Chapter 18

It lasted five minutes. For five agonizing minutes, I watched helplessly as I.N writhed in pain, clutching his chest, each gasp for air a struggle. His nails dug into my skin, trapping me in place, rendering me powerless to seek help. The intensity of his suffering paralyzed me, leaving me unable to even register my own discomfort. I don't know what came over him all of a sudden...

But it appeared to be quite severe.

He began to slowly regain his composure again, his breathing becoming steadier as he leaned back. The flush in his face gradually receded, and before I knew it, he was breathing normally once more. Instantly releasing my wrist, he slumped back onto the grass, gazing up at the sky while maintaining his rhythmic breathing.

After that, I returned indoors, feeling conflicted and uncertain. Whatever occurred outside, I feel a sense of obligation to keep it to myself. I witnessed something horrifying and I have to bury it with me. Despite I.N's alarming behavior, the intensity of his warning glare when I almost disclosed it to someone else startled me. He evidently forced me to keep it a secret, but how can I? Witnessing I.N struggle for breath, writhing in pain, left me feeling a bit uneasy. How can I simply just let that go?

As I close the back door behind me, Changbin saunters over with a mischievous grin.

"Hello, love." he quips, catching me completely off guard and causing a blush to creep up my cheeks. What did he just say all of a sudden? I freeze, bewildered, as I meet his gaze.

Changbin then chuckles, glancing over at Chris. "You were right, Chris! She does blush like a cherry when you call her 'love'!"

I take a step back, feeling puzzled as I look between the two of them, then comprehension dawns, and annoyance sets in. I narrow my eyes.

"Sorry, couldn't resist!" Changbin says, clearly finding the situation amusing. Chris steps forward, ruffling my hair. "Awe, no need to pout."

I'm sick & tired of being treated like a child. "I'm not pouting!" I retort, scowling.

Chris just chuckles, his sarcasm evident. "Of course you aren't. Why would you be?" he quips with a grin.

I roll my eyes, realizing it's futile to argue. Whatever I say will just go in one ear and then out the other. Some battles just aren't worth fighting for my sanity.

"Guys we're having rice and curry for dinner!" Felix's voice rings out from the kitchen, accompanied by the clatter of pots and pans. He's in there busy cooking.

"Hell yeah." Chris remarks, glancing at Changbin and me. "If there's one thing about Felix, it's that he's one hell of a chef."

I'm surprised. Felix isn't just a talented singer and songwriter; he's also an incredible chef? Is there anything this man can't do?

"Then we should let him handle cooking duty more often." Changbin says with a wicked chuckle, earning a smirk from Chris. "We should."

How did they become so close that they're now plotting to persuade Felix into taking on cooking duty every day? Initially, they agreed that each person would take turns in the kitchen, but the lack of trust led me being excluded, leaving the cooking to the boys. Now, it seems they'd rather just have Felix handle it solo. While I feel guilty, perhaps next time, if I'm trusted enough, I'll offer him my help in the kitchen.

During dinner, I take a seat next to Hyunjin, and as he serves himself rice, he glances down at my wrist and does a double-take. "What the hell happened to your wrist?!" he blurts out, his eyes widening in alarm.

I follow his gaze and notice the dried blood and torn skin around the area where I.N grabbed me ealier. I hadn't realized how bad it looked until now.

Feeling embarrassed, I instinctively cover my wrist. "Oh, it's..."

"Let me see that." Chris interrupts, reaching for my wrist to examine the bruises. The imprint of I.N's fingers has left it purple, with deep nail marks.

"It's... nothing, really." I stammer nervously, pulling my arm away. What should I say about this injury? Should I lie?

Chris takes hold of my arm again. "It's not nothing."

"Holy shit." Han joins in, leaning over my seat to get a closer look. "That looks really bad."

Chris presses on a purple area of my wrist, and I flinch. "Ouch."

"Seriously." Chris sighs. "How did you manage to get yourself into trouble already?"

As he says that, I.N joins us, pulling up a chair. My gaze shifts to him, but he ignores the situation, refusing to make eye contact with me. He sits down and serves himself food, seemingly indifferent to whether I tell the truth or not. He evidently doesn't care about keeping my mouth shut regarding this injury he caused, but he'd go to great lengths to prevent me from revealing what happened to him on the grass. Despite that, for some reason, I hesitate to reveal the truth.

I retract my hand once again, bringing it to my chest as I hastily fabricate a lie. "At the underground mansion... they used heavy, tight bracelets to identify each group...I suppose the damage from that is clear, especially in intense sunlight..." Avoiding eye contact, I glance over at I.N, who continues to eat peacefully, seemingly oblivious. Why did I just lie for him?

I hope my story is believable, though I feel guilty. But what's the point of mentioning I.N? I can't reveal the whole truth because he threatened me not to. So it would just seem like he caused this injury for no reason.

A heavy silence hangs in the air until Felix finally speaks up. "I'll bandage this up for you."e

I nod, grateful, and as Felix takes my hand to lead me to another room, the sound of Minho's chair scraping against the floor catches my attention. He stands up, glancing at Felix. "I'll grab the extra first aid kit from the storage room."

While we're walking away, I overhear Changbin talking to Chris in a curious matter. "Did Seungmin mention the bracelets?"

Slowly glancing back while still walking, I see Chris shake his head. "No, he didn't really say much about that place."

I suppose the white lie I told will suffice for now. I experience feelings of remorse, but I had no other choice.

.

.

.

The next day, I took my bath with caution, not wanting to undo Felix's hard work in bandaging my wrist. He had ended up watching a tutorial to get it just right and got it done in an hour. It seemed there was something he couldn't do after all.

As I entered the living room, I froze at the sight of I.N sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, sharpening his knife. No one else was in sight.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to him. He clearly didn't like me, not that it bothered me, but I was just simply curious, especially after witnessing yesterday's incident. Standing in front of him, I spoke up. "You made me tell a lie."

Without meeting my gaze, he continued sharpening his knife, inspecting it carefully. "You told a lie, princess?" he replied in a low, sarcastic tone.

I'm taken aback by his demeanor. He's acting as if nothing happened, reverting to calling me "princess" with that same condescending tone. I can't figure him out. I don't know what it is with him. "Yes. Yes I did." I assert, feeling annoyed but trying to remain confident. "And you were present when I told it!"

He continues his oblivious act, still focused solely on sharpening his knife. The scraping sound grates on my nerves, adding to my irritation. Why is he so unpredictable? One moment he's blunt, the next he's cold or clueless. I can't make sense of him at all. "It was because of you that I had to." I continue, glaring down at him as he continues to pay attention only to the knife.

It's only a moment later that he lifts his eyes to meet mine, a sharp, fiery glare that sends shivers down my spine. "Oh really?" he says, his tone stern and frightening.

"Because I recall an annoying, foolish girl who doesn't know to leave when asked." he continues, keeping his glare fixed on me for a moment longer before returning his focus to the knife. "I didn't make you do anything."

My heart nearly stops at his words. I take a deep breath, trying to remain composed despite the surge of fear. He's right, but... I acted in his best interest. It was for his own good.

"You were about to pass out from dehydration!" I retort, my irritation evident as if he's blaming me for trying to help. "What good would practicing do if you were unwell when it really counts?!"

He abruptly stops working on his knife, lowering it to his lap as he glares up at me once more. He's clearly angry at my words, but I refuse to back down. I will continue to stand my ground. I haven't said anything wrong.

"Mind your own business, stupid girl."

He seems utterly indifferent to his own well-being, and it infuriates me. There was a moment yesterday when he could have lost his life due to carelessness, even before experiencing those chest pains and difficulty breathing.

"You should start taking your life more seriously." I say, my tone a mix of annoyance and concern. "You're betraying your own body by not listening to it."

He scoffs, emitting a sinister chuckle without even glancing in my direction. His next words are muttered under his breath. "Coming from a foolish girl who can't even protect herself."

His words catch me off guard. Why is he like this? What is he so angry about? Why does he push himself so hard? What happened to him yesterday? I have so many questions, but I know I must hold back. Feeling hurt by his words, I step back. "I never asked for protection..."

I hadn't even considered receiving protection from the start. I was just a girl who had a chance at escape. I didn't expect anything more. I didn't think anything of it at the time...

"Tch." he scoffs, looking to the side before staring intensely up at me once more. Leaning in with his elbows resting on his knees, he exudes an intimidating aura. It's evident that he's harboring a great deal of pent-up anger. A small sigh escapes him, but he maintains his horrifying scowl as he speaks. "And yet, you don't even feel grateful that the only reason you're alive is because of Seungmin."

His bold statement catches me off guard. I understand now. He's angry because he believes I don't appreciate Seungmin's role in my survival, despite my limited acquaintance with him. He thinks I relied solely on luck instead of acknowledging Seungmin's efforts every day to ensure his friends protected me. That's not true at all. I may appear that way, but without Seungmin... I shudder to think where I'd be right now. Thanks to him, I've met new people and safely explored the world beyond the walls of that underground mansion. Without him, there's a chance I wouldn't have survived two days into to my escape. I can't allow I.N to maintain this selfish perception of me. Leaning slightly forward, I begin to speak. "You don't-"

But before I can even finish, Chris's voice booms from the other room. "The letter from Seungmin arrived!"

I.N and I immediately let out a small gasp, turning towards the direction of Chris's voice, stunned.

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