Painless

(NBin) unWRITTEN

[CHAPTER 15]

" Painless "

 

 

After revealing his past to Hongbin, Hakyeon felt as if a weight was taken off his shoulders. Rather than hiding everything there was to know about him, he knew that the younger was someone whom he could trust to tell his story to. Hongbin was understanding and though he did not say much, it was all that Hakyeon needed in order to feel relieved. All this time, he felt guilty about not telling Hongbin about Taekwoon and after he revealed everything, his relationship remains unchanged with the younger.

It was the second winter he and Hongbin was spending together but the very first they were going to spend as lovers. Hakyeon still remembers how arrogant and rude he thought the younger was at first and really wished to have nothing to do with Hongbin. But as he grew to learn about Hongbin, he also grew to love him.

“I really wish the holidays were longer,” Hakyeon sighed as he looked at the snow outside the balcony.

“Mhmm, I agree. It was too short,” Hongbin said and gave a peck on Hakyeon’s cold cheeks. “Let’s get back inside before you catch a cold.”

“Okay.”

Hakyeon was no longer afraid to invite Hongbin into his apartment and his rooms were a lot more spacious than Hongbin’s tiny ones. Though he wasn’t afraid of it anymore, he did put away the picture he took with Taekwoon. It’s not as if he could fully forget about his previous love, but more so, he wanted to look towards the present and not dread about the past. Hongbin is his everything now, and he wanted to give the younger his fullest attention.

“So, what are you making for dinner tonight?” Hongbin asked as he gave Hakyeon a backhug, while watching the older wash the vegetables.

“You seriously only know how to ask huh? Why don’t you help me out once in awhile?” Hakyeon sulked a bit.

“Nah, you’re good at what you do. Don’t want to intrude on your specialty.”

“Says the one who always complain about my bland cooking.”

“Haha. I’ve grown used to the taste now that I can’t tell the difference between what taste good or bad,” Hongbin teased.

“Yah!”

Hongbin ran away in a hurry before Hakyeon could hit him, even if it was going to be a soft hit.

As Hongbin disappeared into the living room, Hakyeon could finally focus on making dinner.

“So when’s school starting again?” Hongbin shouted from the other room.

“Next week,” Hakyeon shouted back.

“Did you finish all your preparations?”

“Kind of. I really don’t want to do it until the last minute though,” the older sighed.

“I feel you. I wouldn’t want to either,” Hongbin peaked into the kitchen once more as he grew bored of watching the television. “Are you almost done?”

“Yeah, kind of. I’m just cutting some lettuce for the salad,” Hakyeon turned around.

“Need help with setting up the table?” Hongbin finally took the initiative to help.

“Sure!”

As Hongbin walked to the cabinets next to Hakyeon, he panicked the moment he saw red.

“Hakyeon-ah!” he shouted. “Your fingers…”

“Hmm?” Hakyeon looked down. “Ah!! What the-“

“Dammit, are you okay? Does it hurt?”

Hakyeon accidently cut his fingers a bit while he turned around to respond to Hongbin a minute ago.

“I’m okay. Uwah! So much blood… Sorry if this is going to make you lose your appetite,” Hakyeon shivered just looking at the red lying on the cutting board.

“Come, we need to disinfect it and bandage it,” Hongbin took Hakyeon’s hands and grabbed the first aid kit he had in another cabinet.

Hongbin let the two of them back onto the sofa as Hakyeon sat there obediently next to the younger and getting his fingers a treatment.

“Does it sting?” Hongbin asked as he cleaned the wound with disinfecting wipes.

Hakyeon shook his head.

“Nope.”

Hongbin looked at the older’s expression to see if the older was just acting tough but Hakyeon really wasn’t. He looked rather normal despite how deep the cut was. Even Hongbin felt as if he was the one who cut his fingers while trying to give the older a first aid.

But Hakyeon had no reactions at all and just quietly sat there.

That’s when Hongbin remembered.

Ah, that’s right. He’s…

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

The holidays were over but the weather was still cold. Snow have covered up the school grounds but the students and teachers still had to come to school for the new semester.

Hakyeon went to work as per usual and only half as energetic as he could be since he woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. He felt rather sluggish just thinking about not getting enough sleep last night.

“I shouldn’t have stayed up to read that book… I blame you for it, Lee Hongbin,” he grumbled to himself as he passed the gates.

“Morning, Mr. Cha!” Eunji met him at the gates.

“Morning, Eunji. How was your break?” Hakyeon asked.

“I went back home to visit my family. You?”

“I just stayed at home with Hongbin the entire time. We really didn’t feel like going anywhere,” he sighed.

“You two are so lazy,” Eunji giggled.

“Morning you two!” Minhyuk joined in.

“Did you cut your hair?” she asked.

“As expected of Jung Eunji! You noticed!”

Minhyuk walked in confidence with his new haircut and showing it off to both the teachers and his students.

“What do you think?” he asked Hakyeon.

“Looks good on you,” Hakyeon said.

“I thought so! The hair stylist even said I look like an idol,” Minhyuk laughed. “Anyways, I’ll see you after class!”

“See ya.”

The day went through rather quickly for the first day of the new semester. Possibly because there was so much catching up to do and also getting back into the shape of going to school for everyone. Hakyeon noticed most of his class was still in the holiday spirits as they spent their break time chatting amongst themselves about where they went from Christmas or what they did.

Hakyeon didn’t do anything special for Christmas or for New Years in general. He and Hongbin just spent time together as usual and now that he thought about it, he regretted it just a bit.

We should’ve gone somewhere! He sighed.

Maybe we should use spring break to go to Jeju Island or something. Hongbin did say he’s never gone anywhere else aside from Gwangju so maybe he would like to visit there with me. Or we could go to Busan during the summer for the beaches and festivals. We could even go up to Seoul and watch the fireworks for the next New Years or spend Christmas there instead…

Hakyeon got really excited just thinking about all the places he could go to with Hongbin and just planning it in his head made him anticipate for the days to come. But will Hongbin still be with him for the next winter and the winters after that?

Of course, he will! Hakyeon thought positively as he walked from one class to the next class.

“Good afternoon! How is everyone today?” He said as he stood in front of the class with a bright smile on his face. He couldn’t have felt any happier than he was now.

After his last class had finished, Hakyeon hurried to the office to get ready to go visit Hongbin at the bookstore. He wanted to tell the younger all about his first day back at work and the plans he had in mind for the next couple of holidays.

“Did something good happen?” Sanghyuk asked as he realized a bright smile on Hakyeon’s face.

“Nothing really. I’m just happy, haha. Don’t mind me,” Hakyeon chuckled. Even he knew he must be looking silly for smiling to himself the entire day.

“Hyung, did you go anywhere for the holiday?”

“Nope. You?”

“I…” Sanghyuk hesitated for a bit. “I went back to Changwon to visit my family.”

“O-oh… I see.”

“S-sorry! Forget about it! I didn’t mean to bring back any bad memories for you!” Sanghyuk panicked.

“It’s okay. I’m alright,” Hakyeon insisted.

“Really?”

“Really,” Hakyeon nodded. “I told everything to Hongbin already during the holidays.”

“What do you mean?”

“About what happened back in Changwon and about… Taekwoon.”

“You did? What did that guy say?” Sanghyuk grew curious.

“Nothing. He understood me and what I went through. We’re still the same as before and maybe, even better,” Hakyeon smiled.

“That’s… a relief.”

“Yeah,,,” Hakyeon said. “Honestly, it took me a lot of courage to say anything to Hongbin about what happened before and I really hesitated for a long time as to whether or not to tell him about Taekwoon. But I’m glad I did. I feel as if I’m a lot lighter now that I’ve told him everything.”

“I’m happy for you hyung.”

“Thanks.”

“WATCH OUT!” Someone shouted towards the two.

The students nearby started to scream and before Hakyeon could react to what was going on, he saw shards of glasses right before his eyes.

“Hyung!” Sanghyuk panicked. “Hakyeon-hyung!”

Before Hakyeon could make sense of his surroundings, he lost conscious.

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

Through his haze, Hakyeon could see an ocean in front of him. The calming blue skies and the gentle breeze from the waves felt amazing.

Where am I? He looked around.

Just as he did, he felt a hand grab his own.

“Hongbin?” Hakyeon asked.

The younger smiled at Hakyeon but somehow, this smile felt different from the usual. It looked as if he younger was sad about something.

“What’s wrong?” Hakyeon worried.

Hongbin didn’t reply and simply held onto Hakyeon’s hands as the two of them stared into the ocean.

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

“Hakyeon-ah,” the younger called out.

“Hmm?” the older woke up finally from his dreams.

“Are you feeling alright?” Hongbin asked.

“Yeah. I’m okay. What happened?”

“Some of the students were fooling around and accidently kicked the soccer ball towards us earlier. They broke the window and… the glass shattered right before you,” Sanghyuk said as he was also in the room.

“Oh, right. Are you okay Hyogi?” Hakyeon asked.

“Yeah, nothing happened to me. But hyung… you’re… hurt a lot more than me.”

Hakyeon didn’t really know what the younger was saying and as he looked down towards his arms and legs, he saw several bandages wrapped around him. He glanced at the mirror next to him to see cuts all over his neck and even his face.

“Yikes,” he commented.

Hakyeon looked at himself through the mirror to count the scratches on him but he didn’t say anything more nor did he react to the cuts all over his body.

Hongbin and Sanghyuk looked at each other.

“Hakyeon-ah, you rest a bit more. I’ll go to the receptionist to finish up some documents before we head home, okay?” Hongbin said.

“Sure! Come back soon.”

“I’ll be back too,” Sanghyuk followed Hongbin out the room.

As the two of them closed the door behind, they looked at each other once more before they walked further away from the room.

“You noticed it didn’t you?” Sanghyuk initiated.

Hongbin nodded.

“It’s as if, Hakyeon-hyung couldn’t feel the pain at all! I got a few shards inside when it happened and it hurt like hell! Yet, Hakyeon-hyung didn’t seem to feel anything. It’s weird,” Sanghyuk said. “The Hakyeon-hyung I know was a scaredy-cat even when he sees the slightest blood or injury. But he didn’t react to any of that at all…”

“I know. I… I’ve seen it,” Hongbin said truthfully.

“What to do you mean?”

“He’s clumsy at times and would bump into objects, ending up with bruises here and there. Yet, he didn’t say anything as if he couldn’t… feel it. He’s cut himself before too but he didn’t seem to mind it.”

“Can’t… feel anything?”

“Yeah, I’m afraid so. I think Hakyeon, he…” Hongbin hesitated for a second, “he’s numb to pain.”

“What?!”

Hongbin forgot about it. A certain part of Hakyeon’s story that even the older wasn’t aware of.

You’re used to it aren’t you? You’re still used to the pain…

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

 “I must’ve worried you a lot, sorry,” Hakyeon said as Hongbin walked with him home after getting dismissed from the hospital.

“Yeah…” Was the only thing Hongbin said.

In fact, the entire time as they were returning home, Hongbin rarely said a word. That made Hakyeon worried about what the younger was thinking about.

He’s so quiet, I hope he isn’t mad or anything. He must have really panicked, Hakyeon thought as he followed Hongbin obediently back home.

“Um, so let’s go out for dinner tonight! Since I don’t think I can really cook in this situation. Haha,” Hakyeon tried to laugh it off and erase the quiet atmosphere between him and Hongbin.

“Yeah.”

Another short reply.

The two of them went to a close by restaurant for dinner and as Hakyeon was eating, he noticed Hongbin not saying much still. It made it hard for him to digest the food since he was worried about what the younger might be thinking about. Please, just talk to me…

Just as they finished paying for their food and left the restaurant, Hakyeon halt Hongbin back.

“Did I do something wrong? You’ve been quiet ever since we left the hospital…” he asked finally.

“No, you did nothing wrong. I just… have a lot on my mind. Sorry,” Hongbin replied tiredly.

“Please, if it’s something I did, I’ll apologize so-“

“It’s-... nothing.”

“It has to be something. You’re thinking about something aren’t you? You’re worrying about me right?” Hakyeon persisted.

“You’re right. You do worry me a lot. So much that I nearly thought my heart would stop when I got that call from Sanghyuk earlier, telling me you got rushed to the hospital. But… that’s not it.”

“Then what is it? Please, just tell me.”

How can I tell you when even you don’t realize it yourself, Hongbin thought and refused.

“Please? It hurts me a lot when you don’t talk to me or just keep quiet like this. I want to know what’s going on in your mind or what’s troubling you so that we can sort things out together. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do if we’re going out?” Hakyeon reasoned.

“Does it really hurt?” Hongbin asked.

“Of course! I hate it when you don’t talk to me and it really hurts me to not be able to know what is on your mind. So please, can’t you tell me?”

“How can it hurt you when you can’t even feel the pain?”

“H-huh?”

“You don’t realize it do you?” Hongbin decided to be blunt.

“W-what do you mean?” Hakyeon grew confused.

Hongbin didn’t want to do this to Hakyeon but he had no other choice. The older needed to know. He held onto Hakyeon’s wrist suddenly which made the older jolt in surprise. Hongbin decided to use his strength to grip tightly onto the older’s slender wrist and normally, a person would flinch or back away from the pain. But Hakyeon did not react.

“What are you doing?” Hakyeon asked.

“Can’t you feel it?” Hongbin asked back.

“About what?”

“I’m using all my power here holding and hurting your wrists right now, yet you can’t even feel the pain. Hakyeon-ah, you don’t realize it do you? But you’ve become numb to feeling physical pain.”

“W-what?”

Hakyeon finally looked at his own wrist that Hongbin grabbed onto and noticed a red, almost bruising mark wrapped around his wrist. The younger really didn’t hold back his powers yet Hakyeon didn’t even feel it. Sure, he can sense other’s touches but pain? Hakyeon was numb to it all.

“W-why?” Hakyeon started to stutter as he realized his own problem.

“You cut yourself and didn’t react. Shards come flying at you and you barely flinched. You run into objects as if it was normal. Even you realize that you have a lot of bruises all over you don’t you? Don’t you ever wonder how you got them or why you didn’t notice it when you run into things?” Hongbin said.

“I really… didn’t. I don’t get it though, how?”

“Hakyeon-ah.”

The older looked up.

“You said you’ve moved on. But did you really move on from the past or is the past still clinging onto you?” Hongbin asked.

“I-“

Hakyeon hesitated. He lost all his answers and the only thing in his mind was the confusion and panic about how he became numb to pain. How did this happen and since when?

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

Hongbin knew it was cruel to have revealed the truth that even Hakyeon didn’t know about himself. But he couldn’t hide it after all. The older had the right to know, he needs to know before anything bad happens to him.

But as he revealed it to Hakyeon, the older decided to find an answer for himself as well. He hesitated and Hongbin could see it.

“Let’s give us both some time. I… I need to figure things out,” Hakyeon said before the two separated that night.

Hongbin didn’t want to leave the older alone but at the same time, he knew that Hakyeon needed time and space. It was too much of a shock for Hakyeon to handle after all.

Hongbin sat around at the bookstore late at night, looking through all the books in his bookstore to waste time. He didn’t want to go home and was rather afraid to. So, he spent some of the times sorting out and organizing the bookstore after a long time. Usually, it’d be Hakyeon doing the job since the older loved to read so much.

“This was the book he finished the other day isn’t it?” Hongbin picked up a familiar cover and smiled just thinking about Hakyeon immersed in the reading. “What’s so interesting about a bunch of texts?”

Just as he flipped through the book to see what narrated inside, a flash of light entered the bookstore.

It was Wonshik.

“You need to come back to Moirae’s immediately,” he said in a strict tone.

“What now?”

“It’s an emergency. I need to show you something.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“No.”

Wonshik didn’t give him a choice and Hongbin could tell that this was definitely urgent. So, he left Earth and went back home.

“So what’s so important that I have to come back here right away?” Hongbin asked as soon as they got back to their side.

“You told Cha Hakyeon about his problem right?” Wonshik asked.

“Yeah. Seems like you did your reading,” Hongbin replied. “Don’t tell me I wasn’t allowed to…”

“That’s not the problem. He would have probably found out sooner or later anyways.”

“Then what is it?”

“Follow me.”

Wonshik led Hongbin into the chambers where Hakyeon’s book laid. Jaehwan was also waiting there for the two of them.

“Kong-ah!” Jaehwan rushed in worry for Hongbin.

“W-what’s wrong?” Hongbin backed up a bit.

“You need to see this!”

Jaehwan picked up Hakyeon’s book to show to the younger and instantly, Hongbin grew horrified at what was in front of him.

“What’s going on?” Hongbin feared as he couldn’t even find himself touching the book itself.

The black ink from Hakyeon’s book grew much more intense then before. It was as if it was oozing out uncontrollably from within. The pages were completely black and the texts were no longer legible. The book looked as if it was alive and swallowing up everything it was holding.

“D-don’t tell me, I caused this. I shouldn’t have told Hakyeon about it…” Hongbin assumed.

“It’s not your fault. It’s been like this for the past couple of weeks. At first it was just a bit so we thought it was normal. But the book have been shifting from one form to another, pages were scattered and everything was morphing around it. We thought we could contain it or figure something out without having to worry you but it’s not possible after all,” Jaehwan informed him.

“Then what should we do?” Hongbin panicked. “Don’t tell me Hakyeon’s life is in danger or something…”

“We don’t know. All we know is that this is not normal,” Wonshik said.

Jaehwan nodded in agreement.

Is it me? Is it because I meddled with Hakyeon’s story that it’s become this way? What have I done?  Hongbin couldn’t help but think that he was the only reason this could’ve possibly happened.

“We can’t hide it from the academy any longer,” Wonshik suddenly said. “We have to inform the other Supervisors.”

“We can’t! What if they burn Hakyeon’s book or do something bad to it?!” Hongbin worried.

“But if we don’t let them take a look at it, something worst may happen to Hakyeon’s fate instead! Do you want that to happen?”

“No! But I –“

“Wonshik is right. We need to discuss this with the others. They’re more of an expert in this field than we are and might even know why Hakyeon’s story became this way in the first place,” Jaehwan sided with Wonshik.

“But what if they hurt Hakyeon?” Hongbin asked.

“We won’t let them,” Wonshik reassured.

“That’s right. Don’t worry Kong-ah. We’ll protect this book and figure out everything we need to know to help Hakyeon. The three of us are still too inexperience for this job and too powerless to do anything. You want to help Hakyeon too don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Good!” Jaehwan patted Hongbin on the shoulders to cheer the younger up. “I know just the person to consult with too.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. We got a new Supervisor in the Scholar’s department while you were away and he’s an expert in this field it seems. He’s been studying the human fate and the stories written by the Goddesses since he was young. I think he’s around our age too but he’s studied the area in person it seems and so he’s extremely knowledgeable about what might be happening.”

“Can we trust him though?” Hongbin wasn’t sure.

“I’ve already worked with him a few times and he doesn’t seem like a bad person. He’s just really quiet and doesn’t talk much but he’s really passionate about his studies so I think he’ll be the perfect person to ask help.”

Jaehwan said in a confident tone which Hongbin could only trust what the older was saying. But can he really put the fates of Hakyeon’s and his life in the hands of a stranger whom he’s never even met before?

 

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darkskyez
unWritten have finally come to an end, as always, there will be consistent revision of the story whenever I have time. So don't be too surprise if the next time you come back for a re-read, the story might seem a bit different. Just slightly though~

Comments

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AikaRikachu #1
after reading this I ship NBin more than others.
AikaRikachu #2
Chapter 50: Author nim......I love youuuu sooo much..
Your stories are amaizing !!!!
your story make me cry, laugh and it make me crazy
Thank you so much for writing an amazing story.....
merilynlin #3
Chapter 49: i wonder if the 6 of them will meet again...
Minghanniee
#4
Chapter 52: This story is just so well (un)written, i loved it from the start 'til the end, which is an adorable one.
Thank you for writing this.
IvaLura
#5
Chapter 52: I've been waiting for you to finish the story for over a year and I'm happy I waited. Thank you very much for such stories that captivate from beginning to end. When I want to read a deep story, you are the best author for me! :)
curlyjongdae
#6
Chapter 2: wow, this is amazing! First chapter and I'm already hooked up! Finally a good story!
WonHakWoon
#7
Chapter 52: This was so good <3
WonHakWoon
#8
Chapter 14: Can you believe this is a story that I'm currently hooked on? I don't wanna stop reading
WonHakWoon
#9
Chapter 2: Yep, this is a great story <3
evidence13
#10
Chapter 52: Thank you for the wonderful journey with Unwritten)