Metanoia

Chapter 9

"Oh my beautiful motorcycle. She was a great warrior in our cause. I will remember her for eternity. And I swear on the very well being of this forest that I will never get a new motorcycle again. I-"
"Can you shut up for a second?"
Renjun barked and knitted his eyebrows together, trying to focus on reshaping a certain vehicle part. "I'm trying to continue this amazing plan you are supposed to be supporting."
Jeno, who was previously mourning the 'death' of his precious ride, crossed his arms. "You wouldn't get the loss of something you paid for even if it slapped you right in the face."
The blond turned around with a makeshift mask on his face and a blowtorch in one hand. Just the very sight made his companion go silent and sit more politely. He wasn't taking any chances with Renjun's patience. Not when he was previously chased by an axe on their first official meeting. And a stick when they were walking over to the car one day. And a wrench when Jeno scared the poor kid while he was working. Now that he looked back on it he was always the one being chased. That and Renjun always seemed to have some sort of weapon on standby.
"How about you pass me another bolt please?"
Grumbling, the younger teen imitated his classmate and grumpily placed the item in the blond's hands.
"Thanks."
With that simple word, Renjun simply went back to working making Jeno a bit irked. He glared, watching the work going on in front of him. He watched the car, once an extremely large piece of trash, become a bit better day by day. Although still scratched up and dirty, the overall structure was probably way more in shape than it was before. Jeno had to admit, even with how rude and frustratingly clever Renjun was, he did do a very good job in making this dream a reality.
There was a little worry however, due to the night terrors and the rationalized food. It made the older boy appear exhausted and his signature cold atmosphere mode become that much more deadly. So Jeno tried to help in anyway possible, even if it was discreet or hardly any large task at all. He knew all the big problems had to be faced by Renjun at the moment but that didn't mean he could take some of the burden.
'Plus.' Jeno sighed and rested his head on his hand. He continued to stare at the blond's back as he continued working. 'Maybe he'll decide to trust me more.'
Renjun didn't seem to notice all of this going on behind him as he went on with concentrating on the tasks at hand. Everything in his mind were simply plans, words and numbers, hardly any conscious thought. He was too involved to be distracted, because he knew by experience. One mistake could crash the whole plan into the flames of  fantasy and despair.
Yet, in a tiny corner of his mind, he was thinking. Thinking about what could happen next after all of this. He thought of how he should develop his relationship with Jeno to help aid in his goal. He thought about the night terrors taking over his sleep and how terrifying they were getting with each night. He thought about what would happen when he arrived somewhere that wasn't his home. He thought about Goldenleaf.
What would the town be doing this day? Would they still be investigating the missing cases and the murder? Would their names be placed on the list? What was becoming of Jisung? What was becoming of his mother?
Most of these thoughts were being suffocated by the overwhelming amount of calculations he was making in his mind. But Renjun could still feel the emotional impact they made.
    Pausing, he turned the blowtorch off and set it on the ground, sitting back as the his work was being cooled down. He spun around to meet Jeno's face up close. It seemed that the teen wanted to take a peek at what got Renjun so riled up but all it accomplished was making the blond even more worked up. He leaned back, placing a hand on Jeno's chest to push him away until his classmate got the idea.
    But it didn't seem like he was, instead, Jeno merely locked eyes with the older student. "You look tired...."
    "Well no duh I-"
    Renjun felt himself get lifted up in the air and suddenly, he was on his feet. He glanced at his companion who now had a smile growing on his visage.
    "How about we go on a walk for a bit?"
    Quirking an eyebrow, he grew skeptical, but he complied anyways. "You do know that this goes into time we could be using for refurbishing the pickup."
    "I don't mind. The car can wait. Your health can't"