Mend | NCT Haechan

twenty

It was 1 in the morning and Haechan woke up to get some water. Surprisingly everyone crashed in bed before midnight. On the way back, he heard sniffling from one of the rooms and as he drew closer to the room. It was the room Jaein was in meaning that she was crying.

He opened the door to see her soft sobs, but her cries were heart wrenching. They were cries he hasn't seen before.

"What's wrong?" Haechan sat on the bed beside Jaein who's knees were together and arms cross on top of them with her head down.

"I'm sorry." Jaein broke out all of the sudden. Haechan tilted his head on why she was sorry. Before he could say anything, Jaein quickly spoke.

"I'm sorry that I didn't even know that I did it to you. It was so uncalled that you had to tell me about it and honestly you probably deserve better anyways." Jaein took a huge breath and went on. "I've learned that Jaemin told my psychological doctor to remove the bed memories with Nayeon and Youngbin out of my brain but he apparently didn't realize it wiped you out of memory too."

And there it was. There was the answer Haechan was looking for. But hearing it broke his heart the most.

She dropped out because of her experiences with people who didn't truly value her.

She was seeking professional help for the past two years.

She became more reserved than usual.

She was often misunderstood.

But most importantly, she was hurting and is still hurting.

Haechan didn't know what went through his mind, but he pulled the girl closer and gave her a rub on the back with his hand in circles.

Haechan couldn't also blame Jaemin as to why Jaein was crying. He had good intentions as a brother but Jaein needed to fight somehow or later. He was more pissed on the fact that some stupid psychologist made Jaein forget her carless actions in their past relationship. But that didn't matter to Haechan anymore.

Jaein crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying into his shoulders continuously. She didn't even know how long she was crying for but she didn't care. She felt the embrace from him and it was all that mattered.

Jaein's soft cries grew louder through the night and it was to the point it felt unbearable. But Haechan never felt that way. All he knew was that she needed someone to be there for her. Haechan whispered softly into Jaein's ear.

"You don't have be sorry. I should be the one being sorry, so, I'm sorry."

-

Jaein woke up the next morning in her guest room completely feeling like shit. The talk she had with Jaemin lingered in her mind but when she got to know the truth she ran and closed the room, unable to accept the facts. She apologized beforehand for having the conversation cut short.

Jaemin knew to keep his distance from his younger sister. He knows that she knew he had good intentions but he didn't expect her to react to it so bad, especially when it came to Haechan. So the only time he will speak to his sister is when he needs to, just so that he doesn't overwhelm her since she's a sensitive person now.

Jaein walked downstairs slowly after freshening up a little bit, still in her pajamas. The first person she made eye contact with was her brother and he sheepishly smiled and eying the dining table indicating she should eat and listen.

"Jaein, come sit with me!" Chenle brightly exclaimed, patting an empty spot next to him on his left. "I can make your plate for you."

"Thank you." Jaein sat down and Chenle got up to make Jaein's breakfast plate and pouring her a glass of orange juice. Jaein then ate silently.

"How was everyone's sleep last night?" Mark decided to make a conversation.

Jaein shifted in her seat, not wanting to respond to the question since she didn't sleep too well. She felt like she couldn't cry anymore but most important she felt embarrassed in front of Haechan.

"Very peaceful actually." Renjun clasped his hands together. "At least I had roommates that actually wanted to go to sleep."

"That's because you go to sleep at like 10pm. That's early Renjun." Chenle responded to Renjun's comment, sarcastically rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Mark actually stays up with us and plays." Jisung added his comment.

"What about you Jaein?" Mark looked at the younger girl who was eating silently. She blinked a couple of times.

"It was okay." Jaein shrugged, covering up the fact that she had a crying session last night. "Nothing spectacular."

Haechan came downstairs from waking up, hair messy, but somehow to Jaein, it was a bit attractive.

Oh what am I thinking?

Haechan also settled down with his breakfast, next to the empty spot next to Jaein. He also ate too.

"How was your sleep?" Mark asked Haechan who looked at his cousin, leading it off with a smirk.

"It was the best one I ever had, given that this is my house." Haechan joked at him and went back to eating his food.

"Jaein, you seem a little quiet this morning." Jeno asked the girl who was just eating her food innocently. Eyes were staring at her in curiosity. "You're usually talkative at this hour."

"She's usually quiet." Haechan gave a little pat on Jaein's hand under the table. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that." Jaein felt comfort from that touch she had with Haechan. She mentally smiled and just nodded at Jeno, indicating that there was nothing wrong.

Jeno was taken aback by Haechan's sudden action. He didn't know if his cousin was being hostile but it was something he didn't say, especially on behalf of speaking for Jaein. He thought his cousin didn't even want to associate with his best friend's sister. Then again, Jeno dismissed his thoughts.

"What are we doing today?" Jisung asked out of curiosity after finishing his food.

"We're just going to the Starfield Mall and the Ilsan Lake Park till night, checking the time that it's almost 11:00am in the morning. Then we can have late night swimming tonight and then go home tomorrow." Jeno responded to the younger who also had a smile on his face. "Jaemin has the itinerary. I just gave him the ideas."

Everyone was fond of the activity today, making their own individual comments. To Haechan it was more of a normal day out in his hometown before he moved to Seoul. To Jaein, it felt new to her even though she's been in Ilsan a couple of times, just doesn't remember every detail.

"Jaein?" Haechan tapped on her shoulders a couple of times. The girl was spacing out after she had finished her breakfast. Jaein blinked her eyes and turned to Haechan who bore his stare towards her. "Everyone is getting ready right now."

"Oh okay." Jaein scratched her head in embarrassment and got up from her chair. She looked around only to see that her and Haechan were the only ones in the dining room.

"I'll get going."