Hell Is Better With ??? - Sequel to Welcome To Hell

Chapter 21 - I Loved.. Living

Donghyuck chuckled nonchalantly, "What are you talking about?" His eyes flickered between the shocked appearance on Mark, and Renjun who merely smiled.

Renjun watched, his smile not once faltering, it was as fake as could be. He forced his teeth to show, and his eyes to smile as he joked with the two, but he knew his feelings needed to be discussed as soon as possible.

"Donghyuck, can I talk to you in private?" Renjun asked, his eyes watching his best friend, before looking over to Mark. The blue eyed demon did not appear happy, staring back at Renjun with a crease between his brows. Renjun hoped he was just confused, and pushed the thought away, and focused on the human.

Donghyuck nodded, "Sure. Library?" It was just down the hall, and a private place to talk at. Renjun nodded, watching how Donghyuck looked into Mark's eyes, as if they were reading each other's thoughts. They didn't speak, Donghyuck breaking the eye contact quickly before joining Renjun to walk down the hall. The human crossed his arm with Renjun's at the elbow, linking together as they walked.

Renjun felt sick to his stomach, not for being nervous to talk to Donghyuck, but for fear of what the future held. They quickly made it down the hall, the demon opening the door for Donghyuck before making sure to close it tightly behind them.

"What's up?" Donghyuck asked, his voice slightly shaking, still worked up from the words Mark had said to him. Renjun turned from the door, his back to the door as he looked at his best friend.

Renjun sighed, his eyes closing for a moment as he tried to calm down, "I'm scared for you." His words were quiet, but Donghyuck didn't miss them. Not at all.

His eyes widened, "Why? What's going on?"

Renjun opened his eyes, the bright red shining at Donghyuck, "You're falling in love.." He went on, still not explaining anything to the confused human, his fingers staring to fumble together in nervousness.

Donghyuck didn't respond, Renjun continuing quickly, "I knew it would come soon enough, you guys are soulmates. So duh, you'll fall in love eventually. I, I-I just am afraid of what love will bring you to do. I did it, and I don't wish that on you." His words started strong, quickly weakening as he stuttered and slowly turned into a whisper. Donghyuck watched the normally strong Renjun crumble, the pain he clearly felt deep down coming up. The look in the demon's eyes was one of pain, and his body language showed just how hard it was to speak out loud.

Renjun continued on, "Donghyuck, when you fall in love, please don't make the mistakes I did. If there is a will, there will be a way. You don't have to end your life prematurely, you can still live happily on Earth while loving a demon here in Hell. It's dangerous, but doable, just please. Think about it." Renjun's voice broke by the end of it, tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't know he'd be pleading with the human, he intended for the conversation to go much differently, but his emotions shined through instead.

Donghyuck took in each word he said, soaking in his facial expressions, and the hurt he clearly was in. It didn't take a mind reader to know Renjun was still hurting from his own loss of life.

"You're afraid of me tying my soul? Like you did?" Donghyuck asked, trying to not be insensitive to Renjun's feelings. After he spoke, he reached out to hold Renjun's hand, and felt the way it shook in his hold.

Renjun nodded, sighing as he tried to level his voice, "I love Jeno. I didn't want anything to happen to him, and after that close call, I felt I couldn't risk it. Even Mark pushed me to tying my soul with him. I hurt my mom, and I hurt you, and Jaemin, too." Renjun whispered as tears fell from his eyes, "I love Jeno. I do. But I love my mom," more tears fell as he blinked, ".. and I love you.. and Jaemin." He wiped his face, ".. and I loved.. living."

Donghyuck didn't know what to say, shock filling his body as he watched his friend slowly break down before him, but Renjun still continued, "Living is beautiful with the right people. Earth, it's beautiful. There's so much you haven't seen yet, Hyuck. You just graduated, and you're finally free to live to your fullest. I wish you to follow your dreams on Earth before you follow Mark."

It hadn't occurred to Donghyuck just how painful the transition from living a full life on Earth to living here was to Renjun. He always just assumed it was worth it, because he was with Jeno, the one he loved most. And it was clear that he didn't regret loving Jeno, but he regretted joining him so soon. Donghyuck's heart broke for his best friend, but more importantly, he heard his plea. He heard them, and they made sense.

Life was precious, and fleeting. And there was so much left for Donghyuck, no matter if he died now, or 100 years from now. Mark would always be here, they would just not see each other as often as they wished. Either way, Donghyuck knew he wasn't ready to tie his soul with Mark's just yet. Sure, he was falling for him, and falling hard. But he wasn't just yet ready.

"I understand, Renjun. Thank you for telling me, really." Donghyuck whispered, watching the way Renjun cried, his lips starting to quiver as he held back sobs. He didn't know what to say, or what to do. There was only so much he could do to comfort Renjun. To really heal him, Renjun needed to forgive himself, and to move forward. Donghyuck knew he couldn't help him to truly feel better, but he still squeezed his hand, and eventually pulled him into a hug. Renjun then let the sobs rack his body until he couldn't cry anymore.

Just as Renjun was coming to an end of his cries, a knock on the door's just behind Renjun sounded, before opening slowly. A familiar face greeted Donghyuck, an extremely worried expression adorning his face. He made eye contact with the human for only a split second as he eyes searched the room for who he really was looking for.

"Are you okay, my love?" Jeno asked, his eyes full of emotion, "I can feel you hurting." Renjun wiped the tears from his red cheeks, before turning to face Jeno, a reassuring half smile showing for a second before disappearing.

"I will be." Renjun whispered, before looking back to Donghyuck, "I'll see you later." Donghyuck nodded, watching how Jeno lovingly took Renjun's hand, encasing with both of his own hands as he began to usher his partner away and into the hall. Donghyuck didn't follow, needing a moment to himself as he thought about the emotional moment he had just gone through with his best friend.

The raw emotion in his voice would forever live in Donghyuck's mind, a strong reminder to what he was lucky to still have. Donghyuck had everything Renjun wanted; A life, and a soulmate. Donghyuck hadn't made any life altering changes, and yet, Renjun wasn't jealous of the human. He was scared for him. It made Donghyuck's heart weak, that his best friend was such an amazing person that he could fear for someone else.

Renjun wanted nothing more than for Donghyuck to prosper, and that was clear in his words and his emotions. Donghyuck knew he'd never forget this moment, collecting himself before exiting the library. He walked down the hall, a new perspective fresh in his mind as he searched for his soulmate.