Mortal Masks

Chapter Twenty

Jaemin's whole body relaxed as he leant against Jeno, the football player's fingers carding through his hair softly, slowly, easing the boy's mind as best as he could.

They were curled up together in a secluded section of the library, textbooks open before them, but untouched.

Sitting side-by-side, Jeno intertwined his once-free hand with Jaemin's, pressing a soft kiss upon Jaemin's head, before he begins unpicking what his boyfriend had been telling him moments ago.

"So your dad is some sort of powerful warrior tasked to hunt spirits and return them back to the spirit realm?"

At this Jaemin hums, still so tired and confused. Jeno's hands were doing a wonderful job of almost sending him to sleep.

"Well, he was, yeah..."

"And he didn't tell you why he was banished?" Jeno asks quietly, peering down to look at the soft frown that sits on Jaemin's face.

"No... He says he wants to wait until we've got time to discuss it..." The boy murmurs, his frown deepening slightly as if he didn't quite know what his father meant, or if he wasn't sure the man would follow through on such a promise. But then his frown morphs into a contemplative expression, something a little more forgiving, a little more curious, before he continues, "Last night he said that he's invited Doyoung over."

With no recollection of his boyfriend mentioning such a name before, Jeno repeats it in question, "Doyoung?"

"He's like an uncle to me, him and my dad are best friends" Jaemin reveals, his tone airy, almost as if he were caught up in his memories, "He lives in London with his husband, but he always used to visit us in Japan at the holidays... I haven't seen him since mum died."

At the vulnerability in Jaemin's voice, Jeno carefully removes his hand from Jaemin's hair, and instead wraps his arm around the boy's shoulder, holding him close, keeping him safe.

"Why has your dad invited Doyoung over for this talk?" He asks, the information Jaemin gave, now causing Jeno to frown in question.

Jeno can feel Jaemin shrug before he answers.

"He always had this strong, calming presence that used to make me feel so safe... I used to tell him everything as a kid- weird dreams of monsters and shadows, things that I was scared to tell my parents" Jaemin pauses for a moment, and Jeno can almost see wisps of memories cloud his boyfriend's eyes, possibly playing out the last time he saw Doyoung.

However, Jaemin then draws in a deep inhale before he snuggles further into Jeno's arms, his head resting upon the boy's shoulder, "Maybe he'll act as a mediator, maybe dad thinks I'll need someone to help calm me, someone familiar to talk to... I don't know... But if that's the case... then how bad is the truth?"

"I've heard of these secret councils, from all the books Donghyuck reads..." Jeno starts, and from his wary tone, Jaemin feels something deep in his gut coil tightly, "Jaemin, if they kicked him out..."

"I'm sure it was some sort of mistake..." He whispers back, quick to defend his father, the confusion and desperation causing Jeno to squeeze his hand gently, "Some misunderstanding, I mean, this is my dad we're talking about, Mr 'only-wears-grandma-cardigans-at-home' and spends the evenings baking and watching Disney films with Yumi"

"Who also happens to be a skilled defender of the moral realm" Jeno whispers, interjecting as softly as he can, "Didn't you also say he has a big fuck-off katana too?"

And at that Jaemin seems to still for a moment, as if he was still acquainting himself with what he had come to learn.

"I know my dad" He mutters, more to himself than to anyone else, "He couldn't have done anything bad, I know it..."