𝑅𝑒𝒹 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈-ᴄʜᴇɴʟᴇ

bandaids~24

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If you knew the beds that I've been in?
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"She's d-dead?" Rin repeated, and Haechan solemnly nodded, his eyes glued to the floor.

"He... changed after she died. No, he changed when he met her," Donghyuk mumbled, and Rin's eyebrows drew together, "He was really, really cheerful and happy back then, but now... he's more of an empty shell."

Rin's lips pursed together in concern, her eyes falling to the ground in front of her. It wasn't her place to judge- especially since the girl was dead- but she couldn't help but wonder what the couple was like, and if Chenle would've been happier with the unknown other. She wasn't exactly jealous, but she pondered if she could ever compare to the other, whether she was dead or alive.

More importantly, was Chenle still attached to her? Was that the guilt she knew he felt?

I mean, there was nothing wrong with Chenle liking someone else- well, the thought made Rin uncomfortable, but she tried to ignore her idiotic feelings- the issue was, if he still loved the deceased, then was Chenle okay? Rin knee what it was like to lose a loved one, but you had to move on, or else you'd be swallowed by an endless sea of sadness and depression.

She should know, she's done it.

"What happened to her?" She cooed quietly, yet she wasn't exactly sure why she was so curious.

Donghyuk's eyes drew up to her, biting his lip awkwardly as the thought left him on edge- remembering the first time he had fallen under Chenle's frigid glare, his eyes devoid of emotion and lacking any remorse- a machine.

"She committed suicide..." Haechan whispered, and Rin's eyes widened slightly.

"That's horrible," She muttered, and she meant it.

Rin's eyes welled with pity and sadness, and she wondered if Chenle was okay. Losing someone so suddenly- at their own free will, too- was incredibly anguishing, and it took a toll on your brain. What if he blamed himself? What if he felt at fault for her death?

Rin's heart was weighted down by the plentiful worries that swarmed her chest, and her eyebrows drew together, concern infiltrating every limb in her body. Soulmate or not, she had always hated seeing someone suffer- especially if they had no reason to deserve it.

She fiddled with her fingers as she thought, gnawing on the insides of her cheeks as she decided to take it upon herself to cheer him up; to show him that there was no reason to be so utterly broken because of it. He felt something for her, that was definite, but she thought that he should have the luxury of moving on, and not dwelling on the past.

But what if that wasn't why he was so...hollow?

What if he didn't need her to continuously remind him of his dead girlfriend? What if she just made it worse?

Rin shook the thoughts from her head, although numerous doubts on how to make him smile engulfed her brain. She didn't even know why she cared so much; she barely knew the guy, and he had always been cold to her. He kidnapped her.

But at the end of the day, he was still her goddamn soulmate, and she couldn't help it.

"How did he take it?" She asked tentatively, and Haechan wordlessly shrugged.

"He was unresponsive. Well, even more than he is now, but I guess we never really got the Chenle we used to know back, you get me?" He sighed, and Rin slowly nodded, "We love him all the same, but I miss his annoying dolphin laugh."

A small grin spread across the girl's cheeks, and she looked at the older with narrowed eyes.

"Dolphin laugh?" She echoed, and he nodded, the ghost of a smile on his own lips.

"Yeah, he has this really high-pitched giggle thing, and you can't not burst into laughter after hearing it- it's overly contagious," Donghyuk explained, and his eyes stared into old memories- nostalgia infecting his brain.

"Cute," She mindlessly mumbled to herself, and Haechan cocked a brow at the girl.

"Think so?" He teased, and her eyes widened slightly.

She hadn't expected him to hear her, and her cheeks flushed pink, but she tried to act like she was unaffected, despite her tomato face.

"Well-I mean- haha- I- possibly?" She stammered, making Donghyuk smirk knowingly at the girl.

A small smile held her lips captive, but it started to fall as her mind was swept away by a train of thoughts, all of which concerning Chenle. Did he really laugh that little? After her?

She really must've been something to him, hadn't she? Someone special- someone who stole his heart, and she didn't know if he had it back yet. He couldn't give a heart, if he didn't have one.

She immediately pushed the thought from her head, ignoring the sudden wave of emotion for him that came with their undeniable bond, which she was beginning to find increasingly excruciating. These feelings towards him were made from their connection, yet she knew they were unreciprocated; he still seemed to be stuck on his former girlfriend.

She brought a grin back to her cheeks, but it was merely a facade to prevent worry from the two that surrounded her, because on the inside, she felt inept compared to the girl, who's name she didn't even know.

Maybe it was just simply easier to smile and pretend the world is perfect, rather than admit that her heart was just a little swollen from losing something that was never her's in the first place.