Inside | HENDERY WAYV/NCT

63

Luna sat quietly on the swing. It was freezing but she had nowhere to go.

"Woman! Why are you here? I told you to text me," Hendery sat on the empty swing beside her. Luna laughed.

"I kinda forgot. Sorry," she cupped Hendery's cheeks. Her hands were freezing cold. Without hesitation, he pulled her hands and shoved them in his shirt.

"It's warmer."
"Kid logic. Yes. You just want me to touch your abs?"
"That too. Feel them," he stood in front of her and giggled when she tickled his abs softly. Hendery is that one weird kid that you can't say no to.

"Why are you here?" Luna asked him after a while of silence. He was squatting in front of her, playing with some pebbles. He looked up to her and smiled.

He got up and disappeared for a few minutes. "This!! I want to give you this," he ran while holding a brown paper bag.

"What is it?" Luna looked inside and saw a pretty pink sweater. She smiled and took it out. "A sweater?"

Hendery nodded enthusiastically. "I have one in purple," he added. Luna folded the sweater and shoved it back into the paper bag.

"Thank you."
"Wear them tomorrow, okay?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes! I don't care. We're going on an adventure tomorrow," he got up and pulled her hand. Luna just followed his flow.

She let him dragged her all across the playground as he babbled all his plans for tomorrow.

"We're going for brunch, then a surprise hang out and finally a convenience store date because we love low maintenance dates," he laid out the plan for tomorrow. Luna kept quiet and just stared at him as he kept on talking.

Hendery realised that Luna didn't say a word. He immediately stopped and turned to her. She was smiling at him. "What? Why are you smiling?"

"You're adorable. Do you know that?" She ran her fingers through his hair. "I don't deserve you," she walked away.

"So do I. But we can rewrite the stars," he held onto her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. "Say that you were made to be mine," he whispered softly.

Nothing can keep us apart
Cuz you are the one I was meant to find

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Luna sat down in the shower and just let the water flowed. She could hear Yun screaming and shouting in the living room as he bickered with Mrs. Hua.

"I don't give a flying fuck about how she feels!!"
"Yun language!!!"
"Fuck off, mom!" He slammed the front door shut and left the house.

Luna knew Mrs. Hua was broken. But what can she do? She wasn't allowed to speak the truth. She exited the bathroom and just walked past the sobbing Mrs. Hua. On normal days, she would comfort the elder. But that day, she chose not to.

As the night passed, Luna stared out her window. She watched the darkness seeped through and just enjoyed the mellowness. Deep down inside, her heart turned to dust as the memory of that day crept in.

She fell asleep trying to not feel but who was she lying to?

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How does it feel like to be living but you're dead? To be breathing but every breath you take hurts. To be smiling but the heart throbs to each and every lie you make.

Swore to live even though living hurts and it's as if you were cursed to be living it's way.

Hendery exited the bathroom for the nth time that night. He sat down by the bathroom door, totally depleted.

Kelly sat down beside him and handed him a bottle of water. "Bottle?"

"You're shaking. A glass would fall and shatter. Bottles are plastic. Less hazards," she wiped away the sweat trickling down his cheeks. He smiled and took a sip of water. Even water tasted nasty for him.

He looked down onto his nails and just pulled away from Kelly's touch. He could hear her smiling. "Why are you shy with me? I've seen you in your birthday suit," she ruffled his hair. Hendery shook his head.

"It's okay. You can be tired," she assured him it's okay. "Do you need help?" Kelly held her hands out to help him. He nodded slowly and allowed her to pull him up.

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Kelly closed the door slowly. Instead of going to her room, she went the opposite way and exited the house.

The moment she closed the door behind her, Kelly melted down on the floor. She sobbed slowly, choking on her own tears.

Kelly couldn't bear the thought of losing Hendery. She couldn't. As much as she said she was prepared, truthfully she never was. Even as a child, she wasn't prepared to lose Hendery. That day, she knew as much as she wasn't prepared, she had to be.

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

Luna woke up in the middle of the night not knowing why she couldn't fall back to sleep.

"Why didn't you take me with you? We could've been a family again. Why did you leave me here? Am I not loveable enough? I can try to be," she mumbled slowly. Tears were falling down her cheeks. She allowed herself to sob this time.

Yue slowly climbed onto Luna's bed and hugged her. "Luna.... . Don't say that," Yue whispered in her ears softly, causing Luna to totally break down.

"Yue, let me go," Luna pushed Yue away.

"Why do you always push me away? Is it because I'm too young to understand?"
"No. Because you don't have to know my story."
"You and your I don't have to know your story."
"Shut up Yue."

"I will never shut up about this. You care for all of us but when we want to care for you, you're pushing us away!" Yue pulled Luna's blanket and threw it on the floor, exposing her bare legs.

Luna quickly pulled her shirt down to cover her legs but she couldn't.

"These. What are all these for?!!!" Yue pointed to Luna's scars.

"Yue stop it!"
"I won't stop! Why won't you let me in?" Yue broke down on the floor. She was sobbing hard. Luna slowly got off her bed and sat beside Yue.

"This is why. You're too soft for the world Yue. My world is too harsh for you. Just know that you're the best and you're always there for me and that's more than enough."

See, the world is not the same for you and me. Your eyes see it in colours and I see it in greys. But that doesn't mean the world is going to separate us. Just know that colours can always be added.