With Adryn now seated at Eclipse's desk, the pink-haired woman got to the point right away.
"So, why did you run away, crying, from NCT?" Eclipse asked Adryn as the black-haired woman looked down at her feet.
"I... I kissed Taeyong. That was alright, but then everyone started asking me questions about my feelings and what my intentions were with Taeyong. It overwhelmed me and I just needed to get away and think everything over before making a decision and hurting myself or anyone else..."
"Alright, but how are you feeling toward Taeyong now?" Eclipse's question was met with a sigh from Adryn. Eclipse tilted her head and just waited for her best friend to reply to her.
"I like Taeyong, but I still don't know him all that well. Not enough to love him or anything like that. Besides, I want to take things slowly. Just because I kissed him doesn't mean I'm ready to marry the man." Adryn had pieced together her thoughts well enough for Eclipse to understand. The pink-haired woman nodded her head before thinking about another question.
"What are you going to do about NCT? I'm sure they're searching for you and probably worried sick about you."
"I don't have any of their phone numbers, so I can't contact them. So I have no clue what to do."
"I'll let Taemin know to tell Taeyong that you're safe and sound."
"Oh? They know each other?" Adryn was confused at this.
"They are part of a special gang called SuperM. There are a few other members too, but they all usually only get together for special circumstances."
"I see..." Adryn's head was elsewhere now though, so she didn't really pay attention to what Eclipse had said. Adryn couldn't help but feel worried again. "What if Taeyong is angry with me now?"
"Well... He probably is angry. You kissed him and ran away. Though, if he's as nice as you say he is, I'm sure he'll understand that you needed some air."
"He's probably really worried though. Someone went after NCT on their mission this morning. I guess it was someone who wants me?"
"What? Is everything alright?" Eclipse was worried now, as she didn't like the sound of someone wanting Adryn.
"Someone named Min-Joon, the leader of Emerald Devils is after me for some stupid ass reason," Adryn explained without explaining too much.
"I've heard of the group, but not that name before."
"I guess he's the new leader? That's what he told Taeyong, but he's a real creep. Gave off major creepy vibes."
"If that's really the case, if someone is really after you, then it was incredibly dumb of you to go running away from NCT," Eclipse muttered before standing up from the bed. "I'll go let Taemin know to text Taeyong about your whereabouts so he won't worry anymore." With that, Eclipse headed for her door, but paused before leaving the room "Don't touch anything, alright?"
"Okay?" Adryn's response caused Eclipse to nod her head before fully leaving the room. This left Adryn all alone with her thoughts.
Adryn thought about how she felt horrible for running away from NCT. She knew it was wrong, but that was what she was used to doing. She always ran away from her problems when she got too upset.
"I need to work on that... If I want to join NCT and fight for myself, then I can't run away when things get tough. I especially can't run from Taeyong anymore. That isn't fair to him or anyone else." Adryn mumbled to herself as she put her hands over her face. She sighed to herself before hearing the door open back up. Adryn put her hands back down to her lap and saw Eclipse standing there.
"Are you still planning on joining NCT?" Eclipse asked the one question that'd been on her mind the entire time.
"Yes, I am." Eclipse frowned at Adryn's words.
"If that is really what you want, then you have my support."
"Thank you, but it isn't like I need your permission or support. I'm going to do what is best for me."
"You're getting mentally stronger."
"Hmm..." Adryn wasn't so sure of that, but she just nodded her head anyway and changed the subject. "Did Taemin contact Taeyong?"
"Are you worried about Taeyong, or how he's reacting to your disappearance?"
"Both, but mostly, I don't want him to be worried about me." As if he'd been there the whole time, Taemin walked into the room after Adryn spoke.
"Taeyong wants you to come home," Taemin spoke to Adryn in a neutral tone.
"Is he mad at me?"
"Will you run away from that too?" Eclipse asked, not meaning to be so harsh.
"I don't like when people are angry with me, but I need to face Taeyong."
"Taeyong is mad. That said, he really just wants you to come back home to him." Taemin's voice was different that time. It was like he sympathized with Taeyong. At that moment, Adryn wondered just how everything had been between her best friend and Taemin. Adryn knew that wasn't the time to ask personal questions about them though, as she just wanted to get back home, to NCT.
"Will you take me back?" Adryn's question made Eclipse frown, but she nodded her head anyway.
"Of course, let's go." Eclipse motioned for Adryn to follow her and Taemin. The three of them headed back to the car, and once in the car, Taemin spoke up as he started the vehicle.
"Are you alright with joining NCT, or do you want to join SHINee with Eclipse?" Taemin's question threw Adryn off but she smiled at him anyway.
"I've made friends in NCT, despite running from them. I want to stay with them and apologize to them." Taemin studied the look in Adryn's eyes, just to make sure she was telling the complete truth. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, Taemin nodded his head and then began to drive the car to where NCT resided. Once there, Taemin pulled the car into the driveway. Instantly, the front door opened up to reveal a neutral-looking Taeyong and a relieved Jaehyun. Seeing Taeyong's unreadable face worried Adryn a bit, but she was happier to just be back home.
"Good luck, Adryn. Keep in touch." Eclipse spoke to her best friend as Adryn got out of the car.
"Alright, and thank you for bringing me home." Adryn gave Taemin and Eclipse a smile before she walked to Taeyong and Jaehyun. Taeyong instantly grabbed a hold of Adryn's right wrist and pulled her into the house, with Jaehyun closing the door behind them. Taeyong dragged Adryn along with him, as Jaehyun followed behind them.
"Are you alright?" Taeyong asked as he continued to pull Adryn along with him. "I'm sorry that I overwhelmed you..." Adryn opened her mouth to reply to Taeyong, but he abruptly stopped. He then spun around and caused Adryn to jolt backward, as he had fury written all over his face.
"Taeyong?" Adryn muttered with pure concern.
"I've been worried sick about you. I had no clue where you ran off to." Taeyong started slowly and calmly, despite the look on his face. However, his voice began to get raised as he continued. "How stupid are you? You ran off when you knew someone is after you! That bastard wants to take you away from me!" Taeyong was now yelling at Adryn. "If you don't feel the same about me, why'd you kiss me?!"
Adryn was shocked and couldn't figure out what to say to Taeyong. He also still has his hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, causing slight pain for the woman.
"Are you even listening to me?!" Taeyong's anger surprised Adryn. She'd never seen him so furious before. She'd heard warnings about him, but this was her first experience with it.
"Taeyong!" Jaehyun tried to intervene, but Adryn stood up straight, finally finding her voice.
"I got overwhelmed from all of the questions I was being asked. I didn't run away because I don't feel the same about you. I needed time to think to get everything right." Adryn finally explained as she glared up at Taeyong.
"You could have gone to your bedroom, not the streets or the SHINee compound! I thought you weren't going to come back to me!"
"I just needed air..."
"You could have just gone to your room!"
"Everyone and everything was getting to be too much!" Adryn snapped back at Taeyong, which only seemed to fuel his anger.
"Are you going to run away every time you get overwhelmed or will you grow a spine and deal with things?!" Taeyong's words were met with silence. Adryn wasn't sure what to say back to him. She was starting to feel a mix of furious and sad due to Taeyong's reaction and words. "Are you going to stay pathetic or will you grow up?"
"You're just being mean now..." Adryn's eyes began to tear up as she pulled her arm out of Taeyong's grip.
"Life is harsh, people are mean. You need to grow up and get over it!"
"You should have killed me, instead of falling in love with me!" Adryn yelled at Taeyong before shoving him out of her way. She then ran away from Taeyong, heading to her bedroom. Once she got there, she slammed the door and locked it, before throwing herself onto her bed. As soon as her face hit the bed, Adryn began to sob.
Adryn was fully aware that she could have handled everything differently and probably better, but she didn't. Adryn made her choices and is accepting the consequences now, but that didn't mean that Taeyong needed to be so harsh with her.
During Adryn's thoughts, there was a knock at her door. She wasn't sure who it was until they spoke up.
"Adryn, it's me." It was Mark. Adryn ignored him so he continued talking. "Let me in. I need to talk with you, plus I'm still hurt, so I kind of need to sit down."
"Fine..." Adryn muttered as she got up from her bed, still crying, to let the man into her room. Once he hobbled in, Adryn locked the door behind him. Mark went and sat down at her desk, as Adryn went and sat on her bed.
"Are you alright?" Mark knew the answer already, but needed to ask anyway. Adryn choked out a laugh through her tears.
"I'm brilliant..."
"You shouldn't have run off... But I understand why you did."
"I know that, but Taeyong didn't need to be so harsh about it all."
"He was freaking out until Taemin called him to let him know where you were. Taeyong really loves you, and he was just worried. That's why he was so harsh about everything."
"I can't handle people getting angry with me. My father always was angry and yelled about everything. I'm fearful of being yelled at. It sends me back to my childhood and reminds me of the reasons why I tried to kill myself."
"I'm sorry for that... Once you calm down, you should talk to Taeyong again. He'll make things right this time."
"No."
"What, why?"
"I'm just done. I just want Taeyong to follow through with what I originally wanted him to do. He should just kill me."
"None of us will let that happen. We all care about you now." Mark felt horrible that Adryn felt so dark.
"I just want to give up. I know Taeyong won't be able to make me feel any better."
"Give him another chance. People make mistakes. Besides, I won't let you die as I care about you. I know Taeyong won't let you die because he loves you."
"I'm sorry, Mark. I just wanted to live a good life but everything is always against me, even if it is my own doing."
"Things happen. People make mistakes. That doesn't mean that things won't get better though. Things will get better if you work for it."
"But... Nothing has worked for me whenever I've tried..."
"How did it feel when you kissed Taeyong?"
"Huh?"
"Just answer the question."
"Everything felt right and I think I might have felt true happiness."
"Taeyong said that is exactly how he felt as well. Together is the happiness you're searching for." Mark's words stunned Adryn into silence. She debated on the things Mark had said to her. Mark seemed to be done with talking, so he stood up and headed for the door. He paused and turned to look back at Adryn as he unlocked the door. "Just think about giving Taeyong another chance once you calm down, alright?" With that, Mark left the room, leaving the door open as he did so.
Adryn sighed and got up to close the door. Before she could get there, Taeyong poked his head into the room. He looked incredibly guilty as he frowned at Adryn. She instantly turned away from him and sat back down on her bed.
"Can I come in?" Taeyong politely questioned as he stepped up, but not into her room. Adryn merely shrugged her shoulders. Taeyong took this as a yes, so he walked into the bedroom and sat next to Adryn on the bed. "Adryn, I'm sorry. I was out of line and I shouldn't have blown up on you like that. I was just so worried about you and angry that you'd leave and risk yourself because of me."
"It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have gotten so overwhelmed by the questions I was being asked."
"No, it is my fault. I should have made sure that none of the others pushed you that far. I shouldn't have let them get into our business so deeply."
"It's understandable that they did. They were just worried about you."
"That still doesn't give them the excuse to pressure you."
"I shouldn't have reacted how I did."
"I understand that you aren't used to such things, so I should have protected you better from that."
"I'm sorry about running away."
"I'm sorry that I didn't protect you good enough, but I hope that your feelings for me haven't changed."
"They haven't. I still really like you."
"I'm glad. However, I'm upset that your mind went right to death after our argument."
"I'm sorry about that..."
"It's my fault for being so harsh and mean to you." Taeyong's words caused Adryn to sigh and lean her head against his shoulder.
"Can we stop apologizing now?" Adryn questioned, causing Taeyong to lean his head against her head.
"That'd be nice. I just want to go back to normal again." Instead of responding at first, Adryn reached out and took a hold of one of Taeyong's hands.
"I think... I think I want to go forward with you, but slowly."
"Go forward? That'd be great. We can go at your pace."
"I think I need to explain things to the others and apologize for running away."
"You can do that at dinner. Taeil is cooking currently and it'll be ready soon."
"We should go and help. It isn't nice to leave him to cook alone for everyone."
"Alright, let's go." With Taeyong's words, the two stood up and started to head for the kitchen. Adryn felt some anxiety about needing to confront the whole gang, but she had a feeling that Taeyong would protect her, even from them.
