DUAL

//33

Chaeyoung sat on the bed beside Jungkook's figure, her thumb softly brushing against the skin of his wrist as many thoughts lingered in her mind. After Jimin and Taehyung went home, she had spent her time thinking of the agenda behind her parents agreeing to the unison between her and Junhoe. She gulped, feeling anxious as she thought of the two people that she had looked up to the most being traitors of the village by helping Junhoe to hide the fact that he was a Dual when they were supposed to help the village to get rid of him.

The sound of Jungkook's door creaking open pulled her out of her thoughts. His grandfather walked toward her in slow steps, holding something in his hands, something that looked precious to him.

"You need a change of clothes," he began as he approached closer.

Chaeyoung looked down at her dress, completely covered in the already dried blood of Jungkook. She thought of her home and inwardly shivered as the images of her parents came to her mind.

"Please let me stay here longer," she murmured before looking up at the older man, silently pleading with her eyes. "I will leave once Jungkook wakes up."

There was the faintest of smile on the man's wrinkled face. "I am not asking you to leave." He gently pushed forward his hand that was holding a black garment and she stared at it for a moment. "Get yourself cleaned. You can change into this dress."

Chaeyoung slowly took the dress from him, her fingers lightly caressing the fabric and glanced at Jungkook.

"I am sure your brother has healed him completely," his grandfather said gently, sensing how she felt reluctant to leave Jungkook even for a short second.

Before Jimin and Taehyung left, Jimin had convinced Jungkook's grandfather that he would offer his healing ability to help heal Jungkook. The elder expectedly did not agree at the beginning, strongly refusing the offer but eventually relented as Jimin continuously tried talking him out of it. Chaeyoung could not be sure, but she still felt the elder's resentment and dissatisfaction toward the Healer's community in general, but perhaps, he saw something in Jimin that reflected the latter being the opposite image of the Healers the elder had faced in the past.

"After you change your clothes, come outside and eat. I have prepared some food," he said, and without another word, he exited the room.

Chaeyoung sat in silence for a minute, drawing in her breath and stood up as she made her way out of the room to get herself cleaned and changed her dress to a cleaner one. After she was done, Chaeyoung approached the table and the elder gestured her to take a seat. They ate in silence for the first few minutes before she slipped in her gratitude in between the sips and chews of the food he had prepared.

"Thank you for the dress and the food," she softly said and slightly bowed her head. When she looked up, the old man gave her a gentle nod and a brief small smile.

"It is the least that I can do for you," he said. "You have helped me to heal my grandson."

She shook her head softly. "I did not do much."

"You have done a lot," the old man replied and the look in his eyes, although they were displaying his own gratitude and strangely, a fondness, there was a firmness that told her that he would not accept her denial of what she had done to help. "You should never look down on yourself, child. Yes, your brother has completely healed Jungkook, but you did your part, and your part is huge."

It warmed her heart of hearing that from the old man, feeling touched at his warm words that she was reminded of how Jungkook had always encouraged and comforted her with his own warm words. A smile pulled at her face, bowing her head once more at the old man as she lost words to reply to him.