's no turning back now. Even if I want to save them, this time it's either Luther kill us or we kill Luther.

This isn't just about me now.

I need to trust the others, besides, most of us are trained to fight. We just need to protect everyone we care for.

"Jisung? Are you backing out now...?" Minho sighed, looking at me in the eyes. I was about to answer when he pulled me inside.

"You aren't. You're not allowed to leave me at this. We're doing this together. You and me." He pouted, still gripping tightly on my hand.

I couldn't help but smile and nod. "I'm not leaving, don't worry."

We walked inside side by side. Changbin and Felix were waiting for us in the small table inside the room.

"Why are you two here? Do you want to tell us something?" Changbin mumbled quietly. He kept his head down.

"We do. Actually, Minho needs to tell you something."

"Uhm... Don't be mad." The nervousness Minho was feeling is making his voice shake. His hands were trembling making me sigh.

"Calm down, Minho." I pat his back softly, putting my hands on my jean's pockets after.

"Okay. I'm sorry to say this but I need to be with Jisung. I can't continue being by your side. This is meant to happen when Jisung saved my life and now we need each other if we want to be alive. I hope you understand..." He mumbled quietly, keeping his head down.

His words were followed by silence. I observed their reactions. Felix has his poker face on while Changbin's eyes were teary.

"I know, this is hard to accept but if you want Minho to be alive still, accept it. Don't worry, I won't hurt him." I shrugged, my face is emotionless.

"I know... I know I'm wrong when I got mad at you two for being close... Especially to you, Jisung. But it hurts. He promised me he will be beside me and he will protect me. Then, suddenly he picks you." Changbin sighed before he turned around.

"Leave for now. I don't want to say something I'll regret later on." Changbin mumbled with his head hung low, his back facing us.

"Don't worry, Felix will protect you from now on." I smiled softly before I pulled Minho out gently.

We closed the door when we got out. Minho was crying. I chuckled before I ruffled his hair.

"You did it. Good job." I smiled before I kissed his forehead.

"Jisung! Emergency!" I turned around almost immediately when I heard Youngjae's loud voice. My face turned serious, putting Minho behind me.

"What is it?" I asked with a stern voice.

"We need to get out now and go back to Jihyo's house."

"And why should we go to Phoebe?" My eyebrows furrowed at his words.

"The kingdom of Tarnzaire has clues and answers on what you are. But Jihyo is the only one who knows how to get there." Jimin came out of nowhere, answering my question.

"Let's go tonight. Everyone's coming. We cannot risk leaving someone here."

You better have the answers, Kingdom of Tarnzaire.