Inside | HENDERY WAYV/NCT

49

Yun kept knocking on the door. He was totally drunk. Luna dropped down on the floor, sobbing. Yue who heard the banging on the door got off her bed and sat beside Luna. She cupped Luna's ears to drown the noise.

"Luna, you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," quickly she wiped away the tear stains and got off the floor. Yue handed Luna the phone. It was Hendery on the other line.

"I answered it for you. Sorry," Yue apologised. "It's fine. Don't worry."

********************

Luna left the house early. She made breakfast and left without telling anyone. It's barely 6 am and she walked down the sidewalk aimlessly. She was a mess. No makeup, her hair was in low pony tail and her eyes were dead.

She reached for the door when a familiar hand stopped her.

"Luna.... . "
"Why are you here?"
"Yue texted me saying you left the house early. Too early. I assumed you'd be here. Come on, let's go somewhere else and talk about what happened. Okay?"

Luna turned to face Hala. "I'm sorry," Luna mumbled under her breath. She was sorry that Hala had to come all the way there. Hala pulled Luna into a hug. "Hey, it's okay. You're my sister."

Luna's eyes were locked onto the table. Not a single word escaped her mouth. "Luna. Talk to me. What happened?"

"Nothing."
"You can't lie to me."
"I said, nothing!" Luna snapped. She looked up to Hala and when her eyes caught a glimpse of Hala's growing belly, she felt guilty. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

"It's okay, Luna. Do you want to talk about it?" Hala tried her luck again. Luna shook her head.

***********************

Hala was asleep when Yue called her in a state of panic.

"Calm down. I can't understand what you're saying, Yue."
"Last night Yun was being a dick and now Luna is gone," Yue pieced the information again for Hala.

"What did Yun do?"
"Luna won't say."
"Okay I'll go find her. You stop panicking," Hala ended the call and rolled off her bed. She gave Lucas his good morning kiss and made her way out.

There's only 2 places Luna could be. Either the columbarium or the boutique. Since its the wee am, Hala was 100 percent sure Luna's at the boutique.

When she saw Luna trying to unlock the door she stopped her. Hala knew something was off when Luna couldn't bother to put on makeup.

Makeup was something Luna put on to make herself happy and when she couldn't bother to put it on, it's bad.

Hala knew trying to make Luna talk is harder than trying to crack open a walnut. Luna is as stubborn as a bull. Even the best manipulator couldn't crack through her if she wanted to keep it to herself.

"Luna, whatever happened last night. When you're ready to talk. I'm all ears. Not just me. This baby too. We're all ears for you," Hala assured Luna it is okay to talk.

"Hala, it's supposed to be me."

**********************

Hendery woke up when his book fell on the floor. Apparently he fell asleep while reading. He reached for his phone and there were hundreds of texts and missed calls. He scrolled through the text one by one.

Most of them were spam texts. But some were from Xiaojun and Kelly. One particular text caught his attention.

Kels: Is Luna with you?

"She is not with me. What's up?" He didn't even say hello and went straight to his point.

"Well, that's not good."
"Why? What's the sitch?"
"Luna is missing and everyone is panicking. Have any idea where she is?"

He jumped off his bed and grabbed his jacket and snowcap. It's winter and obviously super cold. He rummaged for his car keys and wallet.

He drove away without even thinking. He just knew where she was. An hour drive felt like days as he inched closer to the destination. A totally wild guess but a hunch is a hunch.

Hendery entered the columbarium and made his way around. He saw Luna sitting on the floor, leaning against the glass doors.

"I figured you'd be here," he sat down beside her.

**********************

Luna wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She turned to him and smiled.

"Why are you here?"
Hendery chuckled, "Everyone is panicking that you went missing. Do you know that?"
She shook her head slowly.

"What's wrong?"
"I am," she sighed heavily. "You should go home," she added.

"Aha. It took me an hour to come here. I ain't leaving without you," he rested his head on her shoulder. Luna scoffed. "Cheesy."

It was pure silence. Just random whispers of others who were visiting the columbarium. Hendery remembered when Kelly told him Luna hardly cries but the Luna beside him that day, cried so much that her eyes were swollen.

"Oh, my mom called. I'll be back, okay?" He got up and left her. A few minutes later, he came back to Luna burying her face in her knees sobbing hard. He sat down quietly and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't say anything. Just cry," he whispered.

***********************

She hardly cries. When Hendery left to answer his call, Luna cried away. Memories came back like a train wreck and she couldn't shook it away.

"Don't say anything. Just cry," Hendery whispered in her ears as he locked her in his embrace. "No. Let me go. Please," she pushed him away and broke the hug.

"Leave me alone."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because it will defeat the purpose of us being lovers. We may not be the conventional lovey dovey couple. But hey, we're best friends too," he ran his fingers through her hair, pushing away the strands in her face. Their eyes locked.

"You shouldn't love me. I'm a bad luck magnet."
"Cool. I'm a good luck magnet. We cancel each other. And I will repeat this shit forever if I have to," he smiled and cupped her cheeks. Her cheeks were cold to his touch.

"It's cold, Luna. Let's go?"
"Can I stay here a bit longer? I'll go to the car in 15 minutes tops," she bargained.

Hendery got up. Before he walked away, he turned and said, "Leo, tell you sister that she can always rely on me. Okay?"

I may not be the best. But I am here. Lean on me, my lover.