𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋 | 𝑨𝑶𝑼𝑨𝑫

35 | Fear it, or control it.

Third Person's POV

Following the quiet sobs and small hiccups, their feet brought them at a secluded area of the rooftop, spotting those office steel cabinet and steel rack with stacks of boxes layered in it. The moment they turned to their left and and peeked to get a view of where the strange noise is coming from, they saw Su-hyeok standing there in pure shock whilst having his eyes at Jaewon who's seated on the ground, legs together and palms down to support her upper body up when she forcefully pushed herself off of him which resulted for her fall.

"Jaewon, I...." Su-hyeok whispered softly, about to kneel in front of Jaewon and reach for her figure when he was interrupted.

"Su-hyeok? What are you...?" Nam-ra was the one to show up first which made the guy shift his attention towards her.

Not a single word seem to come out of him as the lass maintained an eye contact, eyes screaming disbelief as she narrows her eyes at him. Su-hyeok's then strong, stretched out arms now frail, falling at his sides.

"Hey, Jaewon..." On-jo soothes as she sat beside the vulnerable Jaewon, limply hanging her head low with her hair falling over her shoulders, wanting to hide her face from the new arrivals. On-jo doesn't want to scare her, so she slowly and gently attempts to touch her on her forearms, only for Jaewon to swat it away as she flinched as soon as On-jo's hands came in contact with her arms, feeling its coldness even in her school uniform's long sleeves because of its thin material.

"Shh... It's me, it's me. It's fine, please don't be scared," On-jo hushes. The moment their eyes met On-jo was slightly taken aback by the sight of her swollen eyes due to crying and her reddish sclera with veins tracing to her dark pupils.

"Go away..." Jaewon tried pushing On-jo away but failed as weakness dominates her system, fighting hard not to let the virus win over her after being triggered by Su-hyeok's scent which is energy consuming for her.

"I don't want to."

"Just take a rest, it'll be alright eventually," Nam-ra soothingly comforts her cousin, kneeling down in front of her.

"Su-hyeok.... I think you should go first, she'll be fine," On-jo suggested in a lowered, calm voice. Nodding to him as she convince him to do so, "Please, Su-hyeok."

"Jaewon, you know I can protect you, right? You don't have to push me away," Su-hyeok let a shaky breath out, yet he managed to construct a sentence while maintaining his soft but firm tone. A pained expression plastered on his face.

On-jo shakes her head lightly at him as a signal while Nam-ra only listens and observes through the conversation going on, her still kneeling in front of her cousin and looking at Jaewon's face while facing his back at Su-hyeok.

"This isn't just about your capabilities to protect me... This is about how it's getting worse and unbearable for me to hold on and keep myself sane to protect my friends from..... me," Jaewon trailed off before saying the very last word, which came out as a frail one– it hurt her badly, knowing she have to distance herself away from her friends which she cared for deeply, in able to protect them from the monster within her.

"You don't have to do that–"

"Then what? I might kill you..."

"But you're not a monster!" Su-hyeok subconsciously raised his voice at her which he obviously didn't mean to.

"Su-hyeok just go," Nam-ra uttered flatly, still not facing Su-hyeok.