Heaven of Bad - Nomin

5_8

„How did you find me? I though they wouldn't let you go.", Jeno asks, sitting on the bed in his hideout, the one where he had previously let Jaemin sleep in. He has taken his shirt off, sitting there upper body free, revealing more bruises than there could be seen before.

„I just followed where I had seen you go towards. That and the little trail of blood, even if it was hard to see.", Jaemin answers, wringing out a small towel he had dipped into a bow of cold water.

He then used it to start cleaning up Jeno's wounds, carefully and softly, silence starts to build up between the two of them.

„I'm sorry.", Jaemin then says as he washes out the towel to get it wet and cold again, the water having turned slightly red by now, getting more color with every time Jaemin dips it in anew.

„What for? You know that none of this was your fault."

„It was!", Jaemin yells right after, shortly stopping in his movement.

„It was all my fault... because of me you got hurt... if I hadn't come... it wouldn't have started...!"

As he talks, tears start to flow down Jaemin's cheeks, silently rolling and dripping down, onto his hands that he has on his legs, clenched together as he feels helpless and useless.
A sign which makes Jeno soft but also feel bad. He is well aware that it's neither his nor Jaemin's fault. It feels more like everything about this might be one big misunderstanding somewhere.

He can't change his past or his circumstances that made him turn out this way, that he now has such a bad reputation and look, his personality, everything. All he can do is make the best out of it and his future.

„You didn't know it. You just wanted to help and acted on impulse. And that's fine, it's normal. Listen here Jaemin."

Jeno pulls Jaemin closer, to let him rest the forehead on his shoulder a little.

„The only one who could have changed the outcome of this situation was Hyunjin himself. He will have his fair share of thoughts about all this now as well. Don't try to blame this on you, after I decided on going through this way. It was the most peaceful way for the given circumstances to be solved and it's not as bad as it looks on me. Nothing should be broken, I'm here and alive. It's all okay. Don't try to take blame that isn't yours."

While Jeno talks, Jaemin can't help but cry more and more again, letting out all of the built up stress about the situation that has been piling up over the time now. The stress, the guilt he has been taking upon himself, the worries, the fear.

Everything comes out all at once now, in an seemingly endless stream of tears.